Merc Sport Coupe - Hard Ride as standard?

[Cheltenhamshire]

Hello all,

I have a 2003 Merc C200KSE Sport Coupe with 17's and the evo suspension.

It rides like a tank to be honest on anything other than smooth roads...the tyres are Falkens. I know the Benz with sports suspension should have a firm ride but this is harder than my old Alfa 147 with lowering springs on it!!

Normal??

 

[ivegotcclass]

I've just moved from an Alfa 156 (Lusso) to a C220 Sport Coupe with the Evo spec and I found the ride smoother with the MB.

I still feel the odd 'jolt' when i unknowingly hit a pot-hole or uneven joint on a road but the Alfa was rough and you could feel a fag packet if you ran over it.

 

[television]

and you could feel a fag packet if you ran over it. [/QUOTE]

As the car is the only place left to smoke, you will be feeling plenty more from now on:wink:

Malcolm

 

[jberks]

I tend to find that its the size of the wheels and corresponding loss of tyre sidewall that makes all the difference. No doubt with 17'' wheels you have 45 or less profile.

 

[Cheltenhamshire]

Yep, they are 225/45/17.

The body of the car is well controlled over the lumpy but smooth parts of the M4, it is just when you get to drive over the 'roads' of Cheltenham it seems like I am driving through the Kalahari in an old Land Rover!!

 

[television]

Yep, they are 225/45/17.

The body of the car is well controlled over the lumpy but smooth parts of the M4, it is just when you get to drive over the 'roads' of Cheltenham it seems like I am driving through the Kalahari in an old Land Rover!!

Since your tyres are 225, the 45% for side wheel does make a harder ride, road surface wise. I have them on my volvo. ,My MB has 245 width tyres, different all together= smooth ride.

Malcolm

 

[Rory]

I don't know what Falkens are like, comfort wise, but I have Bridgestones (55 profile on the front and 50's on the rear) on my C270 Estate. They're noted for stiff sidewalls and they are extremely harsh, even with the pressures set on the minimum. I can't wait to change them.

I was in a friends previous shape 5 Series Sport spec BMW the other day, and I was blown away by how smooth the ride was. That was on Michelins.

 

[Cheltenhamshire]

I love the design of the 5 spoke rims that seem to wear the 245 width tyres on the C-Class....!!

I may have to investigate getting a set.

 

[television]

Why not go up to a 50 or 55 profile with the same wheels and 225 width, I did this to make my Volvo acceptable and used a 50. How much clearence do you have around the wheel arches

malcolm

 

[Cheltenhamshire]

Plenty of clearance, but doesn't upping the profile on tyres (and keeping the same width) alter the gearing and speedo readings? Being the grand old age of 32 I am past the age of tinkering!! My old Alfa had a plus 2 wheel upgrade (15's with 60 profile to 17's with 45 profile) and that kept the same rolling radius and so did not alter the gearing in anyway.

Do you know what effect making the diameter of the wheel bigger will do to the gearing and speedo, increase the gearing and make the speedo overread or the other way round??

But your right about it improving the ride, the best riding car I am have been in is my Dad's Golf, 15inch wheels with 65 profile tyres and soft suspension.....you can drive over speed bumps at 30mph like they not there!!

 

[television]

I have done this to my Volvo as stated. The original were 215x40 and I now use 225x50 it is so small that I notice no change in speedo or gearing driving throught 20 and 30 zones my car stays with the traffic at the correct speed, it is to small a differece to notice. it would mean going down to 16" to go larger.

Malcolm

 

[clive williams]

Plenty of clearance, but doesn't upping the profile on tyres (and keeping the same width) alter the gearing and speedo readings? Being the grand old age of 32 I am past the age of tinkering!! My old Alfa had a plus 2 wheel upgrade (15's with 60 profile to 17's with 45 profile) and that kept the same rolling radius and so did not alter the gearing in anyway.

Do you know what effect making the diameter of the wheel bigger will do to the gearing and speedo, increase the gearing and make the speedo overread or the other way round??

But your right about it improving the ride, the best riding car I am have been in is my Dad's Golf, 15inch wheels with 65 profile tyres and soft suspension.....you can drive over speed bumps at 30mph like they not there!!

Cheltenhamshire,

Malcolm TV is right. The change from 245x45x17 to 225x55x17 is a feasible change and will increase the gearing by 4% only, which is within the speedo tolerance EU- -0,+10% and GB +/- 5%. My only concern would be on the rim width as the 225s would not work well over 8J rim width and given MBs preoccupation with wide rim/narrow tyres I would expect your wheels to be not less than 8.5J at present.

Clive

500E
E320CDIT210

 

[OlafMaxwell]

I think the biggst issue is to avoid lower profile tyres if you are on bad roads. anything like 45 or less you really need to have smooth motorway or the drive is horrible. It is often the case that poverty spec odels with 15" wheels are more comfortable than high spec models with 17or 18" wheels. I have tried W210 with 15, 16, 17, 18" wheels and there is a huge difference on poorer surfaces. I stuck with the 16".

 

[Glenn Smith]

I have done this to my Volvo as stated. The original were 215x40 and I now use 225x50 it is so small that I notice no change in speedo or gearing driving throught 20 and 30 zones my car stays with the traffic at the correct speed, it is to small a differece to notice. it would mean going down to 16" to go larger.

Malcolm

I think you'll find this makes quite a difference to road speed. I put 205x55 on 944, then fitted 205x60 as former were too small, very noticable difference in acceleration.

 

[Cheltenhamshire]

I think the biggst issue is to avoid lower profile tyres if you are on bad roads. anything like 45 or less you really need to have smooth motorway or the drive is horrible. It is often the case that poverty spec odels with 15" wheels are more comfortable than high spec models with 17or 18" wheels. I have tried W210 with 15, 16, 17, 18" wheels and there is a huge difference on poorer surfaces. I stuck with the 16".

If you ever visit Cheltenham please bring the car with 10 inch wheels wrapped in marshmallows.....as the roads around here resemble dirt roads in Africa...they really are that bad. When they relay them....all it does is fill in the potholes...the lumps, bumps and poor camber remain!!

:twisted: