3Bricks

Just purchased my 1st Benz last month 99 C280. Had the oil changed today w/castrol syn. 5w30. I am looking to upgrade the suspension. If anyone can help with suggestions please post. Also, would you recommend the K&N replacement air filter?

tpliquid

i think my kn killed my MAS again..dats abuot 300 bux down the drain heh. some people dont have that problem with their KN filters.

u can do ebiach, HR, brabus springs. with koni or bilstin shox. ur choice.

there is no ride height difference on those. every car is different.

Spooky

i think u should go for ebiach pro kits...i heard they are really good.

Rincewind

wow thats really gay.

I'm about 3k miles on my k&n filter and no check engine light

3Bricks

Thanks for the help. I also plan to add a set of 17" AMG Monoblocks to the car. Do you have to drop the car for this mod.

Rincewind

nope you dont,
but its nice if you do

DougandhisC280

Why 5W30? Is this what your manual recommends. That just seams way to light of oil for such a high compression engine. I run 20w50. As far as springs, H&R, Eibach, Brabus, and other springs are all very good with similar results. As tp said, don't ask us how much it will lower your car, as it will vary with eery car. I have Carlsson springs but I don't know where you can get them anymore. The place I got them doesn't carry them anymore. My MAS went out after I put in my K&N also. I don't know what caused it. I put in a new mas, and left in my K&N, no problems after 8,000 miles.

3Bricks

I really don't know why the shop I went to put in the 5w-30. Do you think it will be okay? This is the first time I've used synthetic.

scorchie

I haven't seen true synthetics in 20W-50, so 5W-30 is just fine.

-s-

DougandhisC280

You should be ok this time, but I wouldn't do it again. I only say you are ok because you are using synthetic and it is a fairly new engine. Your seals are still new so they can handle the thin oil.

scorchie

My engine with 175,000 miles handles the thin oil just fine.

You need to look at it this way. A 5W-30 oil vs. a 20W-50 oil has viscosities that overlap, so what makes you think that at any given time, the 20W-50 is going to be "thicker" than the 5W-30?

I used to swear by 20W-50 in my hot rodding days, but the Mercedes engines I use now are machined to tighter tolerances so I think the "thinner" oil is better even as the engine gets older.

Also, no one even asked where the guy lives! The temperature and weather makes a HUGE difference as to what oil one should run. If he lives in the Arctic circle would you still be recommending 20W-50?

-s-

vinceC

Check out the following link which has a list of MB recommeded oils http://www.whnet.com/4x4/oil.htm MB is recommeding full synthetic in your engine if you use the FSS system to tell you when to change oil. Personally, I change mine evry 5,000 miles and I use one of the recommended oils from the list. If your shop doesn't have one of these oils, simply buy it somewhere else and have the shop fill the engine with your oil.

3Bricks

I live in Columbus Ohio. The weather here is between 40 to low 70's this time of the year. So I take it, the warmer the climate the higher the weight of the engine oil you can run.

vinceC

3Bricks, while that is true, MB oil charts indicate all oil grades are good for the temps you speak of. It is at the low end that the charts differentiate. 20W-40/50 should not be used below +23F. 10W-30/40/50/60 should not be used below - 4F. 5W & 0W have no lower limit (on the chart). For most use, synthetic 0W-40 should be good all year. For hard, high temp use, synthetic 15W-50 might be in order.

DougandhisC280

Couldn't have said it better

scorchie

0W-40 or 15W-50 aren't recommended for my car... of the viscosities Mobil1 is available in, 5W-30 is the only full range. A true synthetic oil with a viscosity rating of 30 should fully protect the engine at all temperatures and driving styles. So using a viscosity with an upper range of 50 probably will not add anything, and raising the lower range to 15 will have negative consequences, more so depending on where one lives.

Like I said, this is the recommendations for my car. Also note that Mercedes has changed the recommendations for many cars in the past couple years. If you are using an oil chart older than that, you may be out of date.

Of course, oils other than true synthetics will have other properties and a different viscosity might be in order.

For instance, Castrol is not a true synthetic.

-s-