GDawgC220

hey all,

anyone have an '05 with manual? How hard is it to order one? How's the gearbox, good/bad?

I'm looking at '05 C230's...possibly end of year I may be buying a new car, so just askin' some questions, any help would be appreciated.

hehe, one more. For those who do drive manual all the time, is it a PITA when in traffic? That's what I hear...I've driven manual not not in traffic :p

thanks again!

Yang1815

I have an 04.5 manual... The transmission is very very smooth, clutch is easy. You can't kill the car if you know how to drive a manual... the car also doesn't roll a whole lot when you're starting. The gear is short also. I heard that the 05 is even shorter throw, and the first gear goes up to 29-30 redline while mine redlines at about 25.
I got my car on Thursday so can't really say a whole lot about driving in traffic but from my experience, shifting through the gear becomes a part of driving that you won't even notice, you just do it so it's not a PITA... To order one right now I believe takes about 2 months. Hope this helps.

carhunter

But it still has a foot operated e-brake on the floor. It's a nightmare on steep hills. It's an incredibly stupid design "feature."

CitronC230K_03

i dont have any problems. i keep my foot on the brake na dpull out the clutch until it grabs then release the brake. i only do this on steep hills though.

vadim

It is no different than a hand brake - doesn't require a foot to disengage, just a different hand is being used - left instead of right. If you engage a gear first, torque-load it a little and THEN release the brake - it will have ZERO rearward pitch (or forward in case of reverse gear). I use this all the time after parking on a steep hill or too close to the curb to avoid damaging the rims.

mctwin2kman

First learn how to properly drive a standard shift tranny. You do not need the parking brake to drive and should not use it for this. That is the lazy way to do it. Learn how to start out on a steep hill instead of relying on the parking brake. I have been driving stick for over 14 years and never once needed the parking brake to start out on a hill. And I have been on some hella hills before. My wife just learned on our new car when we got it and that was the first thing I taught her was not to use the parking brake for that purpose and to learn the clutch and the feel instead.

tommy

Why learn, though? I'd much prefer to use the handbrake, and avoid screwing up my bumpers and those of the cars around me, too, for the sake of learning a skill that's not really necessary. At least on REALLY steep hills.

GDawgC220

how do you do it? I always roll back a little too much...good thing it's only practice

GDawgC220

that's true for around MA...not many steep hills here. But I guess it's good to know at least, but I still use the e-brake on really steep hills when I do drive a manual car.

vadim

If you have an inch between a curb and a rim / front apron - this is a perfectly good way to ensure avoiding damaging them. Nothing wrong and nothing to be shy about.

GDawgC220

right on

Boxer2Blower

The manual is a good gear box......suprisingly very good for an MB. Benz has a bad rep for sloppy boxes (no pun intended) such as were on the older SLKs. To be honest, the worst part of the gear box is that the engine is so damn quiet, and the ratios are so close together, that sometimes you can actually confuse what gear you are in. I guess I am just used to a loud *** WRX with a short shifter. I have driven a manual since I was 16 and the MB 6MT is not too bad in traffic. With the C230K, the lack of low end power can be frustrating in 100 degree heat with the AC on in stop and go traffic.......hope this helps

TNblkc230wz

The foot brake works fine. Releasing it is an all or nothing affair though. Most cars with electronic throttles don't really need the e-brake on hills anyway. If you let out slowly while still on the regular brake, the computer will give it gas to maintain RPMs.

In the Year I've owned my car, I've never needed the e-brake to take off. Gave up the e-brake starts nearly 20 years ago.

TNblkc230wz

The clutch on the 230 is very light compared to the 320, which is relatively light anyways. Contrary to some complaints on this board, the shifter works pretty good. A little knotchy when its cold and cold outside, but otherwise; pretty good. I love to try the new tranny that is suppose to shift smoother. I never have any problems with city driving which is about all I do.

mctwin2kman

I keep my foot on the brake and slowly let out the clutch until I feel it start to engage. Then I let off the brake and push the gas while letting out the clutch the rest of the way. Takes all of 1 second or less when done properly and you are used to it. I do it without even thinking.

I have never needed to worry about that as I do not park that damn close to a curb, but in a jam, whatever floats your boat. All I am saying that it is not the proper way to drive stick, but whatever gets you going! But I have never ever once needed to use my parking brake to start out on a hill or to get out of a parking space.

On a side note, the clutch on the Benz is probably one of the smoothest operating ones I have ever driven.

vadim

Of course.. What do we, poor mortals, know about driving (or parking)?

GDawgC220

it engages automatically even when you don't apply gas as your letting go of the brake??? On the manual car's I've driven, if I let go of the clutch slowly while on the brake, the car will shudder...

mctwin2kman

Not if you do it right. If I really want to wear my clutch out I can hold the car on a hill with no brake and no movement without needing to give it gas. Since the Drive by Wire will correct a little to keep the car from stalling. Holds just fine at about half way out for me. I do not recommend doing that for too long though as it is not great for the clutch. But if you do it smoothly with both feet you can start off without moving back. If you just do it sloppy it rolls not even a half inch.

Edit: To me slowly is actually a quicker motion, but for learning purposes I said to do it slowly.

CitronC230K_03

practice makes perfect. go to an area without alot of traffic. i live on a golf course so there isnt much traffic. one particular street is someone steep. i had a friend who was learning to drive stick practice on this hill. it helped him alot. then it will eventually become second nature. like others, let out the clutch while the brake is engaged on a hill without even thinking about. it is like second nature.

TNblkc230wz

If the car begins to shudder, it's time to let off the regular brake and apply gas. It probably won't role back at that point as you should have enough torque to accelerate.

What I teach my kids to do is let the clutch out until it starts to shudder then let off the brake and slowly let the clutch out without applying gas. It will slowly accelerate up the hill without stalling (San Francisco may be the exception). Electronic idle control or drive-by-wire will work its magic. You use to do the same thing with and e-brake before electronics except you had to apply the gas manually and use e-brake to hold the car instead of the regular brake.

GDawgC220

ohh, so the drive by wire keeps it from stalling...that's good to know. other manny car's i've driven don't have this feature, haha.

CitronC230K_03

yes, plus you can feel the car grab while your holding the brake. you can feel it grab before the car begins to shutter.

TNblkc230wz

The drive by wire or idle control will perform this function. Most cars with EFI have electronic idle control.

carhunter

Sigh.

The e-brake is one of the driver's controls in a car with a stick. It should work like the other controls: linear and useable from a proper driving position. I can't even reach the release handle without leaning forward and down against the seat belt. And when the brake does go off it bangs off all at once. A hand brake lets you feed the brake off as you feed the clutch in.

If you think a floor brake is such a good idea you should tell M-B they made a mistake in all their other cars with standards. Let Porsche, BMW and all the others know too.

GDawgC220

actually, the SLK has a handbrake, not foot-brake.

I'm sure MB has their reasons for making a foot-brake...will we ever know? probably not.