toeblacke

hi all my name is Martin and i'm from Québec in Canada

i'm new here i don't have a mercedes yet but i'm in the market of purshasing a c230 kompressor

i've done quite a bit of reading and searching on every forum on Benz car that i could find and i found some anwser to my question but a few were left unanwserd

so here it is i found that the 2.3L would be a better engine and can take a bit more modification i know a 320 would be faster but they are hard to find with manual tranny and a bit more expensive

i was wondering about reliability in long term the car i'm looking at are all at about 100 000km for 10000$ and less it would be a summer car so about 15000km per years could last to 200 000km ? if i'm taking good care of it ?

and another question is about the differential i found it could be leaking but what i'm wondering is if the stock Diff is LSD ? i think the car is equip with a traction control but didn't found anything about LSD ..... i'm shure quafie or kaaz makes one but what about oem ?

what i'm looking for is a fun car to drive in the summer that i could take to the drag strip and racing(circuit) now and then .....


thx all

Martin

Glyn M Ruck

Welcome - If you can find a V6 in your price range they are the most reliable.

LILBENZ230

No LSD.

The Kompressor vs. V6 has been discussed repeatedly. Get the V6 if you can find it. Search the forum for common four-cylinder issues. I disliked the M111 cars, but for reasons beyond the engine.

daragez

welcome to the forum!....

BigBodyBenzC240

Welcome!! For your drag strip wants I dont know if a C230 would suffice. For a drag strip a C32 would be a better car but its out of your $10,000 price range. The C230 would be a fun summer car to drive but not so much a drag strip car. Just my 2 cents.

HellsAngel

drag a c230
a benz on a circuit..
and you want it to be good for 200,000... asking for too much i guess..
& the V6 is more reliable (ive had the 2.3l and the 3.2 and you can feel the smoothness of the engine)

toeblacke

i know a c32 would be alot faster i don't want to do do 11 or evan 10....

hi 13 would be enough for me.....

hellsangel what's wrong with putting a benz on a circuit ? i wont go there every week end i'm going there 2-3 time a summer at most guys with BMW do it i don't see why a Benz couldn't do it the brand have a great history of racing why couldn't we do it with a road car... there are some guys over racing with a toyota yaris hatchback :/

for reliability i was asking a long the car could last when taking a good care.... i know that racing will hurt the car but i was wondering...how long those car could last ... for exemple we know that an volks diesel can last 300000km and evan more

and i don't want to get in the v6 vs 4cyl thing i know would be better but 320 are much harder to find in manual ..... if i find one i will buy it but if i don't i will go for a 230 with the 2.3L

and one more thing i found that for the 2.3L there is the asp pulley and carlsson make a kit to they both say about 30whp of gain the carlsson kit cost alot more but wich would be better ?


but thx for your help

LinDenKid

If you want something nice , get a benz... want a drag car , get a mustang or an RSX(you could easily mod this), what hellsangel means is: if you happen to break something on your "benz", because you tried to beat a bmw , you should fear to take it to a mechanic. first of all; they are unique cars , with hard engineering, not anybody could fix em, parts cost an arm and a leg , im just like you i bought my coupe for that, but realized, i loved it for the looks, not the speed(its slow!!)lol.. all my friends drive old bmws , e36s e30s , they could buy a motor or find a new motor , anywhere , hopefully you get my point. Just letting you know , not being a ***** , i take my car to the drag strip , to the parking lot of course , i dont want people laughin at MB LOL, leave that to c32s and c55s.

toeblacke

i understand your point .... but i think there is a great diffrence between taking it 2-3 times and going there every weekend.... one of my previous car was a hyundai tiburon and everyone was always saying hyundai are crap but then again never had problem

i don't see why a benz wich are reliable car couldn't take a little beating now and then :/

thx anyway to all of you !

jcnash

hey toeblacke,

welcome. im in ottawa...so pretty close to where you are depending on where in QC you are.

I just bought my 02 C230 coupe about 3 weeks back and i have to agree with what most people have already said. Its a great summer car - sexy, sporty, classy...but just not for drag racing. I mean you can easily kick some butt on the track but you will hurt the car and its just not worth it.

Just my 0.02. Hey I know a few other MB enthusiasts near where we are..we should set up an Eastern Canada MB meet like the BMW guys do in Toronto.

HellsAngel

3 series handling is better, you'll need springs and sway bars at least....

toeblacke

i'm from quebec city in quebec about 4-5hours from ottawa depend if you follow speed limit

and about the carlsson kit vs ASP pulley ?

and as for lsd is there any oem ones from other benz that could fit that maybe would be cheaper then buying a quaife or kaaz ?

C230 Sport Coup

Glyn and I have had it out with the M111 vs the M112.
I personally like the M111, but without doing a little exhaust work, like
a muffler, it does tend to sound like a lawnmower.
There was a used Remus muffler around here that could be had for a good price.
Thats what I have.

Bolting on the ASP pulley puts you up to or even slightly beyond the power of the 6.
The M111 is a full second faster 0-60 than the later M271 1.8L.
The Carlson pulley and the ASP are pretty much the same, I think, but no one here has ever bought the Carlson, it's like 2 grand or something. I saw a pic once...looks the same.
I'm not aware of any LSD's for the 230, but who knows? Lots of people on the AMG forums use Quaife diffs.
I doubt you would need it.

The things I like about the M111 vs. the M112 3.2 is this.
1. No spark plug wires- Coils sit directly on top of the plugs
2. 4 spark plugs not 12
3. 4 coils not 12.
These contribute to lower maint. costs and simpler maint.
4. Equal or greater power with ASP.
5. Better mileage

Downside?
1. Coil packs go out = > 50K miles, but are cheap and easy to replace.
2. Engine sounds like crap out of the box, but like I said, a muffler can help.
3.. Listening to Glyn grouse like an old codger about how the M111 sucks.

The M111 is bulletproof as long as you keep an eye out for leaky cam sensors, and do the 'fix', which is replacing the sensor, and putting in a pigtail to catch the oil if it leaks.
Lots of people here and on the R170 forum with close to or over 200K miles.

BigBodyBenzC240

:r olf:

LinDenKid

Haha it does sound like a lawnmower LOL ... Remus muffler ? Mm where ?

C230 Sport Coup

Username Advans has or had a used Remus.
He's close to you to, in NYC.