Getting the most out of my W202 C240

[240-singh]

hi guys. i've owned my 1999 c240 sport for a few weeks now. really enjoy the layed back comfortable driving style and i do like to bury my foot now and again on open roads. However i feel that the low down power is pretty "lazy". I understnad that 170 bhp from a heavy car is not going to be breath taking, but i was expecting a bit more power. Are there any subtle mods that i can do to open it up a little? i/e bigger throttle body, chip/remapping, air intake.. Any suggesttion on what can be done and any suppliers would be excellent. im not looking to go down the supercharging/turbo route, just want to give it a little more grunt.

Thanks.

 

[gurpz]

Koolvin would have been your best bet for information like that but he dont come on any more unfortunatly

 

[BlackC55]

A re-map would achieve somthing but I know there is a company that does twin turbo conversions.......Do a search

 

[240-singh]

Koolvin would have been your best bet for information like that but he dont come on any more unfortunatly

ah i see thanks Gurpz. is there any one else out there with this sort of performane knowledge? i understand that these cars with this auto box adapt to the individuals driving style and as its been crawling along by the previous owner maybe it just needs opening up?

 

[gurpz]

No prob 240-singh, does anyone know whats up with Koolvin ?

 

[240-singh]

A re-map would achieve somthing but I know there is a company that does twin turbo conversions.......Do a search

hi mate, i dont think i'd quite be looking to go down the turbo route. this motor drinks enough fuel as it is! remap would be a good start i think. can anyone recommend me someone to do this please? i live in watford (north london) and work outside luton so around this area would be good. but im willing to travel.

 

[A210AMG]

Hello,


Re mapping petrol cars does not give much (in relation to dervs). My last car a BMW 330, I looked into remaps and it would gain 17bhp (according to the tech bods) and some torque. Would I notice that? I don't know and never will as I sold the car (the remap wqs £399 btw)


However I did fit a CAI (cold air induction kit) it looked great (carbon Fibre) and sounded awesome especially with the roof down and revs up past 4000. That was meant to add 10 - 15 bhp?

Again, I cannot say it did improve things..in my head it 'felt' better, slightly better throttle if anything.

I would think with a remap, maybe even a K&N filter in replace of standard you could be looking at 15bhp - 20bhp??

Also consider the insurance, my BM went up £50 having the induction kit, a remap obviously more.

 

[KLP 92]

No prob 240-singh, does anyone know whats up with Koolvin ?

He's turned into a family man, or maybe the Mrs put her foot down

Anyway, its cheaper to sell your car and buy a C43/C36 or C280 as modifying costs alot of money and 99% of time loses resale value on the car.

Realistically a turbo conversion will cost £2k+, a remap will cost £300 but will result in minimal gains and massive mpg drop.

Decat+air filter will only produce marginal increase in power which may or may not even be noticable.

 

[240-singh]

Hello,


Re mapping petrol cars does not give much (in relation to dervs). My last car a BMW 330, I looked into remaps and it would gain 17bhp (according to the tech bods) and some torque. Would I notice that? I don't know and never will as I sold the car (the remap wqs £399 btw)


However I did fit a CAI (cold air induction kit) it looked great (carbon Fibre) and sounded awesome especially with the roof down and revs up past 4000. That was meant to add 10 - 15 bhp?

Again, I cannot say it did improve things..in my head it 'felt' better, slightly better throttle if anything.

I would think with a remap, maybe even a K&N filter in replace of standard you could be looking at 15bhp - 20bhp??

Also consider the insurance, my BM went up £50 having the induction kit, a remap obviously more.

Hi thanks mate. I also used to have a BMW. it was an E36 238i sport. i had a supersprint back box and gruppe M replica CAI. The difference was very noticable. But then i replaced the throttle body with the ones which came on the 325 (328's were very restrictive) and this made a very big difference. power all way through the rev range. is there something similar you guys know i can do with the throtte body i have?

 

[pluggers]

Maybe its worth giving the sprintbooster a go,Nice little mod to do.
http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=36327

 

[R2D2]

I have tried modding the engines on a C180, a C200 and a C180k. Mercedes do a pretty good on the air intakes and therefore there isn't much to be gained with mucking about with air filters or intakes.

I have chipped my last two Mercs both were more torquey and driveable but neither gained too much on the max power front.

Sprintbooster will transform your car and I rate it as better than all the other engine mods including , chipping, intakes, exhausts.

If you want BIG power gains you will need new header, new cams, or a supercharger. Gaining 20-30 bhp by modding is do-able but if you want ever more buy a faster car!! HTH

EDit Kleemann will supercharge your car to 238bhp for only £7000!

 

[Kompressor_Dude]

I would also not advise a K&N or similar filter as lots of people on the US forums have experienced problems relating to the oil on the filter's screwing with the MAF's............ not worth the risk in my opinion!

As stated, merc do a damn good job compared to most companies as well

 

[Ian B Walker]

You could always de-cat it.

 

[KLP 92]

You could always de-cat it.

Doesn't actually make that much difference, and it won't pass an MOT.

 

[R2D2]

I would also not advise a K&N or similar filter as lots of people on the US forums have experienced problems relating to the oil on the filter's screwing with the MAF's............ not worth the risk in my opinion!

As stated, merc do a damn good job compared to most companies as well

K & N finished my MAS on the C200.

 

[gina2201]

I had a funny experience on my first auto, not realising for a while that I could "put it in gear" put it in 2nd or 3rd and it shifted! Oops, took me by surprise, but then, so did the fuel guage.
For a heavy car, I don't think they do too bad actually

 

[Glenn Smith]

He's turned into a family man, or maybe the Mrs put her foot down

Anyway, its cheaper to sell your car and buy a C43/C36 or C280 as modifying costs alot of money and 99% of time loses resale value on the car.

Realistically a turbo conversion will cost £2k+, a remap will cost £300 but will result in minimal gains and massive mpg drop.

Decat+air filter will only produce marginal increase in power which may or may not even be noticable.

Better still get a 230 kompressor, i haven't driven the c240, but imagined it to be a little revvy, as you can see i also have a 3.2 Jaguar and this feels realy sluggish compared to the 230k, which has diesel like pull at low revs combined with plenty of top end power aswell, very satisfying to drive (not as smooth as the 240 i would guess) also pretty good on fuel. We've just come back from the continent, fully loaded (fully overloaded i should say, with roof box) we had one steadyish (70-80mph) run from Wassenaar to Roermond we actualy got 35mpg! I doubt you'll get that from a 240 or a 280 and c36 amg is likely to be all revs anyway. Maybe you first need to check every thing is ok with your car as all Mercs i've driven (not many) normally have a good spread of power.

 

[240-singh]

I have tried modding the engines on a C180, a C200 and a C180k. Mercedes do a pretty good on the air intakes and therefore there isn't much to be gained with mucking about with air filters or intakes.

I have chipped my last two Mercs both were more torquey and driveable but neither gained too much on the max power front.

Sprintbooster will transform your car and I rate it as better than all the other engine mods including , chipping, intakes, exhausts.

If you want BIG power gains you will need new header, new cams, or a supercharger. Gaining 20-30 bhp by modding is do-able but if you want ever more buy a faster car!! HTH

EDit Kleemann will supercharge your car to 238bhp for only £7000!

hi thanks for the info. i'm going to look into the sprint booster. as i said, im not looking for heaps and bounds in performance, would just that little bit more grunt to help it through its rev range that little bit easier. i would rather sell and get a c36 or c43 than spending heaps on engine management or S/C. i think maybe a spring booster, some kind of air intake and a AMG or similar exaughst (sp) system and then finish it off with a remap should bring it the power im looking for. and should cost much more than £5/600 hopefully. what you guys reckon? is there a decent air intake system to go for? i've got quite a bit of knowledge re BMW performance mods and what to go for but im very new to the merc scene. thanks.

 

[240-singh]

K & N finished my MAS on the C200.

K&N induction kits are pretty poor on these cars as the engine gets very hot and will affect the induction. It would help if it was heat shielded. gruppe M induction kit which i had for my old bimmer was excellent. the induction kit was shielded by a carbon fibre air box. it really did the trick and sounded excellent. im looking for something similar for the merc but cant find anyting.

 

[C43AMG]

I have Green filters in the C43 which have not been a problem.