testknight

Hi all, I will be picking up a black 2003 AMG C32 next week (waiting for withdraw from brokerage account). I've been lurking here a few months now after discovering these cars (was originally targeting S-Type R, XJR, or XKR) and knew shortly that I wanted one of these or an SLK32...C32 due to hp potental and aftermarket (plus impressions of overall quality)

I'm a gearhead having done all work myself (all mods on all cars, 5+ engine swaps on those or other cars, etc) So, that said...I'm already looking to start modding.

Anyway, I've read a ton here and just want to reach out for advice..I'm just having some trouble absorbing (work a lot) and would like someone to speak to where I am at.

OK, I have $1,500 (up to $2k, would like not to go that far if possible right now) for my first round of mods. Here's what I'm looking at and my questions (I appreciate any input):

- Res delete - I'll buy 3" SS online and get it installed (or should I go 2.75"??, does it matter)

- 2ndary cats - any power gain here...just not sensing there is, I'd really like to know even if 5hp. This is not currently planned unless its agreed I'd see some gains

- Pulley - I can handle this one, just want to know if I should be concerned or any risks or downsides with the 185mm (will get tune, see below)...is there something between 185 and 178 (if so, where)

- Intake - this one has me all confused...please tell me what my options are. COde three looks like a flat air filter (is ths same as the 'Green' everyone refers to??) Is there a dual setup option? Where can I get them..I see someone has an SL55 (did I get that right??) is this best for power? If so where is best place to get? My heads spinning tonight on this topic.

-Tune - I'm gong with LET..although its odd that with all other cars mail order tunes didn't do much...seems an accepted power option here...

SOrry lots of questions..looking to get res delete,air intake, pulley and tune ASAP. I look forward to any input (even if just one of my topics).

Last comment - great site, classy people. Big change from all other auto forums I've been on.

nelson09

Welcome - and congratulations on the new car. As far as specifics go, you might want to check out the W203/AMG forum here, they'll point you in the right direction. But it sounds like you know what you are after and have somewhat of a game plan. Enjoy your stay

Gramma_Benz

Welcome to our World! Or MBWorld, rather. You're gonna have a LOT of fun!!
Res delete:
IMO, don't bother going with a SS test pipe unless you're in a snowy area with salt on the roads and are concerned with corrosion. Otherwise it won't make any difference except for price and I've never heard of anyone ever having a problem with a regular piece of pipe being welded in the same. Any exhaust shop can do the job for you for less than the cost of the SS piece itself.

There used to be a 181 pulley and they stopped making it as people generally wanted the 178 or 185. With a 185 you will also need an upgraded Heat Exchanger besides the tune. Otherwise it will not make power due to heat soak. Some good info in this current thread on the other forum:
http://www.crossfireforum.org/forum/crossfire-srt6/37470-best-s-c-pulley.html

For the C32's, we're much more limited regarding intakes than the Crossfire SRT-6's and I personally think the best option would be the LET/Eurocharged intake, but I have a SL55 intake as I got it for a great price.
http://eurocharged.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypag e_new.tpl&product_id=76&category_id=44&option=com_ virtuemart&Itemid=99



Tune:
LEt does such great tunes because Jerry of LET used to have a C32 which he modded the crap out of and still is a C32 enthusiast. He has learned to tune them over the years and has lots of relevant experience with them. Besides the fact that he's a stand up guy, you will not go wrong with their tune.

Good luck brother!

02C32guy

Congrats on the new car. I'm sure you'll love it like the rest of us do. I'll tackle the intake headache for you. Here it is:

The code 3 intake isn't a "green" filter (except in color). The green filters you're reading about are just a different brand of filters for the air boxes (like K&N or BMC). If you look at the engine you'll see two air boxes leading into to a splitter that goes into the intake manifold. On the stock Y splitter the back comes off. The code 3 intake goes on the back of the stock y splitter. It sucks engine air directly into the manifold. This produces horsepower and the SC whine that people like. Personally, I don't like the idea of sucking hot engine air into my engine anymore then I have to (but it does work). The other popular options are the LET intake which gets rid of the boxes altogether and uses two sponge like (itg?) filters. Everyone that has used this seems to like it. It has great fitment, good power, and fuel economy gains, but it's expensive and you lose any semblance of the stock look. Last time I checked the LET intake was $549. The other popular option is using the oem (sl55) Y-pipe and sometimes air boxes off of an SL55. The SL55 y splitter, intake tubes and airboxes are much less restrictive. Some only use the SL55 y splitter with their stock boxes. There are also many other custom intakes like Renntech and Kleeman, but they too are expensive. The SL55 setup can be pieced together from any parts website for around $350. I recently installed the full SL55 intake I bought off a member here and have been really happy with it. You have to modify it slightly, but no big deal.

Good Luck

jturkel

congrats on your upcoming purchase and welcome to the forum!

nah. doesnt really matter. i have 3" SS. i didnt need the SS either, but i figured, why the heck not. i bought a 3 ft long 3"SS pipe for 30. labor was 55. just to give you a ballpark. Took my car a day or two to break in the new exhaust setup and get the sound. sounds great this way!

no power here. the sound change comes from the resonator delete. deleting the secondary cats makes the car a little bit louder. deleting both these and the resonator will maybe gain you 1hp (if that). deleting resonator will drop you a little weight. however, if you ever plan on getting headers, deleting these will yield you small gains. the stock exhaust manifolds are the only bottlenecks on the exhaust (as you may or may not have found in your searching on here). everything else is really for sound.

there was a 181mm crank pulley. LET/Eurocharged made it. they currently are not listing it on their website. you can trying PM'ing Loungn14 (Jake) and see if they have any leftover laying around. Or you could try looking for some used ones on this forum or over on the srt6 crossfire forum (they have the same motor, M112k)
intake options:
code3 intake: if you look at the C32 intake, it is a dual setup. both sides converge at the back of the engine bay at what is commonly mistakenly called the "y-pipe." It is actually a T-pipe or T-splitter. If you look at it, the back end of it, you will see it is flat and it has a plate that covers it. This "plate" is removed and a filter with plastic gasket material goes there. This is the code3 intake. You can make one yourself for 15 bucks if you so wish to do so. the sound the code3 intake makes is addicting. i used to have it, and i miss it. the supercharger whine is ridiculous (cobra loud). however, it makes the least power of the intakes i believe. it also makes different power....it makes more on the low end whereas the other two make more top end power i believe.

SL55 intake: this is what i have now. it is made up of the SL55 intake hoses, airboxes, and larger splitter (no longer a T-shape, so code3 does not work with this). Does not make quite the supercharger whine you get with the code3, but it makes more power topend and i think overall. I have no dyno's to prove it besides my butt. I don't think you will actually find a dyno for the SL55 setup. We just all feel it makes more power. With my setup, I still get a very nice supercharger whine, though not as loud as I would get with a code3. Cost? eh....i assembled mine for like 280......the price has gone up a bit though....it might be between 350-450 now. if you're lucky, some SL55 guys sell some of these used. save some bucks that way!

LET intake: dual cone air intake. uses the larger SL55 splitter. dyno gains show 15whp or so if i recall correctly. A bit too expensive for me, but looks much cleaner that the SL55 setup (which requires some minor trimming, though nothing too major) with proven dyno gains.


also, just throwing in aftermarket filters in stock airboxes if you dont wanna do much or if you keep those stock stock airboxes. THESE are where we say to avoid the Green (brand name) filters. Stick with K&N filters if you are using the stock C32 air boxes or upgrade to the SL55 air boxes with that setup.

LET is the way the C32 guys have been going. I think a couple have gone with PowerChip and Inmotion, which are other options. Majority is with LET though.

no worries! that's what we're here for!

suggestions i will make:

Heat Exchanger. If you are getting a 185 pulley, you will want a larger Heat Exchanger to keep the IATs down so you don't get heat soaked easily (and it happens, and you'll probably experience it at some point in time if you don't get a larger one). LET and Code3 makes them.

further down the rode, consider splitting your coolant circuit....if you are really die-hard for the absolute coolest IATs

not sure how many miles you have on your car, but if it is somewhat high, i might consider changing your plugs. especially if you are going to run a 185 pulley, you might want to go to a step colder plug like many of us have.

your budget of 1500: will definitely be used up. not sure if you've looked at the prices of some of the items (intakes, pulleys, tune, etc...)...stuff adds up relatively quick.

good websites to check out and have bookmarked:

www.eurocharged.com

www.needswings.com - look through SRT6 and C32 parts (note: srt6 and slk32 have a roomier engine bay, we can't use the needswings intakes and manifolds on the c32. won't fit).

http://www.crossfireforum.org/forum/crossfire-srt6/
- many of us are members over there too because, again, they have the same motor

glad you like the forum. i personally feel that our own little subforum (the C32/55 one) is the most friendly here. again, welcome!

loungn14

185 pulley, Tune, Heat exchanger, Johnson Pump =

This should be your first round of mods.

Cut the resonator, leave the cats.

Save $ for a sl55 or LET/Euro intake and tires.

///AMG4EVER

+1

Best bang for your buck right there... 400+ crank hp in a consistant basis.

You'll be so happy with your purchase that you will want to throw an extra $2K only to find out it's not that easy anymore...

As a side note, the Code3 intake now has a yellow filter... the ones in green color were the first generation... or at least that's what I've got.

E55AMGFan

The recipe for putting a smile on your face. I saw the post talking about the C3 intake being loud, I though the LET intake was made the SC have a loud whine as well as I saw your car's flyby video.

Newzchspy

Tune:
LEt does such great tunes because Jerry of LET used to have a C32 which he modded the crap out of and still is a C32 enthusiast. He has learned to tune them over the years and has lots of relevant experience with them. Besides the fact that he's a stand up guy, you will not go wrong with their tune.

Good luck brother


*** You mean Mr. BMW 135 Jerry!!!!!! Mr. , I defected to the "dark side Jerry."

+1, Jerry's tune made all the difference in the world to my car. get a hold of Jake or Jerry at Eurocharged, get a Code III pulley and the tune with an intake and soon you'll be in the 12s like most of us C32 guys!!! (Jake, you know I happen to like the Code III because of ease of install, original belt and the new pulley wrap you offer!!). I installed mine in about 30 minutes.

c32AMG-DTM

Another lower-cost (plus easier R&R) option is the HPA (formerly Code3) S/C pulley... I think the pulley and intake combo is on sale for only like $550. Slap a tune on there and you'd have a noticeable improvement at, or under, your budget.

In all likelihood, this setup will not make as much power as the 185mm Eurocharged crank pulley - if max power is what you want, that would be your pulley of choice. The power upgrades and, by extension, necessary cooling upgrades will blow through your budget, but PM loungn14... he might be able to "help you out" there.

testknight

Excellent, thanks for advice all. You pretty much hit all my questions. Now it just comes down to the trade offs...I will get a pulley, intake, HE and tune. THinking to hold off on the pump, but will research it. I may go with the ASP pulley though (seems to perform very well historically and it relieves some concern I have on heat soak, plus a 'little' cheaper). Any impressions on hp different between the ASP and the LET 185mm I know there is, what 4%, air entry difference, but is it offset by heat soak or not equate to 4% increase in hp?? (long shot questions i Know)..

Also need to decide on tune type...just still curious about effectiveness of a mail order tune (I did my own tuning on my Cobra back in the day when it wasn't as easy as it is now)...dyno tune get costly though.

Then intake, really want the LET but man $550 is steep. Anyway looks like I'll be reading more up on this stuff, which can be fun in itself. Thanks again for all advice. Look forward to sharing my own experiences.

razormb

SL55 Intake + ITG Filters =

TemjinX2

this guy is selling his evosport pulley for $500. its the same size as the asp.

https://mbworld.org/forums/parting-o...out-c32-6.html