Graham M’s 06 Mercedes Benz CLK350 (C209) is one nasty looking CLK. With a few subtle tweaks and a bit of help from Sr Mod Expert Alan Wei, Graham’s turned his CLK350 from a sleepy cruiser to a car that exudes an intimidating aura that says “You don’t wanna mess with this car”. With a black car, the lazy styling trend is to just cover everything in black and call it “murdered out”. By Contrast, by not blacking out select details, the look is both classy and refined.
Graham caught the mod bug early on, telling us that “I started with some lowering springs and shocks, and it all went downhill from there. From then on, I had caught the so-called “mod bug” and I haven’t stopped since. I’m constantly looking for the next thing to upgrade.” Truer words were never spoken. Like any work of art, a project car is never truly “done”.
The car’s look is more than just an aesthetic upgrade. The chunky OEM Benz wheels for Mercedes CLK are long gone – Mod Expert Alan set Graham up with a set of Forgestar F14s for Mercedes Benz in Piano Black (aka Gloss Black).
Vehicle: 2006 Mercedes Benz CLK350
Wheel Specs
Forgestar F14 – Piano Black
F: 18×8.5 ET30 / R: 18×9.5 ET26
Tires: Michelin Pilot Super Sport
F: 235/40-18 R: 265/35-18
H&R Sport Springs for Mercedes Benz CLK350
Bilstein HD Shocks
H&R Front and Rear Sway Bars for Mercedes CLK350 (W209/C209)
Forgestar Wheels are a custom, made-to-order wheel, and since they have to be manufactured, that means most of the time you can’t have them this instant, and though the waiting process can sometimes be difficult, Sr Mod Expert Alan made the process painless for Graham. “I ordered my F14’s through Modbargains, and from the very start Alan was extremely helpful and very friendly. He helped me verify the offsets, and provided excellent communication. I received my rims in great timing and in perfect condition. Alan and ModBargains are awesome and definitely hook it up!”
The wheels look great, but that’s hardly all that was done to the suspension. Eliminating the overly plush Merecedes Benz CLK350 suspension are a few choice upgrades from H&R Suspension. Dropping the CLK 1.4 inches up front and 1.3 inches in the rear is a set of H&R Sport Springs for Mercedes Benz CLK350, paired with a set of Bilstein HD Shocks.
Of course, when you’re doing your suspension, while most folks remember to think about the springs and shocks, many often forget the sway bars. Alan set Graham up with a set of H&R Front and Rear Sway Bars for Mercedes CLK350 (W209/C209) to sharpen the handling response of the Benz significantly.
Cleaning up the CLK’s look further are a few Lighting Upgrades for W209, including a 6000K HID Kit, Clear Sidemarkers, LED lighting inside/out wherever Graham could find to upgrade. The tail lights are tinted cleanly as well with a set of Lamin-X Gunsmoke Tint Film to darken the tail lights.
Giving the Benz bark to match its bite, the W209/C209 CLK Exhaust has been modified with a custom straight-pipe to muffler setup.
In addition to the upgrades seen here, there are a few CLK Exterior upgrades not pictured. Though the windows were tinted when the photos were taken, Graham has recently updated the car with a Carbon Fiber front Lip, Carbon Fiber Rear Spoiler and has also blacked out the grille – and we can’t wait to see new photos.
With a little help from Mod Expert Alan Wei, this CLK went from sleepy to seriously sinister.
Interested in modifying your Benz? Talk to the Mod Experts– call us at 714-582-3330 (dial x8006 for Alan)
Story & Photos Nick Gregson