This forum is pretty slow so it's hard to search a lot, so maybe this thread will help everyone...

I was going to sell the C43 for - - who knows what, SLK55, 335i, G35, M3, IS350... But with the market now, I think it's best just to keep it. Unless I get a strong offer, I'll proceed to upgrade the parts that bug me.

First: Suspension
This car is stiff as hell, uncomfortable downtown, and doesn't even handle very well. The shocks have horrible settings and the springs are 2x as stiff as they should be. I'd love to put in some Koni Yellows or Bilstein shocks with Eibach/H&R springs.
H&R is very common on this board, but I think I'll try Eibach. The drop is more level, and Eibach normally has a softer spring rate than the H&Rs. I have no idea what shims/pads are, but I see them talked about a lot regarding height...
Does anybody have upgraded shocks? My car is approaching 80K, and while they aren't going out, they will eventually and I'd rather just enjoy some upgraded shocks anyway. Koni's site indicates a Yellow sport model for C280-C36, but not C43? And Bilsteins site shows something, but it's ambiguous at best.
No need for coilovers in my opinion - they are more expensive and I don't need the adjustability.

Wheels: Stock 17s are a joke. I love the design, they fit the car so well, but they are tiny. 18s are a nice size. I am having trouble finding which 18'' Monoblocks fit the C43. W211 E55 18x8s? I assume those are the fronts? I was hoping for a staggered setup, with 225/255 tires. And I bet these weigh a ton. TireRack shows an AMG model 171 for a decent price (well the fronts are $500+ each but the rears are $350/each, go figure, no clue why)... Also 26-28lbs (not great, but lighter than the others I imagine).
Any other 18'' AMG wheels fit the C43? There are a ton on ebay, but nobody lists offsets.
I know the C43 uses 7.5F and 8.5R, both with 32-37mm offset, I reckon?

Exterior: Done. For me it was just some light tint, chrome (S600? Avantgaurd?) grill, European clear reflectors, and flat hood emblem.

My car doesn't have HIDs, so I am going to put in some PIAA super white bulbs. Anybody know what socket/type the car uses for high beam, low beam, and fogs? I haven't tried searching yet - I'll look and report back when I do.

Brakes: Love the stopping power, hate the empty feel at the beginning and the brake dust. I think some Stainless brake lines and Axxis Deluxe pads should fix this. Anybody address these issues with success (or failure)?

Engine: Already have the K&N filters, though the probably need a cleaning. Don't want to spend money on supercharger/ECU/pulleys, etc. Maybe an exhaust? I think I saw Eisenmann's muffler for $500+ @ ModBargains? Any experience? Love the AMG sound, but wouldn't mind slightly bigger tips and a bit louder.

What else have you guys done? There isn't much "mod support" for this car, but it's pretty close to perfect for what it is in my eyes.

 

From PIAA:

MERCEDES-BENZ - C-Class 97-00
LOW:
H7 DETAILS
HIGH:
H1 DETAILS
FOG:
H3 DETAILS

 

I HAD THE SAME PROBLEMS AS YOU DID.
I DID HOW EVER TRIED H&R THE CAR DID NOT SIT RIGHT HEIGHT AT ALL CORNERS NOR DID IT BOUNCE EVENLY I EVENTUALLY INSTALLED THE EURO SPRINGS YES THEY ACTUALLY EXIST.THE CAR CAN CORNER AS IT DID EVEN BETTER AND RIDE HEIGHT CAN BE ADJUSTED THE HEIGHT WITHOUT AFFECTING THE HANDLING I'M QUITE PICKY ABOUT WHAT GOES ON MY CAR.
WHEELS MONOBLOCKS AERO11 FRONT 8.5X18ET31
REAR 18X9.5ET 35 YOU CAN GET DIFFERENT OFFSETS BUT SOMETIMES DIFFERENT COMPANYS OFFSETS VARY TO THE INSIDE OF THE WHEEL WELL AND MAY RUB ON THE INNER SIDE .AND LOW OFFSET YOU MAY HAVE TO ROLL THE FENDER EDEGE.
MY CURRENT UPGRADES.
EURO SPRINGS
CLEAR LIGHTS& CORNERS FACTORY XENON
18'' MOMOBLOCK AERO11 8.5F 9.5R
LIGHTED DOOR SILS
EREBUNI ROOF SPOILER
UPGRADES ON THE WAY
HPS SUPERCHARGER
BREMBO GRAND TURISMO
POWER FOLDING BLINKING MIRRORS
COMMAND 2
GERMAN LED TAIL LIGHTS

 

Pictures!!

 

Hey WyattH, its Richee from S2ki also. I PMed you on there about your car, didnt get a reply tho. Your car sounds nice tho.

 

Hey Richee, I never got a PM from you on S2ki??? Sorry about that!
Feel free to email me - wyatthanson@gmail.com.
I see you're local as well. Still in the air on the C43 sale, but I'll be back in WA and we could certainly meet up and see what you think.

 

Has anyone had an LSD fitted to a C43 and what did you think? Has anyone had the ESP disabled as well? I still think fuse 16 does this but nobody confirmed last time i asked.

I hate the ESP, it spends my money wearing away the brake pads when I do not want it to...

Regards

Andy

 

If you r not going to S/C the 43 the only upgrade is the ULTIMATE upgrade!


A 5.5L N/A AMG V8

 

Yes sir! She's a beast!

 

Does anyone make any high compression pistons or cam's for the c43 motor? I've had trouble searching for internal parts for mine. I think bumping compression up to 11.5:1 would result in a nice bump in power.

 

It's going to require more than a compression bump. You're going to have to find a way to tune everything. Start from the outside edges (ie intake and exhaust) and work your way in. There is no point in opening up the insides if a restriction remains on the outside. Unfortunately, it appears as if there isn't much on the shelf for these cars. Luckily I have a metal shop available to me, so we'll see what I can come up with over the next few months.

I forgot, I believe Kleeman does make cams for our engines, but they are $$$

 

Whats smart is the only get mods that will transfer over to the 5.4 motor... and if you can get the parts from victor... all the better, get makes great stuff.

 

the only real mods are C43 headers, AMS crank pulley, resonator delete, K&N filters, and software upgrade. headers then crank pulley pulley will do the most by far w/ pulley being a close second, the rest isn't really for power just sound. Hope that helps.

 

Kleemann cams,bigger diameter exh pipe(3") cat back including high flo secondary cats. Throttle body upgrade from 64mm to 74mm.

 

I have the aero II 18s that you need. (see for sale forum)

I would highly recommend the eibach springs for exactly the reasons you suggested (softer ride)

i've gone with the supercharger over the engine swap as it will make more power for less money (and if it blows up the motor at some point then it's an excuse to do the engine swap then- no real loss)

-drew

 

also go with real HIDs aftermarket kits are CHEAP these days and if installed correctly are perfectly safe etc.

I have recently added hid fogs to my factory hid c43

 

let me rephrase, mods that are actually worth doing. Cams... forget about it HP/$ ratio is so low that its not even worth it. Throttle body is nice but very hard to find and $$ also very low HP/$ ratio, cats have only made a few HP on dyno so they don't really do much, again very low HP/$ ratio.

You always want to start off with the highest HP/$ ratio parts first and then work your way down the list and stop once you are either happy... or your wallet can't take any more abuse

 

in other words- cams and full exhaust would cost MORE than my entire sc project... by far and make 1/10th the power gains

i plan on moving beyond where i'm at now and of course doing more exhaust work etc. etc., but it makes no sense to start with the stuff that really makes no gain.

 

Do you have any pics of your car?

 

not yet- it only runs as of saturday and won't be tuned until next friday. Some things are still taken apart so i dn't have any new pics yet. I've posted some earlier in the build pictures on another forum. I also don't yet have my new carlsson wheels refinished and on the car. Other than that it looks just like any other slammed silver car on 18" mono IIs for now (other than the stereo- which is extensive, but focused mainly on sound--- i'll post pics if intereted). completed pics of the sc etc. will be forthcoming soon

-drew

 

can you be more negative of the vehicle? why bought it?


OMG!

Happy New Year to you!