W203E35

Sorry....busy day yesterday. Yup, most likely taken to an independent shop who owns one or to the dealer although turning off the seat belt chime doesn't sound like the dealer would do but you never know.

Tune is definitely worth it. There has been couple of members who had their ECU tuned and their car would go into limp mode when they hopped on the pedal hard...so if you're going to mail your ECU just make sure you inquire about that. Also try to ship it to known tuners. Some of the stories I heard about these shady tuners are shocking.

How does the car feel? Is the clutch strong or soft on the Benz?

91RS

Anything is possible, but my 06 came with the beep fron the factory (since it still had panic working). Did you check if the seat belt connector was unplugged and the connector jumpered to turn off the chime (there should be one connector for the SRS restraint and one connector for the buckle sensor).

W203E35

Panic has nothing to do with it. Any 05+ can have the beep and panic. It's just the people who do it are idiots and don't know how to. Rollnnn had his done and he lost his panic feature...then he met Karo and now has the chirp and Panic feature

cpbeasley

It definitely feels solid. The suspension is responsive, steering is tight... it feels like a Benz should, unlike my 230 did (ie...everytime my wife drove mine she had always commented how it felt nothing like hers). Anyhow, its such a pleasant suprise with 60k miles on the clock.

The engine purrs. Has a great sound to it, very throaty & healthy. Pulls suprisingly hard, down low and up high. Very impressed with the 0-60... hell, the 0-80.

Clutch was also a surprise. I expected it to be light and fluffy to pamper the royal feets... wrong. Heavy, a bit springy. I dont mind however, as it translates to a confident clutch grip that contained my 3Krpm feather dumps into successful launches at sub freezing ambient temps. It does make quick, smooth shifts a bit of a challenge, but I assume my brain and foot will find the way to smoother, spirited shifts as time goes on.

ncmudbug

Congratulations on your new toy!!! It sure sounds like you got yourself a really nice ride!! Keep us posted with what you do with it.

As for the wife, I have two words of advice: "Yes, dear."

Good luck with both!

mlg

check some of my posts, have same car in white and have done many mods, some great and some so so. i test drove a 330i before purchase and there was no comparison. i am vary fond of my car and slap on new tires every 6-8 kmiles. fire me a pm and ill walk u thru the mods, its gets even better!

cpbeasley

LoL. A little bit of that mixed with a little bit of sugar got me through the night unscathed (despite the divorce threats last night haha)
Its nice to know I have car as well as man support here

Will keep the mods up to date! Cant wait to get into it... wife has already deemed loud exhaust off limits! I can cave though as the acceleration makes up for lack of audible exhaust note

ncmudbug

The nice thing is if you did have to sleep in the car, you've got a nice one to do it in!

pcy

would you please post a picture of the engine compartment?
I wonder how much space is left to work around the engine with that engine.

W203E35

Same space as yours. Engine size is the exact same.

FrankW

congrats

MBfinatic

twin turbos?

cpbeasley

^^^ what he said.

and thanks Frank! Now to get rid of the c230... ugh

91RS

It does if you're trying to determine whether or not the netherlands setting is being used. Would you mind PMing me the procedure to get the lock/unlock beeps in "US" mode to keep the panic? I searched for a while before I had mine set and couldn't find any info at all in keeping the panic function for my 05, so I just asked my dealer to make it beep and they did (using the netherlands setting).

LILBENZ230

I'm just glad you didn't listen to the it's-a-bad-manual stuff that Glyn says. I trust his word, he knows his stuff for sure - but he just doesn't understand people like myself. I respect Honda manuals as some of the best there is, yes. I've never driven a Mercedes manual so I don't have experience. But I think even a bad manual is much more fun than a good automatic, which the 722.6 and 722.9 certainly qualify.

It's good to hear this backed up. The W203 BEGS for a manual transmission. I really, really wish I'd gotten one. While you can't base reliability off of two examples there are two members on here, both with 05 230K 6MTs, one with 160k and one with over 200k and never issues with the transmission.

Keep us informed of your likes and dislikes and your experiences with this very rare bird. I said it in your other thread and I'll say it again, the 6MT 350 is probably the rarest and best W203 out there - AMGs included. Three pedals are absolutely necessary for maximum driving satisfaction to me and it always will be. Horsepower does not make up for control.

As for your wife.. if you don't like to deal with women, date men.

And Trey - Eat Me.

edgarinho10

Easy enough.

Should I PM you my address?

samaritrey

W203E35

You said yours came with the beep and you still had panic therefore yours came with it factory. That's why I said panic doesn't matter, the panic feature along with the beep has nothing to do with it being from the dealer or not.

W203E35

I use to believe this for the BMW as well but couple of weeks ago I was in a DCT M3 and then recently got to experience one and I'll tell you the DCT is 10 timer better than the 6MT and keep in mind it's BMW's 6MT.

As for Mercedes the 7G is ok and I would prefer a 6MT over that. If the shifts of the 7G were more dead on like the DCT is then I would take the 7G. Slowly with the advancements of automatic transmissions there is really no need for a manual. Plus with these new transmissions you can do everything that a manual can. Launch, rev, shift quicker than a manual

While BMW and others create sport trannies MB just adds more gears

91RS

No, my 06 C230 came with the beep (where panic worked) but my 05 C55 did not come with the beep and I had to get it turned on (but they used the netherlands setting which looses the panic feature). I would like to have it changed to the way you've used to keep the panic functional so all my buttons work.

While DCT might be "better," faster, stronger; I would still MUCH rather have a real manual transmission. I want to be in control of the power and feel that mechanical shift. There's nothing like it, it adds to the complete driving experience. The only reason I have an automatic now is because the AMG isn't offered with one and I just can't own a BMW or Audi and I can't afford the insurance on a Vette just yet. Even if I bought a Lamborghini I would tell them where to shove that e-gear crap, I don't want stupid flappy paddles.

W203E35

Makes sense, I'll get couple of screen shots of the process. It's the exact same procedure only difference is the 05+ SAM is capable of "USA with Buzzer".

Edit:
You will also need SDS that's not ancient.

91RS

Alright, thanks. I would imagine my dealer's SDS isn't that old. Their facility is relatively new.

Crna Mechka

Nice ride man. Not meaning to hijack your thread or anything, but wondering if I can turn this Netherlands 'beep-beep' setting on with my 04 pre-facelift as it makes no sound currently when locking/unlocking. I'd like to turn that on, any ideas fellas?

vdemon311

cpbeasley, you finally got it! Congratulations. I am in envy. IMO, you can not compare an auto to a manual. Rev-matching on downshifts, changing gears at peak rpm... that is why I opted for a manual.

W203E35

Unless you're like Milkman who tries to revmatch and downshifts and bogs the car.