sajecw

I just installed H&R 1.0 lowering springs and KONI yellows on a 2001 CLK55.

I brought the car to as shop that handles the locals lowered vehicles.

They told me that there was not a special program for the CLK55. They also told me my camber settings were way off on the left side.

Here are my numbers:

Left Front:
Camber -2.2 Spec range -1.3 to -0.6
Caster 4.9 Spec range 4.9 to 5.9
Toe 0.27 Spec Range .12 to .29

Right Front:
Camber -1.3 Spec range -1.3 to -0.6
Caster 5.6 Spec range 4.9 to 5.9
Toe 0.20 Spec Range .12 to .29


I would think they should have made the camber on both sides the same.

Can someone please tell me if the CLK55 uses a different program and what the numbers should look like after lowering the car. I feel like they screwed up my car as it sits.

Thanks.

Joe55

Your "stock" camber should be -1.14 with ~.33 degrees total tolerance up front. The numbers you have are for the base CLK 430. There's not a big difference, except the 55 rides better with more negative camber due to performance issues.

Your D/S front looks like it'll wear its tire out more quickly on the inner tread, but it's not that bad. You can probably get ~.5 degrees off of that side by purchasing a camber/caster correction bolt from the dealer (5-6 bucks). Also, when the bolt is installed, loosen up the main bolt on the knuckle and control arm, and push out at the bottom while retightening. Sometimes, if you've ever brushed a curb or the like, the suspension can get torqued. Just loosening the bolts up and retightening can sometimes reseat them to their original position. This should equilize the camber. Your numbers aren't that off, so you should be fine.

sajecw

Thanks Joe. I will give this info to the alignment shop. Do you have the part numbers for the bolts by any chance?

Joe55

no problem, the part # is A 202 330 01 18

good luck.

sajecw

Thanks Joe. A $10 fix. Unreal that the car does not have these in the first place.

Joe55

sajecw, did you have them installed already? If you didn't, make sure you have the dealer make you a copy of the installation notes MB has written up for the techs. If they're installed by someone who has never seen them before, he'll be there all day trying to guess at it.


Let me know how you make out!


Later,

Joe

sajecw

Hi Joe,

I finally got the car aligned this week. Two shops had no idea how to align my car. They both looked at the bolts with crazy eyes.

Both shops screwed up my alignment.

I finally went to MB. It turns out one of my old car buddies is the alignment guy there. He used to work for Hunter.

The car is perfect. They also fixed my tranny in the same visit. It is like a new car!

Thanks for the help.

CLK 69

Just curious, what was wrong with your transmission?

Regards,
Coop

sajecw

The tranny control module was not allowing the car to shift correctly. It would not downshift and it took seconds to downshift.

They tried resetting it first. Then they replaced it.

The car shifts great now. It even holds the downshifted gear for a few seconds after releasing the gas. This is great for feathering into and out of corners.