Saijin_Naib

Yeah, I'm rather fond of having it on my car and I think it might contribute in some way to the good mileage I've been able to return with the car. Question, if I go for a high CFM cat to replace my current one(s), will that help or hurt mileage? I've got a bit of a rattle somewhere in the exhaust under WOT and considering its all 3 years new, I'm not thrilled. Well, the rumble and the expectation of getting at least some of that .5s back as Mercedes shows it in the w124 documentation. Oh, the wonders of 10%+ Ethanol. Grumble.
Ahh.. shame to hear all that. Well, at least this means the work I've put into Bucky has not been a waste thus far. It does do quite well at AutoX events.. I've just got to nail down the handling a bit more and then I should be really kicking names and taking ***.

Hate to ask, but have you had a chance to check the 600sl brakes against the CLK forged rims for fitment?

Thanks a ton as always

RBYCC

Brett

Did you ever think a blocked cat may be part of your poor performance ?

A high flow cat will give you a bit more power, within the tolerance of a dyno pull, and not effect your mileage.

Go with a spun metal Random Technology knock off type, Magnaflow makes a great one for around $100+/-

Good Luck

Ed A.

AMGDave

Actually - yes! I totally forgot to email you about that. They don't clear. At all. Not even close. The 320mm caliper sticks out too far (sideways), the wheel spokes touch the face of the caliper. These flyweight wheels don't clear the 300mm front calipers either. (Haven't tried the 300mm rears, though - stay tuned).

The C280 Sport wheels might be a decent compromise, same dimensions, and 18.90 lbs each... I believe that's a couple lbs less than most OE wheels of the same size, and a half-pound less than the stock W124 8-hole, 15" wheels (the '95 style weighed in at 19.5 lbs). The C280 Sports clear the 300mm and I believe they'll also clear the 320mm, but I'll double-check sometime...

AMGDave

Wait. Exhaust rattle? I missed that. I agree... time to check and possibly replace that cat!!

Saijin_Naib

I knew it could be a possibility, but I had the whole exhaust including cats replaced 3 summers ago after the muffler had a hole rot in it. I'd be quite upset if the cats got clogged in under 3 years of usage after that point. That means that I'm running really rich, I'm passing lots of oil into the exhaust, and/or that Ethanol is a ***** on older cars (which is already known).

Is there a definitive test for me to check the status of my catalysts? I heard you can just "ping" them with a mallet or somesuch.

I've been looking at Flow rates for different cats and I think the best I've found so far for the price is the SMS Products 200-Cell cat which flows about 440 CFM or so, which is about 20-30 CFM less than a Test-pipe but will still (amazingly) meet emissions which is a good thing for me because I'm not into polluting more than I have to.

Saijin_Naib

That is an absolute shame. Not happy to hear that I guess for now I'll probably just get nicer pads and rotors for my stock diameter/depth and save the full brake upgrade for a point further out in time where I can go for the 334mm ones and suck it up and put on lightweight 17s.

Thanks for the check Dave, I really appreciate it!
I may still nab those CLK fugly wheels for the time being to put over my 295s... I think they are lighter than the 15 holers even.

rivcal4life

Brett, I have found a bunch of those wheels on VW Vanagon forums. It seems like they've picked them all up over the years. Too bad they sometimes want up to $900 (or more) a set! Lowest I found was $400, which isn't too bad, but it still seems high for something people literally used to throw in the garbage.

It's a shame they won't fit over the silver arrows. I guess I can stop looking for a pair for a rear drag setup. Looks like I'll be picking up a set of 17" RPF1's once I can sell my Carlssons.

Saijin_Naib

Yeah Justin, it is some serious ****. Those VW people just steal our rims haha! That is alright, I do have to say our 15 holers look sick as hell on slammed MKII GTIs.

I may just say screw it and pick up those forged CLK rims if I ever find a cheap pair anyway. I mean, I'm producing just about half of stock HP so I figure my brakes are good for now if I get some nice rotors and some grippier pads.

RHW

Are these the wheels you are talking about? And if so how much do they actually weigh?

rivcal4life

Yes sir. Dave has them pinned around 14.5lbs each!

Saijin_Naib

I've seen as low as 13.5 or 13.8 listed for them. They're pretty awesome wheels...
Do you have a source for them Rich?

RHW

Brett, I do not off hand, but saw a set recently and will keep an eye open for good pricing.

WOW on the weight, I missed that if it is up there, Guess I have been too busy drooling over on Justin's thread.

Forgive my lack of familiarity...there are many clk rims, what is the differentiating years and or sizes. I am continually scouting for a few more carlssons, and saw loads of clk wheels but not that style. Is that the only lightweight style? I like the look of most of the other clk wheels more.

INDY300ce

where can these headlights be purchased ?

INDY300ce

where can these headlights be purchased?

190E 16V

I love those wheels! They are at least 10 years old, but look really good on a lowered 190E.

Saijin_Naib

What headlights Indy?

Saijin_Naib

Thanks for looking out then Rich.

Yeah, these are the only super-lightweights. They're made by the same company that produces the forged wheels for Porsche. I believe these were only offered from 98-2000.

AMGDave

Justin, to clarify, I only verified they do not clear the 300mm and 320mm front brakes. I haven't yet tried them over 300mm rear brakes. I will do that though... I think they're a bit narrow for 500E use, but with drag radials it might be OK... you'll just be limited as to the section width.

AMGDave

From memory I thought they were ~14.5 lbs each, but I put four on a digital scale after removing the balancing weights & center cap and they averaged ~14.10 lbs each. I can post the exact weights of all four if anyone wants to know, they varied by 0.10-0.15 lbs (I think) from lightest to heaviest.

I had seen numbers around 12-13 lbs posted elsewhere but that is incorrect. I weighed them on a digital refrigerant scale which I've verified against USPS and FedEx scales, and it's accurate within better than 1%, I think it was around 0.5%, which means the 14.10 number should be accurate within about 0.1 lbs. (What? Me ****?)

Saijin_Naib

Once again proving themselves to be the universally perfect Mercedes wheel.

AMGDave

Costmetically, I agree. I just wish they were lighter... 24.6 lbs each for the 8.25" wide version.

bsmuwk

oh god. there goes my plan.

Saijin_Naib

Yep. I can't justify the weight. Visually, they are absolutely sublime. Perfect, understated, yet still aggressive enough.

Weight is a HUGE disappointed. If they weighed the same as the CLK forged rims, well....

Saijin_Naib

Anyone know if fixing the Driver's Side mirror adjuster knob is a easy or hard DIY? I was adjusting it the other night and it feels like whatever the rod connected to on the mirror broke. The inside knob is fine however, not sure if that makes any difference.

rivcal4life

If you're lucky, you'll be able to access it just by popping off the mirror glass:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...d.php?t=269849

If nothing there is obviously broken, checking it out should not be too difficult, but you have to be CAREFUL! The way you get inside the mirror is by removing the strip between the painted part (towards the front of the car) and the ABS plastic non-painted part surrounding the mirror glass. You remove the strip by prying it a little closest to the door, then pushing it towards the outside of the car while also pulling up. Once the strip is off, the front painted cover slides right off, and you should be able to see inside. It is very easy to scratch the different parts of the mirror, so you may want to practice on a junkyard car.