Hi, I have a 87 300E and am looking for an aftermarket free-flow exhaust to get better back-pressure and better sound. Any recommendations? All the magazines and websites that I can find are all for japanese cars.... nothing for Mercedes. I have found www.************************, they sell one for the w124 made by Remus. Sells for $475.00 US. Any thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks


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Jay Huang
1987 300E

The M103's were never designed to be low-rpm torque monsters. The stock exhaust works well enough but if you swapped to a aftermarket rear muffler for cosmetic reasons you could go Remus or any of the tuners. For min budget cosmetic change the Remus is probably your best option.

Hope this helps...Lee

Lee:

Before I do the next steps in my Sportline makeover (Euro lights and 400E brakes), I find that I also need a new rear tailpipe/muffler. I am not going to do anything to the engine's breathing, so I gather from earlier posts that the standard exhaust is as good as any of the aftermarkets for performance (don't care about the looks or sound). Is there any preference on mufflers - OE, OEM, genuine MB, etc? Thanks for any info.

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JCE
87 300E 58,000 miles
Smoke Silver

To Jay Huang:

Remus exhaust are sold at: www.cecwheels.com

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• 1998 MERCEDES-BENZ E430
  
• OBSIDIAN BLACK/BLACK
  
• XENON H.I.D.
  
• DEBADGED E430
  
• AMG CHROMED TIP DUAL EXHAUST
  
• CARLSSON 1/6 CHROME (PLUS 1) WHEELS
  

When typically "mufflers" are changed on the w124 300Es are they sold as a complete bolt on unit from the back of the cats all the way through what I think is first the resonator then through another pipe and then to the muffler. Or does it have to be cut and welded to the resonator? I have a some dry rot developing in the pipe between the resonator chamber and the muffler chamber what would be the best way to fix it. Thanks for the help

J. Ko:

I don't know if there are any differences - I read on the MBCA chat list that OE could mean just about anything, that the part may be aftermarket for MB but never used by MB, while OEM meant that the company was an approved supplier to MB. However, I have seen the terms used interchangably, and am confused myself.

The local MB dealer will sell me a "real MB, not OEM" (in their words)rear pipe/muffler for $370, installation extra, while a local muffler shop recommended by my independent MB tech will sell me an "OE" MB muffler for $226, INSTALLED!

This $150+ difference is why I am asking the question. I don't want to "save" money with a high back pressure rust prone muffler, but don't feel like playing Santa to the dealer if there is no difference in performance or quality.

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JCE
87 300E 58,000 miles
Smoke Silver

The whole OE/OEM/aftermarket parts issue is discussed in detail in this month's issue of The Star. I'm planning on digitizing it and posting it here for everyone's reference. Bottom line though; OE is Original Equipment, and is expected to be the EXACT SAME PART as you'd get at a dealer. OEM means Original Equipment Manufacturer, and means only that the manufacturer has supplied parts to Mercedes. It actually means very little, and can be loosely applied. Anything other than OE or MBZ sourced parts may be trailing in terms of being superceded, so if a part's been improved it is possible that the OEM part may not reflect the update. For all the aggravation involved in typically installing ANY part, I'm inclined to stick with the part with the Star; any such part is backed up for a year (to include replacement labor) regardless of who installed it. That alone is worth any premium in most cases, no?

Ken:

The 300E exhaust, going from the rear of the car forward, consists of a resonator, muffler, and down tube (not sure if this is the correct name, but it's the part between the exhaust headers and the muffler...it includes the Cat). If one of the pipes between muffler & resonator is going bad, to do the job correctly you'll need to replace the entire component that the offending pipe is a part of.

JCE In your case, I think if you stick with a good OEM muffler, you should be fine....that particular design has not changed ever, to my knowledge. A part like this might be a good one to save a few bucks on.


Good luck!



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Best regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE

Here's a reprint of an e-mail I sent to a Shop Forum member about a month ago regarding OE/OEM, etc...

Mercedes-Benz does not make filters...nor do they make brake pads, spark
plug wires, radios, ignition systems, tires, muffler hangers, radiators,
shock absorbers, etc, etc
You get the picture.
Mercedes contracts for the manufacture of these items.
If Mercedes pays for the tooling then the contractor can only manufacture
the part for sale to Mercedes. If the contractor pays for the tooling then
they can sell to anyone they wish but, if the part has a star on it, then it
can only be sold to Mercedes.
Behr makes all of the radiators for all Mercedes. Behr owns the tooling.
When they slap a star and Mercedes part number on their radiator it is sold
to Mercedes. When they take exactly the same radiator but leave off the
Mercedes star and label, it can be sold on the aftermarket to people like us
or independent shops.
Do we stock any items that do have the star? YES, but these are usually
items that are not available on the aftermarket at the same quality level.
Some items are only available from Mercedes so, that's where we have to buy
them.
Take oil filters for example...Mercedes buys filters from 3 or 4 primary
suppliers: Mann, Knecht and Hengst. You can buy any of these and you are
getting exactly the same filter as the one with the star on it. Why pay more
for the star?
Brake pads are another story. Mercedes buys from Jurid, Pagid and Textar
primarily. In this case you have to be careful. Each of these manufacturers
makes different compounds. Just because it's a Pagid brake pad doesn't mean
that it's the same as a Mercedes brake pad. Pagid makes one compound for
Mercedes with the star, they make the same pad without the star and they
make others that will fit a Mercedes but ARE NOT the same compound and won't
stop the same. Here it pays to make sure you're getting the correct pad.
The bottom line is this...if you want to keep your Mercedes all original in
its performance then ONLY buy OE parts but, you don't necessarily have to
have the star on it.
We also stock aftermarket parts that are not OE quality. Take mufflers for
example. We sell both the OE quality mufflers and aftermarket quality. The
aftermarket are almost 1/2 the price of the OE and probably worth about 1/2
as much. If you submit a Parts Information Request and ask for OE quality
then, will WILL NOT steer you toward the aftermarket. We will give you the
part number for OE.
I know this has been a long answer but, we stock over 10,000 parts that have
to meet many different people's requirements. Believe me, I am VERY PICKY
about what goes into my beautiful 1998 E430. I will only put OE parts in my
car. There are several people out there who just want the lowest price so
they buy less than OE quality. That's why we have both.
All you have to do is tell us you want OE quality and we'll meet that
requirement at a very competitive price.


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Bill Wood - Webmaster
MercedesShop.com, LLC

Jay, try these sites. www.timevalve.com
www.famousexhaust.com

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Paul
1992 300TE 4MATIC

Bill and Michael:

Thanks for clearing up the definitions. I can't do most of my own repairs any more, so I am sort of at the mercy of the repair shops, and knowing what to ask for makes a big difference! I will try to pin down the muffler shop to an OE muffler.

I have tried the supersprint and Remus exhausts. Look at the supersprint web site. They have a full exhaust for your car including SS headers. I would suggest that you consider the supersprint tail muffler and use a pipe which removes the central silencer. Car will rumble at idle...very pleasant....sound nice when accelerating but no freeway noise...

1987 2.3-16
1991 2.3 stroked to 2.5. amg kit