Simon P

Hey, what performance mods do people think are worth doing without affecting the reliability? I heard that 450hp and 181-185 pulley upwards brings problems? Eg. Overheating etc. True? What mods would you say is worth doing on a c32? Considering it will be an every day driven car. Reliability is important.
Cheers

elgato

I had the same questions you did a few months ago. My opinion the eurocharged s/c pulley and tune make a huge difference and I've had them both now for three months no problems. And Jerry installed them both for me. Their main shop is five min. from my place lol depending on where you live you might also want to invest in a larger HE, but since its pretty cool now keep on boostin

macbryanie

Isolate it all as well.
http://www.needswings.com/NeedsWings...WICisoC32.aspx

Simon P

Sorry. But what's HE?
I had a Nissan 200sx. Running 20psi. $20,000 in performance mods so I do know most things. But haven't heard of HE. Does that mean heat exchange? What does that look like? How does that work? Still keen to know what size pulley would produce more power. But without compromising reliability?
Cheers

elgato

Its a "heat exchanger" our cars are air to water intercooled. So in your case with the 200sx, it would be the air to air intercooler. When I first had my car I thought it was called a intercooler but turns out the "intercooler" on the C32 sits beneath the blower.

Simon P

Oh. Thanks. So the c32 doesn't come standard with a heat exchanger (intercooler)? Yes, I can see that this would def help for performance and durability / reliability.

elgato

Haha well it does come with one.. Most people install larger ones for extra cooling since the stock one is pretty small. I'll try and look for a pic to post later of the cooling system.

Simon P

Ok, this is a little concerning. I was told that a c32 2001-2002 model have major problems including blown engines. Here is what I was told quoted from someone:

C32 issues are heat exchanger pumps, blown valeo radiators, faulty seat modules, glycol contamination in the gear box, torque converter bump in 2nd gear, etc. You will spend a bit on rear tyres, brake pads, engine and gearbox mounts
The biggest problem with the C32 is the cams which were pressed together when manufactured. Over time (past 100 000km) the cam lobes move a fraction on the camshaft causing serious engine damage (bent valves & fractured pistons). I know this because of what I have read (see: C32 camshaft potential problems on the MB world forum) and I have had to completely replace TWO blown engines on my previous C32 directly because of this issue. If you have to go for a C32 then the 2003 model had this problem addressed, but stay away from the 2002! I still get calls every week from guys asking me where they can get pistons/heads from because they have suffered the same fate as me.
In my experience in South Africa the 2001-2002 C32 is a bottomless money pit, but if you speak to many American C32 owners very few have experienced this problem. As I said before the 2003 had this cam issue addressed so I would not risk it buying a 2001-2002. Having said that, my C32 was and will always be the best car I have ever owned when it was fully modded. I used to drop Subara's & M3's which put a smile on my face all day long. However, for the 2 years I owned it, it spent 6 months in the mechanics bay and cost me nearly R 200 000.00 in parts (I could have bought a 2nd one for the money I spent).


the message suggests that c32 2001-2002 in South Africa have blown motors from the cams being pressed together. However, it states that people from the US haven't had these problems. I have been thinking about getting a c32 2002 model from someone. Should I be concerned? Anyone else had these problems? Is there a way to rectify this on 2001-2002 models?

elgato

Hmm... I have to say that I have not heard about this cam issue at all but I do live in the states. The rest of the issues mentioned I have dealt with though. Most are easy fixes. You could be extra safe and do some more research on this engine issue.

Kinghorn26

I live in the states and blew my C32 motor as well.. They updated the cams in the later models...I swapped in a new (0 miles) 04 crossfire motor and haven't had any problems since..

TemjinX2

Any engine mod will reduce the factory reliability of the engine, since Mercedes designed the engine to work with factory components, not aftermarket.

The stock block can take 440whp on a dyno dynamics. Eurocharged proved it when they did there turbo conversion of a srt6.

You'll never hit those numbers on the stock super charger, so your fine with the pulleys, long as you have a good tune.

Only one person i'm aware had the cam issue, which was frankw. I dont think anyone else in the US has had it at least on these forums.

My 02 c32 had 100k on the engine and the cams and valves were fine.

I think it happens but its pretty rare.

Lenin

FrankW is not the only one. https://mbworld.org/forums/c32-amg-c...mpression.html
And I agree. There is no such thing as a performance mods for a c32 that won't affect reliability. You can separate the cooling system which would improve reliability but by itself it is not a performance mod.

Marine Blue

I'm confused with this, why would separating the cooling of the intercooler and engine coolant make the car more reliable and more importantly why wouldn't Mercedes have designed it this way if it was truly advantageous? It doesn't seem like it would add any significant amount of cost to make the engine so there must be some reason why it wasn't done at the factory.

Personally I don't think any mods will maintain factory reliability. I used to mod my cars but I got tired of the constant problems the mods created and more importantly I got fed up that no one could work on the car since they didn't have a complete understanding of the changes.

Lenin

It is belived that if you depressurise the supercharger intercooling system and then add another reservoir to the IC system (even better), the intercooler itself will be more reliable since it is prone to leacking. Regardign Mercedes designers, they are only human. Do they not have re-calls?

Marine Blue

I can definitely see an advantage with the addition of a reservoir as it means more fluid and more cooling capacity but just separating the two without making other changes doesn't seem like it would have an impact.

Lowering pressure may be helpful but you also reduce boiling points which means constant monitoring and adding water/coolant to the system.

Lenin

That reminds me. The best mod to improve reliability (but still not performance) is monitoring. Will help you detect a bigger problem before the cost of repair rises.

TemjinX2

you can do the cooling mods to pervent performance loss, since they won't give you any additional power from stock but keep you from losing stock power from heat soak.

Most people start by upgrading the intercooler pump and the heat exchanger.

559EVO

I'd go with lightweight wheels and sticky rear tires, stick with 17-18 inch. This will improve the looks, performance, gas mileage and traction off the line that makes a big difference.Installation is cheap and resale value is good too.
2nd I'd work on the headers-muffler section, you can gain performance and lose weight off the heavy stock systems.
This probably wont be as good as a pulley and tune but this way you wont be altering the way mb programed your car.

elgato

Agreed, any weight loss would improve track times. I call this the honda effect. No more than 200hp N/A, but weigh almost nothing makes the car feel that much faster lol

Marine Blue

I don't know if I would put too much effort into making the C32 into a track car. It weighs in at 4500 lbs. which is considerable and it's designed to be a comfortable muscle car not a track weapon. Now if you're trying to improve performance for the drag strip that's a different story, more rubber at the rear and a stickier compound would definitely be an improvement.

Lenin

Interesting. The weight of my C32 is around 3450lbs. Check your facts.

Marine Blue

Sorry, I did misquote it. I was looking at the gross vehicle weight rating which is 4500 Lbs. Actual weights seem to range from 3450 to 3605 depending on how the car is weighed. Not nearly as hefty as I thought.

ladandrewe

I have to say that I have not heard about this cam issue at all but I do live in the states.

Capn

lightweight renntech wheels will help with acceleration, handling, and braking.

MBfinatic

Maybe consider a carbon fiber hood (paint it to match). I heard it reduces about 50-60 pounds. Which if its true I would go for it.