The car started life as an unassuming 1998 Mercedes Benz CLK320, Imperial Red with a black leather interior, factory xenon headlamps, headlight washers, heated seats, glass sunroof, and power rear sunshade. After the car's purchase in October of 2001, the transformation from stock began almost immediately. Initially, a set of Eibach lowering springs and a set of #2 spring pads were installed in the car, along with a factory AMG aero package and Lowenhart BSD wheels, 19x8 in the front and 19x9 in the rear, along with 235/35 and 265/30/19 Nitto NT555 tires. After using this configuration as a daily driver for 2 months, it was decided that the car would be retired from street duty and become Wheel Experts' project car. To accomplish this, the previous mods would be stripped off and the car would be taken to the next level.

After the decision had been made, a call was placed to CEC in Gardena, CA. After speaking with Randy Gutierrez and weighing our options, a new set of chrome Lorinser LM5 wheels, measuring 19x8.5 ET31 in the front and 19x9.5 ET31 in the rear, were added as the first step, along with a fresh set of Nitto NT555 tires. Attention was then turned to the body styling, and since it had been decided to maintain the Lorinser theme throughout the car's buildup, we opted for the Lorinser DTM edition aerodynamics package. This package includes front and rear bumper replacements, and a new set of side skirts, and a new fog lamp set for the front bumper. A Lorinser stainless steel exhaust and a Lorinser rear decklid spoiler finish out the package. As they have so many times in the past, Sunrise Paint and Body in Houston, TX dutifully handled all of the painting and installation chores on this project.

At this point, we felt the car was sitting a bit too high with the 3/4" fender gap, so the original Eibach springs were removed and an H&R cup kit suspension was installed. This system, designed to lower the car 2", includes 4 new springs and a matched set of shortened shocks, thus maintaining the smooth ride quality that Mercedes is famous for. A set of #1 pads was also installed to maximize the lowering. This setup completely eliminated the fender gap and got us the right stance we were looking for.

After adding the Lorinser LM5 wheels, there was a lot of empty space behind the wheel, so we decided to add a we decided to add a Brembo "Gran Turismo" big brake conversion to the car. A call was placed to EvoSport in Santa Ana, CA, and after a brief conversation with Simon Atik; we decided to order the kit with silver calipers. The kit includes 2 4-piston calipers, a pair 13.1" cross drilled 2 piece rotors, Goodridge stainless lines, and all necessary mounting brackets and hardware. A pair of Brembo cross-drilled rotors rounds out the brake package in the rear. During our install, we ran into a caliper clearance problem due to the huge 4-piston calipers on the front axle, so the Lorinser adapter plate was switched from a 7mm to a 12mm, and longer lug bolts were installed to compensate for the extra backpad depth. However, this change in effective offset pushed the wheels out an additional 5mm, so the rear fenders were rolled to prevent contact between the tire and the fenders.

After using this setup for a couple of months, we decided to keep the car looking fresh, so it was time yet again for an update. The new Lorinser edition fenders were added to round out the body work. Also, to help promote HREs new 440R series 3 piece wheels with a flat lip, a new set of HRE 448R in full polish with clearcoat were ordered, measuring 19x8.5 F and 19x10 R. The wheels were custom built to our specifications, using a 1.5" outer up front, and a 3" outer out back, thus maximizing the lip depth on the rear axle. The new wheels were then mounted on Toyo T1-S ultra-high performance radials measuring 235/35/19 up front and 265/30/19 out back.

For the 2003 season, it was time to give the car a makeover yet again. The Lorinser fenders were retired and replaced with a set of 2000+ OEM fenders (no sidemarkers), while OEM black window mouldings from a 2001 CLK55 AMG replaced the factory chrome trim. The OEM Mercedes hood emblem was also shaved to give the car a more uniform and streamlined appearance. Since we wanted to showcase a new wheel style for the 2003 season, the previous HRE 448R wheels were replaced by a new set of HRE 546R in a full polish finish, measuring 19x8.5 F and 19x10.0 R. The new rolling stock was mounted on Dunlop SP9000 tires, 235/35/19 F and 265/30/19 R. We now turned our attention to the interior, adding a set of specially-ordered Lorinser black floor mats and a pair of Lorinser stainless steel door sill plates. The factory seats were removed and replaced with a set of Sparco Milano sport seats in red alcantara. Since there was no bracket available, Greg from Lucas Automotive was called in to custom weld a set of seat brackets to a set of the Sparco seat sliders. A set of OEM SLK32 pedals rounds out the 2003 mods.

Wheel Experts would like to thank all of the people involved in the project for the help and support along the way. The list includes Mike, Bob, and John from HRE Performance Wheels, Stan and Dante at Adler Performance, Randy and Brandon at CEC, Luke at Tire Rack, Simon, Brad, and Ben over at EvoSport, Tom, Mike, Vicente, and the crew over at Sunrise Paint and Body, Tom at Car Klinic, Greg from Lucas Automotive, and Aaron Diaz from Discount Tire for handling tire mounting duties. We would also like to thank our friends on MBWorld.org and BNZSport.com for their continued support.