Beleriand

Hi,

I have posted a lot over at the benzworld forum. This is my first post over here. I see a lot of familiar faces! Cool.

Today, I purchased a few Brabus upgrades including: Monoblock S wheels (19 x 8.5 in front, 19 x 9.5 in back) with corresponding Pirelli Nero tires, Roadster Bars Stainless/Polished/Carbon, a new shift knob and a Brabus emblem. I ordered a new antenna and steering wheel.

I have a question about the Brabus emblem.

If you had to choose, where would you put the Brabus emblem on your SLK55. Here are the choices:

1. In place of the SLK55 emblem.

2. In place of the AMG emblem.

3. In place of both by itself on the right side.

4. In place of both by itself on the left side (most common placement).

5. No Brabus emblem at all.

This assumes that you spent a bundle on Brabus upgrades and got the badge as part of the deal. Here are the considerations IMHO. You want people to know what model MB you have, so leave the SLK55 badge and remove the AMG badge for the Brabus emblem. On the other hand, the AMG badge says a lot about the quality of the engine so remove the SLK55 badge and replace it with the Brabus emblem. On the other hand, removing them both and just having the Brabus emblem is a much cleaner look. Then again, you can screw it and just keep the MB badges like they are and throw the Brabus badge away.

What do you guys (and gals) think?

Thanks!

AMG_55

i would never put any brabus parts on an AMG car, maybe roll bars and shift knob but definitely not wheels, exhaust, there r many other "neutral" wheel companies out there that make better wheels.

now u gotta do brabus brakes, engine, suspension, etc... to make it a real brabus car, then u can put a brabus badge on it

Beleriand

I appreciate your opinion AMG_55. Thanks for taking the time to write it. But Brabus does its best work on AMG models. For example, the B55 engine enhancement is only available on the AMG version. The engine tuning available on the SLK350 is anemic.

I don't think you have to get every single Brabus part in order to put the badge on your car. Hell, you can get into the tens of thousands of dollars pretty quick at Brabus without ever touching your engine. I think if you spend that kind of money you can put the badge on your car. At what point does the car magically turn into a "real" Brabus - $10K, $50K, $100K. I think that if you like the Brabus stuff and invest in their product, you can put the badge anywhere you please. Just my opinion.

Brabus isn't for everyone. But I notice that those who have negative things to say about Brabus have never had any first-hand experience with them. I had a great experience at the showroom in Newport Beach today. I am starting slow with the mods. If this is a good experience, I will go back and get some engine work done.

Good luck to you and take care.

AMG_55

i dont hate brabus, how can any1 hate brabus when they make a 630hp g wagen

their wheels r over weight though and r really expensive.

their engine mods for n/a engines, and kompressor and turbo engines as well.

i see where ur coming from, itll take a lot of $ on top of the 70k to make ur car a real brabus car.

i would de-badge the car or leave the amg badge on it
to each his own

btw,
those roll bars are sick , and brabus steering wheels are the ****

good luck w/ ur car.

SLK55R

I wish I saw your comments on Brabus rims earlier. I've had a couple sets of the Monoblock IV's (3 piece) and to be honest they weren't that good. I bent them all the time and they were VERY heavy rims. For the price I would have gone with some of the other reputable brands. Hopefully the S rims you bought will be stronger and lighter.

Other than that I love the Brabus stuff. For HP I'd still suggest you look at Kleemann or Renntech. Carlsson is just stupidly expensive.

In terms of emblem, I used to take off everything and just put the brabus on the left hand side. I loved the black lettering! People that know cars will still know that yours is a SLK55. Too many things differentiate it from the SLK350.

I know that when I mod a car I wish I could stay with just one company. ALL Brabus, all Carlsson, all renntech, all Kleemann etc. But my reality will be that my car will be a mix of a couple of them. Most likely looks will be Carlsson for me but HP will probably be Renntech. Tough call on badging though!

Beleriand

Thanks for the comments guys. The Monoblock S is supposed to be stronger and lighter than previous versions. Hell, I'll give them a try and if they suck I'll be irresponsible and get something else. Hey, we all have weaknesses! I will post back next Monday when the job is done.

Take care.