C32 AMG, C55 AMG (W203) 2001 - 2007

Is this eBay intake system Junk? - angry seller claims they are fine!!??

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Old 06-04-2008, 02:22 PM
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Exclamation Is this eBay intake system Junk? - angry seller claims they are fine!!??

Ok...here is the deal. I did not do my homework first, and bought a set of these "performance intakes" off of ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Merce...QQcmdZViewItem

Long story short - I got very busy and did not pay for them asap with PayPal, so the guy filed a complaint. No big deal...it was my fault and I paid the same day I got the reminder.
BUT...in the mean time I was told that "The one on ebay is a farce. It will cause map sensor errors on your car so stay away."

I passed this info along to the seller in my response to his complaint, recomending that he should include this warning for C32 owners. The guy kind of went balistic on me

Here is what he said:

gr8truth2z Jun-03-08 at 22:01:25 PDT

WHO TOLD you that garbage about the MAP error's ?? If someone is giving false info, I need to know.
AS a MERCEDES owner /Tuner for more years than I can count.., Only the real truth will do . It's Just
a FILTER not a SUPERCHARGER pulley or ECU upgrade ! I shall look for your payment & mail it out.


So everyone.....who is right here?
Do I owe this guy an apology, or should he be telling people that his intakes will cause MAP sensor errors on C32's?

Please provide tech reference materials if you have them...I would like to try and get my $150 back if he knows darn well that they will cause problems with C32's
Attached Thumbnails Is this eBay intake system Junk? - angry seller claims they are fine!!??-intake-1.jpg   Is this eBay intake system Junk? - angry seller claims they are fine!!??-intake-2.jpg  
Old 06-04-2008, 02:39 PM
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i agree that they are junk- but i don't see where they would cause errors or make any power above stock pieces though. i am curious to know why with the extensive list of expensive mods you have in your sig, why you would buy cheap stuff on ebay?

as far as air intakes go- i think your best option aside from stock would be a modded c55 airbox or possibly the renntech CF box.
Old 06-04-2008, 02:58 PM
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Well looking at his ad it states the following:

"PLEASE CONTACT US and give us reasonable time to answer. We are here to serve you and promise to deliver SATISFACTION. All EBAY merchandise is sold as stated in auction, Sales are final to winning Bidder. Thank you!"

So he promises SATISFACTION but says all sales are final...wonder why he tries to lure you in but at the same time shut you out

Either way I say write him back and say you will try it and if it gives of warnings that

1. You will report him to BBB and
2. Post on every Mercedes forum as a warning based off your results. So if incase he had anyone complain he will be smarter to return your money as not to mess up his business then again he may not care and just run with it.
I say cause they are in the hot engine bay they may create "heat soak" issues.

Here are the last 3 feedbacks(keep in mind some buyers give feedback right away without trying it first) I used to do that and realized quickly that its a great tool to negociate faster responces on returns...I hate it when they give you a negative feedback when you are just being honest and give a neutral responce thats their way to have you remove all or any negative feedbacks:


" it;s ok jijao2006 ( 112) Jun-02-08 11:58
Reply by gr8truth2z (Jun-02-08 12:10):
YES, IT's OK, + great customer service & real POWER +MPG

Mercedes clk320 clk55 clk430 clk350 clk55 clk550 INTAKE (#230253553981) US $179.00 View Item
installed east and seems to work great so far tfwvisme ( 24) Jun-01-08 22:24
Reply by gr8truth2z (Jun-02-08 12:12):
EASY install- Works ! miles per gallon MPG so far

Mercedes c320 c55 c230 c240 AMG c350 INTAKE air Filter (#230250459778) US $199.00 View Item
Required $300 of custom fabrication to install in E55 AMG...crappy seller! *ebiz*assets* ( 26) Jun-01-08 03:44
Reply by gr8truth2z (Jun-01-08 12:43):
DIRECT FIT NO FAB. Don't use a BAD installer. CONtact me first SEE POS+


Notice he tries to make even the not so detailed good responces better?... Then he tries to make a negative responce look positive instead I say he is a good con artist...
Old 06-04-2008, 03:12 PM
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Yes, it is junk.

Your car has two tubes that pass cold air to air filters from the front of the car. The item you bought will feed hot air from the engine compartment to your air filters.

If the instructions in your new intake recommend removing the factory air filters, and the filters on that new intake are coarse foam (as they appear), the filtering capacity will be reduced dramatically. Basically, coarse foam has all the filtering ability of a screen door. In this instance, the heat will be a minor inconvenience next to the dirt. That's because superchargers don't do well in dirty environments. Live near the beach?

But hey, you bought it, so the fair thing to do is pay the guy - and then update his feedback.

If he doesn't want the feedback, then perhaps he'd like to void the sale. I'd toss that ball back in the seller's lap.

Last edited by MarcusF; 06-04-2008 at 03:15 PM.
Old 06-04-2008, 04:20 PM
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Originally Posted by bumpnzx3
i agree that they are junk- but i don't see where they would cause errors or make any power above stock pieces though. i am curious to know why with the extensive list of expensive mods you have in your sig, why you would buy cheap stuff on ebay?

as far as air intakes go- i think your best option aside from stock would be a modded c55 airbox or possibly the renntech CF box.


LOL!!! You got me on that one! LOL

I cant claim any fame to the mods on this car, 97% of them were already installed when I purchased it...

The only things I have purchased and had installed are:

LET Heat Exchanger
Johnson CM30 pump
LET 185mm kit
Code 3 "third intake" kit (if it ever shows up )

I saw the set up on ebay and thought ....wow...that is cool...I will give them try!! That is about all the thinking I did on the purchase

As you can see from my thought process I am NOT a tuner by trade He accepted my "best offer" of $150 in about 2 seconds....that should have been a big red flag for me!!!!!

I am thinking about seeing if I can modify them when they show up for the heck of it
Old 06-04-2008, 04:34 PM
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that exactly what I have b4 but instead of buying I customed it by myself...you will lose the HP because of the hot air that will sucks it in.....
Old 06-04-2008, 04:36 PM
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Originally Posted by MarcusF
Yes, it is junk.

Your car has two tubes that pass cold air to air filters from the front of the car. The item you bought will feed hot air from the engine compartment to your air filters.

If the instructions in your new intake recommend removing the factory air filters, and the filters on that new intake are coarse foam (as they appear), the filtering capacity will be reduced dramatically. Basically, coarse foam has all the filtering ability of a screen door. In this instance, the heat will be a minor inconvenience next to the dirt. That's because superchargers don't do well in dirty environments. Live near the beach?

But hey, you bought it, so the fair thing to do is pay the guy - and then update his feedback.

If he doesn't want the feedback, then perhaps he'd like to void the sale. I'd toss that ball back in the seller's lap.
Yeah, I agree with Marcus.
Old 06-04-2008, 06:10 PM
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these things are junk but its cool that you tried them for us all. If this was a good setup for our cars all the big tuners would be doing this style of intake. its really not a bad idea but its just a bad design. I would get your money back on this one. for $550 you can get a airbox from VRP that shows gains ant it supports a sponsor. Good luck with this. Personally I think i could do a better design with one of those build your own air intake kits from AutoZone and i would even go out on a limb and even say it would make some HP
Old 06-04-2008, 07:51 PM
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they look like the conforti intake that my friend's e36 M3 had lol
Old 06-04-2008, 10:12 PM
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Originally Posted by trbo2nr
Yeah, I agree with Marcus.
+2

These are junk... if this approach worked, you would've seen it by now (especially on a lot of mbworld.org owners' cars!)
Old 06-04-2008, 10:19 PM
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Agree with Marcus as well, nothing but hot air is going to come from that. I'm sure the only reason you considered it is because its nice looking. Don't do it!
Old 06-04-2008, 11:39 PM
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I say try it and let us know how much power you lose.
I have yet to see some try the damn thing but everyone is knocking it.
Old 06-05-2008, 12:17 AM
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Originally Posted by C32-4ME
...I saw the set up on ebay...
I would respectfully suggest that you write them off as a relatively inexpensive lesson learned.

There is way too much junk foisted upon the unsuspecting consumer in the ‘performance’ aftermarket. Simply pitch ‘em upon their arrival, unless your conscience allows an attempt at reselling those turds. Each of us has been unscrupulously victimized at some point by such puffery in the pursuit of improved performance.

Your AMG was already a very desirable example when its most recent ownership transaction was consummated. I clearly recall your memorable introductory posts...good stuff! That you’ve chosen LET as your preferred hardware purveyor is commendable. There are only a few select reputable vendors active on our forum, (of whom you are obviously aware) and others that merely ***** up the joint in pursuit of a quick dollar. Before any subsequent hardware purchase impulse nears its compunction, bounce it off of us first. There are several knowledgeable gearheads around here that have sampled myriad combinations.

It’ll help to make the modification journey that much more rewarding, imho.

Last edited by splinter; 06-05-2008 at 12:19 AM.
Old 06-05-2008, 01:48 AM
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Thumbs up

Originally Posted by splinter
I would respectfully suggest that you write them off as a relatively inexpensive lesson learned.

There is way too much junk foisted upon the unsuspecting consumer in the ‘performance’ aftermarket. Simply pitch ‘em upon their arrival, unless your conscience allows an attempt at reselling those turds. Each of us has been unscrupulously victimized at some point by such puffery in the pursuit of improved performance.

Your AMG was already a very desirable example when its most recent ownership transaction was consummated. I clearly recall your memorable introductory posts...good stuff! That you’ve chosen LET as your preferred hardware purveyor is commendable. There are only a few select reputable vendors active on our forum, (of whom you are obviously aware) and others that merely ***** up the joint in pursuit of a quick dollar. Before any subsequent hardware purchase impulse nears its compunction, bounce it off of us first. There are several knowledgeable gearheads around here that have sampled myriad combinations.

It’ll help to make the modification journey that much more rewarding, imho.
Couldn't honestly say it better...I figured that it would suck in HOT air from engine bay as certain products around will do also but hey we are the test dummies right?
Old 06-05-2008, 09:32 AM
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ot. AMGMIZ first c55 i ever saw was Mars Red...sweet car man


Originally Posted by AMGMIZ
I say try it and let us know how much power you lose.
I have yet to see some try the damn thing but everyone is knocking it.
Old 06-05-2008, 11:44 AM
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Originally Posted by splinter
I would respectfully suggest that you write them off as a relatively inexpensive lesson learned.

There is way too much junk foisted upon the unsuspecting consumer in the ‘performance’ aftermarket. Simply pitch ‘em upon their arrival, unless your conscience allows an attempt at reselling those turds. Each of us has been unscrupulously victimized at some point by such puffery in the pursuit of improved performance.

Your AMG was already a very desirable example when its most recent ownership transaction was consummated. I clearly recall your memorable introductory posts...good stuff! That you’ve chosen LET as your preferred hardware purveyor is commendable. There are only a few select reputable vendors active on our forum, (of whom you are obviously aware) and others that merely ***** up the joint in pursuit of a quick dollar. Before any subsequent hardware purchase impulse nears its compunction, bounce it off of us first. There are several knowledgeable gearheads around here that have sampled myriad combinations.

It’ll help to make the modification journey that much more rewarding, imho.

Very, very well put Mr. Splinter

Thanks for the complement on my first post...it was a lot of fun to write up. I had no idea at the time how valuable the opinions & knowledge offered by members here would be to my C32 adventure!

Thank you past, present, and future....I hope I can help out a newbie myself some day

I did the right thing and paid for them, but I did the wrong thing by not posting here first and getting a group opinion.

I think I upset the seller when I told him that they were going to be $150 paper weights in my garage - and asked him to consider warning other C32 owners (as I was told) that they would cause MAP errors.

If nobody knows for sure that they will cause MAP sensor problems, I should probably apologize to the guy for saying that they do based on the sole individual that warned me to stay away from them (after I had already made the eBay best offer).

I will point him towards this post to see what everyone has to say I was hoping to have some hard data, but the common sense here is more than enough for me to make a decision to not install them.

I wish I could find a dnyo within 2 hours of my home so I could do some real # testing
Old 06-05-2008, 12:35 PM
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Originally Posted by splinter
I would respectfully suggest that you write them off as a relatively inexpensive lesson learned.

There is way too much junk foisted upon the unsuspecting consumer in the ‘performance’ aftermarket. Simply pitch ‘em upon their arrival, unless your conscience allows an attempt at reselling those turds. Each of us has been unscrupulously victimized at some point by such puffery in the pursuit of improved performance.

Your AMG was already a very desirable example when its most recent ownership transaction was consummated. I clearly recall your memorable introductory posts...good stuff! That you’ve chosen LET as your preferred hardware purveyor is commendable. There are only a few select reputable vendors active on our forum, (of whom you are obviously aware) and others that merely ***** up the joint in pursuit of a quick dollar. Before any subsequent hardware purchase impulse nears its compunction, bounce it off of us first. There are several knowledgeable gearheads around here that have sampled myriad combinations.

It’ll help to make the modification journey that much more rewarding, imho.
Geez, John, have you been saving up your "word of the day" lessons for this post.

Seriously, you write some of the most eloquent, consice and thoughtful posts on this forum. I applaud your ability to combine outstanding technical knowledge with excellent grammar and diction.

We all could use more members like splinter in our midst.

Last edited by ScottW911; 06-05-2008 at 12:56 PM.
Old 06-05-2008, 01:59 PM
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It's not that they are junk per se, they just won't mount up to your intake system.

The new LET intake system is almost done, and includes filters that are similar to these, but where are you going to mount the round 3" rubber coupler to? Our intake won't allow for....his setup was designed for the C320 or N/A motors.....a tuner would know that.

Send him pictures of your intake system and show him that there isn't a spot for it to mount and that his "years of tuning" experience is ****.

Be sure to show him in the pics that the C32 Splitter isn't 100% round.
Old 06-05-2008, 02:30 PM
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Originally Posted by AMG-Jerry
It's not that they are junk per se, they just won't mount up to your intake system.

The new LET intake system is almost done, and includes filters that are similar to these, but where are you going to mount the round 3" rubber coupler to? Our intake won't allow for....his setup was designed for the C320 or N/A motors.....a tuner would know that.

Send him pictures of your intake system and show him that there isn't a spot for it to mount and that his "years of tuning" experience is ****.

Be sure to show him in the pics that the C32 Splitter isn't 100% round.


Patiently waiting........
Old 06-05-2008, 07:49 PM
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By any chance, do you have a riding lawn mower? Those would probably work very well for it.

I honestly don't think the error codes could be attributed to this setup. Many "cold air kits" are designed the same way, in that they have a piece of tubing/conduit with an open element on the end. There's no reason it should trigger a code, as the car is designed to read different atmospheric conditions and temps, and make adjustments accordingly.
17 years ago when I bought my first turbo car, I made my own similar functioning setup out of 3" pvc pipe and a conical K&N filter. The only difference was I had the sense to route it out from engine bay and hang it down in an area that received cooler outside air. However it was a wash due to the lengthy routing of the setup.

Anyway, I agree with Splinter and others. This is one of those rather inexpensive lessons we all learn in our quest for milking additional power out of an already well-designed machine. At the minimum, you could certainly relist these on ebay, and market them to the N/A crowd such as the C230's, etc. Don't make any performance claims about them since you don't have any real data to base it on. Simply specify the applications they can be used for, and say you simply went with a different option for your application and therefore don't need these. Discount the price a bit, and then you'll only take a small loss overall.
Old 06-05-2008, 10:24 PM
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Originally Posted by AMG-Jerry
It's not that they are junk per se, they just won't mount up to your intake system.

The new LET intake system is almost done, and includes filters that are similar to these, but where are you going to mount the round 3" rubber coupler to? Our intake won't allow for....his setup was designed for the C320 or N/A motors.....a tuner would know that.

Send him pictures of your intake system and show him that there isn't a spot for it to mount and that his "years of tuning" experience is ****.

Be sure to show him in the pics that the C32 Splitter isn't 100% round.
Thanks for chiming in Jerry!

Did you get my email about arranging my ECU JerryTune? I need your address and which day you would like to receive it via overnight delivery?
I got the 32 back from the shop yesterday and the power increase seems nuts (check for a post about it soon) ...and it has not even been JerryTuned yet!!

I also want you to give me your opinion on hooking up Code3's SC pulley in addition to your 185 kit that is now installed. I want to try it. I know you can do it. We will put your injectors & intake onboard and maybe a few other precautions…I know you can do it!!!
Old 06-05-2008, 11:02 PM
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Email sent...

Originally Posted by C32-4ME
Thanks for chiming in Jerry!

Did you get my email about arranging my ECU JerryTune? I need your address and which day you would like to receive it via overnight delivery?
I got the 32 back from the shop yesterday and the power increase seems nuts (check for a post about it soon) ...and it has not even been JerryTuned yet!!

I also want you to give me your opinion on hooking up Code3's SC pulley in addition to your 185 kit that is now installed. I want to try it. I know you can do it. We will put your injectors & intake onboard and maybe a few other precautions…I know you can do it!!!
Old 06-05-2008, 11:24 PM
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Originally Posted by C32-4ME
I also want you to give me your opinion on hooking up Code3's SC pulley in addition to your 185 kit that is now installed. I want to try it.


dude.....not a good idea....love the enthusism, and mad props for that....

but .......can't handle that kind of boost....
Old 06-05-2008, 11:36 PM
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Originally Posted by loungn14


dude.....not a good idea....love the enthusism, and mad props for that....

but .......can't handle that kind of boost....
+1 - this seems to be the growing concensus...
Old 06-05-2008, 11:42 PM
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Originally Posted by AMG-Jerry
It's not that they are junk per se, they just won't mount up to your intake system.

The new LET intake system is almost done, and includes filters that are similar to these, but where are you going to mount the round 3" rubber coupler to? Our intake won't allow for....his setup was designed for the C320 or N/A motors.....a tuner would know that.

Send him pictures of your intake system and show him that there isn't a spot for it to mount and that his "years of tuning" experience is ****.

Be sure to show him in the pics that the C32 Splitter isn't 100% round.
Hey Jerry, in the pic it looks like they're mounting to an SRT-6 engine... so presumably it would mount to ours as well.

Looks like they have it attached in place of the CAI tubes we have stock - so instead of getting cold air from the grill, you're getting nice, toasty air from the engine bay. I presume the design then runs the air through the factory airboxes, sans filters. An ineffective hack job, IMHO...


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