Good question. If I could get my hands on a local one, I could test fit it. If not, its not a far stretch to offer one that does fit. Know anyone local to Santa Barbara, CA 93105? I can always drive down to LA to check one out as well.

1FastC32 recommended this HE.

http://www.lightningforceperformance...bra-p-319.html

As you can see, it is much larger than the stock HE. All you have to do is weld the brackets in place and the unit fits perfectly without any cutting or trimming.

Erick and I will be installing it in my car next weekend while he is in town. I ordered the one with no writing on it.



$289.95 for the HE
$25 - $50 for welding the brackets

If you install it yourself and know a welder, you should be able to do it for less than $325.

If you can create a drop in replacement HE with brackets and no cutting required, I could see paying $375 for the unit.

I'll take some pics of the install and post them up. Maybe the two HE's will have the same install.

+1

It's very similar to what happens when a brand-name drug goes off-patent. I would argue that very few (if any) are going to pay $20K for an '02 C32 and then pay $7K in mods + install.
Speaking of mods...... I did a search and didn't come up with anything, but has anyone heard anything about these tuners? Apologies if it has been discussed before.
http://www.inmotionusa.com/mercedesgraphs.html

I considered going that route as well. But there is one big difference, where the inlet and outlet is placed. The one that will be sold lines up with the stock inlet and outlet perfectly. Even though there is minor trimming to make this one fit, I think its worth the extra surface area, over both the stock and Cobra setup. I could eliminate the need for trimming the lower panel, but you give up 28 square inches of surface area. I think the 2 minutes it took me to trim the lower panel is worth the surface area. Remember, no bumper trimming, just the lower engine panel. It still bolts in like normal, its just shortened a few inches. Also, selling a simple bolt-in setup is ideal for many people. No worries though, you price guess is inline with what our intentions are.

I hope their tuning skills are better than their web development skills! ;-)

No kidding. I would have a hard time trusting this outfit.

lol, you read my mind.

I hate to say it, but most of the tuners out there use the same base maps for most cars. This company, like many others, are reselling maps that were created by someone else. This isn't always a problem, because they do make more power.

A few forum members and myself have been doing tons of research on this. There is a service that you can sign up for and it will provide you with various maps for most vehicles. You can download the map and upload it to the ECU using byteshooter (AKA Flashbooster), Optican or any other tool that has write access to the ECU.

So, if you wanted to start a tuning company, it would cost you about $10k for the equipment / software (so you can write your own maps) and then a monthly access fee so you can download maps from this huge repository. They have a 24 hour turn around time for custom maps too.

This is the way Renntech is doing their tunes. They have a ByteShooter Half Master, which can read / load encrypted maps created by Byteshooter Master. They can also read maps currently on the ECU and archive them in case they need to reload the original map. They have the tools to write their own maps in FL, but I doubt they ever do.

I figured y'all would have researched the tuning end of things! I wouldn't have the first idea how to do stuff like this - to me the ECU is a 'magic box' that will explode if I touch it!
I was just looking for other tuners that does custom tuning and gives you free upgrades, etc. I agree though - this particular outfit seems a little dodgy!
Seems like a few over on the 'other forum' did it - here's the thread: (mind you, nobody has produced dyno sheets!)
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w208...ip-tuning.html

I e-mailed the company about an hour ago - they told me there's free upgrades, custom maps, etc. for $500. They back up your OE map in case of problems and they claim up to 20% hp increase when used with an overdrive pulley.

Well i am leaning to get an HE for my C32: So from the previous discussions....

1)1FastC32 recommended this HE.

http://www.lightningforceperformance...bra-p-319.html

This one needs some welding and the outlet and inlet tubes fits but not perfectly. However no trimming involved. This would be the cobra set-up.

2) The other has no welding involved but some trimming.

Sorry for the ignorant questions but I am not a natural tech so pls bear with me..

Question(1): For code3smith HE, "there is no bumper trimming but just the lower engine panel". The engine panel is made out of what material and what tools would be required??


Question(2): "It still bolts in like normal, its just shortened a few inches. Also, selling a simple bolt-in setup is ideal for many people"......Is the stock HE bolted in and if so is this where the larger HE's would be fastened (exact positioning for the bolts).

1. There are panels that run underneath the entire underbody of the vehicle. I thought they wer plastic, but they are fiberous, so I cant tell you exaclty what they are made of. What I can say is that all I did was score the piece, and it broke right off. So basically just a blade.

2. The stock HE is not bolted in. In the pictures I posted, you can see it has plastic legs. These insert into the frame on the radiator. The new unit uses the bolts from the underside of the bumper itself. Simply unscrew two nuts on each side, put the HE in place, then put them back on. It is very solid.

I'm going to guess that the biggest part of the job will be the removal of the front bumper. Anyone have a basic "how-to" on that?

It's very easy...this should get you close.

https://mbworld.org/forums/showpost....98&postcount=1

I have seen it down before but a play by play instruction would be great.

AMG-Jerry gave me this website http://www.alldatadiy.com/ and I think I will be investing in the Tech manula from MB-USA.

But any tips and previews would be great..

AMG-Jerry looking forward to those pics during your HE project.. Thanx

The bumper removal is very easy. You also need to drain the coolant. There is an easy drain plug on the bottom of the radiator. I simply drained the coolant into a bucket, then reused it, and added any additional coolant needed.

I just got my car back from having a larger Heat Exchanger installed. Went a little different route.

We left the stock Heat Exchanger in place and installed a secondary heat exchanger.

Heat exchanger size:

21.5(W) x 16.15(H) x 1.0(D), end tanks ~2.0(D).

With the new HE and the rerouted lines we added ~1 gallon of coolant capacity.

In addition to the heat exchanger we installed a Johnson CM90 pump.

If you did not know any better you would just assume everything was stock.

Before anyone starts talking about blocking the airflow to the stock radiator this was accounted for with a 10c cooler thermostat and by activating the fan 10c cooler.

Rich @ Benzwerks did a great job.

When I get time I will take additional pictures and post more information.

you've just convinced me that i need more mods. more info when the kit is ready would be appreciated

Nice work, +1 to your new product.

I would take one if the price were under $350. You can buy the AFCO unit for $249 shipped and it is only slightly smaller, but is a dual pass design so efficiency should be similar. Weld on some brackets and your at about $300. I'd pay the extra $50 for the convenience.

The price will be in that range. I think for a lot of us that do our own work, buying a Cobra HE and making it work isn't a huge deal. But the point is to create a bolt-in setup that fits into the stock location, lines up with the stock hoses, and doesn't require someone to "make it work". At this point, I decided against making the HE shorter so that it was truly a drop-in affair with no cutting of the lower panel. However, the small amount of time it takes to do that is worth the extra surface area.

On a side note, I will have plenty of time to work on this project, and the others I am developing. I lost my job on Friday Oh well, I hated that place anyway

this thread is great!

too bad, we dont' have these type of inexpensive solutions for the E55's

too bad i'm done modding the C32, with the types of mods available, it will no problem staying with the latest and greatest sport sedans and coupes.

If I had a low milage C32 with warranty:

my list would be>

ASP pullies
Renntech Springs
18" AMG wheels from SLK,CLK,
No resonator
green filters
spark plugs only (no wires)
Sprint Booster
Ford Lightning or Cobra IC pump
Cobra HE
headers (too pricey)
ECU (not worth $1k)

that would be a good price..

if you have a nice instructional manual with pics... anybody can take to their local radiator shop and they can install cheaply.

My cousin owns a radiator and muffler shop in El Monte.

Valley Muffler and Radiator on Valley Blvd near the 605.

Tell them Joe Cordero sent you and ask for Ricky or Ismael Garcia.

You know what,... I've been seriously thinking of investing in some sorta manual too. When I first joined this forum, there was a really good discussion about a DVD style manual set. I'd be very interested in having a Stacy David walk me through the basics.

Sooo, Now we have two cooling upgrade options before us. GB this forum. Nice stuff guys. I think this is a definite next upgrade. I've experienced first hand what heat can do to our cars.

Brandon:
Sent you an e-mail regarding the wheels. Still interested?