smgC32

Who's going to call Jason at Quaife NA to follow up?

RLS

I e-mailed him this past Friday. He is good on replying so I should hear from him this coming up week.

RLS

OK, here is what Quaife has to say;

"Hello Bob,

Jason is no longer with QuaifeAmerica, so I will be pleased to assist you.

As Jason had suggested in his last email to you, we were "hashing out a few things with our dealer that is slowing the process a bit." Essentially, the deal never went through with the dealer, so we have not been able to go to production with the units. I will try to get that going again. If no dealer steps up, we may still go to production for distribution directly from us, but we will need to see more interest than we have heretofore seen. If this happens, we will not decide for sure until the end of the year. Any help you can be to drum up interest in our ATB Differential will help bring this product to market sooner. Thank you for your continued interest in our product.

Kind regards,

Harleigh Williams
Quaife Aftermarket Manager"

This means we need to get organized and let Quaife know how serious we are in wanting this product. Any suggestions on this will be appreciated.

Bob

m3_eater

I suggest that someone (Bob? anyone? Beuller?) agrees to assemble a document containing the names/addresses/forum handles/? of people that are serious about purchasing. It's too early for deposits, but if they saw a list of actual names instead of just an enthusiastic forum thread, that might be just the vote of confidence they need. The list would probably have to also contain the type of car (C32 or C55) that each interested party has - I'm not sure if the diff is interchangeable between cars.

Forgive me for not volunteering - I'm buried under work so I'd not be effective in that role. Besides, I'm too new to the forum and most of you don't know me yet.

RLS

How about we start by finding out exactly what cars have the same differential as the C55. I myself have no clue, so does anyone reading this know? or have a way of finding out?
This way, we can go on the other forums for each one and see who is interested.

Bob

Vadim @ evosport

Judging by MB parts guide following cars share the same diff:

- C240 - manual
- C230K - manual/auto
- C32
- C55

Different gearing, of course. Diff might fit other pumpkins, but that will need to be confirmed.

So let start the list: (just add a number and a name)

1. Vadim

Zeppelin

1. Vadim
2. Zeppelin

smgC32

1. Vadim
2. Zeppelin
3. smgC32

smgC32

RLS, how far along did the other dealer get to? "...so we have not been able to go to production with the units. I will try to get that going again..." Does this mean that they already have the donor parts in England?

Very frustrating that this has taken so long. I believe it was over a year ago that we tried to get this going. The bigest hurdle is getting the donor parts (diff housing, diff, CV joints) sent to Quaife so they can peak around and "fit" together the correct parts in their bin to make it work. Quaife England would prefer for Quaife North America to handle the transaction, and that is fine if they do it. It sounds like they just may and this is good news.

We should start a letter writing campaign to Quaife expressing our interest for them to undertake the project themselves and market it directly. I have had a Quaife unit in my track car for over ten years and it performs flawlessly, with little wheel spin even on tight circuts like the Streets of Willow allowing me to run a 1:29 in a little 325is.

The C32 is in dire need of a LSD, especially in tight corners and especially with extra hp and tq, where the wheels seem to spin more than they stick. Some will say that the C32 does not need an LSD, but I will say, with all due respect to these owners, that they are not driving their car to its full potential out of corners, or are not spending time in the corners, but in a straight line. In my opinion, the C32 needs an LSD more than any other car I have driven. The amount of inside wheel spin I experience is ridiculous. If you don't care about going fast and prefer to drift, the open diff is quite fun and I do spend some time "hanging out" just for kicks, but I find that the inside rear tire is smoked twice as fast as the outside tire.

We need this for our cars and any other MB product that will accept this unit will appreciate what it has to offer if they push their cars hard. Would you like me to contact Harleigh?

Vadim @ evosport

I spoke to Harleigh this morning.

This is why I started a count.

Without hard numbers we are just wasting his time.

otoupalik

Gang,

Seems like the past becomes the present. We tried to do this over a year ago and we could not even get 5 people to put down a deposit. Well, maybe timing has changed the market, so let's try again.

If we can get 15-20 GUARANTEED people, we will do it. Quaife wants a run of 30, and we will guarantee the rest as I am sure we can move them in our wholesale network once made.

So, assume a price between $2000 and $3000 (the more people, the lower the price). We can install them in SoCal, and give a list of certified installers nationwide.

If serious, then e-mail me (brad@evosport.com) and let me know how series. I will keep a count here in this post (will edit to keep count updated).

1. PE - 2003CLK55 (need ot verify fitment)
2. Vadim
3. smgC32
4. My_c55
5. Zeppelin
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

Let's get this done!

Thanks,
Brad

smgC32

Hi Brad. I don't want to start another arguement on this subject matter, but with all due respect, why should we involve another dealer (EvoSport or any other) at this point in time, as it appears that Quaife NA is willing to produce these LSD's as part of their production offerings, rather than a tuner supplied unit? I think it makes sense for Quaife to add Mercedes to their lineup. If enough MB owners in the USA are interested, they will do it. By going direct with the manufacturer, the cost per unit will be less than if purchased by a tuner dealer. Street price for this particular unit should be $1,100.00 as quoted by Quaife last year. In order to get this pricing, an individual would need to guarantee a minimum order of 30 units. If we look at the previous threads on this subject, Quaife is willing to make 1 unit only for a price of $5,000.00. The more units made, the cheaper the cost. I broke it down previously. I can only assume that you will take a typical retail mark up on the product if you supply them as a tuner offering, where Quaife direct will not. You are entitled to make a profit to stay in business, but this particular product would be best handled directly through Quaife. Everytime an end user is about to make progress with a manufacturer, you jump in and try to take over the deal. I guess that is the risk one takes on a public forum. However, if this is the only way I can get a Quaife unit, through EvoSport, because that is the way the deal pans out, than I will buy it from you, hopefully close in cost to what Quiafe's pricing would be.

RLS, what is your take? Zeppelin, still have that swiss bank account?

smgC32

In a previous thread, a Kleeman representative stated: "...The C32AMG has a "large housing" V8 rear with "early" W140 planetary gears, the new C55 has the 600 bi-turbo planetaries..."

Vadim, can you confirm this for the C55 users?

niall

i have a quote from kleeman for 2900 installed for their LSD.
that was with a dealer --so marked up as well

niall

smgC32

That is a good price for their unit. Usually $2,300.00 for the LSD. That would put installation at $600.00. Go for it and let us know how it is!

Although an improvement over stock, I still think that the locker style units will still spin in tight corners when the locking percentage is exceeded. The Kleeman will delay the slip longer than the AMG unit being a 60% design over a 40%, but the beauty of the Quaife is 0-100% at all times.

otoupalik

No offense taken at all. I think you have misunderstood. Quiafe has been working with us on this, and the order never happened as nobody committed. They are telling us they want to do it through a dealer. If you guys can do it direct, go for it. No worries on my part. I think that it will be impossible to put the numbers together and make it happen (it was impossible for us before), so we offered to make up the difference in #'s in order to get it done. Again, no offense taken, and we are simply here to help. Yes, we need to make a profit if we sell them, but that is the way business works. If you all can do it direct without us - more power to you!

Thanks
Brad

smgC32

Sorry Brad, didn't know it was you guys. Why don't you just make a small run at a higher price? How about 10 units? This would put the price right around the Kleeman unit. Did you lend Quaife NA/England donor parts for fitment and all that is needed is to place an order as they have the specs ready to go?

My_C55

1. Vadim
2. Zeppelin
3. smgC32
4. My_c55

otoupalik

I think that the main reason is that Quaife has told us they want to do 30. Less then that and they are not interested in doing it for us. If they decide to do it direct, then they wil do smaller numbers. Nothing is ready as of now.

Thanks
Brad

430

If it will fit the SLK32 Diff count me in.

RLS

This thread was started to let others know what Quaife was doing about making an LSD for the C55 and see what kind of interest there was for one from Quaife.
I find it very wrong that a dealer would all of a sudden post on this thread that they are willing to put together a deal to help us? By the way, I do not think the C55 differential is the same as the other C's. It has to take a lot more stress, and uses bigger gearing. This is what I was told when I was looking for 3.48 gears.
Now that we know that Quaife is waiting till they see a strong interest for such a unit, why would we bring in a dealer? If we are able to show Quaife what they want to see without involving any dealer, it sounds to me, that they will put it in their catalog, and not charge an arm and leg for it like some other places might do.
If a dealer is what all want, then let them do it all. Let them take the gamble on how many will sell. If everyone would rather try to save a little, then we need to put some effort in it ant let Quaife know. As I stated before, the first step in doing that would be to find out what cars use the same differential.
That's my 2 cents!

PTE

Brad & RSL:
It looks like we may need to know 2 things

#1 If Quaife makes a TBD(torque biasing Diff) for MD owners, I would hope that the Model usage spread , would cover some other cars that Just the C-55. Is there some commonality ?? to C-32 , Clk 500 or CLK5.5 amg and so forth. There is interest coming to light from other threads. Like myself I have a 03 CLK5.5. But watch this post because there are some similarties and it seems to me to be very active , more so than the W-209! Just look at the Numbers As you probably already know , the wide the spread the higher possiblty of more confirmed sign ups.
#2 We may need a path or Vehicle to express our willingness , too Quaife . Maybe a private message / sign up sheet , and Credit card down payment with confirmation
Put Me down for one. I've been waiting for this too reopen/resurface again. ___PTE___

CynCarvin32

BINGO

EVO should not try to profit from forum users wanting a product. They want to go straight to Quaife to save money so they should. In the end it comes down to EVO vs. the single person. If evo atracts the customers they profit and we have to pay more for the diff.

I dont think we need their help. We just need 15 dedicated people who trust smg with a deposit and this program will be done in a matter of months.

SteveL

Me too. In for sure.

m3_eater

Updated list (please remove your name with another post if this is in error):

1. PE - 2003CLK55 (need to verify fitment)
2. Vadim (C32)
3. smgC32 (C32)
4. My_c55 (C55)
5. Zeppelin (C32)
6. PTE (CLK5.5)
7. m3_eater (C32)
8. SteveL (SLK32)
9. 430 (SLK32)
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.