kuneefay

Hey guys I'm new to the Mercedes ownership world but my family has a rich heritage with the type. My grandfather is a massive collector and has several completely original gullwings, a hammer, and has essentially owned every Mercedes produced excluding the mcclaren, which will probably change if it hasn't already. He raced under the michelob banner for Mercedes and was later sponsored by Budweiser and raced in the trans-am series in a vette in the early 70s to mid 80s. My dad has been enjoying the brand his whole life and my little brother picked up a clean example of a c43 recently. All the family history with the type and the right circumstances has found me with a black 2002 c32 that will be my commuter for the next two years.


Modifications:
Eurocharged stage II
-65mm pulley
-tcu tune
-ecu tune
-intercooler/heat exchanger
-Johnson cm30 pump
-k&n intake filters
-Shorty headers
-Needswings Oil catch can
-Needswings pulley saver kit
-Needswings coolant isolation kit

Suspension:
-Renntech springs
-Kmac front bushings
-Front and rear H&R sway bars
-Quaife LSD


Stop &Grip:
-Ebc yellow pads
-goodridge stainless lines
-Bremmer Kraft Br10 19x8.5F and 19x9.5R
-Michilin Super Sport Tread


The car has been well cared for and quite frankly is a monster.



The commuting I will be doing with my c32 is a 90 mile(one way) stretch of freeway with a 70mph speed limit 5 days a week(virtually no traffic thankfully). I'll be averaging 40k miles per year! Ill update this thread as I experience issues and upgrading components.


Questions, comments and ish talking is welcome.

mattyshea

Hi Mate, Sorry I'm no help with the tyre fitment question but could you post some pics of your beast? Looking to do all the mods you have done in good time.

Cheers

kuneefay

Ill be taking pics over the weekend. I decided on a wheel and tire combo(tsw Chicane 18's 8.5F 9.5R 35mm offset with toyo 235F and 255R). So once those are on ill post more.


I have my anzo headlights on order so these cloudy ones should be replaced in a week or two, along with the c/f trunk lip and an amg badge for the hood ornament delete.

Viper98912

Pix of your grandpa's shop...

kuneefay

I wish I had pictures of his collection but I haven't been to the new property where most of the cars are stored.

kuneefay

Michilin super sport 225/35 front and 255/30 rears mated to bremmer Kraft br10 wheels 19x8.5 front and 19x9.5 rear. Cheap wheels but they look fantastic. And the super sports are amazing! Also, carbon fiber trunk lip installed.

kuneefay

If your wondering the front bumper alignment is off which is why there is an odd gap(not realigned properly when heat exchanger installed), ill be fixing that when my front wheel well liners get in.

Morphh

Ant idea on the weight of each wheel, they sharp I like them

kuneefay

The 19x9.5"(rears) are 26lbs a piece. I think the 18" ones are 22-23lbs.

kuneefay

Well, most of the pieces are in to do my planned services so tear down started.

On the list:
-Radiator replacement
-transmission full service(board, filter, plug, gasket, oil)
-resurface front rotors
-engine oil change
-rear cv boot replacement
-Front bearings
-supercharger bearing replacement
-supercharger oil change
-New headlights
-2nd cat and resonator delete

Morphh

U doing the work ur self? I really like those wheels, u send more info where u got wheels etc thanks, I got same ****ty headlights to, I did all the power first, 65mm pulley, tune, plm heatexchanger, needswing dcai. I need to do front brakes

kuneefay

Yes all the work ill be doing, wont be the quickest but is certainly the cheapest and being there are 0 reputable benz shops around me I trust myself over virtually all the local ones. That needswings intake is on my wish list but I think ill just have something fab'd up. Fortunately several of my friends are excellent fabricators.


On the wheels http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Wheel...02&autoModClar=


is the link that I bought them from. I'm not sure if they ship internationally but if your in the states the store is fantastic and if you buy tires with the wheels they come mounted and balanced with new hardware and in my experience they arrived 1.5 days after I ordered them which is pretty great.

kuneefay

Update to keep things in order.


-Finished the radiator swap back in mid November(19th everything was fully complete) replacing mounting bushings, all O-rings for trans cooling lines and coolant lines. Re-aligned the front bumper with new brackets(old ones were missing from when the previous owner had the Johnson pump and heat exchanger installed). Topped off the radiator with 65% genuine Mercedes coolant and and 30% distilled water and added a bottle of Redline water wetter to help any potential surface tension issues and aid in cooling capabilities.




-December 25th, engine oil change. Mann filter and O-rings used with mobil 1 full synthetic 0-40w


-Investigated a vibration in the front end when cornering on a flat plane on unloaded suspension, turned out to be the camber angle.(fixed)




-February 12th pulled out the K&N filters, cleaned and re-oiled them using K&N products.

-February 17th had the best transmission shop in my immediate area perform a proper service while I breathed down their necks. Did a full and complete drain of the entire transmission INCLUDING the torque converter, 8.5 quarters of fuch's titan 3353(same stuff as oem MB fluid just without the MB branding) fluid to complete the job. Before they did the full drain they emptied the oil pan and let the oil drain for 1.5 hours, pulled the filter, the valve body, and replaced the conductor plate and the pulse wide modular solenoid, as well as the electrical plug. With all new OEM components. There where no flakes on the plug or in the pan and everything was in proper order. Upon post service drive I noticed improved shift response, firmer and more precise shifts.

jdshick

I just picked up a set of 19's for mine, 8.5 front and 9.5 rear. I also just did a full Ceika Custom Coilover conversion so wondering what the best tire combo to mate to the wheels would be. Any suggestions? Looking to go fattest rubber I can get while still not getting into rubbing issues since the car is lowered. Also, what spacer doy ou recommend?

kuneefay

Hi JD, if you have to run a spacer i suggest the best h&r's you can get. If youre anything like me you use your car and the spacers should not be your week point. On my setup i didnt run spacers. I did a bunch of homework on my wheel selection prior to pulling the trigger on them. With my setup i had to be picky down to the spoke design because of how aggressive of a setup i wanted and the fact that i didnt want to run wheel spacers. Numbers are good to have but they sure arent everything. I did switch from a 255 to a 265 on the rears and never rubbed but my suspension setup and dampening was different than yours. To be sure you dont rub reference my staggered tire setup above. But i couldnt tell you if youd be able to go any bigger without rubbing. Best of luck to you! Post pics once mounted.

jdshick

Thanks! The offset on the wheels are 35 up front and 40 in the back. I'm thinking 235 and 255 rubber and just need to determine spacer. With the new coilover the highest setting I can get is 1 inch lower than factory so have to see how they sit on the car once they come in I guess. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Will post pics for sure.

kuneefay

So in your case what id do is mount your choice of tires to the wheels youve got and then do a mock setup. Take off your current wheels and tires on the drivers side and them mount the new wheels and tires on that one side. Youll immediately be able to tell where you will be making contact at. If the spokes contact the calipers get the bare minimum size you need for a wheel spacer to clear the caliper. The thicker the wheel spacer you get the greater the chance you have of making inner fender contact with your front tires when turning. Obviously be sure that you have clearance between your tire and your coilover housing and spring as well. Be sure you check your gaps and spacing with your suspension loaded. Hope this helps a bit!