Hi new here I have a 1999 clk 320 had for like 6 months and love it...In the sf bay area looking for all info I can get...Cause I am going upgrade parts ect in the next week months...Thanks

 

Welcome bro,first off before you do any mods research alot more.its def not worth to spend the money on our cars.I did cuz I did it for show and cuz I like to mod my vehicles.look up ghost,vipclk320 most def.they're the ones wit the most mods out right now for a great price.

 

It depends on what you want to do... Performance or looks? If performance, the first thing you could do is upgrade to K&N air filters. They're relatively cheap and well worth it. Next you could get struts as they drastically improve handling. For looks you could drop your car, get Lorinser panels, do a body kit, headlights, LED tails, paint, plasti dip, etc... But like jbenz said, search around because a lot of guys have mods out there for the best prices.

 

welcome 510. I have a 99/320 as well and have done as much as I felt was most cost affective in the realm of performance mods.
1. ECU tune done by INMotionusa. There are others like Powerchip and Speedtuning. Basically it is a re-map of your computers settings as they pertain to spark advance, timing etc for the most affective use of 91 or 93 octane fuel. Noticable butt dyno improvement in performance and mileage. an easy hwy cruise of 60 miles at 65mph gave me 32mpg. I consistently get 20 mpg in city driving.
2. I installed a K&N filter and removed it in favor of a cold air intake made by vipclk320. I have the filter and a refresh kit if you would like to buy it. you can see pictures of the intake if you do a search for Williams007(this forum(Jimmy has done everything known to man on his 320)). noticable improvement to performance via butt dyno. vipclk320 does not make them anymore but if you are resourceful you could buy the parts on the internet and fabricate one yourself.
3. short tube headers fabricated by ghostrider(of this forum)and again a butt dyno improvement in performance but no longer made. he might do a specail order.
4.Sprintbooster. No real improvement in measureable performance but much quicker throttle response and downshifts as compared to the slow drive by wire you get now.
4.Suspension: Vogtland springs, Bilstein Sport shocks, adjustable rear camber arms fabed by ghostrider and strut bars fabed by vipclk320. there still may be some of those around. And, 8"x17" rims with 32mm offset(oem is 35) and Hankook v12 tires. the car rides stiffer than I would like but the roads suck in Nebraska. the car corners very flat like a gocart. the exterior remains oem. I found the car in 05 w/3623 miles on it and with a 4mile round to work I only have 33K on it now. Its possible I could be burried in it.
Like the previous poster mentioned, what do you want? Looks or performance or both? You can spend your money on both but you will never get it back when you sell or trade the car. And, the car comes oem at 215 hrspwr and I would be pushing it if I have it up to 250 now. I still want to delete the secondary cats and put on a sport resonator and muffler but I'm to practical and frugal to pull the oem exhaust off before its gone. Long story short you will NOT be able to make your 320 go that much faster unless you plan on spending big bucks with Kleemann, Brabus or Eisenman mods. you can make it a lot more fun to drive for a 2-3 grand but thats about it. I never put the car on a dyno because I really don't care what the final number/hrspwr & torque are.
There are other engine mods like an underdrive pulley kit that I am told by a race shop tech will give you about 2 hrspwr to the wheels. for $4-500(?), not worth it to me. Also, there is a lightweight crankshaft pulley by the same manufacture that the techno nerds discussed on this forum ad nauseum and they said it wasn't worth the money either. However, Jimmy/Williams007 has both and he would be the best to consult with as to their affectiveness.
The Search function is your friend. I've been following this forum since I bought the car in 05 and there is a wealth of info and do-it-yourself help that will save you mucho bucks if you are willing to get your hands dirty. Also, MarcusF is one of the techno/nerd/wrench pulling enthusiasts who has been a friend to many here and is a wealth of knowledge. You can Search by topic or by poster and I promise you, you will find everything you ever wanted to know or want to fix or replace or mod. My car has been relatively trouble free given the low mileage and I do all the servicing and it keeps my costs to a minimum. There are many horror stories about the MB services departments but good ones as well. Basically, they are pricy so if you can't do it yourself find a recommended indy in your area. Again, use the Search funciton on this forum for the Bay area mechanics.
Hope that helps and see you back here. Happy Holidays. dlb

P.S. try the Classifieds forum for wheels & tires, performance parts etc. most of the performance parts are for 55AMGs but you might get lucky and find some stuff.

 

Thanks for all the info I plan to keep this car for a few years so I don't mind putting some $ into.

I am first going for the body kit, star grill, and re do my paint its that green I think 278 paint code, indash tv...it came with some 18's but I don't like them so they will be gone for some 19's or 20's soon..then on to the performance

I will get some pics up soon

Have any one upgraded the side markers for the mirror ones???

 

It sounds like you are more into looks. If you were into performance I would tell you to sell it and buy a 430 or a 55 . The front grill kit is a must, with the LED tails and Halo headlights from Ebay the look of this body is transformed and looks very modern. No one believes it is so old after these easy updates. Try taking it to a good detail or body shop and they might be able to revive the paint without doing a repaint. MB paint seems to be very thick and high quality. If you are going to repaint, then plan on spending a couple grand for a good job or it will look like crap. Color changes always look like crap unless it is really taken apart and done right (very expensive). Good luck!

 

Yea I am into more looks with my 320 I have had v8's fast cars but I like how the 320 gets up thats all I need...but I do plan to do some other upgrades..

Thanks about the paint info cause I really don't need the whole car re-done just a few spots.

 

Honestly, all the car needs to look good are some nice 18s and a moderate drop. Get Bilstein Sport shocks, throw on some LEDs to update the exterior lighting and call it a day.

 

hey welcome to the forum. I noticed that you're in the SF bay area so if you need to get your car serviced, i'd recommend you go to Star Auto (408-280-7002) in San Jose, they specialize in only BMWs, Benz, and Audi's. Theyre really good and very fair with pricing. The owner of the shop is my old service advisor from Beshoff mercedes and he decided to open his own service shop and ive been with him ever since for about 5 years now.

I also noticed that you're looking for the sideview mirror blinker upgrade. I have a freshly painted black set with modified led lights in them specially customized by a friend of mine(VIPclk320 on the forum). Basically you would have these wired to your blinkers on your fenders and it will work the same way. PM me if you're interested.

 

Thanks for the info I need to get some small work done...And how much did you want for the pair? Also I got some free time and uploaded some pics.