What did you do for your W211 today?
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,184
Likes: 16
From: Highlands Ranch, Colorado
2014 BMW M235i
Heard mixed things about the stopping power of the Akebonos, yet I do agree about the issue with brake dust. 09W211 how is the stopping power/bite compared to OEM?
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
From: 301
2003 W211 E500
The hydro dip doesn't quite match but I will redo that when the new trim piece shows up. Car now has CD, DVD, satelite radio, garmin navigation, bluetooth stream, and parrot hands free calling. Radio is a Kenwood DNX690HD and I'm running a JL 5 channel amp to power all the speakers.
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 250
Likes: 1
From: NJ
2005 E320 CDI
The hydro dip doesn't quite match but I will redo that when the new trim piece shows up. Car now has CD, DVD, satelite radio, garmin navigation, bluetooth stream, and parrot hands free calling. Radio is a Kenwood DNX690HD and I'm running a JL 5 channel amp to power all the speakers.
also are you running the 5 channel amp to the factory speakers?
Delvi.
Junior Member
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 42
Likes: 4
From: Greenville, SC
2013 W166, 2014 W212, 2011 W212, 2004 W211
I picked up my first MB on Sunday (2004 E320 RWD, 50K miles, $8,000).
Monday gave it a full detail inside/out, repaired broken cupholder.
Today updated Comand to accept MP3 DVDs, installed 2012 Nav update.
Much, much more to come!
Monday gave it a full detail inside/out, repaired broken cupholder.
Today updated Comand to accept MP3 DVDs, installed 2012 Nav update.
Much, much more to come!
Last edited by Robbiew; May 21, 2013 at 05:27 PM.
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Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 341
Likes: 4
From: Columbia, MO
E320 & X166
I decided to try and paint my own wheels. All and all, not too bad. I had taken some wheels from an 06 with elegance package and they were in bad condition; but still much better than my original 16" ones that were flaking.
Member
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 116
Likes: 1
From: New York City
2003 E500 sport (sold), 2009 GL450, w213 E63 (waiting for ordering guide)
Had my mechanic change front rotors, front and rear pads (rear rotors got changed 5k miles ago). changed the links and sway bar cause they were loose and shaking like an earthquake, one of the control arms and ball joints in my right wheel was bad so I got that changed (all together 850 for parts 300 for labor).. what else.. oh I changed the oil put some mobile 1 0w-40 European car formula. Theres still more to go, love my baby, its an 03' e500 sport with 70k miles on it
Junior Member
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 42
Likes: 4
From: Greenville, SC
2013 W166, 2014 W212, 2011 W212, 2004 W211
- Installed new Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus tires (MUCH quieter than OE Michelins, handling seems to be as good or better)
- Oil / ATF change (tranny is a bit smoother)
- 6 hr clay bar / wax job (likely the first real wax this car has ever seen, luckily it was a 50K mile garage-kept grandma car
)
I've got this car looking and running like brand new - other than the auto trunk button. I dug into the wiring and didn't find any breaks. I might just let the indie shop track this one down.
- Oil / ATF change (tranny is a bit smoother)
- 6 hr clay bar / wax job (likely the first real wax this car has ever seen, luckily it was a 50K mile garage-kept grandma car
)I've got this car looking and running like brand new - other than the auto trunk button. I dug into the wiring and didn't find any breaks. I might just let the indie shop track this one down.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,184
Likes: 16
From: Highlands Ranch, Colorado
2014 BMW M235i
Today I finally painted my calipers, I will have another thread on this later but just a preview (I will explain my color choice in detail in that thread lol as I'm sure some people will get upset over the fact that they think it will get really dirty). 12 hours of work in total to get masking perfect, and the contrast with the black pads and car is amazing in person. Three coats of high temperature enamel and it's looking good.
Tomorrow I am taking the car to be machine polished, high speed buffing to remove the imperfections in the paint and swirl marks, the lowering and the DDM tuning kit will be installed later on this month.
Here is what I did today, went with a lovely white and high temperature paint. Also painted the area on the front rotor common on StopTech brakes where the bad doesn't contact the rotor and a layer of rust was starting to accumulate after washing it (it looks a bit uneven in the second picture but once you brake for the first time it harmlessly cuts a clean line around the over-sprayed areas):
Unfortunately while under the car I also noticed the CV boot had a minor leak so I have to look into how expensive that will be or if I can wait on it
Good news though (@09W211) is that after weeks of owning the StopTech brake pads and going through several washes and doing several sets of brake bedding, the StopTech remain absolutely silent even without warming up.
Tomorrow I am taking the car to be machine polished, high speed buffing to remove the imperfections in the paint and swirl marks, the lowering and the DDM tuning kit will be installed later on this month.
Here is what I did today, went with a lovely white and high temperature paint. Also painted the area on the front rotor common on StopTech brakes where the bad doesn't contact the rotor and a layer of rust was starting to accumulate after washing it (it looks a bit uneven in the second picture but once you brake for the first time it harmlessly cuts a clean line around the over-sprayed areas):
Unfortunately while under the car I also noticed the CV boot had a minor leak so I have to look into how expensive that will be or if I can wait on it
Good news though (@09W211) is that after weeks of owning the StopTech brake pads and going through several washes and doing several sets of brake bedding, the StopTech remain absolutely silent even without warming up.
Last edited by AMGAffalterbach; Jun 4, 2013 at 01:44 AM.
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
From: 301
2003 W211 E500
I used the hardware that came with the head unit. The 5 channel JL amp is running all the speakers in the car. Didnt want to pay $500 for the interface to use the stock *****ty amp so I by passed it all.
Member
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 116
Likes: 1
From: New York City
2003 E500 sport (sold), 2009 GL450, w213 E63 (waiting for ordering guide)
Today I finally painted my calipers, I will have another thread on this later but just a preview (I will explain my color choice in detail in that thread lol as I'm sure some people will get upset over the fact that they think it will get really dirty). 12 hours of work in total to get masking perfect, and the contrast with the black pads and car is amazing.......
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,184
Likes: 16
From: Highlands Ranch, Colorado
2014 BMW M235i
Got my car machine polished today as per the suggestion of several of you here on the forum. If I can restore an accidentally deleted folder here soon, I will post a picture but it looks brand new. There are still a few minor marks you can see here and there but I cannot believe how good it looks after 3 hours of professional polishing. It looks like it's wet and almost blue as it reflects the sky so well. Thanks to OliverK that recommended that even though it was meant as a bit of an insult! Even in the brightest light before when you would see the horrible swirl marks and scratches it looks pitch black, amazing. Best money I've spent recently on my car aesthetically.
@PepperE500 Love the look man, post a vid of how it sounds!
@Japsin Thanks! I was able to see it in broad sunlight today and it looks great, even after driving for a while no issues with brake dust. I went with the R1 concepts premium rotors which I highly recommend especially after a great customer experience. Coupled with StopTech Street Performance pads it doesn't fade very much and has excellent bite. As for the comparison to the flat rotors... I can't say as my OEM front discs were cross drilled (rears were not) so that's all I've known. I doubt you will notice much of a difference to be honest, maybe a bit more thermal efficiency but I think the biggest difference will be noticed in the pads. I bet it helps with some pad fade due to better ventilation but I rarely take it to that extreme. If you have new rotors probably not much of a point in changing them out now, it's money that could be spent somewhere else.
@PepperE500 Love the look man, post a vid of how it sounds!
@Japsin Thanks! I was able to see it in broad sunlight today and it looks great, even after driving for a while no issues with brake dust. I went with the R1 concepts premium rotors which I highly recommend especially after a great customer experience. Coupled with StopTech Street Performance pads it doesn't fade very much and has excellent bite. As for the comparison to the flat rotors... I can't say as my OEM front discs were cross drilled (rears were not) so that's all I've known. I doubt you will notice much of a difference to be honest, maybe a bit more thermal efficiency but I think the biggest difference will be noticed in the pads. I bet it helps with some pad fade due to better ventilation but I rarely take it to that extreme. If you have new rotors probably not much of a point in changing them out now, it's money that could be spent somewhere else.
Last edited by AMGAffalterbach; Jun 5, 2013 at 02:45 AM.
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
From: 301
2003 W211 E500
Last edited by PepperE500; Jun 5, 2013 at 10:53 PM.
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Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Ft. Lauderdale Area, USA
2015 ML 350
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 398
Likes: 7
From: Queens NY/ Ft Lauderdale FL
W211 E63
Member
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 116
Likes: 1
From: New York City
2003 E500 sport (sold), 2009 GL450, w213 E63 (waiting for ordering guide)
just some nice cleaning, waxing, all the good stuff today.. filled it to the throat with mobile 93 octane and its just sitting in the driveway ready
