Peabody

So with my exterior and engine wrapping up, I'm starting to look at the inside, and I'm a bit torn. Brabus has a nice and complete line of interior mods, but.. I'm letting Kleemann do my engine mods and they don't really have much except chrome or CF trim and a steering wheel. Same for Carlsson. But Brabus have the nice flush door pins, illuminated shifter, illuminated door sills. I think I'll even throw in the center compartment wrapped in leather, but should I really badge it with Brabus when all my body panel mods are AMG and all my engine mods are Kleemann? I really don't want to feel like I'm mixing and matching, and when in doubt, I can just use AMG parts.. but I'm not going to badge AMG unless I drop in a V8. Kleeman has sucky options for interior, and Brabus's v4 mod for my car is like $20k just for the kit, and doesn't even improve as well as my Kleemann mods will.

Kleeman engine, AMG body, Brabus interior...

How should I badge it, or should I entirely avoid the issue all together by avoiding badges that are not Mercedes, or should I avoid it by skipping on all the badged Brabus accessories?

QuadBenz

Personally, I'd avoid all badges on the car, except for the ones that came from the factory.
To me, all the added RENNtech and Kleemann badges are a bit much.

codex57

Same here. I'd definitely do the Brabus interior tho.

imboom

All I say is really just dependent on taste. I really like the Brabus interior and badging is a whole different issue. Some like it clean, some like the notoriety. Personally, I'd skip the Kleeman badging outside because I don't really like how it sits from the ones I've seen. It adds to the sleeper look if you're going to aim for your 350hp goal. However, I know Brabus has alot of their badging on their stuff, especially in the interior. A combination of Brabus badging interior that is not overdone ie wheel badge, shifter, seat badges would be really nice.

I'm curious though, do you happen to have any pictures of the Lamin-X tinted front headlights?

Peabody

Not yet, it's still in the mail. When they get here, I should be finishing up the first round of exterior mods and will take new pictures.

Peabody

It seems once I fall into one Brabus badge, I might as well just go Brabus for everything, but I'm not sure I want all that Brabus written everywhere.

I'm not going to badge the trunk or fenders, but I was thinking of possibly getting the Kleeman or Carlsson grill and engine cover if I do their engine mods.

I could get the Mercedes illuminated door sills and the leather wrapped center console seems feasible without Brabus on it since it's custom work.

But then I'm still having a hell of a time finding another option for the shifter. I already have the grey leather boot of the C63 shift knob, and I hate it. I have all black everything for my interior except for that damn thing.

Also the door pins, does anyone know where I can find some flush, powder-black door pins that don't have a B on them? That's not hard for any aluminum shop to fabricate, I might have to just get them custom made.

mbc300

personally i like the sleeper look........i'm more into what's under the hood and performance, but that's me. do what you like it's your car and money.

whiteongrey

Personally, I would spend the mod money where I spend most of my time - interior.

For sure new upholstery / coverings incl dash, and new front seats - Brabus has nice stuff and I'm sure the badges are a delete option.

FrankW

I'd just leave the C350 badge.

Peabody

I've got a Brabus spoiler coming for the rear, and I'm thinking to get the dash and center console wrapped in black leather from Brabus (~6,000 euro but I saw it today in tan and it looked amazing), the Brabus shifter, door pins, and possibly the illuminated door sills. Once the Kleeman tunes are done my car will get the Kleeman logo on the engine cover but that's it on the exterior. The interior will have Brabus on the door sill, and a B on the stick and door pins. Pop the hood, you'll see the engine is by Kleeman.. open the door, you'll see the interior by Brabus.. but I think mbc300 is right, the sleeper look is where it's at.

Peabody

I talked to Brabus yesterday at the Frankfurt autoshow, and they want me to bring my car into their HQ in Bottrop which is like 30 minutes away from me. They said they would pretty much do my entire interior for 6,000 euro so screw my dealership, these guys are going to handle it themselves and they're throwing in a bunch of stuff like pins, shifter, illuminated sills, mats etc for free. So I guess that settles that question!

AkaSigFreak

Damn! I wish I lived in Germany.
Enjoy!

Peabody

Almost done negotiating with Brabus, but I don't think I'll send it to them until December. Maybe November, but I'm seriously debating using Carlsson for my tuning. I found out that Kleeman won't provide any warranty and Carlsson has come back and offered to throw in a sport air filter and the Carlsson grill to my package for the same price, they will also warranty everything that is voided by Mercedes by the tuning both in Germany and the US. I do like the Carlson grill... and is it really worth < 20 hp to lose my warranty? Decisions, decisions...

EDIT: I should have gotten a written offer while I was at Frankfurt, because the quote I ended up getting afterwards from Brabus was for a few euro short of 10,000. So to cut costs, I'm not going to get the headliner done. Also, I think I'm going to skip on the illuminated door entrances, but that's more a taste decision since the cost savings is minimal.

Mr Enigma

Make sure you show us some pictures when you have it all done!

Peabody

I'm going in next week to get the Carlsson mods done, and I'm getting the CK35 Fiber engine cover and the Carlsson hood emblem to replace the Mercedes Emblem, but I was debating if I should get the rear emblem to replace my trunk's star as well? I'm pretty evenly split on this one so any feedback is welcome.

EASYDOES1T

All those mixed badges put together would be a little extreme but it's your car lol. You look anywhere else for your interior?

tanktube67

Stay away from badges

Peabody

Just to clarify, I'm not getting the Kleeman mods done at this point because they are a vapor product (except for the ECU tune) and they won't warranty the engine after their tuning. and I'll have Brabus door "B" door pins and illuminated shifter, I doubt I'll want any of their branding on my custom leather interior, but that's going to happen in January.

So right now, my car is completely unbadged (AMG on the rims and tailpipes), but next week, I'll have the Mercedes engine cover replaced with a fiber CK35 cover from Carlsson, and the Mercedes emblem on the hood is being replaced with a Carlsson emblem.. so it's still quite subtle. If I put a Carlsson emblem on the trunk to replace the Mercedes star, I'll have an unmatched star in the grill, and if I leave the star on the trunk I'll have an unmatched emblem on the hood. Either way, aesthetically it's unbalanced.. but what I'm hearing is that I should leave the star.

Peabody

T-minus 12 hours until my car is at Carlsson headquarters getting tuned. Gotta go to bed, got a big day tomorrow!!

Peabody

OK I just finished with the Carlsson CK35 tuning, and I must say... highly recommended. The throttle response time is pretty much cut in half, not to mention the added HP + NM.I was only able to get up to 145 MPH on the way home, because I was driving through 5pm traffic, but not hitting that old familiar wall at 135 was definitely a perk. Maybe I'll take it out Sunday for a nice autobahn adventure. I'll post pics soon, there's still some tape holding the hood emblem in place so I didn't bother with a photoshoot.. though I did take a teaser pic. Yes, I broke down and added a Carlsson Performance badge on the fender because it's small and looks really nice.. besides the AMGs get their V8 badge there anyways.

EDIT: I kept the Mercedes star front and back.

Peabody

FINALLY! I've finished my negotiations with Carlsson, and they'll be doing my interior conversion as well. I'm getting the sun visors in alcantara, then the doors, the entire dash, and the entire center piece done in black mastik leather. Also, I canceled my order on the AMG door pins and I'm going to try and make them throw the Carlsson pins as well when I drop it off. Total cost.. expensive.. 4495 euros excluding VAT. I'll be dropping it off for two weeks I think the beginning of February!



I'm thinking of having the Carlsson logo embroidered onto visors.. thoughts?

23wt

+1

Peabody

I know what you mean, I'm reluctant as well but seriously there's a giant yellow airbag sticker there now and I figured it would be more discreet than seat badges which was my second thought..

EDIT: I'm not thinking huge honking Carlsson logos, but maybe the horse in the corner.. maybe Carlsson written across the bottom.. I'm not sure bit I definitely don't want a CD sized badge.

Krytech

Can't wait to see your interior! That's something I've always wanted to improve upon in my car. I've been meaning to find a place local here that can do custom interior work.

Also, do you have a full C63 cat back exhaust setup or just the tips? Are you still impressed with the Carlsson ECU tune you got?

Peabody

I don't think there's any performance to be gained from the full cat back exhaust setup, and I've only heard complaints in the sound from putting the full AMG exhaust on, so I just had some custom Y pipes made to install the tips. It's a little lower growl than the stock setup and looks great. I love the Carlsson tune, and I also can't wait to see the new interior!