slk55er

After reading one review that mentioned some "drumming" road noise from the rear cavity of the CLS and having improved this situation in my GT S, I decided to address this in my CLS53 -- two days after taking delivery earlier this week. I removed the trunk floor liner and added some 80 mil Noico sound deadening mat. This probably made an improvement, but I really did not enough seat time prior to adding this to tell. I just knew it made a significant difference in my GT S, so I was motivated to add this to my CLS53.

In the process I removed the trunk floor liner and the driver-side fender liner in side the trunk. (See the photos.) I was surprised to find how difficult this was -- certainly not convenient, particularly considering that the 12 volt battery is under this liner and will need to be replaced at some point. Also down in the well under this floor liner is the pump for the air suspension. There is very little factory-installed noise abatement material around the tub under this liner. You can see the foil-backed Noico pads that I have installed. Also in one of the photos you can see the shock tower which the factory covered loosely with a flimsy felt-like pad. I added some of the Noise mat on the tower. I accessed the passenger-side shock tower from the rear seat with the seat back folded down.

I hope you find the photos of interest. Again, I was really surprised to see how difficult it was to access the battery. BTW -- the 12 volt battery in the trunk well is an AGM lead-acid battery, not a Lithium so a standard battery charger will work. The battery on my GT S was a Lithium battery which requires a special trickle charger designed for a Li battery.

chassis

Great write up, thanks.