FrankW

hasn't heard anything other than 1 guy had a problem with the Harmonic Balancer or should I say lack-of creating problem with leaks around the gasket.

VancouverC32

Any longer term feedback from the ASP pulley owners???

derrick_lui

Alrighty!
It's almost been 4 years since the ODPS was released?

Any problems reported as of now?

how do people get away from service ppl asswipes at the stealerships?

I'm about to pull the trigger on getting stage I from evosport!

zoink

Dude.... you should change your sig.... everyone would be confused that evosport has stage I for C55.... or is there?

derrick_lui

oops! my bad..kept on forgetting to do that!

cant wait to get some more feedback on the Stage I!

auxo

Had Stage II done in 03.

No major upsets except for few minor issues.

My tensioner pully did go bad. My dealer replaced it though, under warranty. They even replaced new belts without a word. I had Vadim check the ODPS afterwords and everything checked out.

The hose plugs that come with the ODPS kit needed replacement. They become brittle and start cracking over time. These plugs are the ones that block off the coolant resevoir tank and the intercooler return line. The key is inspect it regularly and to replace it before it cracks through. Evo have now switched to silicone plugs instead of the original rubber to remedy this issue. Since then I have requisitioned the silicone plugs from Evo, but I have a hard time getting them to seal properly (I get a few drops of coolant leak from time to time, especially after I get stuck in heavy traffic).

Upon replacing the hose plug from the aluminum intercooler return line, there was a significant amount of corrosion present at the nipple. A tiny bit of the nipple tip had corroded away. I am not sure whether the plug (in combination with the window washer fluid) is the cause of this or not. I would like for all the ODPS owners to check this, it only takes 30 seconds to do this. As long as the engine is not running (and hot), removing this plug will not cause any fluid to shoot out. Please let me know what you see. Just because you do not see anything from the outside, that does not mean there is no corrosion, because for me I found the corrosion only when I removed the plug. From the outside, it looked perfect.

Technically, window washer fluid should not corrode aluminum parts (ie:intercooler, heat exchangers, aluminum tubes) right?

eglee413

anyone running the ODPS without software? just curious

derrick_lui

Just pulled the trigger and ordered stage one thru neal!
awesome guy
=)


for install, anyone have any comments? anywhere that may be challenging or to be aware of?

I ordered the KD-tool pulley puller to give to my bodyshop for the install, i heard that the KD tool is the best one for dealer with mercedes pulleys..

TopGun32

2 months and no problems...

i hope the software provides a smoother power band, but overall I don't think its critical to have the software.

i bought my kit used and no problems so far. Best $900 i have invested on this car.

derrick_lui

the powerchip adds like 17 HP to the c32.....but not sure if it will make that much of a difference...

I was gonna just buy the pulleys...but the powerpackage sounded like an OK deal to me...

plus i can bear the name of "stage I" heheh.....not that its important!

do you feel a big difference with just pulleys? its supposed to add 30+ hp

mig888

Any chance you might hve the part number for the KD-tool pulley puller? .

flip

KompressorKev

i have the asp pullies. i am gonna run it for a little while just pullies and then ecu after, i'll be sure to note the differences i feel then put it on a dyno

derrick_lui

the part number is 2897.

That is the necessary pulley puller to use when installing under drive pulleys, so I believe it would be the same for installing odps as well

TopGun32

yes... specially around 2500 rpms and up, not only more HP but more torque as well.

I still would like more low end pull under 2500, but you can only have so much with a 3.2L

The top end power is more stronger and 80 to 110 will be even easier than before.

YOU will notice the difference... 100% guaranteed.

m444

Has anyone come a across a Mercedes compatible locking tool, that bolts in and holds the ring gear on the torque converter? This would make the harmonic balancer much easier to remove. Just lock the engine and use a long extension
on the 1/2 drive breaker bar.

The alternative is, to remove the stuff, that prevents a 1/2 drive air impact wrench from reaching the Harmonic balancer bolt.

Do you really need to press off the accessory pulleys
on the C32 engine?

Eurocharged Rick

please keep us updated when you decided to upgrade the ecu...i am thinking of going this route as well, especially since ASP is local for me...

M_M

I have an asp pulley kit (w/o chips)running on my car for around 8 months, found it no problem at all.

Renault78law

Auxo,
Thanks for sharing your experience man, very much appreciated. This kind of thing makes me really leary of choosing evosport. I'm sort of on the fence between Evo and Renntech - the only criticism of Renntech that I've ever heard was that it was expensive. I think for the peace of mind, it's worth it...

derrick_lui

I installed the ECU back in the car on monday....i must say there is a difference! The car pulls harder on high end RPM. I say the ECU is worth it by itself.......but pulleys arriving today ...hopefully gonna install them today as well...and give another review on the pulleys

derrick_lui

after reading all this, do you guys think I should just NOT install the windshield washer part? I mean i heard from a few people that its not really necessary...besides, I feel a bit uneasy on pumping windshield washer fluid into the intercooler instead of using coolant.

auxo

Renault78law,

You are certainly welcome, after all, that is what the forum is for right? I am glad to find out at least one fellow forum member pays attention to the topic of this thread and actually read and digest what I had to offer from my experience. Other members seemed to be too "consumed" about performance specs and get blind sighted, looks to me like they believe in "do the mods now worry about the problem afterwards..."

Despite the little glitches, I am very happy with Evo kit. I cannot say anything about the Renntech kit since I have no direct experience with it, but I did a lot of research between Renntech and Evo when I was in your situation (believe me, I contemplated a lot between the two). Evo had tackled the heat soak issue by sectioning off the intercooling system from the engine cooling circuit. Renntech seems to have no provisions about the heat soak issue. As with any modifications, the more you modify the more things that can "potentially" go wrong. So far, all my problems were minor and fortunately I found solutions to them. Both kits are on equal terms in my opinion, and for me it came down to who was closest to me (and Evo was 45minute drive away, as opposed to Renntech being pretty much on the other side of things). Can't go wrong with either one. Having owned a few supercharged/turbo cars in the past and turbo charged motorcycles, heat soak was a lot to ponder about...and for this I give credit to Evo for considering this. But in all honesty, if I lived in the east coast, I would have chosen Renntech due to the consideration of after service facility being near by (well, relatively).

There was that issue between a solid crank pully from Evo and the "pressed on" outer ring on stock pully from Renntech. Well so far, I do not have any problems with the solid crank. So far, I've only read about the one failure from this board. In my opinion that is kind of hard to determine whether solid crank is a bad thing or not. Like me, I believe I'm the only one who reported about the block off plugs leaking and causing corrosion, and yet it may be just me or it goes for all Evo kits (hence I asked for input from other members but...). I know that the failing tensioner pullies were reported numerous times but Evo has since mitigated the issue (another important factor).

I trully think either way you can't go wrong. Both are very reputable companies and know what they are doing. I guess in terms of being inconspicuous, Renntech kit would be harder to detect than the Evo kits (if losing warranty is a concern, but I haven't had issues with the dealers so far).

Hope this information helps in you decision making.

TopGun32

i dont have it... and they wanted to charge like 2 or 3 extra hours plus parts to install it. I don't think it was worth $400 more...

i just gave them my used parts and 3 hours later that car was done.

no problems and the car runs good.

Renault78law

Auxo,
Thanks again, and yes, your responses have been helpful.

The cooling issue intrigues me, but it's a double edged sword. Apparently, Evosport has tested Renntech's system, and determined that heatsoak is a major shortcoming. But I've never heard of anyone with a Renntech, Kleemann, Carlsson, etc. kit complain about heat. It seems like a nice thing to have, but I wonder how important it is, especially for those who don't intend on tracking their car. I'm also hesitant for the reason you referenced above: it adds complexity to the situation, the more parts you add, the more things that [seemingly] can go wrong.

The single solid piece v. harmonic balancer is discussion I watched with great interest. Evosport's pulley is lighter, and they seem to suggest that Renntech's pulley will fail over time. Others suggest that a harmonic balancer is necessary, and at least one member's car was damaged purportedly because of his Evosport pulley. I don't know who to believe.

One advantage of the Evosport kit is that it is the ECU accounts for California gas. Again, I don't know how important this is on the long run, since it's my understanding that Renntech's ECU program is somewhat conservative.

Evosport is local for me too, which is a big factor for me in case problems arise. Also, Evosport has a dyno in-house, which is a helpful diagnostic tool. However, Renntech mod can be done in-house at German Imports, in San Juan Capistrano. Although German Imports doesn't have a dyno, the pulley and ECU can be installed there, and nothing needs to be shipped to FL. So in a sense, Renntech is local too.

Finally cost. Evosport's package is $600 less, but Renntech's system can be bought out of state. With the tax savings, and Evosport's estimated install time, they essentially cost the same.

In the end, you're probably right, you can't go wrong with either. Part of me feels like I'm being a big baby, and I should just pick one and get it over with. The other part of me is affraid to regret the decision should something go wrong. I change my mind almost every day, but right now I'm leaning toward the Renntech, just because they're a well-known reputable tuner that has been in business for longer. When the name Evosport comes up, it almost always seems like there is controversy. I'm sure they do great work, and maybe even their cars are faster, but their reputation isn't quite on par with Renntech yet.

Thanks again for your help. I look forward to any additional insight you'd like to share.

derrick_lui

Since heat soak is an issue here...Im going to install the windshield washer thing, which means i have to leave my car with the body shop overnight and pick it up tomorow afternoon.

But has anyone thought about having windshield washer and coolant mixing together through the intercooler?

and that by pressing the windshield washer button....actual coolant may come out??

Eurocharged Rick

derrick,

i don't think that is how the system works, otherwise there would be no way that is safe to run the car in that manner...might want to check again how the system is routed