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Absolutely. We just needed to sacrifice a piece from a stock steering wheel since nothing was commercially available. We use a removable steering wheel with a quick disconnect. The hub looks like this installed:
We're still using the steering angle sensor and column switch housing as would be included from the factory in this setup.
Awesome, thanks for the pics. Please let us know the cost if your company is to start offering these, as you can see, there is interest.
We've got another hub adapter recipe baking on the West Coast with FCP Euro for a W211, but again, the factory core has to be extracted and machined from the stock steering wheel.
We've got another hub adapter recipe baking on the West Coast with FCP Euro for a W211, but again, the factory core has to be extracted and machined from the stock steering wheel.
Wait what? I must've missed this part in the thread. Please elaborate.
Well we have members looking for a hub so whether you or FCP can produce one, you know there's interest.
We have a list of products we're looking into making and getting things moving forward with them. We're in a down time in the season right now with AER (next race is in August) so we're looking to bring things onto the market now that we have actually validated them.
My hats off to guys, seriously. Consider this an epic project! You guys definitely have skills. Looking to here more or see some video during track runs. Nice job.
Hello all. It's been a long time since we posted an update but in the "off season" we've been working on several projects including finally setting up a shop to be able to work on projects without getting in anyone else's way. Our next race which was supposed to be these weekend at Autobahn Country Club (the dusk to dawn race) was cancelled due to lack of entrants which means our next race will now be in September at Summit Point. While we were looking forward to the challenge of a night race it would have been a massive undertaking with some of the other projects we have been working on.
I am excited to announce however that we have some new hardware for the C300 which we will be testing this weekend at MPact East at Pocono Raceway. Most of you know that we are essentially running stock control arms and bushings on this car for the most part. The thrust arms in the front have a super soft bushing which we noticed was showing signs of wear at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The thrust arm essentially locates the front suspension and plays a big part for maintaining suspension geometry. In addition, it also take quite a bit of road abuse (hence the name thrust arm). Essentially as you drive forward the thrust arm holds the knuckle and strut in position. The inner bushing from the factory is a liquid filled bushing which is perfectly fine for the intended use of the C300 as a comfortable yet capable street car.
For our purposes we wanted something more substantial. We contacted Syncro Design Works and worked hand in hand with David Green. Simpy put, he is the man. He was able to manufacture exactly what we needed which is a monoball bushing. For those of you who don't know what a monoball is the best way to describe is is a spherical bearing ie a ball joint.
What is a monoball?
A monoball is a spherical bushing (ie ball joint) that replaces stock rubber bushings and eliminates inherent deflection created by OE rubber bushings. Unlike solid or polyurethane bushings, monoballs allow for complete unimpeded suspension movement while allowing for a completely rigid central mounting point. It is truly the best of both worlds and is best utilized in applications where the pivoting point is both up and down as well as side to side.
Why a monoball?
A monoball bushing provides full articulation of the suspension with no binding or deflection. A stock rubber bushing is rubber vulcanized to a metal sleeve which deflects (twists) with each suspension movement. Rubber bushings provide great comfort but when pushed in a performance application they allow for undesirable suspension movement and slop. Under heavy braking rubber bushings can deflect quite a bit making the car unstable. Stock rubber bushings also provide unstable and unwanted suspension movements on uneven road surfaces as well. A mono-ball being a solid mounting point with no room for play around its pivot point creates a completely rigid mounting point while allowing appropriate suspension travel and movement. It is the ultimate solution for a complex multi-link style suspension.
Why not a polyurethane bushing?
Polyurethane is good for certain applications such as mounts that don't require complex movement (sway bar mounts, engine mounts, subframe mounts, etc). For a control arm such as a thrust arm the movement at the bushing is both up and down as well as side to side. Essentially polyurethane in this type of application restricts suspension movement. In some applications the centering sleeve for a polyurethane control bushing can spin with suspension travel causing the inside portion to wear, resulting in noise, and eventually causing suspension slop and play. Polyurethane has its place in many applications, for the C300 thrust arm it would be a poor choice.
For now, these are a one off for the W204 application. However, if there is interest in these we can see about having more made. Here are some photos of the thrust arm as they were delivered yesterday:
We can't wait to see how these perform. We're also going to be doing a side by side comparison with the stock control arms in the race car under controlled conditions hoping to capture some of the deflection in question on video so we have a visual reference as to the advantages with this type of mount.
2012 P31 C63 Coupe Trackrat, 2019 GLE63S Coupe Beast
Originally Posted by FCPEuro
Hello all. It's been a long time since we posted an update but in the "off season" we've been working on several projects including finally setting up a shop to be able to work on projects without getting in anyone else's way. Our next race which was supposed to be these weekend at Autobahn Country Club (the dusk to dawn race) was cancelled due to lack of entrants which means our next race will now be in September at Summit Point. While we were looking forward to the challenge of a night race it would have been a massive undertaking with some of the other projects we have been working on.
I am excited to announce however that we have some new hardware for the C300 which we will be testing this weekend at MPact East at Pocono Raceway. Most of you know that we are essentially running stock control arms and bushings on this car for the most part. The thrust arms in the front have a super soft bushing which we noticed was showing signs of wear at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The thrust arm essentially locates the front suspension and plays a big part for maintaining suspension geometry. In addition, it also take quite a bit of road abuse (hence the name thrust arm). Essentially as you drive forward the thrust arm holds the knuckle and strut in position. The inner bushing from the factory is a liquid filled bushing which is perfectly fine for the intended use of the C300 as a comfortable yet capable street car.
For our purposes we wanted something more substantial. We contacted Syncro Design Works and worked hand in hand with David Green. Simpy put, he is the man. He was able to manufacture exactly what we needed which is a monoball bushing. For those of you who don't know what a monoball is the best way to describe is is a spherical bearing ie a ball joint.
What is a monoball?
A monoball is a spherical bushing (ie ball joint) that replaces stock rubber bushings and eliminates inherent deflection created by OE rubber bushings. Unlike solid or polyurethane bushings, mono-***** allow for complete unimpeded suspension movement while allowing for a completely rigid central mounting point. It is truly the best of both worlds and is best utilized in applications where the pivoting point is both up and down as well as side to side.
Why a monoball?
A monoball bushing provides full articulation of the suspension with no binding or deflection. A stock rubber bushing is rubber vulcanized to a metal sleeve which deflects (twists) with each suspension movement. Rubber bushings provide great comfort but when pushed in a performance application they allow for undesirable suspension movement and slop. Under heavy braking rubber bushings can deflect quite a bit making the car unstable. Stock rubber bushings also provide unstable and unwanted suspension movements on uneven road surfaces as well. A mono-ball being a solid mounting point with no room for play around its pivot point creates a completely rigid mounting point while allowing appropriate suspension travel and movement. It is the ultimate solution for a complex multi-link style suspension.
Why not a polyurethane bushing?
Polyurethane is good for certain applications such as mounts that don't require complex movement (sway bar mounts, engine mounts, subframe mounts, etc). For a control arm such as a thrust arm the movement at the bushing is both up and down as well as side to side. Essentially polyurethane in this type of application restricts suspension movement. In some applications the centering sleeve for a polyurethane control bushing can spin with suspension travel causing the inside portion to wear, resulting in noise, and eventually causing suspension slop and play. Polyurethane has its place in many applications, for the C300 thrust arm it would be a poor choice.
For now, these are a one off for the W204 application. However, if there is interest in these we can see about having more made. Here are some photos of the thrust arm as they were delivered yesterday:
We can't wait to see how these perform. We're also going to be doing a side by side comparison with the stock control arms in the race car under controlled conditions hoping to capture some of the deflection in question on video so we have a visual reference as to the advantages with this type of mount.
Yup sign me up for a set of those ASAP. The control arms for the W204 C63 are different though (beefier)? I currently have mine KMAC'd, but these look to be a more robust solution.
Ugh, just another item I need FCP to manufacture so I can order and get scolded by my wife about. Still waiting on updates for the steering wheel hub and maybe seat rails/seat combo.
Btw, a company called Hardrace makes something similar though I think they just used hardened rubber.
Last edited by Knightmare69; 08-09-2017 at 07:08 AM.
Yup sign me up for a set of those ASAP. The control arms for the W204 C63 are different though (beefier)? I currently have mine KMAC'd, but these look to be a more robust solution.
Looking forward to hearing how they perform
Do point out K-MAC was manufacturing these style spherical/mono ball bearings both thrust arms and control arms in full on competition racing over 12 years ago.
Problem was the small diameter mono ball combined with its thin wall Teflon or elastomer seat soon pounded out.
On going race track testing, trialling we came up with and developed a solution whereby the K-MAC steel mono ball and the surface area of its contact seat we were able to significantly increase in both diameter and width (four fold in the case of the W204 thrustarm). Transferring the impact/load bearing area and actual wear surfaces right out to the circumference of theactual bush outer shell.
Seal of approval (in all out 10/10ths heavy V8 competition racing) – main straight then hitting corner race curbs, fully launching then slamming down broadside lap after lap – situations where Race Safety scrutineers checking/evaluating rule K-MAC and only K-MAC bushings are allowed to be used.
Bonus is K-MAC not only improves brake, steering response and replaces the 4 highest wearing bushings but also at the same time thepatented design breakthrough of providing precise (single wrench) Camber and Caster adjustment – which is currently non-existent OEM.
Similar kits (to suit all model Mercedes) are available for the rear – Camber (and extra Toe to compensate for the new Camber facility). Along with replacement bushings (12) to upgrade the 6 multi link arms, noticeably reducing rear end twitch/flex – especially whenapplying power to lane change, overtake.
Can you point to where on your website you have control arms for the c300 4matic, if available. Thanks...
Originally Posted by K-Mac
Do point out K-MAC was manufacturing these style spherical/mono ball bearings both thrust arms and control arms in full on competition racing over 12 years ago.
Problem was the small diameter mono ball combined with its thin wall Teflon or elastomer seat soon pounded out.
On going race track testing, trialling we came up with and developed a solution whereby the K-MAC steel mono ball and the surface area of its contact seat we were able to significantly increase in both diameter and width (four fold in the case of the W204 thrustarm). Transferring the impact/load bearing area and actual wear surfaces right out to the circumference of theactual bush outer shell.
Seal of approval (in all out 10/10ths heavy V8 competition racing) – main straight then hitting corner race curbs, fully launching then slamming down broadside lap after lap – situations where Race Safety scrutineers checking/evaluating rule K-MAC and only K-MAC bushings are allowed to be used.
Bonus is K-MAC not only improves brake, steering response and replaces the 4 highest wearing bushings but also at the same time thepatented design breakthrough of providing precise (single wrench) Camber and Caster adjustment – which is currently non-existent OEM.
Similar kits (to suit all model Mercedes) are available for the rear – Camber (and extra Toe to compensate for the new Camber facility). Along with replacement bushings (12) to upgrade the 6 multi link arms, noticeably reducing rear end twitch/flex – especially whenapplying power to lane change, overtake.
Can you point to where on your website you have control arms for the c300 4matic, if available. Thanks...
Have attached very latest 2017 Catalog on front and rear Camber, Caster, Toe kits and uprated bushing kits to suit every model Mercedes 1968 to 2017.
All W204 “front” kits (including the C300 4matic) comprise replacements for the entire 4 lower arm (highest wearing) rubber bushings. 2 for the front control arms and 2 for the thrust arms. Include instructions and bush extraction/insertion tubes.
Result is precise Camber and Caster adjustment capability for the first time allowing to actually change tire contact angles for more even tire wear/traction. Especially ifaltering height, load carrying, fitting wide profile tires or travelling on high cambered roads. The fitment also results in noticeably improved brake and steering response.
Besides these front kits (and rear Camber and extra Toe) and the rear ‘6’ multi link arm bush upgrade, also point out we manufacture for W204 (and all front “strut” suspensions/coil spring models) replacement top strut mounts (no modifications to install).
These are designed to provide extra negative Camber (and Caster) adjustment to further reduce understeer on “Track Days” in the pursuit of hitting those corner apexes every time and going deeper into the corners with increased traction and braking response. Available in Stage 2 (Street/Race) and Stage 3 (Full Race).
CHECKLIST: 1. Not steel or soft billet alloy – but ultimate highest aircraft 7075 grade aluminum 2. Stage 2 center mounts (extra H/Duty) mono ***** encased in elastomer for day to day commuting (also replaceable). Stage 3 center mounts (massive 50mm OD) mono ***** – solid no flex for instantaneous steering response and shock control (replaceable) 3. Designed to fit with OEM diameter springs or all brands of coil overs 60-70mm ID 4. Separate H/Duty radial thrust bearings for steering loads and prevent spring drag/binding 5. K-MAC patented design provides the biggest adjustment range (combined with the lower arm bush kit – up to 4 degrees) 6. Patented design also allows the quickest and easiest system to change from Street to Track settings – from engine bay accurately under load 7. Can fit (and adjust with) Strut brace 8. No height increase and absolute minimum stack height with coil overs fitted
Ugh, just another item I need FCP to manufacture so I can order and get scolded by my wife about. Still waiting on updates for the steering wheel hub and maybe seat rails/seat combo.
Btw, a company called Hardrace makes something similar though I think they just used hardened rubber.
We tested these at Pocono over the weekend at Mpact East. We put a GoPro in the wheel well overlooking the stock thrust arm bushing (which surprisingly has held up pretty well) and the amount of movement you can see in the stock bushing back and forth under braking and hard corners is astounding.
Naturally, there is no undesirable movement of the thrust arm with the mono-ball bushing from Syncro Design Works. We're working on putting together a video for this to explain the benefits and why it applies to performance and street applications. Swapping control arms at the track was interesting to say the least, it definitely garnered a lot of attention since we did the work in front of the entire show. Talk about pressure to make it look like you're a pro.
One of the drivers did note that he felt the car way more stable under braking and turn in was more responsive. Since we tested the car on the same day, on the same track, and with the same drivers we were able to come away with some pretty awesome (and compelling) footage.
We're also looking to see how may different applications this bushing will fit (since the stock bushing is a W203 bushing) as well as to see if this will fit 4Matic and AMG vehicles as well.
Ugh, just another item I need FCP to manufacture so I can order and get scolded by my wife about. Still waiting on updates for the steering wheel hub and maybe seat rails/seat combo.
Btw, a company called Hardrace makes something similar though I think they just used hardened rubber.
It was a hectic few weeks leading up to Summit Point. I wanted to get this post up before the race with some updates but just ran out of time. The car up to this point of the year has been pretty good despite some factory and aftermarket limitations. That that said we've had to be smart about how we've approached building this car.
On August 21st we pulled the entire drivetrain from the car (engine, transmission, driveshaft, etc. The reason for this was two fold. We wanted to assess the overall condition of the engine and transmission out of the car. And we also had to deal with a failing dual mass flywheel (it was making a ton of noise and chatter). Pulling the engine and trans was pretty easy (we simply pulled it out of the front of the engine bay as one assembly):
Once we got the transmission separated from the engine we pulled the clutch and inspected the flywheel. It had quite a bit of side to side play. The max allowed side play is 2.9mm and we measured well over 4mm of side play. We knew the stock clutch and flywheel combo would kick the bucket by the end of the season, it was just a matter of when. There is (or I can say was) no performance option for this until we partnered up with Aasco Motorsports. We sent them the flywheel and clutch so they could match everything up. They also needed the flywheel ring gear from the original flywheel to press onto what they were building for us. A short 2 weeks later and 5 days before we had to leave for Summit Point we got this work of art:
The stock flywheel and clutch combo was well over 45 pounds, so going with a solid billet aluminum flywheel and a 6 puck clutch saved weight and is going to be a more durable long term option. Assembly went smoothly and by Friday afternoon on September 8th the engine, transmission, and driveshaft were back in the car. Also, the engine fired right up. All in all, getting the drivetrain back in the car took a little longer than 3 hours.
While all of this was happening Nate Vincent, our Director of Motorsports, was working on finally getting working ABS in the car so we could finally take full advantage of the C63 brakes. To do this involved some trickery but the final solution to this problem we have had all year ended up being pretty simple. We ended up installing a Teves MK60 ABS control unit and pump (from an E46 M3) into the factory location running it as a standalone. To run it as a standalone it needs 4 wheel speed signals, front and rear brake pressure, and a brake light switch. Overall pretty simple in order to make it work. In order to prevent the DME from going into limp mode it needs to be able to communicate with the stock ABS control unit. So we left it plugged in without the pump. In order to allow the engine to hit max rev limit the stock ABS computer needs to see at minimum one wheel speed signal. In order to feed one wheel speed signal to the stock ABS we ended up installing a second standalone wheel speed sensor on the front left corner solely to feed the wheel speed to the stock ABS control unit. I know this sounds like a lot, and it is, but overall this solution worked very effectively and we now have a working ABS system with no traction control (which is kind of a game changer for us). All in all, despite the complexity in setting this up initially the overall solution was very simple and much easier than trying to deal with the stock ABS system. I can provide photos of this to anyone interested in seeing it.
We also replaced the stock paper thin C300 radiator with a generic aftermarket 3 row aluminum radiator. We had to come up with a mounting system for it but overall it's a very basic setup. It wouldn't work on vehicles with the AC condensor unfortunately. Here is a set up of how we rerouted the lower radiator hose:
We were pretty successful at Summit Point despite some late troubleshooting on the cooling system required early on Friday morning. The ABS worked perfectly all weekend as well which was great. We finished P2 in class and P7 overall on Saturday and P1 in class/P9 overall on Sunday for a P1 in class overall for the weekend. We're sitting P2 for total points for the season (10 points behind the P1) with two races to go.
We are also currently addressing some of the stock gearing limitations that Mercedes gave the C300 from the factory. I will have an update on that by end of day on Thursday (9/28) if it works. This can benefit everyone and is relatively inexpensive.
Originally I promised an update on 9/28 in regards to the differential we were fitting into the car to replace the 3.07 rear end gearing that Mercedes uses stock from the factory on the C300 6-speed cars. Unfortunately, we won't be using this setup at our race this coming weekend at Mid Ohio but only because we couldn't get a limited slip in time to make it work. However, the good news is better gearing is absolutely available for W204 C300 cars. We sourced a used differential from a GLK350 4Matic which has 3.67 gearing but it's a smaller sized case (not a big deal). The GLK being a W204 car uses the same style differential cover making it a direct bolt on to the subframe. The only issue we ran into is since it's a smaller case differential (203 based) we needed to use different axles. This is also not a big deal as all automatic and 4Matic W204 C300's use a 203 case along with the same part number for the GLK350 differential cover. We sourced a set of automatic axles from a W204 C300 and everything bolted up like it was factory.
I will have more photos on this later once we get back from Mid Ohio as we plan to put the differential together for the last race of the year in Kentucky which is in the middle of November. The 3.67 gearing would have been nice to have at Mid Ohio but it wasn't meant to be. The good news is the differential swap and axle swap is doable and the jump from 3,07 to 3.67 gearing is a pretty large jump which will greatly aid in acceleration. We're also confident that the smaller differential will hold up to the C300 6 speed application based on torque figured from other cars the 203 case is used in. We're not sure why Mercedes installed the medium size case on the C300 6-speed and used a small case for the other applications outside of added robustness.
Hello all. We kind of let this thread die off a little bit but wanted to bring it back to keep everyone updated. Sorry for not keeping it up to date but time flies sometimes. We've been working on a lot of projects this year but the Mercedes has not been forgotten about. We made some small improvements to our W204 in the off season including some changes required to keep the car up to date with the safety specs required by AER. Last year we debuted this car at Road Atlanta and we just got back from our second weekend at Road Atlanta with this car. It was kind of like a homecoming since we had such great success with it in 2017. The success continues with this platform and its durability and reliability continues to be impressive. So far, we are still on the original engine with just over 200 racing hours on it. Our last oil sample showed that the engine is healthy and running well. The build list remains roughly the same as last year but I'll go back through the build list as equipped for Road Atlanta:
Engine: M272E30
- SLK350 intake manifold
- CLK550 throttle body
- Secondary air delete
- Tuned by AMR Performance
Cooling:
- Custom aluminum radiator (generic radiator made to fit)
We had a successful weekend coming in P2 (12th overall) in class 3 on Saturday in inclement conditions, P1 (11th overall) in class 3 on Sunday, and first overall in class 3 for the weekend. We were far from the fastest car in class but made up for the lack of overall speed in consistent pit stops and consistent trouble free laps. Fuel consumption was pretty high on Sunday due to the dry conditions and temperature. We finished the last 3 laps with the fuel light on which ultimately allowed us to win. On Sunday we were behind RRT's #72 E36 which had much faster lap over lap times. One of our drivers Rob made a great pass after turn 11 to take the lead on the final lap which at the time was required. However, #72 ran out of fuel by turn 7 on the final lap allowing us to cruise home to a victory. One thing I continue to give credit to Mercedes is even when fuel is critical we don't suffer from fuel starvation around corners which allows us to continue to push even to the last drop. We have used this to our advantage in the past and continue to. Our fuel system is 100% OE outside of a modified fuel filler neck for increased flow. Below are some photos from this past weekend:
06-02-2017, 06:26 PM
