I have a 1988 190E 2.6L and I was wondering if there were any things I could do to it that are relatively cheap and easy to do that would make it faster. A friend told me that I could get 20 more hp by just getting a better air filter. Is true and where could I get a better one for my car?

for little or no $$$:

...easiest way to make any car faster is to get rid of all the extraneous junk in the cabin and trunk (making the car lightest possible)

next easiest way to make any car faster is to drive around with only a 1/4 tank of gas and remove as much of the interior you don't need, (then go after the luxury items in the car)

hope this helps
-fad

This is a pretty common question that does not have a good answer. Until you are at the "top" of the model lineup, putting any money into a car rarely gets you anything that "trading up" wouldn't. To max performance I'd start by making sure the ignition system is in order....spark plugs, cap/rotor, wire check. Then make sure you have a new OE/OEM air filter. If that checks out, then you pretty much are where you are going to be without doing major work and $$$ to the car. For more speed you could go up to a 300E/E320 or even 400E. You can easily resell anything you "trade up" into, reselling a turbo'd or whatnot car can be a nightmare. That said, there is one other option but do be careful with it. You can probably run a nitrous system (no more than 50-75HP) for not a whole lot of cash. Its pros/cons are pretty obvious so not much more to be said there. Other than that just learn where/how your car is strongest and learn to drive/use its strengths.

Hope this helps,
Lee

I have found that no matter how much $$$ you plough in to make the car go faster, you don't get the same significant returns. It may run smoother and be more responsive, but thats about all the returns there are. Then again, it might also go the other wy and you'd find a rough engine/idle with hard start-ups.

Want a better performance? Get another engine or upgrade.

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... Kerry

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