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Looks good! Also great choice on caliper color were you the one asking about the paint on my vid?
Nope, but if your caliper color is same as the one I am going for, props to you for your classy taste This E53 diffuser order saga is a lesson in patience. I am putting all the other mods on hold until that diffuser arrives... now scheduled for mid-March...yuk! Seller pinged me last week, asking if I wanted to change the tips to black it could ship immediately. I said NO. I want chrome tips... and so the wait continues...
Added the orange hub caps today. Painting the calipers is awaiting the MB dealership replacement of the rusted rear calipers. Their 7-10 business days to receive the parts from Germany is still ongoing but I am patient. Once the new rear calipers go in, then they are ready for the new glossy-shine... Until then, I think the pop of color these hub caps provides are actually nice. I like them, and that's what counts
Finally, thinking of upsizing the tires to get the fender gap a tad reduced. I am going to install 245-45-19s when the RFs are due for replacement - sucks that these rims are squared rather than staggered which I'd much prefer.. but don't want to swap out rims just yet. On my SLK350, in 6+ years of ownership, I am on my 6th set of rims... an SLS AMG rim-set in 19", that fit the car perfectly. But it took 6 tries... gonna live with these AMG 19 stock rims awhile, so just going to beautify them as much as possible till I get tired of them and replace with staggered set of 19s.
For reference, I will share a link below to my SLK350 mod journey while I was a member of that community.... my handle in that forum is/was @b82012 (representing my since departed, but much beloved and heavily modded 2012 Audi A4 (B8) - another story at another time...)
Sit back, and enjoy the ride... through these write-ups. You will get a sense of the journey I am starting for this E450 through the SLK350 journey
These arrived today... planning to put these on shortly. For the T-Box Mini - Carlinkit product, I am hoping this can solve my issue of more than one iPhone connection and use, since my current Ottocast wireless carplay doesnt. I typically have to disconnect the unit from the car, plug it back in, before it can permit another iPhone connection to the unit. Have tried to work-around it, but got tired of this song-and-dance so purchased this new set.. hoping it solves this issue for me. It does claim YT via hotspot WiFi, so gonna give that a try as well. Will se if it works as advertised. It was a good deal for $143.99 from its original list price of $569.95.
Brand new rear calipers now installed. The car drives like a dream. Honestly, this car is one of (if not) the BEST car I have ever owned.... in my 35+ years of driving and ~30 cars (sedans, hatchback, coupes, verts and SUVs). Strong statement, I know, but it is just buttery smooth and highly responsive if I need to giddy up. Loving it more as I drive it around. Surprisingly, I have put on ~1500 miles in under 2 months of ownership... and enjoying every mile with a smile.
I now have a couple conundrums to figure out. A week or so ago, I was at a red light, and a white E-class was to my left making a left turn, and the diamond grille sparkled like a million suns... and I was mesmerized... It looked sooooo good, that I immediately thought what if instead of the Panamericana grille, I go with the diamond grille... Hmmmm..... I ordered the diamond grille and it arrived today, so now I must decide between the two... Can you guys give your thoughts...on these two grille options?
I finally opened the two boxes containing the grilles I ordered, and tried a show-n-tell to get a semblance of the look at install... Not the best overlay, but compared to stock, the Panamericana gives a more aggressive look while the diamond exudes a more elegant style. Tough choice... bcos I'd like to have both attributes
2011 e350 4matic wagon, '18 e400 vert, '18 BMW x3 m40i, '18 Mini Countryman S
@Povitica3 I hope to see the finished product at local a Cars and Coffee. The Annapolis event last Sunday was awesome. I'm probably heading to Kent Island on May 18.
New front fins added to give the car a new, somewhat aggressive look. Car is currently in the shop getting new front grille installed. So which grille did I go with? Gonna have to wait for the pics....
New grille installed...pictures doesn't do the look much justice. It really looks awesome and very masculine, and I am thrilled with the transformation... Next mod - painted calipers. Ultimately going with the burnt orange color.
Just got word from the shipper for my E53 diffuser and chrome tips that these will arrive from Hong Kong by end of this month. Phew! I ordered this stuff back in Dec even before the car was delivered... Just gotta be patient and wait a wee bit more. After the diffuser goes in, it will be about de-chroming a few sections... satin black wraps on the front lower lip, the spoiler and maybe around the window trims... And once the car goes out of warranty, it gets a tune from Eurocharged.
These arrived today... planning to put these on shortly. For the T-Box Mini - Carlinkit product, I am hoping this can solve my issue of more than one iPhone connection and use, since my current Ottocast wireless carplay doesnt. I typically have to disconnect the unit from the car, plug it back in, before it can permit another iPhone connection to the unit. Have tried to work-around it, but got tired of this song-and-dance so purchased this new set.. hoping it solves this issue for me. It does claim YT via hotspot WiFi, so gonna give that a try as well. Will se if it works as advertised. It was a good deal for $143.99 from its original list price of $569.95.
I also have a similar box, but mine is T-box plus. Where did you got your box?
I demo-ed the Carlink T-Box Mini today and can say that if you have a non-touch screen (i.e., COMAND) it will be a waste of your time and $$... why? bcos the interface is slow and somewhat buggy, does not neatly or usefully allow use of the center console scroll, touchpad or steering wheel buttons. Just a hot mess to navigate the screen/aps installed. I am likely going to return this as it was just a frustrating exercise trying to use it. And its not bcos I have an iPhone not an Android...or that this kit was designed primarily from an AA perspective, but the navigation / scroll problem is software related and not about the phone system. Yes, the kit does have some nice features and stuff, but of what use if you cannot navigate or access them using all the controls in the car. Sad really cos I tried to really like it, but alas...
I demo-ed the Carlink T-Box Mini today and can say that if you have a non-touch screen (i.e., COMAND) it will be a waste of your time and $$... why? bcos the interface is slow and somewhat buggy, does not neatly or usefully allow use of the center console scroll, touchpad or steering wheel buttons. Just a hot mess to navigate the screen/aps installed. I am likely going to return this as it was just a frustrating exercise trying to use it. And its not bcos I have an iPhone not an Android...or that this kit was designed primarily from an AA perspective, but the navigation / scroll problem is software related and not about the phone system. Yes, the kit does have some nice features and stuff, but of what use if you cannot navigate or access them using all the controls in the car. Sad really cos I tried to really like it, but alas...
Page-1 of screen
Page-2 of screen
It looks great. If your car does not have touch screen. Maybe you can add a Bluetooth air mouse to control it.
Gorgeous and beautiful day today in the DMV corner of America, so time to break out the mitts/sponge, soap, and water for a car wash day... both MBs got a bath, and now ready for the week ahead.
The diffuser and E53 quad tips are now on… front and rear now looking just as I planned. The car needs a bath but this pic taken in the shop at pickup tonight will do for now. More to come so stay tuned…
02-14-2023, 08:42 PM
This E53 diffuser order saga is a lesson in patience. I am putting all the other mods on hold until that diffuser arrives... now scheduled for mid-March...yuk! Seller pinged me last week, asking if I wanted to change the tips to black it could ship immediately. I said NO. I want chrome tips... and so the wait continues...
but I am patient. Once the new rear calipers go in, then they are ready for the new glossy-shine... Until then, I think the pop of color these hub caps provides are actually nice. I like them, and that's what counts 
