matthew-s
New Member
Hi All,
Thanks for the fantastic forum. A wealth of information, great to be a part of it.
I have a 2009 C220 Estate and I would like to give it a "makeover". I love the car, am not likely to change it for at least a couple of years (and even then may keep it) and I just feel I'd like to judiciously spend some money on it to give it a mid-life upgrade and new lease of life.
Alas, I am neither a Mercedes, nor in fact a car-in-general, expert. As such, I hoped I could foster your advice, thoughts and feedback, should you be kind enough to share them.
What I hope to achieve is:
- Avoid any upcoming mechanical problems and ensure the car is in "tip top" condition
- Perhaps slightly improve the performance and/or handling, without turning it into a Max-power style street racer, damaging the car in the long term, impairing ride quality or invalidating insurance
- Restore the exterior/interior to "closer to showroom than it is now" condition, although the car is in decent nick.
My car has just less than 80k on the clock, is due a b-service about now, is a 2009 220 Sport Cdi, 2148CC Diesel, 5DR, Auto estate and has UMI, Nav 20, leather and 17" AMG alloys as options. I use it for motorway, country lane and town driving - mostly country lane.
My thoughts on potential "fettles" are listed below, in order I had thought of importance (top = most important). I would appreciate your thoughts on any or all of them, or if there's anything else you think I should/could do, instead of, or as well as.
- 4 new tires: Obv and done. Just put 4 Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 2 R17s on.
- Service: Is there a "deep" service I should be thinking about? Or is the normal B service fine. Any thoughts on Merc main dealer vs other options? Anything I should specifically be asking to replace/check?
- Uprated headlight bulbs: e.g. Osram Lightbreakers. One of my few gripes in the car is the headlights and I drive home down dark, windy country roads every night
- Deep valet/detailing: Probably including a leather clean and maybe a "detailing" on the paintwork. Possibly also have any chips/scratches in alloys repaired.
- Suspension: I was wondering if fitting better/newer shock absorbers would improve handling, for instance Bilstein B6. I would like to improve/optimise handling quality of car, not overly affect ride quality, but I certainly do not want to lower the car or create a "max-power" style setup. I drive to and from work on country lanes every day however, so improving handling would be a boon. Should anything else in the suspension be looked at/replaced/upgraded, at the same time e.g. bushes, springs?
- Engine upgrade: economy/performance chip. Was thinking perhaps Chip Express?
- Brakes: having read a little about this, the consensus seems to be, don't bother too much as most upgrades wont affect braking distance. Certainly I wont be putting £5k + worth of Brembo calipers on! Is it worth looking at any brake upgrades? Better than usual pads or disks for instance?
- Anything else that you would consider?
Appreciate your thoughts, suggestions and comments and hope none of my newb questions/ideas are too dopey! Any advice gratefully received.
Warm regards, Matthew
Thanks for the fantastic forum. A wealth of information, great to be a part of it.
I have a 2009 C220 Estate and I would like to give it a "makeover". I love the car, am not likely to change it for at least a couple of years (and even then may keep it) and I just feel I'd like to judiciously spend some money on it to give it a mid-life upgrade and new lease of life.
Alas, I am neither a Mercedes, nor in fact a car-in-general, expert. As such, I hoped I could foster your advice, thoughts and feedback, should you be kind enough to share them.
What I hope to achieve is:
- Avoid any upcoming mechanical problems and ensure the car is in "tip top" condition
- Perhaps slightly improve the performance and/or handling, without turning it into a Max-power style street racer, damaging the car in the long term, impairing ride quality or invalidating insurance
- Restore the exterior/interior to "closer to showroom than it is now" condition, although the car is in decent nick.
My car has just less than 80k on the clock, is due a b-service about now, is a 2009 220 Sport Cdi, 2148CC Diesel, 5DR, Auto estate and has UMI, Nav 20, leather and 17" AMG alloys as options. I use it for motorway, country lane and town driving - mostly country lane.
My thoughts on potential "fettles" are listed below, in order I had thought of importance (top = most important). I would appreciate your thoughts on any or all of them, or if there's anything else you think I should/could do, instead of, or as well as.
- 4 new tires: Obv and done. Just put 4 Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 2 R17s on.
- Service: Is there a "deep" service I should be thinking about? Or is the normal B service fine. Any thoughts on Merc main dealer vs other options? Anything I should specifically be asking to replace/check?
- Uprated headlight bulbs: e.g. Osram Lightbreakers. One of my few gripes in the car is the headlights and I drive home down dark, windy country roads every night
- Deep valet/detailing: Probably including a leather clean and maybe a "detailing" on the paintwork. Possibly also have any chips/scratches in alloys repaired.
- Suspension: I was wondering if fitting better/newer shock absorbers would improve handling, for instance Bilstein B6. I would like to improve/optimise handling quality of car, not overly affect ride quality, but I certainly do not want to lower the car or create a "max-power" style setup. I drive to and from work on country lanes every day however, so improving handling would be a boon. Should anything else in the suspension be looked at/replaced/upgraded, at the same time e.g. bushes, springs?
- Engine upgrade: economy/performance chip. Was thinking perhaps Chip Express?
- Brakes: having read a little about this, the consensus seems to be, don't bother too much as most upgrades wont affect braking distance. Certainly I wont be putting £5k + worth of Brembo calipers on! Is it worth looking at any brake upgrades? Better than usual pads or disks for instance?
- Anything else that you would consider?
Appreciate your thoughts, suggestions and comments and hope none of my newb questions/ideas are too dopey! Any advice gratefully received.
Warm regards, Matthew
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