Best valved exhaust for Mercedes-AMG GLC43 X253

Your vehicle.

All our exhausts for this generation, version by version, are brought together on one page: Mercedes GLC X253 Valved Exhaust.

The GLC 43 holds a special place in the X253 range: between the four-cylinder GLC 300 and the V8 GLC 63, it is the six-cylinder AMG SUV, the one you drive every day. Before choosing a line for it, here is its story, its engine and what its factory exhaust lets it say.

Body style

X253 SUV; the Coupe version carries the code C253

Years

Launched in 2016, facelifted in 2019; product page: model years 2020 to 2022

Engine

M276: 2,996 cm³ V6, two turbos

Factory output

390 hp (287 kW) and 520 Nm since the facelift; 367 hp (270 kW) before

Drivetrain

AMG Speedshift TCT 9G; 4MATIC Performance, 31% front and 69% rear

Tailpipes

Four round tips, two on each side

Valves

Switchable AMG Performance exhaust, standard or optional depending on the market

The first mid-size SUV from Affalterbach

Mercedes-AMG presented the GLC 43 4MATIC in spring 2016, at the New York show, as its first mid-size SUV. Sales began in June 2016, and the Coupe version, with its sloping roof, followed in the autumn of the same year under the code C253.

In July 2019, Mercedes-AMG unveiled the facelifted GLC 43, as both SUV and Coupe. The rear gets a more expressive diffuser, and the V6 gains 23 hp. Our product page covers this facelifted version, model years 2020 to 2022. Is your GLC 43 from 2016 to 2019? Send us its VIN: its compatibility is examined before any part is launched.

The next generation, X254, changed the recipe: its GLC 43 moves to a 2.0-litre four-cylinder. It is not covered by this product page, nor are the GLC 300 or the GLC 63, which each have their own line.

Before or after the facelift: recognising your GLC 43

The simplest way is to look at the power printed on the registration certificate, in kilowatts: 270 kW, or 367 hp, for the first series; 287 kW, or 390 hp, for the facelifted model. The drive programmes give another clue: a GLC 43 whose selector offers an Eco mode belongs to the first series, while one that shows Slippery in its place is a facelifted model.

At the rear, the facelifted version is recognised by its redesigned diffuser. If in doubt, the VIN settles it: it gives us the car's production date, and we check it before launching each build. It is also what tells an X253 SUV from a C253 Coupe, whose rear bodywork is not the same.

This check has a simple reason: a Rog line is built to order, for one specific car. It is better to clear up every doubt before the line is produced than after receiving it.

The M276 V6 and its 390 hp

Under the bonnet sits a V6 from the M276 family: 2,996 cm³ and two turbochargers. At launch it delivered 367 hp, or 270 kW, and 520 Nm between 2,500 and 4,500 rpm. The facelift raises it to 390 hp, or 287 kW, available from 5,500 to 6,000 rpm, without touching the torque.

With these figures, the facelifted GLC 43 goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds and tops out at 250 km/h, the performance of a sports saloon in a five-seat family SUV. The factory values from the product page appear below, next to those of a full tune with front section and remap.

Stage 2: published figures with the front section and an ECU remap carried out by a tuner.

Nine gears and four-wheel drive

The AMG Speedshift TCT 9G gearbox, a nine-speed automatic, sends torque to the 4MATIC Performance all-wheel drive. Its split clearly favours the rear: 31% front, 69% rear. The GLC 43 thus keeps lively handling in corners, with the confidence of four-wheel drive on wet or snowy roads.

The SUV rides on a sport suspension built around Air Body Control, an air suspension. For the exhaust, none of these elements changes anything: the Rog line is the same whatever the car's settings and equipment.

The AMG Dynamic Select programmes

The driver sets the behaviour of the GLC 43 through AMG Dynamic Select. At launch there were five programmes: Eco, Comfort, Sport, Sport Plus and Individual. Since the facelift: Slippery, Comfort, Sport, Sport Plus and Individual. From 2016, Mercedes-AMG specified that Sport and Sport Plus were tuned more dynamically on the GLC 43 than on the regular GLCs.

These programmes act on engine response, on gear changes and, when the car is equipped with it, on the exhaust. The AMG Performance exhaust, with switchable flaps, was supplied as standard or as an option depending on the market and year: its flaps then follow the chosen programme.

A tone the SUV keeps to itself

The 3.0-litre V6 has a deep, dry voice, less round than a V8's, but lively on every throttle blip. The two turbos absorb some of the pulses, then the factory mufflers, designed for customers who want a comfortable SUV first, erase most of the rest. From outside, the GLC 43 sounds much better behaved than its 390 hp would lead you to expect.

With the Rog line, flaps open, the V6 thickens as soon as you ask for load, and pops clearly when you lift off, without becoming heavy on a holiday drive. With the flaps closed, the SUV goes quiet again: an early start with the children asleep in the back happens without any extra noise.

The GLC 43 product page offers no choice of resonator: the line has a single character, that of the V6, and it is the material that shades its tone. 304 stainless steel gives a full sound; titanium, which lightens the line by about 40% for an identical layout, sounds clearer in the revs, with three finishes to choose from at the same price.

AMG valves or Rog remote

If your GLC 43 left the factory with the AMG Performance exhaust, the Factory option on the product page lets you keep its flaps: the Rog line arrives with their mounting points, your garage refits them, and AMG Dynamic Select keeps deciding. We check your VIN before building.

The Rog option suits every GLC 43, equipped or not: the line is delivered with Rog flaps in place and a two-button remote. Open, they stay open even in Comfort; closed, they no longer move, even in Sport Plus. A small box finds its place in the boot.

Front section, power and fitting

The product page also offers the front section, under the name "Manifold": the catalytic part that follows the V6's turbos. Three versions: a 200-cell sport catalytic converter, whose emissions control stays active and which suits a family SUV; 100-cell, to be validated depending on the car and the country where it runs; or a version without catalytic converter, reserved for circuits, a rare place for a GLC.

The cat-back alone keeps the factory AMG management and its 390 hp: it changes the voice, not the power. Extra horsepower comes through the front section and a remap at a tuner. The line is produced from your GLC's VIN; your garage then fixes it with clamps and gaskets, without welding.

Configure your exhaust.

How the exhaust is put together

On the GLC 43 X253, our cat-back connects behind the catalytic front section and runs to the four round tips, carrying mufflers and flaps. This front section, which follows the V6's two turbos, is ordered separately on the product page, where it is called "Manifold".

Each choice explained in detail, from sound to material: How to configure your exhaust.

Three recommended configurations.

• Family SUV

  • Stainless steel
  • No manifold
  • Rog remote

  For a GLC 43 that takes the family out every day: the V6 makes itself heard when you decide, the factory catalytic part stays put, and a button brings calm back before school.

  View this configuration

• Mountain roads

  • Stainless steel
  • 200-cell sports catalytic converter
  • Factory AMG flaps

  For a GLC 43 with the AMG Performance exhaust that loves mountain passes: more presence thanks to the 200-cell front section, emissions control kept, and your AMG programmes in charge.

  View this configuration

• The most assertive

  • Gold titanium
  • 200-cell sports catalytic converter
  • Rog remote

  For a GLC 43 that wants to stand out: titanium lightens the rear of the SUV, its gold finish can be glimpsed under the diffuser, and the V6 sounds clearer at high revs.

  View this configuration

From order to fitting.

VIN, manufacture, delivery, fitting and warranty, step by step

Questions.

Further reading.

• All our Mercedes GLC X253 lines
• Our exhausts for V6 engines
• Mercedes-AMG GLC63 X253 guide, twin-turbo V8
• Guide to the Mercedes-AMG C43 W205