MichaelCS

Hey guys,

Has anyone ever upgraded the internals on a c300 so that it can handle a tune safely?

There's a shop up here that does some great work however I've also heard that these motors, stock, are a little bit weaker. I'm not looking to jump into a c43 or a C63 and all the inherent expenses that go along with those but a nice bump in power and some exhaust growl would be fun!

A buddy of mine drives a 2017 AMG GLA 250 and his is a high performance 4 cylinder. if his can be built out to do crazy performance than with some mild upgrades to the pistons and rods I don't see why the c300 motor shouldn't be able to do 300 horsepower and 325 foot pounds of torque safely?

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

fabbrisd1

By-and-large - the available "piggy-back" tuner packs do not require any mechanical modifications - gives you a little bump - you can do a google search... Dinan of oft mentioned here

To get "more intense" - please understand the CLA motor is a different engine that the C-Class ... the CLA45 has twin-scroll turbo - yes different pistons/liners - special head's - and crazy direct injection pressures.. I haven't seen any bolt-on kit that takes a CLA250 up to a CLA45 level - for you importantly there is not a comparable maxed out 4-cylinder for the C-Class

MichaelCS

So in essence it sounds like you are saying that adding forged rods and pistons, a downpipe and exhaust and then an ECU tune still won't be safe as the c300 motor is already at peak capacity other than a piggyback?

I confess I'm sad about that. Every car I have ever owned had options of some kind without going full-on crazy train for the elite top tier model.

C300AWD

I mean people have bigger turbos with a meth kit for huge gains and a lot of others have stage 2 tunes but not many have spoken up on it. So the engine is not maxed out from what I know.

Tyler Hall

there’s a company that bores the factory turbo with larger wheel and can get it around 350hp. Pretty well priced as well

MichaelCS

That sounds like it would be hell on the rods and pistons.?

I'm looking to get into the 300hp range and 315-320 ft lbs. I was thinking AWE touring exhaust and downpipe. K&N drop in filter and a tune from Eurocharged here in Toronto however one of their guys said they don't see a lot of c300 tuned as rods and pistons can break.

So then I was thinking; well for an extra few k you could go forged rods and pistons, then do the rest and it should (I emphasized should) be a fairly safe bump in power and torque.

I'm not looking for a moonshot and certainly don't want to feel like I'm strapped into Apollo 13 so came here to the experienced folks.

C300AWD

Does eurocharged guys have records of broken pistons and rods?
If so i would very much like to sell my car since there isn't any real tuning capabilities.

MichaelCS

Don't think so. Didn't ask and haven't called them yet. Will be doing so after a few other cosmetic mods first.

All he said is as follows (this is from their Instagram account where I had a message discussion going back and forth).

If I'm reading that right it sounds like this is not a vehicle that should be tuned if it's a daily driver? Maybe I'm reading it wrong. That being said any shop that is going to actually tell a potential customer that, and risk losing a sale, is a pretty upstanding reputable business who has my best interest in mind. Nobody wants to grenade a motor. That's a place I would do business with in the future for sure!

When I asked them about forged pistons and rods they told me they hadn't built a c300 engine before but that it could be done and they could get the parts custom made so it sounds like anything is possible it just takes time and money. I don't mind sinking an extra 5 to $10,000 into a vehicle that Im enjoying it. It's certainly not an extra 20 to $30,000 for a c43 you know?

Just looking at all my options for a moderate setup and a moderate return. Not looking to add math, or twin turbos, or a flux capacitor LOL

Tyler Hall

I haven’t heard any weak points like that in the engines although I am new to Mercedes. Turbokits.com says they are gaining 80-100hp just from the turbo upgrade. Not sure if they say weak points from just tuning; the way the power is gained, is maybe the cause or what but intake tune and exhaust should make a big change

MichaelCS

I was reading about the @TurboKits.com kit last night as well as checking out the YouTube video they had with regards to it (comments etc.). Yes it is 80-100hp but it also requires water/meth to run cool enough not to grenade your intake system. Don't really want to mess with things like water/meth injection kits etc. nor am I looking to turn my C300 into a C43. My magic mark is 300 hp / 300 ft lbs at the crank (yes, I realize those numbers won't directly translate to the wheels).

The two builds I was thinking about were

• AWE Down-pipe (unless they recommend something diff)
• AWE Touring Exhaust (unless they recommend something diff)
• K&N Drop In Filter
• @Eurocharged Canada Stage 2 Tune

Or

• Forged Pistons + applicable rings
• Forged Connecting Rods
• K&N Drop In Filter
• Eurocharged Stage 2 Tune

As I said, looking to hit 300/300 but looking to do so safely. I don't want to give a quick prayer before going out for a spirited cruise.

DoorHandle_LED

Take that money and upgrade to a C43, C450, C400, or a Golf R. I would stay far away from these extensive tunes on Euro cars unless you can do your own work and have access to Xentry diagnostics. These vehicles are already by themselves a money pit.

MichaelCS

Booooooooooooo, the 2016 C450 is affordable but they only ran that C450 for a year and now it's C43. Don't think I want a C450 badged vehicle. My OCD would kick in.

The moment you see a C43 badge on it here in Ontario it is about 15-20k more than what I paid for my C300. At least for one in good shape with low kms

All that is why I was looking at spending half the money for half the increase... Chew know?

fabbrisd1

I don't know who "they" are - I guess that is your Toronto Speed sho["

1. Downpipe - Weistec - but with free-flow exhaust you will have (2) issues - (1) too dang loud (2) when you get that Check Engine Light (CEL) - which is certain to come - both the exhaust manuf and the tune shop will have a 3rd person to point to

2.. AWE Touring Exhaust - at least these exhaust guys are honest - at best 8hp gain - and frankly the exhaust is merely to impress a owner who is already leaning towards loud-n-dumb

3. "K&N" filter - someone must be reading too many car magazine ad's....

4. "Eurocharged Stage II" - now that's funny - now Eurocharged claims "306hp" with their USD$1200 tune ... and RennTech doesn't offer a C300 performance tune because for this engine - you move the tune up more than a little notch - and you get CEL's all over the place....

You're going to do what you're going to do... make sure it's loud...

MichaelCS

Your witty remarks about loud-n-dumb aside; I am assuming all this knowledge is based upon personal experience? You went for a tune and all of a sudden CEL started coming on? You seem to say an awful lot for someone basing it just on hearsay so I'd like to clarify.

Also, with regards to the K&N filter; I've been reading other peoples experiences on building their engines out on these cars. It isn't rocket science to know that both the intake and the exhaust systems need to be in balance otherwise you get that CEL. Too much intake, with not enough exhaust, and you run into compression issues, and a myriad of other potential problems. Too much exhaust without enough intake is virtually useless because the engine isn't adding anything at a faster rate. Sure you might get a bit of a bump but nothing to write home about.

As for your comment about me doing what I'm going to do; I'm sorry but I couldn't hear you over the sound of my Greddy exhaust system and my horsepower/speed vinyl decals.

stockbmw

I was in same situation as you. I traded in the c300 and got the c43 in TO. Couldn't be any happier.

Mr. J

Maybe your local market is different, but where I live the cost difference between a C43 and a C300 is less than the cost of adding forged internals, downpipes, and a quality turbo upgrade. That's the main reason you're not seeing many upgraded C300s. As the cars age and used ones become less expensive you might see more modded motors but for now the aftermarket is focused on tunes and cosmetic mods.

A Dinan or a JB1/JB4 piggyback will give you a nice little hp/tq bump but they won't get you up to 300 hp at the crank.

The best performance gains you can get without compromising reliability or hemorrhaging cash would be to add a JB4 piggyback, upgrade to lighter wheels and Michelin PS4 tires.
These mods will get you a hotter C300 but I'm afraid they won't quite get you to the benchmark you set in your OP.

Another item to consider might be a CPO CLA/GLA 45. I've seen a few in my area that are reasonably priced.

MichaelCS

Hey thanks for the reply. I think you're right. I've done more and more and more research and I'm seeing that my best course is to just drive the c300 the way it is and enjoy a 4 cylinder with 4 cylinder gas requirements.

In a year or two see what the C43 are in terms of pricing once they start being traded in off lease or finance. Have that as my play vehicle on weekends. My girlfriend currently drives a 2018 Jeep JK 4 door and she goes through a tank of gas every 4 to 5 business days. I don't think I want to be putting $75 into a C43 every week is my daily driver. Right now I enjoy about two weeks of back and forth to work driving on a tank of gas and eco mode with a little Sport+ here and there.

On a side note, I'm reading that Mercedes is thinking more and more about EVs and how to begin production across their lines. Maybe in another year or two will start looking at c43 with some sort of performance Hybrid option. Pointt being no one wants to drive a vehicle that they're going to have to put, eventually, $150 a week of gas in.

stockbmw

I do 15L/100kms 100% city in Toronto with c43. Where as I did 13L/100kms with c300. Extra happiness is worth it for extra $10 per fill up.

MichaelCS

You must have been riding around in Sport+ all the time LOL. I've done like 6.9L/100kms on the highway and like 8.9L/100kms in the city on Eco

For me the costs of upgrading to a C43 would be an additional $300+ a month (insurance, car payment and gas). Not including any repairs. Hence why I am looking to see what I can do on the Turbo 4. Having a shop reinforce internals + Stage 2 tune the Sport + only would be a nice bump in torque. Not so worried about HP as I'm not worried about going 155mph in the city. Having someone build the motor for a few k would keep insurance rates at a C300 rate, keep the fuel costs down on a tune (running in Eco or Comfort) and once it is out of Warranty Mercedes isn't going to care.

fabbrisd1

Now this is funny - "having someone build the motor for a few k" - you might consider buying a Santa Suit on top of that - since you will be flashing CEL's all the way - ho - ho - ho !

On the serious side - there is some wicked sh*t that can be done with a CLA45 or GLA45 - and I mean wicked... you might think about that..

The C450/C43 has some room for upgrade - but the CLA/GLA 45's were designed to offer a huge bump up - upgraded Turbo/Tune $4K-$6K with a couple of tweaks takes you up just shy of 500HP