huir

Recently a friend got a new W204. It is all stock now. He's gonna throw $2000 into modding the car here in Nor Cal. I suggested him to throw a new set of wheel, CF trunk lips and HID lighting. But I though it might exceed the budget.
What would you folks suggest if given $2000 budget?

jctevere

CF trunk lips can be had for around $200 for the one piece over the main trunk (big overhang lip) on eBay, or around $250 or more for the three piece set that covers the entire rear trunk and one piece over each tail light.

HID lighting is probably the cheapest mod for around $50-60 for a GOOD DDM digital slim kit. Installation is very simple and straight forward, so he doesn't need someone to install them, unless he is a real noob, even then it shouldn't run more than $50-$100 to get someone to install it.

Rims are the one thing that might blow the budget. They do have some pretty good looking replica amg rims for around $500 on Ebay. But that doesn't include installation or tires. The best way to save money would be to find rims he likes that will fit his current tires, but that will drastically limit him on style and design. Then it poses the question, why buy rims if your not in love with them...

Personally, I would just do the HID and rear CF trunk lip and a front CF lip and save money for rims in 2 years or so when you need new tires anyway, then just sell the OEM rims...

andy_meng1024

Used set of wheels and tires will probably work better for his budget. If he has the option 18" he can probably sell them to get some money back, too.

zankok

get rims and proper lowering
then all those usual cheap and effective things like LED eye lids, stealth bulbs, xpipes etc etc r chip upgrades

bigigg

Ok, my opinion.. Hold off on the wheels, there not cheap.. Depending on what size he gets plus tires.. A decent wheel/tire package can easily be $2000.. I would do HID kit, stealth bulbs in the headlights, tint windows,tint some lenses if he likes, paint the grille, a trunk spoiler,maybe a roof spoiler.. Keep in mind CF is more expensive than a reg plastic spoiler.. If he has plans in the future to mod past his $2000 budget I would say don't rush and take his time make sure he's happy with his choices.. I've spent a lot more $$ than I needed because I changed my mind a few times with the mods I chose.. Anyway good luck

Sportstick

All of this is nice advice, but we don't know enough about your friend to give a good answer. Is he more concerned with how it looks or how it drives? That answer will result in very different advice, as some mods will make a great difference but will not be visible.

ZeroSeVen

I assume that your friend might go for exterior looks at his first step

with a 2K budget... he can score a wheel/ tire package, a new set of 19" MRR GT1 with tires will run him at around 1,600-1,800, if he can stretch his budget further to 2,5K he can also get H&R springs

There's 2 ways he can use that 2K budget, he can either start with the high dollar upgrades like wheels or save up and do it a later time and just start with some basic exterior add ons like front lip spoiler, roof/ trunk spoiler, rear diffuser, etc.

cthumarshall

ur friend should lower it first if he got 18"s... then.., side markers., leds, hids.. front lip., trunk lid., rear diffuser n' quad set up... i think all of them can b done within 2000$ budget if he knows the shops wth fair labor fees..

Azn_C300

Sportstick hit it...we don't know your friend's tastes or style to make informative decision, but if it was me taking a fresh car with 2k budget..... H&R Supersports, budget quality wheels (Forgestar, MRR, Monarch, etc) and that should pretty much cover it. You might have like $1-200 left over which can be used to get some HIDs and clear sidemarkers.... and my LEDs

Have him hit up Sonic Motorsports in Mountain View and ask for Darwin. Tell him I sent him and he can hook him up with a package deal for springs/wheels/install/alignment.

tanktube67

It's a 300 0r 350?

Sportstick

Thanks, Michael, but I am going to violate my own concern. Most of the advice already offered is centered on appearance, so I will offer some of the other side. Chassis is the greatest opportunity for upgrade over the mediocre standard tires and high unsprung mass wheels. I'm sticking with 17" for the best handling bang for the buck....18" is primarily a visual, not performance, move.

$600 Michelin PS2 17" currently on sale at tirerack.com
$450 Eibach antisway bars, but only put in the front for now (plus one hour = $100) to save labor cost unless you do your own labor. (Rear is 3 hours)
$600 Pick among styles of powerwheelspro.com wheels, most of which have lower unsprung weight as well, improving ride/steering and appearance. (includes shipping)
$180 My one concession to pure appearance for jbspeed.com decklid spoiler.

$70 left for unexpected shipping or to add to labor.

With more money, I'd get a thick-rim aftermarket sport steering wheel, as that is the part of the car you touch the most...it should feel the best and give you the best steering sensation.

I made no provision for lights nor lowering, neither on my list of priorities for driving performance improvement. This car may not standout visually in a crowd, but it would provide one of the biggest smiles from the driving experience, especially for $2k.

encoder

... Until you're driving at night

Just a counter-point that I have the lighting package on mine and recently took a loaner overnight. The standard lighting... it really felt like an entirely different car. Tho I guess as long as he's not used to HID it won't matter.

ulovemybenzo

used wheels right here https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...8-19-rims.html

E92-Lighting

he will need to budget 1500 or 2000 more