The C350 looks great. More potential for mod.V6 sound super
Should have wait for the import recon model.
thinking of upgrading but im stuck with c250 lol

 

Thanks for the links, they were good reads. I am also curious about the odd differences in posted 0-60 vs 0-62mph. Mercedes has definitely been conservative in their performance numbers in the past and this seems odd.

this discussion is interesting to me because of my curiosity in comparing the C300s with the BMW 3s. I did not know that the 328i is as quick as they advertise. I would think that the 3series along with the A4 are the main competitors and performance is an important part of the comparison. Sure there are a lot of other factors like styling, handling, comfort etc, but performance is a big part of it IMO.

The facts of the matter WRT 3series vs the Cs is that BMW chose 2 engines, a 4 and a 6 both turbos and MB used to have three, and now have 2. At least in terms of performance, the 328 is similar to both the C250 and C300 and the 335i is significantly better (but also more expensive) than the C350, and also is available with AWD.

Now we can have an endless debate about all of the other factors, but I am focusing here on performance, and also trying to understand why MB made some of the decisions that they made. I want to like the Mercs more, I just don't like BMW as a company, where the opposite is the case with MB, but a lot of things are getting confused.

My head just won't be satisfied here until I get some kind of understanding of my two main questions - what are the physical differences between the engines on the C300 and C350 (if there are any besides software) and why on Gods green earth would Mercedes decide that it is a good idea to not offer C350s with 4Matic. If sales and opinions in MA are indicative of the half of this country that sees regular snow, 4Matic is a must. I had a healthy discussion with the sales manager at my dealer (when I bought my E350) and he went into great detail about MB's resistance to the AWD movement as well as the eventual decision and then just plain sales numbers. Maybe I won't get my questions answered fully, but this discussion is surely interesting and I believe the questions are worth asking.

Are there any other thoughts out there? I heard and understood the point about certification costs, but I really find that difficult to believe.

 

I think the first question you probably can find the answer from a MB tech. Or a performance shop. Regards the second one, I am afraid the only way to get the right answer is asking to the top management of MB in Stutgard. Anything else will be speculation.

 

The C350 looks identical to the C300 (except maybe the 18inch vs. 17inch stock wheels). Why does it have more potential to mod?

 

Im driving a C250 CGI and the mods are limited.
The C350 V6 can upgrade to around 330hp according to
Kleenamm K3 tunning.

 

You are probably right, I guess I am looking for other opinions. What are your thoughts on this?

 

Take a look at post 2. I am probably minority here(I am getting old!!! ) but I don't like much modifications on the car other than minors cosmetic ones. From my experience the results in most of the cases do not justify the effort, the money and the headache.

When I bought my car I decided that I would not modify anything major, so I choose the biggest engine and most of the accessories I could afford.

My thoughts was: the difference in price from the 300 to the 350 plus the options I would like will not be greater than whatever I would have to pay to get it done afterwords on the 300. Not mentioning again the headache and the risks.

Again, I don't regret one second. This car is amazing!!! And the only thing I bought afterwords was winter tires/wheels set.

Sergio.

 

I have a 2013 C350 4matic and drove a 2013 C300 4matic quite a bit.

If you want Panoramic roof it is only available in the 350.

The C350 has dynamic handling which I'm not sure is available in the C300...this is by far the single most important option on a C-class. It COMPLETELY changes the way the car drives and makes the car a strong opponent to the S4 and 335i.

I dont think there really is a 50hp difference though between the 2 cars, they feel very comparable in acceleration, but the C350 sounds better. (not sure why)

 

I hear you, my concern would be an engine mod would mess with the warranty. The problem is the power difference combined with the inability to get AWD in the states on a 350 makes both of them unappealing to me somehow.

Interesting about the power differences, you would really think that a 50hp difference would be very noticeable, thanks.

Now I don't have any direct experience here, but with all of that low end torque, the same HP but maxing at a lower RPM I would think that the BMW would take the 350 (if you could get it out of the shop). However, I don't think that Mercedes is trying to win races vs BMW here, they are very different cars. The numbers are comparable, but many of us can't compare them because we can't get a 4matic!

What is the dynamic handling that you are referring to? I didn't see handling described differently between the 300 and the 350. Do you have a link that refers to this somewhere?

 

I contacted Eurocharged and they said they would have a tune out for the 2013 C300 detuned 3.5L soon. It will be interesting to see the HP numbers, 302 like the stock C350 or ~330HP like the tuned C350.. Not much info out there.

 

Re earlier comment that 10-way power driver seat with memory is standard on the C350 only (optional on the other models.)

Although the mercedes.ca site will list '10way power driver seat with Memory' as a standard feature when you spec a 2013 C350 without Convenience group, the dealers tell me it does not include memory.

I did look at a new C350 without the Convenience group, and the power buttons for the seats are on the seat side, like the C300. When you go to the Conv, then you get them on the door with the memory (and the power adjustment on steering column w memory).

I find it a bit difficult to believe it wouldnt be standard at the C350 model, and that the Mercedes.ca site is incorrect.

Anyone know for certain?

 

I contacted eurocharged, they said they already got a tune but you gotta send your ecu and you can't do a simple reflash to stock for service.

 

Please forgive me if this is a stupid question. Is the ECU a simple chip? Is it not possible buy a new ECU and have the oem and the tuned one to switch around when "needed"? Would the new ECU be too expensive?

Again, sorry if this is a retarded question, but please shed some light in here!!!

 

Its pretty big and it costs $1500. Plus the ecu is vin-encoded (what people told me) . If it was cheap, i would definitely do it

 

Ok, I can understand the cost being on the high side, but if you could do it and preserve the warranty, I think it is worth it.
Other thing I don't understand is the vin coded. If you flash the ECU, you are re-writing all the information. What happens to the vin code? As fas as I can imagine, it will be erased...
Please correct me if I am wrong. I am just guessing here....

 

I have no clue

 

I e-mailed them last week and Jerry told me that they didn't have a tune yet. Weird

 

Any ideas of other places/vendors that could potentially sell the Tuned Chipset? Even if it costs 1500, still is attractive compared to the C350 price difference!

I surely would consider upgrading to get the extra 50HP (or even more from what I read on this thread!)

Thanks!

 

Check out this thread, https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...3-5l-c300.html

Kleemann offers a full retune for the C300 to 330HP (their numbers) for $1300.

Kleemann's Site