CLK550 $wagger

Hey guys! I have been doing a lot of reading on the W209 forum. I looked for a CLK55 or CLK550 for about 8 months. Then all of a sudden 2 CLK550's came up for sale near me... One 2008 White/Tan at a MB dealer and the other one being a 2007 Black/Dark Tan with slightly higher milage. It was hard to pass the white one up at the MB dealer considering white/tan was the color scheme that I really wanted... so I bought it! Now that I finally own a CLK it time to start the MOD's! I wanted to start this thread so that if I have any questions through out my mods I could just have them all in one place and if you guys wanted to follow my MOD's you could easily do so. As you will see I started out with small mods but I would like to do something a little bigger (like a CF front lip). The only thing is my car is still under warranty for a little while so I have to be careful as to what I do.



My MOD's So Far:

CF License Plate with AMG Bolts
LED License Plate Bulbs
AMG Tire Valve Caps



Want To Do MOD's:

Interior LED's
Tail Light LED's
Fog Light LED's
Headlamp LED's
CF Front Lip
CF Trunk Lip Spolier
AMG Replica C63 wheels
Tint 15%-20%
Caliper Powder Coat (havent decided on the color yet)
Tail Light/Corner/Mirror Turn Signal Tint
Upgrade Sound System
Weather Tech FLoor Mats
Lowering Springs (Possibly)

Are there any lowering springs that improve the handling a good bit but don't lower it too much? I like lowered look but I don't want to lower it too much more because the CF front lip already makes it 1.5in lower in the front. Also, from what I have heard lowering springs will wear a lot of stuff down quicker than usual including the shocks. Is this the case?

Are there any Mod's that I am missing?


Ill take photos of it soon!


Thanks for all of your time and help in advance... I greatly appreciate it!

Kevwood

Are you just after cosmetic mods or also some power?

mikata

I would get a ECU tune besides from all your cosmetic mods, just for the sake of getting little over 400HP

CLK550 $wagger

I think I would eventually like to get some power but for right now I think it is fast enough. What would the best "bang for your bucks" be if I decided to do a few power upgrades? Also, which ECU tune takes you over 400hp?

Fatz

Welcome!!!! I have Kleeman ECU tune and headers. I've never put the car on a dyno, but it sure felt like 40-50 hp more..... Had it done about 2.5 years ago. I've gotten used to it now...... I assume those horses are still there. I also have h&R sport/lowering springs and sways.

Kevwood

The basics for every car apply, air in, air out and a tune to help it make the most out of it.

For your 550, a set of BMC or K&N air filters, delete the OEM chambered muffler, replace it with a free-flowing type like Magnaflow or Borla (you don't have secondary cats so you save a little work there) and an ECU tune. There are lot's of generic "off the shelf" tunes available and probably all give you the same range of HP gain, maybe 20 or so at the crank. Jerry has a very good reputation, check the tuners who are sponsors here, or, get the car on a dyno and custom tune it - thats the real way to get the most out of it.

CLK550 $wagger

Thanks for the welcome and all the info! Im going to look into the air filters... do they make any noticeable change or is it just to help make it run cleaner? I was looking into buying a magnaflow muffler but it seemed like there were so many different types I wasn't sure which one would fit and sound best. How much of a difference in sound would changing the muffler make? I would like it to be deeper at lower rpms and for it to be louder and deeper in general. Im going to look into the tune after i start to get use to the power and need to give it a little more of a kick!


Where can I find kleenman parts? Do I have to order them straight from Kleenman or is there a cheaper place I can get them?


I was looking into the H&R lowering but i talked to a few people and they said when you lower the car it wears stuff out quicker including the shocks. Is that the case? Also, what do sways do?


Thanks again for all of the help!

Rudeney

Personally, I'd avoid the K&N filters. Your CLK550 already has a "cold air" intake with ducts that collect from the top of the grille. If you look at the surface area of the two filters, you'll see they are quite large, so K&N isn't going to give you any advantages except for (supposedly) lower flow resistance, but some people have had MAF problems due to the oil from the filter.

Fatz

Unless you are already blessed with car mechanics skills, I would recommend using a reputable tuner for the Kleeman (or other recommended) tuning (ECU, TCU, Headers). I had my tuning, headers, and springs done by the performance shop of the Mercedes dealership i use for service.

I've had the car lowered for about 20k miles; have not had to buy shocks yet (41k miles on car). I guess it is a matter of preference. I am at an age where parts wearing out 5K-10K miles earlier doesn't concern me so much, if the car is closer to my ideal.

The swaybar upgrade uses a larger diameter, and "better" stock material swaybars which reduce body roll and keeps the tires in contact with the road better. This is a stiffer ride, but I find the ride still good and not jarring. The handling (responsiveness and "road hugging") is much better.

Fatz

I agree with you Rudeney. I installed the K&N filters and could not tell that there was/is any improvement/change. I did not know of the MAF problems. I may go back to the "use and discard" filters....

togaclk55

I don't think swapping out filters will do much in terms of power...Kleemann normally has a sale towards the end of the year on their stuff...

CLK550 $wagger

Im glad I asked twice about the air filters then.

I don't mind stuff wearing out a little bit faster than usual but they made it sound as if I was going to be going through parts and tires left and right. I'm still not sure wether I want to lower it or not because I am going to do the CF front lip and that lowers it 1.5 in the front so Im not sure if i want it any lower... even though I would like it to be a little stiffer and grip the road a little more. Is there anyway I could do sway bars without doing the lowering springs? If so, would that make much of a difference?


I'm going to keep he Kleemann sale in mind. Out of curiousity, what is a ball park price for an ECU Chip or Headers from them?


Also, I am really interested in changing the muffler. Has anybody changed only the muffler to like a magnaflow or some other brand?

Kevwood

You got some good ideas and sound really enthusiastic, guys like you will find lots and lots of help from other members here, but, do a little searching dude - you'll find the answers to most your questions. Example - the KLEEMANN website posts prices and searching them on this forum will bring up their sale prices. Also, lots of us have swapped mufflers, you've lots of reading you can do after a basic search.

Not trying to be a *****, just trying to help you help yourself a bit here - a lot of us have spent a lot of time doing DIY and review threads that are very good info grabs

Here's one to get you started;

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...ew-thread.html

CLK550 $wagger

Thanks for the link! I checked it out real quick but when I have a little more time later today I am going to read your whole write up.

I tried searching through Kleenmann's website and they did not have the US listed as a country that they sold in... So I googled "Kleenmann USA" and their website came up but it did not have any prices posted for some reason. I haven't checked out the sale prices on the forum though so I'll do that.


I do agree with you... there are a lot of great detailed write ups by you along with a bunch of other members. I just have a hard time understanding them sometimes because I don't understand a lot of the terminology as I don't have much of a mechanical background. I have actually done a lot of reading through the forums but I guess when it comes to exhaust I thought most of you don't just change the muffler only. It seems as if you change the muffler along with the piping. So I thought it was completely different. Is that the case or will it sound similar?


No I don't think that at all... I completely see where you are coming from but I just hope you can see where I am coming from too.

By the way... I love your CLK... I have always loved the two toned look wit white and carbon fiber! Great Job!
Thanks!

togaclk55

I paid around $1k for the Kleemann headers...not sure how much their tune costs, but my Eurocharged tune was around $400.

You can still install the sway bars w/o lowering your car, it should improve body roll

mikata

That's a great price for the headers, they go for nearly $2k in Denmark(Kleeman Denmark) for my 3.2L V6.
I'll shoot Corey at Kleeman a PM and see if I can get same price as you.

mikata

Is his e-mail corey@kleeman.com?

togaclk55

cory@kleemannusa.com

Here's the link to the thread:
https://mbworld.org/forums/performan...promotion.html

mikata

Big thanks!

togaclk55

No problemo man

mikata

Sent Cory an email. We'll see if he has something for my little V6.
Sorry for the thread jack CLK550 $wagger.

CLK550 $wagger

No problem keep us posted because I'll be sending him an email at some point down the road!

CLK550 $wagger

I started shopping for wheels because I would like to get a set before summer is over. I was looking a the wheels made by "PowerWheels Pro" and they seem to make some really great wheels for really great prices. I would like to keep the wheel size at 18 because it is a DD and the roads are not the best around here plus since I just bought the car it has 4 near brand new tires!


What do you guys think about either of these

http://www.powerwheelspro.com/shop/p...roducts_id=419

http://www.powerwheelspro.com/shop/p...roducts_id=531


I personally like the second rims better... do you guys have any other rim suggestions?


Thanks!

togaclk55

Check that out: https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...nt-thread.html

CLK550 $wagger

Thats an awesome thread! I went though all of the pages a little while back but it seems like there are a few new pages since I went through it. I'll have to check them out.

Also, I read a bunch of threads on tinting your tail lights but most go off onto using night shade to paint them and I never really saw a straight answer on what was the best tint film and thats what I really want to use. I see a bunch of them on eBay but has anybody actually used a tint film to tint their tails, corners, and turn signal lights? If so, what brand would you suggest? Is there anything I need to look for when buy a tail light tint film? Like I said I know most of you use night shade but I want to be able to take it off simply if I choose too.