AusMB87

Hey,

I've just bought a MY10 C200CGI and am looking at doing some mods (this is my first post!).

I am looking at engine tunes and have heard mixed reviews about the Kleeman k2 setup.

What I would like to know is whether anyone has had the RADO ECU tune done?

It is a bit more pricey than the kleeman option but it's a flash rather than a piggy back so could be a better option?

Also, has anyone had experience with their intercoolers?

Cheers!

Edit:

After some serious researching, I have put together this handy little list. Note that all hp/kw/Nm/au$ figures are as claimed either on the company websites or by the company via email. Prices mostly include shipping to Australia - this is a guide only, but I hope it helps everyone out!

Stock C200CGI
HP: 184
KW: 135
Nm: 270

Kleemann:
contains: ECU, downpipe, high flow air filter
HP: 230
KW: 171
Nm: 340
au$: 3200.25


Brabus:
contains: ECU, wastegate, intercooler
HP: 225
KW: 165
Nm: 325
au$: 3560.00


Carlsson:
contains: intercooler, ECU
HP: 224
KW: 165
Nm: 360
au$: 2712.68


Vath:
contains: intercooler, ECU
HP: 210
KW: 154
Nm: 310
au$ 3139.89


Burger:
contains ECU
HP: 194
KW: 144
Nm: 260 (<<<<10Nm loss!!)
au$ 298.00


I also found these guys:

Rado intercooler:
HP: +19
Nm: +12
au$: 940.00

CKS downpipe and high flow cat
HP+15
Nm: ??
au$ 1134.83

Knightmare69

There is no Rado tune, they never developed it. Kleeman set up is a piggyback ECU and high flow catted downpipe, Brabus and Carlsson have piggyback ECU's plus upgraded intercoolers.

As for the Rado FMIC, I asked them about the design because from the pics, their FMIC is taller than the stock, so much so that you need to modify your bumper beam to fit the FMIC. however this also brings up the point that being that tall, the bumper cover would actually block the top portion of the FMIC. I asked them how the results were as to me the blocked of the FMIC top negated any performance gain possibility. They kind of just responded with something along the lines of "it works, trust us"

There is no reflash for the c180/200 as we run a Siemens ECU which no one is willing to deal with, I'm not sure what ECU the 250 is running but if it's a Siemens you're SOL. You can only run a piggyback for now.

AusMB87

Hmm, their website says they do offer a tune. That is frustrating.

Thanks for the advice. I will hunt around the forum for more info on the brabus and carlsson offerings.

Cheers

AusMB87

Ok, after much searching around, reading reviews and general snooping about, I have come to the conclusion that - according to website figures- carlsson is in the lead with its piggyback/intercooler combo. It doesn't hit as much peak HP increase as Kleemann but gives MUCH more torque.

I suspect I will go with that setup, adding a high flow downpipe and cat and a high flow air intake.

Going off of prices on CKS performance, this will set me back around AU4,000.00 which is blowing my budget to pieces.

If anyone has experience with these upgrades, I would love to hear about it before I commit to a big buy

cheers

yacoub.alyacoub

I had a thread about that

With the prices I've been told all are listed in that post.

I also assume that you're not in the states due to the C200.

Please let me know how it goes with you and what option you will get.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...e-upgrade.html

Knightmare69

I forget but is Aus RHD or LHD? If it's RHD you'd be hardpressed to find a actual fitting aftermarket DP. I had to modify a LHD DP extensively to fit our HK RHD model. If you are LHD then I'd recommend Armytrix DP as it works without setting off the check engine light.

AusMB87

That is a good observation. We are RHD over here. I will do some more investigating to see if anyone offers a RHD item.

Knightmare69

I think if you went with the kleeman or Vath DP's they are offered in RHD form. But I'm not 100% as Kleeman was too $$ for me to consider long and I heard Vath had poor after sales service. Maybe CKS but I'm not sure about their quality.

AusMB87

so I finally got some quotes from Carlsson suppliers in Australia. They offered me the C-Tronic for the same price that I can get the C-Tronic AND the intercooler at the CKS website.

au$2800 later (inc postage) and I have a chip and intercooler on the way.

Besides being the clear leader in torque gains, I also got the carlsson unit because of some of the safety features and the companies warranty backing (I'm out of warranty but the fact that they will warrant the entire drivetrain if the dealer won't, well, that speaks volumes)
http://www.carlsson.de/carlsson/en/p...c/C-Tronic.php

I will keep you all informed about progress

Knightmare69

I'm looking forward to the updates, if you could, please include pics of all the components. I'm especially interested in seeing if there is a comparable size difference between the 2 FMIC's. Also, I emailed you over the weekend, please get back to me when you have a chance. Thanks.

AusMB87

I certainly will :-)

Sorry I haven't gotten back to your email yet, I'm pretty busy day to day. I need to look into it but I will reply when I can

Knightmare69

No rush, appreciate the effort.

AusMB87

Well, after a bit of a saga, I have my C-Tronic kit delivered and fitted.

Word to the wise: CKS website prices do not include stamp duty or GST so expect to pay much more than the listed price. I got a $500.00 bill on arrival into Australia.

Anyway, onto the product. (FYI I have no idea how to post pictures)

The kit came with the ECU piggyback, intercooler and a handful of stickers and stuff. These included a 98ron sticker for the fuel cap, a warning label to let the factory know that it is fitted (including a helpline prior to any ecu updates and a statement that Carlsson will warrant any drivetrain warranty that the manufacturer will not due to the ECU mod) big chrome CARLSSON badge and a couple of smaller ones.

I picked this kit because, besides the torque increase putting it well ahead of the competition, I really liked that they honoured the manufacturer drive train warranty. IUt speaks volumes about their faith in their product. Also, the ECU measures coolant temp, oil temp and a number of other inputs. If anything goes outside of safe parametres (too hot OR too cold) then the ECU will scale back to factory performance settings. From my experience, that doesn't include its throttle response modifications - when cold it still feels much better than factory.

the ecu is SUCH an easy fit. You just unclip the ECU plugs, sit the C-Tronic on top (it clips in exactly as the wiring harness does), then the harness clips right on top, just like a factory component. It sits a little higher than the airbox now but nothing too bad.

I did a few test drives with just the ECU mod. Throttle response is so much nicer and you can really feel the difference when the engine oil hits 50c. When I stick my foot into it, it gives a big hint as to what I will be experiencing with the intercooler fitted......

Fiting the intercooler was pretty damned easy. Admittedly, I am a mechanic with a lot of experience with these cars.
I did this in my driveway with just the front wheels jacked up. The only tools I used were a small flathead screw driver and an 8mm socket. The socket was just to remove the middle and forward engine covers. After that, everything clips in. It honestly took me about 40 minutes - and that included working out the rough english translation for the instructions.
The new intercooler is a bit wider and deeper than the original but fits just nicely. it really isn't THAT much bigger, but it obviously flows better and cools the air nicely.

So second test drive, with the intercooler. You can hear the intake sucking in way mpore air, it sounds really mean - and that is with standard intake and air filter (K&N is in the post). The acceleration, once the engine temp is up, is awesome. Worth every cent. There is no flat spot, just a little pause as the auto works out what it wants to do, then you are in business. You can feel the flat torque band (peak torque reached just before 2000rpm and holds pretty much constantly until ~4500 before it starts to drop). It does feel like it is struggling for even more air so I am keen to get a high flow air filter in there.

All in all, this Carlsson unit is worth every cent. Fits easy, creates constant and reliable power and has the strongest manufacturing backing you could hope for.

Now, I have been experimenting with fitting a K&N Apollo unit for a more direct cold air intake. This is going to be a LONG process (see the dedicated thread for updates). In the meantime I will be fitting a straight replacement K&N insert. When it arrives I will give you all an update. In the more distant future I will be looking at a high flow cat and downpipe.

Also, have any of you seen this bad boy?
http://tuningempire.eu/mercedes-benz...ir-intake.html

The price is a bit out there but it looks pretty I don't really see why it isn't using both intake ports though so, to that end, I am going to look into making something similar up.....I doubt it will look so pretty though.

Stay tuned

Knightmare69

Thanks for the review on the Carlsson unit. Glad to hear that it worked out and so well at that. As for the CF intake, I've seen this before also by a manufacture in Singapore, google Carbon Revo, not sure if Boca just rebadged or vice versa. From what the manufacture in SG told me, the reason the other duct is closed off is to direct the flow of air into the intake from the other side, hence air flowed from both sides of the plate will all go into your intake.

AusMB87

/rant
why can't all of these tuning companies get together and create a whole package? I am happy with my Carlsson kit but I feel like I missed out on Brabus' wastegate and Kleemann's downpipe. Someone should make a unit with all the bits.
/endrant

that feels better

Spd Racr

Have you seen the Rado offroad downpipe?
http://rado-power.com/?page_id=50

AusMB87

Yeah I did. I don't want to delete the Cat though.

I have been looking at buying either the Kleemann one (~AU$2k) or the one from CKS (~AU$1.5k). The Kleemann looks much more streamlined and comes form a respected Benz tuning company so I think I will end up going with them.

I just wish someone made a whole package. Each tuning company is getting reasonably equal gains using disparate parts. Surely utilizing the FMIC, wastegate, downpipe and cat together with a piggyback to match must be able to provide more than any one set up can offer alone?

EvolutionDrock

I didn't know that there is aftermarket wastegate available for the c250. Could you posted the link to it.

Knightmare69

Google Brabus B20S, there are no actual pics of the wastegate but their kit lists as including one.

AusMB87

see link for info on the Brabus kit:

http://lenartowicz.com.pl/brabus/fil...tra_cgi.en.pdf

EvolutionDrock

I just Google it up and the only information I can find its for cgi 200. Not sure what is the difference between the c200 vs c250 since those models are not available here in the usa. My 5 cents on the rado down pipe which I just recently installed on my car makes a huge difference in preformance. It's superb quality, and the price is not too crazy. In my opinion a money well spend. The only set back is the cel for secondary o2 sensor that the car throws every 2-3 days. But it can be corrected with o2 spacer. I also ordered rado mid pipe. It's scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I hate the restrictive flow of the stock exhaust. Next on the list is oil catch can and rado intercooler. I also have burger tuning air intake with the box tune.

Knightmare69

It's the same engine, well actually pretty much same everything based on my research of comparing part numbers with the exception of the turbo. However no one has info on the turbo. I know for the C200 it is a IHI AL065 series turbo but when I asked IHI they feigned no clue. Assuming the turbo's are the same then it's down to the base map between the models that creates such a difference in HP. There is also a 1mm difference in length and width of the stock FMIC between the 2 models from my research but that shouldn't affect much.

EvolutionDrock

You might be on to something. I agree the c200 might have the smaller turbo that would explain smaller stock intercooler and less about produced by the engine. From what I've read in a other posts c 180 and c200 have the same turbo. However c250 has bigger turbo.

Spd Racr

Thats a lot of money for a down pipe. You could do the Rado catless downpipe and buy a race cat (200 cel or so) and have a shop weld it on, for cheaper (I would think).

EvolutionDrock

For that you could modify your stock down pipe and put a race cat on it. But why you would want to restrict the exhaust flow on a turbo car. Just get rado down pipe and install o2 foulers/ spacers which run for 15 bucks. Problem solved.