Steve B

H&G Motorsports installed the first set of their new billet control arms on the Warrior. Now with 2.5 deg. of Neg. Camber in the rear and 24 precision Derlin bushings the tail happy CLK-Black has been tamed. To finish the modifications they installed a Qualif 100% locking diff. and solid mounts. With adjustable front bushing dialing in 2.5 deg. you can now control all the power and torque that magnificent 6.3 motor can deliver.
The Warrior already had Renntech's stage III engine package with their latest ECU upgrade.
The Warrior is my second Black and one of the first to try to sort out the car. Stock the car was very disappointing at the track.
The Warrior is on rails now an entirely different car.
I will be driving it on my twisty mountain roads over the next few days and will report further feedback.

MTV8

Those look great. What additional benefits do they provide to pressing new bushings into the stock arms?

Steve B

Having the ability to adjust the rear alignment makes the most dramatic improvement in handling. I did it last due to a lack of availability now EVOSPORT is out of business.
I had HG Motorsports install the Qualif 100% differential, Derlin Bushings, adjustable front bushings and solid differential mounts first. They each address issues the Black has in the rear end and front. The rear stock control arms offer no adjustability. HG came to the rescue designing and building the part. Ferrari, Porsche GT-3 al have adjustable suspension. I ran 3 deg. on my GT-3RS.
The bushings replace the hard rubber compliance mounts the factory utilizes to eliminate vibration and ride harshness for street cars. Tires & their pressures, spring rates & shock settings effect the ride of the car most. I found no difference in the ride with the addition of the bushings. It did tighten up the suspension making it feel more solid with less wiggle under hi loads. Just think of the 24 rubber bushings all contributing to the feel especially with the hi loads the 6.3 motor puts on the rear suspension and the cars weight.
Jim Brady a contributor on this site, had EVOSPORT install a set of their adjustable control arms on his mostly stock Black. He reported dramatic improvement in cornering and stability. He said it was like day and night, a different car !
WHY ? Tire contact patch. Heavy cars like the Black, need neg. camber to gain optimum tire contact patch under hi cornering loads. Jim reported dramatic improvement in his car handling with the addition of the arms and the 2 to 3 deg. additional neg. camber they provide. Adjustable front bushings are also available and just as important.
In order of importance and improvement I would put adjustable control arms & neg. camber first. 100% locking differential second, bushings third and solid diff. mounts fourth. I did it backwards but Jim added control arms first and he was amazed with the improvement. I was also impressed with the front adjustable bushings installed and 2.3 deg. neg. camber they provided.
My Weekend Warrior now has DTM handling raising the level of performance of the CLK-Black to race car levels with little sacrifice of ride comfort. That's a no brainer mod all Black owners should consider. When you look at cost its very inexpensive.
AMG gave us a powerful car but they did compromise on handling for the street. The Black has allot more potential and driving enjoyment available with a few parts installed.
As Dieter said when he test drove the Warrior after their arms were installed w/ 2.5 deg. neg. camber, " its amazing, like the car is on rails". Yea it sticks like glue and turn in is much improved. Anyone doing these mods will have to re-learn the car with its higher capabilities. I'm considering selling the Warrior looking to get into the new C-63 coupe with 4 wheel drive. It snows where I live now. If I can't get a decent price I will keep it. I get so many comments from car guys you just don't see them around. That will no doubt make them valuable once all the big blocks are gone and the world goes Turbo !
That make the Black the last German muscle car which just like the US muscle cars, will become collector cars in just a few years.

Jim Brady

Nice write up Steve. I'm happy to hear your as satisfied with the adjustable rear control arms as I was. It just transforms the car in being able to put the power down. If you want a mod that will make you smile everytime you get in the car this is it.
Our cars are now getting to be 7 years old and bushings tend to get a little weak and I'm thinking about the bushings so I'd probably go with the diff last.
I think you'll keep the car as AMG said no AWD C63's.

Steve B

Hi Jim, having driven the car a little now I can report there will be a little ride stiffness felt when you install the bushings in the control arms. I didn't feel it replacing all the others first. Apparently the bushings in the control arms have more effect on ride. I spoke to Simon asking for the specs. on the H&R springs I got from EvoSport in 2009 for my last Black. They lowered the car and improved the ride over lowering the car with stock springs. By adjusting the stock set up lowering the car, the spring is compressed. This causes the rate to increase and eliminates the variable rate advantages designed into the stock spring which improves ride comfort. My car is a little too stiff for me and tends to bounce a little. Handles well but I really liked the H&R lowering springs. Guys who put race springs in didn't see any improvement in track times over stock springs anyway. I have HG Motorsports on the job looking for a H&R spring with stock rates which will lower the car.
I also noticed a little whine in the differential with the Wavetrac 100% locking diff from Weistec but it is most likely caused by the solid mounts we installed from Weistec at the same time. It is not too loud and I actually like it after driving race cars which have the same sound but much louder. For the $1,050.00 I would do the Wavetrac 100% diff. It further improves cornering and control under acceleration. No more white knuckles hanging on to it under acceleration & powering out of corners much earlier. Can't wait for track times on the Warrior from Cal. and Big Willow where I ran my last Black. Best regards, Steve
Did you have the H&R lowering springs installed by EvoSport ? The cares are amazing aren't they ?

Jim Brady

I did have the H&R springs which lowered the car and were fine for the street.
The other problem with lowering the car is that the shock travel is compromised and you hit the bump stops which causes the springs to go to infinity which makes the car a 3800 lb go kart. You magnify the problem with losing the varible rate you discribe. You are correct that the track times for cars with sport or race springs were not any better than stock and in my opinion is, it's the lack of shock travel.

I've changed my springs to a duel Eibach custom set up and increased the shock travel by over an inch. I have a track day coming up on 10/4-5 and I can report then. I've actually raised the car 5 turns on the struts but I have full suspension movement with stiffer springs. Suspension set up is a black art. I'll share the results after some hot laps.

Steve B

Jim, do you still have the H&R lowering springs from EvoSport ?
What are the specs. on the Elbach springs you put on ? Are you lowering the car from stock ? I talked to David at Eibach. If I could find a front/rear H&R spring to send them they will build a set to match. I really liked the H&R set Simon sent me. The ride was improved and it was the low ride height I was looking for.
Best regards, Steve

MOFLO

Great write up Steve!

I use my CLKBS as a daily driver and track car. Running -2.5 camber for daily driving, although fun, would be costly on tires and such. Is there a quick way to adjust camber for daily street vs. track day? Is there a system or setup that will do this for the CLKBS?

Thanks!

Jim Brady

Sorry I don't. lowering back slightly not the front. I'm not certain you would want the specs until I find out if they work.

Euro

I will let you know how the K-Mac bushings work in our BS. Not sure if I will have time to get them in before next weekend, but will try! I plan on running around 1.75 Camber in front and 1.5 in rear, will monitor tire wear. Our BS is also a street car so I definitely don't want to kill the tires.

IMO, I have never been a fan of Delrin, way too hard. I remember having a 3rd Gen Camaro back in the day and it had a wheel-hop problem. Got some cool control arms with heim joints, drove he car and could not wait to remove them! The next set was Delrin, almost as bad (road like a hay wagon). Finally went to poly and it fixed both problems. Not sure what the K-Mac bushings are made out of, but I know it is not Delrin because I asked.

Mike

K-Mac

Quick way to adjust Camber

(And ongoing performance / adjustment capability)

Since the mid 90's the only wheel alignment setting that is now built into all models is front and rear Toe adjustment. This is all that MB dealers or alignment shops have to work with!


At K-MAC we saw the need and were the first company to design and manufacture replacement front Camber and Caster and rear Camber (with extra Toe) adjuster kits.


The unique patented designs provide precise front and rear adjustment (single wrench) on car, accurately under load - direct on alignment turntable!


You can purchase offset/slot bolts, but these are only one position providing a very minimal 0.3 of one degree (3mm / 1/8") offset. Only for the front and require labor intensive removal each time to change setting. The K-MAC single wrench invention means not this hit or miss approach till now, but precise adjustment if altering height, fitting wide profile tire/rims, resolving steering pull or simply the advantage of having ongoing adjustment capability to return vehicle to factory specs after curb knock damage.


While on race days can increase front Camber for extra traction (along with track width) to lower race times by going deeper into corners and fine tune rear for maximum traction.


Unlike no compromise “Delrin” we use elastomer bushes which have developed over the last 20 years with just the right amount of give to greatly extend wear life for day to day commuter use. Also having twice the load bearing area of factory bushes.


K-MAC front bushes feature "2 axis" and with above design dramatically improves brake and steering response, yet allowing today’s multi link arms to travel through their required arcs without binding or locking up.

MOFLO

I have used kmac on my W210 and it made a world of difference on the track and street.

My question is there a quick adjustment I can do without alignment racks? The ideal scenario for me would be to make a simple adjustment at home in my garage for the track day or street driving. Is this possible?

Thanks!

Steve B

The HG Motorsports adjustable rear control arms utilize shims which can give you camber adjustments in increments of 1/3 a Deg. or 1/2 a deg. you can insert easily. With shims of various thickness you can adjust the camber without the need for re-alignment for track days. That is one of the main benefits of the design. The K-MAC adjustable bushings just like the Renntech front adjustable bushings, limit you to about 2 deg. not as easy to see where you are with camber.
We need someone to make camber plates for the CLK-63 Black which mount on top of the front suspension so you can adjust from the engine compartment. I will do a follow up post on camber plates. HG is working on that also.

Steve B

No company currently offers adjustable front camber plates for the CLK-63 Black Series. I checked with several outfits who offer this product.
HG Motorsports is addressing this next now the rear control arms are in production. They have 12 sets ready to go out to CLK-Black owners.
Like Jim Brady said when he installed the rear adjustable control arms the handling of his car improved dramatically. I have had the same result with the HG Warrior. All we need is adjustable front camber plates we can easily adjust the front camber without haven't to do a re-alignment for track and street settings.
Better get on the phone and order up those control arms. They will be doing a feature soon on the project both here and on their web site.
Best $ you will spend on your Black believe me.


Steve

K-Mac

The unique K-MAC patented design front and rear Camber, Caster kits are precise, single wrench adjustment.


So cannot be any simpler for quick setting change!


It is only a matter at the alignment shop of recording both Street and Track settings. IE, 3 o'clock position etc.


Also at same time take Toe arm measurements as well.

MOFLO

Kmac,

I wish it was that simple but it's not. The camber plate would be the best solution for convenience of easy adjustments for weekend warriors like us. Based on past experience, I like your polyurethane bushing and will run them on my car to tighten up suspension play. Do you make any polyurethane sway bar bushing for the clk black? That would be helpful also.

Thanks!

Euro

I actually have my adjustable camber plates ordered from K-Mac, should be here in 2 weeks. I will put a separate thread up once I get them. I listed the specs already on Steve B's camber plate thread, but they will leave nothing on the table when combined with their adjustable bushings. The people in Austrailia are awesome to deal with!

All the best,

Mike

MOFLO

Eurotoys,

Maybe I'm looking at an old kmac catalog but I don't see a top strut camber adjustment for the clk. If you have it on order, I very interested in hearing how it performs when you get it setup on your car.

Thanks!

Euro

I think I was talking with Kevin at K-Mac and I mentioned I just installed some Camber plates on a GT500. With that and the racing events I told Kevin that I was doing, he mentioned their Camber plates. I know they make Caster/Camber plates for other cars, maybe this is a new product for them that is not in their current catalog.

I just received all of the K-Mac adjustable bushings yesterday, they look like they will be easy to adjust once in. Not sure if I can install them this week before Michigan, very busy with cars in the shop this week.

Mike

MOFLO

Mike,

I know how the control arm bushings look as I installed them on my E-class. Just curious about the camber plates KMAC may have. If you have pictures of the top strut bushing or camber plates, please post when you can.

Thanks!

MOFLO

Steve,

If we had rear camber plates, we don't need the rear adjustable control arms, correct? or am I missing something?

Thanks!

Euro

I will take pics when I get them and probably start a new thread on how to install them.

Mike

K-Mac

Do manufacture anti sway bar “non squeak” bushings for the CLK63 AMG Black series, $95 front and rear (set of 4) including Fedex air delivery.


Re the Camber (and Caster) plates/replacement top strut mounts for above, major reason no company has taken on the manufacture of these till now is because it is quite a challenge (before venturing further - from engine bay alone you can see there is only half inch of travel either side of the actual shock absorber shaft!).
But at K-MAC that is just what we do – (not “sit on the fence”) take up the challenge – design, innovate with “in-house” manufacturing (not import, relabeled).

Plus having the experience of being the longest established Camber, Caster, Toe adjuster kit manufacturer (44 years) with World’s largest range (over 300 strut adjuster part numbers alone – Audi to Volvo).

We are the actual inventors (with over 20 patents and patents pending) covering major deign breakthroughs….

The “all positional” adjuster for strut suspensions providing the biggest adjustment range. Strut adjusters where no mount studs exist. Adjusters for the 2 bolt flange struts so no weakened downsize crank bolts required. The sliding ball joint adjuster for wishbone suspensions. Single wrench so no disassembly adjusters for control arm bushes. Strut adjusters for all 2005 up Mustangs where no disassembly to change settings. Strut adjusters for current Camaro that bolt-on – no mods required to fit. The list goes on!

Recently completed entire range of both front and rear Camber, Caster, Toe adjusters for the very latest BMW ‘F’ Series so owners like our Mercedes range can also have precise adjustment facilities.
So yes will take on the challenge and release replacement strut top adjuster kits (Street/Race and Full Race versions) for the CLK63 Black Series 2 weeks from now with up to one and a quarter inch of extra negative Camber adjustment available

Where other companies use steel or soft billet alloy all our Stage 2 and 3 kits are ultimate aircraft 7075 grade aluminum. Strength yet weight of just 2.2lbs. Massive heavy duty spherical bearings (PTFE lined) that self align the strut and springs so no side loads. Stage 2 are encased in elastomer for extended life/day to day commuter use. Both have replaceable centers for virtual lifetime usage. Both adjusters also have separate radial thrust bearings to absorb steering loads (very latest K-MAC design – supersede needle roller bearings that prematurely pound out) with kits fitting both OEM diameter springs or smaller 60 to 70mm ID coil overs and designed for minimum stack height.

MOFLO

Looking forward to these new products K-MAC! Thanks!

Steve B

Camber plates are designed for the front suspension only. You get adjustment & access in the engine compartment on top of the shock/spring tower. Camber is adjusted by the rear lower control arm. Look at the photos on my previous posts.