Hello everyone,
I just bought my new c230 and I previously owned a 99 c230 k. I love the new cars looks and handling as well as the attention factor, but the car just feels like it dies after 80 mph and struggles to get to 100. Now in it's defense I did put an upsolute chip in the 99 2.3 l version and that is probably why I notice the difference with the new one so much. Don't get me wrong though off the line this car has definite heart especially using the manumatic, which I am still trying to master. However, I recently raced some cheap saturn with a very loud muffler. I assume these cars are also four cylinders and off the line I killed the dude. But by 80mph it's almost as if my car would not go faster..... WTF. If it wasn't for the end of the straightaway that saturn may have caught up to me. I don't usually race, especially cheapos like that, but he asked for it- sucka! lol

Now I know all about the kleemans and the renntechs and I am very well read around this forum especially about the c class. I've also driven every single amg c class except the current c55 badboy. I want to chip this little 1.8 but I do not want to be dissappointed with the results. Has anyone done any mods to this engine at cheap prices that were worth it? Looking to spend under 2000 overall and it's a lease so mods need to be conspicuous if I should even do it at all.

I am having regrets as far as cars performance guys!!!! help! Other contenders I almost bought were 02 C32 amg 17000 miles, but involved in accident, 04 g35 coupe, bmw 330- great ride, but mb fan and outdated style, and a 99 clk 55 amg too much money. So it was really between this car and the g35 coupe which I love, but its still a nissan rebadged and mb Rockkkkkks! Oh and I also considered a c43, but outdated and felt like I had the same car although with a missle rocket attatched to it's ***, lol. ANy advice ?

 

pull the parking brake off

 

In total agreeance. Don't drive with the parking brake on. And tell your therapist to get you out of the delusion that your new car is slow. 1000s of C230 SS owners, and only you state that this model from MB is slow. It isn't slow if 1/100000 people say it's slow :v

 

haha very funny of course I don't have the brake. Any serious comments please. And by the way my dad pays my insurance LOL! :p

 

A Saturn? Hahahhahahha! Are you really fat?

1. There's something wrong with your car
2. Like he said, is the parking brake on?
3. The 1.8 does not have the grunt the old 2.3 did.
4. A Saturn....Redline Coupe is quite fast and would have smoked you in any contest. Are you sure the Saturn was racing you Just kiddin.

 

Mason and everyone else,
I did not mean to offend anyone and obviously i loved the car so much That I bought it, but I really know these cars well and if you look at other threads in this forum, apparently I am not alone. I distinctly remember someone making this same complaint about a week ago. So there, now I guess you have two people in agreement that relative to the obvious fact that the 99 was a 2.3 l angine although with less horsepower, it did have more overall pull. it just makes sense. Bigger engine better overall performance on these cars I guess. Except the interesting thread I read yesterday where some dude with an 05 c230 raced his friends c240 which supossedly is a dead duck. Now that guy brought out a good point.....
C240 is a 6 cylinder with less torque and less horsepower. So on paper we should rock that car, but that was not the case and why do you think that is? It's because this car's either kompressor or high end torque just dies out after 80 mph . Check it out in your car or your friends. Unless you've never driven any other c class before and this 05 kompressor is your first one, you have got to admit that there is a lag at the higher speeds and I think it's due to the smaller engine.
But when all is said and done the chic factor could not be any better with this new one black opal on ash interior. mods coming maybe

 

saturn was a four door I am not sure what model. And yes, lol, he was racing.
Guys I guess by your replies it's either newbie initiation night or you guys are too proud to admit that I have made at least a valid point based on the given situation and I know for a fact that I am not alone on this. Bottom line is that 05 komp ss is significantly better off the line than the 99 w202, but on the highway even without the upsolute chip I have to give it to the w202. That was a great machine just like I'm sure this one will be. just wanted to know some of the current feedback about this aspect of the car to see what i can expect if I modify it later relative to the stock.

 

I wouldn't say C230 is SLOW......but it could be faster. One of the reasons I bought mine with 6spd manual transmision was because of exactly that. This little 1.8L Supercharged engine needs the RPM to be constantly above 3000RPM in order to have some "V6 like" power.

I never driven the automatic version of the C230 SS so I don't know if its very different from manuals.

I use to have a 2k2 Maxima 6spd manual with 3.5L V6 (255HP, 246Ib/ft Torque)...I feel the C230 to be extremely weak on power delivery compare to the Maxima.

Here are somethings I'm considering to do in order to get some more power,

-Cut off resonator, replace it with straight pipe
-Lighter BBS wheels
-Pulley and Chip (Whenever a affortable one becomes available)
-MKB stage 3, 240HP (Replacing Pistons, Cams, intercooler, Catback exhaust, ECU, thermostat, and sport air filter) Original Link


I've taken this car out countless times since I got this car, just to findout the best way to drive this car and have a feel for the power delivery. The only recommandation I can give you is KEEP THE RPM ABOVE 3000RPM if you want some power, and ofcourse only use PREMIUM FUEL.

 

The resonator does nothing. Same for the entire exhaust. Look into a header. SMALLER wheels will help accelleration. Kleeman has a Chip and Pulley now for the 1.8.

 

Finally someone who knows what he is talking about.
Thanks for the intuitive reply babybenz. And yes nice job getting the manual transmission. I think it does make a difference considering that you are absolutely correct about keeping the rpm above 3000. I like your mkb stage 3 idea a bit drastic, but definitely worth every penny. This car at 240 hp would probably give old audi S4 with 250 hp a run for their money and maybe and old m3 like 97-98 or so. I think I will definitely chip this car and go back with upsolute. They did a great job on my old car and I wil consider the pulley kit. I just can't go too crazy since this is a lease.
Another question- do you think the chip at least would improve this neccessity to have the car at above 3000 rpm for nice performance at top speeds?

 

Outland how much is the kleeman pulley kit with chip going for on the 1.8? And I agree with about the headers, but they notice at the mb center and void my warranty in my case?

 

The old W202 C230 made 185HP, 4 shy of your new one. But it had more torque, and a much wider powerband. The W203 C230 with the M111 2.3L made 192HP, and much more torque. Its a great little motor.

You guys think a car with more power will run away from another less powerfull car. That's not the case...most races are decided by a few tenths of a second. And for a C240 even keeping up with the C230 would be quite a feat. I've had several loaner C240's, and the most recent 05 one was so slow, mergering required a flow chart and a flight plan. Ive also had some 1.8L 230's. There's power there, just above 3500RPM. Size is irrellevant if the motor makes more HP and Torque. If a motor just makes more HP, but less Torque, its gonna feel a little slower, because Torque is what shoves you back in the seat. HP is what gets the work done. High HP low torque motors do not pull harder than a motor of similar torque with less HP, they just pull longer and farther. HP is a extrapolation of Torque and RPM. Torque is the only force a motor makes.

At higher speeds, you should be running stronger. Torque gets you off the line, HP gets you the top speed. Have the car checked out first. Put it on a Dyno....100 bucks and you'll know for sure.

 

Check over at MBKlasse...in the engine/performance section. Kleeman(Brandon) trolls there a lot. Ive got the 2.3 so I don't really pay attention to the 1.8 talk

Warranties don't last forever, and its up to the dealer to PROVE your mods caused a failure should you ever have a warranty claim involving the engine. IOW, it won't void the warranty.

 

The "chip" by itself can only maximize the performance of what this car's got. I've never had experience with a chip Mercedes's before (This is my first Benz), Personally I had more experience with Japanese cars.......but either way Chip should have the same function to all cars (Since its just a reprogrammed ECU)

When a car is "chipped" it usually does the following,

-Spray more fuel and taking in more air for the combustion process (Limited by the size of the fuel injector)
-Advance Timing (More complete combustion)
-More boost (Needs a lighter and/or smaller pulley to be efficient)
-Remove the 130MPH limitation
-Raises Fuel cut off
-Improve engine response

In simple words, a chip alone CAN increase HP and engine response, but works most efficently if the other parts of the engine is also "upgraded" thus the parts are up to the "tasks" of what the ECU is "telling it to do".

and the answer to your question is "Yes", it will improve the overall performance of your car. In terms of Engine response, and probably 10HP gain from the chip.

 

Now I totally agree with what you are saying and yes I just remembered that the torque on the 99 version was more and that is why it feels like it pulls more. As far as the 192hp That is the coupe version, which I assume you own. How much faster is yours than mine. What is the torque on that car? Amazingly enough That is one Cclass that I have not driven.

I do agree with you that a car with more power will not always run away from a less powerful car, but it depends to what extent. In dealing with these numbers for this c class model line overall the numbers as far as hp and torque are not that far apart so you can make the comparsion here. You just have to compare such things as low end versus high end torque, weight and the type of transmission you have. I assume your car must feel very quick, but in comparison to mine how much quicker? Have you ever raced an 05 ss before?

I don't think anything is wrong with the car, but it's not a bad idea to check it out. Still it does not feel like it is running stronger at higher speed like the extra 4 hp would indicate on paper.

 

For the more boost theory,
I agree with the lighter pulley, but are you sure about a SMALLER PULLEY? I thought the reason renntech and klleman and all these other companies improved overall performance was that they use a larger pulley. I just looked at the web site and it even states larger pulley among other things like ecu and camshafts depending on your budget.
And as far as all of the other things on the list I agree beacause my car actually experienced all of that with the upsolute chip. F0r $400 dollars and a remus exhaust $500 dollars id say I gained close or maybe mor than 20 hp from the 185hp stock on the 99 kompressor. Did wonders for the car and very subtle changes which I like because I'm a med student and can't be driving into hospital with this big loud machine? Although an sl55 amg would suit me just fine.

 

Very funny Outland,
If I had the 2.3 I'd also be braggng about that engine. LOL
Thanks for the tip about the mods guys. I appreciate it.

[QUOTE=Outland]Check over at MBKlasse...in the engine/performance section. Kleeman(Brandon) trolls there a lot. Ive got the 2.3 so I don't really pay attention to the 1.8 talk

 

Coupe is a fun car. Best times(actual tests, not MFR estimates) for the C-Coupe with the 2.3 was 7.1 seconds to 60, and 15.3 in the 1/4 mile(MT COTY testing 2002), for the 1.8, the best times Ive seen are 8.0 to 60, and 15.6 in the 1/4(also MT, IIRC). I think someone else posted a high seven for a sedan with the 1.8....perhaps they can mention from where it was/is

Other Benzos usually don't like to tango...so I just grease the local rice from time to time. BTW, my car has an ASP pulley. Its about 35HP over stock. Even in stock form, it was a quick car. On the hiway its pretty damn fast. Pulls hard from 60 to 120.

 

To increase the stock boost (10psi) on the M271 motor (read: 1.8 230K), you need to increase the kompressor speed of the Eaton M45 roots system. There are two possible ways to accomplish this: install a SMALLER kompressor pulley or a LARGER crankshaft pulley. Some people get confused about whether the pulley is smaller or larger...hope this clarifies that. Moreso, on the M271, the kompressor pulley is pressed on and requires a special tool to remove it with the kompressor unit out of the car...very costly solution.

Evosport is about to release a Performance Package for the M271 motor (read: 1.8 230K). This will include an overdrive dampener (crank pulley), plus underdrive accessory pulleys. Software will be available as well specific to this kit. Look here for information, including dyno results of the kit...

http://www.evosport.com/product/default.aspx?catid=317

This kit should also fit the "200K" which is a detuned M271.

 

i've had an experience similar to this involving a Civic Si, off the line i smoked him, but once we started reaching 65 MPH, he began gaining and eventually passed me, lucky for me there was traffic just ahead and it looked like i was slowing down on purpose

 

i recored myself going from 80-120mph.. and it took me about 19 seconds...
i have the video file. but its kinda big....
i personal think it still pulls just not HARD(compare to my pervious car... it was a 2.0L 120hp engine...REAL SLOW)

 

I have a 2002 c230k, which has the M111 engine and i've never had problems getting some extra boost . Probably cuz it's on a 6 speed n if i ever need a lil more power i just downshift. It starts pulling pretty hard whenever i go over 3000 rpm. I haven't had too many opportunities to take it up to high speeds, thanks to all the traffic in LA. But one nite i was lucky, i was in 5th the entire time, and just applying some throttle, and gradually took the car up to 120. Didn't take too long, and i wasn't even pushing it. The m271 engines only have a lil less power, so i dun think it should be that big of a dif. And about racing all these ricer cars, I read this somewhere on this forum, thoes things have practically no torque, something the mercedes engines excel at.

 

Mine even is 6th gear at 80 will pull quite well up to and above 100 MPH easily. Maybe something funny in the auto tranny, but the coupe with the M271 and a 6 speed does quite well. Now if I drop it to 4th at 75-80 and floor it, it pulls like mad to 100! Not sure what you consider slow but I got no problems keeping up with cars with much more powerfull engines. Now my 190E is not a rocket from 80-100 but on a flat surface it does not even take 20 seconds to do it! And it is only a 120Hp one!

 

When driving at 80MPH in 6th gear, I think the RPM is around 3000RPM....is really unnessary to downshift to make a easy pass. I sometimes downshift to 5th (Putting RPM at around 3500RPM, thats plenty of power to make a pass)

I personally never had to downshift to 4th @ 80MPHs before......wouldn't that put the RPM in like 4200RPM range?? Our redline is at 6000RPM, so there isn't really a lot of room to pull before you need to upshift into fifth again.

What the hack, I'm going to go give it a try when I cruse back to Chicago today...lol

 

I rarely downshift to pass as well! The 4th gear one was due to some ricer in a honda that I could hear him shifting away and I was doing 70, 4th pulls to about 95-100 if I recall correctly, so I slapped it in 4th and toasted him just to get away from the idiot. He kept beside me and would not let me by and was going back and forth. The wife said to drop the hammer so I did! Got enough in front of him to cut in front then squeak between a tractor trailer and another car and around the tractor trailer and I did not see Honda Boy again! I was irritated by his wanting to play and so I felt the need to see what the coupe could do. It was a damn quick Honda though! Well as long as he kept it near redline!!!! I think it was an Si with what sounded like some serious mods. Tranny and engine were screaming so maybe it was just the way they are.