MENUMercedes Benz CLK Tuning
"Thank you for reading my Mercedes CLK tuning tips."
Released in 1997 to 2003 we saw the W208/C208 version, the W209 appeared in 2002. Fitted with high end E Class components the CLK was actually based on the W202 platform.
It gave birth also to the CLK GTR one of my personal favourites from the motorsport world.
It was used in formula 1 as the safety car in 1997.
A C209 A208 version hit the streets in 2002-2009 and offered soft top and both hard top coupe versions. By 2010 the replacement was the C207 actually an E Class coupe and A207 E Class Convertible where you'll find tuning tips for these models on our site.
The CLK is a good car modification project to try. If you do your research then you can create an awesome CLK but don't be fooled there are lots of uprated kits out there that will simply not suit it read our unbiased guides first.
Our aim in engine tuning should be to increase peak power and torque at the top end.
Sadly with smaller engine sizes you are wasting your time spending money on modifications, so if this applies to you get yourself an engine swap then apply the following mods.
Tuning modifications.
Here are the engines offered on the CLK range.
- CLK200
2.0 16V I4 136 PS (134 bhp) 190Nm(140 lbf⋅ft) - CLK200 Kompressor
2.0 16V supercharged I4 163 PS (161 bhp) 230Nm(170 lbf⋅ft)
2.0 16V supercharged I4 193 PS (190 bhp) 280Nm(207 lbf⋅ft) - CLK230 Kompressor
2.3 16V supercharged I4 197 PS (94 bhp) 280Nm(207 lbf⋅ft) - CLK320
3.2 18V V6 224 PS (221 bhp) 315Nm(232 lbft) - CLK430
4.3 24V V8 279 PS ( 275 bhp) 400Nm(295 lbf⋅ft) - CLK55 AMG
5.4 24V V8 347 PS (342 bhp) 510Nm(376 lbf⋅ft)
These are the modified parts are usually installed by our members, decide how far you want to go before you get started.
Getting the best motorsport upgrade kits for your planned usage of the car is a time and money saver. Stage 3 motor sport mods just don't work well on the road hard to control in slow traffic.
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Guide to the Best Tuning Mods & Upgrades
- Mods that Remove a Restriction
If the intake or exhaust are restricted in any way this will have an impact on your cars performance, so use an induction kit/filter upgrade and better flowing exhaust whenever your tuning creates a flow restriction.
- Mods that Improve Handling
Braking, Suspension and general alignment of the suspension components is vital for any tuning project even before you start increasing power.
- Fit Stronger Parts
Tuned cars will show up weaknesses, typically in the turbochargers, clutch and internal engine components. Whilst most engines can cope with mild tuning mods, TorqueCars recommend that you upgrade the internal components before these weak spots manifest themselves.
- ECU Tunes & Remapping
While some cars can be easily remapped, others may require piggyback ECU's or aftermarket ECU's but this is the most vital step of your tuning project as it fully releases the power from all of your mods and upgrades. Expect 10-20% on NASP engines and 30-40% on turbocharged units.
- More Power Needs More Fuel & Air
Every tuning project will aim to increase the air supply, but fuel supply is just as vital and will need to match the air the engine can utilise. Fuel to Air ratio is vital so upgrade the fuel pump & injectors. Also you can look to perform head mods (flowing and porting), bigger valves, fast road cams and forced induction upgrades to improve fuel.
Stages of Tune
Stage 1 mods: Remap, Suspension upgrade (drop 30-40mm), Alloy wheels, Sports exhaust, Lighter flywheel, Panel air filter.
Stage 2 mods: Power/Sport clutch, high flow fuel injector, Ported and polished head, Fast road cam, fuel pump upgrades.
Stage 3 mods: Internal engine upgrades (pistons/head/valves), Sports gearbox, Adding or upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Engine balancing, Competition cam.
Your targets when modding the engine should be a flat and wide torque curve. You don't want all the torque to be at the top end of the rev range unless you are creating a motor sport car.
The whole point of our tips is to give a brief overview of tuning mods and point you in the right direction, our forum is best place to go if you need more detailed advice and tips on your car tuning project, the best tuning mods and all aspects of modding cars.A fast road cam typically is one of the best NASP power modifications you can do mechanically to your engine.
It maximises the intake and exhaust durations and increases the power if done right. Ideally you'd add other mods and finish up with a remap. We'd also caution you not to go with a motor sports profile cam as this affects the engines idling and general town driving characteristics.
When pushing up the power you will need to uprate to the fuelling. More power needs more fuel.
If you find you suffer from flat spots and power surges after your motorsport modifications you should check the fuelling and try a higher octane fuel as well. Upgrading the injectors is another beneficial modification and will deliver sufficient fuel.
A fuel pump will only deliver a finite amount of fuel, so you may need to uprate this if your injectors are demanding more fuel.
Intake and Exhaust Tuning.
Now we move on to the intake and exhaust and ensure proper flow through the engine. Contrary to popular belief there is generally a small if any power gain obtained by fitting an induction kit, they only become beneficial and are recommended after you boost the engines power to the point where the standard air intake box cannot cope!
Derestricting the air feed into the engine is a primary goal of performance tuning so get a freer flowing air filter if you find that the car is running lean only if you find the car is running lean. Induction kits can sound sporty but due to the warm air in the engine bay they will not really increase power and actually rob you of power on most cars.
Sports exhausts can help equal out the flow of gases through the engine. But if your exhaust is too big, ie: it's over 2.5 inches bore, you will lose a lot of your flow rate and end up lacking power and torque.
Head work including a head port and polished and 3 or 5 angle valve job will really help to release the potential of the engine. When you tune up your CLK you will usally see that the standard clutch starts to fail so get an uprated clutch. The best mods we would do for your CLK are remaps, sports camshafts and induction improvements.
Remaps offer impressive power gains on all turbo charged cars. On NASP engines the benefits are doubtful. However a flashed ecu on a NASP engine will help unleash the potential if you have done a lot of mods. Adding forced induction will see big power gains but this is usually too expensive to be cost effective. It is usually easier to add a supercharger than it is to bolt on a turbo. It is difficult to map fuelling with a turbo as the boost increases exponentially with engine speed.
It is more straightforward to map a supercharger because the boost is proportional to engine speed on a linear curve. Alternatively you could fit water injection to control knock.
Handling/Suspension upgrades
Many CLK owners uprate the handling of their cars with performance suspension modifications as a priority, this will certainly increase your enjoyment of the car.
Setting some negative camber on the wheels and a degree or two of toe out, will greatly enhance your CLK in handling and cornering.
We suggest that you fit performance suspension and lower the car by 25mm - 37 mm. Larger drops require arch work - especially on models already equipped with uprated suspension.
Alloy wheel upgrades.
Alloy wheels can help the brakes cool down and are usually less heavy than steel ones. If you are serious about performance then you will need to carefully choose your tyres - ideally with a track legal slick tyre. Large CLK alloys can decrease performance. If you get big alloys you will be changing your final drive ratio.
Due to this fact we would advise sticking to a maximum wheel size of 18 inches, although we know some of our members have gone larger than this with no problems.
There is a more updated version of this Mercedes CLK Tuning article on TorqueCars.com.
For more information on Tuning your car please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss CLK options in more detail with our CLK owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased Mercedes tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.
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