I have a 98 Mercedes C43 and I am interested in the Kleemann supercharger for my car. I have heard many good things about the Kleemann system and I have several questions and concerns. I found some pretty good info for the supercharged CLK430 but not for the C43.

1) Are there any dyno results before and after the Kleemann conversion? How does the C43 with Kleemann perform compared to a CLK430 with the Kleemann SC? I would assume that the AMG mods (cams, ECU, tranny, exhaust, etc) of the C43 would give it a slight advantage over the CLK430 with the supercharger installed.

2) Will the car with the supercharger installed be so powerful that drivability is affected? Since the C43 was designed for about 300HP, I am afraid that the additional power may overwhelm the traction and chassis, and handling may suffer as a result. I plan to change to the Kleemann shocks/springs and change to slightly bigger tires as well to handle the added power but this may not be enough.

3) Does the tranny need to be reinforced? I have heard that the C43’s tranny can be problematic (stories of blown trannies), and hope that the supercharger does not exacerbate the reliability of the tranny. At least I have extended warranty.

4) Does the car sound better/meaner with the supercharger installed?

Any feedback appreciated. I need to weigh the pros and cons before deciding the upgrade.

Thanks,
Baron

 

If you blow you tranny using a Kleemann that extended warranty will probably only be worth the paper it is written on. The Kleemann will void the warranty for problems associated with the aftermarket supercharger. Good Luck.

 

We have done quite a few C43's with our kompressor. They are the ultimate sleeper- light, small and powerful- a really fun package.

The trans will have no problems with the power. Usually tranny problems have their roots in poor service. Just because there is no dipstick doesnt mean they dont need service/fluid changes on a regular basis.

Driveability will be as stock- one of our stong points. Search the archives and you will find customer testamonials that say as much.

400+ hp in a W202 is sure to have traction problems! Better wheels/tires/suspension will put the power to the pavement. Its difficult to have enough power to hurl your car to 60mph in under 5 seconds without having traction issues (you just cant put Corvette sized rubber in the wheel wells) but this is what makes it so entertaining as well.

 

Before SC-

BTW Mustang dynos calculate the drivetrain loss so what you see is CRANK numbers, just like MBZ states.

 

Installed on car-

 

Kleemann, thanks for your info and pics. I will give it a good thought before deciding if the upgrade is worth it or not. I checked the crank dyno figures and it appears that the SC C43 has less HP than the SC CLK430 (dyno by evosport) at around 424hp vs 430hp, respectively. I suppose that different drivetrain loss is assumed. But with that much power already I suppose it doesn't really matter. Thanks again.

Baron

 

all i have to say is
.... OH MY FREAKING GOD

Do you guys have an upgraded tranny to go with it? perhaps a performance torque converter or even better a kleeman Manual.

I tried to get a look at one of them Kleeman S500s one time and i couldn't even catch up to see the three pointed star

 

Yes indeed- the S500 with kompressor is one fast machine.

It reminds me of the scene in Pulp Fiction where Sam Jackson asks the robber to give him his wallet back-

Which ones yours?

The one that says bad a** mother f***er on it.

 

anyone know about doing this to a 99 ml430?

 

Go for it - you will have one fast azz Mercedes SUV.

 

I had the Gen I HPS setup on my E430. It made 315 RWHP and was blast. The Kleemann kit is even more powerful. The trans is likely to be your weak link, but I never had a problem. Renntech has trans upgrades that should apply to your car if it ever does lunch the tranny. I believe Cory is correct in that poor maintenance is more likely to be the cause of a failure, whether or not you go with a blower. I say, go for it.