MBdragracer

Just purchased a Imperial Red '95 C36 with no mods other than a K&N filter (box) and an extra set of wheels and Nitto Drag Slicks, of course (gotta keep representin' MBZ at the strip - gotta love how people laugh at a Mercedes at the track until they see my ET and I see their jaws drop!!).

I want to take a bit of an adivce poll on what mods to perform on my new red pocket rocket. I've looked at numerous examples of some sweet rides on the forum - some great rides - DenlaSoul's C43 is kind of the direction I'd like to go....subtle but obviously sleek and sofisticated.

I need advice and all suggestions on what to purchase where and tips and heads-up regarding installation.

Some limited ideas of my own include:

Lowering Springs (Eibach?? - seems to be the popular choice)
18s (Monos)
Grill and flat emblem
Direct intake filters
Some way to rid the body trim of chrome
Clear corners (in your opinion, who is the best distributor)
Tinted Tail Lights (is there such a thing? who sells them?)

Performance question: Is it advisable or practical to fool with the Exhaust or Chip to increase HP?

In anticipation of your very valuable input....THANKS!!!!

Denlasoul

MBdragracer:

Hey there. Congrats on the C36, you'll love that car. Here's some of what I discovered and would want to share:

Eibach's and H&R's differ in two ways. The first would be ride quality. I've been told that H&R's are slightly stiffer than the Eibach's. It really depends on the way you want your car too ride. Personally, I have H&R's with stock shocks and the ride feels close to stock. I plan on upgrading my shocks, but havent gotten around to it just yet. Also, Eibach's do not lower the car as much as the H&R springs. I would suggest finding someone with either set up and compare.

18 inch Mono's are THE WHEEL! Even though they are a dime a dozen, I just love them. You wont be using them in drag, right? That wheel is pretty heavy.

You can get a grille from Bekker's. It's about $100. Though, it is only the grille insert. Basically, you remove the chrome frame and pop off the plastic with the chrome strips and put in the new one. Be careful, it's easy to scratch it.

Flat emblems are nice. You can find them pretty much anywhere. They even have some fake flat AMG badges on ebay. Expect to pay around $40. Easy to install too.

Intake is a little tricky. I would suggest going to www.2phast.com The site owner (Rik) used to have a really nice C36 and he made an intake that was located in the fog light section.

Body chrome....tough one, let me do some searching for you.

Clear corners. Go with Bekkers again. They carry the Bosch kind, about $80. Easy to swap out.

Tinted tail lights. I'd check ebay first. They always have stuff like that for sale.

One thing to consider is finding out part numbers. It's easy to find places that sell OEM stuff for alot cheaper than the Stealership.

I wouldnt mess with the exhaust. I've head that AMG tunes exhaust so well, that messing with it can actually be worse.

As for a chip, I would go with a chip that you can tune at the shop where they can do comparisons in a dyno (custom chip). They can find out your baseline data and tweek the new chip to really maximize the performance. The problem with bulk-type chips (one's that are just bought and installed) is that the results could differ from car to car. Who's to say what they recommend is the parameters to maximize YOUR car. Talk to speedybenz, he knows alot about stuff like that. On a side note, I have a chip and havent installed it b/c I'm looking into a custom chip. Speedybenz has helped me there alot.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask more q's. I'll try and help you out.

Regards,

DLS

MBdragracer

Denlasoul:

Thanks a ton!!! You are a real asset to this forum. I had a feeling you would be the first to respond. Thanks so much for that info and for checkin' on other things for me. You've given me some great homework. Looks like I better get busy!

I think I will probably go with H&R Springs as well - would like to get the car pretty low but not too much of a sled. Thanks for the tip...never would have know otherwise.

Definitely let me know if you learn anything about swapping out the chrome trim. I think the car would look way tighter in completely solid red. I'll certainly post another reply with more question and comments after finishing my homework assignment.

BTW - definitely won't be using the monos at the track - but I absolutely love them on the street...no better wheel to round out the AMG style and experience!!

Thanks again!
-MBdragracer

Denlasoul

No problem. Make sure you post some pics in the AMG owner's thread!

Keep us all posted.

J Irwin is also a valuable resource. He's on this forum.

moedigga

When it comes to a chip people have yacked on about powerchipgroup.com. They are out of australia. But now have center in cali. Numbers for c36 look real nice. I want their chip for my 43. But who knows with chips what your really getting. By the way denlasoul knows his a's , b's and especially his C'ssss. Peace out

MBdragracer

moedigga:

Thanks for the tip. Checked out the powerchip website...numbers do, indeed, look good for the C36. Decent chunk of change to achieve it though. I'm curious if anyone in this forum has made the investment and if they think it was worth it. Suppose with a jump after the 60mph mark it would help trim my ET a bit and certainly up my mph (hopefully over 100) at the track but the question remains.....how much??? Guess you've gotta write a fat check to find out.

Has there been any discussions about dyno results before and after custom air intakes have been installed. If it's worth it, I would love to be able to install some sort of custon direct filter intake that could be easily swapped in and out with the stock box to accomodate the street and the track...much like throwing on slicks when I head to the track, then swappin' back for my street tires when I return home.

Super quick basic question: when I swap the star hood ornament for the flat emblem, does it augment the hood at all? Can I switch back to the hood ornament without performing bodywork or painting etc.??

Really appreciate the help guys!!!

I'll have some drag racing pics posted in the pic thread real soon.

-1/4 mile at a time

moedigga

hey mbracer, Glad the chip info helped. It is an expensive chip though. That flat emblem can be switched in and out as much as u wish, no body work to worry about. Just think u can put your slicks and flat emblem on for the drag. Flat emblem=less drag, oh yeah! I also see your in atlanta. Have you ever been to MBAutowerks. If not checkthem out. They drag lots of benzes and might have some goodies for your 36. MBautowerks.com

BrabusCClass

Congrats on your C36.
Lower it on H&R springs with Bilstein short shocks. They feel the best.
18" Monos are very very heavy. Get a lighter forged rim. HRE, Iforged, even maybe BBS and maybe stick to 17" for better performace.
Grill (avantagarde from Bekkers)
Flat emblem easy to find anywhere including dealer
I dunno what Direct intake filters are but I had a K&N in my C36.
You have to take it to a body shop to get the chrome painted.
Clear corners, I prefer smoked from In Pros. They look the best and match the headlights better. Not too dark and not too white.
For the tail lights I just got 97 tail lights which are smoked on the bottom. Looks a lot better.

Performance chip: I heard Upsolute is good.

Now things you should watch out for... Water pump failure, try to see where you can find one because mine took 30 days to get. The other things arent that hard to locate like Wire Harness, etc.

Enjoy.

BrabusCClass

Here is a pic of the smoked corner light

MBdragracer

BCC:

Thanks so much!! All of y'all have been unbelievably helpful!!

Grill and Flat emblem are on the way. Man, awesome tip on the smoked corners and the 97 tails...the pic of the smoked corner looks killer!!....and it will probably look much better than clear on a red car. Thanks a ton for the pic.

I'll check out those websites and look into getting the chrome painted. I think it will make a huge difference (hopefully not in the wallet, though).

In re: the 18s - thanks for the tips on what rims would be preferable. I know the monos weigh a ton!! I've actually got my slicks mounted on super light MB knock-off 17s and don't intend to change that in the interest of performance...but the street rims HAVE to be 18s as I'm sure everyone agrees.

Thanks again!!...BTW, sweet C43

-MBdragracer

J Irwan

As far as performance chip

I have a powerchip for about 2.5 now..
it works great ..
the car pull harder..


Another thing, what is you mileage on the car.
If you car have above 60K
I would do the following
Put a fresh spark plugs (I am using Beru Ultra-X (this is not platinum) it perform way better than OEM spark-plug)
Considering putting a new MAF, if you're old MAF dirty, changing to a new MAF would definitely increase throttle response and you'll fell the difference in the acceleration.

Most 95-96 suffer from the coil-end failure. Check your too.

Also I have been using Mobil one Syntec 0W40

As far of modification

I have done the following.

Bosch Euro spec Xenon Headlight assembly (with built Euro headlight adjuster vacum motor)
Euro switch for headlight adjuster.
Euro City light
Euro side marker
Bosch Clear corner.
Flat Hood Emblem
Avantgarde grill (modified)
Euro side marker
H&R sport spring.
18x8,18x9 Monoblok II
Powerchip
Custom CarbonFibre Cold Air-intake (throtlle response feel a lot better, extra crisp )
Beru Ultra-X
Illuminated AMG door sill
AMG shift knob (with AMG crest on it)
sound system

and more to come..

Here is a pic of my car. (enjoy )



Regardz,

J Irwan

steve s

woah...that's really slammed :p ...u sure that's only just h&r springs?

MBdragracer

J Irwan and ALL:

Thanks a bunch for the great input!!

Your ride looks fantastic, J Irwan!!!!!

I agree with Steve S.....your car is slammed. It looks low and mean!!! Did you do anything else to the suspension to accomplish this awesome look? Did you change the shocks as well?

Glad to hear that the powerchip is working out for you. Probably an investment I will be looking into in the near future. After the ole wallet recovers from it's recent draining to buy the car!!:p

My car does have over 60k on it so I'll definitely check for coil-end failure.

If you could tell all of us a little more about you custom cold air intake, that would be incredibly helpful. I'm very interested in modifying the air intake on my car....especially for the track!! From what I understand, the air being drawn into the stock intake is anything but cold, in fact it appears to be downright hot...not a great thing when you're searching for added HP and torque for the 1/4 mile.

Hey, I know I have said this before but THANKS a ton to everyone!! My head is spinning with all of this valuable mod info.

Keep the great advice coming!!!!!

-MBdrag

BTW - I checked out MBAutowerks website....killer burnout by the CLK55. I've never seen anything so awesome from a Merc.....times they are a changin'......for the better!!! I'm probably going to take a trip out there in the next week or two to chat with them about a cold air induction system and their experience with Up Solute chips. Might as well throw the car on the dyno while I'm there as well. I will let everyone know how it goes....take some pics as well!!

rotorgasm

sorry to bring this old *** thread back up from the dead guys...

brabuscclass, where did you order your smoked corners? i tried "inpros.com", "in-pros.com", and "in-pro.com" to no avail. i figured i might as well just ask. also, does anyone know if the quality of these is different than the bosche oem euro clear corners? do they fog up in the morning or anything?

do you have any pics of the 97+ taillights? i think the 95-96 tails look fine, but im curious to see what the different options are out there. they must look pretty different if you justified spending a couple hundred on them.

thanks in advance!

kodiak

Glad to see another Imperial Red C36 on the boards. Everybody seems to have silver or black. Good color choice, it is the rarest next to white.

As far as some of your questions:

I have H&R springs with bilsteins. They ride great and handle like a dream. The do drop the car quite a bit, so watch out for that front lip!!

The 18" monos are great wheels, look very sharp. I recommend going with at least a 40 series tire though. 35 series will be pretty rough. You should not have any rubbing issues if you keep the spring pads at 2 in the front and 3 in the rear.

Stick to a K&N filter until you can make your own custom intake J Irwan has a great one that he made. Be careful not to over oil the filter though. That is the quick way to a 300 MAS replacement.


Enjoy and let us know how you do at the track!!

~dnm

MBdragracer

Kodiak:

Awesome to see some red in a sea of black and and silver!!! Normally, I'm not a big fan of red but imperial red has really appealed to me - it's a very different red.

Getting the H&R springs and I'm pretty sure the Koni yellow adjustable shocks - heard good things about them generally but haven't heard much re: their application to a C36. Any input on these shocks?

As for wheels, I just sold my back-up set of 17" Monos (if my other set of 17 monos don't sell, I'll use them as winter wheels)and am planning on purchasing 18" Carlsson 2/6 Brilliant Edt. very soon. Although the 18 monos are striking, I figured I would do something different - the Carlssons embrace that blocky design that looks good on our year vehicle....hope I'm right

For pics of my ride and some other AMGs at a recent event in GA, take a look at the events forum. Not too difficult to spot my car, again, among a sea of black, silver and pewter.

Hey, btw, with all of those miles on your ride, give me the heads up with repairs or maintenance issues you have experienced as the car racks up the miles (if any).

-drags

kodiak

The H&Rs are great especially if you are going to be at the track. The Koni's are great shocks, but I have heard some stories about them leaking over time. I went with blisteins because most of the koni users I have heard from, tweak the shocks for about a month and then settle on a setting and leave it. I had ridden in a couple of cars with the bilsteins and liked the ride, so I just saved my money and went with them.

They look great, but weigh a ton and a half. I moved my car to Brabus Mono IV (18) a couple of months after I got the car (thank you dj po) and noticed the increase in weight from day one. They look awsome, but will reduce the performance of you car. If you get these, then plan on also buying a set of track wheels. Personally I would choose something a lighter. LM's look good, if you like mesh and the SSR GT1 is fantastic if you like spokes. Block style == heavy

[QUOTE]
[B]
Hey, btw, with all of those miles on your ride, give me the heads up with repairs or maintenance issues you have experienced as the car racks up the miles (if any).
[B]
[QUOTE]

The are a bunch of threads about issues and problems common on the C36. But I will list my experiences below:

90k service: 3000 USD
- standard service is about 400, fluids, filters, plugs, etc
- replace main wiring harness 1500. I have heard there is a good will exchange at MB dealers for this, but have not looked into it.
- replace all coils and coil ends 500. They were shot, car was misfiring.
- replace front control arm bushings 300 USD. Common problem, they break down over time and the car will develop a shimmy.
- odds and ends (200 bucks)

105k : EGR failure - about 200 to replace it including parts. They also replace the brake switch at this time

120k service: I have not brought my car in for the heavy work yet, but will be doing the majority of the work myself.
Doing myself:
- plugs, tranny service, differential service, fuel filter, cabin filter.

Having the mechanic take care of:
- timing chain
- timing tensioner
- head gasket

I expect the total to be around 1500 for all of this. I also need to replace the radiator and thermostat, but will do that myself.


These are great cars, but the parts can get expensive sometimes and mechanics love to over charge for labor because it is AMG. Find a good mechanic, get to know him. You are in atlanta, right? MB Autowerks is about as good as it gets in the southeast or anywhere else for that matter. They know there stuff. Be sure to check out Donny's Turbo 190E 16v!



~dnm

aintME

Congrats on your Red C36, you are part of an exclusive club. I was a member until today It is indeed a rare color. Enjoy.

J Irwan

D,
did you sell the C36..??


Regardz,

J Irwan

aintME

Hey J, yes, I finally parted w/ my baby...but, she was replaced quite nicely

narci

My advice is to get rid of the thing hehehe

Do a search on the problems i've had.

mis-u-jerr

I don't think you can do this? To keep the circumference the same as stock 17/40's I think that you have to go to 35's if you are running 18's. Could always be wrong though...

steve s

there are many tire size calculators...but use these as a guide. each tire is different


215-45-17 s-02 and 215-45-17 s-03 are not the same exact dimensions...the s-03 is larger

MBdragracer

Hey Steve S: Thanks for posting that link. It is super-helpful!!

-drags

BrabusCClass

I havent been able to find In Pros anymore. They used to be in thousand oaks and I just went there to pick mine up. Their site is not a .com but some other extention. Something european. I forget.

I have a set of Bilstein short shocks for sale for the C36 if anyone is interested. It was on my C36 for only a few months before I sold it. I used to have the H&R springs too but I sold those with my clear corners.