Josh K

Those arms have a few problems:

1. They're probably made of cheap steel and heavier than the OEM arms.
2. With one adjustment spot in the center, there's a huge weak spot right in the center of the arm.
3. It's difficult to tell if the arms are even adjustable while on the car.
4. They don't use expensive (but superior) heim joints, or even poly bushing sleeves (at the very least), but crappy rubber bushings just like stock. Without the movement provided by a heim joint, these arms do nothing to fix the bind the suspension is put in when the car is lowered.
5. To completely adjust camber on a 4 link suspension, you need to replace four links (two on each side); only replacing the two that these replace will not isolate the suspension adjustability on the camber plane - any adjustments will also affect the specs on the toe and caster planes.

The arms are cheap because they're made with cheap materials (not to mention their design flaws), and suspension components are not things that I'd like to cheap out on. It would suck to go the cheap route and have them fail at the wrong time.

Darth, I think I read that you make these, and it's always good to see someone making stuff for our cars, but these definitely need more work if they're to be a viable option.

Darth Speed

Whatever....

allenjdmb

one more time, the easiest fix are the factory "crash bolts". They are a 202 part number and are deisinged to work on the 208. Yes, rear is trickier. And more expensive. Depends on how long you plan on keeping your car, how low you want to go, etc. To me, the front problem is more urgent, as the geometry is going to affect more of what you feel (higher steering effort, "dartiness", tire wear). Just my experience.

clkgeorge

So I go to the dealer and ask for crash bolts for a 202?
How many should I order? and is it for the front and back?

Sorry for the dumb questions but I have never heard of crash bolts.

Thank you

smalldog

Same for me......Do you have a part number? Can you tell us where there located on the car? Also are the easy to install? Sorry for all the questions.

B-Mac

I have the crash bolts on the front of my 99 clk320 and still go through SO'3's every 12,000 miles. It wears a very odd 90 degree angle on the inner side of both front tires.

I have speedy's kit for the rear and plan on putting it on once this humidity and 100 degree weather go away. With the kit in the rear and rotation I think I will be able to get about 20,000 out of a set of tires. Going to get the K-Mac kit for the front shortly.

Question:
If I rember correctly the crash bolts go between the control arm and the chassis. I guess that the crash bolts will have to come off when the K-Mac kit is installed? I need a shop in Wilmington NC that is fimilar with this kit or something similar and aware of the crash bolts etc... McGills does decent work but is expensive. I don't think that there are any posters from WILM here anymore but I could be wrong. Please offer places if you know of any. Even in Raleigh except for the Leith ($75 an hour). I guess if they could do it in 2.5 hours that might be worth it though.

Also, (off topic sorry)
I am in Wilmington and there really is no place that does good work on Mercedes for a decent price. Leith in Raleigh put my H&R's and bilsteins on and the crash bolts when I lived there. I don't want to go to Raleigh to get the K-Mac front kit installed, and will never go to Bob King here in Wilmington. (FYI Bob King tried to charge me 2300 when my harmonic balancer failed and said that I needed to replace my upper oil pan because there was a small hole in it from the pulley and that the tensioner needed replaced. I questioned the hole in the upper oil pan and they said it was there but I could save about 1800 if I waited because the leak should be very slow. HMMM. Called Leith in Raleigh who was amazed they would suggest I drive off of the lot with a hole in my upper oil pan. She had me toe the car to Raleigh and there was no hole in the pan, and the tensioner did not need replaced. Leith covered everything under good will for $300 (their cost). I paid nothing. Bob King would not do good will because they would have had to provide the broken upper oil pan which they did not plan on replacing, just charging me 1800 for work that was never going to be done. NEVER GO TO BOB KING AUTOHAUS IN WILMINGTON NC!!!!!!!!!!)

smalldog

I installed my springs,spring pads and shocks myself. I know some guys that can do the job. I just need a good price on the parts. I could get a hook-up if Leith sold the parts.

smalldog

I installed my springs,spring pads and shocks myself. I know some guys that can do the job or I might try it. I just need a good price on the parts. I could get a hook-up if Leith sold the parts.

CARLSS0N

Anyone here driven a car with heim joint suspension?
I was wondering if it will be too harsh for the suspension, is the factory rubber bushing made to absorb vibrations from small pole holes and prevent the arms from metal to metal contacts, also will heim joints makes noises and does it needs to be grease all the time? I was just curious about those questions, thats why I wanted to go with rubber or poly bushings

B-Mac

I think that Leith charged me like $45 a crash bolt. It has been about 4 years since my car has been lowered. I only had like 3000 miles when I changed the suspension.

I have to order the K-Mac kit from K-Mac still. It is $400 and is an adjustable bushing that I belive replaces a bushing on the control arm.

smalldog,
Once I get the K-Mac kit I will give you the crash bolts if you want them. Where in NC are you?

mmgrad

$45 PER bolt? I think Evosport sells them for like $9-10 a piece... check there first...

B-Mac

Maybe $45 was installed. Quite awhile ago and the short term is shot. Are they hard to install?

Josh K

If you're using cheap heim joints, then yes the ride will suck, they will wear out, and need to be maintained all the time. If you're using aircraft quality ones (the same ones used on F1 cars, they will outlast your car, don't need to be messed with and ride fine. My ride quality improved with my TRAK-Links because the suspension was taken out of the bind it's put in by lowering the car and was able as a result to move the way it was designed to.

smalldog

B-Mac...I live in Raleigh. Leith is @ 3 miles from me up the Blvd. If you said you still got un-even tire wear with the bolts I might wait for a camber kit. If your in Raleigh sometime maybe we can meet. I wish all the guys in NC could meet and help each other out with car issues/mods. (like the guys in Cali)

spdtiger

hey just got on this mb world blog thingy, so i'm a newbie. But to the guy who got those camber arms from EBAY, they work just fine, no prob, you gota use the stock bolts that came with your car thats the only prob, the ones that he sells you, ya gota drill more of a bigger hole, which is kinda whacked, but it does its job, i will get the camber bolts for the front tomorrow, they sell them at our mb dealer here in san fransisco california, they are called beshoff motors,