New benz owner c230k wanna see if I can get a few questions answered.

Front bumper I took off my license plate but the screws that were holding the front plate either suck or they didnt screw it in right. Cuase you can see the threading like white holes in a black bumper its really bad, pics to come.

Satelite radio I didnt get it installed at the dealership thinking I could get it installed somewhere else for cheaper and hide the satelite antenna better. But now the system store i go to says they can install it but itll be on the radio line or something so quality wont be as good. This is due to fiber optic wireing or something. Just wanna find out if thats true or not.

Also im contemplateing on hre rims a mesh design but wanna make sure I get the right size. I hear 19" wont be good cause on any type of bump it could dent the rims so 18" would be best. Also what size rear and front. If i get new rims will i need to get new coilovers and w/e else there?

Same system store I was looking into getting remote engine starter but they say they cant do that either because of the laser cut key. Wanna find out if thats true or false.

Not really looking into makeing the car faster but the if the options there for a reasonable price i might do it any input would be appreciated on that.

 

i've seen answers to all those questions about 20-40 times in the past 2 years.

just do individual searches on these forums for one topic at a time.

it's amazing what is already on here....

in the meantime: Hello & Welcome !

 

welcome by the way

 

steve@mbenznl.com installs Sirius for $1100 i believe. thats parts and labor.

 

Kool thnx

 

Welcome to MbWorld!

You're in Cali and it's a state law to have your front license plate, but if you're willing to take the risk of the "fix-it" then you have 3 options.

1 - get the holes filled with bondo and repaint the bumper (expensive alternative)
2 - paint over the areas that look "white" with touch up paint
3 - Put in bumper covers for the screws (put the screws back in and you can buy black bumper covers that go over the screws)

Go to Steve (MBenzNL). Worth it because his work is well respected with many owners of this board.

Use the search function to find his posts

Who told you 19" rims would dent if you hit any type of bump? ANY rim has the potential to get "bent" (which would me the term used most often) when hitting pot holes, etc... That includes 18" rims.

What you want to get is a quality rim. HRE's have developed a good reputation, however, there are a lot of alternatives out there as well. Do some research before you buy. If money is no object and you could afford to shell out the 5-6 thousand for HRE's, more power to you. Size of the wheels and tires really depends on you and how much you want to spend. Again, if money is no object, go with the rims you want (regardless of price) and tires you want. Price range always plays a factor (once again, if money is no object, go for the most "ideal" setting for tires and wheels)

If you get new rims, a few people have gone without dropping the car and rolling on the stock suspension, however, getting coilovers may not be the best option for you. It all depends on whether you're going for performance or simply "looks". If you're going for looks primarily, just get a set of springs and roll on the stock shocks until they need to be replaced.

Again, I suggest doing a search for "rims", "suspension" (look at the suspension thread that is stickied in the Modification thread at the top of this message board) and "tires".

True. The only way to do anything near this, would be to do the crazy mod that Sunman (a veteran member of this board) did, which is the "keyless go" mod. Again, this is a mod that I'm sure cost lots of $ and time (which translates to $ anyway) and Sunman has access to Star Diagnose, which is not a system every and any MB mechanic/technician has. Again, search will help you locate posts by Sunman

If you want to make the car faster, you'll have to decide if you want to go with what few products are currently available or if you want to wait for more products to become available. Many people on these boards are consistently trying to search for ways to improve the speed/performance of this car.

Use the search for the following items: "pulley kit", "headers", "intake", "filter", "exhaust", "supercharger", etc, etc, etc... For any engine mods, depending on what year your car is, you'll be looking for either M111 mods or M271 mods. These are 2 different engines. Basically, if you have a 2001 or 2002 coupe, you'll be looking for M111 mods. If you have a 2003-present model, you'll be looking for M271 mods. If you have a 2006, no engine mods available yet (to my knowledge).

The more you read, the more knowledgable you'll become. It's a lot of information, but if you're lazy then prepare to get flamed by veterans. If you actually don't mind "reading" and "learning", you'll be just fine.

Good luck with the mods!

 

i live in so cali. have never had a front plate on my C230, dont have the holes in the bumper. never been ticketed for it in 2 1/2 years...................knock on wood.

 

Citron, you're very, very lucky! I'll knock on wood for you. D'ego cops must be less strict than up here in L.A. That's pretty good to go 2.5 years without ever getting hassled.

After 1 week of receiving my initial (non-custom) plates, I got pulled over for no front license plate. Funny, cuz the cop was super apologetic and even complemented me on how nice and clean my car looked. Didn't even blink twice at the blue piaa parking light bulbs and didn't give me a ticket for no orange reflector. He told me that he had to give the ticket because of the lights that have cameras nowadays. This is specifically for Bev. Hills PD.

I was trying to get out of it by saying that my personalized plates were on the way and my front bracket was broken, but there was no way he could just let me go "in-good-faith" that I would fix it myself...LOL. Oh well, 20 bucks total, so no big deal. Just a P.I.T.A.

 

i must say, honestly i think its the color. most of the time when the cops see the car they are staring at because of the unusual color.

 

both of my cars didn't have front plate on...
in 2 yrs, i now have front plates on both cars..
special thx to LAPD for giving me correction tix...

btw, welcome aboard & happy modding!

 

Boa

 

hehe...

 

I live in West la, didn't wanan get the ugly front license plate. Left my car outside one night, the front bumper was literally 4-5 inches away from the rear bumper of the car in front. But somehow the Parking enforcement asses managed to notice it, and boom ticket. I think you can tell what i did next...

 

Put your plate on the passenger sun visor with double sided tape, and leave it down when parked. Send a photo with parking tickets to the Court and demand it be dismissed. Plate does not need to be mounted on the bumper in California, just fastened between 12 and 60 inches high and visible from the front.

 

That's a good idea, but uh don't really want an ugly plate stuck to a sun visor while driving around. That's just my opinion though, mines already attached to my bumper.

 

I've always wondered, so you get 2 license plates in the mail right in the package. Couldnt you say you just got 1 and i forget what the package says. It goes something like you have to put the number of issued plates on your car. So if you get pulled over for only haveing 1 plate couldnt you just say you were only issued 1 plate and show them the package. Or would he just call bull****.


Also im thinking about putting a picture of myself holding up 2 middle fingers with text saying Learn TO DRIVE ***** on the sun block thingy in the rear anyone know of a place thatll make a sticker or something that would stay on that material? =P

 

Doesn't matter. It's the owner's responsibility (in Cali) to get the other plate. My cousin's fiance just went through that. She bought a used M3 (E36) and got a fix-it ticket for having no front plate. She only had 1 plate when whe bought the car, but the cop didn't care and told her that she needs to get one.

 

Maybe they took pity on you. :p