CRAZYC63

Hey,

I'm sorta new to the forum and everything, and have been searching quite a bit through it regarding power modifications and cosmetic alterations as well.

My names Mike, and I'm a young nuclear pharmacist from South Bend, IN. Gosh I feel like this is a personal add or something... but anyway. I recently had a Alpine White E92(coupe) M3, I had put on a Gruppe M intake, an Eisenmann Race exhaust system with connecting pipes, and a custom tuned Active AutoWerke ECU. A week and a half after I had all the work done to the car, and the day before I was scheduled to have some Breyton Race GTS' put on at Tire Rack, I was traveling down US-31 a little north of Indianapolis at about 75mph, and struck a deer then proceeded to go off into a ditch on the side of the highway and struck a tree. Totalling my beautiful car. I'm glad to say I only came out of the accident with a few scratches but nearly every modification I had done to the car save the ECU was damaged and not sellable. The car did it's job in protecting me, unfortunately it had to sacrifice it's own life to do so.

I recently ordered an 09, C63, with every package except for performance. Northern Indiana roads suck and the last thing I wanted was an even harsher suspension than was already in the car. I was knowledgeable about M3/BMW tuners as I have had a couple in the past and still have a heavily modified MINI Cooper S, which I use as a track day fun-car. But I don't have much knowledge as to Mercedes/AMG tuners. I've most definitelty heard of Brabus and Carlsson, but all their tuning seems to be Europe only and VERY expensive.

My main concern here is trying to figure out how I'm going to void the warranty on my car before it even gets here. I'm trying to figure out who the best MB tuners are in the US and what the best modifications you can make that give you the best results. I've seen names like Kleemann, Evosport, and Euroteck being tossed around and they seem like the most reputable ones. But I'm still curious as to if there are better out there, and am asking for guidance from those in the know.

Here are my plans:

Power, 3 options:

Kleemann K2 Kit or
Evosport Performance Carbon Airbox, Evosport headers, Evo2 Ecu, Evo Power Pulley System or
VR570 from FedorDezyn with a a performance airbox
one of the above with an Eisenmann Race Performance Exhaust(most likely not)


Exterior:

Euroteck Lip and Diffuser
Evosport Painted Reflectors
19" HRE Monoblock P43s in "charcoal powdercoat"


PLEASE chime in as to what you think or if there are better, cheaper solutions out there. I just want the best performance out of my car I can get for the cheapest price, and making this monster look as clean as can be.

All the advice and knowledge is GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks!

Mike

PatSC23

Cant help u on the performance end but many here will chime in - they will be able to talk about the authorized tuners for your ECU so as to not void your warranty. I came from an e46 M3 and I LOVE the C63. The only bad mark I would give it is the shifting speed (or lack thereof) having come from an SMG equipped M3.

as for the pure "looks" mods I have the evosport painted reflectors. Top Notch quality which I knew about since I had them on me e46 330 and M3.

I also just ordered the CF Diffuser from EuroTeck. For a full piece its a great deal and well made piece from the pics Ive seen. The only one that compares quality wise is the Revozsport one, but that is more than twice the cost.

I chose against HRE because they seem to be the choice 9 out of 10 times for C63's. Not that its a bad thing, HRE wheels are probably the best out there, I just wanted to be a little different in that regard. I got Modulare M14's.

I personally wouldnt shell out the $$ for an exhaust because in its stock form the sound is already amazing, I could think of other ways to spend that money. If youre looking for a more aggressive sound, removing the resonator is an option. i believe Soldier has done it.

PatSC23

and dont get your 19's with the stock Pirelli's. They are too soft for the torque this car lays down...theres many other options for cheaper bc if u drive this car hard, the tires will be done anywhere from 2k miles upward.

CRAZYC63

Thanks so much! I still have to see what sorta sizes the P43s come in but if they are like the optional 19s from AMG, I was looking at either PS2s or Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD08s.

Good point on the exhaust. I think I'll take that advice. Especially if I go with something like Kleemans K2 kit with high-flow manifolds and cats. Or go with headers from Evosport. I just want it to be a bit louder than stock.

The VR570 kit from FD looks AMAZING and seems like a deal. That and a carbon fiber airbox from evosport would be fire...

Thanks again!

Mike

BerBer63

Word of advice don't touch the resonator. It's not worth it, just get headers and remove cats if you want to go that route.

Can't beat the K2 pricing either, I think its around 4,500.

Autoscope

Welcome aboard! I am sorry to hear about the E92...I have driven one with the AA tune and man was that fun!!! But I am happy to hear you bought the C63...Great choice and let the games began.

Well, I think you nailed it on performance! Your list looks fine.

As far as exhaust goes, that will be more of a personal preference...Do you research and you can search with-in the sight for topics that have already been "chimed in on"

We are Kleemann dealers, let me know if I can help!

-Adam

CRAZYC63

Hi Adam,

Glad to see a vendor "Chiming in"

I have a couple questions...

Will the manifolds in the K2 kit make the exhaust louder than stock? That's pretty much what I've been going for, but without any annoying resonances, I love the stock exhaust sound, I just want MORE of it.

Also would you recommend a carbon fiber airbox and/or a pulley system of some kind? If so which one(s), and does Kleeman or you for that matter offer them?

The Kleeman kit seems to be the best option right now, it's pretty much everything I've been looking for except maybe an airbox or pulleys, but if the latter doesn't add that much power or sound, it's kinda better if I could spend money elsewhere. I really just like the LOOKS of a CF airbox more than anything, but I know on my M3 the Gruppe M just made the thing sound SO MEAN.

Thanks

Mike

MacGCU

If you want to buy the Evosport pulley system I'm selling mine. Still new, never installed, in original packaging. Would rather spend that money on aesthetics instead.

DaGS1800

You DONT need exhaust at all on this car! The exhaust sounds amazing stock, and if you really want to change the sound (besides adding headers) taking the resonator out sounds absolutely amazing... The guy "Soldier" on this forum did it and when we met up in person, it just blew me away. It sounds like a brand new exhaust system but it’s not... and it’s not too loud at all, but it is obviously louder than stock. I think this is def the best route to go, since a new exhaust is totally unnecessary and if you're just dying to make it different than stock, you will not regret it. Plus if you don’t like it you can always just put the resonator back on, it is not a difficult or long process.

Also, if you want to add more horsepower the only thing that I think is necessary is an ECU tune, Headers, Pulley, Intake, and Filters.

Since you did not get the performance package, I strongly suggest that you get an aftermarket LSD, and upgrade the brake rotors. The limited slip differential makes this car 100 times more fun to drive and really lets you push it to the max exposing the cars true potential while maintaining full control. I would also suggest coilovers, but you already made it clear that you do not want the suspension to be too stiff due to the conditions of your roads.

Good luck, this car is truly amazing you will definitely LOVE it.

C63 Guy

I've got a conundrum: How do I chime in here without sounding like a shill for evosport because I work there, while totally sounding like the dirty ***** for their products that I am? Hmmm...

Anyway, I did the chip, pulley, and airbox before I started working there (paid retail) and I have to say that they're great because they really work and they're essentially invisible.

The chip gives you the biggest bang for the buck hands down. No visible mechanical mods to the car, and the ECU comes out in like 2 minutes if you have any mechanical aptitude at all. We've used my car for several test versions of the tune, and I can say the current version is completely solid and really strong all across the RPM range.

As far as the exhaust goes, do you want sound or power or both? If you go with a cat-back or a manifold-back from any of the vendors making them, you'll definitely get more sound and a slight-to-decent power bump. If you want real power, you've got to go with headers. There's a few companies working on them. I've got a set of our long tube headers on my car, and while I absolutely love the sound and power increase, I don't think I should say more because it's a brand new product and you'll have to get the final details from Brad or Simon. (Trust me though, they're all that plus plus plus plus plus plus some.)

Hope this helps, and sorry about your E92. They're great cars. I was on the way to the dealer to pick one up when I test drove the C63. I'm a fat, lazy American: Torque rules the day for me and cost BMW a sale. lol.

Josh

taylorcoleman

I did KLEEMANN K2:
* ECU tune
* high-flow cats
* headers

At WOT, the sound is even more incredible, but more importantly, the performance is insane. Price/performance, I'd go KLEEMANN everytime.

However, other tuners offer different flavors of performance. So it all depends on the goals of your tune. If you'll be a track monster, don't buy KLEEMANN -- I'd probably go Renntech for that, or Evosport.

If you are a DD, but want awesome performance, go KLEEMANN.

Again, just depends on your goals.

CRAZYC63

I just want a mean DD that will cook anything on the street around here. Like I said earlier the reason I didn't buy the performance pack is because I want this car to still be comfortable but yet fast. The only thing that really appealed to me in it was the diff. But do I really need that? I dunno. I may autox this car a couple times, but not alot. Thats what my Cooper S is setup for. So I'm really leaning towards either evosport or KLEEMANN, but mostly KLEEMANN. It sounds like exactly what I want, from a trusted vendor, for a decent price. It almost sounds too good to be true.

Do you have any sound clips or videos of your car with the K2 installed? If not thats ok, but if you could get them, oh man would that be appreciated. And do you mind if I ask how much it cost you for the kit, then for install, and then how long it took to install?

Thanks to everyone for all this advice. REALLY. It's nice to be able to have knowledge like this just a few mouse-clicks away.

To everyone: Have a great day and a great up-coming weekend, I will talk to you soon!

Mike

c32AMG-DTM

If you aren't a fan of the infamous "one-wheel-peel," then you should consider a diff. at some point. Kleemann's LSD is $895 - the Quaife ATB is allegedly a better design from an engineering perspective, but will cost in the $1500 range, +/- a couple hundred.

I'd throw my $0.02 behind the Kleemann K2 kit. Performance, sound, and bang-for-your-buck - those terms don't usually all apply when discussing the products of leading MB tuning firms... but do in this case. It'd be like if you could've gotten an ACS or Hartge tuning and header package for your M3 that gained a ton of power and cost $4,000. Maybe that's possible with the bimmer, I don't know... but is a rarity in the MB realm.

CRAZYC63

K. For some reason I thought the way the ESP was set up that it braked the individual wheels to "act like a differential" or something like that.

Oh and right now, the M3s aren't making that big of gains off of mods, which is good news for us competitors , I only made a 41hp gain with all my mods and only 20 more lbs/ft of torque were achieved on 93 octane BP fuel. The biggest thing right now for M3s is supercharging them with a centrifugal supercharger, but thats upwards of $10k for a kit and doesn't even include install. But for a bolt on mod they're making 600hp. And people that are getting they're displacement increased to 4.6L for a cool $26k (from Dinan) are only seeing gains of around 100whp and 100 lbs/ft of torque. So we're just slightly better off. Slightly. Is there any talk about going F/I with our engines? That would be pretty rowdy. And powerful. And have alot of torque. And kill every new M3 out there. Haha

That Kleemann LSD sounds good, with all that power going to the ground it would be good to have it going to BOTH wheels.Maybe they can cut me a deal on all this stuff. Who knows. I plan on making a trip down to the D/FW area within the next year or so, so Autoscope just might be the right fit for the job!

Thanks again everyone!

Mike

MB_Forever

Sorry to hear about your E92, but glad you came out of the accident okay....

I'm surprised you didn't mention RennTech in your post. They are definitely one of the major players when it comes to aftermarket performance upgrades for Mercedes. They offer a good variety of products for the C63, and I think one of their latest is the carbon fiber air box.

c32AMG-DTM

Yep, that's true - it'll brake the spinning wheel to try to drive the other side, and/or cut power... doesn't always keep one from spinning though, and I know of no "e-diff" that works even remotely as well (from a performance standpoint) as a true LSD... JMHO.

Bingo. Also, BTW - from what I've learned, the big-name tuners don't typically "cut deals" beyond their MSRP's and/or package pricing - but it would never hurt to inquire, I suppose.

CRAZYC63

I figured they probably wouldn't, but like you said it wouldn't hurt to ask! Thanks for all the good advice c32AMG-DTM, it's good to know that there are alot of nice people on these forums, where as of the bimmer forums I used to regular, I couldn't say the same thing.

I most definitely am looking forward to being apart of the C63 ownership experience, so far it's a completely different car and world compared to the BMW.

Thanks again!

Mike

c32AMG-DTM

No worries; happy to help.

There are a lot of good people on MBW - many with extensive technical knowledge and expertise. Don't hesitate to ask if you have questions or need help with your car.

The BMW forums are that bad, eh? Lotta "hate" around for the bimmers, but I must confess, I enjoy all German marques' offerings.

yaymitch

I went with Kleeman ECU tune and all I can say is the difference is noticeable. For only $1500 for the K1 it was a no brainer. I will probably upgrade to K2 at some point.

VCA_AMG

What's the average price of the Kleeman K2 upgrade, installed? I did a forum search but couldn't find any pricing except for the K1 ECU flash @ $1500 or so.

c32AMG-DTM

K2 installation probably costs ~$1,000 or less in labor. The ECU tune installation obviously doesn't cost anything, but the header installation would.

hhughes1

The headers are usually available for $2495 and install should be $700 to $1,000. The Kleemann tune at $1500 is simply the best deal on the planet given that it provides 80 to 90 percent of the gain from a K2 package. My exhaust sound changed slightly with the headers but really got nasty when the secondary cats were removed. This mod ($100) along with the tune gives you a huge lift in performance and an even more aggressive exhaust note. Keep the cats just in case you feel it is too much, I have been told that my car is not "Mercedes-Like" anymore. Great news for me

ajag

How much is an aftermarket diff install?

CRAZYC63

Do you get any annoying resonances or is it really loud in the cabin on the highway? Thats all I really care about, I still want the car to be comfortable.

Thanks

Mike

hhughes1

At steady speeds on the highway it is exactly like stock but the volume amps up in direct relation to the acceleration. It does not drone but the reverberation as the car slows down(not the down shift snarl) is totaly cool. This usually occurs at speeds lower than 30 mph when you lift off the gas pedal. Cabin sound is great....I rarely turn on the sound system.