W211 E55 Arnott vs OEM rear air suspension air bags

[ama singh]

I've recently had OEM air bags swapped out for new Arnott airbags due to leaking OEM air bag, car would settle on one side over night due to leak and lift straight back up after engine start.

I decided to go for Arnott air bags to avoid having to drop rear cross member assembly.

After the change over the car seems to ride much more firm in comfort mode, not sure this was the best way to go. The car seemed to ride much better IMO on the originals.

On reflection am wishing I had stayed with the OEM hardware.

My E500 has the same system, but its 100% OEM, had MB change the complete rear system a few years ago and the difference is unbelievable. In comfort mode the ride is really smooth and stiffens up when switched to sports mode 1&2, comparable to E55.

Would welcome thoughts from others who have been down the same route, changing OEM for Arnott air bags.

 

[alexanderfoti]

Yes, our experience is the same, the aftermarket bags do not retain the same ride quality.

 

[ama singh]

Based on my experience I would definitely NOT recommend Arnott, its worth going the extra mile and dropping the sub frame.

 

[alexanderfoti]

The problem is, often its w211 estates, or 500's with airmatic. The cars are worth 2-3k at this point. MB OEM bags and the labour ends up being £1500+ and customers often cannot warranty that expense.

 

[John Laidlaw]

Are the Aerosus after market ones just as firm Alex? I know Jay Manek rates them very highly but then ride quality hasn't been mentioned

 

[ama singh]

I paid £780 for both rear Arnott air bags (parts only), had I know the impact on ride, I would have paid the extra to go OEM standard.

I think the difference is worth it, the point is how to make end users more aware of the performance differences before making the decision to go down the alternative option.

I've not seen Arnott market the resulting stiffer ride performance, only that their design negates the external "mini tanks" on each side making installation easier.

 

[EmilysDad]

I didn't notice any difference in ride when I had Arnott air springs/bags fitted to the back of my R Class ...

 

[ama singh]

Did/does your R class have pressure expansion tanks, one on each side of rear suspension?

 

[EmilysDad]

Did/does your R class have pressure expansion tanks, one on each side of rear suspension?

Don't think it did .... It had Airmatic, though the bags were the same for Airmatic & none Airmatic

 

[ama singh]

Update:

I've had the following feed back from Arnott regarding the stiffer ride since changing the rear air bags from OEM to Arnott:

"We recommend to check first whether the basic air suspension values are still correct. After air suspension is being replaced, the error codes should be deleted and the car must always be calibrated afterwards. When is not done, the car can still recognize the error and give a fault code/message.

How stiff the car is, is decided by the dampers, not by the air springs. That is why our technicians suspect the issue is because of the calibration.

The calibration must be done by an expert, as special tools and a Mercedes Xentry computer with the right angle meters for the ADS system."

Would be interested to hear from other owners who have changed their rear air springs, did you have your system calibrated after installation?

What is actually calibrated?

My ADS shocks are OEM, I only changed the air bags from OEM to Arnott.