I have always been a fan of AMG Merdedes but this if my first one and I am impressed with the car to say the least. I have been researching the cars and mods for some time on this forum but never joined, just did a lot of reading, until today.

The car I bought is a 2010 black C63 with 26K miles, I was set on getting one with the performance package but I was tired of looking for a car and I suprisingly got a good deal on a CPO from a Mercedes dealer. The only thing I wanted out of the performance package was the LSD. I really didnt care about the brakes or the suspension, and I personally didnt like the steering wheel. Now that I have a car without the LSD I am not sure that I need it for my driving habits. I have driven the car hard and launched it pretty hard on the street and it suprisingly spins both tires everytime... so far.

I really want to mod the car, I bought an 03 Cobra Mustang new and modded it until it made its best pass of 7.47@99.5 1/8 mile and 11.57 @120.5 1/4 with a 1.74 60ft on nitto drag radials. I know these cars are easily capable of running comparable times with a few simple mods, but I have lots of questions I cant find a straight answer to.

My intentions are to have a fast street car that I may take to the track 1-2 times a year. I will probably buy DR tires when I decide to go. I am planning on going with an OE tune and have been in contact with Jeremy. I am going to call him tomorrow ask a few ?s and hopefully place an order.

Here are my questions:

1. Is a Quaife DIff worth the money? I think I can install it myself, but I would like to know what is involved and do the Mercedes rears have to be shimmed like other manufacturers or not? From what I have read I dont think they have to be shimmed but I may be mistaken.

2. What is the quietest header/midpipe upgrade you can do? I really want to change the headers and mid pipe for the extra power, but I love the factory sound and the LTH videos that I have watched on youtube are obnoxiuos imho even though they definitely make the most power. I think the Kleemann headers are possibly a good option but I would like some input on this.

3. What kind of gains could you expect from ROW airboxes versus stock? I am going to remove the charcoal filters when my replacement filters arrive. I really dont want to cut my stock boxes to perform the common airbox mod that many have done but I may do it anyway if you guys think that it is worth it?

4. Are there any other simple cheap mods that make a difference that I have missed?

Any suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated

Thanks, Matt

 

call the guys at Velos DesignWerks .... I think they have a very solid tune and are AWESOME to deal with!

 

I am 99% sure I am going with the OE tune, I was also considering MHP but after reading about the problems some are having I decided to go with an OE tune, they are both making about the same HP gains, much more than anyone else has shown and I like the fact that OE offers a flash tuner and I dont have to send off my ECU.

Thanks for the input, Do they offer any other products besides tuning?

 

I can only speak to the things I have experience with. I had a C63 without an LSD and now I have a different C63 with a factory LSD. I would never own a C63 without an LSD now that I have one. It drives much different (better) with the LSD. The car feels more sturdy and planted. You don't need one at the drag strip if you have DR's, as we have members that have achieved great times with no LSD.

The ROW boxes and high flow filters will gain at most 10 hp. Some people see the results on a dyno, other don't. But, the car does sound a little louder and feels a little more responsive with the more open air intake.

Besides adding power to make the car faster, you can try losing weight. Light weight rotors, C/F hood/ trunk, lightweight battery, wheels. The diet can add up.

Also, I can recommend Michelin Pilot Super Sports as an excellent tire for this car.

Congratulations on the purchase.

 

Thanks for the info on the LSD, If it is a basically a bolt in application then I will probably buy one and install it myself. There is a local shop in Charlotte, NC that sells the Quaife DIff but wants $1200 to install, im not paying that, I wouldnt pay half that..

You answered my questions about the ROW airboxes also. I think I will just remove the charcoal filters and install high flow filters and be done with that project.

 

 

My pleasure.

If you can perform the install yourself, that saves some coin for sure. $1200 for install?? I remember when I was shopping for the Quaiffe unit for my last car and I think you're right, you can get it installed for less than $600 if it came to that.

Edit: Good advice by mthis, above. I will add that I got near 11,000 miles on my last set of Pilot Super Sports. I don't do burn outs.

 

That is the tuning device I am inquiring about. Is there a differnece in the pump gas tune and a pump gas tune w/headers? If so is there anyway you can get that tune loaded on the tuner instead of the valet tune that is said to come on the tuner from OE? These are the questions I was going to ask Jeremy tomorrow, but If you know the answers I will listen. I am not going to do headers right now, I want to get the tune and see how the car feels after that. If I need more or I cant beat my dads 997 turbo then I will add headers.

 

Pump tune and headers pump tune are not the same.
You can load up to 10 tunes on that device.

 

Just shell out and SUPERCHARGE that b*tch!

 

Can't beat headers and a tune. These are amazing engines once you open them up and let them breathe.

 

At least for headers and tune there is plenty of results
Hey we hit 6.xxx 1/8 miles in Dodgers car and it's NA

 

I think they have a very solid tune and are AWESOME to deal with

 

Ordered the OE flash tuner today. Going to install that, AFE pro dry filters, and remove the charcoals and see what it feels like. I will post me thoughts.

How much louder are the kleeman headers and cats vs. stock if stock is a 3 on the 1-10 scale?

 

Dyno first. You never know when buying used. It might be tuned already.

 

Thats good advice but I drove 2 other C63's before I bought this one and it definitely doesnt have 50whp+ extra horsepower over the others, thats a noticeable gain, I did check for factory filters becasue I wouldnt have been able to notice that difference.

 

Cool. Then I say go with the OE tune loader.

 

Already ordered it!

 

Congrats Matt47FL. Did you happen to buy the black one at Tom Masano in Reading, PA? I was looking at it myself...

 

Thanks, Yeah that is the one I bought. I had looked at when they first listed it on autotrader but I was set on getting the PP. After weeks of looking everyday for a car with the PP, I started considering one with out it. They had just lowered the price on the car again on autotrader so I called them and made a deal, flew to PA and drove it back to SC.

 

Please dont waste ur money on kleemann headers. Get MHP or MBH.

 

I would love to buy a set of MHP header and install them, but I dont want my Mercedes to sound like a monster truck when I start off at the traffic light. These cars really appealed to me becasue I would call them a "sleeper" no one expects these cars to be as fast as they are. These cars must draw a tremendous amount of unwanted attention with LTH, I have listened to videos of cars with cats and I think they are still to loud. Maybe someone can develop a mid pipe that really quietens the LTH down?? I am sure that a lot more people would buy headers if something like this was available.

 

we have a mid-section available that in designed to soften the sound associated with long tube headers

 

If you run race catalysts it will quiet it down a bit. I know with E55's if you just keep the secondary cats you really dont hear the long tubes unless you go WOT.

 

You should ask Mike at MBH about my "swappable" system. You'll be down a few HP (maybe 10-18 depending upon cat type - we used CA legal primary cats on mine) over a similarly equipped cC63 w/o primary cats, but it'll be as quiet as you can get with headers and has no drone whatsoever under any cruising conditions. The sound is fantastic on throttle (I like to call it refined but guttural) w/o being too much of a good thing. You sound like me re. your around-town driving noise preferences so this might be the way to go. Mike can fill you in.