MiKeSSw203

Hello All!

I have finally registered after a month of searching and using this forum for reference. I have found this forum very useful during work and have been on this site more than actually working. Last month I purchased a Black 05' SS 6spd (which is why I got the car) with Black interior. I got the BI-Xenon lighting package, H/K Entertainment, and Sunroof package. Loving it ever since (probably look like one of the people driving in the catalog even though it has to get washed every weekend, but I love MB's in black.

I decided to get the 05' SS C230 since I kinda drive a lot and since it is the last year for the 4 banger and it looks great right of the lot. Other cars in the running were the BMW 3 series and the Infiniti G35.

The c0ckpit is beautiful and I will not have to change a thing. I love the trim a lot nicer than carbon fiber in my opinion, instrument panel and pedals. The only complaints I have for the interior is the non digital climate control, can't hook up my bluetooth cell phone and placement of the cup holder (kinda in the way when a slurpee is in it). Also it would be nice if the car had a hand E-brake instead of a pedal, but MB has always had the pedal brake.

The exterior is nice OEM already equipped with an AMG kit. I love my BI-Xenon's and the lower stance looks good on stock wheels for now. Although the car will be begging to be lower later when I get my 19's.

Performance is alright, I guess. I was expecting better handling from the AMG suspension but the car still has a lot of body roll. The car is alittle under powered, but what can you expect form a 4 banger that can get 35mpg. Anyways I always am in favor of the underdog. The car has potential at the track just have to hook up the suspension so that the car will be nicely balanced. I probably won't go ball's out on the engine since its suppose to be a commuter car. Exhaust is nice stock for now, not my first priority but will need to be changed out. The bigger front brakes are great, but makes it harder fitting specific wheels.

So here is a list of mods I intend to get in the future. Feel free to give your opinion/feedback on them.

1. Tien Basic Coilovers I have had past experience with Tien products and they are the best for the buck. I have Tien mixed with Cusco on my Toyota's and the cars feel like they are clamping onto the road.

2. Front and Rear Swaybars still debating on either Evosport, Eibach or H&R.

3. 19" staggered HRE's, Fikse, Renntech Monolites, BBS LM's or maybe even Volk TE37 monoblocks. On Toyo T1S or T1R or Pirelli Pzero Nero or Rosso. I have been a rim ***** with my other cars.

4. Air filter... Not sure what is available for the M271 anyone have any ideas? Might just slap on a HKS mushroom like my other cars.

5. Esienmann Exhaust or maybe get one custom fabricated.

6. Renntech Intercooler...or maybe just get my stock one high polished since the Renntech IC will most likely cause pressure loss. Anyone have any feedback on the Renntech IC with a stock pulley?

7. Black Grille flat hood emblem and black out the molding and window trim depending if I get Black faced wheels.

8. Clear sidemarkers or Euro impact strips. What do you guys think? Anyone know how much Euro Impact strips go for painted?

9. Maybe Euro folding mirrors but I think they look funny folded on the C class.

10. Maybe tint but probably the last mod since I don't really care for it.

Again any feedback is appreciated. Let me know if I forgot anything I should mod the C class with.

I totally agree with the member on this board who stated "Mod it right the 1st time or mod it twice"

Just want to say Thanks to Drexappeal, Nukblazi, FrankW,Saprissa your posts are very helpful for a noob like me.

Also FrankW I am totally jocking your car probably since it is black and love your taste!

mig888

Congratulations and welcome. You know even with my mods (below), the car's fuel economy surprisingly remains untouched and sometimes even better!

flip

Blake P

1. Tien Basic Coilovers I have had past experience with Tien products and they are the best for the buck. I have Tien mixed with Cusco on my Toyota's and the cars feel like they are clamping onto the road.
->I'm getting mine from CarLab in Santa Clara, CA. I know they'll ship to your door for around $850.

2. Front and Rear Swaybars still debating on either Evosport, Eibach or H&R.
->They should all provide much better handling than stock, but word is H&R sways provide the best bang for the buck.

3. 19" staggered HRE's, Fikse, Renntech Monolites, BBS LM's or maybe even Volk TE37 monoblocks. On Toyo T1S or T1R or Pirelli Pzero Nero or Rosso. I have been a rim ***** with my other cars.
->Can't really go wrong with any HRE's on Toyos.

4. Air filter... Not sure what is available for the M271 anyone have any ideas? Might just slap on a HKS mushroom like my other cars.
->Heard good things about Greenfilters and K&N. Seen Euroteck selling the greenies alot lately.

5. Esienmann Exhaust or maybe get one custom fabricated.
->Eisenmann, Supersprint, and Remus were the three I've narrowed it down to.

6. Renntech Intercooler...or maybe just get my stock one high polished since the Renntech IC will most likely cause pressure loss. Anyone have any feedback on the Renntech IC with a stock pulley?
->sorry, can't help ya

7. Black Grille flat hood emblem and black out the molding and window trim depending if I get Black faced wheels.
->Get the flat hood emblem from formymercedes.com

8. Clear sidemarkers or Euro impact strips. What do you guys think? Anyone know how much Euro Impact strips go for painted?
->Contact steve@mbenznl.com for the euro strips. Should be under $200 pre-painted.

9. Maybe Euro folding mirrors but I think they look funny folded on the C class.
->Not something I'd personally spend money on, but if you decide on it, steve@mbenznl.com is your source!

10. Maybe tint but probably the last mod since I don't really care for it.
->This is a must have mod in CA, plus it will improve the look of your car drastically, IMO!

drexappeal

Awesome post of a new thread for a newbie (well kinda, sorta since you've been reading first, which is another good thing). Glad any info I could give you helped.

Few other things to consider, especially from Star Diagnose for MBenzNL installs - tire pressure indicator, alarm key beep, a few others I can't remember.

MiKeSSw203

Thanks for the input guys!

Flip, your car sounds sweet from the list of you mods! Isn't the Kleemann discontinued? Anyways good score for you. I know a oversize crank pulley with a reprogramed ECU will make a big difference. I did it on my Supercharged Toyota and the differnce was night and day. Any headaches from the engine work? I was looking into the KW V2's but they are over my budget. Heard great things about them though.

Blake, I was thinking of purchasing your H&R cupkit, but thought I would be kicking myself later wanting coilovers. Seen many pics of your car on this board. Looks great on the 18" Split spoke AMG's. Love the pewter color... that was my second choice in color.

Drex, I have been reading a lot of your posts especially about the Tein's. I saw the post for the Brabus sways from Idrivefast a week before I got the car and was bummed that they were sold. Good deal you got on those bars I would of 5natched those up quickly. Were you able to get thta bushing problem resolved for the fronts? Do you like the way they handle? I noticed that they are a lot thicker than the others maybe too thick? Your car has a nice drop on the Teins. Is there more room to go any lower if you wanted.

Blake P

Thanks man. I really appreciate it. You could always buy my cup kit for now, then switch out to coilovers once you have saved up!

drexappeal

Mike, definitely saw it as an opportunity. Would have waited a long time to do the swaybars, until I saw the Brabus ones for sale.

The bushing problem is ALL resolved. It turned out that because I was running on the stock swaybars in front and the Brabus in the rear, it was causing more flex to the rear bar and it was knocking on something (couldn't ever figure out what). Needless to say, the sound is totally gone since I got the front bar in.

As for the handling, it's awesome! Combined with the Super Street coilovers, I never thought this car would be able to handle this well. Only thing I need to do next is make it a little stiffer (I've been too lazy to change it). I'm gonna wait on dropping it anymore until I get my rims and then guage from there.

Yeah, the sways are a lot thicker, but definitely not too thick from what I can tell so far (especially combined with the TEIN's). If I was running on stock suspension, it may have caused heavier understeer, but because I replaced that...it's pretty darn good.

As for the drop, there's a lot more room to go. They only dropped it 1-1.5 inches from stock to where the wheel well sits right above the top of the tire. We'll see what I do when I get 19's (whenever it is that I have the money - especially considering that I'm looking into comand also).

Decisions, decisions...Anyways, keep up the great research/posts and if you have any questions, you can always PM or email me.

drex

drexappeal

BTW, Mike, any pics of your ride?

MiKeSSw203

No pics of my ride yet since its bone stock. Looks like every other 05' SS but on chromies. But here is a pic I have be working on at work to pass time.

Hope to have it looking like this in a couple months. Simply lowered on some bad *** wheels.

mig888

And I believe it's my turn to answer the flip-specific ?'s
Car is awesome! If you were browsing for a while, you might have seen the Kleemann C230SS vs Stock C230SS videos I made the day after install, browse around or you can ask me for it if you can't find it. To this day it's the only video of the kit actually performing out there.

Definitely. I can hear the boost through the cabin! :v . On top of the K-Box, I've definitely done something to create a small beast. Governor is off as well. It'll be tough to get a reasonably priced kit now :\.

Besides the ~5-hour install time for having the first kit installed in California? Haha. Minor things like adjusting fuel pressure (you can do this yourself - it's adjustable). But my other uncle (not the MB-sales one =p) owns a shop that has nothing but Snap-On tools and diagnostic equipment as well, so resources were local and available should I have had any other complications.

The KW V2s were the first major thing I wanted for this car (thanks to CarLab). Suspension is everything! IMHO, I believe the KW V2s offer the best usable range in spring dampening (stiffer/softer). I've got it at probably 1.7 turns all around from the softest all around and ride quality is stiffer, but not ridiculous (yet i.e. for track I'd turn it up to 3+ if i ever get to it). I could go softer as well, which doesn't give you that C240 boat feel because it's still stiffer, but still too much travel for my taste. The drop on the car begs for the springs to be a little stiffer as well.

I went in a ride in my friend's C32 (swear I blinked my eyes and we were at 90mph after gunning past an ML55 :o) which had Bilstein PSS9s. As a comparison we both felt that at it's softest setting, the ride was still a bit stiffer than some may like (especially for pregnant women, should the day arise ).

Any other questions for the trio of this thread? Oh and I too request pictures of the car!

flip

drexappeal

Can roll like that and the car will look hot already. Even though I didn't have the AMG suspension in my 4.5, it was still low enough for a while, but then I got the normal mod bug that I thought I would never have owning a benz. Like I've said before, going from parts on a Mazda MX-6 to this is like day and night. What used to be expensive for my MX-6 is considered affordable for this car!

Man, sometimes I hate this tuning bug...Then again...

MiKeSSw203

Flip,
Were you able to fit your Brabus over your BBK without spacers? Just wondering because I have a set of Brabus 1pc MBV's +35 offset I think w/ 225/40 and 235/40 tires collecting dust in my garage. I would love to just slap them on, but too lazy lately to jack up the car and check for myself, plus I was debating on getting the lips high polished. I'll probably check this weekend, since I'm getting tried of looking at my stock C230.

Also has anybody been able to fit a 245/35/19 tire in the front on a w203?

mig888

I figured this would be the best answer (just came back from the garage):

Brabus should've included spacers with your purchase (5mm's). There's no need for them to clear these though, unless maybe you've got wider tires and lowering so far that you could rub against the coils? (Which I was thankful to have them for).

flip
225/40/18

drexappeal

There's a shop in O.C. called Shoreline Automotive (not sure if you've heard of it) that said 245/35/19 would fit in front, but I'm somewhat skeptical.

MiKeSSw203

Okay, Just checked the back of my brabus MBV's 1pc and they should easily clear the front calipers. I measured the mounting surface to the back of the spokes and it's close to 3 inches. Only need a little over two inches from the mounting surface to clear the brakes.

I may put them on this weekend or next depending if I can get the lips polished in one day.

Anyone no if 19x9 in the front is possible? I think I saw a post of some C-class on some 19x9 w/ 245/35/19 tires. I think the rims were some OG Club Linea's. I am thinking that it really comes down to the offset.

Drex, on your Tien's are the springs and collars the same width as the stock springs? Do you think that the front offset will be critical for 19's?

drexappeal

Hmmm...very good question. I'm not sure about that, although they based their design from my stock sport setup (on my car) that they sent to Japan back around April/May (can't remember when they did that)...so it's possible that they are the same width.

I'll bring it up to my rep and get back to you. He's currently on vacation, so I probably won't get in touch with him for another week or so. The front offset will always be critical for 19's, but I think more-so to clear the front calipers rather than inside clearance to the spring/shock combo on the TEIN's.

You need the information right away? If so, I can check with someone else at TEIN, but since they assign reps to certain projects, it'd probably be better to get the information directly from him. Lemme know.

drex

MiKeSSw203

After 18 months of planning & research... Mod it right the first time or mod it twice.
BTW still not done!







It's getting there. Slowly but surely.
To be continued...

Heres a pic of my buddy's IS250 that was in the background

Midnight Koop

very respectable first post... unlike most first-posts i've seen on this forum

KIRA

get S-tail man... i think it really match black color car

drexappeal

Mike has been around for a little while. He just brought up one of his original threads instead of starting a new thread (something ALL NEWBIES should use as an example). Look at the first post date.

Another good example is Saprissa's A La Mode thread. Instead of starting a whole new thread for every single mod he has, there is 1 distinctive thread that is specifically identifiable to Saprissa.

KIRA

just like Advan's Replica Lip thread

c280benzo

nice ride!!! not really feeling the cf hood and exhaust, i mean it's nice and all... but... it's not a race car, it's luxury!!! but they do call it sport sedan. all in all, very nice ride

nlpamg

niiiiiiiiice! looks hot man!

now our cars don't look like twins just with different wheels anymore...

how does the new muffler sound?

vraa

Much sickness man, I like your hood a lot, very clean.

What kind of wheels are on that IS?

ai388

hot ride!
the mods blend in really well
ever plan to get a rear lip spoiler?