Newbie - just picked up my C350 in the last month. For all of you veterans...what would you list as the top five performance modifications you would make to your C300/C350 if price wasn't an issue?

 

lol, custom duel turbo setup, and a engine re-bore with low compression pistons

 

*looks @ screen name*...
...
hmm...

i got it...

up and coming rapper!... think about the "boy pimp" part though... that could cause you some issues b.

oh yea...

the search feature works!


:no help:

 

TB5 (glass houses) the comic...nice to see you take the time to insult me but unable to add anything to the post. I hope this forum is more helpful than this. I understand how to use search, but I wanted to get an idea of what people feel are the best peformance mods.

 

yea im just bored at work man... others are more helpful and mature than i am... for sure.

*googles glass houses*...

 

Congrats on the C350 and welcome!

Here's is what I've found.

Renntech has a header & ECU tune that they claim adds about 40hp/tq - costs about $4000 (according to them it doesn't fit real well on the W204 but can be made to work)

Kleemann has a similar setup that also adds ~40hp/tq and they are releasing a version of the header for our W204 chassis. May cost a little less, but don't know for sure until they release the headers in the next couple months. Could be closer to $3000-$3500.

Kleemann is also testing a supercharger, oops sorry, a kompressor for our engine (M272 3.5L) that should bring the output up to around 350hp (includes headers and ECU tune) and it will likely cost between $10-15K, probably won't be available until late 2009.

Brabus can rebuild your engine for about $30K and make it a 4.0 liter and raise the output to around 350hp or so IIRC.

There are numerous other tuners that just do ECU tunes that can add 10-20hp from their claims. Costs vary from about $600 for Powerchip to over $2000 with MKB.

There are also complete exhaust systems out there, but from what I've been able to gather our OE exhaust is already fairly good so there is not a lot to gain from JUST swapping out the exhaust (excluding headers).

Personally, if I decide to do this I'm considering the Kleemann headers and ECU tune for starters and see how that goes. I'm hoping someone comes out with a better airbox for our engine.

 

Krytech - thank you for the quick response. Since this is my first MB, how are they on warranty related to ECU tunes?

The headers sound like a great idea and I was hoping for a kompressor option on this car, good to know that it is in the works.

Questioning to myself if I should have stepped up to the AMG......but I love customizing.

 

Don't question, it'll drive you mad...trust me, I second guessed myself for months if I should have just gotten a 63.

Kleeman is a great option to go with both price and performance wise. Rebuilt brabus will be the best, but for that price, you might as well have gotten a 63.

ECU can void certain warranties if it is found to be the root cause of whatever breakdown happened, but they can't just blindly 88 your car if it has a ECU tune. It's the law.

 

Is there much of an improvement in HP with just the headers or does the real impact come from the ECU upgrade?

 

it's like little droplets of water in a cup....individually, they won't quench your hp thirst, but when you add them all up, you'll have a full cup.

 

Congrats and welcome to MBW,
HP is very addictive the more you get the more you want.