Williams707

Wiechers MB CLK W208 Strut Bar Alu RA
PN: 296006

http://www.orange-tuning.de/shop/wie...age=en&sort=1a

big_mike1979

Hey bro.. I'm not backing up VIP because i got them from him but it does work 100%.
i was able to tell since my car is conver and it flexes so much while taking a curb at a high speed.
Now its stiff big time and when i apply the brake while turning, the car is glued to the ground.
again i dunno about regular one but my cabriolet is very happy

2MCHCAR

+1. They're probably not as good as the BS or Weicher, but you can feel the difference. I put the rear on my W209, and I had to loosen it because my ride was too rough. I'll put a pic up when I get a chance.

jkiddd33

I installed the rears.. What a difference it has made.

I have the fronts and took it to my shop to see if they could install it since I dont have time right now.

I have the 430 so the engine cover is different from Williams pictures above.

The guys are telling me it wont clear the engine cover etc...

Are they wrong or was this made for just the v6 model.

dlbehrns

Will it clear the v8. Good question. Was it made for the V6, NO. You may have to make some modifications. I did for my 6/320 but nothing major.

Williams707

Interesting, mine cleared with no issues.

dlbehrns

Jimmy, didn't you or your mechanic have to cut two small spaces out of the top of the firewall so the bar could lay flat just clearing your engine cover?

jkiddd33

Williams, yours is the v6 so I know it fits however it seems the v8, the engine cover sits higher up..


dlbehrns: Yes I know about cutting the firewall so it lays flat but even after doing that It will rest on the engine cover which will not work since the engine moves etc...

From what they were showing me, it will need spacers to raise it up.. however then we run the issue of it hitting the hood.

Im fine with the backs only... Does the front make a significant difference of should I just scrap it.

Williams707

Yes but I figured he wasn't talking about that lol

VIPclk320

The front ones for the 320s were the round bars and for te second version I had them made with flat bars to clear the 430/55 air boxes. If you have a round front one you have purchased the wrong one because that was version one when I was making them for 320s only. I like the round ones better but they won't work on 430/55s.

jkiddd33

Thanks VIP,

I have the flat for the fronts. So it will for sure fit WITHOUT having to modify anything except for drilling the wholes and cutting the firewall...??

Thanks in advance

dlbehrns

There are already two holes there for you to use. There are little plastic plugs on earch side. On the drivers side you have to move the jump start box to get to it but the passenger side is in plain sight. Just have a machine shop crank out two eye bolts(one with reverse threading) that are longer than the originals and the bar will mount at the same point on both fender wells with no drilling needed. VIP, I love you brother but you should have either made the front bar a little longer or the eye bolts a little longer. (Ash is probably gonna give me hell for this one).

VIPclk320

Haha what's up DL, I know what you mean it would defiantly make the install easier but for the bar is more effective when they mount closer to the shocks because the complete a rectangle.

jkiddd33

Thanks for the information!!!

Last question.. The rear bars... Does anyone have a clump clump noise?? When I tighten up the bar it makes a clump sound... Cant figure out how to get rid of it. :/

dlbehrns

is one of your shocks lose? sounds like once the bar is tightened up it is causing the top of the shock to move around. Just a guess.

jkiddd33

Thats what I am guessing. I cant get the bolt any tighter.. The strut just continues to spin.

I even took it to the shop to use a gun and the noise was better but obviously its not tight enough.

So frustrating. I love the bar but the noise gets really annoying.

VIPclk320

DL nailed it.

dlbehrns

the top of the shock(or the shaft) is flat on two sides so you can put a wrench or visegrip on it to prevent it from spinning when you tighten down the two nuts. the first nut is the important one and the second one just locks the first one in place, or in this case secures the strut bar mounting bracket. I placed the bracket between the two nuts. here's a question: do you have the strut bar bracket below both nuts on the shock or between the nuts? something is not secure and it can't be anything other than the point at which the bar/bracket mounts to the shock.

jkiddd33

So are you saying you just put the bracket on top of the original nut ...then used the other bolt to tighten and hold down the strut bracket? So nut/bracket/nut???

If so.. I will do the same. I just figured it was better to have the bracket down flat rather than sitting on the nut.

I'm uploading a picture..I have 2 bolts on top of each other. (Strut/Bracket/Nut/Nut)
The first I tightened as much as I could and then the 2nd bolt was just to secure it in case.

Let me know if what I did was wrong. I tried using a vice grip and so did the shop but the bracket is in the way... causing the strut to just spin..Im sure its not tight enough I just don't know how to hold down the strut so it doesn't spin.


Thanks for you help man I really appreciate it!

RBYCC

As previously posted by SPR...

Connecting just the top of the strut or shock together with a bar will still allow movement. Potentially negatively altering the handling.

The bar technically is not a "strut brace" but a "strut tower brace".
You need to connect the sheet metal surrounding the strut/shock mounting point from side to side.
If the sheet metal doesn't move/flex then the strut/shock will stay square side to side.

Although not in a W208 but in a high horsepower C124 it demonstrates my point:

OGCLK320

^^^ This makes perfect sense, but the way the 208 bars were designed we are not capable of connecting the bar to the surrounding sheet metal. That definitely seems like a much more sound and solid approach.

RBYCC

If you can't connect/brace the towers then you aren't able to stiffen the
structure.

Envision a rectangle with the two top corners being the strut/shock mounting studs.
If one moves then you end up with a parallelogram.
The tops of the strut/shock will move in tandem.

Brace the sheet metal mounts and there is no movement as the strut/shock upper mounting points can't move.

If you can't brace the structure then you're better off without it as it can negatively effect handling.

dlbehrns

My bar is not welded to the surrounding sheet metal and the car handles great depending on how tight I set it. Too tight and the rear end gets pretty rough. I see in your pics that you do not have the abiltity to adjust the your bar.

jkiddd33

For the record I haven't seen VIP's front bars installed on a V8.
I know a few members posted pics but that was for the v6.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Here is what I have concluded while at the shop trying to install this front bar:

1. The flat bar does NOT clear the V8 engine cover.. (Only way would be to run some kind of spacers on each side to lift it)
2. There are 2 holes already available to use however you'll need to drill an additional hole as the bar is NOT long enough to use those pre-drilled holes.. That or else have a machine shop make longer EYE bolts.

Has anyone successfully installed it on the 430?? If so please chime in as I would love to install these bars.

RBYCC

There is a threaded clevis adjustment on the rear bar.
It's only there to allow the bar to be installed.
They are a structural brace that prevents the towers from flexing.

Your comment demonstrates what I'm stating: "Too tight and the rear end gets pretty rough." only because you're pulling the top of the shocks towards each other and changing the geometry.

The strut tower bars are an adjunct to the more important suspension modifications.
Really don't make a difference unless the vehicle is making a great deal of torque/power.
Difficult to flex the unibody with stock power output.