rooney2006

So I caught a link to Rik Johnson's site, 2phast, and I saw the air intake he fabricated for his w201, and he said it made a big difference as long as it as heat shielded and placed very close to where the stock intake would normally be. Now I have read on countless occasions all of you guys bashing the CAI or semi-cold (more like warm/hot) intake idea for w124's, saying how it will only reduce performance, and the like. Basically, my question is, have any of you actually tried something like what he did? Or did you all just come to this consensus that you think that's what will happen based on I don't know what? I'm very confused. He said it worked and worked well. And he seems to know pretty much everything.

Also, has anyone found front strut bars for w124s? Just curious.

And one last thing. I'm sure all of you have seen the very inexpensive mufflers on ebay. Any word on those? Anybody tried them? I'm thinking about going for one, simply because it does the same thing as a $500 Remus.

Thanks fellas.

oneill_1

For the strut bar...never tried them or heard anything on them:

http://www.auto-mark.com/

As for the mufflers....never tried them or heard anything on them.

-OG

CDP

I sourced the front Wiecher Sport strut bar. Coming next week.

Eliot

Interesting Post your impressions as soon as you have it installed!

2PHAST

I offically retracted my statements about the quasi cold air intake many years ago, but never updated my web site. The comments were originally made during the winter, but in the summer it was a different ball game. That design, just sucks in too much hot air. If done right, with the filter located outside the engine (like on my C36) it is possible to net some hp, but it will be minimal. That particular project was more or less just something to do, I eventually installed the OE box again and sold the custom fabricated air box. If you really want to do something like this, do it the way AMG did (see pictures.)

CDP

Just spoke with a guy from http://www.auto-mark.com/...

He told me the W124 front and rear bars are No Longer Available to get.

rooney2006

ChrisPham, The strut bars looked great on the site. That's unfortunate. Did he say why they were unavailable?

2Phast, how did you attach the air hose to the rear of the air box? Did the tubing have any problems with the heat from the engine? Melting and the like? And on the 124 where does the second one draw air from? the other side of the grill?

Thanks guys.

2PHAST

Those are not pictures of my vehicle, just pictures I have collected over the years to document what others and what other tuners did to improve performance. AMG did not use this method on all vehicles, the 190E 3.2l AMG is a good example of a AMG built vehicle (with M103) that used a completely stock air intake system. That says allot IMO. The first picture shows a AMG modded M104 motor, probably a 300CE, the 2nd air intake connects to a 400E headlight cover (thats how the 400e and 500e take in air). On the 300E, the 2nd intake tube could connect by the grill or in some instances, it connects to the air intake vent (to cool the passenger side motor mount). You could go the 400e/500e route, but you need the whole plastic bucket that the headlight sits in as well as the rear cover, it should fit into a 300e.

You would need to get creative, as there are no ready made parts to do this. The first picture shows how AMG did it, the others are most likely copies of what AMG originally did.

rooney2006

I think I'm going to try a second intake by the grill and just wind it around the left of the block. I found some Heat Shield stuff that looks legit. It can withstand 500 degrees or direct heat and 1100 degrees of radiant heat. I was actually considering wrapping my stock intake in that anyway, to see if I can lower the temperature a bit... maybe that will help. I just need to find a way to connect it to the intake box. Let me know if you guys have any ideas or know of any parts that might help me do this.

rooney2006

The second and third pictures would be the most helpful I think. The third picture's second hose looks seamless by the airbox, almost like it belongs. That's my only problem. :/