waldis

I am wondering what are some of the NA upgrades C55 owners have done or known of. Also, what are some of the popular sites that sells MB/AMG aftermaket parts?

04E500

I checked reemtech and powerchip per another post I saw. Both want 1500-2000 for claimed 10-18hp increase. Statistically thats almost a wash. Unless someone posted a dyno showing an improved torque curve or commented on driveability I wouldn't be interested. I would like a catback as I would like to enhance the aural experience.

MikeL

I honestly wouldnt waste the money on little things to get 5,10,15 horsepower here and there. Aftermarket parts for our cars cost an arm and a leg. If you want a significant increase in hp, you have to go with forced induction. There are already so many supercharger kits available already made for the n/a 5.5 motor. Anything from Kleemann, Brabus, Renntech, ESS (im pretty sure they do mb too), Lorinser, etc. etc. The kits are reliable and have been running flawlessly on cars for many years now. I know MB still honors your warranty if you have a Brabus Kompressor system. I saw a SL55 that was turned into a brabus K8, it make about 600+ hp it was amazing. Eitherway the car was still under full warranty. All tuners will warranty their products as well.

BlackC230Coupe

The best mods you can do for the C55 without adding a supercharger would be the RennEtech ECU reprogramming and an Airbox. You can get them both threw me if your interested.

Darba

How much for the chip and airbox?

BlackC230Coupe

I PMed you.

04E500

$3500 That makes me raff so harrd.

Nickerz

So far, from what I've read, the KLEEMANN C55 S8 impresses me the most. By the time I get around to doing anything for my car though, there will hopefully be other options that aren't so expensive (i.e., $18K - $30K). I just can't get over 0-62.5mph in 3.8sec! I really want to hear a confirmed 0-60 time by them!

Nick

PS Spend $30K on an already fast car, or take the money and buy a new truck or something? Hmmmmm? We'll see!

BlackC230Coupe

if you were interested in the CF airbox and ECU i can do better then that 3500.

Nickerz

What kind of increases do you get with your set up? PM please with pricing.

Thanks BlackC230Coupe!

Nick

cntlaw

so great to know many mods for C55!
pity I got two traffic tickets ( 92kmh over 70kmh ) in a row during X'mas that's six points penalty ( max.15 )
and I did max. 176kmh
at least...I could save the bucks for mods or banned driving soon

KompressorKev

if you want to stay N/A, RENNtech or Powerchip chip, and RENNtech CF airbox. then get an exhaust, maybe Eisenmann Race (love it on my c32, i can only imagine the effect on a 5.4 V8!), or Supersprint will come out with one soon. headers, maybe Supersprint or MKB. cats, probably Supersprint eventually. these are feasible mods, but are not cheap and maybe amount to $8k and easily over that. if the chip + airbox is 3500, add another 1500 approx. for exhaust, 1500-2500 for headers, and about 2000 for the cats. kleemann's exhaust system including headers all the way to the tips is about $7k, so that's about right for a complete exhaust system. c55 w/ full exhaust would sound incredible, and with all the aforementioned mods maybe 20-35hp i would guess. of course the expensive German tuners is not the only route, but i think other tuners haven't explored the n/a possibility of the enigne that much.

MKB a performance kit for this engine. it produces a claimed 403hp and includes camshafts, valve springs, headers, air filters, and ecu. MKB seems to make products of fantastic quality, but you can bet the kit is very expensive as well.

brabus makes a 6.1S engine for 445hp but probably is about $25-35k alone. it's not feasible within budget.


honestly N/A as of this point i would guess is not that worth it. for a complete exhaust, intake, and ecu, it's going to cost a lot and you won't get a huge gain. probably is appreciable, but maybe not enough to justify the cost if you are after power gains. the sound will be incredible though. exhaust, intake, and ecu alone can be around $5k already...and gains won't be huge maybe a nice bump but if you are considering this, you will probably not focus and power alone but the sound and eye-candy that you get with it. if you are not really concerned with the power gain to dollar ratio, then N/A isn't bad. it's appealing to have an N/A big V8 in the small car.

for $11k you can have the Kleemann supercharger. with just this you get a claimed 530hp and 510lb.ft. the ECU is another 1000, and the headers are an additional $3k+. i think that if you can afford the $11k supercharger, it would be very worth your money to gains ratio. probably want the ECU for tuning so afr is consistent and safe, and at 12k for 550hp and 525lb.ft for power it really beats the n/a route. i think the supercharger is the definite way to go if you want power, and it's not insanely more than the complete n/a route, which i think won't yield as much gain. the catch is though is that you have to have over $10k to play with from the start.

however, it is nice to know that the C55 market is very new and probably more developments are on the way.

KompressorKev

i think that an Exhaust and LSD would really improve the driving dynamics of the C55 by a significant amount. it would enhance your driving experience though not necessarily gain a lot of power. for about $3800 this can be done, and won't get you any raw power, but i think it would really make the C55 a more fun car.

and $5-10k for n/a upgrades of Full Exhuast, Intake, ECU, or a program from a tuner such as MKB including cams and headers, would not yield as much return on investment (in terms of power) as a supercharger. if you can't afford the supercharger i woulid say maybe save some money and instaed of trying to accomplish significant gains from n/a go with just the exhaust and LSD. then save for the supercharger.

KWiK

$12K would buy quite a bit of time at a driving school. The C55 has more than enough power, go learn how to use it.

DbleNckel

I would think if "I" had all that money to do the mods KompressorKev aformentioned on the C55, I'd would of gotten an E55... :p

dsC32

I agree with KWiK. Spend the money on learning to drive what you have. Then maybe add tighter suspension.

05C55

I need to get down to the Muffler Mart and have them lop off my resonator. Thats about as much as I'm willing to spend. 10-18hp gains for $3500 is stupid. You can nearly afford a supercharger for many cars for that price. I would see if we can get a K&N type filter element and remove the resonator and I would be willing to bet that those two mods would nearly match a CF intake and catback offered by tuners. Besides, tuned Mercs have the resale value of asbestos.

NORTH 44 C63

05C55>>>>go for the K&N Filters!!! Best $100 you can spend on your C55.
Breathes alot easier and the throttle response is much smoother.

the part #'s are 33-2181...and you will need 2 of them

JasonC32amg

$3,500 is a total gauge... go to a local exhaust guy and see about a catback. Even better would be if you can get a set of "test pipes" fabricated and a CEL eliminator. I'm sure dumping the cats coupled with some high flow mufflers would net you 20/30 at the wheel plus drop weight.

E55Cent

I have the same motor in my 210 E55 and I have done the Powerchip, Pulleys, K&N filters and cat back exhaust. My car feels a little better. It spools up faster and reacts quicker. I'm not sure if it was all worth it but I love the sound of my exhaust. It has a very nice bass sound.
I would love to get 3.27 gears with a LSD, these two mods would make the bigest difference without having to go to a superchager.
Mario

BenzoAMGpower

Kleeman is a reputable company but look at what happend in Treynor's case with his SL65.... I think Kleeman sometimes overspeaches their gains a tad bit!!! RENNTech is more conservative... for example, RENNTech claims 45hp to the crank gain on the stage 1 for my C32 when in fact I gained over 50rwhp!!!

DbleNckel

KompressorKev

sorry to bump old thread but...

anybody notice the claims on renntech's site? for C55, their header set ($4,995) claims 370hp at 5,750rpm and 425 lb.ft between 3400-5000rpm. the torque really seems increased, and the quoted torque band claimed by Renntech is broader than the stock, where they say 378 lb.ft is peaked at 4000 rpm. these gains in torque are quite high, from a quoted stock 378 lb.ft, but in no doubt are the stock AMG headers always pathetic. not sure what to make of this...knowing that Renntech has a great reputation and is typically conservative, this seems plausible, especially with the fact that the stock headers are junk. altho, that much torque increase is really huge from just headers, even though they are a $5000 set of headers.

BenzoAMGpower

i say best N/A upgrade would be RENNTech headers + ECU upgrade... that way you can still use it both N/A and supercharged!!

C55mOtiOn

Brabus Kit (B55)is another option for C55, which i'm considering as well as Renntech or Kleeman ECU (I'm staying NA)....

Brabus Kit Cost $4950 plus $750 Installation for 3 days according to the salesman...They claim about +25~30HP gain.... But, you can get better price!!!