Hello,
I joined here a long time ago, but this is my first post.
First I want to thank the many contributors for all the advice they've shared I've made good use of it.
My car is a '08 CLK550, with the right engine (avoided the bad timing chain gear thanks to the engine # advice here).
Picked it up with 67k miles 3 years ago, now hitting 97k.

Question is, now that the suspension is getting a bit soft and my front tires keep wearing out ONLY on the outside edge (multiple dealer alignments with me reviewing the sheet), might be all my fault for keeping all the tires screaming when cornering a bit to often.
What are some good suspension performance options today?

I've driven other cars on road race tracks years ago, and find this car pushes a lot, maybe mostly due to the skinny 225s on the front. I was hoping to figure out how to fit some 245 or 255's on the front without replacing the fenders, but don't see any threads mentioning that. I've seen good and bad about coil overs, but with different versions available, I'm wondering what would be best for my summer wannabe street rally car, or stick with struts?
I might take it to NHIS or another track with a club this summer on road courses if I can get it right.
We would change up sway bar setups per track, but this is my driver for the summer, so I'm not looking to make it so stiff it breaks other parts on these poor New England roads. (really want more rubber between the rim and road)
If you have good suggestions on upgrades and parts I should be replacing (all bushings or some?, U-joints?) while getting all this work done I'd really appreciate it!

I did a seat mod last year and will be sharing that with photos soon. I widened the seat frame as my butt was getting hurt from my hip bone on the seat frame (and I couldn't find a wide enough aftermarket seat, I'm 6'4")

Thanks

 

I'll be looking for the seat mod. I have the same problem with my '09 350. At 6' 5" and 230 lbs. the seat bottom is very restrictive.

 

i was in the same boat. my car has 73k right now and suspension was really bad. i have the amg package. i have been lurking around also for a very long time...

sachs shocks were completely blown. steering felt sloppy. so i did a major overhaul last 2 weeks.

after reading a bunch of reviews, i went with a mild drop hr springs and short stoke bilstein shocks. i am very happy with the setup. firm, forgiving, and smooth. it is tigher then stock. but overall feels like a new bmw m package car. (my friend has a new one and it kinda feels similar?)

as for wheels, i have 235 in the front with no problems, i think you need to look at your wheels and see which tires you can put on. i have 235 40 18 tire on a 18x8.5+32 wheel. no major issues. look at the wheel fitment thread for additional inspiration. i just made a post there with my setup.

i personally just bought all new lemforder oem links and top mount. look at the picture, my bushings were all cracked and in bad condition. i tried to circle the damages for you. when i replaced my shocks, you have to take off the lower link to get to the lower shock bolts... and to take off lower front link, you need to remove the sway bar to get to that bolt. just a labor nightmare. so i changed it all. links, mounts, sway bar, yea...

anyways, after an alignment, car feels night and day better and more stable. 40 series tires aren't too scary to hit bumps and the car feels sporty but not uncomfortable. feels nimble now.

i personally am testing what tire sizes to use, so i bought used cheap used tires to check fitment. i plan on changing the size again in the next week. 245f and 275r setup, if i can source them.

on a side note, when you mean outside wear, do you mean the outside portion of the tread is wearing or the outside "side wall" is wearing? if you drive that aggressively consistently, you might want to adjust your suspension to accommodate it. like, increase camber to offset the wear? assuming if it is constrained to the tread area.

 

Posted, watch for it to show up. I'm sure it will help.
I also use a memory foam lumbar support I made. I strongly suggest something similar.

 

Faded1004, thanks, I'm burning off the outside 1" of the tread (seemingly only). Might be from slight rolling of the suspension from the worn bushings when under hard cornering load. I have the same cracks. If it's not to much trouble, could you PM me the part #s you've chosen and maybe where you chose to buy from. I have a local shop that has had some benz parts, at a fair price I'll test.
The one performance mod I'd like to do is a locking rear end, to add more fun. I'm thinking of this: https://shop.quaife.co.uk/quaife-mer...ss-209-clk-550 But I'd like to find one in the US.

 

Yes this is correct because OEM there is only basic Toe/directional adjustment.

No Camber or Caster to adjust tire contact angle. We saw the need therefore to design and re-instate from the early 90’ full/precise adjustment capability.

The K-MAC patented design also at the same time replaces the 4 front and rear highest wearing bushings.

Is precise single wrench adjustment – accurately under load direct on alignment rack. For the front (only) you can fit inaccurate “one only offset position” fluted bolts but they only supply 1/8” (3mm). K-MAC kit provides up to 4 times this adjustment range and the bushings are also designed to still supply 2 axis movement but without the OEM oil and air voids. Result is therefore significantly improved brake and steering response.

CAMBER – Allows to actually change the tire contact angle resolving costly, premature edge wear, improving traction/understeer/oversteer

CASTER – Correctly resolves steering pull, increases steering response. With better turn in and high speed directional control. Along with improved anti dive/lift under brake and acceleration.

Essential for day to day commuting encountering high cambered roads, altering/lowering height, load carrying, suspension sag, fitting wide profile tires or curb knock damage. Track days dialling in extra negative camber.

Rear Camber kit includes ‘extra’ Toe adjustment to compensate for the new Camber facility. Adjusts the lower control arm inwards (comes with bush extraction tool allowing to install on vehicle). We do not manufacture adjustable ‘arms’ – as difficult to install/adjust and to resolve premature inner edge wear need to reduce all important clearance top of tire to outer fender.

W209 Front Camber and Caster kit P/N 502216K $480
Rear Camber (and extra Toe) kit
6/04-09 (51mm diameter lower arm inner bush) P/N 501926K $380
01-5/04 (33mm diameter lower arm inner bush) P/N 502026H $320

Also manufactured is set of ‘12’ bushings for the 6 ‘multi link rear arms’. Designed to significantly improve rear end stability, reduce twitch/flex, gain traction – especially when applying power to lane change/overtake. P/N 501528L $480

Delivery one kit $40 or front and rear kits $50. We accept PayPal, Visa or MasterCard.

 

here is my suspension part list, be aware, these are short stroke version bilsteins, harder to find in stock. they sometimes mark as modified spring, lowered spring style, or like shortened spring? i had to buy from 3 sellers to make a set of 4... prices vary, took me a while to collect them all. i got impatient and installed the springs on, what i thought was slightly bad shocks, and it was just a waste of money. my shocks were totally gone, can depress with 3 fingers and one hand... and it made the car super bouncy. you do not want to pay for labor twice to pull these apart. check ebay, amazon, and various oem places for the parts. i bought them everywhere to make up all the set and looked for the cheapest places.

2- Bilstein 35-053453 B8 Series SP Suspension Strut Assembly (front)
2- Bilstein 24-068819 B8 Series SP Shock Absorber (rear)
H&R 70392 Sway Bar (front) says fits, but bushings are different, i had to modify
H&R 71392 Sway Bar (rear)
H&R 29392-3 Sport Spring
2- OEM LEMFOERDER Upper Control Arms 2043304411 & 2043304311
2- OEM LEMFOERDER Lower Control Arms 2043302011 & 2043301911
2- OEM LEMFOERDER Sway Bar Links 2033202889 (with 10mm Bolt, amg package?)
2- OEM LEMFOERDER front upper strut mount 2033200273
2- OEM coil spring shim #3 thickness 2103250384

link to my wheel offset pics and setup, click blue arrow to go to the post for the pics

also, might be a weird suggestion... check your air pressure. low pressure can also contribute to tire rolling a little over and wearing weird... more prominent on tall tires... but yea, could be an easy check. also some cheaper tires have softer side walls so they roll easier too. so many variables...