PJmak

I have plans for my car. I wana slowly turn it into a track car but I wana keep it N\A


What can I do to it and how much gain can I get??

Headers, exhaust, whats that intake manifold mod people talk about?? Do a good chip tune on top of that.


Give me some numbers here. Also is there a way to swap in a manual tranny somehow???


Im serious about this. Ill have my car paid of by summer and im goin back to college, gona pick up some beater and w\e extra money I get, its gona go into my c43


Im tired of seeing M3s, miatas, and audis at the trck. I want something unique thatll kick *** and I know this car has a lot of potential.

ProjectC55

5.4Lmotor and suspension. That's all that's needed.

ECTurboGSX

And brakes. You don't want to pay to replace the rotors and pads on this set up after track events. At the minimum, switch to the C32/55 set up.

NitrogenBalance

I'd ditch the manual trans idea based on the complexity. Has anyone every done so in a post 98' MB?

What track are we talking? Auto X or drag strip. If it were drag strip I think the auto is going to be better.

Echo the statement about the 5.5L. For what they can be bought for now it may actually be less than headers/ECU/intake and other bolt on parts. Another thought is that with a box of parts the 4.3 may make the 5.5's 350hp but the other 90lbs of torque will be tough to find.

Something the euro world has made me forget from my domestic days was to start with the biggest cubes and go from there.

If you do start tracking it chassis tuning, weight reduction, and the right rubber will have an equal if not better impact on performance at some point.

PJmak

Im talking about real race tracks like laguna seca


btw C43 brakes are WAYYYY better than C55\C32 brakes


Id probably stick with those for a bit than upgrade to something else


Wouldn't a 5.4L be heavier and cause lots of understeer???

OCKlasse

^It's an M113 still. Wouldn't it even technically be a little lighter (I know it's moot) because it's probably just a more bored out version of the C43 motor?

OCKlasse

Oh, and an UD pulley and tune make a tremendous difference...

BenzMaster19

Why would it be? It's just a bored out version of your 4.3L, no heavier, no "bigger".

AMS Performance

With the right mods you should be able to get the 4.3L up to 5.5L stock specs (roughly 342-349HP), but probably not much past that, so if you aren't interested in doing a motor swap just do all the NA mods (headers, pulley, high flow cats, ECU, K&N filters...etc) and you should be close to that mark.

hope that helps

ECTurboGSX

I would disagree. A 4 piston fixed mount caliper is going to be a better set up than a 2 piston sliding caliper. Also, you can get front rotors for $120 a piece for the C32/55. You can easily get two rotors and a set of pads for a C32/55 for the price of one rotor on a C43. And you will eat brakes on the track.

AMS Performance

Also don't forget, almost any mods than can be done to the 4.3L can also be done to the 5.5L (except ECU, you'd have to get the 5.5L ecu redone) so you can always mod it NA first all the way... then if that isn't enough power just slap in the 5.5L, then you will be making serious power.

PJmak

Ive driven a CLk with C55 brakes and honestly they were nowhere as good, even the owner admitted after driving my car but yea i guess they would be better cost wise


I duno, will prolly end up doing CLK 63 brakes or maybe even porsche 911 brakes if they fit. Ive seen them on audis so theres a chance they fit

PJmak

I just need to know that the 5.4L is not heavier than the 4.2 than im set on the 5.4 for sure

AMS Performance

No, its almost identical in weight just larger cylinders

OCKlasse

Man, for all the money you sound like you're going to be dumping into this car, just make a nice upgrade to something else. I speak from experience...

Saaboteur

What's the definitive word on C32/C55 brakes onto a C43? I read that they will bolt up, but then the pistons will be reversed, ie. the rotors' normal rotation is not correct for the different sized pistons. Have these been swapped out to sort it out properly?

Or...how about SLK55 calipers? They bolt up too?

It's either that, or Stoptechs. I have them on my S2000, love them.

ECTurboGSX

The outside of the caliper is still the outside of the caliper, so the orientation should still be correct in terms of rotation. Now, looking at the wheel head on, they may be in different positions around the rotor, but I'm not sure how that would impact whether the caliper works or not.

PJmak

Na dude thats not what im trying to do


If done properly, a C43 will do real good at the track plus like I said earlier, I don't want to be another M3 guy. I want something different


W202s are some of the better handling mercs still and I want to put mine to good use.


No offense but all you W202 C55 guys, I dont see anything from you. I wana see some vids of you spanking cars, make us W202 owners proud.

PJmak

Cool thanks

ProjectC55

The magic word is SEARCH!! Your a little late!

AMS Performance

I agree with what some have posted, at a certain point it makes sense to just upgrade the car all together, W210 E55s are extremely cheap right now and its a great platform for power.

BenzMaster19

But if someone only wants to drive 202, then they'll stick with that, no use driving a car you don't want too drive.

ProjectC55

And one that handles like a boat.

speedybenz

The C43 makes a great track day car and speaking from experience will run with cars like fully modded Mustangs, E36 M3's and lots of others. The C43 motor with underdrive pulleys, and a set of headers and high flow cats will pull on top about as hard as a 55 motor. You won't have the torque off the corners like the 55's but other than that there is not too much difference. And the E55 while a very nice car is a boat compared to a C43.

With light wheels, a Brakeman caliper and rotor set, lightweight battery and other stuff to remove weight resulted in 255 pounds of weight shed. You can feel that lost weight on every corner and straight.

Ckeck out the Brakeman calipers and brake package it is some 11 pounds lighter per side and stop on a dime, plus the caliper is way better than anything else until you get to the really high dollar Brembo and AP's, and 10 times better than what they put in the BBK's.

Ther is a guy on this site which does not use his C43/55 much and it has an almost identical suspension set-up as mine with full Penskes and adjustable spring perches. Maybe he wants to sell his set-up.

Jeff

PJmak

Yea I feel you but na this is the car I want and im sticking to it. Might take time to get it to where i want it to be but Ill never be sorry for dumping loads of money into it because i know a lot can be extracted from it