mohdds

Am in the market for a 07 CLK550 Cab or a 06 CLK500 Cab. Not too much difference between the two, of course except for the incredible engine in the 550 (don't know if I "need" the 550 engine, but of course I lust for it!). Anyway, I was wondering if any of the techies in the group knew whether the shift paddles in the 07 could be easily addapted to the 06. Also, for those of you with the wood steering wheel (which looks greast but gets really hot in the sun), do you miss the option of having the shift buttons on the back of the wheel, or is this a non-issue? For those with either the paddles or buttons (please specify which) how often do you actually use them. TIA for your help. I appreciate your expertise and opinions.

dan212

I have long since gotten used to twitching the gear shift on my car. I just picked up a CLK550 with the paddles. I do use the paddles, but old habits make me use the gear shift half the time. But they ARE nicer.

DirtyVegasMB

I don't like shifting through the steering wheel since it is almsot impossible to do it through turns. I rarely shift manually with my AMG, but when I do it is with the gear shifter. Get the bigger engine, or you will regret it later.

dan212

One thing has nothing to do with the other. A big engine isn't a substitute for a good gear box or using one well. Back in the day, I was able to get a lot of hustle out of my 120hp Alfa Spider with the gearbox. - but thats another story.

The big 550 engine is a real monster pleasure and worth the money. Really fantastic. A huge leap forward.

So are the paddles - The more that I drive the car, the more I do find I use the paddles. It isn't as if they weren't developed for F1 racing for a reason. The paddles on the 2007 cars 550 and AMG are different than the older Wheel shift buttons. The AMG buttons were too small. These are nice big butterfly paddles (the way they are supposed to be) and fall under the fingers perfectly.

ItalianStallion

I envy the CLK550 owners so much. If only I had waited for it, I'd be pushing over 500hp . Now I'm only 400+hp

Has anybody gotten any info about those paddle shifters for the lowley 2006 and under models? I'm assuming that if it is possible, we would probably need an '07 steering wheel because I heard it is different than the previous models.

dan212

I am pretty sure that Kleeman offers a steering wheel upgrade for the 500/V8 line - but it is pricey

S2000

Drove both the CLK63 and CLS63 with the paddles and enjoyed them. The only problem with them were that they got in my way in sharp turn around the track.

ps...get the 550