Suspension upgrade/renewing question
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Joined: Nov 2010
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From: Blighty
CLK55 AMG Designo Chablis, ML350CDI
Suspension upgrade/renewing question
I've been told by my local Mercedes independant garage that I have a badly worn bush on the back end of my 430, I knew somthing was wrong from the squiggle the cars rear end does over road imperfections!
I then saw complete kits of all the rear end links on ebay, and would like opinion on whether to replace the whole lot in one go with these sets here on ebay> CLICKY I'd have the garage fit it and align it all up obviously.
At the same time as I have this done, I was thinking of having a front+rear anti roll bar set up fitted, (sway bars in US lingo), probably Eibach.
Are these identacle to CLK55 spec bars? (and what do CLK55s upgrade to if so?
)
Reason I ask is that my CLK 430 has the AMG option factory fit suspension from new, and I've no idea if it's same as or similar to the AMG set uo in the 55!
To complicate it further (sorry!) are the Eibach, H&R spring sets lower or similar height to the factory AMG? I want a solid taut 'fast road' spec handling car. Not wanting a slammed look, just noticeably better handling and drivability. KW adjustable would be ideal, not seen anyone mention using these here..
Any one with upgraded suspension please give me your experiences?
I then saw complete kits of all the rear end links on ebay, and would like opinion on whether to replace the whole lot in one go with these sets here on ebay> CLICKY I'd have the garage fit it and align it all up obviously.
At the same time as I have this done, I was thinking of having a front+rear anti roll bar set up fitted, (sway bars in US lingo), probably Eibach.
Are these identacle to CLK55 spec bars? (and what do CLK55s upgrade to if so?
)Reason I ask is that my CLK 430 has the AMG option factory fit suspension from new, and I've no idea if it's same as or similar to the AMG set uo in the 55!
To complicate it further (sorry!) are the Eibach, H&R spring sets lower or similar height to the factory AMG? I want a solid taut 'fast road' spec handling car. Not wanting a slammed look, just noticeably better handling and drivability. KW adjustable would be ideal, not seen anyone mention using these here..
Any one with upgraded suspension please give me your experiences?
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Joined: Apr 2005
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From: Los Angeles
CLK W208
Stay away from the ebay parts, specially Dutch Parts. they are made of cheap quality material. i purchased a bunch of parts from thos ebay sellers and had to do the work twice and pay for parts twice, allignment twice and the whole 9 yards. I learned the hard way that the parts that the dealer sells are the best out there. ther aftermarket parts that i replaced include:
motor mounts
drag link
ball joints
bushings
trans mount
tie rods
etc.
every single piece had to be replaced after 6 months because they were worn off. pay more and purchase dealer parts and trust me you will be happy. you can also buy parts on parts.com and they have great deals on oem parts. as for the sway bars i offer a front and rear strut bars that are fully adjustable, they are significantly cheaper and can be installed by yourself in a few hours with minimal tools. in my opinion and a few others they make a more significant differemce than the sway bars in stability. they are also fuly adjustable to your liking. I made a limited amount and they are all gone. i had a few buyers leave deposites on 3 sets and they never contacted me so i do have a set available if you are intrested. asking price is $300 for both front and rear plus shipping. for more info and testemonials search the w208 section under strut bars and you will see tones of threads on them.
motor mounts
drag link
ball joints
bushings
trans mount
tie rods
etc.
every single piece had to be replaced after 6 months because they were worn off. pay more and purchase dealer parts and trust me you will be happy. you can also buy parts on parts.com and they have great deals on oem parts. as for the sway bars i offer a front and rear strut bars that are fully adjustable, they are significantly cheaper and can be installed by yourself in a few hours with minimal tools. in my opinion and a few others they make a more significant differemce than the sway bars in stability. they are also fuly adjustable to your liking. I made a limited amount and they are all gone. i had a few buyers leave deposites on 3 sets and they never contacted me so i do have a set available if you are intrested. asking price is $300 for both front and rear plus shipping. for more info and testemonials search the w208 section under strut bars and you will see tones of threads on them.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 24
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From: Blighty
CLK55 AMG Designo Chablis, ML350CDI
Thanks VIPclk320, thats priceless info. I won't touch those ebay parts now! I'll get the indie MB garage to fit gennie parts as they do) They did the drag linlk already, and motor trans and front end are ok. Rear end needs some work.
Have you a piccy of the strut bars? Only thing is I'm in the UK, and no idea on the shipping. If it worked out not too expensive I'm interested.
Thanks for your input, appreciated.
Have you a piccy of the strut bars? Only thing is I'm in the UK, and no idea on the shipping. If it worked out not too expensive I'm interested.
Thanks for your input, appreciated.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,775
Likes: 7
From: Los Angeles
CLK W208
Thanks VIPclk320, thats priceless info. I won't touch those ebay parts now! I'll get the indie MB garage to fit gennie parts as they do) They did the drag linlk already, and motor trans and front end are ok. Rear end needs some work.
Have you a piccy of the strut bars? Only thing is I'm in the UK, and no idea on the shipping. If it worked out not too expensive I'm interested.
Thanks for your input, appreciated.
Have you a piccy of the strut bars? Only thing is I'm in the UK, and no idea on the shipping. If it worked out not too expensive I'm interested.
Thanks for your input, appreciated.
Exactly, stay away from those ebay parts. as for the strut bars the shipping is not that expensive to UK, one of my friends on this fourm "paulj" is also in UK and i shipped them to him and he is running it on his CLK55. I think shipping is about $60-$80 including taxes and everything.
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From: Nebraska
99CLK320,
to answer your other question: Eibach, H&R and Vogtland to name a few springs will lower your car by at least 1.5 inches or whatever that converts to in millimeters. If you do that then you run into more issues with parts needed to correct the negative camber and inside tire wear it creates. It's not a lot of money but it is more parts and labor.
I have both front and back strut bars from vipclk320 and I love them. they reduce body roll bigtime. AND you will be paying a lot less than I did because he is selling you the last he has. no more after they are gone.
Ash: do you have a MB spring compressor you can loan me?
I have both front and back strut bars from vipclk320 and I love them. they reduce body roll bigtime. AND you will be paying a lot less than I did because he is selling you the last he has. no more after they are gone.
Ash: do you have a MB spring compressor you can loan me?
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,775
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From: Los Angeles
CLK W208
to answer your other question: Eibach, H&R and Vogtland to name a few springs will lower your car by at least 1.5 inches or whatever that converts to in millimeters. If you do that then you run into more issues with parts needed to correct the negative camber and inside tire wear it creates. It's not a lot of money but it is more parts and labor.
I have both front and back strut bars from vipclk320 and I love them. they reduce body roll bigtime. AND you will be paying a lot less than I did because he is selling you the last he has. no more after they are gone.
Ash: do you have a MB spring compressor you can loan me?
I have both front and back strut bars from vipclk320 and I love them. they reduce body roll bigtime. AND you will be paying a lot less than I did because he is selling you the last he has. no more after they are gone.
Ash: do you have a MB spring compressor you can loan me?
Whatsup DL, thansk for the kind words. i have never used a spring com for my car, and i always have done the shock swap myself. the springs aren't compressed much, so what i do is i put a floor jack under the arm that the spring sits on and after i loosen the shock i just lower the floor jack slowly and put it back in the same manner.
Super Member
Joined: Feb 2010
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From: Los Angeles
2013 FIAT Abarth 500
Springs from least drop to most: Eibach, Vogtland, H&R. Eibach is considered to have a softer ride (much like OEM) while H&R has the stiffest. Vogtland is somewhere in the middle. Get Bilstein B8 Sport shocks while you're at it. I'd also add that getting poly bushings will make the ride slightly harsher but more responsive.
Last edited by mint; May 11, 2011 at 04:31 PM.
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From: Nebraska
99CLK320,
One thing I will say for the Vogtland which I purchased is that there are less coils than the oem spring for more travel. There is a thread on this forum that has side by side pics and a nice endorsement from the person posting the thread. Votland is made in Germany and they provide suspension parts for NASCAR. Search Vogtland on this forum.
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 9,734
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From: Hotlanta
AMG
I've been told by my local Mercedes independant garage that I have a badly worn bush on the back end of my 430, I knew somthing was wrong from the squiggle the cars rear end does over road imperfections!
I then saw complete kits of all the rear end links on ebay, and would like opinion on whether to replace the whole lot in one go with these sets here on ebay> CLICKY I'd have the garage fit it and align it all up obviously.
At the same time as I have this done, I was thinking of having a front+rear anti roll bar set up fitted, (sway bars in US lingo), probably Eibach.
Are these identacle to CLK55 spec bars? (and what do CLK55s upgrade to if so?)
Reason I ask is that my CLK 430 has the AMG option factory fit suspension from new, and I've no idea if it's same as or similar to the AMG set uo in the 55!
To complicate it further (sorry!) are the Eibach, H&R spring sets lower or similar height to the factory AMG? I want a solid taut 'fast road' spec handling car. Not wanting a slammed look, just noticeably better handling and drivability. KW adjustable would be ideal, not seen anyone mention using these here..
Any one with upgraded suspension please give me your experiences?
I then saw complete kits of all the rear end links on ebay, and would like opinion on whether to replace the whole lot in one go with these sets here on ebay> CLICKY I'd have the garage fit it and align it all up obviously.
At the same time as I have this done, I was thinking of having a front+rear anti roll bar set up fitted, (sway bars in US lingo), probably Eibach.
Are these identacle to CLK55 spec bars? (and what do CLK55s upgrade to if so?
)Reason I ask is that my CLK 430 has the AMG option factory fit suspension from new, and I've no idea if it's same as or similar to the AMG set uo in the 55!
To complicate it further (sorry!) are the Eibach, H&R spring sets lower or similar height to the factory AMG? I want a solid taut 'fast road' spec handling car. Not wanting a slammed look, just noticeably better handling and drivability. KW adjustable would be ideal, not seen anyone mention using these here..
Any one with upgraded suspension please give me your experiences?
What country are you located in?
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Posts: 1,435
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From: Nebraska
99CLK320,
vip, are you saying that if you disconnect the shock from the top or bottom that by using a floor jack the control arm will go down far enough to remove the spring without compressing it?
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Joined: Apr 2005
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From: Los Angeles
CLK W208
exactly. the floor jack avoids the spring from poping out by keeping the control arm up and when you slowly lower the floor jack it slowly takes the compression out of the springs, but i must say when i did my H&R springs i didnt even need that as there was no load on them but i did it anyway just to be safe because back in the poor and stupid days i was slightly hit with a spring offof a honda that we didnt use a compressor on and let me tell you i couldnt catch my breath for about a minute and i wasnt standing next to it so it lost some of its force before it hits me, so be very careful when working on springs.
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From: Nebraska
99CLK320,
Hey Ash, you said:the floor jack avoids the spring from poping out by keeping the control arm up and when you slowly lower the floor jack it slowly takes the compression out of the springs."
COOL! Next question: do you have to remove any of the control arm bolts to get the oem spring out and replace it with the lowering spring? I am going to replace the control arm bolts with the factory bolts that allow camber adjustment but I don't want to do that until after the springs are completely out.
Another question: When you put your H&R springs in did you replace the shocks with Bilsteins or Koni at the same time? With only 30K on my car I would like to get more mileage out of my oem shocks before I replace them but I think remember reading somewhere that the oem shocks bottom out due to the body being 1.5 inches lower. I have Bilstein Sports to go in if the oem shocks are too long.
TIA ASH, DB
COOL! Next question: do you have to remove any of the control arm bolts to get the oem spring out and replace it with the lowering spring? I am going to replace the control arm bolts with the factory bolts that allow camber adjustment but I don't want to do that until after the springs are completely out.
Another question: When you put your H&R springs in did you replace the shocks with Bilsteins or Koni at the same time? With only 30K on my car I would like to get more mileage out of my oem shocks before I replace them but I think remember reading somewhere that the oem shocks bottom out due to the body being 1.5 inches lower. I have Bilstein Sports to go in if the oem shocks are too long.
TIA ASH, DB
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 596
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From: West Los Angeles, CA
CLK55 / E350 Coupe
Id do em at the same time you'll be alot more satified. Hate to put the number of age but 10 years even though 30k miles. I've just hit 50k previous owner had already replaced the OEM Bilstein shocks to Bilstein sports which were worn at 40k and I went to Konis (3 shock changes at 52k miles).
From what i hear why OEM shocks prematurely wears due to the higher spring rate then tends to heat up the shaft beyond spec then starts degrading seals within the shock body. So would explain why OEM shocks go downhill quickly in ride quality with high rate aftermarket springs, in plain words OEM shocks can't take the increased friction.
Fat shaft FTW!
From what i hear why OEM shocks prematurely wears due to the higher spring rate then tends to heat up the shaft beyond spec then starts degrading seals within the shock body. So would explain why OEM shocks go downhill quickly in ride quality with high rate aftermarket springs, in plain words OEM shocks can't take the increased friction.
Fat shaft FTW!
Last edited by GiZzO; May 13, 2011 at 04:29 AM.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 24
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From: Blighty
CLK55 AMG Designo Chablis, ML350CDI
I changed the wheels from 8.5/9.5x18 fake Brabus IV to REAL Brabus multi piece III's in 18x8.0 et30 18x9.5 et26 this week, and the car rides WAY better. I was surprised now noticable it was. The tyre fitter said the new are much lighter, and only when I unloaded the fakes when I got home did I see what he meant. Fakes are HEAVY! Lighter wheels work the suspension less over bumps, less weight to accelerate and decelerate. It's a real bonus, plus I dont have fakes!
The garage, John Haynes recommend thay change just the bush that is known to be worn, and they will check all the others again, even whan I said I'd reall like them all changed they said it's expensive and not worth the costs. They are a garage who DON'T want to strip your wallet, which is refreshing these days, no? They can fit any suspension upgrades I want, no problem.
I have to say, I wish I'd waited and got an AMG CLK55 as I want a lot more performance (350bhp+ at least) , but will do the best I can with the 430 for now. I looked under the car whilst it was in the lift, and did not see a rear antiroll bar! (Sway bar to you yanks!
)
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From: Los Angeles
CLK W208
sorryfor the late response DL i was off the fourms for a few days. I would absolutly change shocks and springs at the same time its not worthed trying to keep the same shocks. get the bilstien sports i got mine a few months ago from autopartswarehouse.com for$370 for all 4 including shipping.
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From: Nebraska
99CLK320,
I was under the car this weekend and released the shock from the bottom lowered the jack slowly and the control does not come down far enough for the spring to come out. only moves down about 1.5-2 inches I think the sway bar or some other point on the suspension must be released as well but I didn't have the time to start take other parts loose.
