Benz_05TSX

Hi, I am new to this forum but I've been lurking around here for a while since my friends have Benz. I've always wonder the specs of the C280, like how much it weight and its horsepower, because my mom has one. When I got into cars, the C280 was out of production and I couldn't find anything on the net. I search here too, but found nothing. I was just wondering if any of you experience forum members can tell me a little something about the C280. Thanks in a advance and greatly appreicate your replies.

davis449

Go to www.mbusa.com for more information. The site is down as of this moment but should be back up later. You'll want to go under the Certified Pre-owned link and you can browse all years 1999-2005. That'll give you the specs on the 1999 and 2000 models of C-class.

The 1994-1997 models: use the m104 2.8 L I6, 195 HP, 199 ft.lbs. torque, 4-wheel independent suspension using a shock/spring setup (not struts), sway bars (thicker sways on the Sport models with stiffer shocks, don't think there's a difference in tire size from Elegance to Sport in the 1996-1997 models, no Sport pkg. on 1994-1995 models). The 1997 models came with the new, for that year, 722.6 electronically controlled 5-speed transmission (known for it's problems until 1998.5).

As for the 1998-2000 models: it uses the m112 2.8 L V6, 195 HP, 194 ft./lbs. of torque, 4-wheel independent suspension using a shock/spring setup (not struts), sway bars (thicker on the Sport model with stiffer shocks, 16" rims, 205/55/16 tires, but the rim can accomodate up to 225/50/16 which I would highly recommend). The 2000 models came with a Tiptronic transmission, the "Sport Package" designation was changed to "Special Edition" (cause it was the last year for w202 C-Class), and got two-tone white on black leather seating but is otherise identical to the previous 1998-1999 sport packages. The 1998-2000 models are the "facelifted" ones and look a hell of a lot more agressive.

1999 was the first year for the C 230 Kompressor that actually had badging that meant something (i.e. it had a 2.3 L 4 cyl. w/supercharger). This is the best choice for modding as you can bump the supercharger's boost and get more out of the 2.3 L 4 cyl.

Benz_05TSX

Wow..thanks alot for the info. I think my mother's is a 1998-1999 C280. I always wonder if its a V6 or i6. Do you know the specs of the wheels? Like what offsets and width? And also..how did the car looked like before the facelifted?? I thought the 1995-2000 models all look the same...sorry for the trouble again.

davis449

Well all you have to do to determine the year is get under the hood and look at the manufacture date. There's info. on the driver's door B pillar as well. As far as offsets go I have no idea. If you want pics of a facelifted model, go to the picture gallery and look for a 1998-2000 model (members often list their model year etc. in their signature).

Benz_05TSX

Just another question. What is that "W/S" button near the gear shift?? I thought it was winter/summer, but now I doubt it. My mom and I notice the car behaved very weirdly when it's in S, like it always want to rev high. Does S mean sports mode?? what about W?? thanks...

ddtham

W stands for Winter, in this mode the transmission starts at 2nd gear to limit wheelspin along with shifting earlier to minimize off traction.

S stands for Standard, where the transmission starts at 1st gear and shifts later to optimize the performance.

davis449

The Winter/Standard mode is how I've always heard it. Here it is straight from the owners online at mbusa.com:

That being said. On the w203 C-Classes the switch on the transimission says C/S which stands for Comfort/Sport and the characteristics of how each mode drives (start in 2nd, lower revs for C and start in 1st, higher revs for S) is directly consistent with the Winter/Standard modes in the w202 C-Classes. You do the math.

Benz_05TSX

Thanks for the info guys. But I don't always have to put it in Standard as it's recommended right?? I feel more comfortable driving in "W" , but since it's called Winter/Wet, it doesn't seem right. But in the W203, I see poeple in Comfort mode all year round, since it's same concept, you guys think it's ok to leave it in W mode?? What do you guy leave it in/??

davis449

Unless I'm in HEAVY traffic, I roll strictly in S. I can't stand the start in 2nd gear, makes the car too slow and kick down on the freeway at 70-80 will only go down one gear. You're fine driving in W all the time though.