Pics and 1500 mile report on my newly Kleemannized CLK.
03-30-2002, 02:16 AM
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Pics and 1500 mile report on my newly Kleemannized CLK.
I have put over 1500 miles on my CLK since I picked it up from Evosport a week and a half ago and am ready to report on my time spent with my newly Kleemanized car.
The power generated by the Kleemann SC is amazing. My car was no slouch prior to the Kleemann installation, however, the brute force with which my car hurls itself down the street now is pure speed loving decadence. Stomping down into any of the first three gears causes my wheels to briefly engage in a tasmanian spin. When the tires grip my head snaps back as the engine screams in a increasingly menacing tone. On the highway I just leave my car in 4th gear. The weight of my foot on the pedal keeps me at a mellow 80 mph cruise, however, at any moment, I can launch the car to 120 before my wife can say "slow down."
The power created by the Kleeman SC is particularly amazing because it can be both explosive or perfectly smooth and can be precisely controlled. I do have to admit that driving with the traction control off in the first 3 gears is not for the faint hearted (especially in the rain), but I have yet to feel out of control at any moment.
The only problem I'm having with the added power right now is that the combination of my 3.07 differential and the Kleemann SC is causing my car to hit the rev limiter too fast in 1st and 2nd gear. Prior to the Kleemann SC my car would occasionally hit the rev limiter too fast in 1st gear. Evosport is currently working on doing a little remapping of my ECU to stretch out my RPMs.
Although I'm sure some will remain skeptical, the Kleemann speed sensitive shocks really work. When you are just cruising along the highway the ride almost feels soft... this is despite the fact that I'm running H&R Springs and 265/30/19's in the rear and 235/35/19's up front. As I hit a turn I distinctly feel the ride stiffen up and the car almost feels as though it is urging me to take the turn faster and tighter. I was running Bilstein HDs (CLK 55 shocks) prior to the Kleemanns and am now able to take most turns significantly faster with greater stablity.
The Brembo brakes are great. They look sharp and their stopping power inspires confidence. Damn that brake dust though.
I've raced several cars in the past week. I had friends bring over a BMW Z8, BMW M5 and Honda S2000. It was really no contest. I'm sure through twisties or on a track the better handling Z8 would give me trouble, however, on the highway and through local streets my friends could not keep up. I had to harrass my friend with the Z8 out of the way so I could blow by him as we were accelerating from 70 through 125. I had a great straight line race against a Corvette Z06 tonight. He was in front of me at a light before a 1/2 mile straightaway. When the light turned red, he punched it and spun his tries a little bit which forced me to wait. As soon as he gripped, I began to accelerate but didn't punch it because I felt that I would ram into him. At about 50 mph, I moved next to him and punched it. I didn't blow by him but as we hit 80 mph I started to pull away. By the time I hit 120, I was well in front of him. At that point, I slowed down because the speed limit on that road is 45 and my turn was rapidly approaching. The Z06 was so befuddled that he followed me to see what I was driving. Eventually I saw him make a U-turn to get back on his way.
I'm taking my car to an empty lot tomorrow to do some testing.... should be fun.
Below is a link to the MBNZ.org gallery where I posted pictures of my car. I am also attaching one picture.
http://gallery.mbnz.org/gallery/show...W208_CLK_Class
The power generated by the Kleemann SC is amazing. My car was no slouch prior to the Kleemann installation, however, the brute force with which my car hurls itself down the street now is pure speed loving decadence. Stomping down into any of the first three gears causes my wheels to briefly engage in a tasmanian spin. When the tires grip my head snaps back as the engine screams in a increasingly menacing tone. On the highway I just leave my car in 4th gear. The weight of my foot on the pedal keeps me at a mellow 80 mph cruise, however, at any moment, I can launch the car to 120 before my wife can say "slow down."
The power created by the Kleeman SC is particularly amazing because it can be both explosive or perfectly smooth and can be precisely controlled. I do have to admit that driving with the traction control off in the first 3 gears is not for the faint hearted (especially in the rain), but I have yet to feel out of control at any moment.
The only problem I'm having with the added power right now is that the combination of my 3.07 differential and the Kleemann SC is causing my car to hit the rev limiter too fast in 1st and 2nd gear. Prior to the Kleemann SC my car would occasionally hit the rev limiter too fast in 1st gear. Evosport is currently working on doing a little remapping of my ECU to stretch out my RPMs.
Although I'm sure some will remain skeptical, the Kleemann speed sensitive shocks really work. When you are just cruising along the highway the ride almost feels soft... this is despite the fact that I'm running H&R Springs and 265/30/19's in the rear and 235/35/19's up front. As I hit a turn I distinctly feel the ride stiffen up and the car almost feels as though it is urging me to take the turn faster and tighter. I was running Bilstein HDs (CLK 55 shocks) prior to the Kleemanns and am now able to take most turns significantly faster with greater stablity.
The Brembo brakes are great. They look sharp and their stopping power inspires confidence. Damn that brake dust though.
I've raced several cars in the past week. I had friends bring over a BMW Z8, BMW M5 and Honda S2000. It was really no contest. I'm sure through twisties or on a track the better handling Z8 would give me trouble, however, on the highway and through local streets my friends could not keep up. I had to harrass my friend with the Z8 out of the way so I could blow by him as we were accelerating from 70 through 125. I had a great straight line race against a Corvette Z06 tonight. He was in front of me at a light before a 1/2 mile straightaway. When the light turned red, he punched it and spun his tries a little bit which forced me to wait. As soon as he gripped, I began to accelerate but didn't punch it because I felt that I would ram into him. At about 50 mph, I moved next to him and punched it. I didn't blow by him but as we hit 80 mph I started to pull away. By the time I hit 120, I was well in front of him. At that point, I slowed down because the speed limit on that road is 45 and my turn was rapidly approaching. The Z06 was so befuddled that he followed me to see what I was driving. Eventually I saw him make a U-turn to get back on his way.
I'm taking my car to an empty lot tomorrow to do some testing.... should be fun.
Below is a link to the MBNZ.org gallery where I posted pictures of my car. I am also attaching one picture.
http://gallery.mbnz.org/gallery/show...W208_CLK_Class
Last edited by Sleestack; 03-30-2002 at 04:13 AM.
Stop it ! You're making me way too jealous ! Your car is one of the best CLKs I've ever seen ! Keep up the good work and enjoy that badass mercedes.
03-30-2002, 03:03 AM
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2020 Audi R8 V10, 2016 AMG GTS, 2018 E63S Edition 1, 2018 Porsche GTS Cab, 2012 C63 BS
Beautiful, just flat out beautiful and an engine that exceeds the looks of the car. I just wonder, with all that torque how long do you give those soft Yokohama's?? Maybe a month or so with the way you are driving it?? 
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03-30-2002, 04:06 AM
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That purple cover is an airbox(I believe). The Kleemann SC kit for the CLKs are set up differently so they don't use that neon airbox. I think they are working on a carbon fiber cover but I like it the way it is.
I smell burning rubber each time I pull into the garage so I expect that I'll be going through my Yokohamas pretty fast. Hopefully I can time it so that I get through them at the same time SO3s become available in 265/30/19.
One downside to the Kleeman SC... if you like to kick down the gas frequently, you'll go through your fuel quickly. I have been going through close to a tank a day. Over time I'll probably stretch that out to a tank every two days which is fine with me.
I smell burning rubber each time I pull into the garage so I expect that I'll be going through my Yokohamas pretty fast. Hopefully I can time it so that I get through them at the same time SO3s become available in 265/30/19.
One downside to the Kleeman SC... if you like to kick down the gas frequently, you'll go through your fuel quickly. I have been going through close to a tank a day. Over time I'll probably stretch that out to a tank every two days which is fine with me.
03-30-2002, 04:14 AM
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Glad you're happy with it! We're making a carbon fiber cover for the 430 and 55 CLK/E engines. Your car looks amazing! Are you going to make it to the track on Thursday? How many miles are you driving each day? I'm driving happy-footed, and I'm still getting about 225 miles per tank.
03-30-2002, 03:16 PM
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I'm not sure about top speed. In terms of horsepower, my car is putting out over 480 hp and 450 lbs/ft of torque. I'll be testing 0-60 and 1/4 mile with a G-Tech Pro today.
03-30-2002, 07:10 PM
#16
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Originally posted by Sleestack
That purple cover is an airbox(I believe). The Kleemann SC kit for the CLKs are set up differently so they don't use that neon airbox.
That purple cover is an airbox(I believe). The Kleemann SC kit for the CLKs are set up differently so they don't use that neon airbox.
The pepto neon pink cover on the CLK is simply just a covering cowl. Looks much better without it.
03-30-2002, 08:53 PM
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What about reliablity? How is it?
What happens if your motor starts acting funny? You probably couldn't bring it back to MB for service.. What do you do then? Bring it back to Kleeman? Located where?
Other than that.. your car looks FANTASIC! Congrats!
What happens if your motor starts acting funny? You probably couldn't bring it back to MB for service.. What do you do then? Bring it back to Kleeman? Located where?
Other than that.. your car looks FANTASIC! Congrats!
03-30-2002, 10:13 PM
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I have had no reliability problems so far and I have been running the engine hard. If I run into a problem, Evosport has an affiliate shop up here in the Bay area. I go through a tank a day because I look for every excuse to drive and I've been punching it through 3rd and 4th gear alot. I expect that evemtually a tank will last me 2 to 3 days.
03-31-2002, 02:59 AM
#22
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Originally posted by esoin
What about reliablity? How is it?
What happens if your motor starts acting funny? You probably couldn't bring it back to MB for service.. What do you do then? Bring it back to Kleeman? Located where?
Other than that.. your car looks FANTASIC! Congrats!
What about reliablity? How is it?
What happens if your motor starts acting funny? You probably couldn't bring it back to MB for service.. What do you do then? Bring it back to Kleeman? Located where?
Other than that.. your car looks FANTASIC! Congrats!
Kleemann products are very reliable. They have never had any issues related to their superchargers. The superchargers only run on .5 bar (7lbs) boost, and keep the stock compression ratio. Combined with 4 intercoolers, they make a flawless system. The engine is completely servicable by your MB technician. I took mine to my dealer to show my buddies there, and they loved it. The shop foreman wants more information about the system because he was so impressed.
03-31-2002, 03:00 AM
#23
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Richard, add an Audi S4, chipped (350+HP), running 1 bar (14lbs) and a short shift kit. And a Toyota Supra Twin Turbo running anything under 1.2 bar. My friend beat me after 90 running 1.4 bar. Without his turbo timer on, I blew him away. It's been a good week for us!
03-31-2002, 12:16 PM
#24
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Originally posted by Mach430
Combined with 4 intercoolers, they make a flawless system. The engine is completely servicable by your MB technician. I took
Combined with 4 intercoolers, they make a flawless system. The engine is completely servicable by your MB technician. I took
4 Intercoolers ? Can you elaborate ?
03-31-2002, 04:46 PM
#25
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Originally posted by awiner
4 Intercoolers ? Can you elaborate ?
4 Intercoolers ? Can you elaborate ?
Being that the intercooler sits directly on top of the supercharger, the air does not heat back up as it only has to travel a short distance to reach the supercharger.
