Im new to this hooking up my clk430 thing... all my friends are into hooking up there cars for more speed.. alot of them have gotten cold air intakes installed and i was wondering if there is a system for my clk... can u guys help?? and also they got these valves installed so that if water gets into it wont flood can u guys mayb enlighten me on this issue... thanks

 

Here read on https://mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=76333&highlight=CLK+intakes This has been discuss a lot of times.

I upgrade my intake to a CLK55 Intake here are some pictures not hard to do but it will cost you like around $500 at the dealer maybe you can find a better price at ebay good luck.

 

Welcome to the forums CLK , im guessing most of your friends are tuning japanese cars? Thats just a guess from the "hooking up there cars" bit, thats a blatantly term. No offense. If you are trying to tune your car in the same way one would tune a honda or VW, you are going to run into a few problems. Let me elaborate (im not trying to be a snob here or anything) There are really two kinds of MB modification styles when you boil it all down...
1) Eurotuning - I call it this because of the popular magazine that espouses a certan type of German rice rocket style. Lots of Volkswagens, some Audis, and even BMWs go this way. Basically its like japanese car tuning (HUGE exhausts, HUGE wings, chrome piping everywhere, colored silicone connector hoses, outrageous body kits, you get the picture).
2) MB World tuner - Mostly use upgraded OEM parts (like the AMG airbox) or aftermarket parts of notable quality (Like Eisenmann, Renntech, Koni, Brabus, Carlsson, Lorinser, Kleeman, and some other parts companies that have crossover products like H&R, Evosport, Eibach, K&N, and Green Filters). This second style can give you some great results too but will cost a bit more. Check the site advertiser index for some places to buy stuff.

As for your request about the airbox, do this. Buy an AMG airbox if you want to spend the $$$, then get some Green Filters for it (drop in pannels), then get some thermal insulation (some audio insulators with a heat sheild component to them will do the job) to put between the airbox and your engine's intake manifold to dissipate heat before it can heat the air going into your engine. The thing with open element filters like your friends are using is that depending on the position of the element (the cone) they can either cause minor/moderate gains or minor/moderate losses. Open element filters draw in MORE air, but they also draw in HOTTER air if they are positioned in open air anywhere near the engine. Hotter air is less dense so although you're pulling more in, it's less dense and you are therefore losing power. If you want to go with the open element filter you can, but it takes more work and will not produce the results of the AMG airbox. Have fun with your car, and beware of the