amr

I’ve been researching for a while on two options that I have been trying to weight:

1. Supercharge my W208 55 with 67k miles or
2. Trade-in mine for a W209 with lower miles and supercharge it

The net difference is the trade-in difference, which should be $8,000 to $10,000

Is it really worth that much for a lower mileage car?

Is the W209 any “better” than the W208?

My findings…

1. The W208 IMHO is a better looking car in terms of muscularity and stance,
2. The W208 55 is a bit more rare (in fact, the 208 frame is a bit more rare, at least where I live),
3. I also want to do a lot of interior custom work such as new leather seats, dash, doors, carbon fiber, etc and it would be a shame to get a new car only to change out the new interior,
4. I’m going to get a 6-piston setup for the front anyway so the improved brakes on the W209 won’t be of much value to me (except for selling them)

Seems to me that the crux of my dilemma is the mileage… is it OK to supercharge a 67k mile car? How many miles can I expect to get out of it? I know it’s all about how I treat it but honestly, is it worth spending $20k on a car that has these many miles?

Thanks for your help.

neilbo75

At 67K your 208 CLK has not even reached the halfway point of its expected lifetime. Assuming the motor has been properly maintained and does not now have any problems, adding the S/C should not be any trouble at all. These are very well designed, robust V8s whether your're talking 208 or 209 CLK.

The consensus view is that Kleemann makes the best S/C soluiton for your car. It's better in some respects than AMG's own blower. If you want sensational power, go for it!

blackbenzz

Supercharge the W208 now! It will make you do this ALL day long, trust me.

amr

Thanks for your insight and I have also heard the same thing that the Kleemann s/c is in some aspects superior to the AMG.

amr

I find that easy to believe....

I had an IS300 and that was pretty much the expression on my face all day after I did a 2jz-gte swap with a single turbo.

That was fun but too much hastle to deal with on a daily basis.

I'm starting to really get set to pull the trigger on modifying the W208...

I'll keep you guys posted.

Thanks again for your feedback.

blackbenzz

Get to it! The s/c CLK55 can be daily driven NO PROBLEMS! I got 22.1mpg on the way home from that show last night (I wasnt pushing it at all though)

lowphat

Except for pesky mechanical water pump that has since been re-designed and which you would'nt have to worry about - My Kleeman blower has been silently performing for 50K miles in my daily (snow, rain, below freezing, above boiling, stop and go, half mile drive, 250 mile drive, floored, bored, pissed, whatever, whenever, whoever, anytime, anyplace) driven W208.

All the way.

Talk to Cory at Kleemann USA - yeah, it's his product, but I bet he's the type of guy that would be completely honest with you if he thought the pre-existing mileage would be an issue.



DO IT

Jaki

I'm sure the engine can take it with these miles. As many have said, these engines are made to last for a quite a while. The only concern that I would have is that its a 6 yr old car. You will start running into other smaller issues, which may make you start to dislike the car, or you might get tired of the looks/styling of the car. The SC will keep you happy for a while, but what about the long run? Are those small issues or the fact that the car is starting to look outdated going to bother you? Those are some things that I would consider. I personally preffer on doing major upgrades like that to a car while its still pretty new. I don't really care if I void the warranty (most cars don't really have any bigger issues in the time they're under warranty anyways). I slapped on a Twin Turbo kit on my 350z when it was only 7 months old.

That being said, if you think that you will be happy in the long run, then DO IT!!!

RDD

They should do a compression and leakdown test before they install a supercharger to see if your engine can handle it. Get that done first and see what shape your engine is in.