Sharpening Up Your Merc’s Dynamics

Dynamic Tips From Our Mercedes Performance Shop

Shopping for a Mercedes may be difficult when “good performance” is such a vague term. Not everyone likes that good handling and fast responses are sacrificed for a smooth ride. Many Mercedes are made with a soft suspension instead of the stiff suspensions that are more characteristic of racing cars. Our Mercedes performance shop techs give you the low down on how to sharpen your Mercedes’ dynamics without making a sacrifice to your ride.

Soft suspensions: They keep the tires on the ground so that the car feels smoother, has more of a grip on the road and does not feel clunk down to the ground. However, cars with a softer suspension do not generally perform as well because they tend to have characteristics, such as excessive body roll, that slow down the car.

Stiff suspensions: These are preferred for racing cars because they reduce body roll, have low ground clearance and maintain ride height. All of these characteristics serve to make the car more aerodynamic. However, the trade-off is that a car with a stiff suspension will be much more sensitive to bumps on the ground. This is not a problem for race cars because they perform on smooth tracks, but for a car that you use day to day, a stiff suspension will create many harsh bumps in your ride.

However, the “soft” suspensions found in older Mercedes may be able to be improved with other suspension modules. Some cars are set up to drive more smoothly, but have characteristics that make them less adept at taking corners. Some of the characteristics of these cars are:

• Excessive body roll: When the weight of the car is thrown to the side when taking a corner. This leaning slows the car down.
• A “remote” feeling in the steering wheel
• Slowed reactions.

Several of these characteristics can be fixed with several upgrades to improve your suspension:

1. Sway Bars: These reduce body roll by tying together the left and right sides of your Mercedes’s suspension. As you turn, the bars absorb the load, preventing your car from leaning to the side. Sway bars are also the most cost effective way of improving your vehicle’s performance. Just make sure to choose a sway bar that works with your car. When choosing these bars, hollow is better because it saves more weight. Also, the smaller bars are often the most effective for the car, rather than the larger ones.

2. Springs: They support the weight of the vehicle and absorb impact from bumps in the road. The stiffness of the springs will determine your vehicle’s body roll. Springs lower the center of gravity for vehicles and therefore reduces body roll, but may create a bumpier ride. If you choose a larger sway bar, then it is easier to use a softer spring and have your car perform well. If you choose a spring that is too stiff, your Mercedes will drive more like a truck than a small car.

3. Shocks: These absorb shock from the road and support the weight of your car by preventing the springs from bouncing too much when you turn. Make sure that your shocks are adjustable so that you can choose how much your springs will bounce. This allows you to create an ideal weight transfer.

4. Tires: Though tires play no part in suspension, if you want your Mercedes to handle corners well, invest in a set of tires with greater tread surface. This will ensure a proper grip on the road to take sharp corners fast.

5. Control Arms: These allow you to create the proper suspension geometry by adjusting the camber of the car. This adjustment will allow you to feel more in control of your car. Sometimes, the other upgrades can make the car feel uncontrollable, but control arms offer vehicle stability and helps tires keep contact with the ground longer.