Car is too bouncy

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NICAT

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Hi.
İ bought Mercedes ML320 W163.
Everything seems to be fine, but car is too bouncy according to my taste and ride quality seems to be compromised in road irregularities (Compared to several other budget sedans i have driven).
Not sure if i use the correct term to describe the issue.
Made too much research before posting here. And i have ride experience in other types of SUVs (They were not considerably better than mine). So as far as i know given the nature of the car (Full frame SUV) it is normal for it to be not as stable as sedans. And seemingly there is no issue with shocks.
The question is :
Car has 255/60r R17 inch tyres on it. I can install 16 inch rims. (265/65/r16 Tyres). This should improve ride quality in some driving conditions.
But may it even worsen the bounciness? Since large sidewalls will bounce even more ?
 
W163 is old, the first-gen Mercedes M-class (now GLE). Your car is around 20 years old. You can't rule out the shocks.

MParr said:
First thing to do is check your tire pressure. Try 35psi/241kP all the way around. Second, check your shock absorbers and make sure they are functional.
Click to expand...

To add to this, tire problems can indicate suspension problems. Feathering indicates blown shocks.

265/60-17 should have enough sidewall that you don't get a harsh ride due to low-profile tires.
 
There is more to choosing a good shock than just buying the most expensive one available. Often the most expensive shocks will be toooooo stiff and make the ride toooooo bumpy on bad roads. Sure a stiff ride will corner well on roads with a lot of turns in them, but they can jolt your back bad enough and often enough that it ruins the enjoyment of the vehicle.

I find that original equipment or low cost shocks often have a better ride than expensive ones. Cheap shocks may not last as long as expensive ones but they do not ruin the ride quality.
 
Unless you disconnected and worked the shock to check its condition, it can't be said there are no issues. I can't see tires causing that much bouncing of the car and still suspect worn shocks.
 
Bad roads will wear out shocks / struts and other suspension parts quickly. You never said how many miles on the car or the parts.
 
Hi.
Today i bought 16 inch rims + tyres for 60$ (255/65/r16)
Ride comfort is improved significantly. Almost as comfortable as my bmw e60.
As per your suggestions i am looking for a place who will check the shocks for me.
Thanks:)
 
I Finally solved the issue.
But it turned out that it is not the shocks causing the bounce, but the sway bar specifications.
Since they were too stiff, optimized for highway driving, side to side rocking was too much.
Removing Rear sway bars considerable solved the problem. at least 50% improvement i would say. With front sway bares still connected, the car stability is not significantly deteriorated
 
Seems strange that the sway bar would be the cause of your problem, but if you are happy with your car, that's what matters. I'm glad it is worked out to your satisfaction.
 
That tells me the shocks are gone. The sway bar is a spring. If the vehicle is rocking side/side from the sway bar, it means the shocks aren’t working properly in the whole system. You’ve also increased understeer, which might throw off the ESP if so equipped. Dunno. you’ve probably lost some on center feel in the steering as well.
 
Nope, In my case it definitely is related sway bars.
I replaced front shocks with Bilstein. But there still was side to side bounce. Even when front wheels goes over bumps or patholes car was rocking. My rear shocks was not badly worn too.
I had ride experience with many old sedans, most with partially worn shocks, which had some level of vertical bounce. I was getting crazy, because those cars was bouncing like a child stroller when i was doing some bounce test by pushing car up and down with hands, but when driving them, they were not side to side bouncing like my ML.
Vertical bounce can be due to shocks, but side to side bounce, especially in taller cars like SUVs can be due to sway bars. W163 is narrow and tall car which has great (as great as SUV can have) high speed cornering ability. To achieve this, Mercedes used too thick sway bars on it, limited suspension travel and so on. Firm sway bars prevent independent wheel articulation during weight transfer to once side of the car, so prevents vehicle rollover.
But this comes at the cost of side to side bounce. (because wheel can't articulate freely over the bumps or patholes, so whole car frame has to move up and down over those bumps.)
I tested Lexus RX350, it was too comfortable, no side to side moving. But it didn't surprise me when i found out that its sway bars are as thin as finger :)
It can be due to worn shocks if there is some level of suspension compliance at the wheel that goes through bumps. If almost no suspension travel over the patholes, how a better shocks would help ? :)

It took me 10 minutes to disconnect rear sway bars, i tested the car at over the same patholes nearby, the results was great :)
 
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