General W210 E430 Sport Questions

[hgp]

Folks, I have a 2001 E430 Sport and have some general questions:

1. My Xenon works fine and bright, but it seems to be pointing to the left. Has anyone experienced this with their Xenons?

2. My steering wheel feels a little light compared to other E's and CLK's I've driven. Anything I can do to "Stiffen" it?

3. I know the Sport package is only skirts, fogs, and rim/tires. It just seems like a very harsh ride compared to the non-Sport model, given no suspension mods. Any thoughts on this?

4. My right rear window sounds a little bit loose when I hit a bump. Is it worth it for me to bring this up at the dealer?

Thanks!

[idiosyncratic1]

All i can answer is # 4 for now. My dad has an E420 Sport.

I would def bring it up/ have it checked out, right now both the rear windows do not work and they want to charge 700 each to fix or whatever. i would go ahead and get them checked out, could save you some money later on.

My dad has also had some problems with the aim on his lights, but he was recently in a pretty bad front end accident so the whole front was redone but i dont know what would contribute to yours pointing to the left.

[nguyensteve]

#1 - the stock xenon is aim a little higher on the passenger side.

# 2 - the steering is light to compare with other E or C

# 3 - the Hash ride is do to the tires package.

Steve

[hgp]

Thanks for the replies. Steve, do you know why the Xenon aims higher on the passenger side? Also, if I change the tires (not the wheels), can it improve ride quality?

Thanks!

[nguyensteve]

Hgp,

I am not sure why the passenger side is aim higher.

Yes, with a tire change ride quality will improve, I believe the sport tire is 205/40/17 or 215/45/17 ( these tire are consider performance tires), just remember if you want better ride quality, the tires with not grip much compare to performance tires.

Steve

[figure1a]

Probably 235/45/17. Either ConitSport II or GoodYear F1.

[UncAl]

hgp - 12/30/2003 8:01 PM
... do you know why the Xenon aims higher on the passenger side?

So as to not blind on-coming drivers.

[v3driver]

The headlights on most cars, especially those with Xenons, are designed to try to minimize glare into the eyes of oncoming drivers, as others have stated. But, the reason that the lights seem higher on the right is so that signs are illuminated as you approach them. You'll notice an upwards tick on the headlight pattern, which is absolutely intentional. Cars that drive on the left side of the road will have the opposite pattern.

Hope that helps! [:)]

[figure1a]

Or maybe your lights are just misaligned. You can adjust them to aim straight. In fact they should be aimed straight.

When one of the two brake pedal switches failed on my 97 E430 the dash lit up like a christmas tree reporting faults with ESP ABS - but more importantly the power sterring assist backed off and steering went heavy. The car also dropped dramatically in performance and the brakes also got real heavy.

First dealer could not find the fault, second knew the problem and replaced the $40 switch