long time reader, first time poster. i have ordered a '15 c300 loaded and have some MOD questions.

1. whats the best way to get the red caliper look? Paint? Powder coat? Covers?
2. if you have airmatic, whats the easiest non-warranty voiding way to lower the car?

cheers,
lester

 

I saw people talking about using links to lower airmatic. Isn't sport plus low enough for you?

 

i am not sure yet, as i don't take delivery until July. however the 4matic's ive seen in person appear to ride pretty high. I have heard about people lowering with "arms" and by tricking the sensors.

 

If you plan to do aftermarket wheels, hold off on trying to lower the car, especially considering the 4matic. The wheels from the factory have a conservative offset and are typically about 1 inch to 1/2 inch more narrow than aftermarket wheels, so you will find that once you fit the car with the more aggressive wheels that the wheels reach closer to the outside of the fenders and this reduces the gap considerably. Cars that have the sport suspension sit about 15mm lower than a non sport model.

The other problem that most people experience with lowering a 4matic is that many of the tuners and spring manufacturers don't usually develop a lowering option for the 4matic, the 4matic cars have typically always been sold in more rural markets where the AWD is more useful, with the launch of the new C class most of the cars were all 4matics which has been a bit complicated and difficult for people to modify. 4matic cars cannot be modified the same way you can play with a 2wd car, overall tire diameters are extremely important and obviously lowering them has proven difficult.

Because the volume of the 4matic C class, many of the spring companies and tuners will most likely develop an option, but cost may become a deciding factor as well...people expect to lower a C class for $4-500 dollars but I can assure you that properly lowering a airmatic car might cost a bit more, so it has to make sense for the supplier and the customers.

In regards to Caliper cosmetics, this was the first thing we did with our C300 sport...the factory calipers have that flat grey raw finish that when they get hot and then wet they get stained and discolored, we did our calipers in a custom dark grey paint and added a personalized decal and then did a full clear coat to avoid any peeling or flaking.

I hope this info is helpful

Jim

 

Nice color! Did you wrapped or painted your chrome parts? if Wrapped, is it easy to take off the front apron?

Thanks!

 

We removed all the chrome trim and painted everything. Pulled all the rubber and properly baked all the painted parts so there is no issue with peeling etc.
We painted the matte silver background of the grill the color of the car, and then painted the trim pieces. We did the door handles the color of the car as well. You could probably wrap the trim parts, but doing the door handles and logos I would say it is best to paint. The door handles are touched constantly so I think painting will avoid any issues. We did the grey since black is so common, I was really planning to do black and then when we did the calipers in the grey I stuck with that color. I really should have done the dark grey wheels but I love how striking the bright silver European wheels look, but maybe we will change it up down the road.
The other part I wish I would have painted was the accent in the side skirt, down the road I will probably paint this part grey as well.

Attached are some close ups of the trim.

Jim

 

Thanks for the pics, looks great, definitely worth the effort. I'm planning on wrap all those parts you have painted except for door handles and grille, I'm waiting for the C450 grille to be available. I'm trying wrap my car myself, do I need to take the front bumper off to remove the chrome lip?

Thanks.

 

That car is beautiful. I really like the stock AMG 5 spoke wheels my car comes with, but just concerned that the airmatic will have a gap. My current '12 c300 was not modified and looks fine but I don't have airmatic on that one.

The calipers on the '15 look much different than on the '12. I assume painting is just as good as powder coating?

I also like your spoiler. Saw it on a white 205 on your site. I'm concerned that the overlap of the side edges could get snagged in a car wash. Any history with that?

 

Powder coating is the way to go

I'm planning on powder coating my calipers red/dark red

powder coating is way better than painting the calipers because it is heat resistant, it looks uniform and better and it also feels smooth
it makes it look/feel as if it was factory installed

all the Lambos, Ferraris, and other cars that come with red calipers are powder coated
Powder coating is also more expensive and it won't melt or chip off or crack.

 

Xzero do you know of a place in the area that will do the powder coating for the calipers? We're both I the Virginia area and I'm looking to do a few mods but not sure where to go.

 

I still don't know yet, but i'm looking though

I'll let you know when I do find one

 

Thanks

 

I know a place that's called Speed Freak Detailing, they might be able to powder coat the calipers. I just sent them an email today asking if they do powder coating. I'll let you know when I hear back from them.

I wanted to get my car coated with Modesta Coating from their place, but my car was hit and I just got it back a couple of days ago. I am planning on coating the whole exterior including the rims. Which costs around $1450, but is definitely worth the price since they are one of the few places in the US that have the Modesta Coating.

 

i'm pretty sure that most Detailing shops do powder coating, so you should look for Detailing shops near you. Check their websites instead of asking each one

 

The front just pops out from the bottom. The rear strip on the trunk has double sided tape, I suggest removing it right away if you plan to paint it and then just line it again with double sided tape to back on. If you are wrapping the parts you might be able to do it on the car, but it is always tricky to get the edges to look right.

Look forward to seeing your car when you get it!

Jim

 

The spoiler is made of Pu-Rim, so car wash brushes are not going to break it off. Considering there are so many cars with somewhat delicate parts...antennas, mirrors etc, if a car wash is using brushes that are that harsh, you might want to look at another car wash.

As far as painting the calipers, this is a common modification we do with a variety of cars...Porsche, Range Rover, and even cars that we build for the dealer on occasion.

Jim

 

Guys, I don't know that I would be too quick to powder coating your calipers, what you want to probably do is check if you can have them painted by someone that can paint them properly. I can tell you 100% for sure that the process and the way we paint them is durable and reliable, the price for painting calipers front and rear the way it was done on my car costs about $1,200.00, that includes any logo you want, Mercedes-Benz, AMG, whatever you want. The process we do is not just spraying with a can of Krylon, the paint is a special high temp paint mixed with automotive paint and a clear coat.

We remove a few of the bolts, pads, and brackets and then heavily mask the rotors and line connections, and then a base coat is applied and then the color, and then the clear. About 20-30min after the final coat the calipers are dry. The paint is expensive and it is labor intensive to do, but it is a get what you pay for job that takes about 6-7 hours, so the price is really in line for what it is and how durable it is.

You cannot have calipers powder coated for the reason that the seals for the pistons within the caliper will get warped during the Baking process when powder coating, so unless you plan to tear down your calipers completely and then have them properly reassembled, I would suggest trying to find a shop that can do the process as we do out here in California.

If you plan to remove the calipers far enough to be powder coated, I would then suggest getting a body shop to paint them for you off the car which might be more cost efficient if you remove the calipers yourself.

Or if you want a red caliper, then buying an aftermarket Brembo kit might be more economical and will include rotors and high performance pads.

Attached are pictures that show how we did the calipers and I also provided pictures of the back sides of the calipers front and rear so you can see how the bolts and connections are all not oversprayed or at risk of any peeling or damage.

We do color changes for Lambos, Porsches, Ferraris etc...Never had any issues. When doing those cars the cost is about $2k-$2500 because the rear calipers are typically similar to the front and have more detail. Cost is also relative to the cars.

I hope all this info helps!

Jim

 

For those of you that were wanting to paint or powder coat your calipers, take a look at the calipers that VICVIPER did recently, he painted them in Iridium silver code 775 and added a Mercedes-Benz black decal...they came out great, so those of you that were interested in doing this modification, the paint instead of Powder coat will be a valuable option with reliability and cosmetically a great look.

Jim

 

that helps a lot. where did you get the decal? I found someone locally who will do it, but i need to supply the paint and clearcoat.

 

Not sure which decal you are looking for, but if you check with any local printers in your area that do vinyl decals, they should be able to make you the decals you want. If you are absolutely not able to get them from anyone in your area, pm me your info and I will check with my decal supplier to order you some, they don't cost too much once the program has already been done, and they keep a surplus of decals ready to go.

Jim

 

thanks jim. was looking for the mercedes-benz decal to replace whats already on the calipers when i paint over them.

 

No problem, let me check with my supplier. What color do you want? Are you planning to paint them in silver...then I would just use black, if you plan to paint them in gloss black then I would do silver?

LMK.

Jim

 

i have ordered the diamond white with the 18" AMG wheels, so I was thinking about red with white sticker or white with black sticker. wish i could photo shop something. also concerned if the airmatic wont drop the car low enough in sport+. thoughts?

 

Email me your address, I got you some decals that I will mail to you no charge, my painter had a few left over so I will send you a couple to do your calipers.

Jim

 

That's great Jim. Thanks for finding those caliper stickers. I wish I lived closer and could just have you guys do the work on the car. I can't seem to find anyone here in town. My email is winelover1@cableone.net. I'm going to peruse your site and see if there are some other things I can buy. Besides the calipers, and windo tint, I'm just hoping that the airmatic lowers far enough close the gap between my "18's and the wheel well.