Ryan's '10 Infiniti G37S 6MT Sedan

[WrxScooby]

Nice looking merc you got there, good future plans as well. Keep fighting the good fight!

 

[ildd]

Thank you, WRX.
For those wondering why I haven't posted the new radio pictures yet-
The damn thing won't turn on. Had to replace cig lighter fuse, had to tap HU 12v wire to it, had to switch a constant and ignition 12v wire and still nothing.
So I don't even have radio or A/C at the current moment. Nor any wood trim excluding the cup holder sliding thing

 

[WrxScooby]

Thank you, WRX.
For those wondering why I haven't posted the new radio pictures yet-
The damn thing won't turn on. Had to replace cig lighter fuse, had to tap HU 12v wire to it, had to switch a constant and ignition 12v wire and still nothing.
So I don't even have radio or A/C at the current moment. Nor any wood trim excluding the cup holder sliding thing

Its all part of that learning process haha I think we've all been there at some point. I know I have been there more then a few times haha

 

[ildd]

Thy beast hath been conquered!

Why did it take an extra week?
Because I'm stupid and didn't realize the cigarette lighter and radio fuses had to be changed

Any problems with the radio?
NONE. Except the FM/AM radio reception is horrid. But, I mean, who the hell uses that anymore?

Any interior problems after tearing everything out?
My cupholder door broke again... bought something called E6000 and letting it dry now but should be ready to go by the morning. And I lost a screw...and a clip on the vent broke off... but everything else is fine.

Does ___ work?
Yes.

Would you recommend me to do this to my car?
Do good research for your specific car. Germans really don't like its consumers so it will be easier for you.

Ask any more questions

Alright, I didn't take too many "before/during" pictures but here's a few.

Spoiler: big pictures

* Don't worry I covered up the spliced wire from cig lighter *and yes it was mandatory to switch yellow/red wire
Microphone- I went to 3 different stores (Lowes, Walgreens, HEB) and none of them had thin double-sided tape. I ended up getting little pre-cut square things from Walgreens for $3, which actually worked perfectly for what I needed them for. However, they weren't very sticky. I ended up having to use a little electrical tape to run the cord in the dash and up top where the microphone sits. This is, at the moment, the only real problem.
(yes. That little tiny cord in the corner)

Both the AUX cord and USB charger work. I'll keep the AUX cord tucked in the ashtray (which was removed) and most of the USB cable is also in there.

So... pictures of what all I can do now!

Pandora via Bluetooth! (Works very well, can thumps up/down on-screen, and can skip song through steering wheel (which works just like it should))

Two options are missing from the source list- "USB" and "DVD." Unfortunately, I can't select a song from my phone using the H.U. I have to use my phone. Oh well.

Home Screen

Flippin down for movie goodness

Yay! Phone calls! (According to my dad the microphone sounds 10x better than my actual phone)

Graphic EQ (8-band). So many choices... this sounds the best IMO.

I can't figure out how to add stuff to the "favorites" tab but who cares.

Final thoughts-
The sound is noticeably clearer. I'm actually surprised.
More bass.
Not distracting at all while driving. Though I haven't driven at night yet... but I can turn the screen off by hitting the "mode" button on the bottom.
Slightly annoying rant- if you take a picture while using Bluetooth, the sound cuts out for a 1/4 second. Meh.
Deep to my surprise, each source has a different volume. Pandora is good at 13, AUX is good at 15, phone call is at 12, Live Free or Die Hard was at 20...etc

Well worth the... *checks Amazon/eBay orders* $454 in total.

 

[Harry6784]

Glad you ended up doing it yourself. Looks great, like it came with it from the factory. How's the sound?

 

[ildd]

Glad you ended up doing it yourself. Looks great, like it came with it from the factory. How's the sound?

This actually was an option from the factory.
It was a $3,000 option.
In the end, I didn't buy it for looks, but it does look good in the car IMO. If only the kit had the wood instead of black plastic

Before, I'd give the stock radio a 8/10 purely based on sound. This bumps it to a 9.5. But... the features Easily make it a 10/10.

Thanks for convincing me It saved $150 but I think it was worth it. Even if I had to go a week with radio or A/C. Good learning experience.

 

[ildd]

Happy Murica Day!

I actually discussed this shot with @Doog a few days ago

Spoiler: crap pictures

This could have turned out better...

As could this one...

Yea these three all suck

At a fireworks show

*sat in trunk
Very typical BMW parking job. The stunt I had to do to get out...

 

[ildd]

Future Mods/Fixes...hopefully:

• 18/19x8.5 rims. Unsure of which ones. Definitely 5-spoke though, single or double per spoke. Current ones are 7 years old and my mom wasn't the best of drivers... tons of road rash and scratches.
• H&R adjustable Coilovers. Front would go down roughly 1.5 inches, back would go down roughly 1 inch. As much as I want to do this, it's the most expensive and wouldn't serve as great a purpose.
• Front AMG Bumper with projector fog lights. My bumper has a TON of chips/scratches in it and the right fog light is broken, so... yea. Plus they look badass.
• Possibly new windshield; has a bunch of dirt in it... very annoying and distracting. Already tried steel wool.
• Double-Din Headunit. Sound quality will be even better, plus I can watch Madagascar while on the highway! not really And I can use my phone again to play music/answer calls. Looking at the Pioneer BHS-5600. DONE, PUT IN
• Fix the sagging headliner currently being held up with thumbtacks.
• Find the annoying rattling(inside) I hear when I'm going at 40+ on an average road/highway. Something on the left side... FRONT LEFT SPEAKER
• Fix the cupholder done
• Vinyl wrap the roof with gloss black
• Fix the rear left door. Plastic piece fell off that registers it as "locked," currently an old air freshener takes its place. FIXED
• Replace left side mirror. The "auto-dim" feature broke while it was more than fully dimmed... 5 years ago.
• Fix rear sunshade because it A. Won't go down and B. rattles like crazy

Nothing mechanically needs to be fixed!

Record of Events:

• Some time in 2004- car was bought
• June, 2007- Car was rear-ended by a truck. Got new bumper and trunk; no structural damage. Trunk automatically opens now.
• Late 2007?- New rims/tires after hitting massive pothole which shattered 1 rim and dented another. Somehow suspension is unharmed.
• August 6th, 2013- car reached 60,000 miles
• March 11th, 2014- Car was serviced for the first time since 2009.
• March 11th-12th, 2014- Transmission fluid was flushed and got new gasket, brake fluid was flushed, got new rear shocks
• March 13th, 2014- Finally fixed the broken cupholder and sliding door over it.
• June 29th, 2014- Put in the DD Radio all by myself

Random Facts:
Tire size: 225/45/17. Yokohama YK580 tires. MB Classic Wheels rims; no connection to Mercedes, the company is named MB and the rim name is Classic Wheels...
It has a rear sunshade that pops up.
It has 2 cup holders in the front. Both of which are inconvenient.
Ash tray is used to hold change. Currently no quarters or dimes.
My cassette tape-to-AUX is stuck in the player. Only way to get it out is to remove radio...
It has brakes that emit brake dust that requires the front rims to be cleaned by weekly.
I you hold the unlock key while standing 1 inch outside the door, all the windows will roll down. Sometimes. Usually it doesn't work.

^updated

Now that it's been two weeks, I suppose I can give a little update.
First, let's get the radio out of the way. I'll come up with something more in-depth for Amazon, so I won't bore you guys out.
Everything on the radio is great. I have no problem at all using it, there is little glare from direct sunlight, the screen is very responsive and does the requested action "fast enough." The Bluetooth loads very fast, and I have had no problems with it thus far. Pandora works just as good, although it takes about 20 seconds for it to load up and start playing.
The "using a burnt DVD to play songs" idea was horrible. It plays each song by album and you have to go through 4 folders to change it. This was probably my mistake by burning it as a DVD drive and not as a Flash Drive. However, it takes literally a minute to start playing a song so it's not worth it. Still good for movies, however.
Of course, it still sounds as good as the old radio did. Just a little better. Handles the high's a little smoother. Steering wheel controls still working perfectly, and the only con from that is on the dash LCD, it just says "AUDIO -----" and doesn't say anything else. With the old radio it would say "TRACK 8" or "FM 92.9" for example. But, that is overshadowed by the full use of the 7" screen. No big loss.
Still a shame I can't mirror certain apps over to the screen, such as GPS, without buying a $100 cable. Oh well.
It charges the phone just fine; using GPS, Bluetotoh AND Camera at the same time, the battery went up 12% after one hour of driving (if unplugged, it would go down roughly 40%).
Overall review- 8.5/10, possibly 9/10


On to other stuff
I went to a "LKQ Pick a Part" place earlier today in search of a left mirror, front left speaker, rear left door jamb, hood emblem, front AMG bumper(in good condition and in silver; ha, right)and the sliding cup holder door because mine is still fudged up. They had one W203, which just so happened to be a silver 2002 C240 with black leather and the same color wood trim as mine!
View attachment 184804 View attachment 184805
Unfortunately, as you can see, it was pretty stripped down after already sitting there for 2 1/2 months. The only thing I came back with was the door jamb for $1.08. Online the part is $30 and at the stealership... maybe $70. I actually had a small conversation with a guy who was paying, he got a hose of some kind and a tail light for $10! He said "If you walk into a dealership with $10, you might get a couple bolts" and I responded with "Maybe a bucket of popcorn if they feel generous." Anyways, I'll have to see if I can find another self service shop and maybe go up there tomorrow or next weekend. I didn't do too much searching beforehand and only went to that place and came back.

 

[ildd]

I bought this because I had a little altercation with an F150 on Monday. Of course, they fixed the pothole two days later, but I'm putting it on regardless. (Nothing reckless, I promise, I just got a little close to his truck)
According to Ameer, I should gain 10-12 HP also.

(The blue background Is just tape, it's only white letters) now where to put it... The obvious place is the bottom right corner or top left corner of the back window.

I also went to two more junkyards today but neither had a W203. There was a nice W210 though, almost untouched. But nothing I needed would be interchangeable.

 

[ildd]

 

[Swara]

Great car man. It's not a "meh" Mercedes like a certain person on these forums stated my car to be. C classes rock!

 

[ildd]

Great car man. It's not a "meh" Mercedes like a certain person on these forums stated my car t
o be. C classes rock!

Wow how did I not see this
The W203's are certainly not "Meh!" Don't know why someone would say that, either out of jealousy or never rode in one...And with some mods they can really, really stand out (in a good way) should am owner go that route.
I had sent an email to a well-reputed vinyl wrap place in Houston and the quote they gave me was actually less they what I expected, although it's much more to re-do the window sills on the door than what I had expected, so I'll probably just get the roof done. Another thing that had caught my fancy was new mirror covers. They are SLS AMG-styled, and they are pre painted. Ironically, I found the item at the same time everyone on MBWorld.org did, and brought up a good point- the silver probably won't match right. I might just get them in black, but I'm unsure. If I do end up getting them in silver, and they don't match... waste of money (repaint would be too much). Looks like a job for GIMP.
Also, forgot to mention- I had gone to the Astros game for my birthday last friday and was hit. Nothing awful, but not pretty. Got all the insurance info but my dad nor me have had any time to do anything...

Unfortunately, metallic paint is expensive as hell, and wax did not take it out... There is clearly oaint missing. Tomorrow I'm going to try and clean it a little more and appky a little touch up paint... If that doesn't work, we'll have to file a claim.

 

[ildd]

I heard that taking videos of yourself driving was trending sooo here we go!

*most of the background noise is tape getting crinkled and moved around... because that's how I ghetto-made a gopro out of my cellphone!

 

[ildd]

Gave it a good wash today, played with the accident spot and it's not perfect but far from bad or very noticeable. Not going to file a claim cause the car has enough scratches as it is, two more won't hurt...

Unfortunately I'm working Saturday and Sunday, but I have Friday and Monday off. I'd like to get the vinyl put on either of those days

 

[ildd]

Got the roof wrap today! Took about an hour 20 min for installation time, was fun sitting in the receptionist room while she gave quotes to people who called. Really cheap compared to a paint job...
Sunroof up

Spoiler: more

Sunroof down

Back

And a close up. They said it will "settle" after a day or two in the sun.

 

[ildd]

Been a while since the last update. Went to a car show on Sunday, hit 68k going up there. Somehow managed to be going 68mph.

3k rpm at 68mph. Not exactly ideal...

And I accidentally parked next to a FRS cult.

Now, onto a bit more serious topic- new rims. These are the rims I have been eying for a couple months now. I'm expecting the tires to last until... next June-ish. Which is when I plan on installing the new rims; nothing wrong with keeping them in storage...The only problem with these is they are staggered. 18x8.5 in the front (235/40/18 tires) and 18x9.5 in the back (255/35/18). They'll fit under stock suspension but if/when I lower the front, I'll need spacers. NBD. I'd like you guys' thoughts on them, and feel free to reccomend a set.

 

[ildd]

I've recently been kinda in the market for a dash cam. My original plan was to wait until I get a new phone and then use my current phone as the dedicated camera. I got a universal phone mount and clip on lenses off Amazon for $24. Here's a couple test videos I took today, comparing both the wide angle and fisheye lens during daylight and at night.
I'm not expecting a single person to watch these, but for motivation... There's a Ferrari somewhere
And good music

 

[Doog]

"TURN YOUR LIGHTS ON!!!" - ildd, 2014.

 

[ildd]

Ok, last video. I promise. I had forgotten to activate the "sport mode" which greatly enhances the ability to see stuff moving. Wow, what a difference. My plan might actually hold up, although it's still a few months away.
Sport mode wide angle:

 

[ildd]

Mechanical update: the Crankshaft Position Sensor had to be replaced. I paid for the part with intention of replacing it myself, and then I was reading that it takes about an hour to do, assuming that you can find it through FEEL and was like "well cock, looks like the shop is getting some money from me my parents. The car wouldn't start if the engine wasn't cool enough and could stall if oh a longer drive. So that's fixed.

Today is a beautiful day and started thinking outside the box. I live in Suburbia, and what do all suburbs have? Old looking churches nobody goes to!

 

[Appie]

Great car man. Have a S203 CDI myself and i love it. Enjoy it 👍

 

[ildd]

.

 

[ildd]

Been a fair while since the last update.

Today was a good day for the car; got an oil change as it is now at 71,750 miles. After that, I went to a local car wash place where it got the inside and outside cleaned, including the windshield which is just absolutely fantastic and it looks new now. I tried everything I could to clean it and I couldn't do it. Also got a wax for the first time since... 2006? I don't have a buffer nor have I ever waxed a car. While I was sitting there looking at it in the line, I noticed something; the paint shines and looks better than on cars like an SL500, new 335i convertible, $65,000 SUV's, and it made me really happy. Even if it has some scratches here and there, the overall paint quality is almost unrivaled in my eyes.
As cool as it was, I'll continue washing it in my driveway by myself so I don't go bankrupt but it was a nice little treat for the car since I'm not too great at cleaning the interior.
The car has been mechanically sound and is enjoying these "low" gas prices (I'm stuck paying $2.65 but still pretty cheap!)
Oh, and here's the first batch ever with my new T3i. Warning: I'm not as good as @Doog and I am not responsible if your internet crashes.

Spoiler

 

[NissanSkylineN1]

You should lower it.

 

[ildd]

You should lower it.

I'd love to buy new wheels, tires, coilovers and brakes but I'd much rather have a "new" car. Trust me, I've done a ton of drops in GIMP

 

[ildd]

This happened Tuesday coming home from school. About 11:30 AM.

Spoiler

View attachment 296019 View attachment 296020 View attachment 296021 View attachment 296022 View attachment 296023

I don't know what will happen. The lady had some shady ass insurance I've never heard of, nor had our insurance agent (from AAA). I don't know if it will be totaled or not. I don't know if there's structural damage. Hell, I don't even know if the body shop rolled the windows up because it just rained hard here. As for how it happened, I was going down a main road about two miles from my house and she exited her subdivision without checking to see if anyone was coming. She had a stop sign, I was going about 48mph when I started braking. Hit her at about 30-35mph. Everything except the headlights will have to be replaced (maybe more), except the passenger side fender- I'm not sure about the drivers side fender. Of course, that's if there's no structural damage or if the radiator needs to be replaced. I don't have any injuries and luckily the airbag didn't go off. Her... well who cares, she lit up a cigarette before even getting out of the car. She seemed like a real dipweed and her husband was shady, too. She was given a ticket.
This may be the end, it may not. I have no idea when i'll find out anything because of the stupid insurance they have. I feel bad for our agent though.

 

[Harry6784]

Merc bumpers must be made out of myrrh for that to be considered totaled. Hope she pays out...

 

[ildd]

Merc bumpers must be made out of myrrh for that to be considered totaled. Hope she pays out...

It's going to need a new hood, bumper, grille, all the trim pieces, fog lights and the vents... then factor in paint and the labor and that's easily $3000. If it needs a new radiator, which I don't think it needs, or if there's structural damage, which I don't think there is, then it will be totaled.

 

[Crash]

Well, looking at the other side of things, the other party's car looks to definitely be totaled.

Good luck on your Merc. It's always sad to see a car meet its maker like this. Keep us updated.

 

[motortrend]

The bumper actually looks fixable, the hood I'm not sure about. Of course, this depends on the shop and if they use new parts or if they have the ability/tools to correctly fix bodywork. Headlights are pretty expensive so it's good they didn't break. I'd say $800-$1000 for the hood and $500-$600 for the bumper and other parts done right at a shop that knows what they're doing. My mom's X3 had a side crash with a nasty dented door and they fixed the door (more dissasembly than the hood) for $800. The car I used to have had an indentation across the rear bumper along with a small missing piece and that was all repaired for $350. OEM foglights and grills can't be more than $200 on top of that. Hopefully there is no structural damage and everythig lines up properly when assembled.