W212 AMG Sport harsh ride quality

[Stucha]

I have a 2013 E class W212 estate (S212) AMG Sport on 18"s which is a great overall package but one thing that lets it down slightly is the firm ride.

The car doesn't have adaptive suspension so I can't change between comfort/sport and on UK roads it feels quite harsh a lot of the time. Note that being the wagon (S212) it has automatically adjusting rear air suspension but I believe that's only for adjusting the height when the boot has a full load.

Has anyone ever switched AMG Sport suspension out for SE or similar suspension to get a better ride quality?

I know the low profile 18"s won't be helping either and I'd consider going for some 16"s or 17"s with big tyre walls.

 

[GordonTarling]

Changing the suspension setup will be costly and could get complicated. Your best bet is to get some smaller wheels with higher profile tyres and see how that helps. If you don't like it, you can always resell them for a decent price. Might be worth trying slightly lower tyre pressures, too. They are often higher than need be in order to meet emissions requirements. Your car doesn't have runflats does it?

 

[Stucha]

Yea I see what you mean about changing the suspension.

Maybe small wheels and fatter tyres would be the way to go.

No I don’t have run flats, just some low profile Bridgestones which are staggered so different front and rears. On smooth roads it’s great but on normal/bumpy roads the car is crashing around and it seems like it doesn’t suit the car.

How would I know what I could get away with in terms of smaller wheels and big tyres?

 

[ph47mf]

i went from my previous e-class with low profile 18s to my current BMW run flat 17s, the ride feels equally as hard so those 18s is as harsh as run flats.

I guess if you change it to a smaller wheel with fatter tyres, it would give you some comfort though the 'look' won't be as good.

 

[Stucha]

Agreed it won’t look good at all in a sporty way. Maybe it would look cool in a utilitarian kind of way though.

I have a feeling the AMG Sport has bigger brakes so I don’t know if 16s are even an option?

 

[st13phil]

The Owner's Manual is your friend: it has a whole section on what wheel and tyre combinations will fit and are approved for the vehicle (which makes insurance easier too). I'm not sure about the tyres you have on the car at the moment as I never ran Bridgestones, but in the past they've had a reputation for having somewhat wooden sidewalls that doesn't help ride quality one jot. Also remember that as you have the estate, you should be using XL-spec tyres which will be somewhat stiffer than the non-XL spec tyres of the same size and brand on a saloon.

Everyone has their own view on what's a harsh ride and what's plush. Based on my own experience, 17-inch wheels on 45 aspect tyres give a good compromise between ride quality and handling / grip on a W/S212. I also ran 16-inch wheels on my E350CDI during the winter months and while the ride quality was marginally better than with the bigger wheels, my preference would still be the 17's.

 

[Stucha]

Thanks st13phil I'll take a look at the manual to see what I could get away with. That's interesting about the XL-spec tyres, haven't heard of that before.

 

[AMGeed]

This is the current line up of wheels specifically for the S212 E class .

Mercedes E Class Estate Alloys (S212) - Alloy Wheels Direct

Click on any alloy and scroll down to see the recommended tyre size.

 

[Headhurts]

I have the same set up as you on a 2016 E350 and find the set up a pretty good balance between handling and ride quality.

Previously I had an E300 Hybrid in SE style which in my opinion was not a whole lot better but was not so planted as my current car particularly on bends with uneven surface where it seems to patter across the unevenness.

Robin


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Stucha]

Hmmm, maybe the problem is down to my tyres then, they're Bridgestone Potenza RE050A which I've read some bad comments about.

 

[GordonTarling]

Another thought - how many miles has your car done? if over 80k to 100k, then a new set of shocks might make all the difference - it did on my previous S211.

 

[Stucha]

Just gone over 50k and I've had the rear suspension replaced last month as it was dropping, but anyway that didn't make a noticeable difference.

 

[SlimJim]

I have a W212 2015 AMG Sport with the same Bridgestone tyres and can't say I've noticed a harsh ride. In fact it is a very smooth drive, just as I remember from my old W124 from a good few years ago.