ShawnC32

Hi everyone! New to the forum. I own a Blk on Blk C32 and was hoping to stumble across some fellow AMG'ers in the Baltimore metro area AND a good independent shop who knows what they're doing when it comes to performance and general maintenance. Someone whispered in my ear of a shop that goes by the name of 'Hi-Tech Boys' somewhere in the metro area. Anyone familiar or have any experience with them?

My C32 is completely stock. But now that the car is PIF and it finally belongs to me, that is about to quickly change. Got a good idea what I wanna do, now I just gotta find a reputable shop that knows what they're doing.

TIA

ericpd

Hey Shawn. I finally get to welcome someone to the forum greener than me. I'm also in Balto metro, and yes, I've heard of Hi Tech Boys! They're on Liberty Road near Old Court. PM me if you're not familiar with the area. The word is he honestly knows what he's doing. He should, I hear he owns several AMG's, and takes one (an E55) down the 1/4 mile in only 10 seconds. The only Mercedes I've ever seen wearing street slicks! Just looks kinda wierd!

So to answer you're question, I understand this guy(s) knows what he's doing. And there are a few AMG'ers around town, but few!

ShawnC32

Hi Eric. I was beginning to think that there was no one else with these cool little panzer-mobiles in the area. I think I know exactly where you're talking about. It's next door to a laundry-mat and across the street from a Block Buster if I'm not mistaken. You say this guys got a 10 second E55? Wow! What has he done to it? Do you know? I wonder if he's a Kleeman or Renntech disciple? Think I may stop by there one day soon. Does he do normal Benz work, like brakes, oil changes and other maintenance work? It's been a while since I've been over in the Randallstown area. I'm anxious!

marc32

Welcome aboard

Actually you have a few amg'ers around.... alot in the DC area.

ericpd

You're right marc32. Everytime I visit friends in the Alexandria area, I see a ton of them.

Shawn, I've only seen this E55 twice,... once parked and once on the move. So I can't answer most of your questions. But it sure looks like like it's serious. Not a show look,... no, not at all. No flashy wheels,... none of the normal skin mods that are popular with folks like us. And all the black rubber around the rear rims (no low profiles here folks) just looks wierd on a Benz. Kleeman or Renntech,... that's a good question!

What's your first mod move Shawn?

ShawnC32

Thanks marc32 for the welcome. Well Eric, I initially had planned on updating my interior, starting with replacing my standard circa 2002 radio/cassette player with a nav unit. I was then thinking of replacing my faux carbon trim with the wood trim out of the newer C-class luxury cars. I like that look. Any ideas on where to find a nav unit and/or trim sets on the cheap? I got a feeling getting a new unit or trim set from an MB dealer would certainly mean an outragious price.

After that my plans were to focus on performance. Not sure whether I was going to go suspension/wheels first or with one of the performance packs for under the bonnet. Still up in the air. After reading some of these threads, I'm even thinking of going under the engine compartment first, then concentrating on the cosmetic stuff. What mods have you done?

marc32

Shawn,
You can do what several of us locals have done and used Steve to retrofit our cars with the factory navigation.

When I had purchased my car it didn't come with the nav. The good folks of this forum gave me the contact info and I had Steve install a US specced factory nav in. At the same time he installed a euro tv tuner as well. The euro tuner allows for tv reception and two sets of audio video inputs. Just one option you can use.

ShawnC32

Sounds great, but two questions: How much and who's Steve? What did something like that set you back? When you say euro TV, are you saying you're able to pickup local TV broadcasts on your nav screen, or is it strickly for DVD play-back? I'm aware that European TV broadcasts use a different protocol than ours. Just wondering if I'd be able to receive 2, 11, & 13?

Think I need to talk to Steve.

marc32

Hey Shawn,

First off the the Euro tuner is available as a European option only. The US does not offer this unit due to liability issues. Now the great part are that some enterprising individuals figured a way to circumvent that and provided the US based customer options that are available to our Euro brothers The unit works on both US cars and Euro cars. I'm able to pick up local broadcasts great for sitting in traffic when your running late to the ball game. The tuner also comes with two sets of a/v inputs to allow you to plug in a dvd player, ps3, rear view camera....etc...

I opted for the nav/tuner setup from Mercedesfor two reasons first I wanted something different. There are very few people around that this setup. It's easy to use and still keeps a factory look about it. Secondly I was concerned about theft. In my previous car I had gone the after market route purchasing a full blown audio video system. Needless to say the system was forcibly removed from my car six months later. Then I had to deal with damage to my interior and exterior of the car.

Lastly it's really up to you what your expecting out of it. If your looking from high quality video/audio point then aftermarket is the way to go. If you want something from the factory then this is your option.

As for Steve, he can be found on the forums under Steve Krabbenborg or NLBENZ. There are other as well SUNIL or SUNMAN, These are great folks who can pretty much answer your questions in depth.

There are also meets you can goto to see first hand the items we are talking about. They meet in Rockville, Maryland.

Laterz!

jeanmarc

Yup. Just got back from the track and saw an E55 run 10.2X and HAD to talk to the guy. Ended up talking to the driver, Malcolm, from HiTech Boys, got his number and probably going to get some work done from there.

I'll let you guys know how it goes but after seeing him run a time like there's no better decision for me right now than to go with them.

Also, he said it's Kleeman stuff... I know someone asked.

ericpd

So it's true!!! Was this 55 gray? The one I saw was gray! And yes, I do believe Malcome is his name. I gotta look this guy up too. Kleeman? I was told he was pimping EvoSport! Well if he's that good, he's prolly pimping all the popular and reputable kit brands.

I asked about this guy over at R&H about a month ago and was told that he is scheduled to do a "Fine Tuned" Episode. Did a search and found the program on Speed Network, but they're only had one episode that they show over and over again,... and he ain't on it. A show very similar to the Power Block shows (Horse Power, Muscel Car, Trucks) but slightly in the flavor of Pimp My Ride, which can be a little irritating. They were doing a Nissan Z car, and again, he wasn't on it.

If you take in a visit to his shop, let's us know your impressions. Thanks! My son has a few ricer friends,... I'll ask around and see what kind of customer rep he has.

ShawnC32

Yeah jeanmarc, I'd like to hear your impressions as well. Eric, I also have been asking around about this shop, and I'm getting a wild mixed bag of feed back. A guy I bowl with tells me he totally screwed up his Acura and had to take him to court, and to defend themselves, the shop changed their name. I ran across another guy who says he's done well for him so far. 2 or 3 others who are kinda on the fence with their impressions of him, is work and his shop. It would be nice to find someone in Baltimore as it is closer to me than the DC metro shops I've been turned on to.

I saw that Fine Tuned show Eric. They did a nice job on that Z. I'm still trying to figure out the benefit of blowing CO2 onto the IC radiator. When I first saw the bottle they were putting in the trunk I said to myself,... What, they're going to do Noz AND a SC? Still confused! So you're saying the Black guy hosting and leading the show IS NOT Malcolm?

Ted Baldwin

........before you get your car butchered at Hi tech boyz, Call Cory or Brandon at Kleemann USA at 719 473 6441 and ask about Malcolm. Malcolm did not even instal his own Kleemann parts. He sent his car to Kleemann in Colorado then added nitrous afterwards, that is why you see the 10's. I bet he didn't tell you about the nitrous. Stay away! You will thank me for this one day.


Ted

ShawnC32

Wow! Ted, I did a forum search for your threads to see if I could find more info, and found your 'Malcome' thread. What a read. Better entertainment than sitting down with a James Patterson novel (now reading "Sixth Target". Sorry man to hear you had to go through that kinda drama with this guy,... and oh yeah, "de-malcomization" was nothing short of brilliant and side-splitting. Now I know not to be caught drink anything while reading your posts. LOL! One thing's for sure, I won't wait for 'One Day' to thank you for your post and warning,... I'll be doing that right about now! THANK YOU! BTW, I've never met this Malcom guy, so I haven't given him the opportunity to lie me about his car or services. Fact is, I was waiting for Eric or jeanmarc to give an eyeball impression of the guy and his shop. But your 'Malcom' thread served that purpose quite well. I will be checking in to hear the latest on how you've resolved this ordeal. And glad to hear your baby is back on the road in tip-top shape. I would do it myself, but after this, I definitely don't want to step on any toe or violate any protocol. So it would nice if you were to provide here a link to your 'Malcom' thread. Us C32/55 folks need to know this stuff too. Had it not been for your visit to the C-Class side, I (we) never would have gotten this education. Thanks again!

Ericpd: please PM me if you stop by to read Ted's lastest post. I'll PM you the link to Ted's 'Malcome' drama, but I'm reluctant to post it without his permissioin.

LetsJet

Shawn I know of no protocol that has any issue with posting a link for another thread.

In fact, I was going to post a reference to it to help you. I don't recall the info, but I knew it would be valuable to you when I read "Tech in B-more".

Post it so others can make an informed decission.

ericpd

Correct. The guy hosting and acting as project leader in that show IS NOT Malcom. From what I've been hearing, thank God! I asked some of the guys my son runs with about Malcome and 'Hi-Tech Boys' and they pleaded with me to stay da 'F' away from this guy.

That spray bar set up in front of the Heat Exchanger is designed to cool the air even more. Sometimes to some rediculously cool temps. The colder the air, the more efficient the entire Super Charger setup! Remember, our S/C's are capable of pounding a little over 14 psi of air into our engines. Pounded (compressed) air gets hot quick and has got to be cooled just as quickly, that's the job of our intercoolers, and spraying the HE with frosty aerosol makes all the parts that much more happier!

But did you notice that at the end of the program, they did the 'after' dyno on the Z and it still didn't come close to the dyno #'s some of our C32 brothers have posted in here. Nice!

ShawnC32

Ok people. I took the 2nd half of the day off to do a fly-by of this HiTech Boyz place and see if I could form a personal impression of this Malcom guy. He has a 5 bay shop seems to be fairly well equipped for basic tasks, but poorly kept, dingy, and no signs of any 'Hi Tech' equipment as the name would suggests. I didn't see any dynonometer. Off stached in the corner of the building there appeared to be a separate small shop dedicated to wheels and performance accessories. But this effort looked to be abandoned. Only a few selection of wheels were displayed and the shelfs and display cases were either empty or populated with used product and stock product from his personal MB's. No one maned the counter in this accessory shop. The workers that were there didn't give the impression of knowing enough to do the tuning we've been speaking of in this and other threads. But I could be wrong.

Eric,... there's no way I could have mistaken this guy for any car show host. The Malcom I spoke to has severe facial burns & injuries that some in other threads have said were the results of a recent crash-n-burn while racing. Nuff said there, I don't want to be accused of being insensitive.

Only engaged in a quick chat, but he did seem to know what he was talking about. But it was terribly hard hearing 'trust', especially after reading all the threads and warnings. Particularly Ted's experience. I left almost as quickly as I arrived and headed home. Don't think I'll be having Malcom pop the bonnet of my C32.

Thanks Ted & Eric. You too jeanmarc! Now I'm seeing how invaluable these forums can be.

Ted Baldwin

......these forum's can be quite invaluable. Malcolm also is a testament to how the web can be used to potray yourself as something much bigger than you are. The guy owns a filthy little shop in a back water part of Maryland. He is not even equiped well enough to repair bicycles, yet he has managed to be a topic of discussion in an AMG forum. This is the negative part of the internet. I was fooled by it. What offends me is the silence of the people that know the truth.

Ted