Raron

After debating what luxury sedan to get for the last couple of months I finally pulled the trigger on a nearly new 13' diamond white Bluetec. Such a smooth effortless ride. Considered an 11' E63 and a 12 E550. Decided the Bluetec is uber relaxed, great gas, rare and the right compliment to the 997TT beast. The other two while great cars are more of the same - super high performance with big carbon footprint! Excited to learn more about diesel and do some simple mods.

What are my must do mods if any?
Is there a way to slightly lower the car without affecting ride too much?

DerekACS

Congrats on your newly acquired E350BT and welcome to the MB diesel club !!!! You will find this car to be an awesome highway cruiser ! Over 600 miles per tank ! Effortless passing power and superbly comfortable !
Very sharp colour combo too !

How many miles on your E350BT ? It looks very clean.

Assuming your car has the 17" stock alloys ? It would look even better with the 18" 5 twin spoke AMG alloys. You could probably find an OEM set on Ebay, but steer clear of any replicas (likely be Chinese copies). If you do decide to search for a set of 18" AMGs, look for ones off a 2012-2014 E Class. The earlier version of this wheel design had some issues.

Raron

Thanks!

I'm thinking Vossen VFS2 for that understated yet aggressive turbine ook...

DerekACS

Yes, very sharp looking wheels ! But they would not take kindly to potholes !

BTW, that silver Lexus ISF sure is a hideous looking beast !

Raron

Lol. That's true of most wheels. I wouldn't do 20's on E. Prob 19 or even 18 if they look good.

Arrie

Congrats on the selection. You will fall in love with the diesel unless that turbo lack bothers too much. Diesels are extremely reliable engines and these are not some "new development". It is for North American market but diesels have been the vast majority of car engine in Europe from late '80s and even then the diesel engines were almost unbreakable.

Diesel engine last "forever" because the whole engine is basically smothered in oil as the diesel fuel (often called diesel oil) also lubricates, which gasoline does not.

For the ride, as it is a diesel, it does not come with the spare tire. Instead you have that Add Blue tank in the bottom of the trunk. This means you should have Run Flat tires under the car, right?

One of the easiest ride improvements is to get rid of the Run Flat tires. You will be stranded on the road if you have a flat without the spare or the Run Flats but there always is a cell phone...

What comes to the wheel size I would keep 17" if that is what the car came with. I have 18" staggered AMG setup and will change to 17" for softer ride. 17" does not look bad on this car.

Raron

Yep, and if for some reason the diesel go feels too slow for me I'll give to wife and then trade her Wrangler on something else!

rediesel

Congrats on the new diesel! I ran my W211 on 245/265 staggard AMG 18" and loved the performance, but did pay a 3+MPG penalty over my 225 16" winter setup - don't think you can run that small on the W212. I hated runflats on my old BMW and eventually got rid of them; however, that was a convertible I only drove locally so I'm not sure what I'd do with a car I use for long trips.

Raron

I wonder if there is a wheel that would look good in 17". I would do it if I could find out how to lower the car 1" without jacking up the ride!

Trancebolt

Im keen on switching rims as long as you can still slap an MB Center cap in there =D And i concur with the gents here, 17" work real well. I responded to the other thread first before seeing this one, but second congrats.

2013 yeah longest warranty remnant for the car. Car if we do a vin decode on your new baby? And you wont be wanting to drive that wrangler believe me... The only positive thing to driving a laurie or a suv after this is to get homesick for the solid heft of this sedan.

Speed is so overrated when any person tuning a car for speed can smoke you in jsut about ANY car wit hthe right application of upgrades.... Truly a losers battle, being the fastest racer... Winning by two seconds, chasing a 'street' race isnt realistic. Now, if you came to me and said i need a car i can tune for the track, you still can use a bluetec... but I might have said go with the E63 =D

Your purpose in mind, and the porsche next to ya, will likely rule out any driving of the wrnagler unless its rainy lke today and you dont want your interior messed up =D