The Mercedes e430 was recently passed down to me and I don't have much knowledge on cars. My uncles upgrades the parts of the car to make it run smooth again all it needs Is a new set of tires. Do you think I should even upgrade the car at all for example, tinted windows, bigger rims, new headlights, new sound system, etc. Just an FYI I'm not on huge budget. Let me know!

 

First, get the tires it needs. Get like Michelle ( what the Mercedes Benz factories use for the production) or Bridgestone Turenza with Serenity. I made that mistake of changing my headlights to HID projectors and not replacing my tires, which was kinda badly needed for my car. If you dont do the tires then there is a chance that you will start wearing out some other parts in suspension or ball joint. After you have changed the tires, then if you have some money left over then think about upgrading your car.

Tinting the windows is not that big of a deal. You can actually do it yourself. I did it for my car and i knew nothing about tinting. I though that they actually take the mirror off and they kinda burn it to darken it and thats how dumb i was before i started researching it online and here. Go watch a couple of YouTube videos of how to tint a car and it is VERY easy. You can buy the tint films in any auto shop but if want a specific kind then you might have to order it from Amazon.com because i totally spent about $40 for the tint film and tinting squeegee and stuff on Amazon.com

Next if you can find a really good projector headlamps (if you already dont have the projector headlamps, i dont know what they did in 2002 models but i have a 1999 E430) upgrade to them and also get a VERY GOOD HID lights because i did the HID upgrade and it is AMAZING right now. Words cant even tell you how helpful they are at night time compared to the regular halogen bulbs. Just to tell you, i bought my HID kit on Ebay for $25 about a year and half ago and i have never seen it fail or go dim. I though i got the worlds greatest deal for those.

Next thing is, if you into like sports car category, then you can change your cars exhaust to a magnaflow mufflers or if you find an E55 AMG exhaust. You can think about that. I recently put in a Magnaflow muffler and if you hear just the sound of my cars exhaust you will think that there is an European sports car coming behind. I LOVE MY CAR'S EXHAUST SOUND.

DONT TOUCH THE SOUND SYSTEM, IF YOU HAVE THE PREMIUM BOSE SPEAKERS!!! If you dont have them then change them. If you do have the Bose premium speakers then just leave it alone and the stereo as well, just leave it alone because its all optics cables for your sound system ( if you have the premium again) and aftermarket stereo's will sound very bad.

ALSO DONT GO BIGGER RIMS!!! Its a luxury car and you will have to do some suspension work if you go biggger rims. Like i think 18 inches are the biggest rims you fit but you have to buy run flat tires of course for the wheels and the tires to sit with the stock suspension. If you do go bigger like 20 inches or more you will have to lift the car suspension and basically just do a lift kit because of the bigger rims.

Actually i would really lower the car's height by about an inch and a half rather to put bigger rims on it, because of the size and weight of the car, it is suspect to crosswinds. You will feel like you will drift away if there's a crosswind. Ask anyone you want who has a E430 and they will tell you about the car when there is a mild to heavy crosswinds.

Basically thats should be it.

 

In a Bose system, are there "non-premium" speakers for that (as opposed to "Premium speakers)? If so, how do I tell which ones my '96 E320 has?

 

Well in '96 they didnt make the "non-premium" bose speakers. So for your car if you have Bose logo on your speakers then you have the premium speakers. I think in 2001 or 2000 they started making the "non-premium" Bose speakers. You can tell it is premium or non-premium by looking at how many speakers you got. Premium had 6 speakers with 2 sub-woofers and the non-premium one only had 4 speakers with only one sub-woofer. So yea my car does have 6 speakers with 2 sub-woofers. But another advice is that before you do anything in upgrading wise, look here, on the forum before you spend on anything

 

if you have factory xenon lights,i would not change them,if you are thinking about wheels ,i would do it before i spent on new tires,unless you are going for the same diameter wheels. As for the sound system it just depends if you are happy with it.good luck and hope you enjoy your ride

 

vishanthram: thank you very much for your reply. I just went out and looked at my car and it seems the speaker arrangement is two in the rear parcel deck (w/ two additional cut-outs which are empty), two in the front doors and two in the dash. Is this the usual "premium" arrangement? Thanks.
Beverly

 

well, since I don't know what makes you smile when you drive, I'm unsure
whether to suggest underbody neon lighting, suede headliner or la cucaracha
air horn.

i was satisfied with the car in factory configuration until i started reading the
various MB forums and started with a trinket here, a dongle there. it can end
up being an affliction

over the years i've accumulated the following for my 99 sedan , none of which
can be deemed cost effective or a wise financial investment:

E55 bixenon HID lighting $700 (probably lower prices now) *
E55 multi-contour seats
E55 rims from 211 $1000 *
E55 tails from 2002 $250 *

tinted windows $250 *
Audio10 head unit
subwoofer in trunk
LED city lights
LED license lighting $30 *
silver coated front turn signals (glows amber)
clear bumper lens (glows amber)
outside mirror covers w/turn signal indicators
Eibach lowering springs $250 *
Bilstein HD (high dampening shocks) $450 *

in the works...
rear seat warmers
rear view camera
single DIN DVD head unit

when I reviewed this list just now, I went back and put an asterisk next to
the mod which made me smile the most.....which mostly went against that
which vishanthram recommended

 

I wouldn't recommend dropping in an HID rebased kit (which is what the
majority of the kits are). There are poor projectors and very poor projectors
for the 210s...all made in Asia. As such they do not spend the R&D into the
projector design and are nearly all of poor quality. So when you take an HID
bulb kit and drop it into a projector designed for a halogen bulb the focus
nearly alwasy be be poor. Now you've created a high intensity beam with
poor focus = uncontrolled glare. Do not gauge the success of an HID kit
based on how bright it looks when you are driving, rather the beam that is
projected onto the pavement AS WELL AS against a wall. It should present
itself with precision. Many folks drop HID kits into their car with little regard
for other drivers, bikers, or motorcyclists, only that it looks cool and can help
land airplanes. You drive a luxury sedan and I hope you will continue to
maintain this quality overall.

Personally, I don't care to amplify the exhaust sound for the same reason -
it's a luxury car with only a couple hundred horses.

I have the Bose system and I think it is lacking in spatial clarity and separation.

I'm not sure why putting larger rims will require a suspension mod (oh, i guess
it would but only if you change the ET). The overall circumference of the tire
will/should remain the same if you are to maintain OE accuracy and operation
with the odo, speedo and cruise control. The car's computer doesn't care what
wheel size you put on, only that the rolling distance in 1 revolution remains as
designed with the 215-55-16 tire, ergo 79.5" or darn close.

Remember to keep in mind that MB designed and built what they believed to
be a balanced system. WHen you mod, you're potentially monkeying and
tipping the balance and if not careful there may be unintended consequences
so be sure to read a lot. You're not the first to want to mod this car.


"Hello, my name is Raymond and I have an illness...."

 

if you want w211 E55 rims, ill sell you mine for cheap. LMK.

 

No. That's not the premium factory setup. The two premium sub woofers go into the empty cut outs that are in your car. There a good in the though, because its not premium your car's audio cable might not be optic cables and soupy can put an after market stereo unit in your car not mess up with the audio quality and you are always welcome.

 

I'm looking for the w211 rims as well. Three out of the five rims I have are dinged and bent on the inside. Please message me. Thanks

 

HOLY GOOD GOD!!! YOU JUST HAVE MY DREAM W210 SETUP!! MAN I WANT YOUR INFOS SO BAD. SO THAT YOU CAN TEACH ME HOW TO DO ALL THOSE MODS TO MY CAR!!!

 

i want your Panigale

 

Vishanthram: thanks for the reply. I have a Bazooka subwoofer from my '78 280SE I took out before I sold it, so that's available for the trunk. Given that, I'm interpreting your info on the "non-premium" set up in my car, I would be well-served to replace the other speakers with some better quality sound. Am I correct? I like to listen to, among other things, pipe organ music, which runs the cycle range from 16 to over 15K. Your opinion would be appreciated.
Hemersam
P.S. I wonder why this car didn't come with the "premium" speaker arrangement (maybe a trade-off with the Xenon lights?).

 

the trickiest was baking open the headlights and sliding in the E55 bixenon
before sealing it up. removing the springs the first time was killer but it got
subsequently easier each time thereafter...as I tried to get the drop just right