Basic C280 performance enhancements

[Eamo]

Just a few quick questions... I just got a '98 C280 and I was wondering about how much I stand to gain with minor performance enhancements (intake, chipset, exhaust) and what would produce better effects. I'm only looking to spend around $1000-$1500 but I hear a lot of negative press on a lot of different components out there and was just looking for some advice or someone to point me in the right direction.

[W202FTW]

The most you could probably do is run a chip and shed some weight off the car.

[siC36 AMG]

I have an AMG muffler if your looking to do exhaust. Has good low end torque and decent sound. (Too quite for my liking ).

[Sulaco]

Don't expect much. With full intake and exhaust, you might see another 20hp. As far as I know, the "chip" stuff is snake oil on a w202. Only instances I've read of where a reprogram was beneficial is in extreme cases where someone was able to fit a real turbo with larger injectors, requiring much more fuel flow under hard acceleration.