groupB

Ken is the best. Couldn't agree more.

Marcus Frost

Cyn I should not speculate on RENNTech's business, but I do know that 10 years ago their market share of Benz tuning was MUCH different than it was today. Back when I had my W210 RENNTech was the name of the game in the US. Obviously, the SIZE of the market has changed quite a bit, but there's a reason RENNTech has not stayed dominant, and it's their business mentality/ego.

I've HAD RENNTech products, and I pay a premium for all the work I get done. Look at my build threads, look at the quality of the weld work you see on my car, and everything else. How many people would pay to have the welds polished out on exhaust piping? Who pays top dollar for Carlsson 1/16ULs when most people don't even think twice about how much they really cost? I have NO qualms paying a premium WHEN THE PREMIUM is warranted.

I appreciate the rest of what you are saying, but the truth is you are really making the wrong assumptions about me. RENNTech may make a decent product, but in MANY cases they charge multiple times for products that simply do not deliver more than the competition. I just had an S600 wtih the $2500 Kleemann tune dyno at CPT the other day, beat my SL600 by almost 20rwhp and torque... my 600 had a failing water pump, so let's say they made the same power. You are telling me that you can find value in the RENNTech tune being $5000 and the Kleemann being $2500? Does the RENNTech tune make twice the power, run twice as fast, or last twice as long? Is RENNTech twice the company that Kleemann is? Is their customer service twice as good (NO)? Charging a premium comes with a premium product, and regardless if Kleemann has the ability to build engines and do projects no one else can - that doesn't always apply to every bit and piece that comes out of their shop... if anything it requires everything else to cost a ****load more so then can build hybrid GLKs that few people give a **** about.

-m

MarkoCL65

So I may be ff by a few percentage points. I may have actually erred in their favor. I assure you that my statements are highly credible. I would not have mentioned anything if they weren't. My name is not Bob Brady.

Last I checked, 610 RWHP is not "right there" with 700 RWHP.

MarkoCL65

I'm not "claiming" anything. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUnE500utg8

Don't have to. Now that you mention claims.....

Let's see that 129 trap.........

MarkoCL65

So are they the quickest 63 or are they .1 off...?? Confusing statement.

I guess you're a little less informed than you may believe. Stop listening to those haters. A few facts:

1. My car runs SLOWER times with ice in the tank due to the absence of TCU mod which eliminates torque management on shifts. We make more power, but the TCU takes more out. Best pass was with NO ICE.
2. We don't "claim" anything. Dynamometers provide graphs and data, race tracks provide timeslips. I share that information with everyone here.

So if I understand your post, they are "off" on two platforms.........

They should do more track testing and data logging. They may find that the limits of these platforms are not where they thought they were.

JAYCL600

Hi Bob and Ken

groupB

Do they?

http://www.dragtimes.com/Mercedes-Be...ag-Racing.html

Also keep in mind that, despite what the Dragtimes slip says, that car has the OS Giken diff. ($4995 from RENN http://www.autofiends.com/index.php/...s-eight-grand/), not "stock", RENN's long-tube headers (not short), and the RENN mid-pipe ($2440 secondary cat-delete/"sound-performance pipe").

Don't get me wrong, RENN's little C is a MONSTER, I'm just pointing out facts about the car (seen here http://jalopnik.com/5168541/renntech...cr-first-drive) on the night it made that time.

groupB

No love for me!?

MarkoCL65

Not as long as you work for Renntech.........

JAYCL600

hi Jo

E55AMGFan

Wow, it's bad when an employee makes a company look bad, no too good for the company to have an employee that bashes competitor's products in order to sell their own. I'm the fan of competitor's respecting each other and their products and allow the customer to make the decision.

JAYCL600

i believe Jo is no longer there and is at Switzer now

NXtremeJeep

Not sure what Bob's rant was all about, but Hartmut and the RennTECH team are top notch. Not really having any RennTECH parts on my E, Hartmut and Jeff have let me pick their brains for hours regarding all different performance parts for our vehicle. They are incredibly knowledgeable and couldn't have been any nicer or helpful.

I would suspect that much of Bob's aggression is based upon the competitors who post crazy horsepower gains with very little mods. It's only when you dig deeper do you find out certain details that nullify the results.

In any event, I don't think anyone can argue that RennTech has been one of the best in the AMG tuning market for years. And those who think their days are numbered, I suggest you take a trip down to their shop.

MarkoCL65

Sounds like Hartmut, Ken and Jeff are good guys that are knowledgeable and customer service oriented. Maybe they should answer the phone over there more often.
What this Bob Brady guy said was uncalled for and unprofessional.

CynCarvin32

Are you saying I am bob and or ken? That's funny because sitting in an office in Los Angeles reviewing ground leases likely is not what Ken and Bob are doing right now.

Have a good weekend.

MarkoCL65

Well we know it wasn't food. Apparently he gets plenty of that.

MarkoCL65

They were reading the thread. Neither posted.

CynCarvin32

So ok you have a car that is 1 mph faster in the quarter mile like for like. Hardly a place where you can get high and mighty. Your car is great and I will say its fast as snot but every comment around here is that RENNtech is junk. So explain how their car with an admitted 100 fewer hp at the wheels (in your eyes) is just 1 mph slower than your car?

As for the C63 I dont pay complete attention to everything but I think I saw them trapping 121 and that beats the all mighty MHP claims that are likely all bs.

Having had a close friend just have an EVO X motor explode on the dyno due to tuning issues (unknown issues with previously unknown maps) I think I would be extremely careful with people claiming to be the gods of ECU tuning. At this point I would be very careful all around as everyone is getting very aggressive since competition is getting stiff. I personally trust RENNtech. You may not and thats why you went the course you did.

If bob said those things about your car he should think twice. Its not right for any tuner to do that and that is why I hated MHP so much. You should promote your product not bash everyone else in the market. That might just be simply because I am big on character and very low and chest pounding.

CynCarvin32

Mark

I read your post and I dont think we are that far off honestly. I know you can appreciate some quality things and thats a valid point. Your wheels are insanely expensive and likely worth every penny due to their weight, fitment, and quality. I love the RENNtech monolite wheels on my SL55 for that same reason.



Power claims are just that. Your car was beat by the S600 and you have a valid point with the failing pump. But lets also agree that Klemann recently lowered prices to a point where they are very hard to pass up. Before they were in the area of RENNtech but now they are down right next to Powerchips. I think thats an amazing pricing policy and I bet they do quite well. I think RENNtech is a bit pricey but their latest performance figures show it to be very capable. With variations in power on stock motors its honestly hard to gauge these figures with absolute accuracy. Stock these things can vary by up to 30 hp and that makes the final tune test unfair. I guess like the delta value more in that case.

I think RENNtech has an amazing design background and skills no one else has. If you want to have that backing your car you purchase their parts. If you are after value or you like the offering by others of course go that way. I just always see constant bashing of RENNtech by some people and it gets old just because a large amount of it is false.

As for that Hybrid thing.... that was a marketing ploy and it was more something directed by MB for the intorduction of the GLK than anything else. The mods to the motor itself were impressive as it made 350 hp from a 3.5L motor. The head work and the exhaust were amazing. The rest was show for a show car. I know you can understand that aspect at least.

groupB

Ken and Jeff are GREAT guys, and HF will never pass up the chance to talk shop over a fast car.

groupB

Indeed!

groupB

You'll see a few empty offices, I think - at least 1!!

Akademiks

Marcus Frost

I think you are right, we aren't too far off. My point is not that RENNTech is not capable of making amazing products, my points is they charge AMAZING prices for things that aren't always amazing. Headwork is something where a good job is worth it's weight in gold... but we're not talking about headwork. We aren't talking about stroker motors, or anything of the sort. Yes, Kleemann did lower their prices recently but even before their prices were less - and on top of that Cory @ Kleemann has always, in my experience, been way more accessible/personable than Bob @ RENNTech.

I also want to say is what irritates me the most, beyond the high prices, is the ego. It's one thing for a tuner to say they make a good product... or that they respect other tuners but they feel their product is better... it's another for a tuner to just say everyone else makes junk and people are crazy for considering everyone else. That's just bad business, IMO.

-m

c32AMG-DTM

Over two months ago, VRUS/VRP posted:

In this thread:

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...5-65-tcus.html

What happened? Have you just not had a chance to track the new VRP TCU yet, and see how many 10ths it actually shaves off? Do you not even have it yet, over two months later?

It's hard to gauge some of these advancements and their efficacy, especially when a lot of info is posted upfront, and then the subsequent data and results (good, bad, or otherwise) aren't followed up with...

As for the topic at hand, sounds like Renntech isn't immune to "salesy" salespeople on the payroll - but I tend to agree with CynCarvin, they make high-quality parts, albeit at a premium pricepoint. It does speak volumes that MBUSA picked them as one of only 4 tuners for the GLK PR move for its release. Can't recall offhand, who did the "Pikes Peak" themed GLK? That thing was a beast