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Motivation: years ago I had a Porsche 944. I installed a strut tower brace and it made a world of difference. The car was more planted and cornered better without making it understeer like a big swaybar would.
As many of you may or may not know, there isn't a strut tower brace for the W203 or W209 platform. So I shopped around to see what was available, then went out to the wrecking yard and started measuring.
The W204 C-Class strut towers have nearly identical dimensions center to center and cant angle. There are strut braces for the W204. There are also strut STUDS to hold it in place on the W204. There aren't on the W203 or 209 (which is probably why nobody makes one). So I took a chance and bought one. IT FITS ALMOST PERFECTLY. When pressed down, the top of the bar (at least the one I bought by Megan Racing on eBay for $99) sits at about the top of the rubber seals with no clearance issues for the hood or the stock C55 airbox. The mounts even clear the strut retainers and ground lugs. The only potential issue I see is that I may have to notch the mounts in case those strut retainers move around more than they look to. The bar I chose is also easily removable from its mounts to remove the airbox.
I watched a strut replacement video to see what was underneath for clearance:
Screen shots from around 5:48 and 6:26. It looks like 3 layers of metal and a void channel between the top of the strut boot and the spring retainer. Just enough room and metal to drill and tap some bolts. Photos below. I'll be doing the final installation tomorrow and let you know if it makes a difference.
Inside strut tower. Top of strut Driver side Passenger side Bar placement.
Note also my header wrap around the intake tubes. That and some floor and tunnel shield insulation on the underside of the airbox helps considerably with heating the otherwise great stock cold air intake MB gave us.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
