Greetings all,

I recently acquired a 1998 C230 (117,000 miles) in a somewhat depressing state and have been working at turning it into something more serviceable. I've found a very good shop (Subaru of Santa Cruz has an excellent Mercedes repair division, if any locals are interested). I took my car there recently for brake pads (among other services) and had been given a set of proper spec aftermarket pads prior to the visit. I asked the shop to show me how to put them on however, the head mechanic strongly objected. He said that the OEM components for that car (both pads and rotors) were made from notably softer materials than any aftermarket products and it was wise that I used OEM pads and rotors. If I did not, my pads would eat the rotors or visa versa (with a half-OEM solution) because the softer material will be the first to go. Going all aftermarket was not a solution due to the amount of vibration transmitted to the car during braking. Apparently this car is designed for very smooth soft and quiet stops and it will shake itself to pieces much more quickly if non-OEM spec components are used in vital placements. I am not entirely sure what to believe. I have pulled back the aspect ratio of the tires to 50 (rather than the stock 60) to improve handling which naturally would cause the car to suffer more vibration. I am thinking of installing some new stiffer suspension components to help diffuse some of the nasty body roll and dive however, these harder suspension components would further increase vibration.

I want to know if there are any other opinions out there about this matter? It's not that I don't trust the mechanic, he has 40 years experience after all, and performed an excellent speedy and fairly priced service on my car. Multiple opinions are always valuable to me, any you lot have would be great.


My plans for this car initially are as follows:
- Replace the brakes with something a little more aggressive.
- I have already added aftermarket bulbs and an additional driving light array (practical, not cosmetic).
- Switch to 17x8 wheels (non-staggered) with 50 aspect tires.
- Install new struts/shocks, springs, control arms, and roll bars (a quick look at the car tells me that I'll probably need to do some shimming in the rear).
- I had placed a new differential on my list tentatively (the lack of limited slip on the stock one is a bit painful near the limit).

Information on the wisdom of these modifications from a pragmatic perspective would assist me greatly. I am not trying to create a track car, simply a car for the streets that is enjoyable to drive in bends. I am of course willing to sacrifice some ride quality for it, but I will not be pushing 40 aspect tires or impossibly stiff suspension.


Finally, does anybody have any ideas about the difficulty inherit in converting this car to a manual transmission? My cursory look at the underside and the general assembly leads me to believe it would be both expensive and time consuming to the point of impractical.