tailwagon

Hi everyone! I figured it was time to post as it's been nearly a month since I acquired my R. I picked up a very well-known 2006 from a super nice guy and auto enthusiast on CL/ this forum. With no R63 in sight, this was the cleanest R500 that I could find in the entire US at the time (Thanks Patrick!! ) Little did I know many of the posts that I had read were based on the actual R I purchased!

This site contains an absolute wealth of knowledge and I hope to be able to contribute and give back and share what I've learned along the way. Without further ado, here's what I brought home to Mama.

Photo courtesy of CL ad.



And finally at home - protective door trim already half way off!





I went straight to work and found a set of wheels that had the look I wanted and a price that I couldn't argue with. -- where else? CL!




I went to pick them up and I guess I had no idea how big 22" wheels were in person! Freakin huge!!



NOTE*** 305/40-22 WILL NOT FIT! I suppose with a bit of modification to the rear carpet covering in the fenders and extreme modifications to the front inner fender guard it could work, but there's no telling what I was getting into. There are plenty of electronics and fluid lines that would be put at risk had I just removed the area that was rubbing. Another thought was to use a heat gun and gently melt the fender into form, but I opted against that due to time and lack of tools / work space.

305's up front



305's in the back





Also tried a 20" AMG, but the 22" just looked so much better to me.










Ultimately, I went with a new set of 265/40-22 Toyo ST II's, fresh alignment, new tapered lug nuts, valve stems. More than I was looking to spend, but the look was spot on and I felt like I got a good deal.

tailwagon

Fast forward a few days!

I messaged a guy on the forum who has STAR and was able to lower all 4 corners. Being about an hour away I was on the road to get it lowered! -- Thanks Harris! After a few hours of messing with different voltage settings, we came to the conclusion that links were required to get it sitting where it needed to be.

I contacted John @ adjustableairride.com and he fixed me up with a set of lowering links. A couple of days later I had a package from Canada!




Installed in the rear. As low as I could get it to go.




OR IS IT!?

Nut removed





From my readings, it appears that the drivers side will always be slightly lower than the passenger side.

WITH THE NUT













ALSO make note. If you install the lowering link incorrectly, even on one side, the R will slam!


WRONG!!





After I fixed it, this is as low as it sits - no rubbing, airmatic fully functional, very soft on comfort and responsive on sport. I would also like to mention that 22" wheels are NOT for everyone. You have to be careful. You have to be alert. If you ride motorcycles, you understand exactly what that means.

tailwagon

A few things required attention so I wanted to hop on them sooner rather than later.

Does your R STINK when you turn it on? Mine did, and I knew exactly why.




After a ton of research and going back and forth, I narrowed the correct OE replacement to MANN filters
Mann-Filter CUK 2646-2 Carbon Activated Cabin Filter

Less than $25 delivered for the pair was a winner!


Although there are several links to explain how to swap this out, I found this one to be the easiest and most straight forward. Why anyone would remove the glove box to access these filters is beyond me.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w251...ir-filter.html

Since the plastic brace was already cracked from a previous filter replacement, I went ahead and removed it. I don't see a need for it and I hope I'm right
I used a vacuum cleaner wand to remove remaining debris and then wiped everything down with a microfiber cloth.





Next on the list was to replace the cloudy front lamps -- both sides had seals broken, with one being worse than the other. I ordered two new ones to have them match as a new set. Some things are better off replaced in pairs.



The lack of Bluetooth is seriously a major flaw in a $80k+ vehicle from 2006, but luckily I came across the Kinivo! It works fairly well with a Note 3. Although not perfect, there is slight buzzing, but I think having the phone volume all the way up minimizes the interference. For $40, it will suffice until I have time to experiment with other alternatives.



I did a fairly stealth install and tucked the wires into the console. It's a rather odd path to run the aux from the glovebox to the cigarette adapter, and then find a clean place to put the mic. I didn't want to disassemble the entire dash as I've seen elsewhere, so I made the best route I could after further analyzing. I don't usually talk while I drive so the mic placement wasn't the most important for me. It's located in the tray right above the cigarette lighter. I positioned it in a way that the wire runs clean into the crevice of the panels. Surprisingly enough, the few callers I have spoken with have all said that I sound loud and clear and were amazed that I was using BT. No road noise was present from their perspective. I'll try and snap better photos if anyone is interested.

tailwagon

Also picked up a must have item -- I went with the Grey, to match the interior. A new set of 4 for $79 delivered. Still looking for a matching trunk mat to catch the beach sand, and possibly a 3rd row mat, but unlikely to use it much. With the 3rd row folded down, the huge trunk space is excellent.


And in case anyone needs for future reference, a replacement rear wiper assembly - $13 delivered - Valeo 169 820 04 45



Next on the list for this week:

Front Driver's Axle Boot Replacement (ripped, but no sound or click)
Oil Change
Front window's tinted to match
Color-match orange bumper reflectors
Fix lumbar seats (compressor not working)
Fix clicking sunroof - opens fine, clicks loudly upon closing

ghenry

Good job!! Keep updating as you complete your mods.

secunoid

Nice rims, where and how much did these cost? Are these OEM or replicas?

tailwagon

Thanks! I picked them up on Craigslist from another MB enthusiast. After looking around for while, I actually identified the wheels before I found the R. And to answer your last question, that's the whole point!

tailwagon

Got a new Christmas package in today that contained a few goodies.

ECS Tuning to the rescue!





Check out the before and after photos:




Also will post up a review on the Rein Axle boot shortly. Appears to be top quality in addition to being manufactured in Italy. And at nearly 1/4 of OEM, I think we have a winner! The material seems like an incredibly tough plastic rather than rubber. Perhaps it lasts 2x as long? Appears that way at least.

tailwagon

Thought the problem was fixed, but then this happened. What are your thoughts?
My initial guess is just the large hose clamp was not tight enough. Second guess is that the lower clamp was too low on the shaft, making the larger clamp sit lower than it should, thus creating tension when the wheel is at full lock.