When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
We bought our first C63S Sedan last year. This was our first Mercedes, and the car is truly exceptional. It is my wife's daily driver, and we have really enjoyed the car. I have a long history with VW's (old and new), and my daily driver is a tuned Audi S4. So we have been in the German brand family for a while.
It has been truly great to have these forums, and see everyone sharing information. These are always my go to places, when I am researching a new car, and especially for tuning and mods. We don't leave things stock for very long, and enjoy the personalization that comes with it.
So....when it came time for me to look for another car, I was really interested in a cabriolet. The C63S was my choice after looking at many different cars in the category. So earlier this year, we ordered my 2018, and it arrived in late September.
After a few weeks with the cabriolet, it is truly a fantastic car to drive. I'm working through the break in period miles, but already have a few things in the works. But here is where we start.
First up was the altitude adjustment. I went with the KW H.A.S. kit as many others have, and I'm very pleased with it.
After reading the many threads on spacers, I was sold this was the look I wanted. Special thanks to Vic55, who's pics and details gave me just what I was looking for. I went with 18mm in the front, 15mm in the back. I used Supreme Power for the spacers, and they were great. Very nice quality spacers, with the extended bolts.
Last edited by Jeff Whitten; 10-02-2017 at 09:32 PM.
Garage floor is Racedeck Circletrac for those interested. Great stuff. Snaps together easily and many colors to choose from. Went with light grey and dark grey in my shop.
Next up was to address the silver on the exterior of the car. Started with the front hood emblem. From other threads, good results were shown with black chrome paint, so gave it a try. Results came out great. Each coat brings it a little darker on the base black, then clear coat to finish. I did 4 rounds of 2 wet coats. 3 coats of clear.
Next up was to change the look on the exterior. I was looking for the blacked out look for trim and did a lot of research online looking at different finishes and applications.
I reached out to Don Nguyen (Wannaberacer.com) to get me setup with some gloss black wrap and Plastic Dip elements. Don was fantastic to work with, and did an amazing job. He is based out of Southern California, but I noticed from his threads he often travels to different locations and does on site work.
We made arrangements for him to come up to NorCal and he did all the mods to my Cabriolet in 1 day. Thanks Don for the great work!
Taillights, reflectors and the front Distronic emblem received Lamin-X film. Very happy with the result. No effect on the Distronic performance with the Lamin-X film.
Before
After
Before
After
Last edited by Jeff Whitten; 10-22-2017 at 02:08 PM.
And last was the side rocker spears, gloss black wrap. And a few final photos. Very pleased with the transformation of the look. The Selenite Grey paint with black trim looks great. Thanks again Don for the great work.
A few additional photos from the Distronic assy in the grill. Chrome ring comes off with a few clips. After tint of the black plexi the fit is pretty tight but doable. No impact on functionality with the tint. Reasonably happy with the Plastic-dip finish on the grill, but working on an upgrade to a carbon fiber.
The new wheels and tires arrived. Velos Designwerks S3 2 piece forged wheels, hidden hardware, gloss black, 20x10 front, 20x11 rear. Michelin Pilot Sport 4S 275/30/20 and 295/30/20. Fitment is nice, slightly wider then stock with spacers I was running. Had to come up a 1/2” all the way around to get the tires to clear. Really like having a bit more rubber on the road. Drives real nice.
Big thanks to Stephen and Omar at Velos for the follow through on my wheel order, and the great wheels.
Love the tasteful touches you added to the car! Makes me want to do the same in the spring!!
How come you didn't opt for the Night Package to begin with? It would have "blacked out" a lot of those items already from the factory.
KJ, good question. I contemplated the night package and the carbon fiber packages, but at the end of the day I wanted to stay with body color mirrors and wasn’t sure which pieces I would change. Very happy with the results so far, but have carbon fiber fever now so new pieces are coming from several sources.
10-02-2017, 08:48 PM
