C-Class (W203) 2001-2007, C160, C180, C200, C220, C230, C240, C270, C280, C300, C320, C230K, C350, Coupe

Engine Modification...

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Old Nov 26, 2006 | 04:09 PM
  #1  
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2001 Desert Silver Mercedes Benz C240
Engine Modification...

OK I have a 2001 Mercedes Benz C240 (W203 Body style) and I am curious as to what I can do in upgrades. Yes, I know about the kleeman supercharger and etc. But I see that as a ridiculous waste of money. I could get another Trans Am for that amount of money. I've considered the turbo route, but I don't see that being very viable. Sooo the other option is Naturally Aspirated, so i was thinking......ported heads, ported throttle body, ported exhaust manifolds/custom manifolds.......basically rip the motor out and rebuild.

Also screw gettin full exhaust, I'll just do electronic cut outs!.

P.S- I would purchase a motor out of a total C240 to build...

What do you guys think?
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Old Nov 26, 2006 | 06:09 PM
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Well, that all depends. Are you like me, who loves to upgrade cars, no matter the cost, or are you like a rational normal person who wants performance but doesnt want to pay a ton of money?

If your going to do all what you listed, and then anything else custom, its going to cost a ton of money, mainly because its a benz and not alot of people will work on them, and if they do they cost a ton, and two because benz's are TECHNICALLY made to upgrade. The company wants you to upgrade the model of the car and go up in the classes, not just upgrade the engines, because then they dont get any money.

Personally, because I love my little Benz, I wouldnt want to sell it to get a different car, and i will be willing to spend the 20k in parts and maint. to upgrade. Maybe you are to. Otherwise id suggest if you have the money, just go buy a higher class benz that has more power

Edit: Id suggest if I was you just upgrading to a c320 though. They are easier to mod and would probably cost the same as buying a new c240 engine and doing all that work. I wouldnt do it, because I love to upgrade the car I buy.. but i your route it might be better to just trade in and buy a c320

Tom

Last edited by Stavlo; Nov 26, 2006 at 06:11 PM.
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Old Nov 26, 2006 | 06:32 PM
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2001 Desert Silver Mercedes Benz C240
Originally Posted by Stavlo
Well, that all depends. Are you like me, who loves to upgrade cars, no matter the cost, or are you like a rational normal person who wants performance but doesnt want to pay a ton of money?

If your going to do all what you listed, and then anything else custom, its going to cost a ton of money, mainly because its a benz and not alot of people will work on them, and if they do they cost a ton, and two because benz's are TECHNICALLY made to upgrade. The company wants you to upgrade the model of the car and go up in the classes, not just upgrade the engines, because then they dont get any money.

Personally, because I love my little Benz, I wouldnt want to sell it to get a different car, and i will be willing to spend the 20k in parts and maint. to upgrade. Maybe you are to. Otherwise id suggest if you have the money, just go buy a higher class benz that has more power

Edit: Id suggest if I was you just upgrading to a c320 though. They are easier to mod and would probably cost the same as buying a new c240 engine and doing all that work. I wouldnt do it, because I love to upgrade the car I buy.. but i your route it might be better to just trade in and buy a c320

Tom
Thanks for the insight, and I now that i've thought about it I will just go for cosmetics. Now I have to figure out how much its going to cost to go from a light tan interior to a Black with white inserts........

I figured out the fast thing, I'm just going try to get a 69' Camaro
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Old Nov 26, 2006 | 06:35 PM
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how much hp do you want??
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Old Nov 26, 2006 | 07:08 PM
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Enough to atleast get me pushed into my seat a little. So 225 to 250 wouldnt be too bad.
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Old Nov 26, 2006 | 07:18 PM
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Originally Posted by RedlineTA
Enough to atleast get me pushed into my seat a little. So 225 to 250 wouldnt be too bad.
try headers, underdrive pulleys, air filter, spark plugs + wires...
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Old Nov 26, 2006 | 07:21 PM
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Mercedes is gone physically, but still in my heart.
With all of those mods you won't even see 200rwhp. I stepped into my '03 C240 from a '96 Cobra. Unless you have $15,000 to mod, the car won't even see 220-250rwhp. It's not worth it so either keep your car mod free or go back to muscle. As for me, I went on to a 2001 Acura 3.2CL Type-S. Honestly, I'd recommend making it look nice as long as you own a C240.
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Old Nov 26, 2006 | 07:26 PM
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if your looking for a lot of hp, easy, just find a totaled c32k and do a engine swap.

by the time and money put out porting everything, better off spending it on a k-charger.
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Old Nov 26, 2006 | 07:34 PM
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From: West Chester, Pa
2001 Desert Silver Mercedes Benz C240
Originally Posted by advans
if your looking for a lot of hp, easy, just find a totaled c32k and do a engine swap.

by the time and money put out porting everything, better off spending it on a k-charger.
See but finding a totalled C32K would be difficult and because its an MB means $$$. I might as well swap in an LS1 for the amount of money and work. So I'll just do cosmetics.

I'll just get a second car for speed........


Anyone know where or how I can change my interior from tan to black????
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Old Nov 26, 2006 | 07:35 PM
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Originally Posted by RedlineTA
See but finding a totalled C32K would be difficult and because its an MB means $$$. I might as well swap in an LS1 for the amount of money and work. So I'll just do cosmetics.

I'll just get a second car for speed........


Anyone know where or how I can change my interior from tan to black????
sharpie, spraypaint......

j/k. you have to recover it at a shop
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Old Nov 26, 2006 | 07:38 PM
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if i remember right, kleeman supercharger puts you about 260 hp
and if you want something close to 250, i guess that is ur only way.
or trade your car in for c320 which is 215 hp and get the chip will boost you to around 235 which should be enough.
besides c320 has much nicer and better interior than c240, and if won't cost you too much to upgrade to c320 if you sell your car privately, not to dealer
chip is about $850.
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Old Nov 26, 2006 | 07:49 PM
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Originally Posted by rlee02135
sharpie, spraypaint......

j/k. you have to recover it at a shop
Easier said than done......I guess ill head out and get a quote tomorrow.
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Old Nov 26, 2006 | 08:45 PM
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There is a used C32 engine on ebay right now.. 5499 or best offer.. could probably get it under 5k..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2003-...spagenameZWDVW
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Old Nov 26, 2006 | 09:02 PM
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Originally Posted by RedlineTA
See but finding a totalled C32K would be difficult and because its an MB means $$$. I might as well swap in an LS1 for the amount of money and work. So I'll just do cosmetics.

I'll just get a second car for speed........


Anyone know where or how I can change my interior from tan to black????
from tan to black, you can either do leather paint, or get brand new leather.

i'm a guy of both comsetics and power. but what i lack is the $$$ for it.

btw, a C class non amg in general, its not a race car, so dont bother "sqeezing" power out of it. you'll gain some hp with minor mods. but again, its not a civic. parts are EXPENSIVE AS HELLL!!!!

oh yeah...last thing! REDLINE TA, since you have a sedan, interior upgrades, go for the CF trim on the sedans, i love it!
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Old Nov 26, 2006 | 10:39 PM
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Originally Posted by advans
from tan to black, you can either do leather paint, or get brand new leather.

i'm a guy of both comsetics and power. but what i lack is the $$$ for it.

btw, a C class non amg in general, its not a race car, so dont bother "sqeezing" power out of it. you'll gain some hp with minor mods. but again, its not a civic. parts are EXPENSIVE AS HELLL!!!!

oh yeah...last thing! REDLINE TA, since you have a sedan, interior upgrades, go for the CF trim on the sedans, i love it!
CF is a MUST. Ill be doin that conversion this summer!! I've given up on power thats what a muscle car is for.

My plan is to take my Desert Silver C240 and.......... All white exterior with Black accents. Interior will be all black with White inserts, so ill have a lil two tone thing goin on. Carbon fiber everything, and maybe replace the head unit with an after market one to accomodate my ipod. Sadly I don't know the options for a 2001 W203 C240

PS. Is there anyway to upgrade to the CL55 style Speedometer and etc trim? Like the mesh steel grey backing.

Last edited by RedlineTA; Nov 27, 2006 at 12:59 AM.
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Old Nov 27, 2006 | 01:53 AM
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you minus well drop a c32 or c55 motor.
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Old Nov 27, 2006 | 07:06 AM
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Originally Posted by RedlineTA
CF is a MUST. Ill be doin that conversion this summer!! I've given up on power thats what a muscle car is for.

My plan is to take my Desert Silver C240 and.......... All white exterior with Black accents. Interior will be all black with White inserts, so ill have a lil two tone thing goin on. Carbon fiber everything, and maybe replace the head unit with an after market one to accomodate my ipod. Sadly I don't know the options for a 2001 W203 C240

PS. Is there anyway to upgrade to the CL55 style Speedometer and etc trim? Like the mesh steel grey backing.

changing the spedo its nuts! so much things to change also! might as well buy the crappy silver bezel from our friendly ebay. and maybe cf accent everything around the speedo. and change the little orange leds to red or white! maybe white! then it'll look mean!
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Old Nov 27, 2006 | 03:49 PM
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Originally Posted by advans
changing the spedo its nuts! so much things to change also! might as well buy the crappy silver bezel from our friendly ebay. and maybe cf accent everything around the speedo. and change the little orange leds to red or white! maybe white! then it'll look mean!
Wouldnt changin the LEDs be difficult all hell?
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Old Nov 27, 2006 | 05:35 PM
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Originally Posted by RedlineTA
Wouldnt changin the LEDs be difficult all hell?
oh hell yeah lol. so far i only know ONE person that did that. I was going to, until I removed the intrumental cluster and I said
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Old Nov 27, 2006 | 06:06 PM
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the best way to make your c230 faster is to sell it and buy a C32/C55 its not worth the $$$ you will spend on mod that will give you 5 to 10 HP. you want a fast car buy a fast car, I have a C32 and its dam fast if I spend about $3000 I can get the HP up to 400hp....
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Old Nov 27, 2006 | 10:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Trekman
the best way to make your c230 faster is to sell it and buy a C32/C55 its not worth the $$$ you will spend on mod that will give you 5 to 10 HP. you want a fast car buy a fast car, I have a C32 and its dam fast if I spend about $3000 I can get the HP up to 400hp....
Ditto...the best way to make a w203 faster is to get one with a bigger motor.
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Old Nov 29, 2006 | 07:16 PM
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Originally Posted by StillKickin
Ditto...the best way to make a w203 faster is to get one with a bigger motor.
Well if I ever win the lotto, I'll put an LS7 (Corvette Z06 motor ((Aluminum 427))) in it :-)
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