Hammer Down

I know someone has already done it but I can't remember who it was HELP!!!!!

Crescendo

M3-ADDICT did it.

Hammer Down

Not sure if he can help while he is banned besides I don't think it was him that I talked to about it awhile back.

blackbenzz

He is joking, he never had a E55. He just wishes he did

jrcart

I believe this mod would require the complete BS rearend and housing as well, diameter and splines are larger on BS.

Hammer Down

Exactly, this is why the member who's name I can't remember made this swap. He wanted the security of having more strength in the larger axles

chiromikey

u sure this was done? i can't believe i missed that thread if it was!

jrcart

They are strong, I can't belive I have not snapped mine yet considering the combo of RWHP and the MT's. I'm now at or approaching the "AMG claimed HP limit" of my trans and rear-end, I'm going to bump up the solenoids so I can spray an additional 50hp which will put me well over their "claimed limit", I guess we are going to find out here very shortly if that is a real or fictional number.

jrcart

I had not heard anything about it either, but then again I have not been spending much time on here over the past year. Based on what I learned with my investigations into a CF driveshaft for my BS I think it might even require a driveshaft/joint modification as well. If it has been done it was not a simple bolt-up conversion.

Jakpro1

Never heard of it either.

I can't imagine them being any stronger/bigger than the shafts used to launch the 5000lb s65 boat but who knows.

If anyone finds out, let us know.

jrcart

They are bigger than the axles on a E63, I would assume E55 would have a similar axle to the 63. I have seen the BS axle next to a standard CLK63 cabrio and E63 axle, the BS is larger than both in diameter. I have an extra set of stock BS axles I purchased about a year and a half ago in anticipation of breaking mine. I would be happy to throw a caliper on one to show exact diameter when my car and trailer get back here to Chicago in about a week.

vraa

Thaaaar she blowwws Captain!
Call me Ahab...

MB_Forever

That's what I was thinking.... would they really be stronger than one used on a much heavier car with over 700 ft-lbs of torque?

blackbenzz

Horsepower does not break axles, transmissions, or rear ends. It is torque.
Having a large diameter does not necessarily mean it is a stronger axle since one can be hollow and the other solid (or different materials being used). One good MB example is the CLK430 vs CLK55 axles. Believe it or not the shaft on the CLK55 axles are smaller in diameter. The most important things to look at are how they connect to the diff and how many splines go into the hub. If they bolt up or slide into the diff then it may be different than the other car. If one has more splines on the hub end then you would need to replace the hub/knuckle as well or if there is enough meat on it have it drilled out to the new spline count. Also, this goes without saying but the length is crucial as well.
Exactly. At the end of the day tire, launch technique, and launch strength can either save or destroy axles. How much are these axles anyway? I can't imagine they would be very cheap. Depending on price I would just look at getting custom ones made that will hold alot more power.

Crescendo

M3-ADDICT swapped axle assemblies, fitted in an SLR engine and got a standalone tune/ecu from Brabus.
True story.

Hammer Down

There wasn't a thread about, it came across through another topic and I asked the owner why he had switched to the BS axles and he said that he was paranoid about snapping an axle so he made the switch. This was about 1.5 to 2yrs ago.

jrcart

Ahmad, you're right but as I already mentioned the BS splines are completely different, at least different than an E63, different size and count. When my car trailer arrives back here in Chicago I will take a couple pics of the axle and both ends and hopefully somebody can snap a few pics of the E55 axles. I'd be more than happy to take a few measurments, diameter, spline count/width and overall axle length. Do the E55's come with a limited-slip dif? The BS is limited-slip, which would be another possible advantage of switching. Come to think of it, if you have to switch out the entire housing you may also have to incorporate the BS dif cooler as well, depending on how it is plumbed in. My knowledge is limited on this topic, but just trying to point out some observations I have made on my own BS regarding this issue. When I originally tried sourcing a set of replacement axles I had trouble getting a proper BS part number so the dealership threw a CLK 63 cab and a E63 up on a lift for a quick look/comparison as well as viewed the microfiche images and specs of both P/Ns.

jrcart

I might be preppared to call BS (not on you, but on whoever claims got axles 2yrs ago) on this one and I don't mean BS as in Black Series. I got my spare set of Black Series axles in late September of 2009 and that was after a couple months of trying, it was like pulling teeth, finally getting my hands on them directly from Germany. I obviously had a valid VIN for a BS so I highly doubt an E55 owner was able to get his hands on a set before me, not saying it's impossible, just unlikely.

blackbenzz

Does the CLK BS have different gear ratio than E55? I would think it should. This would require a TCU tune as well if you were to swap diffs. No, the E55 did not have an LSD. DO you know if your axles slide into the diff or are bolted to cups on the outside? Since you mentioned the spline count in the hub end being different the knuckle will also have to be swapped, if possible. AT the end of the day you are looking at a big price tag when you could get stronger axles made for probably less money

Hammer Down

I hear you, I've spent the last hr going through old post trying to find a topic that rings a bell. Come to think of it the guy had it in his list of mods in his signature. grrrrrrr who the eff was it damn it

chiromikey

hammer, i think you're looking for something nonexistent. i'm certain this mod would have received recognition if it had happened.

MB_Forever

They have different gear ratios... I believe the CLK BS is 3.59.

whipplem104

I agree that you should just have custom ones made. They should be around 2500 at the most. I am sure that the BS axles if they are anything special are more than that. Our regular axles are typically over 1,000 each. Check out Paramount Performance. They build axles for the Chryslers and the Chrysler shares the same quaife unit. Similar rear suspension. Should be pretty close for adaptation. THese are good to 1000 hp. Most of the chrysler stuff should be pretty close to Merc since they used a lot of the design and parts from Merc.

blackbenzz

Specking of Bill, I sent him an axle over a year ago to get stronger ones made and nothing ever came of it.

whipplem104

It was a good place to start. You might try Mark Williams in Colorado also.
They list custom shafts and other work. Still around the same price.