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Mar 31, 2020 23:01:42 GMT
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So, I reckoned it was about time I contributed after reading dozens of other Readers Ride threads. And with C-19 knocking about now seemed a good time to do a thread. A little of my car history from the last few years: I had a 1991 Merc 190E 2.5-16 for around eight years and did a hard 60,000 miles in that while also using another 190E, a 2.6 auto as a daily plus I had a failed project W124 300E (was getting a 3.0 24V engine with standalone EFI, manual box etc,etc) . I also bought a Honda Accord (my 4th, I'm a big fan) for daily duties as the 190 2.6 had by then mega mileage and needed a 'refresh'. Then I bought my current project the C230K, while having a Suzuki Ignis 1.5 Sport and a JDM Mazda Roadster (MX5) 10th Anniversary Edition. Anyway, I had a clear out over the last few years as I reckoned anything more than two cars was enough and I didn't have the garage space for more than that. The 2.5-16 was sold, got more than I was asking with three genuine potential buyers interested and I also sold off all the spare parts separately too. I was really sorry to see that car sold, I'd a great time with it but after (a well maintained) hard life it was requiring work. Truth being told I'd have only been happy to have the work carried provided it ended up perfect with some tasteful (read expensive) modifications, that would have meant spending twenty grand plus. I also sold the 190 2.6, got my full value out of that and it was overall the best value car I ever owned, as mentioned above the Honda took it's place. The 300E project was sold off to a friend who had the time and no shortage of skills. The Ignis Sport (what a laugh & a great little car) was sold too as I wasn't really using it and the MX5, just wasn't my cup of tea so that went also. Having said that it was a very good car, better again being a J spec version but I never got comfortable driving it even on a sunny day with the roof down and cruising county lanes. I was actually sad it didn't work out because they are a cracking little car with so much going for them. I also sold the Accord, as I really needed a hatchback and as I'm doing less daily mileage than ever so I got a Suzuki Swift. Now we've two Swift's in the household. No complaints, they do what they say on the tin and are trouble free and running costs are low, very low and then there's my old C230 Kompressor. Anyway, after that long winded introduction I'll be post on the Kompressor over the next few days. A few photo's. Sorry there're a bit plop.  1999 Maxda Roadster 10AE by Johnny Slow, on Flickr  1991 190E 2.5-16 by Johnny Slow, on Flickr  Merc 24.10.19 by Johnny Slow, on Flickr  SUZUKI-IGNIS-00 by Johnny Slow, on Flickr |
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Last Edit: Mar 11, 2024 0:42:18 GMT by Woofwoof
Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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Another rubbish photo but it gives you an idea.  24.10.19 by Johnny Slow, on Flickr It was fleabay special, bought on a whim really as I'd never come across a Kompressor Sport with manual box. So, I reckoned why not as it was cheap, the sills and jacking points were rust free, a big bonus, if they were gone I'd have passed on it. It had a long MOT, a reasonable 112,000 miles, little rust except some on the front wings around the arches, the boot lock and the bottom corners of two doors but it wasn't bad for a W202. The rest of the bodywork was poor thanks to a dent in the driver's door, lots of stone chips on the bonnet along with scars from bird droppings. The suspension & steering were tired, the tyres were mismatched winters but it drove o.k.'ish, started on the button and came with a reasonable service history and both remote keys were perfect. The engine pulled well and supercharger was kicking in when it should (it's clutch operated). I bought it in 2014, did some work on it over the next two years or so and then lost interest thanks to too many other cars and the 300E project. After getting rid of some of the cars I mentioned in my previous post I decided it was time to get the car fighting fit mechanically and sort out anything else that needed doing. A bit more poke and better suspension were high on my agenda but I wasn't doing much with the bodywork, just a touch up here and there and give it a good clean. A full respray was the only way to get it looking right and that was out of the question and being candid I wasn't too bothered about the paint. |
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Last Edit: Apr 1, 2020 1:06:35 GMT by Woofwoof
Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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Excellent - a bit of Mercedes love! I have the same engine in my SLK (albeit an auto) and I think it's a fabulous motor. Did once consider getting a C Class for more practicality but then had a go of mate's SLK and wanted one. My 02 came up for sale at work and was so cheap I had to get it. It's a bit crispy round the edges but doesn't owe me anything and it went through the MOT with no problems bar some minor advisories. Looking forward to seeing what you do with your C-Class  |
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Excellent - a bit of Mercedes love! It didn't start out that way far from it! Have a laugh at my expense.  My mate was the one that originally spotted it on eBay and then gave me the heads up, he offered to collect it with me too saying it's near Stoke which wasn't too bad, just straight up the M1 for us and we'd make a day out of the trip. All good, I bid and won. After arranging a collection day with the seller, I asked for his address. He was in Newcastle but not Newcastle under Lyme near Stoke, it was fooking Newcastle upon Tyne! That was an extra 110 miles each way...A real stupid mistake and I've got to take the blame, after all I was the one buying. So, as you can imagine the purchase was already soured but as this was my first S/charged car I was still keen and just as well because the guy selling it seemed a bit down on his luck , so it was good karma to buy as agreed. |
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Last Edit: Apr 1, 2020 19:32:06 GMT by Woofwoof
Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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Can’t beat a W202
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Fraud owners club member
2003 W211 Mercedes E class
1989 Sierra sapphire
1998 ex bt fiesta van
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So, the first item I needed to attend to was tyres. Four winters of mixed brands were not doing the car any favours, so I had opted for new Bridgestone Turanza's alround and a wheel alignment. The Bridgestone's were great value at the time, wet grip was excellent. As you might suspect the car was transformed but not perfect, still new tyres are nearly always an improvement but can't hide other suspension issues. I've changed the Bridgestone's since. Here's a shot of them, fronts after 15,000 miles, still ok'ish but the rears were on 2mm (good news as it means they were gripping) . Would buy again if the price was right.  Next up was the shocks. I normally buy Bilsteins but this time I got a good deal on Koni yellow Sport adjustables (mono tube). This gave another improvement to the ride & handling, more so than the tyres. I suspect the Sach shocks that were on the car were originals. One regret concerning the Koni's is, they are not on car adjustable, this proved a pain in  . I should have bought the Koni on car adjustables (adjustment knob at the top) even if they are twin tubes. I doubt very much I'd have noticed any great difference between the mono & twin tube. Live & learn.  IMG_20200401_163259495 by Johnny Slow, on Flickr Here's a promo vid from Koni, it clearly explains the different type of adjustable shocks. It's just pity I didn't look at it first before buying! www.google.com/search?q=how+to+adjust+koni+yellow+sport+shocks&oq=How+to+adjust+koni+sport+&aqs=chrome.4.0j69i57j0l6.1576024j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#kpvalbx=_4Q6FXqqFBpii1fAP842cwAM31 |
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Last Edit: Apr 1, 2020 22:43:00 GMT by Woofwoof
Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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I did give the car the mother of all services, it got the lot and some.
I'm a great believer in preventive maintenance and fitted a new CPS, MAF,Coils, Cam Magnet (inlet cam), Cam sensor and PCV hoses & valve. All of these are known potential issues on the Merc M111 engines and from what I could tell all of those parts looked original. I shopped around and didn't rush into buying, mainly online with a good few items coming from Germany - sometimes parts were 50% cheaper for brands like Bosch, Febi, Lemforder etc. Ebay.de did throw up some major savings but using Google.de sometimes beat the eBay prices.
That's all very good if you're not in a hurry for parts, I wasn't so it allowed me to keep costs down. I don't know what the total cost was but it was worth doing just for peace of mind and giving me some confidence in the car as it's my first S/C car and the first Canbus car that I'll be looking to gain a few more ponies from.
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Last Edit: Apr 1, 2020 22:41:46 GMT by Woofwoof
Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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They've a lot going for them alright. I'd actually go as far to say as a daily driver they're a better car than a BMW E36 and definitely a better motorway/long distance car. Hard to believe they first came out 27 years ago! This is my 3rd, the cheapest by far, most powerful too but the worst cosmetically. |
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Last Edit: Apr 1, 2020 23:03:59 GMT by Woofwoof
Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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Going back to the subject of suspension, the item I changed next was the springs. The original Merc sport spring were still fitted but were rather rusty looking and I wasn't too sure how tired they were. I opted for a full set of Eibach Pro-Kit. These are suitable for up 1.5''/37 mm drop, they do offer a Sportline version that allows even further lowering, 1.5'' is more than enough my the car. Currently, I'm messing about with the ride height using these springs and different spring insulation rubbers that come in various thicknesses. I'll get back to this later in the thread. Anyway, the handling was generally improved again with the new springs but now three problems became very noticeable. 1. I had a slight intermittent knocking coming from the n/s/r, it had become worse 2. the car wandered on deceleration from 'high' autobahn type of speeds and 3. the most serious, was on 'A' roads while pushing on the car would suddenly understeer while going from one sweeping corner to another, it almost heart stopping. Here's photo of the springs. This is a front, rears are a progressive type.  |
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Last Edit: Apr 2, 2020 0:32:40 GMT by Woofwoof
Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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3. the most serious, was on 'A' roads while pushing on the car would suddenly understeer while going from one sweeping corner to another, it was almost heart stopping. No surprise the culprits were both front lower wishbones, the bushes were totally fcuked, sums it up nicely. A very common issue on 80's - 00's Merc's. I've no problem with the wear on the bushes themselves, nudging 20 years old with 120k miles on them what could one expect? The problem with these wishbones is you can't see any wear while the w/bone is on the car and even using a lever or bar on the arms may not show up much. The front lower ball joints are similar, to have any hope in working out their real condition they need to be disconnected.  IMG_20200401_173434581 by Johnny Slow, on Flickr Here's the bush. It's actually a void design but it ended almost as a complete void.  IMG_20200401_173423547 by Johnny Slow, on Flickr I replaced both wishbones and while I was at it the ball joints too with Meyle HD (heavy duty) versions. Getting there now, the car's handling/ride still is not 100% but I've no concerns about driving it. A big win in my book. Next up was to add a few extra horses. |
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Last Edit: Apr 2, 2020 23:57:56 GMT by Woofwoof
Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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Oh, I almost completely forgot to show the state of the bodywork. Front wing, similar on both sides.  Driver's door.  Driver's door again. Made worse thanks to somebody in Tesco's car park hitting.  Bottom of doors, rust in the corners and this door had also been attached by a bird dropping.  Boot lock area.  |
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Last Edit: Apr 2, 2020 21:52:11 GMT by Woofwoof
Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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The bonnet.  So, all in all the paint work was curse word. Then again you wouldn't notice it on a galloping horse! Just, as well I'm not too pushed about it but I did make the effort to secure a driver's door and a bonnet in the same colour. I gave up after being on the look out for a while, what I saw for sale wasn't exactly in great condition. Anyway, I'm told rust & patina are in... |
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Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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The engine. These M111 S/C versions are reasonably pokey from the factory with 193BHP @ 5300 rpm. A nice plateau of torque too, 206 FTLB between 2500-4800 rpm. They use a Roots M62 with a clutch, it's a clever system. Max boost pressure 6.5-7 psi. Interestingly, this four pot has the same power as the C280 (V6) with more torque along with a better spread of max torque. Since I had some working suspension & fresh tyres the next port of call was more power. A larger crank pulley, an alloy slip over job was fitted giving 10 psi boost and almost 7 psi at a prod of the throttle. Then I had an Evolve generic remap done by a Devil Developments in Littlehampton, nice guys to deal with. The result was an overall increase to 225 BHP @ 5700 RPM and 235 FTLB. The difference was very noticeable and good value for the money. Happy days, that will do me just fine. More power can be extracted from these motors, anything up to 285 BHP with a ported S/C, smaller S/C pulley, injectors and a larger I.C. etc but you'd need somebody to live map the ECU, sadly finding someone in the U.K. seemed impossible and nobody seemed interested in doing it as it was an old Bosch ECU. The other option is to fit a Piggyback and plumb in two extra injectors. Another option is to turbo it (the bottom end is forged and I understand it's safe for 400 bhp) but that's a whole different ballgame, sort of defeats buying an S/C car in the first place imo and you'd still have to get the ECU live mapped.   Here you can see the alloy slip over. These come from some crowd in Germany and are supplied with grub screws and a larger belt. I didn't fancy using the grubs so had crank pulley drilled and the larger pulley ring bolted in.  Damper Modified 001 by Johnny Slow, on Flickr |
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Last Edit: Apr 5, 2020 20:06:25 GMT by Woofwoof
Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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Another thing I forgot to mention while working on the suspension, was spring removal. I had a set of those hook & threaded bar spring compressors but they are no good from the Merc springs. I used these below. They make life simple, real easy to use and safe. And it saves disconnecting the lower arms while keeping a jack under the arms .   |
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Last Edit: Apr 2, 2020 23:34:05 GMT by Woofwoof
Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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I still had few issues/faults to sort out but none were stopping me from driving the car, which I used several times on round trips from London to Dublin. It proved it's worth as a good long distance machine with enough poke to make rapid progress. We later moved to Ireland and the car was left parked up, undecided what to do I eventually collected it from London. And then parked it up again ! I suppose now, the next posts could be considered phase 2. More work carried out, more mistakes, more spending but I started to use then car again. And I'm glad I did even if it's worth sod all. I have to say I enjoy driving it, the Kompressor engine still feels like a novelty after all this time, that has to be good right? |
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Last Edit: Apr 4, 2020 22:44:12 GMT by Woofwoof
Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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From here on, is where I go my finger out and committed myself to getting the car right and do a few mod's in the process. Intercoolers. Now, this is a difficult subject (for me) in the sense what's actually the right size for a the car with it's extra boost pressure thanks to the larger crank pulley and the generic remap. When all the parameters are taken into account, that's if I had them all and of course that's presuming I understood them too, which I don't. So, I'm unsure what shape, size, type etc I should fit. Answers on a post card please. First, the original I.C. (plastic end tanks) is past it's sell by date, after all these years there's corrosion in the core, some road debris trapped there also, even after cleaning and there was damage the core fins. At the time it wasn't leaking which was the most important aspect. To my mind it always looked a bit small, which in itself is meaningless as I've no hard data to back that up. The other noticeable design quirk is the kinked inlet & outlet pipes, that can't aid boost pressure flow. Now, the kinks are there because the A/C condenser pipes are routed that way on non S/C C-Class's, so I presume Mercedes decided the easy way to design the I.C. is to suit the A/C. In a nutshell adding an S/C to the M111 engined C-Class was an afterthought it seems to me, unlike the same era SLK, which no doubt was designed from scratch to fully incorporate an S/C on the M111 engine. This view is supported by the fact that C-Class I.C. has a 153 cubic inch core (17 x 4.5 x 2) while the SLK has 198 c.i. core (22 x 4.5 x 2) - making the SLK core 30% larger but with the exact same engine! Therefore, to my logic the standard C-Class I.C. is too small and possibly far too small for an S/C providing more boost pressure over standard. I can only surmise that it was restricted space at the front of the W202 led to a smaller I.C. being fitted as stock. Makes sense too, as it's difficult to fit a bigger I.C. without chopping metal and the bumper to fit it - ask me how I know.... Original I.C.  Original I.C. by Johnny Slow, on Flickr |
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Last Edit: Apr 4, 2020 19:58:12 GMT by Woofwoof
Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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Intercooler upgarde. This became tricky. I didn't want to spend mega bucks on a new custom built I.C. and I didn't want an off the shelf poorly fitting, poorly flowing I.C. either. But it was obvious I'd have to compromise. After looking around at options for sometime suitable and taking on the comments and views on SLK's, general info on the interweb etc I ordered a CXRacing I.C.. They are cheap, fairly popular, bar & plate design and they had one design that just might fit without chopping up the front of the car. $107 delivered to my family in CA and then sent on to me, can't complaint and if it doesn't work out no big deal. The new I.C. is a bar & plate design and far heavier than stock I.C., it's far bigger too with a core of 295 cubic inch (21.5"x5.5"x2.5) which is over 90% bigger than the old stock I.C.. Yep, it seems too big but then again it's only 50% bigger than a stock SLK I.C. and running more boost than stock this I.C. might be o.k., as in I won't lose any real pressure at the T/B? This became tricky. I didn't want to spend mega bucks on a new custom built I.C. and I didn't want an off the shelf poorly fitting, poorly flowing I.C. either. But it was obvious I'd have to compromise. After looking around at options for something suitable and taking on the comments and viewponits, general info on the interweb etc I ordered a CXRacing I.C.. They are cheap, fairly popular, bar & plate design and they had one design that just might fit without chopping up the front of the car. $107 delivered to my family in CA and then sent on to me, can't complaint and if it doesn't work out no big deal. The only downside from the off, is they are more suitable for turbo's rather than S/C's, beggers can't be choosers... CXRacing.  W202 C230K. New I.C. by Johnny Slow, on Flickr  W202 C230K I.C. & Vents by Johnny Slow, on Flickr It didn't fit perfectly as it was sitting a little proud and that wouldn't allow the bumper to sit back fully but it wasn't bad either and I could live with it. The bottom line with this new cheap I.C., it gave lower I.A.T.'s but lowered the max boost pressure by 1.4 psi. I prefer the max boost pressure so refitted the stock I.C. but one that was all alloy, i.e. no plastic end tanks. As you can see, I had to lose S538TKU plate and cough up, pay VRT (vehicle import duty) and get an Irish reg number. T hat hurt a bit considering the little amount that the car is actually worth, the duty was almost the same as I paid for it originally! |
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Last Edit: Apr 5, 2020 17:01:07 GMT by Woofwoof
Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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Here's a photo of the all alloy stock I.C. (no plastic end tanks). These are fitted to C250 diesels.  All alloy I.C. by Johnny Slow, on Flickr The idea behind getting one of these is that it will be easy to get a larger core fitted, thicker in my case ( giving a 50% increase in core size, matching the SLK overall core size plus 20%) and then it will still mount without any issues and it's far cheaper than a complete custom I.C.. I bought a used one for 30 quid which is currently fitted to the car. I also bought a new one for £90 which I'm going to fit soon and then have the old one ready for re-coring at some stage. The other advantage being all alloy is that it should act a better heat sink, assisting cooling where the plastic can't.  New I.C. by Johnny Slow, on Flickr |
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Last Edit: Apr 5, 2020 17:02:47 GMT by Woofwoof
Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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As well fitting the new all alloy I.C. I made a few other minor modifications to the induction system. A popular mod is to relocate the MAF from directly at the I.C. outlet closer to the throttle body. This eliminates an engine hesitation/flat spot between 2500-3000 RPM, it's all got to do with boost pressure air resonances (don't fully understand it myself) created by the increase in boost pressure over stock. It's a simple mod and works a treat.   |
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Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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I also fitted the later ( plastic) T/B inlet rather than the original metal one. It's fitted to the later S/C engines which use the small Eaton M45 charger. The plastic has a much nicer radius (not as sharp), plus it's got a divider inside, the metal one didn't . I presume that aids/smooths air flow at boost pressure. Has it made any difference? I don't know being candid but since it was free I reckoned there was no harm fitting it. I did have an issue with the boost hose coming adrift, so I fitted good new wide band hose clips and changed the pipe setup slightly.   One thing I have been meaning to experiment with is different Maf's. I've tried a standard Pierberg (Merc use Bosch) didn't notice ant difference but didn't do any logging on the OBD scanner. I also have two other Bosch Maf's, both for BMW's E46/E39's & E60's. So between two possible Maf locations and four different Maf's I've a fair bit of experimenting to do but I;m not expecting massive results possibly just problems. What I can say is, I did run the car a few years back with the BMW M5 E60 Maf and the increase in torque was really impressive but I ran into a problem after 250 miles of driving, the S/C clutch would disengage and would only engage after switching off and starting again. The only way to overcome the cutting out was disconnect the battery for 30 mins, and then it was good for another 250 miles. What I presume was happening, during the 250 miles the ECU is going thru it's learning phase and then decides it doesn't like the MAF signal output @ wide open throttle . It's real pity as it drives great with the E60 Maf. |
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Last Edit: Apr 6, 2020 20:24:00 GMT by Woofwoof
Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!
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