Sorry if I am missing something, but didn't see any posts about enclosed intake options for the GLC 43. I see plenty of carbon options for the 63 models, but wanted to get info on any and all options available for the 43. I would prefer enclosed vs open as the engine bay with hot air and intakes don't mix well. I'm looking to do a stage 2 setup with AMR ECU/TCU tune and non-catted downpipes on my 2018 GLC 43 AMG and wanted to know if this was even a option or if the stock intake system is adequate. I've been around modding vehicles for the past 20 years, but am unfamiliar with this platform as I have only had the vehicle for about 3 months now.

Thank you in advance!

 

Greetings, and welcome to the fam. The closest product on the market that comes close to what you are looking for is the offering from MST.
https://www.mst-performance.com/products/mb-c4301l
There are heated (no pun intended) arguments on this board about the performance gains of this system vs. what I like to call "the platform standard" BMS intake system. I went through a similar bout of research before purchasing my BMS system for my new to me 43. In the end, the OEM intake system is far better engineered than anything the aftermarket has to offer for this engine platform but is primarily aimed at reduction in intake sound. Once you install and aftermarket intake system and experience in daily driving you will quickly see why. I'm not entirely convinced (in the absence of any shred of dyno proven evidence otherwise) that the aftermarket intakes are really worth any usable real horsepower anyway. Claims are upwards of 10-20hp I think but it does make all kinds of boosty boy sounds. Rarely (none that I have found actually) does anyone perform any kind of A and B testing of the intake alone with numbers to back it up to determine what the intake by itself is capable of adding. Most I've seen (myself included) perform the intake upgrade at the time of tuning (piggy back or ecu flash) so it's really impossible to tell how much of the gains are from the tuning and how much additional the intakes add on top of that. As for the downpipes, I'm about to purchase the Logos Engineering catted DP due to the pros/cons ratio vs. the amount of HP actually gained from catless. Again, the gains are negligible at best and feedback across the board is how terrible it smells (I've run a car on race pipes before so I'm no stranger - doesn't bother me) and most important - how it changes the sound output of this motor. I've listened to plenty of vides and the high pitch rasp that the M276 emits as a result of no cats is just not appealing to me personally. Not for an extra 4-5hp anyway. Lastly, the issues of dealing with emissions regulations and potential for check engine lights just makes the Logos DP's so much more appealing. Anyway, since you're new to this platform, as am I, let me forewarn you - as a person who has owned and modified cars since I started driving (94) be prepared for some frustration. This is not a popular platform to work on or work with and support for it is sparse. I spend a lot of time over on the C43 board since they seem to do a lot more performance stuff on the sedan (as a proportion of owners go) than the GLC guys do. This board is generally ruled by the big dog 63's (as they should!). Good luck and post up as you go - I'm dealing with some very frustrating results of a JB4 and am waiting to post results of testing of that myself. Been to the track 3 times now for test and tunes and the results have been...how shall I say this....interesting.

 

Thank you so much for the help here. Yes, I am also considering the race catted option vs catless, as this is my daily driven vehicle and the wife drives it from time to time as well. I hope that some more testing/creation for this platform happens. I do know very well that the base of the performance upgrades are for the 63's, and agreeably so, as you stated. The big brother so to speak of our little ole V6 Good luck and I hope you get your tuning issues figured out and thank you again for taking the time out to set me straight so I can be warned of what is available and also worth putting time and effort into.

 

For sure man! Most of the cars I've owned and modified in the past have had not only much better aftermarket support but very informative enthusiast forums. This board is great but I have noticed a weird trend where people come in, ask questions, then threads just trail off and die lol! I've read pages after pages of threads and often come away with just about the same information I started with. It's kinda like going at it alone. I'm trying to document as much as I can and post about my findings in the hope that when someone else uses the advanced search they'll stumble across something they can actually use to make an informed decision. But I do try to be thorough so I'm holding off on my JB4 thread until I have all the data and can provide facts to go along with my experience and perceptions. Please do post if you can when you do your upgrades and provide feedback. The community needs it!

 

Forums, in general have slowed way down over the past several years and really seemed to have taken a hit during COVID. A lot of groups have broken off into private chat apps which is where most of my group is now. I still like forums so I always check here. I also post in the C63 forum a lot as there are a lot of tuned cars over there vs in the GLC section. Check out the C43 side.

 

do you have a link to said form for the GLC?

 

I did, and I still do (see above) - but much of the same challenges remain - lots of questions without much feedback. There seems to be a lot of shooting the dark. I hear you about forums dying off, I see it too. Facebook ruined everything lol. I even tried mining through the N54 forums for support on the JB4 tuning platform but even that seems to have fallen off after a lot of good information initially for the C43/GLC43/C450 platform. It's enough to turn a person off from even trying to mess around with these things. The bright side is, the damn thing is so much fun to drive, every time I get behind the wheel I forget about all that crap anyway Sorry to threadjack OP!

 

way better to mess around with these now before they turn into a hybrid

 

Thank you!!! Will check out the C43 forum as well!

 

It's a private group for tuned M177s, I'm just saying that there are other things out there besides forums.