I had a chance to take the CLK to the Woodburn Dragstrip over the weekend so I could get some full runs on the new PCS transmission controller and see how the weight reduction over the winter has helped.
First Test-n-Tune of the Year
New Seats for the CLK
As part of my weight saving plan I am ditching the stock seats and replacing them with a cheap set of lighter bucket seats. The factory seats weigh in at about 60lb each; the cheap eBay seats are about 30lb, plus a few pounds for the brackets I had to make to mount them.
I got the seats off the Facebook Marketplace for $200 for the pair, and spent about $50 on parts for the brackets.
I made a set of custom brackets so I can easily install and remove the seats using four bolts each in the factory threaded holes. A couple of pieces of 1/2″ square tubing and 1″ flat bar stock is all that was needed.
Standalone PCS Transmission Controller
I have a set of 3.73 gears I want to put in the CLK, but if you change the gear ratio you need to reprogram the Transmission Control Unit (TCU) so it knows how to perform its speed calculations. I could have a tuner modify my stock
TCU, but I decided to take this opportunity to replace the factory TCU with a TCM2800 aftermarket controller by Powertrain Control Solutions. I got the controller from Sound German Automotive in Bellevue, Washington. Russell at SGA is a 722.6/NAG1 transmission guru who knows everything you could imagine about these transmissions.
Episode 2 – CLK Update
Episode 1 – Welcome to StumptownBenz
I finally decided to make a video series. Here’s a short introduction to the channel.Â
Front Brake Upgrade?!
I don’t know whether you would consider this an upgrade or a downgrade, but swapping the CLK55’s front rotating assemblies for a set of CLK320 brakes and wheels will definitely make the car quicker at the dragstrip.
I’ve been running the heavy 18″ Mercedes-Benz E55 wheels on all four corners of the CLK55, which look great, but they aren’t be best for drag racing. Each corner weighs-in at over 50 lb, leaving a lot of room for improvement. The factory CLK320 wheels are the hot ticket for drag radials on the rear, but they also make a good low-budget “front runner”. They only weigh about 13 lb each (because they’re forged), and at 7″ wide you can fit a fairly narrow tire on them. I bought a pair of inexpensive V rated 205-60/16 tires that can be used as daily drivers, while still saving a good amount of weight for the track.
StumptownBenz Scores a Win at Woodburn!
I took the CLK to a bracket race event at the Woodburn Dragstrip on Father’s Day last weekend. The car performed flawlessly in the heat, running some pretty consistent times. Ultimately I won the class by going three rounds with good lights and good dials.
Time Trials
Eliminations
CLK Phase I Wrap-Up
Phase I (Baseline testing) of the CLK build has been completed ahead of schedule. Yay! This is good because driving a mid-13 second “race car” is a little tedious when your daily driver is a low-11 second beast. I’m ready to get on to bigger and better things, but first let’s see how the baseline testing went.
I came up a fair bit short of my goal of running a 13.20 at full-weight, only managing a best of 13.58. A 13.20 might be possible on a really cold day, on a nearly empty fuel tank, and with the spare tire and passenger seat removed, but I haven’t got time for that! I’m ready to call this phase done and get on to the weight reduction.
How to put W211 E55 wheels on your W208 CLK
The 2002 CLK55 that I recently bought came with a set of aftermarket wheels that just didn’t work for me. They were Katana GTM wheels, which look fantastic on the company’s website, but the 18×7.5 wheels didn’t have enough “dish” to look proper on the CLK. The fronts were OK, but the rear wheels had improper offset and were tucked way too far inside the fenders, giving the car an anemic look. Of course it doesn’t help that the 7.5″ wide wheels will only support a 225-40/18 tire.
I decided to solve this problem by killing two birds with one stone. I could sell the Katana wheels and recoup some of what I paid for the car, and I could clean out my garage just a little by putting my old factory E55 wheels on the CLK.
Continue reading “How to put W211 E55 wheels on your W208 CLK”
Simple Plug for Supercharger Vacuum Port
A very common place for a vacuum leak on the E55’s is that port on the rear of the supercharger with a strange multi-piece plug in it.  I assume that port is used for the brake booster on cars that don’t have the SBC system, but it is beyond me why the engineers at Mercedes-Benz decided to make a three-part plug to fill it instead of using a simple rubber plug. This is especially strange since there is an existing Mercedes part that seems to work perfectly.
I was at Mercedes Benz of Portland today, trying to get a new plug for my car since the old one is leaking. For some reason the parts diagram on the computer only shows two of the pieces required. It was clear that it would not work without that third piece, so after some head-scratching the parts guy said “Hey, I’ve got an idea!” He ran into the back and two minutes later came out with a plug for the windshield washer on a CLK320 (part number 210-987-00-45) that is the perfect size for the port in the supercharger!