Hey guys, I'm planning on finally getting around to upgrading the suspension on my 55.

I've done poly lca bushings upfront and replaced rear subframe and sway bar bushings all around. Seems this is the next logical step.

@185k miles I kinda believe they may be the original shocks and springs. Which to be honest aren't that terrible. I feel like they could probably go at least who knows how many more miles, but the "stance" and wheel gap is just too much.

I've been reading the forums for the last couple of years now but figured why not start a new thread as most of them are so old many of the members are long gone with relevant info.


Seems as though up until recently it has been difficult to get oem replacement grade shocks for the AMG.
However now even autozone carries bilstein B8 shocks front and rear at super competitive pricing.

I have heard that these shocks can be a bit rough. Seems the only other option is the Sachs which are quite similar in price.

Any opinions?

I would not be opposed to a set of coilovers (if BC made a pair) but it seems shocks/springs is most logical

my main objective is to close the gap as much as possible now with my current 17" wheels with a mix of comfort and sport and still allow me to move up to 18" wheels in the future.

As far as springs I understand there are the H&R, Eibach, Vogtland And Euro spec.

HR being overall just "rough" I've had them on a few cars and thought they were great.
eibach being the most comfortable, but how sporty?
Im not sure about the vogtlands tbh any opinions?

And I think the euro spec springs are just a bit over the top.

I think my choice is between the H&R and Eibach (only considering eibach because they made the sway bars on the car &#128514

but has anyone done HR and smaller spring pads?

I can see the pads and PN's stock on the oembenz websites I'm just curious if it's possible to just get smaller pads say from a different model Mercedes if anyone's done it still etc?

any advice would be great!!!

as my rear lca bushings are shot I plan to upgrade to strong flex poly for those. They are out of the UK feel like shipping would be a nightmare. Does anyone know of any other alternatives?

thanks!!

 

I cut my OEM springs with good results. I also have a set of custom Viking double-adjustable shocks on order. I should have them in 3-4 weeks, then I can report on fitment. The set of 4 shocks was about $850.

 

You're a boss joe!

looks like I'm gonna go with h&r springs and bilstein b8's. #2 pads upfront and #1 rear.

fcpeuro actually carries the bilstein shocks, they just don't list them as fitting clk55

 

hey man, sorry was going to sell you my KW v2 but never got chance to get race dampers built yet. unfortunately i probably will not do it till next year as i need to focus on other things.

i highly recommend you get the KW, they are a great product. i had the Bilstein, which were good but do not compare to the KW... anyway, if you get the bilstein you can keep the amg springs and use a smaller spring pad or like was suggested you can cut spring.

 

Hey Quant, no problem my man. As is life my plans for the 55 have changed. It may even seem I'm getting old and becoming one of those guys who "babies" their car and doesn't do burnouts/donuts the like.

My goal is to have the engine/drivetrain last as long as possible. Having purchased nearly every available part through FCP euro I'm hoping it will become the rare classic I can pass down one day.

(which is funny because I have neglected both transmission and differential services lol)

that being said... your video at Watkins Glen was one of the best in car footage I've seen of any the of the century German sports sedan. Especially a shiftable automatic.

having had a "purpose built" track set up e46 M3 I totally agree with how superior the coilovers are. But on my last one, the H&R springs alone were such a noticeable improvement. Also, the body on the car needs at least 5-10k just in restoration. So the cost/reward for me on new kw's didn't make sense atm.

I've decided to go with the B8 bilstein and h&R springs. I am also upgrading engine mounts to clk63 black series.

what size pads did you end up running? I am about to place my order but am thinking that #2 upfront and #1 rear may be a bit too aggressive for general road driving. I may go one size up on each.

other than that I am really enjoying the poly front control arm bushings.

I think once the worlds becomes more normal, maybe next year I will do the full strongflex rear poly upgrade.

Finally, I'm a bit embarrassed but I've been running just regular old paper air filters for the Last two years. I should have gone k&n atleast. I did not know BMC made filters for our cars. They are great! Do you happen to remember the part number/model as the only ones I can find for our car are from Europe. I see many on amazon for much newer cars which I believe one should fit.

thanks Quant!

 

i'll look up part number for filter, they are good and i never had issues with them damaging the maf. regarding spring pads, if you go with h&r springs i would say keep stock ones and see how it fits. i have the mercedes spring compressor, happy to lend it to you if you like.

 

sounds awesome quant, really appreciate it. Waiting on parts from all over the place so who knows how long it will be.
considering increasing wheel size as well. More than anything I'd like to reduce weight. I recall you saying you run a square setup. What is your size?
I'd really like some c63s AMG 19" wheels I wonder if that is possible

 

no i run 245/265 tires, the wheels are 18x8 et 30 front and 18x9 et 35 rear. what are specs on the c63 wheels? they might have too high offset.

 

I think you might be right

 

rear will not work, offset too high. generally, you want stay around 7.5-8.5 front and rear between 8.5-9.5 w/ offset 30-35.

 

Hey, saw your post. I have a 2002 CLK55 AMG convertible and the suspension needs attention pretty bad. I ran 20' Tires and rims with very low profile (35). That's how I got the car...
This setup caused a lot of stress in the suspension so I need a complete bushing replacement and other parts. I'd also like to lower the car a bit.
Like to know if you can list and price all the parts you got so I can get an idea of what I'll need for my CLK.
Thanks in advance
Joe