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List of best mods for added horsepower

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Old 04-27-2010, 12:33 PM
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List of best mods for added horsepower

Ok so i tried doing searches and didnt really yield much. I'm just curious of a list of mods that increase horsepower.

I only know of two ECU tunes for the c350 that are under 1k which i find decent but i havent seen any recent posts stating whether they were worth it or not, only older posts when they just got it done.

I also know of Eisenmann's exhaust but I find that to be very expensive. The X pipe sounds like a good option.

Any other company's websites or just other mods that add more horsepower that you guys know about?
Old 04-27-2010, 12:59 PM
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I don't think exhaust or intake work will add much, if any power. The ECU tunes sound like they give a real world 5-10 HP increase but nothing like a turbo vehicle's ECU upgrade. I would think the faster throttle response would be more gratifying than the 10 extra HP.
I haven't seen any accessory underdrives for the C...likely for good reason I suppose.
I think my biggest performance improvement has been to lose almost 30 lbs...and the seatbelt seems to fit better to...
Old 04-27-2010, 01:01 PM
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http://shop.kleemann.dk/shop/350-k3-kit-for-284p.html
Old 04-27-2010, 01:34 PM
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An ecu tune will give u the most for your $$.. On paper it mite only be 10-15 hp, but u really feel the difference, better throttle response,less hesitation between gears,I feel it most during midrange rpm's.. also headers/full exhaust/performance air filters(AS A PACKAGE) you will feel a difference, any1 of those by them selves is minimal gains.. Keep in mind any mods for a benz isn't cheap, especially performance mods.. Good luck
Old 04-27-2010, 02:30 PM
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If you want real power, you'll have to go remote turbo due to lack of real estate in the engine compartment. There's only so much you can squeeze out of these M272 N/A V6s and you'd end up spending too much money for negligible return. If you wanted more power, plenty of used C63s now on the market with initial leases expiring. Asides from that, just be happy with your "quick enough for daily" car and spend the money on handling suspension, cosmetics, or a savings plan.
Old 04-27-2010, 04:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Azn_C300
If you want real power, you'll have to go remote turbo due to lack of real estate in the engine compartment. There's only so much you can squeeze out of these M272 N/A V6s and you'd end up spending too much money for negligible return. If you wanted more power, plenty of used C63s now on the market with initial leases expiring. Asides from that, just be happy with your "quick enough for daily" car and spend the money on handling suspension, cosmetics, or a savings plan.
+1
Old 04-27-2010, 06:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Azn_C300
If you want real power, you'll have to go remote turbo due to lack of real estate in the engine compartment. There's only so much you can squeeze out of these M272 N/A V6s and you'd end up spending too much money for negligible return. If you wanted more power, plenty of used C63s now on the market with initial leases expiring. Asides from that, just be happy with your "quick enough for daily" car and spend the money on handling suspension, cosmetics, or a savings plan.
Great advice. Guess there is not much you can do in this department that will make you really satisfied.
Old 04-27-2010, 06:43 PM
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Old 04-27-2010, 08:03 PM
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Old 04-27-2010, 08:09 PM
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Im in the same category for power, im thinking of dropping in some headers,k&n filters, and possibly sec. cat delete unless its to loud. And later on an ecu tune but still researching that. Im looking to get 300hp. Cant believe these cars dont come stock with 300.
Old 04-27-2010, 08:15 PM
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Forgot to add, Mike hows the ecu tune you got? I wanna know how it does a few months down the road. Like mpg/hp gains, thanks
Old 04-27-2010, 10:39 PM
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Originally Posted by envyxc350
Im in the same category for power, im thinking of dropping in some headers,k&n filters, and possibly sec. cat delete unless its to loud. And later on an ecu tune but still researching that. Im looking to get 300hp. Cant believe these cars dont come stock with 300.
ecu tune and headers will def get you close to 300hp
Old 04-27-2010, 11:48 PM
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Originally Posted by envyxc350
Forgot to add, Mike hows the ecu tune you got? I wanna know how it does a few months down the road. Like mpg/hp gains, thanks
Tune is fine. Butt dyno can't tell the difference with the added 5hp. lol. MPG did seem to slightly go up by 2 mpg from what data I had recorded for my 3 month trial after I got it done.
Old 04-28-2010, 12:18 AM
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So you only got around 5hp from your ecu tune? which tune was this one?
Old 04-28-2010, 01:30 AM
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Speed Innovation. It's supposedly 14ish hp at crank, but probably more like 2-5 at wheel.
Old 04-28-2010, 12:39 PM
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Originally Posted by envyxc350
Im in the same category for power, im thinking of dropping in some headers,k&n filters, and possibly sec. cat delete unless its to loud. And later on an ecu tune but still researching that. Im looking to get 300hp. Cant believe these cars dont come stock with 300.
Headers and an ECU should easily get you over 300hp. RENNtech and Kleemann both advertise their headers/ECU/K&N combos add 40HP to the M272 3.5L. The dyno's I saw from Kleemann I think actually were closer to a 50HP gain.

Kleemann is now selling their sport camshafts too. From their website, "New for 2010 is this K3 kit for V6 M272 engines, and it will raise power up to 335 HP and 379 Nm."
Old 04-28-2010, 12:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Krytech
Headers and an ECU should easily get you over 300hp. RENNtech and Kleemann both advertise their headers/ECU/K&N combos add 40HP to the M272 3.5L. The dyno's I saw from Kleemann I think actually were closer to a 50HP gain.

Kleemann is now selling their sport camshafts too. From their website, "New for 2010 is this K3 kit for V6 M272 engines, and it will raise power up to 335 HP and 379 Nm."
It really seems hard to believe that our stock exhaust is that restrictive. Have they put out third party dyno numbers to verify their claims?
Old 04-28-2010, 01:21 PM
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Originally Posted by C300Sport
It really seems hard to believe that our stock exhaust is that restrictive. Have they put out third party dyno numbers to verify their claims?
There are some members on an SLK forum (different site - don't recall but slk was in the site name) that have posted their dyno results. They seemed about right. Both tuners originally sold those kits for the SLK crowd. For the W203/4 they required extra work to get them to fit, specially the collectors & down-pipes. These new headers though should be much easier to install but will still require some cutting and welding since the outlet pipes on the headers are almost 3/4" larger.

I think the performance gain is two fold. First slightly less back pressure due to the larger piping, second the OE headers allows the gases to mix right away as soon as they leave the engine, whereas the these headers have much longer equal length tubing and then mixes the exhaust gas at a central point. From my limited knowledge, the key to good/tuned headers is that they allow the gases to flow from the exhaust port on the engine without interference all the way to the collector. With the cast iron/cost-effective OE headers the gases mix right away and the pressure waves interfere with one another and this also causes back pressure and changes in exhaust velocity.

But most importantly...they should sound pretty badass
Old 04-28-2010, 03:56 PM
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Singh Motorsports claim to have 20hp 15tq thats what i have in my C300
Old 04-28-2010, 10:13 PM
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maybe you can try MKB or the Brabus kit for increase the displacement to 4.0liter
Old 04-28-2010, 10:31 PM
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I have the Powerchip ECU tune. Car definitely runs better. Much quicker in sport mode than before. I paid $625 and it was well worth it. MPG about the same.
Old 04-28-2010, 11:21 PM
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I would love to do the ECU tune but every company requires you to send it to them. I wish I could just bring my car somewhere but it seems all of these places are on the west coast. Sucks.

My friend said he did his himself through th ODB2 port or somethin like that.
Old 04-28-2010, 11:39 PM
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I am in los Angeles and was able to drive my car there and left two hours later w the tune.
Old 04-29-2010, 08:18 AM
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Originally Posted by Magic9669
I would love to do the ECU tune but every company requires you to send it to them. I wish I could just bring my car somewhere but it seems all of these places are on the west coast. Sucks.

Depending on where you live there are a few tuners that can do tunes on site. I know a few on the east coast are dealers for Kleeman and Renntech and have on site capabilities.

Eurocharged is based in the Chicago area and also travel a lot and may be in your area at some point.
Old 04-29-2010, 08:36 AM
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Originally Posted by Krytech
There are some members on an SLK forum (different site - don't recall but slk was in the site name) that have posted their dyno results. They seemed about right. Both tuners originally sold those kits for the SLK crowd. For the W203/4 they required extra work to get them to fit, specially the collectors & down-pipes. These new headers though should be much easier to install but will still require some cutting and welding since the outlet pipes on the headers are almost 3/4" larger.

I think the performance gain is two fold. First slightly less back pressure due to the larger piping, second the OE headers allows the gases to mix right away as soon as they leave the engine, whereas the these headers have much longer equal length tubing and then mixes the exhaust gas at a central point. From my limited knowledge, the key to good/tuned headers is that they allow the gases to flow from the exhaust port on the engine without interference all the way to the collector. With the cast iron/cost-effective OE headers the gases mix right away and the pressure waves interfere with one another and this also causes back pressure and changes in exhaust velocity.

But most importantly...they should sound pretty badass
Yeah, a full exhause redo would sound pretty sweet.
Do any tuners customize the tune for individual cars? If you get a full intake and exhaust rework, it seems the ECU mod could be tweaked to really benefit all the extra work. The AMG Performance manager at the Buckhead center says they do that on site but I have not really dug much deeper for the details.


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