Cosmo Kramer

Greetings all,
I have been researching various topics on the MB World forum for the past month and first wanted to say: "what a respectful and informative community we have here!" I purchased a pre-owned certified 2010 C63 in Obsidian Black back in mid-May and have been exceedingly satisfied with everything from the car's performance to the MB experience to AMG's exclusivity and everything in-between on this monster of a sedan. I've got a few questions and topics I'd like to discuss with you all and have listed them out below in categories. Feel free to weigh in on anything you'd like. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read through this thread!


[MODS] It didn't take long for me to catch the "mod bug" and I've already ordered or installed quite a few things (listed below). I've already envisioned what she'll look like and can't wait to get everything put together.

• Mode Carbon Rear Diffuser (matte finish). Ordered a week or two ago and wanted to give a shout out to Nick from Mode Carbon for the awesome service, great price, and stellar looking product!
• Mode Carbon Trunk Lid Spoiler (painted Obsidian Black).
• MTEC HID kit for the front fog lights. Ordered this week with 3000k bulbs from Car Light Trends (they offer a 2yr warranty on bulbs and ballasts). Ordered the adapters from iJDMtoy as well.
• AZN Optics LED lights. Ordered a various assortment from this vendor. Shout out to AZN for being super responsive and hooking me up with a package deal!
• AMG Door Pins. Purchased and installed this week. +1 for getmercedesparts.com for having the lowest price and shipping super fast.
• Window Tints. Will be installed next Friday, going with 20% or 25%.
• Dash Cam. Purchased an iTRONICS ITB-100HD cam for parking security. Question for anyone who has a dash cam: Any suggestions on where to hard wire into the car? I watched a DIY video on YouTube but was hoping I could splice this in somewhere in the dash vs. routing a power cable all the way to the trunk fuse panel.

[FUTURE PLANS] Will have to cool down after the above purchases but want to make these next on the list at some point.

• Painting the calipers red. On the fence on this one but am leaning towards doing this because I think it will look great with the Obsidian Black paint, 2-tone wheels, and tinted windows.
• Front lip/splitter and possibly side skirts. Haven't yet found a style for the pre-facelift that I'm in love with. My driveway requires an engineering degree to get in and out of so I don't want to risk damaging anything until I look for a new property.
• Wheels. I will probably mull over hundreds of choices before I land on a set I like more than the stock wheels.
• Side Markers. Want to do something here that won't look too "rice". Seen the black/smoked clear markers and that's the leading option right now.
• Various other small finishing details. Considered matte black rear badges (meh...), carbon fiber mirrors (meh...), and possibly some other small mods on the interior. I would love to get my hands on a set of auto-folding mirrors with the puddle lights without losing a limb in the process.

[PERFORMANCE] Not a huge focus for me at the moment considering my previous car was a 2003 Acura CL Type S 6-Speed and I'm still getting used to the 60% HP increase. Another factor is concerning the warranty. Bought an extension that keeps me covered through the next 39 months.

• Tires - Currently equipped with Michelin Pilot Super Sports. 235 fronts / 255 rears. Should I look at different sizes when the time comes or stick with the recommended rubbers?
• Tune - I recall reading that the P31 ECU tune will not void the warranty. Might consider this or another tune if I start putting the car on the track.
• Charcoal Delete. Read many mixed opinions about this one. Will probably leave them in just to avoid any BS from the dealer.

[MAINTENANCE & REPAIRS] I like to think I'm pretty savvy in the DIY department and have been working on my own vehicles for 15+ years but will likely leave the more complicated stuff to the dealer.

• Oil Change. Pretty straightforward. Will do this myself.
• Head Bolts. Through the kind efforts of Joe and his VIN decode thread, I learned my vehicle is affected. Spoke to my SA and asked what the process was for checking on or repairing this before it becomes an issue. Hoping to avoid the warranty expiring and then having the head bolt issue pop up right afterwards.
• Brakes. Will tackle these at some point but will be researching the details here before starting.
• Exhaust Tips. I cleaned mine up with some fine grade steel wool but noticed that the bottom lip on each tip is pitted and has lost it's chrome luster. I would like to replace these with a fresh factory set at some point.

[RANDOM STUFF]

• AMG Affalterbach Key Covers. WHY $O $ERIOU$?
• Leather Key Pouch. I will probably order one if the itch gets too great.
• Keyless Go Push Start Button. Any good options besides the red carbon fiber one I've seen here and there?
• AMG Events. Hoping at some point to weasel my way into having the dealer send me to one of these. Sounds like an unforgettable experience!
• Local Meets. Plan on looking into this section of the forum. I live in Woodstock, GA (northwest of Atlanta).
• Cabin Wind. This is a random one but have any other members here noticed that the C63 cabin generates hurricane force winds when one or more windows are down and driving 25+ mph? My last vehicle with all windows & sunroof down was incredibly calm so I'm still adjusting to this. Anyone gone as far as to look into possible fixes? I assume the only options are those ugly vent visors.

Well... That's everything I could think of at the moment but if you've made it this far then I sincerely appreciate your time and look forward to hearing your thoughts. If you have any advice or suggestions for me feel free to reply and I will happily read and respond. I've seen some jaw-dropping C63's on this forum and must say that everything I've seen thus far tells me that this group has some class.


[PIC] iPhone. Betters to come once all the current mods are complete.







[FOOTNOTES]

• Purchased from Atlanta Classic Cars (Authorized MB Dealer). Great experience.
• I'm 30 and work for a leading beverage company based here in Atlanta
• I am a car enthusiast and this is my first AMG and first MB.
• The wheels have been completely refinished, painted, & clear coated and look brand new (something I swindled during negotiation with the dealer)

SaphGreyC63

First off...

CONGRATS!!! Big step up from last vehicle and I know the feeling (had an 02 Toyota Highlander straight to this so...yeah Also, speaking from experience and since you don't want to void the warranty, I would not get an ecu tune right away. You are already enjoying a massive increase over your old ride, like me, and you will not get over it for a while. I suggest you wait a year or so. I waited two years to get a tune, I enjoyed every minute of those two years but now it feels like a whole new animal and it was nice feeling the difference.

Second, Love the formatting of the post, great job!

Third...Great list of starter mods and future mods. I would change out the sidemarkers asap though, its like $20.

I am not the best resource for what can and can't be done (though I know tires you can go up to 245/265) but otherwise great list of mods (only thing I am kind of wondering about is why paint the spoiler?)

abcut973

Congrats on the beast! Looks like you did your homework and know almost exactly what you want.
This forum has a tone of information (good or bad) so hopefully you will learn from past mistakes. Happy modding!

Oh and get rid of those side markers ASAP ! lol !

Cosmo Kramer

Thank you! Good advice regarding the tune, my thinking was along the same lines, I am definitely still enjoying the current power output. Glad you liked the format! As far as the spoiler goes, I decided to have Mode Carbon paint it to match the factory paint for a couple reasons. I went with a matte finish on the diffuser and didn't want to have mismatching accents in matte carbon/gloss carbon on the rear end. I saw a few pictures of matte carbon fiber spoilers on gloss black cars and wasn't too impressed. It seemed like a good choice to keep the upper body of the car uniform. I think the gloss carbon diffuser / gloss carbon spoiler would have been a solid choice as many members have this but opted to go with the matte diffuser since I hadn't see any others with that style and Nick from MC thinks mine may be the first (pre-facelift at least).

Cosmo Kramer

Ha! That is the ONE vote I was looking for to go ahead and get some better side markers. Thanks for the congrats and feedback!

Cosmo Kramer

[FORGOT TO MENTION]

• Lowering. Seen many of you with lowered C63s and think the stance looks great. This will definitely be added to my list but will have to wait until I move due to the driveway issue.
• Exhaust. Open to the idea of custom pipes down the road but $$$ and the fact that the stock sound is wonderful enough will probably keep this low on the list for me.

jcfay

Welcome and nice looking ride. Enjoy it they're awesome. I, too, now have the modding bug but am still getting started. The forums are a great place for info and the debate can get "spirited", shall we say, sometimes! PS, I'm not a big Pepsi fan either... ;-)

Thrilla

Congratulations and welcome to the club!
It looks like you did your homework with regards to your mod path. The MC pieces are top notch, and Nick is great to work with. It's unanimous that the orange side markers need to go. The tune can wait, since this thing is a beast out if the box.
Looking back, upgrading to KW Coilovers was probably my favorite mod. It's visually appealing and the ride quality is also improved significantly. I DD the car, no track days yet, but I'd still put it in the top of my list.

Maverick1975

Welcome to the club, I hope you enjoy your AMG as much as I do mine.

mr747

Welcome welcome welcome

CarHopper

Welcome aboard. So, when are you moving? Because seems like that is when the fun will really begin.

Tires -- OEM wheels you'll want Michelin PSS 245/35/18 and 265/30/18. Some people will come in here and say you should go 275 in the rear, which you can do, but on stock wheels I personally feel like that is a bit wide. Come talk to me when you plan on new wheels though.

Lowering -- Another reason to stay with 265's for now. Lets say you get 275's then decide to lower the car. You will rub if you don't have the right width/offset on your wheels. Wont rub with the 265's.

Exhaust -- When you get around to it, secondary cat and resonator delete. Leaves the primaries alone and doesn't have any risk of CEL's or little things that will annoy you. The only effect is a little bit more noise.

Charcoal Delete -- Up to you. Can't even count the number of "Charcoal delete now CEL" threads though.

Oil Change -- Plan on using a Mityvac? I'd recommend you get one if not and go that route.


I'll think of more stuff later, just woke up.

Welcome again

Mort

Welcome to the forum, sounds like your off to a great start. You have done your research for sure. Enjoy your C63, I think you are going to love it.

Ingenieur

Great post
Clean machine
Enjoy

Cosmo Kramer

Thanks! Yep, you got the work reference



Thanks! I am definitely looking into options for the side markers. I read that a vendor here used to paint them for around $100.00 but that they had some sketchy business practices and had left some buyers high and dry. I will probably take mine to a shop and get them painted to match.



Thanks, I definitely enjoy it. Still get that fuzzy feeling when I walk into the garage every morning.



Thank you sir!



Thanks for the advice! So I will definitely look into wider tires when the current set wears out and yeah the ground clearance stuff will have to come later. Sad, but thankfully the stock stance is still pretty low in comparison to most sedans. As far as the exhaust, I have read that the cat / resonator delete is a solid choice but I've heard that the tone changes and you don't get the unique sounds when downshifting or punching it. Louder would certainly be nicer though.



Thank you. I feel like I've made some good choices so far and can't wait for all of it to arrive. Dash cam arrived today!


Thanks! I am pretty impressed with the paint condition but up super close there are a half dozen chips and scratches. Most are barely noticeable and the size of a pin head but all in all it's pretty clean.

Kriston

Congrats!

Welcome to the addiction

Cosmo Kramer

BTW: Driveway in the pics is my friends house. My driveway connects to a city road so there is no u-shaped curb but the steepness is hard to negotiate. I have to approach it from the opposite lane of traffic when clear and then walk the front tires up at a specific angle to prevent scratching the underside. There are some better angles but my rear suspension flexes and the tire gets no traction so I end up spinning just trying to get up the hill. Backing out is easier but sucks because I end up facing the opposite way I need to go and have to turn around in the neighbors driveway. Ha, the troubles we face these days. :P