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Quick back story, took my car in to get a baseline service- changed all fluids, cross brace replacements, inspection of everything, etc. After getting car back I noticed one of my cloth intake tubes was split in the middle.
I thought nothing of it as I've read about the tube ripping and basically just plain sucking at being an intake tube. Since the staff "reassembled" it nicely I thought there should be no issues.
Fast forward to this past wknd- I was prepping for a 3 hr drive to the mtns and checking oil and stuff and found my intake tube had sucked into my filter box into a tangled mess.
No telling how long that was stuffed in there hindering flow. I was also surprised that the suction was that great to gather it all in there- I am tuned, but still...seems like massive suction would be needed to ingest that into the box almost entirely and strong enough to unravel it too!
That being said, I had some leftover silicone hose from a BMW project and fabbed up some ghetto tubes. (Yes I need smaller clamps)...
So the question- has anyone made better intake tubes for our platform? I've searched around and do not want those ridged Spectre flex tubes...i just see that causing turbulent air flow and getting brittle at some point due to bay heat.
Any manufacturer make a legit replacement that isn't the cloth?
VRP Speed Intake Tubes. I use them as the first time I even looked at my cloth intake tubes I knew there was going to a problem with them at some point. So that was my first modification.
VRP Speed Intake Tubes. I use them as the first time I even looked at my cloth intake tubes I knew there was going to a problem with them at some point. So that was my first modification.
Scott, how long have you been running VRP intake tubes? I remember reading a very bad illustrated review of that product somewhere (might have been here). Poster complained about horrible fitment (as far as I can remember).
To the OP; There has been a few threads about this issue over the few years I have been reading this forum. I saved this on my Amazon list from one of those posts justin. No personal experience with them.
BTW, those "ghetto tubes" you fabbed up look pretty sweet. I mean, the color is not my cup o' tea for this engine bay, but I am sure that'd get the job done!
Scott, how long have you been running VRP intake tubes? I remember reading a very bad illustrated review of that product somewhere (might have been here). Poster complained about horrible fitment (as far as I can remember).
To the OP; There has been a few threads about this issue over the few years I have been reading this forum. I saved this on my Amazon list from one of those posts justin
Thanks yeah the Amazon tubes that you refer to are those specter flex adjustable tubes I mentioned. I'm not a huge fan of the look.
I also recall that same review where it said the VR speeds were not good.
I was hoping for some composite or carbon tube that won't break the bank.
Maybe I need to get a 3D printer and cast these bad boys
Scott, how long have you been running VRP intake tubes? I remember reading a very bad illustrated review of that product somewhere (might have been here). Poster complained about horrible fitment (as far as I can remember).
To the OP; There has been a few threads about this issue over the few years I have been reading this forum. I saved this on my Amazon list from one of those posts justin. No personal experience with them. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BPZ55Y...v_ov_lig_dp_it
BTW, those "ghetto tubes" you fabbed up look pretty sweet. I mean, the color is not my cup o' tea for this engine bay, but I am sure that'd get the job done!
The went on in about ten minutes. I saw there was a complaint, it was one dude who could not get them to fit no matter what. I am thinking it may have been a case of "user error" more than anything.
I have run them for two months. I guess the only thing is they are not as flexible as the cloth or rubber tubing, so it may take an extra couple of minutes to rotate them so they fit at the correct angle. But no issues here. You can't break them!
The went on in about ten minutes. I saw there was a complaint, it was one dude who could not get them to fit no matter what. I am thinking it may have been a case of "user error" more than anything.
I have run them for two months. I guess the only thing is they are not as flexible as the cloth or rubber tubing, so it may take an extra couple of minutes to rotate them so they fit at the correct angle. But no issues here. You can't break them!
Welp...back to the drawing board- these silicon ones are not strong/rigid enough and pancake on WOT to the point the car is sucking them off the front duct. Must be a lot of movement in that bay to pull those effers off the duct...I have them clasped on!
The went on in about ten minutes. I saw there was a complaint, it was one dude who could not get them to fit no matter what. I am thinking it may have been a case of "user error" more than anything.
I have run them for two months. I guess the only thing is they are not as flexible as the cloth or rubber tubing, so it may take an extra couple of minutes to rotate them so they fit at the correct angle. But no issues here. You can't break them!
Scott
I was the complaint. It was valid and backed up with pics and was descriptive of exactly what was wrong. I’m a very capable diy mechanic. Two steel tubes don’t even measure on the banana scale. It’s just not of a quality I would want on my vehicle at that price. It was rubbing a metal coolant line and a screw and deformed from engine heat cause they retained tons of heat enough to deform the front scoop that was under pressure from poor fitment. To an uninformed purchaser this could have taken out their engine,literally!! AND During my complaint do you think ANYONE contacted me? I was not interested in dealing with them after the poorly communicated and very delayed shipping service and then receiving a poor quality product after the fact. To me I was just reporting to the forum, cutting my losses, and educating the public as to what MIGHT happen to them.
So, before you blame user error, please feel free to ask me to provide you with a data driven report of why these tubes did not work for me regardless of it they worked for anyone else. I have a ‘13 63s wagon of which few were made, it has split cooling and rwd, it’s rare and clearly the fitment is different than for the parts created.
The went on in about ten minutes. I saw there was a complaint, it was one dude who could not get them to fit no matter what. I am thinking it may have been a case of "user error" more than anything.
I have run them for two months. I guess the only thing is they are not as flexible as the cloth or rubber tubing, so it may take an extra couple of minutes to rotate them so they fit at the correct angle. But no issues here. You can't break them!
Scott
I was the complaint. It was valid and backed up with pics and was descriptive of exactly what was wrong. I’m a very capable diy mechanic. Two steel tubes don’t even measure on the banana scale. It’s just not of a quality I would want on my vehicle at that price. It was rubbing a metal coolant line and a screw and deformed from engine heat cause they retained tons of heat enough to deform the front scoop that was under pressure from poor fitment. To an uninformed purchaser this could have taken out their engine,literally!! AND During my complaint do you think ANYONE contacted me? I was not interested in dealing with them after the poorly communicated and very delayed shipping service and then receiving a poor quality product after the fact. To me I was just reporting to the forum, cutting my losses, and educating the public as to what MIGHT happen to them.
So, before you blame user error, please feel free to ask me to provide you with a data driven report of why these tubes did not work for me regardless of it they worked for anyone else. I have a ‘13 63s wagon of which few were made, it has split cooling and rwd, it’s rare and clearly the fitment is different than for the parts created.
Thanks.
And to be fair it’s just silly that some people accept parts that don’t fit 100%
Last edited by Baltistyle; Jul 9, 2020 at 01:13 PM.
Reason: Spelling
Welp...back to the drawing board- these silicon ones are not strong/rigid enough and pancake on WOT to the point the car is sucking them off the front duct. Must be a lot of movement in that bay to pull those effers off the duct...I have them clasped on!
Interesting. But now that you describe this, I can totally see it happening. Heck, the intake suction is strong enough to have pulled in the stock damaged tube into the intake box as you reported above. I wonder if this (the flattening upon WOT) was happening in my old subaru (there was a hard plastic turbo inlet tube that everyone was upgrading with silicone hoses. It was a pretty weird design where the tube would be sandwiched between the intake manifold and the engine block).
My old 4g63 (DSM) would blow its upper intercooler pipe off the throttle body under WOT if that hose clamp was not only super tight (and I mean almost to the point of breaking the clamp) but also something sticky like hairspray had to be applied. Silicone and polished metal just aren’t friends!
I get it - y’all are talking vacuum versus pressure but the point is there are a lot of powerful forces going on under the hood.
Add me to the list of terrible fitment from the VRP intake tubes...you can expect Ebay quality fitment, if not worse. I've PM'd VRP about the issue & was ignored...tossed them in the trash a long time ago.
I was the complaint. It was valid and backed up with pics and was descriptive of exactly what was wrong. I’m a very capable diy mechanic. Two steel tubes don’t even measure on the banana scale. It’s just not of a quality I would want on my vehicle at that price. It was rubbing a metal coolant line and a screw and deformed from engine heat cause they retained tons of heat enough to deform the front scoop that was under pressure from poor fitment. To an uninformed purchaser this could have taken out their engine,literally!! AND During my complaint do you think ANYONE contacted me? I was not interested in dealing with them after the poorly communicated and very delayed shipping service and then receiving a poor quality product after the fact. To me I was just reporting to the forum, cutting my losses, and educating the public as to what MIGHT happen to them.
So, before you blame user error, please feel free to ask me to provide you with a data driven report of why these tubes did not work for me regardless of it they worked for anyone else. I have a ‘13 63s wagon of which few were made, it has split cooling and rwd, it’s rare and clearly the fitment is different than for the parts created.
Thanks.
And to be fair it’s just silly that some people accept parts that don’t fit 100%
To my defense, I said "may" have been a case of user error. I was not there and did not examine your product, engine bay or your mechanical skill set. So relax!
Mine went on in ten minutes:
1. It does not rub on anything.
2. Nothing has deformed from heat retention (I live in Houston, i.e. hot as hell).
3. It remains perfectly assembled.
4. Works and installs as advertised.
Interesting. But now that you describe this, I can totally see it happening. Heck, the intake suction is strong enough to have pulled in the stock damaged tube into the intake box as you reported above. I wonder if this (the flattening upon WOT) was happening in my old subaru (there was a hard plastic turbo inlet tube that everyone was upgrading with silicone hoses. It was a pretty weird design where the tube would be sandwiched between the intake manifold and the engine block).
yea I had a boosted b6 audi avant (21#) that would starve itself until suction laxed enough to rebuild again and repeat..The merc would never lax out though....it'd hit about 90mph and cut boost sensing trouble- smart car.
Has there been any work into addressing the fitment issues people are having?
There are not any fitment issues when ordered for the proper model. Ordering for an S class or a Wagon does not qualify as a fitment issue as we do not list those as compatible models.
Are you saying that there is a fitment difference between a E63S AMG sedan and a E63S AMG wagon?
I am saying we have not listed that as a compatible model because we dont know if there is a difference or not. The wagons are extremely rare and we have not been lucky enough to have one for product development. I reached out to the purchaser multiple times to help him resolve his issues, as well as having no similar complaints to his.
I am saying we have not listed that as a compatible model because we dont know if there is a difference or not. The wagons are extremely rare and we have not been lucky enough to have one for product development. I reached out to the purchaser multiple times to help him resolve his issues, as well as having no similar complaints to his.
Again, that's not what I've seen here and in Facebook groups. You're deflecting by trying to blame users for potentially ordering a wrong part. And the problem with that is: the people posting have sedans.
When ordering the part there was not only no differences or exclusions listed on the website, BUT I SPOKE TO THEM ON THE PHONE.
please be aware with this vendor.
The way they have responded is EXACTLY as stated, like a bad reseller with no true ability to support. Can you guess if even after making these statements each time if they have contacted me? NOPE, after the sale went through they moved on to ripping off others.
again good luck to anyone buying anything from VRP.
and in case google needs more to get hits,
avoid VRP, the company that resells others products or copies them and offers no support.
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