ashutt

For CLK owners, I wanted to pass on some information I think is of value. Last night, I installed the AutoMeter Digital Pro Shift Light System ("DPS"). A few people, mostly 1999 CLK 430 owners who do not have the manual shift capabilities of the CLK55, have asked why would you install this an an automatic car like ours. Below are my reasons why:

First, for my car, which has a SpeedTunning ECU upgrade (93-94 octane setting, raised redline & speedlimiter removed), the car will up shift at 6,000 RPM in automatic mode. However, in manual mode the redline was raised to 6,400. Thus, on my car the manual mode shifting allows for a longer period of time in the gear and results in more HP and TQ in lower gears such as 1-4th.

Second, when at the road course track, it is usuful in manual mode to shift around 6,200 RPM because there is a time delay between hitting the shifter and the gear change, in order hit the maximum RPM shift point of 6,350 while avoiding the 6,400 redline cutoff. If you hit redline the injectors will shut-off for an instant to protect the engine, which is not optimal for racing. One thing you don't want on a long sweeping corner is the car to downshift in automatic mode and throw off the balance of the car. Thus, I would manually shift the car. To assist in this process, the DPS has a Four-Stage Shift-Lite setting for each gear as well as Progressive Shift Light Technology which warns of approaching shift and over rev. This is excellent for a road course track where you would be manually shifting mostly between 2nd (80 MPH at 6,400 RPM) and 3rd (122 MPH at 6,400 RPM) gear because you will know where your redline is without having to look (it is almost impossible to keep the correct line on corners while trying to find the RPM range).

Third, when at the drag strip, it is important when power braking to have the car at the optimal RPM of 1,500 to 2,000 (this may change depending on your tires, setup and weather conditions) so as not to generate excessive tire spin off the line. The DPS has a Launch Lite Feature for precise launch RPM with minimal driver distraction. You set it to the RPM range you (i.e 1,700) want and it will light up green when within -/+ 100 RPM of the target range. If exceeded it will flash red. If you have every tried to power brake the exact RPM while watching the light tree and the road at the same time, you will appreciate this feature. At the strip I would let the car automatically shift itself. Also, there is a Peak RPM Recall feature that will show the highest PRM reached during the run, which is useful for determining if you are shifting optimally.

Installation:
Install of the DPS at first appeared to be a problem but turned out to be pretty easy. After looking in the engine bay, I found the spot to run wires directly into the cabin. It turns out there is a round black rubber plug to the left and down from the drivers side fuse box. Just pull it out and that is it.

From the cabin, you must remove 4 or 5 screws that hold up the footwell top panel but that is easy. Once you pull the panel down you will see the hole into the engine bay where the rubber plug was removed. The hole is about 1" wide so there is plenty of room to run wires or hoses as needed.

There are four wires to hook-up. If anyone goes this route I can assist you with the process. Cost was around $170.00 shipped from Sumit Racing.

deyainrdy4ds

would this work on a 99 CLK430?...i dont have the +/- feature like you but i can still start from first gear then go ta 2nd 3rd etc....i kno its not exacly advised but i do it sumtimes wen "necessary"....

ashutt

You could use the same DSP product but you would have to probably get the Level 2 model like me, which could be used for power braking launches. It would be very helpful in that situation.

If you can manually shift your car then you could use the Level 2 features, which allow 1 launch setting and 4 other shift settings (i.e gears 2-5).

I am not a big fan of gauges for show but in this case I feel the shift light is very useful in certain situations. There are other mods to spend $170 on so make the best choice. If you go with this product, I think you will like it. Good luck.

clarkspark

That was a good read man, very informative...even if I can't use it.
Sounds like that device is pretty good for the track.

Josh K

FYI - it's not rice if it actually does something helpful ;0) Any pics?

ashutt

Hey Josh,

I agree that the DPS is not a rice gauge, although you sure don't see anyone putting gauges in our cars. I almost feel like "naughty". That being said, I will take some pictures tonight of the DPS mounted and with the lights. I will also try and take some in the daylight. Overall, I think the install looks pretty good with the interior of the car.

It is interesting to see the exact RPMs of the car at any given time (I love information). I have not yet tried the launch lite or the progressive shift lights on the street yet but hopefully today or tomorrow I will be able to.

ashutt

Here are some pictures of the DSP installed in the car.

Josh K

It's much less obtrusive than I was expecting but PLEASE hide that cable. It's easy - tap a hole in your pillar cover near the base of the light and run it down behind it and out of sight - it will look so much nicer. :0)

Ronnie Benini

Where did you get a tach signal from. Can't get this answer anywhere. I have 2008 cls63.

Josh K

Wow, from the post graveyard!

You must not have tried very hard to find the answer. Simply typing the name of the part into Google gives you all the info you want.

Ronnie Benini

Ha ha, if it were that easy I wouldn't be sending posts through a time machine. There is nothing on cls tach signals.

Josh K

ah my bad, I thought you were asking about the part and not the actual signal path. lol I was like "Dude, the name of the part is IN THE POST."

Ronnie Benini

Got it though. For any one who wants to know. Use an MSD gmb pickup on the last coil, passenger side. Solid red wire. Set gauge to 1 cylinder or 1 ppr.