CLK-Class (W208) 1998-2002: CLK 200, CLK 230K, CLK 320, CLK 430 [Coupes & Cabriolets]

Everything I "thought" I would like to do shot to heck in one ebay ad.

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Old Oct 21, 2006 | 01:58 AM
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The Jury's Avatar
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2002 c240
Everything I "thought" I would like to do shot to heck in one ebay ad.

I'm sure the person selling this car in the auction I am stealing pics from is a member with all the things that have been done, so I'd like to make mention this thread has no bearing on how nice your car is if you are reading this, only the fact that the car was built exactly as I thought about doing mine and have decided it's not for me.

I originally thought the following things would look pretty good on a silver 208.....

- Rear window spoiler
- Trunk lip spoiler
- Headlight trim rings
- 18" monoblocs (still like them, just not as much as I thought I would)

Now, this was "on paper" I envisioned great things from these items. I'm not a "race bred" type of modder, I try to make things "nicer" by whatever means I can. So, I am just shooting for making a nice car even nicer with add-ons.

First impression, I saw the headlight trim rings and was very disappointed. I expected them to blend in nicely and add a little more class to the car. When I saw this picture, they do exactly the opposite. They stand out like a sore thumb.





Next impression, trunk lip spoiler. I believe somewhere out there there is a trunk lip spoiler that is low and sleek enough to blend in and flow well, but seeing this made me make a note that the one I choose is going to have to sit VERY LOW and be very round (no sharp lines) ........ kinda like a small speed bump. IMO this lip spoiler does not flow with the trunk well. What I would have liked to have seen is the lip NOT stop and cut sharply down, but rather blend back into the body at the rear. (think speed bump)





Third impression, rear window spoiler. Maybe it is just the pics or angle, because I have seen them on cars here in the forum and from the angles in the pics here, they seemed to blend well, but this one does not seem to flow with the lines of the car. I think perhaps again the sharp cut off has something to do with it. I'd like to have seen it come down a little more before it cut off to follow the angle of the glass better. From the pic, the roof spoiler does not follow the lines of roof NOR the glass. It angles up from the roof line, but never returns at the bottom of it. That would have made it look better to curve back to follow the glass near the bottom (or rear) of the spoiler.




Finally, the monoblocs. Now I know what you're thinking.... what could be wrong with 18" monoblocs? I personally LOVE the monoblocs. I wanted to buy a set for my 430, but after seeing them I don't think they will be quite what I am looking for. I feel just about the same as my 17" AMG wheels as these 18" AMG monoblocs when looking at them. Not quite feeling them like I was hoping for. "nothing special" No big improvement over the 17" AMG wheels. I was hoping they'd look more aggressive. They DO look good. Just not good enough to justify buying them when I already have the other AMG wheels.





SOOOOOOOOO, basically I need to find a new direction for things I wanna purchase. After seeing every single thing I had planned come together on a silver 208 just like I was wanting to see, I don't think the $1500 I'd spend to put it all together (and that's bargain shopping) would give me the results I was hoping for.

Again, if this is someone's car here, don't sweat it. It just doesn't work for "me" for the reasons above. Thank you though for doing it, you saved me a lot of money

Kinda disappointed, now I have no plans. Anyone have any suggestions of other manufacturers of any of the above items that may look better than the one's pictured?

Last edited by The Jury; Oct 22, 2006 at 01:27 AM.
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Old Oct 21, 2006 | 10:09 AM
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Looks great to me. I think you're too finicky, Morris.
Except for the rings. If you sanded them down and painted with the same code paint as your car it would look alot better than the black rubber gasket imho.
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Old Oct 22, 2006 | 01:26 AM
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2002 c240
If shape and detail mean nothing to you, I hear Chris Bangle is still hard at work for the 2009 releases
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Old Oct 22, 2006 | 02:50 AM
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From: the OC, So Cal
2000 CLK 320
Originally Posted by ThrillKill
Looks great to me. I think you're too finicky, Morris.
Except for the rings. If you sanded them down and painted with the same code paint as your car it would look alot better than the black rubber gasket imho.
Do you have pics of them sanded down, painted and installed? Or other members that have had it done?
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Old Oct 22, 2006 | 03:30 AM
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2002 c240
Originally Posted by ThrillKill
If you sanded them down and painted with the same code paint as your car it would look alot better than the black rubber gasket imho.
Here's where I gotta disagree. Now that I have seen them in place, I think it's one of those things where the rubber is made to hide that area between the headlights and the body, so as long as you keep it nice and black with some rubber relaxing product it'll look better like it is.

Some of these dark area's are dark to make them invisible or to break up body lines. I think here is one of those areas where the lines need to break to avoid clutter. There's too much happening when the rings are in place.
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Old Oct 22, 2006 | 09:51 AM
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From: Chicago
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Originally Posted by funky102
Do you have pics of them sanded down, painted and installed? Or other members that have had it done?
I actually went with black metallic rather than silver but you get the idea:



Jury, you're gonna hate this car,lol. I disagree with you on the gaskets though. To me it looks like they dropped the ball on design. Leaving exposed rubber on the front end gives it an unfinished appearance imho. The first month of ownership, I stared at it nightly and thought, "My God, it looks like an AMC Pacer".

Last edited by ThrillKill; Oct 22, 2006 at 10:26 AM.
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