whoover

Wouldn't it be great to be able to get these performance and interior mods on US cars?

http://www.mercedes-amg.com/assets/p...en_e-class.pdf

With the US being such a large market for AMG, why don't they have an equivalent customization house here? I'm sure they'd get a ton of business at Affalterbach-West.

stevebez

Geez -- certainly a few options there I would have loved ...

What is wierd is they still list the E55 as a current model in a brochure dated 20 June 2006... ?

Maybe we can have some retrofitting done e.g. front brake upgrade, steering wheel, and maybe some trim pieces... dayam ... wish I had this list last year when I specced my '06. Certainly was not available to me as a UK client in July 05.

whoover

I'm fairly certain UK cars can have most or all of these mods installed at Affalterbach. Perhaps you need to take the factory-delivery option and escort the car to the Manufaktur shop for these post-production mods. It sounds like your dealer isn't as well-informed as you'd like.

The US equivalent of factory-delivery doesn't allow for a detour to Manufaktur. It does give us a 7% break on the cost of the car (which your program doesn't), but there seems no way to even have the interior work scheduled as part of the European Delivery Program. Of course, most of the interesting stuff is not allowed because of the US safety regulatory bureaucracy. I suspect they would have to crash-test a number of cars with each option, lest the new M1/M2 transmission mode switch be positioned where it could chip a fingernail during a rollover.

MARK CUMMINS

Steve @www.MBENZNL.com CAN Get the AMG Parts .. E mail Steve if Interested in AMG MANUFAKTUR Items ...NOT CHEAP..But the real deal!

http://www.mercedes-amg.com/assets/p...en_e-class.pdf

whoover

Many of these mods must be installed at Affalterbach. If I could get the parts for the M1/M2 transmission mod, I'm not sure I'd trust anyone to install them. Similarly with the suspension mods. Does anyone have enough experience with the parts to set them up correctly? Certainly it would be nice to have an AMG house over here that does the work so there is no warranty controversy.

BTW, note that the transmission mod is not available for the 7-speed.

stevebez

Anyone know if we can retrofit some of this kit at the stealer ? e.g. delimit, shifter programs, LSD etc ???

ClayJ

See if you can find a tuner or raceshop who will do the work knowledgeably -- it is even easier to get the parts than it is to find someone who can do a good job of installation, I have found.

I am quite doubtful about the stealership being willing to do the install....

Of course Brabus will order the parts for you and do an excellent install -- and then they will charge you excellently for having done so.

In the United States one could go through an authorized Kleeman or Renntech shop as well, I would guess.

I have a tuner who does my stuff in California on USA cars that I didn't arrange to have done at AMG Manufaktur. He does absolutely excellent work, and I trust him completely.

I actually try to have almost all of my stuff done at AMG Manufaktur in Germany before the car heads for the port and the car's final resting place or home. I will be doing alot of that this year with new MBZ's. It really is the best way to go....

AMG of course does excellent work - and of course they charge you extraordinarily excellently for having done so....

My recommendation is that you find a tuner or raceshop who know what they are doing -- and be prepared to part with lots of money in the process (I haven't found a reasonably priced one yet). It does work well for me.

stevebez

Thanks ClayJ...

BTW let us know when u get your E63..!

2MANYCARS

I just want the driver's program, speed shift, and multi-piece diff. Wonder what the US pricing might be???

2QUIK4U

See my thread at the private lounge (www.mercedes-amg.com/privatelounge) regarding this topic.

Regarding the prices of these products, go to the www.mercedes-amg.com, then click on Manufaktur and select your vehicle application. All prices are indicated in Euro, multiply by 1.27 to get an approximate idea what these parts will cost in $US.

Please post a reply to the aforementioned thread to support or ability to obtain these parts in the US (see "Feedback" section). I have been informed that AMG is hearing this message loud and clear and if we continue to post and show our support, there is an increased chance that these parts will begin to be offered here in the US.

whoover

The latest in the Private Lounge is from AMG:

The feedback on this topic has been fantastic.
We are in the process of creating a proper response.

This is great news.

2QUIK4U

Yes, this is great news and hopefully we'll find out more from AMG shortly. However, we need to keep the ball rolling and continue to express our interest in these parts on that thread.

Again, if you have not yet posted and are interested in AMG Manufaktur parts for your cars, please post a brief reply to the thread.

ClayJ

You're absolutely welcome.

I know that you can find a tuner/raceshop in Britain that can do the modifications for you -- has to be one.

And yes I will be posting up the E63T (pretty sure I am going to go with the estate) when I take possession.

BTW - an additional option for you folks in the UK and the rest of Europe: you can drive your car to AMG Manufaktur in Affalterbach to have the work done - they perform the work in a day -- less than a day if it is just mechanical work and/or exterior work and you're not doing any interior work as well.

And then drive your new machine home.

Can Drive 55

ClayJ, if I had an S-65 on order, do you think I could divert it to AMG Manufaktur for a little bit of mod work? A set of those AMG door locks would be nice. In fact the car would be nice. Hmmm, just wondering when there might be one more in the DFW area. Any idea?

ClayJ

Fairly soon .

Definately consider having the car make a pitstop for a day at AMG Manufaktur on its way to being loaded for shipping to the USA.

If you do European Delivery it is very easy -- but you have to wait for the darn thing to get here....

I believe that it should be possible in ordering from the USA to order the extra goodies like the AMG-logo'd doorlock pins as part of your USA dealership factory order.

If you really want to do it right, AMG Manufaktur has other desirable goodies too - like complete leather trim treatment, and the wireless mobile office treatment, for instance....

Of course, if it were a company car, your employer should airship it to you and not make you wait for ship-borne delivery -- what's an extra $10K USD on a $200K USD car - 5%?

Can Drive 55

Since I am just plain folk from a small country town, I would be happy to have a plain vanilla S65 with all the usual factory options. Not to be greedy here.

ClayJ

Hey - if you are worth what your employer is paying you - and if he is offering an S65 for your company car...might as well float the extra inch across the table....

Can Drive 55

In the interest of remaining on topic, if my employer furnished an S65, then I would be most happy to have it make a pit stop at AMG Manufaktur.

2QUIK4U

With the status quo, AMG Manufaktur will not touch a North American spec vehicle nor will they perform any upgrades, etc.

They might be willing to sell the doorpins and few other small items. However, the selection is very limited at the moment for US customers due US homologation and product liability concerns.

ClayJ

INCORRECT.

Only the Vmax delimit is denied for a car coming to the USA (or North America, meaning Canada or USA?).

2QUIK4U

[QUOTEINCORRECT.

Only the Vmax delimit is denied for a car coming to the USA (or North America, meaning Canada or USA?).][/QUOTE]

No, I'm sorry, but you are incorrect. If you don't believe me, try to call AMG Manufaktur and ask them whether they will install M2 shift plus, the power package, the Nuerburgring suspension, or any other mods on a US spec car. The answer will be no.

ClayJ

I have no idea what your experience is - but I will tell you in no uncertain terms:

I DO IT ALL THE TIME.

2QUIK4U

ClayJ,

I'm not trying to start an argument with you. I have spoken to a number of AMG representatives and they said that they are unable to perform modifications on US spec cars due to liability reasons. Hopefully this will change in the near future and these parts will become more widely available in the US.

Out of curiousity, which parts/modifications have you ordered for you cars? Is your car US spec?

ClayJ

Indeed, my friend -- no intention on my part to start an argument either -

Last Summer, for the very first time, AMG Manufaktur refused (or 'declined', perhaps is a nicer term) to do the Vmax delimit for me on a US-Spec car. The vehicle was a G55 XXL car coming to the USA. I agreed with their argument that a G55 - let alone an XXL - had no business going that fast, and safely.

It could be that MBZ has made a corporate decision - at least in the short-term or currently - to limit AMG Manufaktur performance modifications on US-Spec (and I believe this applies or will apply to Canada cars as well) vehicles -- on cars that they know are coming to North America. And this may be due to product- or other liability concerns, surely.

I have had done - and I know of dozens of other instances where these have been done - performance mods on US-Spec vehicles at AMG Manufaktur in the last several years. These have run the gamut on both modifications and on the car models on which they were performed....

I am about to have another couple dozen US Spec cars done at AMG Manufaktur, and should be there physically myself within the next month or so to discuss and finalize the orders on some of these cars -- if I hear "no" from them, then we will know that something has indeed drastically changed, harming our opportunity to get AMG post-production performance mods done on North American-Spec and bound vehicles. I am a big customer, a preferred customer, so they might not tell me "no" in any event -- but if they do, then we will know for sure what is going on (or not going on as the case may be).

I have not talked directly with AMG Manufaktur in the last 6 months; and this issue or question has not come up lately in any of my discussions with any of my GM's who are currently dealing with AMG Manufaktur on a performance-modded car for the USA or Canada...so this post of yours is the first indication that I have had that a change is blowing in the wind - or has already landed.


I wil pursue this issue as I am able to in the immediate future and I will post-up on the forums what I can about what I am informed of on this question.

I do seriously doubt, however, that preferred customers are going to be denied an appropriate, legal modification on an appropriate vehicle that is coming to North America -- I have NEVER seen that before from AMG. Heck, even the 030 performance package has as standard a Vmax delimit -- see what I mean? How can it be product liability if it is already included in a standard option package on a number of vehicles which are coming here?

I am not sure that we have th whole story -

I will do my best to further some details.

And thanks, 2QUIK4U, for your persistance in bringing this question to light.

medici78

Steve MBenzNL can most certainly get you the LSD. It's not cheap, but I wouldn't consider it outrageously expensive.