Thanks to everyone in this forum for all of their input. After pondering on my next vehicle for a couple of weeks. Today I got a 2002 C32 silver/charcoal – YEAH! It replaces a 1998 C43 with 132,000 miles. Other cars I was considering were the ML55 and E55 (the old one). But I picked a C32 as the best choice in my budget.

I drove it to San Francisco from LA today and got a good feel for it. I love it! It is so comfortable, modern and looks great. At first it didn’t seem to have the hit-you-in-the-back acceleration the C43. But each time I looked at the speedo – I was going 100+ so maybe the acceleration is better – just smoother. And in terms of handling – it’s the first benz that I have owned that does not have that “floaty” (as my wife says) feel. We have a BMW 323iT with a sport package and the C32 feels either comparable to or a little firmer than that. But certainly not M3 tight. _ can’t wait to try it on some twisty roads.

Overall I am very pleased with my purchase – here are my newbie questions. If you could direct me to good threads on give me some feedback it would definitely be appreciated

1. Does your passenger seat (top and headrest) jiggle, vibrate, move when you are driving down the highway? Mine did on my way up I5.

2. Where can I get one of those flat AMG badges to replace the star? (E-bay has them but which one to get?)

3.Are there any sprint phones that can work with the V60 kit? It doesn’t have the kit – are they hard/expensive to install?

4.Audio – I have COMMAND NAV - can I put in a good amp and speakers? The dealer said that it has the Bose but I haven’t seen anything that says Bose on it. Is there a sub?

5. Would a newer generation of Command Nav just plug in? if so is the nav better?

6. Any opinions on radar detection I was going to do something like the escort SRX radar laser hidden – I had it in a previous car and was mostly pleased.

7. Do you ever feel like the bottom of the driver’s seat shift back and forth while you are driving?

Any other fun stuff for the newbie?

Thanks
David in San Francisco

 

Congrats! You made a great choice. I view my C32 as a 1/2 price M5.

I can only answer one of your questions: The vibrating passenger seat headrest is a common C32 affliction. Make a warranty claim (I assume that you are still under warranty).

I agree. . . I have driven lots of 'floaty' benzes (my FIL owns a 560 SEL that floats so much that it should be in the Rose Parade).

Do some mods, and you will attain that "holy krap" feeling when you punch it!

 

thanks Vomit

what are some suggested mods and do they void the warranty? I have 70K miles and 4 years of mbz warranty left.

 

DCF: If you mod your car and a problem arises, for MBZ to legally deny your warranty claim, MBZ would have to show that the mod itself caused the failure. In other words, let's assume that you put aftermarket headers on your C32, and one week later, you shoot a piston through the hood. MBZ, trying to save a buck or two, denies your warranty claim for a new engine/hood. You end up in arbitration, and MBZ is going to have to prove that, but for the headers, the piston would not have launched (not likely). IMHO, if you pay to have a professional like Evosport or Renntech install your mods, your risk of taking it in the shorts as the result of a mod-related problem is about nil. In fact, I have yet to hear one person on this forum claim that they got screwed on a warranty issue because of their mods (and there are ALOT of modded cars on this forum). As far as the mods go, the ones that I have done to my car (and, obviously, the ones that I feel are worth the $$$) are as follows:

Larger supercharger pulley and ECU remap (Evosport charges roughly $3,000.00). Will bring your C32 up to around 400HP, and also drops 15 lbs. or so. Other than the $$, no downside.

Lighter (17-18 lbs.) wheels. Stock wheels are 26 lbs. They say that each lb. of lost wheel weight is equal to 4 lbs. of lost trunk weight, so 17 lb. wheels will have the same effect as if you removed a 144 lb. barbell from your trunk. For a set of 4 17 inchers, you can spend as little as $500.00 (Flik "lex" wheels at edgeracing.com) to $3,000.00 for HREs or Brabus. I have the Fliks, cause I'm a cheap beastard. The HRE wheels are probably the best that money can buy, but they are pricey!

Lighter tires (Toyo T1-s and Michelin PS2 are the best for the C32 and are very light). Pirelli Rossos are also equally light (and ride very nicely), but they wear like crazy on the rear unless you "granny launch" your C32. Edgeracing sells the Toyos. Tirerack sells the PS2.

Denso Iridium IK-16 plugs and Magnecor wires. Roughly $250.00 for the set (mainly because there are 12 plugs and 12 wires). My C32 went from a 108-109 trap speed to a 111-112 trap speed with this mod.).

K&N filters.

SL55 intake splitter

Optima battery (lose 30+ lbs)

Remove resonator (lose 10 lbs., better sound, and feels like few more HP)


With these mods, you should be able to break into the 12 second range with your C32, without significantly impacting the daily driveability. M3/M5/Vettes (except Z06) don't stand a chance. Performance will be very comparable to a supercharged Cobra.

Hope this helps.

 

Nice suggestions Vomit.
I have not done any mods to my ride (yet) but getting 400 horses sound like a nice plan. I know you have a SC ride, so on a cursory note, any suggestions for the normally aspirated clk55.

note: it's only a kar, but a necessary toy (kar)

 

Hey CLK55,

I am no expert on the NA 55 motor, but everything that I mentioned in the previous post also applies to your CLK, except that the horsepower gain for the pulley swap will be (alot) less. I would probably forego the pulley swap on the CLK 55, and just do the light rims/tires, the ECU, the high-flow air filter, the lightweight battery, the resonator, and the wires/plugs. This could set you back less than $2,000.00, and would probably knock at least a few tenths off of your quarter mile time.

Run your 55 at the track before modding, so you can get a baseline. My C32 ran mid-to-high 13s stock @ 106 MPH. With the mods, my best run was a 12.8/112, with consistent runs (even with my inexperienced **** driving) of 13.0/110-111.

Keep us posted on the results!

 

Congrats! I'm sure the trip was well worth it. Drive on, brotha!

 

I also am in SF and noticed that my passenger seat also vibrates when driving (I also bought my car in LA and drove it back up to SF). Anyhow, I didn't think anything of it but if the dealer can fix it then I'd so go for it. However, you'd have to think that if the passenger side does it, I'm sure that the driver's side does it as well but we are sitting in it when we are driving so we don't notice it. Anybody know if they fix both seats or just the passenger seat?

As for the Bose system, there's a little logo on the back subwoofer on the rear parcel shelf. It's Bose for sure. All C32's (and C320's) had Bose systems.

 

My understanding is that the Bose system is only with the "Premium Sound" (or something of the sort) factory option. If it does not say "Bose" on the rear deck, then you do not have the "Premium Sound" package. To be sure, you can have the dealer print out the original options for your car by giving him the VIN.