Sincity

SMERC just did a test fitting and a photo shoot of their production ready upper strut tower bar on my C63 this morning. It is a very high-quality piece. Just look at those welds on the brackets. The brackets are made of steel that is powder coated in a texture finish and the aluminum bar is a solid piece that is anodized in black. You can still remove your airboxes by simply removing the bar from the mounts by using a wrench and Allen key.

Our front unibody chassis is quite stiff from the factory from what I understand. I noticed that the driver side strut tower has a factory brace tying it in with the firewall, but, the passenger side doesn't have such brace. This brace just ties everything together. Subjectively speaking, it does seem to make steering a bit more responsive when I was doing a slalom manuever on the street. However, I only had the vehicle for 1200 miles since new and haven't driven it too aggresively to further evaluate.

Installation is a simple DIY and shouldn't take you more than 15 minutes.

As far as weight, spec, pricing, and availibility, you will need to contact forum member TheDarkSide from SMERC Engineering. He did tell me that SMERC is in the process of being a forum sponsor and will be introducing the first batch to the forum soon. This brace is not C63 specific and will also fit the C300 and C350.

The following pics are not from the photoshoot but are my own using a P&S camera.

AkaSigFreak

Finally. Yuta swore me to secrecy. It was killing me not to say anything.

TheDarkSide

Hey Guys! Special thanks to Reggie for helping us out! SMERC Engineering's MBWorld Sponsorship starts until October 1st, so we wont be able to promote our products for a few more days. We'll get everyone more info on the 1st!

Thanks Everyone!

TheDarkSide

thanks akasigfreak for keeping a secret!

Azn_C300

what material is it made of? I know Sincity said steel, but what grade? Side impact safety break point? Curious how well this stacks up to the RennTech and MBArts brace.

imboom

I'd also like to know what the material of the brackets are. I know the bar is T6061 aluminium.

It would be awesome if you guys produce more w204 stuff! I know you guys are planning an X pipe but I'd like to see that expanded to a full affordable quad/dual exhaust system.

Sincity

I'd imagine that the bar will bend upwards on a side impact to the strut tower/cowl. The bar is bent up a few degrees on each bracket and impact of such sufficient force would/should buckle the bar upwards at the center. Besides, if you get an impact directly at the cowl/struct tower, the car would probably be a total loss.

Sportstick

I suspect Michael's concern may be more safety than economic. If the brace was overly rigid, more force could be transmitted to the passenger compartment and experienced by occupants.

Do any of the strut tower brace suppliers do impact analysis (madymo or other simulation program)? This has a potential greater effect than changing the color of side marker lights!

Spec_Davis

that looks very nice. Price?

MACHC5

Looking at the photos it seems to be more of a bling thing then racing thing enhancement.

Most strut bars are round wall and some are double rounds to counteract flexing during loading. Others attach at the shock towers and mid point on the firewall areas.

Just my thoughts...

Azn_C300

yup

Sincity

Please elaborate on occupant safety. Perhaps member Moparbbust can jump in as well because him and I have many years in the field of collision repairs. He is an actual technician that works on high-end vehicles. I have seen impacts where overly-stiff bars where the strut tower gets impacted on one side of the vehicle and pushes away the other struct tower. However, AFAIK, there are no crush zones for side impacts to the strut tower/cowl, hence that area is VERY stiff. The strut tower, cowl area is probably the most rigid area of the entire vehicle due to the stresses of having a motor and suspension loads to deal with. The areas where there are crush-zones (energy absorbing) built in are the front and rear unibody rails. The cell of the vehicle is a strong structure to protect the occupants.

Disclaimer: I am not speaking on behalf of SMERC, but merely relaying my many years of experience on collision damage. Also, I am not an engineer/specialist in the field of impact analysis or occupant safety for vehicles.

Sportstick

I will try to set up one hypothetical with a word picture:

Imagine a 90 degree impact where the bullet vehicle strikes the passenger side of a C Class with a strut brace stiffer than the MB design intent for cross car crush. Imagine the right headlamp area of the bullet vehicle lines up approximately with the brace. If the area is now stiffer than OE design intent, as the bullet vehicle strikes, and begins to rotate clockwise (more than it would if the brace area were not overly stiff) such that the left headlamp area penetrates the right passenger door, that load may now be higher than it would have been and provide a greater challenge for the side impact protection MB provides.

Another issue is that if the vehicle is just stiffer and doesn't suffer any deflected load into the passenger cell, the stiffness in a side impact may result in higher lateral g forces on occupants, possibly exacerbating internal injury.

Just a speculative, hypothetical example. But, before possibly changing crush behavior, I would like someone to study this more.

Sincity

Sorry..but I am having a hard time imagining what is being described. Are you describing a "T-bone" impact perpendicualr to the vehicle fore of the strut tower towards the front bumper? The strut tower, along with the apron is tied into the passenger cell at the cowl with the front rails running under the apron and cowl.

Doesn't the CLK BS have a strut tower brace from the factory? And the regular CLKs do not?

Sportstick

It starts out as a t-bone, but since the strut might not "give" as much as the original design, the bullet car will start to rotate toward the passenger in my hypothetical example. Wish this text box let me draw a picture!

Sincity

I see what you are trying to describe. In an impact like you described, at that POI, both vehicles will almost always come together. Meaning the the LF corner of the non-strut brace vehicle impacts the vehicle with the strut brace perpendicular @ strut tower, will cause both of them to rotates towards eachother which dissipated energy. I think we may be over-complicating the function of this bar especially the situation with CLK BS with strut bar and non BS doesn't have strut bar as an example.

I know, I wish we could draw. I'm not good at describing myself.

CrAZyVeGAsBoY

The offical price on it is $329.99, I just got mine this last weekend, looks great and it does stiffen up the car more, to test this i drove mine and then my buddies C that didnt have one, not a night and day thing but you can definatly tell. Looks great with that powdercoated black and you cant beat that price, great job Smerc i love it

CrAZyVeGAsBoY

Anyone get one yet? if so was wondering what your thoughts are.