hmmm.. Im actually kinda interested in the first one, the w211 style one... Or the black projector, or the Euro clear chrome ones... But my problem is... I want HID... and Im not sure any of these can do HID correctly... 2phast managed, but hes crazy!

 

I hear you, everyone has their own taste. Your best bet is to go symmic (or however you spell it) euro krystals, it'll suit your car better than the first two.

I just use Sylvania silverstars and I'm all set, no need for better light output since boston roads are like freakin christmas trees anyways. LOL

but I feel you on that HID upgrade, that would be dope.

2Phast is a genius.

 

I'm convinced the key to power is the smooth and bulletproof 3.0 and 3.2 inline 6 M103 and 104 motors. Find a good motor and tear it down and build it into your own AMG motor. Or better build up stock size with top line internals. Yes porting and polishing and all that is good. There is not much more HP to squeeze out of the engine and have it reliable and also last 250,000 miles. But I would definitely like to build an M103 and a transmission as well and then swap them into my '88 300CE. There are outfits that do this. They have motors rebuild and all you do is give them cores and then pay for the newly built units. It's a good investment and probably the only real one of any worth in the long run. These cars are the best on the road.

Regards,
Jason

 

Awesome suggestion. What kind of improvement would such a process yield? Im not familiar with it at all....

 

Well it all depends on what shape the original/current motor is in. The difference is like driving a car with a new motor as opposed to one with 100'000 miles on it.

There is always a thread or two going on at mercedesshop.com tech forum about building M103 and M104 motors.

I'm just starting to learn about all this from the various forums.

I think the idea for the 300D transmission swap is cool. And there is another, changing out the differential for quicker times.

Wheels and lower profile tires will help a lot with control in the turns I should think.

Sway bars are numerous, H&R, Merc Limo bars, Sportline bars, etc.

Putting new Rubber bushings everywhere helps get the car back to original response. Replacing the motor and trans mounts and control arm bushings is a good start. Some people go with poly type aftermarket bushings. I'd have to test drive such an equipped auto to see if its a vast improvement.

What shocks and struts did you go with? Bilstein heavy Duty or Sports look good. I think there is a way to order the Sportline set-up from the Merc Dealership system and get them out of germany. Do you know about this?

Also, the AMG Generation 2 body kits are available through the dealership system also. I have been told to use the dealer with the largest Genuine parts department whose name escapes me at the moment but is located in Southern California.

I would like a European shifter kit for starters with the transmission.

And there must be an ECU chip upgrade.

Regards,
Jason

 

Thats quite a list there :C I wonder what the total cost would end up being at the end of that... I donno, I do want to do things for my CE but its only worth 3050$ USD so....

 

Really? Not really. It's all relative I think. Just a matter of economics. When I have a little extra to put into the coupe i might put it into the coupe. That's all. Most stuff can be gad cheaply if one searches like a madman, often for months at a time. I think it's all out there. I like the older model like mine but the later M103 and also the M104 models are great. i test drove a 1992 CE all black with 80k + miles, one owner, great car. Lots of money to buy. And i drove an all black 1994 E320 coupe, 77K miles, amazing car. It just costs way more than my old '88 CE. I figure the 88 is a good car and i got it for virtually nothing so putting money in it over time and driving it for a few years is a no brainer. Sway bars ans shocks and struts and rubber bushings are all items that need to be replaced. Look at todays cars where at 60, 70 and 90,000 all sorts of stuff better get replaced. BMWs are a good example of this. Now, the Mercedes W124 class coupe is a heavy car and I know my LCA bushings are shot and my springs and struts and my trans mount and some other bits. By simply replacing those and in some cases upgrading the parts will give me better road holding control. I see the small list of parts as a needed not wanted.

Regards,
Jason
PS the other stuff is sort of performance oriented but it really falls in the same category of parts that are overdue for replacement. I'm not concerned with resale value because as the car is now it doesn't really have any and with a few upgrades to make the car more decent it will only be worth the work put into it.

 

What the car really needs is an OE resonator so I can pass smog check here in California. I've replaced the o2 sensor and oil and filter, the plugs are good, the check engine light is off, the gas cap is new, idle is right around 525 and temp stays at 80-85. The cat is working and hopefully is not fried or fouled. It could be though. The motor runs clean, I've been using Chevron Supreme and Mobil One and CA's 76, all premium fuel. I guess the injectors are decent. I've also been changing the oil frequently. And topping off the transmission fluid. Car's got leaky gaskets which ought to get addressed at some point too.

I'm taking it in right now but I hate driving around with my registration out of date.

Regards,
Jason

 

I hear ya man I love my car like no other, and I plan on keeping it till it totally craps out on me. I also would like to replace the struts, sway bars, and shocks/springs with performance parts because my car is nearing 100k and its time, like you said. What else should be replaced at the same time as all that supsension stuff I mentioned?

 

Mostly everything replaceable. The hoses around the motor for sure. Cooland hoses and such. Then theres all the bushings and motor/transmission mounts. Dont forget the sub-frame bushings and the diff and rear-end. I would imagine that everything that's on the 90,000 or 95,000 and later lists is a good indicator of what will need replacing.

Regards,
Jason

 

I put on a full sportline suspension on my '91 300CE. TOTALLY changes the feel!

 

I had all poly bushings on my Rabbit (God rest her soul) and they were f@cking awesome! Make sure you get the "non-squeaking" variety or they'll drive you nuts.

 

Where would these things be found? Where can I get at the limo sway bars for my benzo?

 

Where is the place to order the sportline package? The dealer?
Limo bars are probably a dealer item.

I just replaced my muffler and exhaust pipe with OE quality (Ernst made for mercedes)

Car passed smog with flying colors. A big deal here in California.

Next up are Euro lights and transmission mount and lower control arm bushings.

Then after that it's Sportline time.

Where is the best deal on Euro lights?????

Regards,
Jason

 

All the Sportline parts I added were purchased from the dealership and had MB part numbers. I did my install about 5 years ago....

Here's the list of parts for my car.....yours may be different......If you are interested in this upgrade,

Parts Required for 1992 300CE Sportline
Suspension (except steering box and rear subframe bushing)

Part Number Description Quantity
A 124 320 64 30 Front Sport Strut 2
A 124 320 23 31 Rear Sport Shock 2
A 124 321 30 04 Front Sport Spring 2
A 124 324 28 04 Rear Sport Spring 2
A 201 321 10 84 Front Spring Pad 2
A 201 325 09 44 Rear Spring Pad 2
A 124 323 68 65 Front Sport Swaybar 1
A 124 323 45 85 Front Swaybar Inner Bushing 2
A 124 323 51 85 Front Swaybar Outer Bushing 2
A 124 326 19 65 Rear Sport Swaybar 1
A 124 326 01 81 Rear Swaybar Bushing 2
A 201 330 01 75 Front Lower Arm Bushing Kit 2
or A 124 330 09 75 (Need VIN to determine part #)

 

Dude, I ****ing love you! How thick are the sway bars for your car? Cause I dislike how much the 300ce squats in corners, so I definately want the thickest sway bars I can get my hands on.

 

I don't think I ever measured them. The specs may be on another thread, but I do recall some have used 500E sway bars or have used the W124 Limo sway bars with favorable results.

 

I know. Are the "limo bars" mercedes benz parts?

 

It has been a bit since I redid the Sportline but you guys are on the right track. If the car did not come with the Sportline option [952] you can use the part numbers listed above to get everything you need. I would suggest going with Bilstein shocks instead of stock. One, they have a better warranty and second, the Sport shocks just flat rock. Get the 500 front swaybar. You might want to just go with stock new bushings. The Teflon/poly bushings are great on the track but will transmit much of the road to your *** and hands during regular road driving. Cool at first, a PITA after a while. It will also wear components quicker as the bushings are not there to take the wear.

As for the motor. There are plenty of ways to make the motor do better. Mosselman's Twin Turbo is one. It is also the most expensive. ***** pretty much designed Twin Turbos for these cars and the application is pretty flawless IF you have all the parts. Getting a used system can be a problem [experience speaking here].

Breaking down the motor, port and polishing can help. As much as we like to think Mercedes is perfect, these are Bread and Butter cars, and the motors are not precision machined. The intake and exhaust ports can use work to insure maximum air/exhaust flow, sometimes a lot. We are finding that is also true on even the mighty 500E motors. 20-30 hours of porting and polishing of the manifolds and heads are necessary to really smooth out the castings and provide “spec blueprinting” of the engine.

After that, lightweight forged pistons and Titanium ConRods will lighten up the rotating mass of the crankshaft dramatically and provide a higher revving, higher compression and MORE POWER. This is without touching the cam(s). While they are “custom”, the pistons are only about $200 each. Add the same for the ConRods and you have a lighter spinning motor for between $2400 and $3000 in new parts, depending on options.

The extra power associated with these mods, along with extra breathing [K&N] and exhaust [HiPro Cat-no resonator-performance exhaust] is strong. Seat of the pants is amazing with the light weight pistons in the bottom end. Dyno on the 1992 300E w/no Turbos goes from 177 stock to 252bhp – a little over 40%. Total rebuild costs are about $5K for the motor. That does not give the kick of the turbos but is easier and more durable. It also gives a rebuilt motor. When going with boost, it is wise to rebuild at the same time to provide the best environment for the now 280-310bhp [dyno tested]. We have not run the turbos on the hot motor since the high compression is not compatible with the turbos which actually need a reduction of compression with high boost.

 

I dont understand all what you said, but it sounds good! So I guess port/polish and new camshafts and pistons will get my car some HP? my m104 is supposed to put down around 212hp, do you expect that I will get the same gain that was seen in the engine you have worked on?

 

Actually, I did not say cams, they are very expensive. From what I have seen with the M103 and the M119 motors that we work with you should be able to get 30-40% if you with with custom pistons, lightweight connecting rods, increase compression to 11.5, Cold Air Induction and complete performance exhaust and maybe a chip for the ECU [I believe the M104 can use the chip].

I would think that should get you near 275-280 at that point. A motor built up like that would be very durable and safe, not "pushing the envelope" or testing unknown performance options.

 

nice would that gain translate into any numbers for the track?

 

I am not sure about drag strip but it sure makes a big difference at places like Mid Ohio and Putnam. Mid Ohio http://www.midohio.com/ is a great track to wring out a car as it has both good long straights and twisties. I did Bondurant school at Sears Point back in the early 70's and Mid Ohio reminds me of that track in some ways.

I got much quick times out of the apex and through esses with the extra power. The end of straight speed was also enough to require a serious upgrade of brakes as I glazed the stock rotors on the fourth lap through coming down from 145.

 

You sound like a very valuable member for my performance-oriented questions. How does this strike you. Getting the airbox and intake setup from the 500e on my 300ce and heatwrapping it. Will this help my car breathe better and possibly assist in performance? What other reccomedations can you make for the intake?

 

What do you think those mods would cost, ballpark?