Azn_C300

Posted this on the regular 204 side:
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ming-soon.html

but got word that they'll be making one for C63 as well, so figured I'd share with you guys. As far as I know, these will be the first front strut tower braces out for the w204 and x204 (Renntech has rear strut braces).

Made of 41XX high-strength low-alloy steels, with alloying elements include chromium and molybdenum also known as chromoly. Multiple styles and wraps are projected to be created including a titanium bar. These are being designed and built by people who have been building (and racing) race cars for 30+ years. Product will be up to professional race standards.

Thought I'd pass the word.

GLK4MATIC

Worlds first aftermarket W204/X204 Strut Tower Brace.
This is what the GLK/C300/C350 Strut Tower Brace looks like. I have yet to test fit it on a C63.

Mounting plate and crossbrace support.

Close up view of crossbrace support.

Test fitting.

Test fitting.

GLK4MATIC

I am now selling these for the GLK/C300/C350. If I was able to make these for your C63's would you be interested? I would'nt try ripping you off, they would be the same price all the other guys are paying, which is $449. I don't feel that you should have to pay extra because of the ride you drive. I am also going to do a Titanium version, let me know what you think. The Titanium version will cost more than the Chromoly version ofcourse.

DaGS1800

Looks good, I think RennTech made one for the C63 in CF first tho... Its a rip off tho...

DaGS1800

Are there any statistics or some type of info that you can provide which shows the advantages of this item??

GLK4MATIC

I talked to one of the guys from Renntech this afternoon and according to him they have'nt sold any yet and that is why it is not on their website, so technically I am still the first to get them out to the public. I have had one on my ride for a month and AZN_C300 got his yesterday. ACG who is a sponsor that is selling the Renntech brace has it advertised for $995 so I asked the Renntech sales person if it is going for the same price directly from Renntech. The sales person said that they have only made one brace so far and any pics I have seen of their brace are for promotional purposes only. He also said that the brace in question was right infront of him as we spoke and started bragging about how nice the carbon was and so on.

I agree with you that their brace is way overpriced. Mine will be the same $449 price across all the 204 chassis. I won't be charging you guys an AMG tax, it's the same material and same time to build them.

GLK4MATIC

I have one on my GLK which weighs over 4000lbs and the brace has worked wonders in helping it in the twisties. I did testing on a couple C300's as well as a couple C350's and all had an immediate improvement in steering response when hitting the very first turn, but don't take my word for it. AZN_C300 has received the first production brace to do testing with. Once he is done testing he is going to give his thoughts.

Azn_C300

Shipping mine off to get professionally wrapped in CF. Should turn out as good if not better looking than the RennTech one. These should be way more effective than those RennTech ones in terms of performance. Single piece instead of three piece, dual bars instead of single for more support, base plate to prevent flexing, and you can tell by the welding that this was top notch construction.

GLK4MATIC

All my braces are done by hand at a rate of 8-9 a week. I am very low volume so I have more control over quality and each piece gets extra attention as far as the welds go. I want to make sure everyone gets the best parts for their money, after all we are driving MB's

GLK4MATIC

What is the turn around time for the brace to get wrapped?

c32AMG-DTM

While I agree it appears a bit overpriced, the one nice aspect of the Renntech bar is that the center section removes, so you can more easily change the air filters.

From the design above, it looks like you would have to uninstall/reinstall the bar every time you needed to change (or clean, if using a reusable filter e.g. K&N) the air filters in a C63... correct?

GLK4MATIC

To remove my brace it takes about 6 minutes. I am more concerned about strength and a solid brace will be much stronger then a multi piece unit no matter what material is used. Also correct me if I am wrong, but in the Renntech pics am I seeing 2 threaded mounting points for the carbon bar, one on the left as well as one on the right. Now if the Renntech brace is mounted on your vehicle there will be no way to undo the center section without unbolting at least one side of the mounting plates so the center can be unthreaded. If someone were going to try to undo the carbon section without unbolting at least one side, removing the center would be an impossibilty. So by the looks of it both bars need to be removed to change your air filters.Also it looks as though they use a small allen screw to hold the center section inplace once it is threaded to the mounting plate on each side, just one more thing for you to undo and being that it is located under the center tube possibly drop and lose.

I am not trying to bash Renntech they have cool products, just overpriced. I am only pointing out facts.

Azn_C300

2 weeks

More pieces is not a good thing for a structural rigidity parts like this. And yeah, it takes only a couple minutes to remove the 6 screws to get to the air filter which you change once a year, so it's not that bad, seriously.

DaGS1800

LOL well obviously its going to help your boat(truck) handle better, as well as the c300/350 but what about a C63 with the PP suspension?? Is there any benefit for people like us??

GLK4MATIC

LOL...My ride is a boat and the reason why I mentioned it is because if the brace can tighten up a ride that weighs that much and is using 100% factory suspension I am sure it can handle anything a lighter performance based ride has to throw at it.

Every car in the World no matter how high performance it is will have chassis flex, some more than others. I made the strut brace to help eliminate that flex in our rides. I have seen pics of a couple Black Series MB's with a strut brace on it so I know even they need the extra help in the twisties. So I am pretty sure the brace will make a difference in the C63 as well.

c32AMG-DTM

Thanks for the reply. Other strut tower braces I've experienced were actually mildly stressing the strut towers (i.e. the bar itself was under load while installed) to maximize rigidity. So, while it was only 4-6 nuts holding them in place, it would still be a bit of a hassle to remove/install on any regular frequency. Sounds like your bar wouldn't share this same issue, from your comments.

BTW - off-topic, but just a word to the wise: MBWorld has pretty stringent rules for marketing/selling product through the site; you'll probably be asked to become a vendor if you haven't already initiated that process. Best wishes with your product, it does appear to be well made and high quality.

GLK4MATIC

Thank you for your post I appreciate it!

Azn_C300

The only thing PP provides that's useful for this type of situation is better springs. Aftermarket coilovers will provide better performance than PP suspension. I've ridden and driven some of my friends PP C63 as well as my tweaked suspension base C and there are gains to be made taking it on twisties. The missing link are these strut braces and sway bars.

Krytech

AZN, sounds like you're still waiting on getting your brace returned? Were you able to drive with it installed long enough to give some initial feedback? I'm eager to hear what you and other think of it.

Thanks!

Sincity

Azn_C300

2 weeks to get wrapped. Halfway into week 1. When I get it back, I'll do a more thorough review of the product.

GLK4MATIC

Darwin from SonicMS is going to start carrying MB Arts strut tower braces. I am dropping off a sample brace for him this evening

GLK4MATIC

I dropped off 2 braces at SonicMS this evening, one satin black and the other sanded/raw. They should be on the SonicMS website on Monday

sick430

Hey is there any chance you can start making them for the W208 CLK430??? PLEASE, I really want one.

Azn_C300

Finally got some progress pics on the cf wrapping. The shape of the brace made the wrapping extremely difficult.