2001_clk430

i am planning to lower my car with H&R spring, the reason why i pick h&r is because is lower in the front (1.4'') then the back (1.3"). i was planning to use it with the stock shock and go with out camber kit can i pass by with those stock shock and no camber kit? and where would be a cheap place to buy it. thanks for all the feedback in advance.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEWAX%3AIT

e harmon

I can't comment on whether you'll be okay without the camber kits, but I will point out that the advertised drop amounts are not always exact: sometimes you get more, sometimes you get less. Luckily, you can fine tune it somewhat with the spring pads (a.k.a., spring isolators), which come in different amounts of thickness and are easy to purchase. In choosing a spring, there are other things to consider besides the advertised drop: rate, progressive vs. linear, quality/reputation, etc.

I see that you're new to the forum, and to the car. I know it can be exciting to start modding it, but you might want to think about:

- Spend a few nights searching this forum and others for things that you're considering doing. Lots of great info in the stickies as well as Marcus's site.

- These are older cars. Before you start changing things, you might want to drive it a while to make sure it doesn't need any immediate maintenance/repair. Not cheap on these cars, and can hurt even more if you just dropped some coin on upgrades and find out you need to fix something else. Even if it doesn't need anything, at least you will get a better idea of what upgrades are more important to you after some more time behind the wheel.

- Not all modifications will make the car better. You have a really nice, well engineered car. Sometimes you find something that's a no-brainer, win-win deal that makes the car better with no downside. Speaking from experience, not everything will work out that way. Sometimes you end up having to do a lot more than you bargained for to get things "right," even for a mod that started out really simple. For example, changing springs alone will often lead to changing shocks sooner than you realized.

Whatever you decide to do, enjoy it. Even though there are many tempting options right at your finger tips, you'll be happier by making sure you research and plan your upgrades. In the meantime, if your car is in good working order, it's already solid, sexy, and way fun.

Regards,
e harmon

big_mike1979

^ i agree with him....
and i got my HR from www.tirerack.com

ematz

I literally put H&R springs on my car a week ago. I was going to put on the Bilstein sport shocks. However, Bilstein does not have any in stock and they will not be available until July. With that said, Bilstein nor H&R recommend using the stock shocks. They both recommend the sport shocks. My car rides perfectly right now but again I will upgrade to the sport shocks once they are available. As far as the camber kit goes. Unless you a racing or tracking the car you don't need it. I just had my car realligned after the springs and all was perfect.
Just my 2 cents.

2001_clk430

Can you please post some picture of the H&R drop? can i pass by with stock shock, i am planning to put h&R and ride it for awhile, dont want to spend too much money. thanks

2001_clk430

also is the ride on H&R bumpier then stock? how big of a different is the ride. thanks

2001_clk430

also what's the lowest price you guy pay to put on the spring. thanks

ematz

My mechanic, who is factory MB trained, said it would be fine to leave the stock Bilstein HD's on it. I have to replace my shocks anyway because they are leaking. So why not upgrade. I think it will be fine I just won't get the full potential out of the springs with the Bilstein HD's.

I to was extremely concerned with the ride being to rough. I even called H&R and they said it will ride like stock but with the added performance. They were right. It is not a rough ride at all. It corners better and best yet, no front end dive when I brake hard and no rear squat when I accelerate hard.

I don't have any pics yet. I'll take one and post it. I can say that before I put the springs on I could fit 4 fingers bbetween he tires and fender. Now I can only fit 2. It really looks sweet but not slammed. You will truly enjoy them.

I didn't really look around for price. I paid about $270 on tirerack. I think I saw them as cheap as $240 on Yahoo shopping.

ematz

By the way, I agree 100% with e harmon's post. There have being so many things I wanted to mod on the AMG but decided not to. For instance, the pulley mod sounded great (and cheap) until I heard that it would effect the A/C output. It gets really hot and humid here in Chicago during the summer and a possible 12 HP gain was not worth it.

Think and research long and hard before you pull the trigger on mods.

big_mike1979

when i got mine from tirerack, i paid $234, again that was 3 years ago

2001_clk430

okay decided to order my h&r from tirerack. to sum it up, can i get by without camber kit, and riding on stock shock? will my tires wear out normally. thanks

dlbehrns

from what I have read on this forum, most say their tires wear on the inside which would suggest the camber kits for front and back are needed. I haven't lowered mine but plan to with Eibachs because of the progressive spring rate and they only lower about 1.2". How old are your current tires? Put the springs on and if you tires wear ok(which I don't believe they will from what I have read)you are good to go. If they wear on the inside you know you need the camber kits and you will probably have to buy a new set of tires as well.

big_mike1979

u need camber when u lower it , unless u can afford tires bro

2001_clk430

i am hearing alot of different opinion from different members, i just need real fact so i can get them all done at once instead of having to do it different time which will cost me more in labor. but if i can get by i prefer not to buy the camber kit. appreciate all reponse and help. thanks

mint

I think a couple of other guys have already said it: if you get springs, you should really get a rear camber kit.

Here's your options:

1.) Don't buy springs or anything -- then you don't have buy a camber kit!

2.) Buy springs, no kit. You will wear the inside tread like nothing and go through rear tires like no one's business.

3.) Buy springs, buy a camber kit -- do it right. You'll spend about as much on a kit as you would for another set of rear rubber (and rest assured you will need new tires soon w/o adj camber arms) in a few months.

dlbehrns

"but if i can get by" you can't! if you install the lowering springs either spend the money on the camber kits, and I might add, have better handling, or spend money replacing tires like it's going out of style and have marginal handling

Elzin

were can i get these rear camber kit? i got a 230k atm and just lowered it. anyone on ebay selling them?

AMGDave

For rear camber correction, I prefer the RDM TEK solution... although it's not adjustable, it does help reduce the negative camber when lowering. I did not have good results with the more common Heim-joint adjustable camber arms sold by many vendors, I ended up with wheel hop at the dragstrip, and switching back to the stock camber arms cured it.

If the car is lowered significantly you may need additional toe adjustment as well, and there are limited options for this... there is a factory eccentric bushing available but it's ungodly expensive. The K-Mac camber kit includes adjustable toe bushings too, it's just the squeaking noise that I didn't like (due to the poly bushings), which is why I removed the K-Mac from both of my cars. You also have to be careful when adjusting camber via K-Mac as it affects ride height! Also, the K-Mac is a huge nuisance to install on the LCA's. BT, DT. The K-Mac is better suited to race applications, IMO, unless the noise doesn't bother you - some folks don't notice it.

big_mike1979

Well said

Bro, i was wearing tires like crazy from inside.and i had to go with new set every 2 months max..

u get can camber from Kmac.. they are in Australia, pick the phone up and call em, they have strong accent, LOL

u will save labor if u install em all at once, BIG TIME and Yes K mac will take 5-7 hours to install..

yes it does bring the tires close to the fender very SEXYYYYYY

yes they do make lil noise for first month or two max and once the poly bushing gets break into, u are set to go.

To reduce the noise first two months, spray grease and w40 and it will drop majorly and next thing u know, no more noise and eventually it will go away.

good luck

big_mike1979

NO lowering NO camber = FACT

Lowering aka camber is needed = FACT.. trust me on this

I lowered it first time with NO camber and was a mistake and i paid twice for labor and 3 times for tires, go figure

AMGDave

The noise does not go away. It comes back very quickly, regardless of how much lube you apply, or what lube you apply. Multiple people have experienced the same thing. You can turn up the radio, or use a different camber correction kit that does not use poly bushings. Poly is fine for race use but it's lousy on the street.

big_mike1979

Bro i got K mac on my car and like i said it made noises at first but now, its like silk.. no noises, no squeaking, no nothing.
i went to AUto part and grabbed some grease.. i dont recall since i dont have the bottle anymore or use grease anymore since Kmac is fine now.. But i do remember the grease was Green (color wise).. go to auto part and ask em .
I might be able to get the name 2mmorow if u want me too..
ps: there is couple more member here that used grease and it went away as well

2001_clk430

would this SPC be fine? anyone has them? any problem, i am planning to lower it with H&R spring? thanks

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SPC-R...Q5fAccessories

Chappy

My CLK has euro-spec springs. No issues with tire wear. I'm also running stock dampers.

Ghostrider

I can get you hooked up with a camber kit.