• The Forums are now open to new registrations, adverts are also being de-tuned.

Mercedes Performance - Talking cr*p?

Iyse

Active Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2004
Messages
292
Location
Leamington Spa
Car
Porsche Boxster
I called up someone from www.mercedesperformance.co.uk the other day to talk about possible mods to my W202 and I was still left a little confused as to a few of the things he told me.

1) Hearing a lot about fitting an induction kit messing about with the MAS meant I asked him if the induction kit THEY did would give me the same problems. It's a Ramair induction kit and he said it wouldn't affect the car apart from ofcourse, giving it better performance. Is this true?

2) Following the induction kit, I also want to fit a new exhaust. Do I need the WHOLE system replacing, or can I just get the back box replaced? I was told the whole system replacing was the way to go. If I do only need the back box replacing, where can I get a decent looking, dual exhaust that will make my engine sound louder, and how do I go about getting it fitted?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
 
Well, I have only added an induction kit and catback system to my 306 1.6, it sounds faster, but was not noticably faster.

It sounds great and I love driving it. But I would say that without a rolling road I could not see any difference from one to the other.

I doubt that really answers your question, but it is the best I can do :D

I would say if you want a faster car, fit a turbo or buy a faster one. :eek:
 
Yeah, but I'm only 19... So a 1.8 is really all I can do on the insurance. Modding it seems to be the only route to get it primarily louder, and secondary quicker, simply because anything that makes it too fast is gonna mess up my insurance.

Please, can anyone help??
 
Well, if you modify your car in almost any way the insurance company can get shirty.

Could become costly.

I would say that the induction kit will give you the most noise. Unless you had a silly exhaust fitted. We did the exhaust first on the pug, that didn't make it much louder, but I didn't get a silly one. After the induction kit was fitted, it growls like a lion. It's hellish. Bit noisey on the ears when doing long journeys.

I hope that helps

Dave
 
Do you want to make the car faster or just louder....?

If it's faster then you need to look at the engine's 'breathing', first an induction kit may help more air get in, if you talk to someone about getting the head 'flowed', that will also help more air get in, a good fast road cam could help (nothing too lumpy) and then a full 'high flow' exhaust manifold and system. It could well be that the std ECU couldn't cope with a cam so you may need to have it mapped/chipped.

All this may get you an extra 20/30bhp if done properly. The big question is how much money have you got, as just the cam could cost anything from £100-300...?

To answer you question properly, if you only change the back box then there is still restriction in your standard exhaust system and you won't get that much more grunt, just noise.

edit: this suggestion is primarily for N/A cars. Anything with forced induction would benefit from other changes too.
 
Last edited:
The only inexpensive thing you can do for the W202 (if it's a Kompressor model) that will add noticible power is to put a pulley kit on it. Then you will definately feel the extra power.
 
Birds of Uxbridge

Hello! Finally another 19 yr old with a merc! Same model too! Same engine :bannana:

Anyways, I brought my car down to Mercedes Performance (also known as Birds of Uxbridge as they now do BMW cars). They do know their stuff. They are good, but the can also be qutie rude towards younger drivers (jealousy? :P) Anyways, as I said they know what they are doing, but they also know that as they are so good, they will overcharge you for their jobs (arch folding, 300£ and up...)

As for your exhaust, let me try to clarify. The engine is like a man with a washer stuck in his throat, that effectively reduces the amount of air that can go in and the amount that can come out. Why, you may ask? Well, this makes the car ALOT more silent, and also allows some of the petrol to remain unburnt and thus is more efficient in the long run.

So, if you fit a new back box, you have helped the man breathe, but just barely, as the main problem is the piping to the back box. If you want a job well done, want to hear a good increase in sound (I'm not saying a new back box wont increase sound, it will, but not as much as a new system) get a whole new system. My recomendation is to buy the tailpipe from birds (merc perf... Im afraid I can't quote their prices, I cant seem to place their catalogue in the mess that my room is) but if Im not mistaken the one I liked cost 80 each. So 160 per pair. Then either open a mag like redline, max power or fast car; find someone who custom bends exhaust pipes and get them to do it with the tailpipe you chose from birds (or use one of theirs if you don't want the brabus look). OR get quik-fit to do it. I have not tried kwik-fit, but I have heard some stories. From what i hear, theyre cheap (120£ on special offer), but their exhaust will live exclusively the warranty period then fall apart (3 years on the stainless steel). Another option is to buy a welding station and weld a pipe yourself, but this is a-hard work, b-alot of work, c-YOU MUST MUST MUST have welding experience.

Now for your induction kit. If you want to hear what an induction kit would sound like on your merc, pop your bonnet, open the box to your air filter (on the left hand side when you look at the car from the front, if you need pics I can email them over, ask binaryone<@>blueyonder<.>co<.>uk. Now with the box open, grab a clean cloth (something from poundland will work), put some oil over it (to protect the engine from dust entering it) and have a mate start the enging. Don't run it for more than 30seconds like this as dust is still enterring; our diy filter isn't the best :P . The sound you get will sound a bit deeper, but not much unless you have a clear way for the air to go out (your exhaust).

My recomendation? Change your exhaust, the whole system. Use birds/merc-perf only if you have alot of cash to spare. If you don't (like me) find someone who is will custom bend an exhaust for you, shop around. Get quotes. Then choose a compromise between your wallet and the cheapest. Try to get a warranty on the system for at lest 3 years. The better ones will last 10/20 years, with warranty. If you still have cash to spare, you might consider an induction kit, but remember, the merc air filter (at least on my car, a 96/97 W202-180) the OEM filter kit and all is nowhere near bad. It is most certainly comparable (probably better, but don't have a meter to check)(performance wise) to the Max Power forced induction kit. Which brings me to another point, a forced induction kit has a nozzle at the front of the car (or on the bonnet) which, as you drive faster, gets air rammed into it. My W202 has this as standard; and yours too probably (if not, the members here will probably flame me ;) ) To check, follow the pipes coming out of the box, one should goto the engine the otehr to a hole in your lower front bumper, forced air, voila! So my recomendation for an induction kit is to phone those (un)charming people at merc-perf/birds, and ask them to see a demo car with the kit they offer to install. If they refuse, ask them to show you the unmounted kit. In any case, ask them to produce some test showing its performance is at least as good as the OEM one (this is a point where sound and performance go together).

Hmmm, I think I've covered all my points. Oh well, my car is in the garage, I'm putting some fake vents to see what they look like (impresa style in the center, and smaller nissan GTI style on the sides (lumps)). When its all fitted I can post some pics.

If you really want to mod your merc a bit more, post or email me, I'll be more than happy to share my experiences as welll as a list of mods I've tried on a W202.

Regards,
Spinal

QUICK EDIT!
This is all true for my C-class; W202 (C180); NON COMPRESSOR! (Insurance...) And if anyone can give me some rough ideas on what prices of turbo conversions are I will be very grateful!
YET ANOTHER EDIT!
One thing that birds does do whihc is exclusive is super-chipping. They actually flash your chip and put new performance/fuel tables; they do NOT put a 50p resistor on the fuel sensor line, as you can find on eBay. (universal 12/20/10bhp gain advertised on ebay). Although fitting a resistor does work, too much petrol puts too much strain and fouls up your engine.
THIRD EDIT
Yes I know Im getting tedious, but I keep forgetting things. What version of the W202 do you have? Mine is an esprit, which is merc-lowered by 30/35 or 40mm compared to the standard. If you have the esprit, don't even LOOK for lowering springs (unless you feel like fitting 13inch wheels :P). My current setup is 18inch wheels, standard esprit springs, rolled front arches (rear done as standard) and slightly pulled (also known as flared) front and rear arches. The wheel are too big (width wise), but unless I bring the car to its operational maximum load, I don't have problems. Another recomendation, change the speakers!!! Mine were nokia, and trust me, they suck!
Spinal
 
Last edited:
Spinal said:
Anyways, I brought my car down to Mercedes Performance (also known as Birds of Uxbridge as they now do BMW cars).

You are suggesting that www.mercedesperformance.co.uk and www.birds.uk.com are the same operation?

Mercedes Performance I doubt the abilities of and Birds are a very well known established company. Not sure I believe they are one and the same, nor what I would make of it should it be true!
 
Emm 23 Yr Old with 180 Here same call looking for some cheap mods to improve keep the insurance down with the smaller engine. But the choice of spending on Mods or saving to a newer Merc????
 
Spinal said:
Hello! Finally another 19 yr old with a merc! Same model too! Same engine :bannana:

An excellent informative response, BUT have you informed your insurance company???

I'm sure you have because if you are ever unfortunate enough to be involved in a serious accident, your insurance MIGHT well be invalid because of any 'modification'.

It is the insurance that pays out if a 'bread winner' becomes incapacitated as a result of an accident and believe me if that poor person has a young family and mortgage they will be in VERY deep doo doo's if they cannot claim against the insurance company.

Good luck with any conversion, but PLEASE ask your insurance company for a quote BEFORE taking the plunge.

KInd regards,
John
 
Hello again! Hmmm, very odd. I was under the total impression that the two were the same. Well then, my comments all referred to birds of uxbridge; sorry for any confusion. I am sure I contacted merc-perf, but I am just as sure that the place I drove my car too was called Birds. Oh well...
And yes, another point I forgot to mention is you MUST inform your insurance company. Now, if you care for your wallet, you wont call them and say "I decided to mod my car and am putting a new exhaust to gain prformance and sound"; but you will call them and say "I inspected my old exhaust and was not happy with the results. (its up to you if you want to say a little white lie liek there was a hole in it or it was corroding), therefore I need to change it. I have decided to buy it from such-and-such for their price (say for price! dont say for looks, you're trying to tell them you don't want ur premium to go up!) and will have it installed by such-and-such for price and quality reasons." They didn't give me any troubles over a new exhaust, (no induction kit fitted yet, still looking for someone bold enough to prove their kit is better than the merc one). They did give me some trouble over my nice 18inches, but generally if you threaten that another company has given you a quote INCLUDING the wheels that matches theirs without hte wheels, they wont change; they like customers usually.
On a personal note, I think Ill contact merc-perf now. I have their catalogue printed (I did find it) and just automaticcaly assumed merc-perf and birds are the same. I wonder if birds has a catalogue (I've been calling htem holding merc-perfs catalogue, lol :D)
Spinal

EDIT
(Yes I realise its becoming a habit) But someone mentioned "pulleys". I can't find this in my trusty haynes. Anyone care to explain what they are, what they do, and what an upgrade would do? Thanks!
Spinal
 
Last edited:
Spinal said:
And yes, another point I forgot to mention is you MUST inform your insurance company. Now, if you care for your wallet, you wont call them and say "I decided to mod my car and am putting a new exhaust to gain prformance and sound"; but you will call them and say "I inspected my old exhaust and was not happy with the results.

Hi Spinal,
Thanks very much indeed for putting my mind at rest.

Regards
John
 
glojo said:
Hi Spinal,
Thanks very much indeed for putting my mind at rest.

Regards
John
Lol! Don't worry, I need insurance, otherwise its harder to make my running over my neihbor look like an accident :P On a more serious note, Iyse how much do you pay for insurance? Im currently paying just under £600 with one years british driving licence. (They didn't accept my foreign licence which I've had since I'm 14... I wonder why... :P)
Spinal
 
Spinal said:
Lol! Don't worry, I need insurance, otherwise its harder to make my running over my neihbor look like an accident :P On a more serious note, Iyse how much do you pay for insurance? Im currently paying just under £600 with one years british driving licence. (They didn't accept my foreign licence which I've had since I'm 14... I wonder why... :P)
Spinal

christ! £600 for a 19yr old isn't bad for a Merc C Class! I didn't pay much less for a VW Passat and I'm *mumble mumble* years old :p

I must move out of Manchester!
 
Been there, done that, wasnt impressed so sold the car!!

I had a C180 and was not too impressed with the performance, I bought a K&N filter, made a very, very small difference. I paid a lot of money to have it chipped and it was still slow, so I sold it and bought a diesel.

I have messed about with the tuning of the diesel, mainly just to see what is possible, I took it from 150bhp to close on 200bhp and I reckon it could easily get up to 220-230bhp with a few little mods.

Whilst the performance is pretty quick and amazing for a diesel, I have reverted back to standard apart from the Remus exhaust, which I would probably sell given the opportunity and put the standard one back on.

Seriously, listen to what the others have said, save your money and buy a bigger engined car.
 
Would love to know who you are insured with!
I'm also 19, had a C180 from 17 years old and the insurance companies pulled my trousers down for the pleasure of it.
Now I've moved on to the W208 the insurance companies are doing more than just pulling my trousers down! - But its worth it!!!
 
Last edited:
I'm currently insured with direct line, but not as a primary driver. I put all the blame on my father who has a 30+years no claims bonus. So he pays £390-something and I pay an extra £192.
 
I'm with Direct Line, first driver, it's £1900 a year. Hopefully next year it'll be cheaper with 1 years no claims. :) Spinal, I've PMed you with info etc.
 
Spinal said:
I'm currently insured with direct line, but not as a primary driver. I put all the blame on my father who has a 30+years no claims bonus. So he pays £390-something and I pay an extra £192.

Hi Spinal,
Does this option generate any No Claim Bonus?
Your decision is probably financially based (no criticism whatsoever), but would it be nice to be self supportive? Again no criticism is implied and if the premiums are too expensive then perhaps earning a nice no claims bonus on a cheaper or smaller powered car might be worth considering?

My son found Directline to be the cheapest for his particular requirements, but no doubt other members have found cheaper companies.

Take care,
John
 
If you want a quick cheap and dirty performance jump

Using Shells Optimax or BP Ultimate for at least 4 tanks of fuel usually gives you a bit of added ummphhhh.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom