Anyone out there have comments on how to tighten up the high speed handling of this model? (80-120 mph). I know it's not a sports car, but the "lag" time before the car takes a "set" is disturbing and after driving the car thru mountain terrain and quick L.A. freeway tours on my vacation last week, I have to say I had to really work at being smooth in this car. I have many years of roadracing experience in both fast touring cars and single seater formula cars. I expected more competence in this sedan in it's handling capability. Will a roll stiffness increase alone be sufficient, or am I looking at also increasing the tire contact patch area and upgraded shock/dampers?. Any comment(s) appreciated.

Thanks, Mike McLaughlin

You didn't say what your car's wearing for shoes....are you still running stock rims & tires? If so, then I'd have to recommend a 1+ upgrade to the appropriate 16 fitment (I'd guess 225/50-16?). Keep the OEM rims for winter tires, and get a set of 16s for when you can take advantage of the engineering in these cars. I did a 1+ to my '88 33TE (205/55Zr-16, but going to a 225/50-16 on 16x7.5 in. rims), and the improvements in responsiveness were dramatic! A little more ride harshness, but still acceptable I'd have to say. Good luck!

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One other thing on the mechanical side: If the front suspension has any worn parts, it will handle as you stated. Have you had someone check all of the links, bushings, and ball joints on the front end???

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Benzmac:
ASE CERTIFIED MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN
SERVICE MANAGER FOR 14 BAY FACILITY
MERCEDES SPECIALIST 8 YRS
PARTNER IN MERCEDESSHOP.COM

Thanks for the response. Yes!--I do have stock rims shod with Michelin MXV4 205/65 rubber. It does appear to me that the car needs more of a footprint than this for it's weight and overall size. Anyone out there have some 16" rims (5) that are a bit wider and have the proper offset. Or can the group recommend a aftermarket rim from, say The Tire Rack that compliments the cars styling?.

Try either The Tire Rack or, for reasonably priced AMG knock-offs try Bekkers.com. I've seen your body style with the same 8-hole 16" OEM wheels that are on my 500E. Personally I don't like the look, but it's not too bad. I think you'd do well to consider a set of AMG-style Monoblocks (I know there's a set up for bid at ebay.com right now, or bekkers has seemingly high quality replicas for cheap); they're OEM-looking, they're easy to clean, and they're great looking. You probably look at a 16 X 7.5 with 225/50-16s. But definitely follow Benzmac's advice and have your front end checked out so you know you're starting from square One. Good luck!

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