absolutely no shake or undesirable ride characteristics.

i honestly don't remember exactly which spacers we ended up using, but i am positive they are H&R, and i'm pretty sure they are the H&R Trak+ hubcentric spacers. i initially got interested in this set-up after reading Vic55's contribution in this thread – so, two options for you: either call Supreme Power Parts, as Vic points out in that thread, or call BenzWorks (who did the work on my car), ask for Nick, and have him give you details on the exact set-up they used on my (Sebastian) wagon.

good luck. :)

[shameless self-promotion] my wagon made the front page! so exciting... thanks to everyone who voted for me.

One of the best looking wagons I ever soon 😱😱😱😱😱😱 , very tasty mods . Did you have to replace the rear view mirror to add the radar LCD and who did the install of the radar and how much did it cost , I’m thinking about upgrading mine .

thanks so much. really appreciate that. the mirror is the OEM mirror. there’s a company in Texas called Radar Mirror that does the integration. basically the installer sends the mirror and the display unit overnight and gets it back two days later.

i had it done at Haas Entertainment, and the install ran about $600. i wouldn’t go back to them though... if you’re in the LA area take it to BenzWorks.

Beautiful car.. One observation --you should have your laser shifters tested. Two heads for front coverage on this car against Dragon Eye (ECCM on) provides very poor coverage. Also after much testing the heads for me faired much better up higher--that is, above the Mercedes Star attached to the top of the upper air intake about 22 inches apart. I am now running 3 shifters upfront and getting spectacular coverage--unfortunately this means that I am forsaking rear coverage but getting tagged with laser from behind in many locations is rare-don't know whether that is a concern in LA. PM me if you want to discuss.

that's interesting info. thank you. i wonder if it would be possible to add more shifters into the system, so you retain the second one in the back, or does it only allow for four inputs? either way, i think you might be right – the likelihood of getting tagged from the back is rare. personally it's never happened to me, in my S213 or S212 (in which i was running the 9500ci).

i just installed the downpipes, so it would have been a good opportunity to try relocating it, but i'll give it a shot soon.

speaking of, here are some pics of the install. they're completely custom, with a high flow cat, and they sound like the apocalypse with the valves open, but retain their manners (i.e. sound stock) with valves closed and in comfort mode. i will post some video when i get around to it.

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question... you dropped your tranny to do downpipes? did you have to do that or you wanted to?

As to your question the Escort Max 360Ci bridgebox only allows for 4 heads total. I left my 2 rear shifters in place and bought a Escort Zw5 (wireless shifters that pair to a Max 360 C windshield detector)--I took one of the heads from the zw5 and mounted it up front--I connected it to the Ci bridgebox but obviously that meant I had to disconnect one of the rear shifters. If I want rear coverage I now connect the 2 rear shifters to the zw5 bridgebox but that means I have to use the Max360C windshield detector to operate it. This setup is a bit cumbersome especially given that you buy the Max 360 ci to have total built-in seamless operation--but if I am taking a long road trip and want total coverage I have it.

super interesting. thanks for the information and the detail. drive safe.

:zoom:

what are everybody's tire choices these days? My Pirelli's are about shot and I need something a slight bit quieter, smoother but still want the traction . . .

i’m waiting for the Pirelli’s to die, and will go with the Michelin PS4S. i used to have the PSS on my 212, and i really loved them.

What is the magic w/Michelin?
 

In my experience, with all variables the same (made over 2k miles on each tire, similar road conditions, went through really heavy rain and hail+wind, hot weather, same year W213), could not see any difference.

Anybody else did the same experiment: please chime in with observations on the difference between the two brands?

welp, i'll be able to conduct that experiment in person... but not really under the circumstances i imagined...

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100% my fault. i was merging onto the highway, and suddenly realized that the vehicle in the right hand lane was traveling a lot faster than i assumed. so i hit the gas, since i didn't want to cut them off. problem was that the steering wheel was slightly wound, and i had the traction control off.

so the car said: "this seems like a really poor decision and ill-advised input given the current circumstances, but you're in charge."

the rear end breaks out immediately to the right. i correct and catch it, but by the time i straightened her out again i was across the left lane and broadsided the concrete divider. in California, they curve and have a pronounced lip on the bottom, so both driver's side wheels take the full impact... the rear basically just detonates, and the front wheel breaks in half. i get bounced off the divider, and start spinning ass end first. when it comes around to the driver's side in the direction of travel the rotors and what's left of the front wheel digs in for a moment and the passenger side comes up.

thankfully it slams back down, spins two more times, and then ends up on the right side of the road, (sort of) parked in the breakdown lane. no airbag deployment, no other cars involved, no passengers, no injury, no property damage. thankfully. just me, sitting there, both hands on the wheel, thinking "what the **** just happened?!" and "i bet this wouldn't have happened with the Michelin PS4S." (kidding)

unsurprisingly (and luckily) the car is totaled... $85,000 worth of damage according to the adjuster, since basically the entire drivetrain, suspension, and brakes were destroyed. the pictures below are the front strut towers. the body shop said they had never see anything like this, and also didn't have a repair protocol from Mercedes-Benz for this type of damage.

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as expected, the whole thing shook me up quite a bit, but luckily the only injury i sustained was a bruised ego. these cars are absolutely fantastic machines, and in my opinion a big part of the price we pay for them has to do with the engineering and rigor that goes into making them so unbelievably safe.

initially i was going to order a 2020 wagon, but it seems that all allocations for this year are already spoken for, and i couldn't really wait another six months for a new daily driver anyway. so i managed to find a brand-new already built (and delivered) 2019 wagon, which is essentially the same car, except for the wheels, seats, and the magno paint. i initially didn't think the matte paint was for me, but even without post-rationalization i really love it. big shout out to Mercury insurance and their new vehicle replacement coverage...

i take delivery on thursday, and will drive her straight to BenzWorks to start a new build, which will consist of:

• custom BenzWorks downpipes with high-flow cats
• labworx tune stage 2
• BMC air filters
• suspension adjustment
• spacers
• chrome delete (gloss black to match night package trim) for door handles, trunk lid brow, rear mercedes-benz star
• black wrap on rear panel of roof to match panorama roof panels
• removal of fender badging
• removal of trunk lid “AMG” and “E63 S” badging
• removal of “AMG” badge in front grille
• Zunsport intercooler guards black
• XPEL stealth entire vehicle
• 30% ceramic tint all windows (side and rear), except windshield
• installation of escort 360ci max
• removal of airbag stickers on driver and passenger sunblinds

and here she is on the lot:

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man that must have been scary.
great you are OK.

Really sorry to hear and glad everybody is OK.
wonder what would have happened if it was different car.....

thank you!

that's what i keep thinking about. obviously it's impossible to know, but i'm fairly certain some of my previous vehicles from other manufacturers would have had a spectacular yard sale while brutally murdering me in the process, given the same set of circumstances.

Or traction control wasn't turned off...

bit of a non sequitur, but i hear you. it was a stupid and costly mistake, and i am very lucky and grateful that nothing worse happened.

Glad to hear you're OK. You're going to like the Selenite Grey.

Yes, Selenite Grey :)
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thank you. what a beautiful car! and factory delivery to boot!

i'm very familiar with the selenite grey metallic finish, since that's what i had on the wagon that i had the accident in. when i initially placed the order for that car about a year ago, i was very much on the fence between metallic and magno, but decided to get the former because i felt that the flat finish wasn't for me. with this new one, i am really excited about it... definitely a very different feel than the metallic, but still very elegant.

I think you’ll get more people commenting on the car. The Magno finish really draws them in.

Very easy to care for, just make sure to only wash with products that have no added shine / wax, and the dry as you would to avoid water spots.

The car can actually be fairly dirty and still look clean. The Magno finish just loses a bit of sparkle.

thanks for the advice. :y

Awesome wagon
 

Awesome wagon!!!

Sorry to hear about the wagon....glad you are safe.

2 more questions....
do you have the procedure to remove the front bumper?
Im wondering where the broken wagon will go and if the junk yard will sell the ceramic brakes?

so I just got back from an AMG track day....the difference in performance having the ESP completely off and on Sport + isn’t worth it. Unless you are on a track and had plenty of time to practice there....you aren’t able to go faster or actually have more fun. I would have thought differently but the 4matic+ is really a superb system and the best out of all of the cars that I drove.