Mod a W208 ?

[spy]

Hi all,

I have an immaculate, low mileage early W208 320 CLK (1998) in Elegance trim. The car is completely standard but recently I have been getting the urge to tastefully mod it. Things I was thinking were:
- Changing the interior trim from wood to carbon fibre
- Add a tasteful kit such as AMG or Brabus
- Lower it slightly
- Put smarter alloys on
- ECU upgrade
- Sports Exhaust

Based on that, I have two questions:
1) Am I mad ? Should I keep it completely standard as it will retain value better ?

or

2) If you agree to modding, are there any forums etc where I can get advice on these types of mods ?

Thanks

 

[Howard]

ECU upgrade on the 320 is a waste of time , better to go 430 or 55 if you want more power.

If it is truly immaculate , i would keep it that way , sell it and buy a bigger engined one , you are more likely to find a kitted up one already. 208 AMG kits are like rocking horse poo , unless you buy it bit by bit over many months on Ebay , but be warned there are a lot of people already doing that and bidding wars can ensue . AMG kits are very expensive from the dealers.

What you are likely to spend on mods would ( IMO ) be better put towards one that is already kitted up.

If you buy an Avantgarde one , it will sit approximately 20mm lower than the Elegance car anyway.

Again , more likely to find nice alloys ( AMG ) on the larger engined cars.

Avantgarde models have black birds eye maple trim which is really nice ( elegance is walnut isn't it ? )

Welcome to the forum

H

 

[spy]

ECU upgrade on the 320 is a waste of time , better to go 430 or 55 if you want more power.

If it is truly immaculate , i would keep it that way , sell it and buy a bigger engined one , you are more likely to find a kitted up one already. 208 AMG kits are like rocking horse poo , unless you buy it bit by bit over many months on Ebay , but be warned there are a lot of people already doing that and bidding wars can ensue . AMG kits are very expensive from the dealers.

What you are likely to spend on mods would ( IMO ) be better put towards one that is already kitted up.

If you buy an Avantgarde one , it will sit approximately 20mm lower than the Elegance car anyway.

Again , more likely to find nice alloys ( AMG ) on the larger engined cars.

Avantgarde models have black birds eye maple trim which is really nice ( elegance is walnut isn't it ? )

Welcome to the forum

H

Thanks for the info.

To be honest I am not desperate for more power so can forego the ECU mod.

With regard to teh remainder, they are mainly cosmetic as it doesn't look particularly sporty in elegance trim.

Because the car is in concours condition with no rust and a genuine 27k miles, I am loathe to sell it and get a different one - I would prefer to either leave as is, in original form, or make a few mods to make it look more sporty.

 

[flango]

I have done all the mods you list to my W208 230K although to be fair I bought it with the Brabus K1S kit already fitted, nothing to gain from ECU upgrades it is just not sophisticated enough.

I am now going back to old School tuning and having a cylinder head ported and polished, bigger valves and high lift cams done in Germany.

When thats back and fitted, the resonator is coming off the supercharger and we'll see where we are on the RR, currently sits at 231 bhp but hoping to get my 4 pot to somewhere near or above the V8 bhp.

 

[Howard]

Thanks for the info.

To be honest I am not desperate for more power so can forego the ECU mod.

With regard to teh remainder, they are mainly cosmetic as it doesn't look particularly sporty in elegance trim.

Because the car is in concours condition with no rust and a genuine 27k miles, I am loathe to sell it and get a different one - I would prefer to either leave as is, in original form, or make a few mods to make it look more sporty.

OK , that's fair enough.

Personally , i would go OEM for the mods ( AMG exhaust , alloys and kit ) , don't go for crazy Reiger bodykits or anything like that. All of these will take time to source though.

Lots of people report that the Bilstein B12 suspension kit is the one to have .

Having looked at a lot of CLK's , the elegance has the chrome trim surrounding the windows , swapping this to Avantgarde black trim would work wonders.

Keep your eyes out for a set of AMG wheels ( expect to pay about £300 for them , then budget £200 for a refurb and then a new set of tyres as well )

The AMG kit is a worthwhile addition , and looks good.

 

[nick mercedes]

hoping to get my 4 pot to somewhere near or above the V8 bhp.

Why not just buy a V8?

 

[flango]

Why not just buy a V8?

Wheres the fun in that already have a Audi A8 running over 450 bhp. It has just become a bit of a challenge to see if I can get the 230K over 250 bhp and hopefully somewhere in the 270 - 280 region same as the 430 but much quicker on accelaration than the lazy 430 auto box.

The fun is in screwing big BHP out of a relatively small engine, similar to what the F1 boys do. It's also a good rolling advert for our business.

 

[tpwuk]

lazy but STRONG!

 

[flango]

lazy but STRONG!

Agreed

 

[spy]

Any other thoughts on recommended suspension kits for these cars ?

Howard mentioned th Bilstein B12. any experience with the Eibach kits ?

 

[flango]

Any other thoughts on recommended suspension kits for these cars ?

Howard mentioned th Bilstein B12. any experience with the Eibach kits ?

Talk to Ollie (Black C55) he will advise what is best from tried and tested set ups. My modding experience does not stretch much past the 230k I'm afraid.

 

[spy]

Keep your eyes out for a set of AMG wheels ( expect to pay about £300 for them , then budget £200 for a refurb and then a new set of tyres as well )

I am a little confused with the AMG alloys, there seem to be a lot around and I am not sure which would have been the OEM ones for a CLK.

I understand that they are 17" and should be staggered, but what are the exact measurements I should be looking for to fit a W208 ?

Can anyone help please ?

 

[BenzedUP]

currently sits at 231 bhp but hoping to get my 4 pot to somewhere near or above the V8 bhp.

whats the point you will never get the v8 noise

how did you get it from 190bhp to 231?

 

[spy]

I am a little confused with the AMG alloys, there seem to be a lot around and I am not sure which would have been the OEM ones for a CLK.

I understand that they are 17" and should be staggered, but what are the exact measurements I should be looking for to fit a W208 ?

Can anyone help please ?

Hi guys, I just wanted to check:

Are these AMG alloys suitabe for a W208 CLK ?

FRONTS: 225/45/17, 7.5J x 17" with an offset of 37.

REARS: 245/40/17, 8.5J x 17" with an offset of 30

Also, can take off the standard W208 alloys and bolt these straight on or do I need spacers and/or new bolts ?

Thanks for your help.

 

[tpwuk]

Actual part numbers for the AMG wheels specified on most CLK's

Front: H WA 170 400 01 02
Rear: H WA 170 400 02 02

Studs: A 203 401 02 70

No spacers required.

 

[spy]

OK , that's fair enough.

Personally , i would go OEM for the mods ( AMG exhaust , alloys and kit ) , don't go for crazy Reiger bodykits or anything like that. All of these will take time to source though.



The AMG kit is a worthwhile addition , and looks good.

It looks like original AMG kits come up very rarely so I am thinking about a replica AMG kit.

Does anyone have any experience of these with respect to the quality and accuracy of fitment ?

I have come across these - do people have any experience of this company and their kits, as they are quite close to me ?
CKS Performance - Accessories& Styling, www.cksperformance.com

Thanks

 

[tpwuk]

A lot of money those kits and doesn't include fitting. It won't add any real value to your car. You'd be better off waiting until an old CLK with the kit already fitted comes up for sale. I've seen CLK 320's with factory AMG kit for under £3K!

 

[Rashman]

It looks like original AMG kits come up very rarely so I am thinking about a replica AMG kit.

Does anyone have any experience of these with respect to the quality and accuracy of fitment ?

I have come across these - do people have any experience of this company and their kits, as they are quite close to me ?
CKS Performance - Accessories& Styling, www.cksperformance.com

Thanks

Hey bud.

Regarding suspension, I had Koni's and Eibach's on my CLK230 Komp.
They were awesome together. Really stiffened the ride up.
The Eibach's also dropped my car by approx 30mm.
I also swapped out the spring pads at the front for smaller ones.
I went from #5 pads, to #2 pads at the front.

CKS Performance.
Yes, I have had experience with these guys.
Their aftersales sucked.
I bought the Rieger bodykit from them and I had problems with the fitment.
They were completely unable to help me and could not advise at all how the kit is supposed to be installed.
They seemed to me, that they loved new customers, but hated helping them out with any questions.

I got my local Bodyshop (independant) to fit it.
He did a good job too.
The kit needed to be bonded to the car.
He also had to cut it about aboit too.
The moulding precision brilliant.

I originally wanted an AMG kit for it, but couldn't source a complete kit.
New AMG kits are expensive, too.
AMG kit also wasn't aggressive enough.
I wanted something that sat lower.
Rieger kit worked well.

But the Rieger kit also covers up the jacking points on the side of the car, so you won't be able to use the factory jack.
CKS didn't tell me any of this buy the way!

My car sat too low for a trolley jack too! lol!
So I had to fashion ramps if I wanted to jack it up!

It was cool, actually quite fun, when I look back, but I wouldn't go through that hassle again.

 

[spy]

Hey bud.

Regarding suspension, I had Koni's and Eibach's on my CLK230 Komp.
They were awesome together. Really stiffened the ride up.
The Eibach's also dropped my car by approx 30mm.
I also swapped out the spring pads at the front for smaller ones.
I went from #5 pads, to #2 pads at the front.

CKS Performance.
Yes, I have had experience with these guys.
Their aftersales sucked.
I bought the Rieger bodykit from them and I had problems with the fitment.
They were completely unable to help me and could not advise at all how the kit is supposed to be installed.
They seemed to me, that they loved new customers, but hated helping them out with any questions.

I got my local Bodyshop (independant) to fit it.
He did a good job too.
The kit needed to be bonded to the car.
He also had to cut it about aboit too.
The moulding precision brilliant.

I originally wanted an AMG kit for it, but couldn't source a complete kit.
New AMG kits are expensive, too.
AMG kit also wasn't aggressive enough.
I wanted something that sat lower.
Rieger kit worked well.

But the Rieger kit also covers up the jacking points on the side of the car, so you won't be able to use the factory jack.
CKS didn't tell me any of this buy the way!

My car sat too low for a trolley jack too! lol!
So I had to fashion ramps if I wanted to jack it up!

It was cool, actually quite fun, when I look back, but I wouldn't go through that hassle again.

Thanks for your input. As well as supplying, I thought CKS also fitted. I wonder if you get a better service if they fit. Then again, if they can't be bothered to advise properly on teh products, then they may be worth giving a miss.

I am also a little frustrated at the shortage of AMG kits hence considering the replica AMG kit or even the Brabus kit. I am not particularly after an aggresive kit, just something a little nicer coupled with some lowering (thinking about 30mm)

 

[Howard]

CKS used to be known as Mercedes Performance ....

A quick search on the site will reveal all.