Anyone have an idea if the big tuning companies make bigger gears for the 08 C350 or a possibility in the future based on history?

I noticed in the brochure that there are only 2.82 gears. Great for cruising but most short trips can really be awakened if we could get at least 3.42 gears.

 

With a seven speed transmission you will not accomplish much more than increasing fuel consumption drastically.

 

he's going the other way. Taller numeric gears will essentially shorten gearing. With that said, the 7G in the C350 (W203 and W204 are geared the same) is a bit odd. It really is more like a 5 speed and 2 overdrive gears. Essentially, 6th isn't necessary at all. Going from 2.82 to 3.42 might be a bit much though.

 

I'd swap 'em if an option was available. I have a 6 spd and, even at highway speeds, I rarely used 6th gear. I have only put 200 miles on it since new, so take my opinion lightly.

 

i would love to swap the diff with higher ratio as well.
our 7th gear is pretty much useless.
higher ratio + lsd would be the best.

 

I guess it depends on how you use the car. I usually drive on the highway at high speeds, so I like tall gearing. I actually would like to order a C300 with the 6MT and swap in the 350 differential (2.82 I believe) to give it a taller final that would be more in line with the 7th gear on a 300 (all 300's have a 3.07 no matter which transmission). Since 6th gear has the same ratio in both transmissions, but the 7th just makes the car great at high speeds.

 

I was just curious as this seems to be a great modification for the M3 guys and those are modern German cars so I thought maybe Mercedes had an offering as well. If we were talking American cars it would be more of a question of which one to buy as so many choices would be available.

Yes, the type of driving would come into play. Highway cruising would be a waste for such a mod.

I looked at the C63 final drive ratio and it's the same or pretty close. I guess with that much power a taller gear is not needed so no luck seeing if we could swap.

I'm not sure if a 3.42 would be too tall but I would even settle for 3.23 or something like that for a little extra take performance if the price was right.

 

If you want to get an idea of what RPM you will see with a 3.23 (not power obviously), drive a C230 with the 7G-Tronic. I always get those as loaner cars, and I thought there was something wrong with it (expecting low freeway RPM from the 7G) since it was turning over 3k @ 90mph.

Your best bet, assuming you have a 350, would be to find someone with a 300 who wants to switch. If I end up with one, I'll be sure to let you know...I've been missing manual so much.

 

If you are still interested in swapping differentials, I know someone who will be ordering a C300 with the 6MT, and he is looking for a taller gear for highway driving fuel economy, and you can just split the labor cost.

 

Thanks for the offer but the ratio is not enough to justify the labor.

Honestly I will just leave this car alone and keep an eye on a possible C63 in a few years if I have minimal or no complaints with Mercedes.

 

BMW & Audi to Offer New 8-speed Transmissions

http://www.worldcarfans.com/9080513....-transmissions

 

more gears aren't always better.

 

Yeah, its becoming a silly marketing game. 8 gears seems a very expensive way to make a CV transmission.

 

Ya its not always about whats better, sometimes is about what the public thinks they want and of course $$