XYZ Racing Racing Spec Coilovers — Mercedes-Benz S CLASS W222 (NON MBC hydraulic or 4WD) 2014-2020

The W222 S-Class was engineered around air suspension and active body control, so converting one to coils is a deliberate choice – and a divisive one in the owners’ forums. The reasons are usually the same: failing Airmatic struts at five-figure replacement costs, or a desire to take a 2.1-tonne luxury saloon and give it a stance and a body-control rate that the factory damper map will never allow. The XYZ Racing Racing Spec coilover is built for the second camp, and it solves the first problem along the way.

Racing Spec sits at the firmer end of the XYZ range, which is exactly what a car of this mass and wheelbase needs once the air is gone. Compliance comes from the damper, not the medium – so the spring rates and valving have to do real work to keep a long, heavy chassis composed.

What this coilover does for your 2014-2020 Mercedes Benz S CLASS W222 (NON MBC hydraulic or 4WD)

On a W222 the first thing you feel after the swap is body control: the float over motorway expansion joints disappears, and the secondary motions that air-sprung cars develop as the bags age stop dead. The 30-way damping adjustment is the lever you actually use here – softer settings for long-distance work, firmer for B-road pace or the occasional track outing. Pinion-style ride height adjustment lets you drop the car to a stance that suits the bodywork without compressing the spring or chewing into available travel. For owners running 20s or 21s, the rebound control noticeably calms tyre patter over broken surfaces, which a tired Airmatic system will exaggerate.

About the Racing Spec coilover

XYZ’s Racing Spec uses a monotube damper with a larger piston area than the firm’s road-biased Super Sport, giving more consistent damping when the oil is being worked hard. The 30-step adjuster on the top of each unit alters compression and rebound together, keeping setup straightforward for a chassis as physically large as the W222. Spring rates are specified for the saloon’s mass distribution rather than carried over from a generic kit, and the camber plates on the front struts allow geometry to be brought back into a useful window after the ride height drops. Construction is steel-bodied with anti-corrosion plating intended for UK winter use, and the units ship pre-assembled with springs fitted at a baseline height.

Fitment for the Mercedes Benz S CLASS W222 (2014-2020)

This kit is for the W222 saloon on the ME63 chassis designation, model years 2014 to 2020, and is the variant intended for cars that do NOT have MBC (Magic Body Control) hydraulic suspension or 4MATIC all-wheel drive. Confirm your car against those two exclusions before ordering – the hydraulic-MBC and 4WD W222 variants use different mounting and require a different kit.

What buyers also search for

• Mercedes S-Class W222 Airmatic replacement coilover conversion
• W222 S550 and S63 suspension upgrade for road use in the UK
• Adjustable coilovers for lowering a long-wheelbase S-Class
• 30-way damping coilover kit for the 2014-2020 S-Class saloon
• Racing Spec coilovers as a permanent fix for failed W222 air struts

The configurator below lets you set spring rates, ride height baseline, and top-mount options for your specific W222 – build yours below.