DontPanic

Hello all,

Been following c class posts and threads for a little while and getting lots of good general ideas but looking for advice and ideas specific to my car. Just signed up and I'm a noob !

I have a black 2005 C320 Sport Sedan (Elegeance package) got for a decent price from a good friend last year. Still only 85k With full service history by Merc. Just want to sport her up a bit more without being tacky or dropping loads of money.

Need simple ideas for DIY stuff such as:

1) Replace hood ornament with flat badge (already ordered)

2) Black Grille: was thinking of a black grill from 55 tech but people on here seem to have had great results with plasti dip. If that's the way to go should I do Matt or gloss black on a black car ?

3) Replace headlights with projector headlights. Should I go smoked or just clear with black background

4) My wheels are the crap 16 inch stock alloys and I'm pretty sure the prevailing opinion will be to ditch them for some new 18s and lower the car. Trying to avoid that massive expense. Is it worth trying to just dip the current wheels or am I wasting my time on that one ?

That's it for now. Any help or input will be much appreciated. Hopefully the pics will come out so u can see what I'm working with

Thank you

SicilianStyle

Whatsup man, I have a 2006 C350 in black so I feel I can be of some help here.

1. Great idea, the flat badge looks so much better than the raised ornament. And looks beautiful with a black grill, which brings me to your next questions

2. I took my stock grill out (same one you have in your picture) and took it to a paint/bodywork shop who sanded it, primed it, painted it, sealed it, etc. Definitely go with glossy black - I had originally got an aftermarket grill that was matte black with the Mercedes star in the center and it just looked really funny up against the glossy black paint of our cars. The original grill painted glossy black looks beautiful and gives the car a mean aggressive look.

3. I too had a long debate on this. I've decided to just keep the stock headlights which are still in good condition and it looks beautiful, but if you go projectors I would go with the black ones. I would consider these headlights Just note you can find them a bit cheaper through other websites if you google the name.

4. Another thing I've been debating. I have the 16" tires with stock rims same as yours and honestly they look really good. I can't yet justify the $2000 price for new tires and good rims. Also, my mechanic showed me which rims would be "direct fit" on my car for 17" and 18" tires and none were to my liking. And once you get into wheel spacers and offsets it just seemed like a pain in the ***. I wouldn't pay too much attention to this. Also, I heard 18" tires give a harsh ride. I wouldn't go more than 17" on our cars to be honest.

Also, you should consider changing the stock lighting if you haven't already. For the city lights (the smaller light next to your low beams) go with AZN Optics 5k city lights which can be found here . Just in the notes ask for the v 5.2a bulbs. The v5 bulbs flicker because on our cars the voltage runs high (or atleast on mine they did).

For your low beams, you should consider going with some LED H7 bulbs which can be found here. I have this setup on my car and it's beautiful with the above mods you wanted to do.

DontPanic

Thank you for your input SicillianStyle. Exactly what I was looking for.

1) Flat badge is on its way.

2) Had my eye on the exact same Matte black with star grille but wondered if it would look odd. Was thinking plasti dip just in case I didn't like the full paint and could go back to chrome but I think the gloss paint is just the look I want anyway.

Did you have them use the actual 040 Benz black color code or a generic black gloss ?

3) Those are also the EXACT replacement lights I was looking at. But, wasnt looking forward to removing bumper. I have a Meguiars Heavy duty h/light cleaner on the way already to clean stock lights. Love the idea of keeping them and just changing the bulbs (never thought of that)

Quick follow up question: I have the basic halogen lights on my car. The ones you linked to look a bit heavy duty for my needs. I'm mechanically inept so is it just a case of switching them out or is there a kit/harness/wiring required to convert from my basic halogens ? If thats the case is there a bulb I can just switch out that is much better than stock?

4) That really helps me on the wheels. I too had read that 18s could give a tougher ride and I actually love the comfortable ride on my current wheels ... Just don't think I've seen any pics on here where people had kept the same rims. No way I was going to spend 2k + and then regret it. So, I'll take your good advice on this too and just Polish and keep what I have.

Sounds like for a mechanically inept noob I was on the right track with hood emblem and grille black out. Now, I'm much happier keeping stock rims and also the headlights with your suggested bulb change out.

Thanks again for your input ... Very helpful

SicilianStyle

My guy didn't use the 040 black paint, just generic glossy black paint and it still came out sick. The bulbs I listed are literally plug and play, but they are a pain in the *** to get to since the working room is so small behind the headlights, especially if you have larger hands. I just took it to my mechanic and he threw in my city lights from AZN Optics for free. The LED lights he actually had, not me. He charged me $150 for labor + parts but if you bring your own pair to them I can't see them charging more than $30 or so for installation. They're all plug and play though, so you can do this job yourself and save some money. Just read some tutorials on changing the w203 headlight bulbs.

Hope I helped buddy!

DontPanic

Perfect, I'll give it a go first and then get help if I need it .. Very helpful ... Thanks again