ahmadk

nice wes...
however, i never knew what's the purpose of having strut bars .. can anyone tell me

dynomite05

Provides extra stiffness to strut towers.

Clkboi

hah Ahmadk thanks for asking. I dont know wither but didnt want to feel stupid and ask.

So tell us guys what does it do lol

ahmadk

haha... i didn't wanna ask either... but it's good to know

Kevwood

I was going to type out my own views but this is a pretty decent (if not simplistic) explanation;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strut_bar

In a nutshell, they greatly improve the handling dynamics of a car and work to 'get the most out of' the rest of the suspension. The difference was very noticable on my track car back home that they were not as well designed as these AMG bars.

Hope that helps a bit.

Kevwood

Wes, on your parts thread, post #4 you have a few great underhood pics of the CLK63 Blackie with the strut tower bars. Are the 3 nuts and bolts securing the bracket to the frame available using your parts system?

To me it looks like there is a slight gap between the bracket and the tower (the tower is shaped), I'm guessing that the bolt pops up from underneath, then there is a clip or very shallow nut to hold it in place and make up the space between the tower face and bracket, then the nut to hold the bracket down. Do you see what I'm seeing? I zoomed in 200% on the second pic and thats what I got out of it.

I'm out of town (big surprise eh?) right now, other wise I'd be outside looking under my hood. Getting anxious to get modding, this waiting (since July now) is killing me!!!

dynomite05

I definitely see what you are talking about. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like those nuts and bolts are listed. I think the best way to get an answer right now is to make a thread in the BS section. There has to be an owner there with a bit more knowledge on this.

Kevwood

Yeah, could do that I guess. I'll prolly just go down to the MB dealer on Saturday when I'm back in Dubai and speak to a tech there, there seems to always be a CLK or SL Black Series in there for service. I have to buy a key anyways so it won't be a out of the way trip.

*Edit* : It was a good suggestion to post in the CLK63 forum, I went ahead and did it. The more opinions and information the better.

Jamesbbh

Does no one make aftermarket strut bars for these cars? I'm really interested in getting one for the front, I just don't know if I can justify $600 for it. Is there any way to put one on the rear of a convertible? I haven't even looked in there to see if there is clearance.

Jamesbbh

Oh and I'm not bashing these, they are completely B.A. haha
This car has just been draining my bank account since I got it....and that was only a month ago .......

Kevwood

No worries matey, we all have different budgets. I bought this car because it left me a ton left over to play with, that was the whole idea of buying it - to build and play at the track again.

As for other bars, yep, a few are out the VIPCLK was offering some but his production run may be finished now, I also found a few different ones with a simple Google search.

Good luck and let us all know what you end up going with.

Jamesbbh

Oh my budget is ok I'm just an accountant....tends to be a little difficult getting me to part with my money haha. I'm constantly justifying purchases to myself i.e. (insert whatever car part here) vs. retirement/remodeling house. I usually end up with the car part. I think I need an intervention.

Jamesbbh

Oh just to be clear, which models share the same chassis as a 2006 post-facelift w209? I really appreciate the help! I might end up going with a B.S. bar eventually anyways.

2MCHCAR

I have the VIPclk320 front and rear strut bars (only the rear is installed; I'll wait until the supercharger is installed in-case of clearance issues), and I can tell you they do make a difference! Are they as good as the BS versions,.....no. But they are more affordable and they are adjustable (you can loosen them up after you hit the track). That being said, depending on Kevwood's experience; I might sell them and get the BS versions too.

They are still selling the VIPclk320 strut bars here:
https://mbworld.org/forums/suspensio...e-package.html
and here:
https://mbworld.org/forums/suspensio...t-tie-bar.html

Klinh

No because it would required modify to the strut mount tower by drill 3 holes. Drill 3 holes on the tower that is not intended for the strut bar could weaken the tower more. Since there's no re-inforcement around the holes like factory with thicker metals surounding, under hard corner, the strut bar can rip it apart. It a nice cosmetic mods though. If one want better handling on the Clk, thicker sways bars (front and rear) and Bilstein Pss9 coilover is the way to go.

Kevwood

I'm not sure if I'm understanding you right so I'll ask;

Are you saying that you believe the strut tower of my CLK 500 is different/weaker than the CLK 63 AMG Black Series? And because of this, by drilling 3 holes will weaken it?

I'd rather ask before I comment on this.

Klinh

Yes and by drill 3 holes "might" weaken the strut tower.

Supafly

im sure a total of 6 holes with 1/4" grade 8 bolts wont tear at the towers with a car that cannot pull a 1G turn.
modding is modding...you pay to play...things do happen; but thicker swaybars are not always the problem solvers....they come with their share of ripping subframes apart; oversteer etc etc.

imho, I thinking he'll max out the cars potential before anything destructive happens to the strut tower mounts.

Btw, is your front springs chopped? I know you're not on coilovers but your front end is tucked nicely...just curious...debating to put on the coilovers or sell them to recoupe the cost...lol.

Kevwood

Here's my thoughts. First of all I don't know for sure but I'm pretty darn sure that the strut tower of the 500 and 63 is the same. In fact, I'm willing to wager a guess that all the 209 CLK's(unibody cars) have the same strut tower construction. I've worked on a lot of different cars in the past and have never seen a strut tower change from one engine configuration to another. However, I'm not a MB tech so I will confirm this when I get back to Dubai. Luckily I live in the land of AMG's and there are quite a few 63 BS that I can take a look at.

As for the possibility of weakening the strut tower by drilling three holes in it, yes, it is possible if the holes were big enough but I highly doubt that three holes about 7/16" drilled in 120* increments are going to have any negative effect at all. As for 'lack of reiforcement', that is why the strut brace bracket is a ring, not a half moon or small piece of metal that secures in one contained area. The ring itself distributes the force across the entire top of the strut tower and provides support by being bolted into place. I built and installed a complete custom set of strut tower bars into my Z34 back home and beat the hell out of that car on roadcourses, not a hint of a failure and I can tell you that the factory build quality of my Benz is far superior.

I understand that you are offering your opinion, we all do and there is nothing wrong with that but;

1. Yes there are aftermarket strut tower bars available for the CLK ('ve looked at the offerings and don't believe that some of the front bars will effectively supprt and distribute the lateral forces).
2. The possibility of strut tower failure by installing this bar on my 500 is pretty much impossible unless I destroy the tower during install.
3. These bars are far from a mere cosmetic mod for my application, they are part of a system.

Would you agree with the above?

Klinh

...

dynomite05

Weichers has bars for the W209s

Jamesbbh

The more research I do the more I like the black series bars. Possible solution to the "maybe" weakening of the strut tower, what if you got a circle template made with the same 3 holes and put it inside the tower and ran the bolts through both of them to mount it?

Kevwood

I'll start my looking when I get home this weekend, I still believe that adding these bars to my car is going to have nothing but positive effects and I'm certainly not woried about the strut tower ripping apart like you say you've seen on BMW's. VIPCLK offers a strut tower bar that mounts in a single location - using the below logic, that would be a a prime setup for failure due to extreme forces on a single point, I've never heard anyone mention it happening.

You raise some good points, we'll see how it comes out in the wash. If there is going to be a failure, I'll be the first to post it, this car is going to have the tar beaten out of it on the tracks here.

Klinh

Not just any single mount point but mounted to the weakest point and that the strut piston. The strut bar/brace is support to brace the chassis together and so the main point should be on the chassis. So we never heard of anyone mention but how many installed it? I can only remember about 2 people and are they track their cars? The crack on M3 happen on the life of tracked cars averages about 10 years old. It happen alot because M3 owners track their cars. Just google "m3 strut tower brace cracked" and learn more about it.

Yes, the mods will definitely help but at what cost in the long run. Any time you tighted up the suspension, it will help.

Kevwood

To my knowledge I am going to be the first to install these bars on a CLK500, I searched and searched and couldn't find any mention of someone else doing it. One the strut is out I can take a look and see if an additional bracing is required but as of now (just got home and took a look), I think it'll be fine.

More to come...