+1 I have done that before as well. I also while driving my aunts clk430 got the emergency roll bars to fly up lol

 

Dangit - no ideas from anyone?!??

 

Well, the car has done this two other times now... its starting to concern me. Haha Any ideas out there?!?!

Aside from that, its going in for an oil change on Wednesday and Ill ask the tech to take a look around and see if he sees anything. I'll let yall know what I find.

I haven't been modding and/or photographing anything lately due to heavy involvement w/ a non-profit in Seattle (www.PhilanthroProductions.org && www.facebook.com/philanthroseattle).

W/o the time to fully utilize the camera gear, I feel its best for me to find it a new home. If yall are into DSLR's check out some of my gear that I've got left!
https://mbworld.org/forums/non-merce...dmk2-more.html

 

5Dmk2...drool...

i'm thinking it's just a loose connector if it doesn't happen all the time.

 

Yea, im thinking something like that too... just wish there werent soo many conections in the car :P

The 5DMKII has been ridiculously amazing for me. I wish I had more time to play with it The ISO is nuts. the graininess I would get at like 3200 ISO is similar to that I would get at 800 w/ my old XTi. The sensor is JUST that much better.

 

Wonky impact sensor

 

Thankfully, this little electrical issue has not returned. Hopefully, it has permanently resolved itself.

Update on the car:

2011 has come and gone - that means my car is 10+ years old now. Doesnt look TOO bad if ya ask me :P

The car got an oil change about 300 miles ago. Its driving well and feeling especially peppy w/ the cold air. Unfortunately, my fuel economy has been lower than I have ever seen it. I've been struggling to get over 25mpg on lengthy highway trips where I use to get 27+. Probably dirty filters - A new set is already on its way!

When my car hits 150k and I go in for my next service, the car is likely going to have its fuel filter, trans fluid, and diff fluid changed. I had much of this stuff replaced around 80k... I should really change it out sooner.

I randomly stumbled upon a great deal on ebay:



Its an updated Luxury Bumper Primered and ready for paint! Best part - I got it for 200 dollars shipped and my old bumper skeleton is a direct fit!

Of course, there is a small issue - Ive been searching around and asking people for help and searching for part numbers, but I cant seem to find the two tongues and grill that attaches to this bumper! If you've got info for this or know of someone ready to part with theirs, please let me know!

Also, if anyone's got any suggestions on good places to get my new bumper painted (and matched to my car) in the Seattle area. LMK!

Happy 2012 Hope ya'll get in lots of QT w/ the car this year!

PS - I'd like to also say, I fit like 4 pieces of dismantled (and unpackaged) Ikea furniture into my car a few months ago. Let me say that it was a giant pain in the *** because of my rear upper tie bar. Otherwise, it was pretty amazing. I swear there was a small crowd of onlookers that chuckled as I struggled and didn't believe I'd make it work. Little did they know, I was able to fit everything into my car w/ the seats folded down. Probably more than most suv/truck owners pack into their car that day! Small victories

 

Nice find tru! Question, does the updated version use the same fogs?

 

Yes!

 

Im trying to solve my especially negative front camber with OEM eccentric bolts ( A 000 330 00 18 ), but I am unclear with the diagrams I always see posted.



The diagram shows 3 positions for the bolts which results in a -4, 0, or +4 change in camber. The diagram is unclear as how much of a change this is - is this a change in 4 degrees from OEM height? Will the change be the same if I am lowered?

Right now I have -1.6 degrees of camber, but in position of where the bolts will to provide me w/ more positive camber, will result with +2.4 degrees?

Also, if you can only put the bolts in the 3 positions provided, does that mean, I can only "Adjust" in intervals of 4 OR Do these bolts somehow offer a range of adjustment?

Please clarify!

Also, from the pictures provided, it seems like I will need 4 (2 on each side) to adjust the front camber. Is this correct?

Thanks!

 

The fluted bolts facilitate ~±.4° caster or camber adjustment in their respective locations.
The .4° is fixed from baseline measurements, and remains relatively consistent throughout suspension travel.

Relocating #29 away from chassis centerline (toward the wheel) increases negative camber.
Conversely, moving the arm inward reduces negative/increases positive camber.
#18 almost exclusively effects the caster setting.

I’ve had good luck with aftermarket eccentric camber adjustment bolts fitted in the MacPherson strut-to-hub carrier mounts.
They permit an additional ~±1.5° of infinite movement (within their physical range) to help dial in your preferred settings.

http://www.spcalignment.com/componen...AFrom&to=USATo

 

Thanks Glyn for the clarification and great photos! -0.4 to +0.4 isnt enough for sure.

Glyn, would those eccentric bolts work on our cars? Those would be AWEOMSE to have.

Tonight, I met up w/ WhippleM104 and had him do some work for me at his shop:

Neat toys around the shop

I love seeing my car at this perspective. I always take the time to study the under body when its in the air. I usually only get to see the bottom side of the car while I'm on my back!

After almost 4 years of looking for someone to do this, its finally done! Prior to having the secondaries removed, my car had a rattling sound during driving, but now the sound is gone! The secondaries must have shaken something loose over time!

The overall sound has surprisingly NOT changed at by much at all. After riding in waveykat's car a while back when he had his stock motor, VRP shorties, secondaries/resonator removed, with an AMG muffler, I expected my car to be louder as I have the same set up except with a Supersprint axle back. Its probably louder, but I was just hoping for more. hahaha. Ill post a video some day!

More mods, photos, and updates to come!

 

Tru - you are thanking the wrong guy. splinter has given you the correct dope as usual. Excellent explanation!. Suggest you use the eccentric bolts in addition to fluted bolts as splinter has done on his car to achieve max neg camber without going to an adjustable length camber arm.

Your car is looking great still!

 

wow nice nice :-)

 

video clip of the secondary off plz! LOL

 

Nice!

 

+1

 

For you guys interested in hearing what it sounds like:

The sound w/in the car did not change at all, but the car from the outside has changed alot. much raspier, but only when i get on it over 2.5k... Under that, there is essentially no difference in sound.

Videos recorded w/ my "awesome" camera phone.

Primaries straight to SuperSprint Class Exhaust


Slow roll to 3k in second gear.


Accelerating harder in second gear to maybe 3.5?

Whats different about my car from the first video to the pic in my sig?

 

The car went into the shop this morning and looked like this:


and came out looking like this:


I can finally take pictures of the driver side of my car w/o being embarrassed of the dents I received many years back...

Latest Mods: Black (painted) roof, 20% Tint, Updated luxury bumper w/ a custom lower mesh installed!

Im getting closer to my chopped end goal:


I doubt ill get black wheels ever though. Guess, my taste has moved away from that. I may try pastidipping the center portion of my grill to a gunmetal color though - what do yall think about that? :x

Couple items w/ bumper skeletons - I had the same part number between my car and the updated luxury bumper, but they were infact different and we couldn't get the old skeleton to work on the new bumper at all!

Upcoming Mods:
LED city lights
LED plate lights
265 in the rear instead of 255 + additional 3mm spacer for the rear. Final offset will be et30. - in the mail!
Eccentric camber bolts are in the mail now. The idea of getting -3 camber on the front for the summer then near zero for the winter really appeals to me

Hopefully, I can set up a day to roll my fenders and grind some tabs. Then lower front/rear some more. Right now, my front bumper is about 4.5" from the ground, but ive got about a finger's space between the fenders and tires on all four corners. I need the rear tires + spacers to fill out the rear wheel wells some!

Hope everyone's in as good of a modding mood as I have been lately! Spring time is finally here!

 

wow looking good nice nice i like.. video clip yet?

 

looks so sick! i like the direction you're taking...

btw.. where did you get the mesh for the bumper? i've been looking around for mesh for a potential grille project.

 

Check out the post before my last post.

Thanks dude. CustomCarGrills.com - haha. I just wish the mesh was a lil bit more matte. I might consider hitting it w/ pastidip if it bothers me enough...

 

LOVING the new bumper Tru! Cale and I have been talking about doing the exact same thing. How did they go about forming the mesh? Looks great! Very clean!

 

Looks great

 

Glyn,

If you don't mind the inquiry, I just want to get this straight. So, what you've said here is to use the SPC bolts @ upper and the MB fluted bolts @ lower?

Can the SPC bolts Splinter recommended only be used @ upper, camber arms, is that why?

I'm interested in the greatest amount of adjustability up front as possible, per the alignment Im arranging this up coming weekend.

Thank you.

Tru - sent you a PM.