Wald C230K Date: April 17, 2004 Article: Norm | More by this author Photos: Norm

1999 Mercedes Benz C230K Owner: Jon Pek Location: Burlingame, CA Website: www.eurosportiff.com Car shows come and go and so do the owners and their cars. To do it for 4+ years and continue to win award after award with the same car means something is being done right. Jon Pek's 1999 Mercedes Benz C230k is one of those cars with all the right touches, having won award after award in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. His car hasn't stayed static all those years; it has continually evolved and transformed to continue its winning streak.   Question & Answer Tell us a little about your background in the import/sport compact scene. I started out like any other car enthusiast. I attended car shows, was inspired, and built my first show car in 1997. Two years later, I matriculated into another show car, which I took all over the US from 1999-2003. What do you do for a living to help pay for the car mods? I used to be a Wealth Management Advisor with Merrill Lynch. I have also deejayed over the last 10 years, and was fortunate enough to meet the right people that helped me gain national and international exposure. Ultimately, a day job in the financial industry and a night job as a DJ paid for the mods. Over the last two years, I've run my own wholesale distribution company, which distributes for companies such as WALD Japan, VITT Japan and Rinspeed of Switzerland. Although they are gaining in popularity in the sport compact scene, Benzes aren't normally the first car people think of when they think "modified" Euro. What made you go that route as opposed to say BMW or Audi? I've always been a Mercedes guy. I wanted to build something I was familiar with, yet at the same time unique from the rest of the Euro crowd. You have an impressive list of awards over the years for this car. What led you into the show circuit? I used to compete in IASCA car stereo competitions back in 1995 when they were big in the West Coast. As the sport compact tuning market kept growing, and more parts became available for all sorts of cars, my interest grew. Is this your daily driver or just a show car? I daily drive it. How much power is the C230k putting out? Have you ran it at the 1/4 mile? Never ran it on the 1/4 mile. Last time we dynoed it, it put out about 260hp to the wheels on the dyno with the nitrous. Any funny or interesting stories about your car? Nothing that I can think of. I was used in an eBay Motors national ad campaign in 2003. It's funny to hear people ask me, "hey is that your car in the ebay ad" or "was that you in the ebay ad?" What is your favorite feature or part of the car? I've always like the interior. Although I've only had the suede interior about a year, when you go suede, you never want to go back. It's so damn comfortable. What other cars do you own now, and have you ever significantly modified any of your current or previous vehicles? I also own a CL55 AMG. The previous 1995 Mercedes C280 was strictly an IASCA vehicle. What's on deck next? The CL55 AMG is gonna be a new "basic" project. I guess by basic I mean: Toyo Tires, WALD wheels, WALD body kit, WALD exhaust, Stoptech brakes and a couple engine goodies which have already been installed in the car (those include a Kleemann supercharger, Kleemann headers and a Kleemann slip differential). The stereo was laid out with a basic audiophile setup which entailed MB quart Q-series mids and tweets, Kicker solobaric subs, and Sinfoni amps. The whole interior wood panels will also be redone in a silver carbon fiber finish. We'll debut the car at SEMA this November.   Car Specs Engine and Drivetrain 2.3L supercharged & intercooled inline 4 CT Custom Made Crankshaft Pulley GIAC Custom Tuned ECU Chip Topline Auto Custom Built Cams Nitrous Express 75hp EFI Kit w/ custom brackets Bosch Modified Fuel Pressure Regulator K&N Intake Panel Filter Benen Industries custom intake pipe Supersprint Headers WALD High-Polished Cat-back Exhaust Powdercoated "Red Baron" Coloured Valve Cover Polished bypass valves, fuel rail and throttle body Benen Industries custom made aluminum ECU cover, fuse box covers, radiator cap & intercooler cover Suspension Eibach Pro springs Koni Sportline adjustable shocks Eibach front & rear lower sway bars Wheels and Brakes Wheels: custom 3-piece Axis Se7en's 19x8.0" (F) / 19x10.0" (R) Tires: Toyo T1-S 235/35ZR-19" (F) / 265/30ZR-19" (R) Front brakes: Porsche 993 Twin Turbo 13" rotors, Porsche 4 piston calipers, Pagid race pads & Fischer brake lines Rear brakes: Porsche 996 Monoblock 12" rotors, Porsche 4 piston calipers, Pagid race pads & Fischer brake lines Exterior 4 Piece WALD body kit ES Technical custom made carbon fiber hood Zender trunk lip spioler Vollström carbon fiber roof wing Hagus 2 piece sport mirrors HID PLUS H-7 low beam HID PLUS H-1 fog lights Schatz Tuning grill Wald hood emblem Interior Street Concepts full suede interior Carbon fiber leather accents and door inserts Ivory VDO cluster gauges AutoMeter boost, EGT, nitrous, fuel pressure & voltmeter gauges in fiberglass enclosure Brabus carbon fiber / leather steering wheel Vollström carbon fiber door sills Nitrous Express stealth switches Benen Industries custom made billet pedals WALD floor mats In-Car Entertainment (I.C.E.) Pioneer AVH-P7500DVD TOUCHSCREEN Pioneer 6-disc changer Rockford Fosgate Symmetry Rockford Fosgate EP-28 equalizer Soundstream Picasso amp x 2 Soundstream Sleeping Beauty amp x 2 MB Quart Q Series 1" tweeters in dash MB Quart Q Series 6.5" components MB Quart Q series 5.25" coaxials in rear door MB Quart Q series 5.25" coaxials in trunk MB Quart PWD 254 10" dual voice coil subwoofers Alumapro 5 farad capacitor Custom made kick pods Interstate MTP-93 battery 30+ Hyper blue LEDs Full custom fiberglass panels Awards 2003 Best Mercedes, Import Revolution, San Mateo, CA 10/11/2003 1st Place Mercedes, Nopi Nationals 2003, Atlanta, GA 9/21/2003 Hottest Euro, Hot Import Nights, Los Angeles, CA 8/30/2003 5th Place 4 Door Mild, Hot Import Nights, Los Angeles, CA 8/30/2003 Hottest Euro, Hot Import Nights, Seattle, WA 7/19/2003 1st Place 4 Door Mild, Hot Import Nights, Seattle, WA 7/19/2003 2nd Place Sound Presentation, Hot Import Nights, Seattle, WA 7/19/2003 3rd Place Sound Presentation, Hot Import Nights, Long Beach, CA 5/24/2003 Hottest Euro, Hot Import Nights, San Mateo, CA 4/5/2003 3rd Place 4 Door Mild, Hot Import Nights, San Mateo, CA 4/5/2003 2002 2nd Place Sound, Import Revolution, San Mateo, CA 08/31/2002 2002 Best Mercedes, Import Revolution, San Mateo, CA 8/31/2002 1st Place Mercedes, Evowerks Tuner Show, Cupertino, CA 7/20/2002 2002 Hottest Euro, Hot Import Nights, San Mateo, CA 4/27/2002 Hottest I.C.E., Hot Import Nights, San Mateo, CA 4/27/2002 3rd Place 4 Door Mild, Hot Import Nights, San Mateo, CA 4/27/2002 1st Place European, Import Auto Vibe, San Francisco, CA 4/6/2002 2001 Hottest Euro, Hot Import Nights, San Mateo, CA 10/06/2001 4th Place 4 Door Wild, Hot Import Nights, San Mateo, CA 10/6/2001 2nd Place Hottest Lighting, Hot Import Nights, San Mateo, CA 10/6/2001 Best of Show, IMA Festival, Sacramento, CA 8/4/2001 1st Place 4 Door Euro, IMA Festival, Sacramento, CA, 8/4/2001 Best Euro Exotic, Extreme Import Autofest, San Jose, CA 7/22/2001 1st Place Luxury/Exotic, Import Saga, Vallejo, CA 6/9/2001 3rd Place 4 Door Mild, Hot Import Daze, San Mateo, CA 4/28/2001 2nd Place European Class, Import Showcase, Sacramento, CA 4/22/2001 1st Place Luxury/Exotic, Import Saga, Vallejo, CA 3/10/2001 Best of Show European, SEMA Intl Auto Salon, Long Beach, CA 2/10/2001 1st Place USAC 1-150 Watts, SEMA Intl Auto Salon, Long Beach, CA 2/10/2001 2000 4th Place 4 Door Mild, Hot Import Daze, Irvine, CA 10/14/00 Sedan Showoff, Battle 2000 / Import Showoff, Fontana, CA 9/2/2000 1st Place Euro, Import Summer, LA Harbor College, CA 8/26/2000 Best Stereo Sound, Import Summer, LA Harbor College, CA 8/26/2000 Best Luxury, Faime Import Fest 2000, Sacramento, CA 7/22/2000 1st Place Mercedes Class, Import Showoff, Pomona, CA 7/16/2000 5th Place 4 Door Mild, Hot Import Nights Mega Show, San Bernardino, CA 6/15/2000 Best of Show, Import Jamz 2000, Daly City, CA 6/04/2000 Best of Show, Import Jamz 2000, Sacramento, CA 5/21/2000 Sedan Showoff, Import Showoff, Marina Redondo, CA 4/29/2000 2nd Place 4 Door Mild, Hot Import Nights, San Mateo, CA 4/08/2000 Hottest Euro, Hot Import Nights, San Mateo, CA 4/08/2000 Evosport.com Booth, LA Auto Show, Los Angeles, CA 1/07/2000 Sponsors and Shouts-out Simon Atik / Brad Otoupalik - Evosport Sue Antkowiak – Valvoline Synpower / Eagle 1 James Chen – Axis Wheels Zim Gwee – Topline Automobile Brian Havins – Nitrous Express Andy Disatapundhu – ADM Graphics Hidetoshi Miyazato – Wald Co. Ltd. Japan Ken Montes – Benen Industries Brian Sherman – MB Quart Shawn Williams – Street Concepts Gregg Vandermark – Toyo Tires

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