agreed, thx

 

This actually was informative as I am just starting to suss through mods myself.

I think OP has a point. If I bought their R3 tune and parts and got their R2 package torque number I would be disappointed.

For "getting ripped off" I think a full renntech car has more value on the backside than a cheaper home garage build for sure, so some of that goes away if you sell.

After hearing your carbon intake adventure renntech wont get my money on an airbox either but they look nice.

 

I went with the ESS Supercharger and it is very streetable. In fact, it is hardly noticeable unless you're stomping on the go-go pedal. ESS dialed back the lower end torque so it wouldn't twist the transmission apart and it puts 150HP on an otherwise stock car.

Personally, for the price, I did not feel that Renntech was worth putting my money into after doing research and I too was after streetable power, but my goal was maximizing my dollar on 92 oct pump gas.

Still, very good numbers for N.A.

 

Feedback like this sells me on a product more than any dyno sheet. In terms of real-world driving, WGAF where a line peaks if the usability of the power band is compromised.

 

The best part is, the ESS kit looks like it belongs and you hardly notice under the hood (well, if you've never seen under the hood of a C63 before )

Here is what my engine bay looks like.

 

looks clean👌

 

What are the wheel power numbers on that? Nice and neat. Any raised temps?

 

Wish it were legal in California. along with LTH's.

 

Indeed, that is very clean. If I ever go with FI on an M156, it will probably be with the ESS kit.

 

Apologies to OP for thread jacking. No disrespect intended.

Thank you kind sir and thank you to everyone else for all the kind comments.

No idea yet, the install was completed late last fall and I have only gotten around to driving it recently.

Since I had it all apart, I added many things including row airboxes and AFE filters, Agency power headers, underdrive pulley kit, ECE motor/tranny mounts, Weistec catch can, 3" high flow cats (initially it was catless and was pretty damned loud. With cats, it has almost a dual personality again like stock- decently quiet and undetectable puttering around town, but monstrous when you open it up)

No chances to get it on a dyno, time and money constraints, but there has been no perceptible change in daily temps. On a 28*C/82.4*F day, it was only 104*C/219*F which was pretty much what it was before.

The ESS system has a dedicated cooling system for itself and I think it helps manage the engine temperatures. The only other hint you get other than the extra noise, is the interooler barely visible in the front.





Again, apologies for thread jacking.

 

Quick follow up on response from Renntech. A couple weeks has passed since the airbox issue, and it seems my sales guy brought it all to the attention of the owner. They offered me 2 choices, they will remove the airbox and re-clearcoat it for me, or I can wait for a new one when their production in germany catches up from the covid slowdown. I will likely wait for a new box.

 

Glad to hear they're going to work it out with you!

 

Thought I'd just share my experience with Renntech also. I'm here in LA and there is a shop that is their distributor on the left cost and does installs. Generally I've had a pretty good experience. I haven't gone as far as Weapon, but I basically have the R1 tune, intake, had them delete my secondary cat and add a x-pipe replacing my resonator, and front and rear strut bars. The quality of the parts are great. The intake added a bit more responsiveness. One thing a lot of people don't talk about with the intake is that it does sound great especially from the outside of the car. The front and rear strut bars really made a huge difference. Especially the rear. Much fewer creaks and rattles and the steering feel was a nice benefit.

Look Renntech is overpriced, but I do think they have a good brand and have a history of working on lots of really cool rare, older, and expensive AMGs such as 500Es, the CLK GTRs, SLS BS, etc. I have found their customer service to be very good. I was having an issue loading up the tune on my car and actually the ECU bricked itself in the middle of reverting it back to stock. I towed it to the shop (love AAA) and they diagnosed that my ECU was dying. They worked hard diagnosing the mystery issue and didn't charge me a dime.