Modding a W211 on a budget...
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Joined: Jun 2013
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2006 E350
Modding a W211 on a budget...
Recently acquired an 06 E350 and wanted to make some upgrades with a slim wallet.
Why the slim wallet? Wife.
Sold this...
Sold this...
Total left in my pocket... $1500
Let's begin:
Restoring headlights $30 kit Autozone + $30 drill Home Depot
Replaced old shifter (chewed up by dog) $75 eBay + Replaced steering wheel with an OEM wood one $100 shipped AutoGator (local dismantler)
New front grille via Plasti Dip $15 Home Depot + razor $1 Home Depot. Spray then trim.
H7 5000K PIP HID kit $50 Forum Member + T10 5000K City LEDs $19 AZN Optics + 2500K H11 halogens $22 Local Tuner Shop
So far $342/$1500.
Next time on budget wars...
2003 W211 wing mirrors w/ built in puddle lights $200 eBay + $??? Paint Job
2007 W211 Headlamp Facelift $33 passenger housing eBay + $89 driverside housing eBay + ZKW-R clear lenses $40 eBay Retrofitsource
Retrofit in the works
Roof spoiler $65 Craigslist
Planned $769/$1500
Debating on using my unpainted E55 front bumper $500 + $230 Paint Job ($1499/$1500 & get 2 tacos from Jack In The Crack with the remaining $1), acquiring a black E500 front bumper via sale and/or trade or leave it as is and add some money to the budget for some different wheels/tires with about $1200 to spend.
Why the slim wallet? Wife.
Sold this...
Sold this...
Total left in my pocket... $1500
Let's begin:
Restoring headlights $30 kit Autozone + $30 drill Home Depot
Replaced old shifter (chewed up by dog) $75 eBay + Replaced steering wheel with an OEM wood one $100 shipped AutoGator (local dismantler)
New front grille via Plasti Dip $15 Home Depot + razor $1 Home Depot. Spray then trim.
H7 5000K PIP HID kit $50 Forum Member + T10 5000K City LEDs $19 AZN Optics + 2500K H11 halogens $22 Local Tuner Shop
So far $342/$1500.
Next time on budget wars...
2003 W211 wing mirrors w/ built in puddle lights $200 eBay + $??? Paint Job
2007 W211 Headlamp Facelift $33 passenger housing eBay + $89 driverside housing eBay + ZKW-R clear lenses $40 eBay Retrofitsource
Retrofit in the works
Roof spoiler $65 Craigslist
Planned $769/$1500
Debating on using my unpainted E55 front bumper $500 + $230 Paint Job ($1499/$1500 & get 2 tacos from Jack In The Crack with the remaining $1), acquiring a black E500 front bumper via sale and/or trade or leave it as is and add some money to the budget for some different wheels/tires with about $1200 to spend.
Last edited by Drag0na5h; Feb 25, 2014 at 09:46 PM.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jun 2013
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2006 E350
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 222
Likes: 1
2006 E350
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2006 E350
Nice mods! I just did my HIDs, led city lights, all led interior lights and i had the plasti dip ready to do the grill (until i saw the new black sl style on ebay, so got that instead). And I agree, the output is sooooo much better with HIDs. Also painted the side marker lenses black(plastidip) to delete them.
Oh and did you have to run extra wiring for the lights under the sideview mirrors?
Oh and did you have to run extra wiring for the lights under the sideview mirrors?
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2006 E350
Nice mods! I just did my HIDs, led city lights, all led interior lights and i had the plasti dip ready to do the grill (until i saw the new black sl style on ebay, so got that instead). And I agree, the output is sooooo much better with HIDs. Also painted the side marker lenses black(plastidip) to delete them.
Oh and did you have to run extra wiring for the lights under the sideview mirrors?
Oh and did you have to run extra wiring for the lights under the sideview mirrors?
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2006 E350
Yea I actually just ordered the grill and hood emblem today so I'll do so when I get them in. The only plasti dip I've seen comes in flat black. I've added a few layers of clear coat to other items I've painted and it gives it a glossy look, maybe you can try that.
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2006 E350
Awesome looking forward to it. Yeah flat black is all I found at the store too. I read about adding clear coat before. Did you use any clear coat? Didn't ruin the integrity of the plasti dip?
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2006 E350
Okay so I had some time (12am ~ 2am) to mod again and this time I wanted to examine the 2003 oem wing mirrors with integrated puddle lights and their plug n play capability on my 2006. I looked at the wiring harness vs the one currently on my car. Same number of wires in the same slot locations. Only thing I noticed was that the car side connection of the white plug had wires 3 & 4 labeled and located in different slots than the plug on the harness.
So I traced the wiring from the white plug to the two leads coming out from the puddle light socket. They are consistent with the labels 3 & 4.
I then proceeded to relocate the number 3 & 4 wires to match the location on the car side connection.
Then plugged both connections into the car side connection points and turned on the "surround lights" feature via the gauge cluster. Switched the lights to "auto" then closed the door and unlocked the car from the remote. As suspected the wing mirrors did not light up along with the city lights and fogs which did. I am assuming I need to set the wing mirror puddle lights to "present". Anyone have experience getting their puddle lights to work I'd appreciate it if you shared your thoughts.
*EDIT: Looks like after some research about folding mirrors and how they have been plug and play for various people, my belief is that the #3 & 4 pins on the door panel unit is for the "folding" function and not "puddle light" function. Hard wiring to the dome light circuit is probably the only way for this mod to truly work. I highly doubt there's any current passing thru EMPTY PIN #'s 5 & 6, which is where the puddle light wires are located, because the dash would have an error about an open circuit. (>_<!)
So I traced the wiring from the white plug to the two leads coming out from the puddle light socket. They are consistent with the labels 3 & 4.
I then proceeded to relocate the number 3 & 4 wires to match the location on the car side connection.
Then plugged both connections into the car side connection points and turned on the "surround lights" feature via the gauge cluster. Switched the lights to "auto" then closed the door and unlocked the car from the remote. As suspected the wing mirrors did not light up along with the city lights and fogs which did. I am assuming I need to set the wing mirror puddle lights to "present". Anyone have experience getting their puddle lights to work I'd appreciate it if you shared your thoughts.
*EDIT: Looks like after some research about folding mirrors and how they have been plug and play for various people, my belief is that the #3 & 4 pins on the door panel unit is for the "folding" function and not "puddle light" function. Hard wiring to the dome light circuit is probably the only way for this mod to truly work. I highly doubt there's any current passing thru EMPTY PIN #'s 5 & 6, which is where the puddle light wires are located, because the dash would have an error about an open circuit. (>_<!)
Last edited by Drag0na5h; Jul 31, 2013 at 10:52 PM. Reason: Had an epiphany.
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W204 C63 AMG, W212 E250 CGI, C207 E250 CGI
PlastiDip only comes in matte but they also have PlastiDip clear if you want it glossy. I think its called Glossifier. they also have Metalizer in gold and silver if you want a metallic finish. just make sure you watch a lot of youtube videos and read a lot of forums before you plastidip anything. if you do it wrong, it a pita to remove.
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2006 E350
PlastiDip only comes in matte but they also have PlastiDip clear if you want it glossy. I think its called Glossifier. they also have Metalizer in gold and silver if you want a metallic finish. just make sure you watch a lot of youtube videos and read a lot of forums before you plastidip anything. if you do it wrong, it a pita to remove.
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W204 C63 AMG, W212 E250 CGI, C207 E250 CGI
Oh I didnt realize that you've already done your grille! great job! 
I also did my grille and my hood vent. Although I only did a couple of layers of plastidip and then 3 layers of duplicolor then 2 layers of duplicolor clear. I kinda like how it came out. You can still peel it off but not like the strechy rubbery feel if you do it with just plastidip.
I also did my grille and my hood vent. Although I only did a couple of layers of plastidip and then 3 layers of duplicolor then 2 layers of duplicolor clear. I kinda like how it came out. You can still peel it off but not like the strechy rubbery feel if you do it with just plastidip.
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2006 E350
Oh I didnt realize that you've already done your grille! great job!
I also did my grille and my hood vent. Although I only did a couple of layers of plastidip and then 3 layers of duplicolor then 2 layers of duplicolor clear. I kinda like how it came out. You can still peel it off but not like the strechy rubbery feel if you do it with just plastidip.
I also did my grille and my hood vent. Although I only did a couple of layers of plastidip and then 3 layers of duplicolor then 2 layers of duplicolor clear. I kinda like how it came out. You can still peel it off but not like the strechy rubbery feel if you do it with just plastidip.
Pretty nifty trick to use plasti dip as a removable base layer and paint what ever color you want via standard paint. My wing mirror rubber seal where the mirror housing meets the door is cracked. I wonder if I can do a band-aid repair with plasti dip.
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W204 C63 AMG, W212 E250 CGI, C207 E250 CGI
Yeah its something i read on one forum. It works but like i said, i you make a mistake, its a pita to remove. Which happened on my wheels. Took me half a day to redo.
Im just not so sure about the cack on your rubber but, although thats the beauty of plastidip, if youre not happy with the result, simply peel it!
Heres a photo of what i did.
Im just not so sure about the cack on your rubber but, although thats the beauty of plastidip, if youre not happy with the result, simply peel it!
Heres a photo of what i did.
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2006 E350
Yeah its something i read on one forum. It works but like i said, i you make a mistake, its a pita to remove. Which happened on my wheels. Took me half a day to redo.
Im just not so sure about the cack on your rubber but, although thats the beauty of plastidip, if youre not happy with the result, simply peel it!
Heres a photo of what i did.
Im just not so sure about the cack on your rubber but, although thats the beauty of plastidip, if youre not happy with the result, simply peel it!
Heres a photo of what i did.
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From: Down Unda
W204 C63 AMG, W212 E250 CGI, C207 E250 CGI
hahaha! yeah Im here in the land down under!
Yeah mine does. Im just not sure if that puddle light is standard with the Avantgarde model or just another option.
Yeah mine does. Im just not sure if that puddle light is standard with the Avantgarde model or just another option.
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2006 E350
I tried to wire mine up last night, but since it didn't come standard the plugs aren't receiving any current. I gotta find out a way to activate it because I really don't want to hard wire them to the dome light circuit. I really wanted to see how well it lights up too. Any chance you can take a photo at night or in a dark garage with your surround lights on? Would hate to hack things up and get minimal performance from this mod.
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2006 E350
Yeah sorry, the puddle lights is what I meant to say. Cool man I think after looking at my wiring, I believe the existing wiring on the door panel side may be for the "folding" function and not the puddle light function. So looks like hard wiring into the dome circuit is my only option. Please tell me you don't have power folding mirrors as well. That combination would be the "bestest" ever.
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2006 E350
Ah yes I forgot about that function as well. Do you have a seperate button to activate heated mirrors or does it simultaneously come on when you press the front window defrost button?
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From: Sacramento
2003 E55 AMG
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2006 E350
1) Had more money to throw away.
2) Had a e55 and not an e350.
3) Did I mention needing more money?
But enough about me, your ride is super dope man. Do you dd that beauty? I roam Sac freeways maybe I'll see you rolling one of these days.
