Yeah, these wheels that I posted (and macct confirmed) are the C450's 18" wheels (offsets in red):

661 (C450)

5-DOUBLE SPOKE WHEEL FRONT AXLE 7,5J X 18 H2 ET 33 (A 205 401 48 00 7X23)

5-DOUBLE SPOKE WHEEL REAR AXLE 8,5J X 18 H2 ET 49 (A 205 401 72 00 7X23)*

The offset is dependent on the hub dimensions and placement on the wheel, so comparing the offsets of two different types of wheels is an apples to oranges comparison.

 

This is what the German site has:

 

*double post*

 

It looks WAY better with the night package.

 

Is there a way to download music from my mp3 player to the music register? I can play it connecting it to the usb but it doesn't seem to allow me to save it to the car's computer.

 

Having driven the C450 this past weekend, I think you've given an honest assessment. I passed on the C400 to wait for the C450, but I think the C400 may have been the better fit for me. My impressions:
- I prefer the diamond grill on the C450. (advantage C450)
- I felt that the comfort setting on the C450 lacked the instantaneous acceleration that I'm looking for and the sport+ setting engine growl and exhaust bark is not my cup of tea. The sport setting was my favorite setting, but the engine/exhaust (or the sound pumped into the cabin to simulate it) was still too loud for my tastes (advantage C400)
- I did not appreciate any extra power that may have been available as I felt the C400 had plenty (no advantage for my driving style)
- I could not tell any appreciable difference in suspension, but that's not to say there isn't any. I'd have to drive the C400 again (incomplete)
- Confirmed no cooling and ventilation available as on the C400 (advantage to C450) and I'm peaved that you can get ventilation on the C300, but not the C450!!
- Wheel options for C450 are still a far cry from what's available for the C63 and that's very disappointing (no advantage to either)

I drove a C300 to see if I might want to fall back to that model and the answer is "no". One big difference that I noticed between the C300 and the C450 was the braking. I can't recall how the C400 braked, but the C450 braked much better than the C300. Can anyone comment on the braking comparison between the C450 and C400, as I can't recall how the C400 braked?

I've also asked the MB salesperson to inquire about the ability to defeat the pumping of the engine/exhaust noise into the cabin. Has anyone been given any indication on whether this is doable?

If the cabin can be quieted in sport and sport +, then that my tilt things back to the C450 - and make the other compromises acceptable.

 

It very subjective as to what looks better or not with or without the night package. I think it relative to what body color your C450 has. Personally, I wanted it on my white 450 as well however, I did not add the package in time and I'm glad I did not because the night package on the white just doesnt look good in my opinion. It basically makes the sporty front apron, rear diffuser, and c450 specific exhaust tips disappear (features that I think set the 450 apart from other c-classes)

 

The throaty engine sound only occurs in Sport+ mode (as per AMG and personal experience).

 

Ahhhh, so you're saying that the engine/exhaust sound that I'm hearing in the cabin in sport+ is all natural and there's no way to quiet it, short of changing the exhaust/muffling, adding sound isolation, or something like that. Bummer.

Anyone know if the C400 in Sport+ is quieter than the C450? I don't recall it sounding that aggressive, but it has been a while since I drove the C400.

By the way, I'm not knocking the sound of the C450. If you're looking for a growling engine/exhaust, then I think it delivers. Me...I want the styling, acceleration, and braking of the C450 (maybe the suspension, too), just not the sound.

Curious - I've never driven an S550 (out of my price range), but in looking at the specs, it does 0-60 in 4.8 seconds. Does it also growl like the C450? Just trying to determine if this sound comes part and parcel with sporty performance, or no.

 

No, I'm saying that the throaty engine sound is a Sport+ mode feature, but not a Sport mode feature.

As far as the throaty engine sound being manufactured by amplifying the exhaust through a speaker in the cabin, I have seen no evidence of this (but I haven't looked at all of the parts involved in the exhaust system, yet).

 

Do I need TPMS on my set of winter tires/rims? I got this message from the supplier, just not sure

Existing Orders / Status Inquiries (1010Tires.com)
7:18 AM (25 minutes ago)

to me
You did not add Tire Pressure Sensors to your order, so as it stands right now there are no sensors on your order. Are you sure that you require TPMS? Most Mercedes use the anti-lock brake sensors to monitor tire pressure and so they do not require tire pressure sensors to be installed in the tire/wheel assembly.

Please advise,
1010Tires.com Inc.
Existing Orders / Status Inquiries Team
www.1010tires.com

 

Hello Everyone,

I a proudly new owner of a polar white MB C450. I just love the car..all i can say
Yesterday i did the 15% tint and noticed that the rear window and the driver side mirror gets very dark when a car o behind me. Is there be anyway to disable that feature?
Sorry for the lame question but i am learning everyday. RTFM (Read The F@#$% Manual) doesn't apply to me because i looked everywhere and couldn't find anything.

 

The brakes on the C300 and C400 are the same. The C400 and the sport version of the C300 have drilled rotors, but that won't make a difference on daily drives (if at all).

Been a while since I drove the C400, so I can't recall back to back, but the exhaust should be much quieter it is a whole different exhaust system, and the sound of the C450 was intentionally tuned.

EDIT - PS. I should note that I'm surprised you found the C300 brakes lacking. While they are not the C450 upgraded brakes, they seemed fine for daily use, and I don't really recall complaints about them.

 

Maybe a silly question but some of the steering wheel and trip computer functionality seems very unintuitive and maybe there is a way to change settings I can't figure out:

- On my old BMW the trip computer behind the steering wheel would default to Nav when I had a destination programmed. My wife's infiniti does the same thing. Was really helpful to not have to manually run through menus after programming a destination and was hoping the 450 would do but doesn't look like it - am I wrong?

- The phone functionality seems a bit wonky. Other cars if I press the phone button on the steering wheel the trip computer thing would pull up previous call history and I could cycle through and pick one. On the 450 if the computer is not set to phone the phone button seems to do absolutely nothing and I have to manually cycle the trip computer to phone before I can do anything with it. Again, hoping that I am just missing something because this seems like a very lazy programming effort it they didn't set up even this basic functionality.

The other piece which is driving me a bit crazy is that I like having the extra digital speed indicator on the top right of the trip computer but apparently you can only make it show up in the OPPOSITE measurement system that your car is wired to. So for example because I am in Canada and my speed dial is in kph, the extra digital speed indicator is hard wired to mph and can't be changed. They did this on purpose, apparently, but seems to me to be very, very stupid, since I will probably never need mph and if I do I would be happy to spend the extra 15 seconds to change it.

I'm not having much trouble figuring out the main command display (other that trying to figure out why the nav sometimes doesn't list waypoint by waypoint instructions on the right side while sometimes it does), but the trip computer thing is leaving a lot to be desired IMO.

Having said that loving the car, but the goal of any computer interface should be to achieve seemless, easy use (after training) with the easiest possible access to desired information, and they could have done much better here without too much more effort (e.g., programming the phone button to automatically move the computer over to phone functionality).

 

The anti-lock brake sensor monitor method is old, they use the TPMS' now. You can go with or without the sensors for your winter set, but without them will just inhibit the car's ability to automatically monitor the tire pressure (you'll have to do it the old fashion way - manually).

 

I'm not real big on the automatic anti-glare mirrors either, I have asked about this and was told that there is no way to turn it off indefinitely

If I come across a workaround, I'll post what I find.

 

Thanks man. If I go without, does that mean the tire light will be on all the time?

 

I am thinking...yes, but I am just guessing. Here is a W204 discussion on this topic: https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...et-wheels.html that might be able to answer that.

 

Someone in here had a question about the AMG steering wheel and if it would have red stitching as well I can confirm that it does not here is my build with the amg wheel.

http://imgur.com/VfF34CT

 

I found your comment about the C300 brakes interesting, so I googled both the C300 and C450 for stopping distance.

Per Car & Driver....

C300 - "Riding on run-flat Pirelli Cinturato radials, this Benz’s 177-foot stopping distance from 70 mph was substantially longer than the class average, and we noted hints of fade in our testing. Pedal feel is reassuring after the slightly excessive initial travel is taken up."

C400 - "We liked other numbers, too, from the 13.3-second quarter-mile to the 160-foot fade-free stopping distance. This heavy C hustles."

Seems to support what I was feeling, as I'm guessing that the C450 probably offers an even shorter braking distance than the C400.

 

That's interesting, on my C300 the digital speedo is in MPH as is the analog.

 

You are in the US, correct? Canadian cars always show KPH, as we use the metric system here

 

 

There are two digital speedometers - there is the main one in setting 1 of the trip computer, then there is another one you can turn on through the menus on the top right corner, which I can't switch. See attached (hopefully). Doesn;'t seem to be a way to change that between mph and kph and manual says it is wired to be the opposite of your home measurement.

 

Nope. Toronto. My analogue speedometer is only kph and the digital one in "1" of the trip computer can be changed back and forth (with default in kph), but this extra one in the top right corner is only either off or in mph.