My modified 1993 500E.
The last great Mercedes supersedan.
The 500E is an awesome car. If you don't know the history and pedigree there are few sites you can visit:
http://www.mercedesshop.com/500e.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_500E
What I love most about this car is that it's an absolute sleeper. At the stoplight, Joe Schmo in his Mustang GT will look over and smirk at the clunky old w124 next to him. But as the cross street traffic slows for their yellow light, the flared fenders catch his eye. "Hm, nice body kit" he thinks. But then he sees the 17" forged racing wheels wrapped in fat 285/40 rubber and hears the bored out 6.3L V8 rumble as I give him a taste. A single bead of sweat forms on his forehead as the light flashes green. And the only clue he gets as to what just showed him how it's done a second later is the chrome "500E" badge quickly getting smaller and smaller ahead of him. It's a great feeling.
I don't have to be racing another dude to feel good in this car, though. Making the motor sing with the gated transmission is plenty fun all alone. Even the twistys are fun, despite the car's high mass. It's not maneuverable like an M3, but it can still corner without problems. And all of this in traditional Mercedes comfort. The interior is not perfect with respect to ergonomics but it still feels great to sit in. This is the ultimate driver's car.
A few significant modifications have been made to this car over the years.
Exterior:
-The entire car was repainted after a serious accident but it's the same color as it was new: gorgeous Pearl Black which I think is one of the nicest colors Mercedes offered in this vintage. Only problem is it shows dirt and light damage easily.
-Plastic cladding painted from light gray to match the Pearl Black sheet metal. This was done almost immediately after the car was purchased. Now it has a much more uniform and stealthy look.
-17" FIKSE PROFIL 10 FORGED MODULAR RACING WHEELS. These things just look incredible.
-285/40 RUBBER IN THE BACK, 245/45 IN FRONT. Right now I'm using Kumho Ecsta ASXs. The car used to have PZeros on but they wore out too quick, sucked in the rain, and cost too much. The Kumhos aren't the best and I'll be putting some Goodyear Eagle F1s on soon.
-HELLA EURO HEADLIGHTS. The old US Spec Bosch lights looked great and had the wipers but a) were awful in use, and b) were hard to find when they needed to be replaced after an accident. The new lights look good, I think, but I miss the wipers. I've kept the amber turn signals as I don't like the clear look.
-BORLA POLISHED DUAL SQUARE ANGLE-CUT EXHAUST TIPS:
http://www.borla.com/products/product_multi_detail.aspx?cat=3&type=64&desc=Polished+Tips|Dual+Square+Angle-Cut+Intercooled. They're showing their age and have lost some luster. I may replace these soon. They go great with the Borla exhaust system on the car (see below).
Drivetrain:
The original 5.0L engine from the factory was a monster. Still, enough is never enough. Here's what's been changed:
-BORED TO 6.3L. This was a costly mod but the most worthwhile. Where the car was a beast before, it's a screamer now. I can usually get 0-60 in under 6 seconds and can nail most modern factory sports cars. A stoplight warrior as well as a fantastic autobahn burner. Horsepower's been increased and simply put this car will go fast. The heads were also ported and polished during this modification.
-STAINLESS STEEL BORLA EXHAUST. A custom-built exhaust system since Borla did not and does not carry a setup specifically for the 500E. The old tuner managed to use a "connection" to get a special high-end system from Borla for this car. Makes for a great sound when revving.
-ASR DEFEAT. The 500E came with a non-defeatable traction control that cuts engine power when the gas is mashed or a corner is taken hard while accelerating. It's very useful for daily driving (the engine is far too powerful for RWD alone; you would spin the tires all day just leaving the parking lot!) but too intrusive for any kind of performance application. A popular mod among 500E owners is to wire the ASR so it can be defeated by flicking a custom-installed switch. Mine is done up so that deactivates when the snow tire button is pressed. This lets you spin the tires all you want, but you can cut the gas less than the ASR would and boost acceleration times. Very useful. Right now this isn't functioning due to some faulty wiring, probably thanks to the guys who installed my stereo. I'm trying to get this fixed.
-FIRST GEAR START. This is another popular mod. Like most Mercedes', by default it will start in 2nd gear from a stop to conserve fuel and make for smoother driving. Stomping the gas will make it start in 1st, but that engages the ASR. Wouldn't you want the option to start slow but be able to kick it up a notch half a second later? Just in case that BMW next to you wants to go when you thought he didn't? That's what this does. Notable problems: For about a minute after starting the car, it will stick in 1st until it warms up and only then will shift normally. You have to drive slow for a bit and get used to the scary sound of high revs at low speed. Also, the car can be a bit jerky when driven normally now. Small price to pay.
-NEW ECU AND RENNtech CHIP. The original tuner for this car was an expert at tuning the factory Mercedes chips to suck as much performance as possible from it. However he was a crook and actually STOLE that chip as well as many others from other owners. In any case a different tuner, John Wickstrom, was able to secure a RENNtech chip and installed it. The most useful feature is here is the removal of the 155 MPH speed limit and that alone makes it worth it.
-NEW PISTONS, VALVES, AND RINGS. Obviously these were needed to fit the new larger cylinders.
-RACING CAMS. Replaced the stock cams but I'm not sure of the brand.
-NEW CRANK BEARINGS. These didn't need replacing as much (the new ones are almost the same) but were replaced anyway.
-CUSTOM CROSS-DRILLED BRAKES. The brakes were professionally drilled at a machine shop.
-BRAIDED BRAKE LINES. Stainless steel lines all the way through.
Stereo:
The factory speakers and head unit were trash and always sounded pretty awful. The truth is the interior dimensions of the car make for a pretty difficult soundstage and apparently it's hard to make any system sound good for the driver and all passengers. Some stereo guys did a few upgrades and I have mixed feelings. The stereo for this car will likely be my next project.
-PIONEER DEH-3700MP HEAD UNIT. I have to be honest, I do not like this head unit much. The interface is confusing and the screen does not display enough info. It does sound good, though. I'm using this with the iPod adapter which is also not great, but it works.
-PIONEER 4 1/2" 2-WAY SPEAKERS IN DASH. These are actually the only speakers that were replaced. They have good treble response and so anyone sitting up front has good sound. The poor bastards in the back seat have to deal with the factory 3-ways behind the headrests, which for some reason had the tweeters disengaged. Even after I reconnected them the sound is muddy and bass-heavy. Not helping matters for them are the...
-2 8" SUBWOOFERS IN REAR PARCEL SHELF (UNKNOWN BRAND). This was a custom install to add some much-needed bass to the system. The problem, as I said before, is for anyone riding in back. They get a facefull of bass thanks to the muddy factory midranges behind their heads and now the subs. The subwoofers went where the first aid kit used to be and are covered up by a custom-made fabric grille. In the front seat, the sound is terrific. When I want to I can crank these bad boys up and get major thumpage, or tone them down and get more accurate bass response to compliment the highs coming from my dash speakers.
-CUSTOM AMPLIFIER. This amp was "custom made" by the guy who did the stereo. I don't know much about it except that it's purple and it's mounted in the trunk.
Photos:
These last two pictures just below are from the March 1997 issue of European Car Magazine, which featured this car and the tuner at the time, Stuart Schikora.
