HAHAHAHA...No problem, Let me know when you get your car.

Regards


Darwin W
Mercedes Tuning Specialist @ CarLAB MS

 

What D's saying is mostly true and I've worked with him personally (as CarLAB MB R&D) to try to tap more of that hidden potential. If you're thinking of a larger supercharger you'll have to manufacture new bracketry, upgrade the stock fuel injectors, tinker with the A/F ratio on a "seemingly maxed out" on programming ECU (I've been trying to research this avenue over at MBKlasse along with other projects) or possibly go standalone. I've been informed also on the insane possibilities of adding a turbo and have talked to numerous professionals on thinking it through. What it all boils down to? Time and Money .

A larger throttle body 'was' in the works - hopefully I'll get more updates to it - we'll see. Pullies make a big difference, as my car was outfitted with a full Kleemann kit (and some people here can even chime in on their test drives of it). Renntech, Carlsson, and ASP make pulley kits for this car w/ Renntech and ASPs solution being nearly the same (larger diameter ring welded on stock pulley). I know the owners of both cars and it looks these kits hit near, if not, 16psi on these engines. An ECU tune is absolutely necessary.

A couple hardcore individuals have also gone through the process of port and polishing their superchargers (on a different engine - but hey, what if it makes power?) but again - need to watch that A/F ratio. If I had a dyno all to myself it would all be easier . When Darwin talks about working on the M271 for a year...well that was my car .

I could go on and on about what we've tried to make work, but it'd be a post pages long so I'll leave it to PMs or even over AIM if you need me (flipachu).

Get the car and have fun maxing it out!

flip

 

Just to put thing into perspective and shed light to everyone...

1. How much horsepower are you looking to get from bolt ons?
2. How much overall horepspower/torque are most of you trying to attain?



I think that would further clear up anyones thoughts.

 

My personal goal was to reach 200WHP - my last dyno showed about 173WHP (dynos available upon request) w/ a strange A:F ratio that could also be the culprit of power loss - because being too lean on the higher up rpm band = bad. The BEST thing to keep in mind is that all cars are different but what really counts are the gains seen (dyno) and felt (butt dyno) - you could have an incredibly easy time getting to 200whp with your C230K, who knows?

Anyway the bolt ons I consider for this vehicle:
FULL EXHAUST SYSTEM
-Including Catback exhaust (or a higher flowing muffler) + resonator upgrade (or delete) w/ hi-flow exhaust manifold headers and a hi-flow catalytic convertor (these cars have 2 - the second one is ODDLY shaped midway through the 2.5" piping)
-Remember, one won't really find gains with upgrading an exhaust unless you upgrade the source (headers and on).
Good for a maximum of 15whp.
ENGINE:
-The common drop-in filter
-CF/Solid piping for the stock CAI (carpet replacement - dry CF is an excellent natural heatshield)
-A larger airbox (not much room to do it here)
-An upgraded Pulley Kit (but it has to be complete). Kleemann by far has the most comprehensive solution - including an adjustable fuel pressure regulator, drop-in K&N, K-BOX (ecu piggy back), a larger but lighter crank - that's damn well built for an unorthodox NON-dampened 2-piece pulley and a new replacement belt. Few are out there, I can personally vouch. Again, other pulley kits are available.
Good for about 15whp+.
-Larger Bore Throttle Body and PnP intake manifold
Good for insane throttle response, increased volume of air, ~10hp (unknown).
-Larger fuel injectors - untested as yet, to compensate for the increase volume of air going into the engine...one might even have to upgrade the fuel pump, have standalone fuel management and be dyno-tuned for many-a-days...hell if you do this.. might as well turbo conversion and get 300hp off of a GT28RS, right?
Good for ?hp.
-Port and polished supercharger.
Good for ~5-10hp - check out pshek's for an example of an excellent PnP everything. On the M45 we'll probably see merely 5hp.

If you can do all of this (with what money you were willing to spend)? 200whp should be an easy mark . But it'll get complicated and needs dedication - having the car tuned properly for all of this will ensure its health.

Oh and the torque thing? Well with 200whp, try for 225tq.

flip

 

Oh and the bit about a bigger intercooler? It'll help SAVE you horsepower b/c assuming you go from mild to wild with the mods listed above you're going to need it to cool all that hot air.

flip

 

flip has been working his butt off to get some good quality performance mods for the m271. I have been following the progress of the research he has been doing and I have to say that he's gone to an extent that not many peoploe were willing to and some of the projects have come out of his own pocket.

That being said, everybody has to remember that ANY project requires money to develop. It also requires time. Time = money and the return of many mods developed for an m271 engine is not great. Another thing to consider is that many people "talk the talk", but they don't "walk the walk". flip is one of the few I've met that actually "walks the walk" with regard to the m271 engine.

It's easy for everybody to talk about what power mods are available or get heated about nothing being available, but I find that majority of the m271 owners won't necessarily want to dish out the money for products that are available. Many of the excuses are "too expensive", "overpriced", "You can upgrade such-and-such car for SO much cheaper", etc, etc, etc...

Because many of the w203 m271 owners cannot afford the upgrades available, there seems to be a need to complain that they can't get 100hp out of $3,000 or 20 hp isn't enough for the price you pay for the Kleeman Kit. To me, it's a question of how much do you love tuning and your C230K? If you really want to be unique, step up to the plate, do some research, find companies that are willing to take a project on to find more power and be willing to take a product to final stages of distribution.

flip has great ideas, but he's also not made of money. He's a hard working citizen much like many of us, but because of his love for tuning and his need to improve the power on the m271, he's one of the reasons there are even talks of projects (of course, there are many others too, but I don't know any that used money from their own pockets).

That being said, anybody who wants to see more power mods available, step up to the plate and empty your pocket books. I am almost positive there will be companies willing to push forward with development of power mods for this car at that point. If nobody steps up, anybody that complains needs to zip it and accept what's available.

 

Well. I appreciate everyone’s input. You all have helped out. I want to get into the stock ecu and motor. I am willing to spend some time and effort into the subject. Like I said when I first started the thread on this subject, I have only owned my c230 for a year now. I am just now getting into subject. So far I am very happy with the car. I just beleive it needs more power and I see potential. For those out there that have done plenty of tuning to this vehicle. Pm me please. I want to get into this with you. I have plenty of resources and years of experience with tuning. Just new to the euro scene. I have built plenty of successful cars in the past and want to get into the Mb world. I have some connections with manufactures and want to see if I could apply it to the Benz somehow.

Ronnie
RDE

 

Heh. Hope you're as enthusiastic as you seem - a project like this will drive you crazy. YGPM .

flip

 

Yup i have to agree wit drex, Flip at Carlab has been seriously w0rking hard on mods for our m271 engine. Carlab is a good shop, i recommend carlab to anyone. Carlab is the only shop right now R&D'ing new parts for our m271 at a right price.

** ohh Flip pm me or aim me asap about the other R&D your doing and more info on those pulleys/headers!! thanks

 

Very Much an Enthusiast!

 

Do not look for new injectors,if you go to mb dealer and ask them to change
fuel stages it ranges from5-30% fuel delivery increase.

 

It has an exhaust manifold...it can be turbo'd. We've put turbos on so many different cars. Most newer cars will require a stand-alone ECU though due to their OBDII. But it's do-able. Only thing is just running lower boost levels due to it being high compression turbo. You could add a thicker headgasket to assist on the compression side of things without having to change out pistons..but not sure if anyone makes one. You'd have to have one cut/milled most likely which could be expensive.

 

Of course you can install a turbo but first you have to consider the fueling requirements. Your injectors, fuel pump, and FPR must be able to handle the fuel req. of a turbo. I can tell you your fuel injctors are to small. If you change the injectors then good luck with the stock ECU. There lies the biggest hurdle to your turbo idea. Neglect the fueling side of the house and I wonder how your first post turbo dyno session will go!!!!

 

OMFG....you really didn't just type that... and you don't read much. I clearly stated STAND-ALONE ECU. I didn't go into too much detail, someone asked if it could be done. I said yes. Simple as that. You think after all the work I've done to various cars that I never did anything about fuel???? Hahahahahaha...okay Mr. Know-it-all tell us exactly how that turbo system will work, and how to alter the fuel map to adjust for the boost curve! We'd love to hear your extensive knowledge on the subject...

One more thing. Explain why changing fuel injectors is such a "big hurdle"? I just mentioned what I saw to be the issue...what you stated has to be one of the simple.