How can you tell if an AMG car has been heavily modified ?

[Petrol Pete]

My own ancient AMG is bone stock unmodified , there is not much to be gained from an NA M113 engine and why spoil one of approximately 60 UK registered C55 estates ?

Spare cash better spent on keeping the rust at bay

 

[Rich764089]

I m o looks terrible, bet it cost a fair bit to get it done.

Thanks. Didn't cost me that much

 

[350cls]

Quote not available!

 

[Teego]

I think most amg owners would tend to go for visible up grades ,
Ie bigger wheels , side skirt decals etc. To go down mechanical route can be expensive, if you have doubts as to it being mapped etc it would not cost much to get the b h p checked.

My experience is quite the opposite. If you can afford an AMG you wouldn't bling it with naff external bolt ons. You would go the mechanical route with remap, pulley swap, headers, LSD.
I just had a custom dyno remap. It's invisible.

 

[markjay]

Its owner will tell you....
(in hp and N.m).

Modified - Its owner will tell you.

Heavily modified - he won't shut-up about it...

 

[mercmancdi]

My experience is quite the opposite. If you can afford an AMG you wouldn't bling it with naff external bolt ons. You would go the mechanical route with remap, pulley swap, headers, LSD.
I just had a custom dyno remap. It's invisible.

I don’t believe any Dyno remap before and after readings are ever totally invisible if properly checked by the professionals. I know of a ecu taken from a Vw and sent to Germany which 3 mths later is an insurance fraud case pending. Even a simple remap invalidates insurance unless properly declared, although lots don’t bother . Many yrs ago I remapped a Touareg up extra 45 bhp put my insurance up double at end of insurance term I lied and insured as normal bhp but unfortunately it broke the camshaft on the motorway 6 wks later. So guess I paid the penalty. Now I wouldn’t touch a vehicle if I knew it had been chipped or mapped . Sure in uk we are tied between 30 and 70 mph . Maybe when I was younger I might have be silly enough but bit older and wiser now Sure there’s 2.0 petrols as standard blow 3.0 diesels away from standing start. Although everything I have apart from a 2,5 Toyota rav is diesel.

 

[Rich764089]

I lied and insured as normal

I don't expect anyone who regularly heavily modifies does this, but maybe there are a few.

Now I wouldn’t touch a vehicle if I knew it had been chipped or mapped

I know what you mean on this, but now it doesn't bother me, so long as I am happy the mods are sensible and I am happy with the character of the owner who modified!
The reason that heavily modified cars do not actually cost much more to insure with specialist insurers is because those insurers know that the owners are usually anal about their cars and, as a general rule, take much better care of them than the majority of standard car owners.

Maybe when I was younger I might have be silly enough but bit older and wiser now Sure there’s 2.0 petrols as standard blow 3.0 diesels away from standing start. Although everything I have apart from a 2,5 Toyota rav is diesel.

I don't think it's silly; it's just about taste and unlocking potential of a car. Sure, some people go too far.
I don't bother modifying my diesels (or hybrid!), but have on my long term keeper petrols, and always will do. None are really HEAVILY modified any longer though. Maybe I have grown up after after all

 

[sgregory124]

If you want to see what a 'heavily modified' AMG looks like, I suggest you join the AMG Owners Group on Facebook. There you will see a huge selection of owners (about 80% US based) who have taken their cars so comprehensively out of original spec that its plainly obvious. Nearly everything has 'a tune', meth injection, downpipes, nitrous, pulleys etc. Some even have drag tyres (my personal pet hate) because its 'all about the hook-up' and street racing over the magic '1320'.

The one thing that astonishes me is the amount of people who are complete ignorant of what they've bought, they simply want something to beat their buddy in a Hellcat and are completely ignorant of the fact of the precision engineered machine they've just ruined.

Just my opinion obviously...

 

[Deleted member 126251]

TH

Hi , any suggestions please

The older it is the more likely it is to be modified. Guy buys a 10 year old V8 that is slower than a modern & smaller V6 or straight 4 ...............

 

[Bellow]

Modified - Its owner will tell you.

Heavily modified - he won't shut-up about it...

Shouting over their shouty loud exhausts? Thing is though, when you have to shout the argument is already lost. And there is no argument - VAG V8s sound much better than those from Mercedes.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

….. VAG V8s sound much better than those from Mercedes…..

You’d better brace yourself for the incoming!

 

[markjay]

The beauty of an exhaust pipe is in the ear of the beholder.

 

[markjay]

The beauty of an exhaust pipe is in the ear of the beholder.

The neighbours of said beholder might be less impressed though.....

 

[Steve84N]

A lot of cars are sold through trade now, not many private sales. Therefore, the previous owner won't be able to tell you what's been done to it and those in the trade invariably know nothing about what they're selling.

The most common modifications can be seen/tested for. Stuck on splitters etc are visible or get it on a ramp to look at the exhaust. Not many people modify the engine internals and that may have paperwork that is preserved.

Some things like remaps and limited slip differentials regularly slip by unnoticed yet would affect the insurance. If you want to know for sure, stick it on a dyno or reflash it to stock/another remap depending on your preference.

Testing for an LSD is more difficult to do conclusively, especially in a means acceptable to the seller, ie not doing a donut. You can see if the wheels both turn the same way with them both off the ground and turning one by hand. That doesn't work for the commonly found Quaife differential though as it's not strictly an LSD, it's an Automatic Torque Biasing differential. Opening the fill plug and looking inside with a camera is one way of checking what type of differential is fitted.

 

[Spider10]

No paperwork for LSD means no lsd in my opinion or it's on the data card you would be surprised by how many advertisers say lsd and they haven't ,imo forget a remap or any other bhp upgrade until you have the lsd best money you will ever spend

 

[Steve84N]

Whilst many claim LSD and it's false, paperwork isn't being passed on anymore during sales by traders so it becomes very difficult to know for sure.

 

[Yex]

Lots of owners modify their cars to get larger BHP and Torque figures and as has been said above they won't let you not know about it and generally plaster it all over their adverts.

I'm always amazed when people want more performance out of an AMG car. I'd personally recommend getting driving lessons on a track day to see how good you really are before adding more grunt. If you aren't capable of controlling a standard car round corners properly you'll have no chance at all with more power.

 

[Rich764089]

Lots of owners modify their cars to get larger BHP and Torque figures and as has been said above they won't let you not know about it and generally plaster it all over their adverts.

I'm always amazed when people want more performance out of an AMG car. I'd personally recommend getting driving lessons on a track day to see how good you really are before adding more grunt. If you aren't capable of controlling a standard car round corners properly you'll have no chance at all with more power.

Having more horsepower doesn't mean you have to drive on the limit round corners. Not quite sure how you've made that link.

 

[Rich764089]

Lots of owners modify their cars to get larger BHP and Torque figures and as has been said above they won't let you not know about it and generally plaster it all over their adverts.

I'm always amazed when people want more performance out of an AMG car. I'd personally recommend getting driving lessons on a track day to see how good you really are before adding more grunt. If you aren't capable of controlling a standard car round corners properly you'll have no chance at all with more power.

Also, many people may think the power of your standard AMG is ridiculous/unnecessary/ dangerous, and that you should go on additional driving lessons before owning it. Learn how to drive round corners etc.
If you disagree with those people about your car (which I guess you do as you own an AMG) why try to impose your standards on others in exactly the same way?

 

[Steve84N]

The C63 M156 is relatively unique in how it was held back through a throttle restriction to make around 50-60hp less than the engine does in other OEM applications. Therefore, a simple remap is only unleashing the natural potential of the engine.

Having had mine both standard and remapped it's also not just about power, but how it drives. Standard the last 2.5krpm feels a bit flat, because it is as you hit the power plateau. Remapped there is a real zing to the redline that is much more exciting to experience and how an NA engine usually works.