c55m8o

I was quite sure 1:2.82 is the rear differential ratio of the W208 CLK55, not final drive ratio accounting for 5th gear OD. Ah, yes it is: http://www.mbusa.com/pre-owned/2001/...CLK320C&class=

That's why our C43/55 conversions have "an edge" over them w/the 1:3.07 rear diff

Also, 3.06? I thought C43 has 3.07... I thought 3.06 is what the newer C55s started using. Ah, yes, this is correct too: http://www.mbusa.com/pre-owned/2006/..._C230WZ&class=

c55m8o

If you have US 93 Octane in your area, do yourself a favor and have what's called the "Ignition Advance Timing" or something like that set to "RON93" [that's a German octane measurement. It equals US Octane 91] by someone w/the MB Star Diagnosis Computer. If you're a big tipper @ the dealership and you have mechanics into hot-rodding cars, they'll do it for you. Else you need to know a freelance person. I've had both do it.

HOWEVER If you live in an area where you have over [perhaps well over] 100 degree days in the summer, and you only have 91 octane gas highest, don't do it.

If you do it, that change is the single best thing I did to make my C43 [w/either engine] more enjoyable/drivable. There won't be any response delay to pressing the gas peddle . You'll feel torque right as soon as you start pressing the gas peddle. However, increasing the torque down low does come at the expense of making the top-end power just a tiny bit less. It's well worth the compromise.

SeeKlasse

z06. you claimed that the c43 motor is straight from an e430...

are you crazy?!?

they souped the 4.3 motor up nicely to bring it up to the 302/302 rating. swapped cams out with more agressive lighter ones... something about intake also.... and much more serious injectors (too serious b/c stock c43 will never utilize those injector's full fuel delivery capability)

not to mention that they had an AMG mechanic build the motor up by hand after the modifications were made.

i agree with whoever it was that stated the equality in price between a c36 major repair (head gasket + harness) vs the c43's trans. however, i think the c36 wins in thie category because at least you can milk the life out of a leaky gasket... cant really do that with a slipping trans.

also one big + is that when you have the motor broken down to have the gasket replaced, you can do like i did (on my 97 c280) and have the head sent out to a specialty shop specifically to rebuild the head to spec and to grind it down a lil to up the compression ratio and to clean the old gasket off for a fresh seal... this procedure spruced up my old c280 quite a bit, im sure it would do a lil to a c36 as well.

damn bagels, youre only 18... im pretty jealous, i was driving my old 96 c280 in highschool and people thought it was pretty cool... couldnt imagine driving a c36! the kid who lives in my area drives a white '96 c36 and hes still in highschool, hes going to be an upcoming senior... what an a55hole...

PJmak

^lol people wouldn't even know the diff between those two cars in highschool

MarcusF

In addition to the unique cams & injectors, the C43 exhaust ports have been massaged. Specifically, the roof. The floor and sides appear to be the same as a regular CLK430 head. The intake manifold is the same part number. Anyone know what sized throttle body the C43 used?

bagelsjustbagel

YEah im in highschool still. Ive loved cars and had counted down to get my liscence sence i was 6. My uncle had a 2001 E55 and i fell in love with mercedes before that i loved his 1997 C36 White. Mercedes are the only cars i ever plan on getting. SO im pretty much sold on a C43. Now time to find one. For 10k. or under

But ive seen them before so hopefully one shows up soon. Thanks for the helps and advice guys. Also, i was thinking in about 2 months (if we start plannign now) do a nor cal mercedes meet? Possibly near sfo in some big parking lot. adn then a drive to a location. More sh*t talking and some grub. Any ideas?

Z06EATER

like fun!!

SeeKlasse

one huge factor!

ok so lets say (hypothetically) that the c36 and c43 are equally fast (which theyre not)

if this scenerio were true, i would be all over the c43 for one substantial reason - the two tone interior is SO *******g tight i wouldnt even consider passing it up. especially with all the adjustability. the c43 is just sexy as hell, i also enjoy the body kit more... the c36 body is just a c280 sport body kit... not very unique but still nice in its own right. i get ALOT of compliments on my 2 tone interior, people just love it, and it is a VERY unique look.

for those of you who havent experienced the pleasure of having a HUGE adjustable bolster support, i can testify that it is a VERY nice feature. my friend drives a '05 c230 komp, he lives in mountainous north georgia. when i went to visit him we toured the mountain roads, specifically wolf pen gap, "the wolf" for short....

after the drive he was telling me how he had to brace his left foot in the footwell to keep enough pressure in his seat so that he wouldnt be sliding all over the place... i then realized (after 2 hours of highly agressive driving) that i didnt once think about having to reposition myself, the seats in my c43 held my 200lb body in place exactly as they should have... i was very pleased upon retrospect.

Z06EATER

a point there, the tone leather is nice indeed, n i love bolster seats....they hug u tight, when turning hard. n excuse my post earlier i forgot that the 43 engine is a bit tuned and tweaked to reach 302 horses, which is nice. my 420 always had a nice torque pull n the sound was oh man, i just wish i had modded my exhuast more to hear that baby growl. the 36 is nice too, but man that 4.3 has a lovely growl. 43 also has a lot of kool features that the 36 doesnt have. i mean basicaly the 43 is an upgrade from the c36. but each car serves it's own purpose, with engine style and taste and performance

EVLC36

Erm.. AFAIK there was never, ever a "sport body kit" for the C280 or any other W202 bar the AMG models.

The C36 style kit was however used on 3.4/3.6 AMG CE Coupes, and W124 sedans.

TBH while I agree the C43 has a better, more powerful/torquey, less peaky motor, I have heard standard they are a bit soft compared to the C36 handling wise (this may be hearsay though).

But I really cant stand the C43 kit, something about a rounded kit on a square car I guess, but I think it looks absolutely terrible.

Its the only AMG kit ever that I acually dont like, and I wouldnt buy a C43 becuase of it.

The C36 IMO is one of the nicest looking Mercedes, that or an AMG 3.6 CE coupe.

RBYCC

The C280 was offered as a "Sport" in the USA, sort of a junior C43.
It had a body kit and sport interior and a "tiptronic" shifter.
Here's a link to a MY 2000 on EBAY, note the engine.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/00-MB...QQcmdZViewItem

The 3.6 AMG C124 coupe was badged the E36.
It did not come with any body kit, only AMG badging and wheels.
There was an optional AMG body kit that was available for install on any coupe regardless of engine.
Remember AMG had certified locations all over the world that built the car to the customers spec.
The C124 body kit if I recall was the Gen II and included an optional ducktail.
Not quite the same design as the C36 kit.

Not familiar with the 3.4 in the C124 coupe, only the 3.2 which was badged the 320CE and was a bored out M103-12V,
This was the only variant that was also available as a widebody.

Very familar with all the variants back to 1987, including the "Hammers".

The V8 C43 AMG is a much more sophisticated car then the C36.
Quiet at idle, versus the M104 diesel idle and with a nice exhuast note that indicates V8....

AMGC

all c's 99-00 had those bumpers and skirts. sport was just the two tone seats and horrible looking faux cf

MarcusF

According to the Automania CD, on a 200-foot skidpad, the C36 averaged .89G’s, while the C43 averaged .9.
On a slalom with 8 cones spaced 100 feet apart, the C36: 62.3 MPH, the C43: 62.5.

I don’t have the ROW information, but it sounds like the US cars are about even.

ProjectC55

Rear diff gears in the C43 and W208 CLK55 are different.

C43 rear diff =3.06
CLK55 rear diff =2.82 (W208)
CLK55 rear diff =3.07(6) (W209)

I have no idea where MT got some of those #'s from.


3.06:1 final drive 2k3 coupe
1st Gear Ratio 3.59:1
2nd Gear Ratio 2.19:1
3rd Gear Ratio 1.41:1
4th Gear Ratio 1:1
5th Gear Ratio 0.83:1

c55m8o

carl, C43 is definitely 1:3.07.... not that 3.07 vs. 3.06 matters... ... it just is tho. YOu won't find any "auto specs" sites stating 3.06. It's getting harder & harder to find detailed ***** on the car since MB pre-owned dropped pre-2001 from their site, and C&D no longer has the C43 test report on their website... but here's 2 that has the #'s:
http://auto-specs.zercustoms.com/m/m...fications.html
http://www.internetautoguide.com/car...386/index.html

Edit, also, CarTest2000 that I used for those simulations you may recall years back, comes pre-configured with 100's of car's specs. It has the C43 and final gearing is 1:3.07.

Ah, I see MBUSA didn't totally excise year 2000 like they did 1999. You can type in the year and load the specs. We know the C280 used the same rear, so it's stated here too:
http://www.mbusa.com/pre-owned/2000/...0_C230K&class=

EVLC36

3.4 was possibly an AMG Japan special, they have some awesome wacky creations, all of the AMG W124 sedans and coupes I have seen from Japan have the "C36 style" kit, (3.4, 3.6, 6.0)

Anyway, I think the C36 kit suits the squareness of the car much better than the C43 kit.

c55m8o

So it must kill you to constantly see my sig pic car spinning around w/its glorious rounded bottom edges...

midasmike

i just have to wade in on this performance thing. you guys throw performance numbers around like you can tell the difference between these cars.
i know from street racing for over 40 years that most drivers can't drive there cars even 5/10ths of the maximum potential. so an inexperienced driver won't be able to effectively use all the power from either car.
bench racing is one thing. actual racing on the street is a totally different animal. i can't drive my c43 10/10ths yet so more hp is a wasted. i'm talking road racing here, not drag racing. neither of these cars are very good drag racers. stoplite racing maybe, but going fast in the twisties are what there all about.
my car is also a great touring car. i regularly got to socal and vegas for poker tournaments. couldn't be more comfortable. my mileage has averaged around 20 to 21 mph combined and 24 to 25 mph on the highway. take a look at speedybenz and his cars. light weight and superior handling opposed to big horsepower is what brings fast lap times. also superior driving skills are far more important then brute hp alone.

FLYNAVY

while what you say is true, I think we were speaking just in terms of general everyday qualities of the two cars in comparison. I would venture to say the '36 would be a better car at its "limits", though maybe a C43 like speedybenz's would completely change my opinion

ProjectC55

Great finds there Steve!

ProjectC55

Great finds there Steve!

How so?

RBYCC

With all due respect, my response was to the post that no body kit was available to other then the AMG variant W202 vehicles.

The bumpers and the skirts were not used on stock early model cars and they were part of a sport package.

There were quite a few W202's available....C180, C200, C220...which were very plain vanilla....

RBYCC

I believe you are correct on the 3.4 being a Japanese variant...

RBYCC

Dug through my old mags....

Road & Track June 1998

" In standard form, the 4.3 liter V-8 produces 275 bhp and 295 lb-ft of torque.
But a trip to AMG's Affalterbach facility affords this powerplant its modified intake hardware, high-pressure lubrication ( via oil jets beneath the pistons ), stronger valve springs and new lighter camshafts. The last are of modular fabrication, their more aggressive cam lobes forged individually and then affixed to the camshaft"

" The coil springs that AMG specifies for the C-Class double A-arm/5-link layout are 24 percent siffer up front and 12 percent stiffer in the rear, compared with those on the C36; the latter already a sporty package. Shock absorber calibrations are stiffer as well, with 20 percent more rebound control in front and 8 percent greater rebound damping in the rear "



Car & Driver July 1988



Motor Trend August 1998

As I stated before, when the facts are known, the only conclusion is the C43 is much more sophisticated and technically advanced then it's C36 predecessor....

RBYCC

I tend to agree with you..I'm sixty years old and too many on these forums throw "dyno" ??? horsepower numbers around like the M103/M104 is a max performance hemi !!!!

You have the Swedish tuners claiming 600-900HP from a single turbo M103 with a top speed of 200mph....the top speed that AMG even with the 6.0L 32V Hammer was never able to achieve due to aerodynamics and losses.