hey y'all...i spoke with a renntech tech...(that's funny)....
if you've got the w124 103/104 engine, higher air intake just doesn't do much....

to explain...i was told that renntech never made a ram type air intake because their R&D dept. concluded that higher air intake did nothing for performance of the engine, in that MB made these engines rock solid and pretty much not to go further than what they were designed to be....he did proceed to tell me that if you wanted to get an 67-85 hp boost, that would entail a 13,500.00 engine conversion where they would make your 2.8 - 3.0 L engine into a 3.6L woo hoo...

hope this helps...
i made the dumba$$ mistake of buying the filter and then reading about it...so i guess it's off to ebay....
oh and cutting that flap to let more air in only let's water into your filter ugh

__________________
~there is no spoon~

1984 300CD Turbo Diesel (soon to be "powered by VEGGIE") - dolphin silver

1999 e430 Sport blk/blk, my sexy ***** ;-)

(my other girls)
1992 300CE 24V 3.0L (w124) (R.I.P. "she was killed 7/12/03 by some ricer kids speeding in a honda accord")
1990 Acura Integra RS (w/94' engine)
1966 Cadillac Sedan de Ville (Hardtop)

These forums are the best thing I have ever come across. Any question I could possibly have has already been asked and answered, or someone is ready to answer it.

I was thinking very seriously about getting a K & N as the first real "performance" upgrade for my car, but now I think I will just save my 60 bucks and get better performance w/ OEM filter.

WTF ! man i was thinking about a k&n air filter too but now
NO WAY !
u guys really did changed my mind about it
and i will stivk with the OEM too :p heheheheh

I AGREE These forums are the best thing I have ever come across!

I agree, that putting a simple K&N filter into a mercedes will not achieve much, because of all the reasons listed above. However, I put a K&N filter in a 96 mustang (3.8 l, 6 cyl), and felt the following:
1) the lag in acceleration due to running AC is gone
2) Car surges forward above 3,500 rpm
3) slightly deeper tone under load

I know a couple of semi-professional rally drivers from NY running Subaru Imprezas WRX. THE FIRST thing they did was to throw out the factory air boxes and filters and replaced them with the injection air intakes with, you guessed it, K&N filters. Well, if the guys making a living (or some of it) while driving prefer K&N's, who am I to argue? As to the "more dirt" comment (the one about physics), it would make sense if the K&N filters were made of paper. But they arent. They made of cotton. The cotton is thicker than paper, so it has more surface area for dust particles to adhere . that's simple physics ! So, even though there is more space between cotton fibers, the thickness of material ensures you get clean air. Also, that means you can load more dirt (that's why you have to clean'em only every 40,000 miles).

hey on the WRX thing...
one thing is for sure...
all japanese cars stand to gain from more air intake (it's seems)...i did the same with my integra...aluminum air intake/litespeed with a K&N cone filter, and the car seemed to want to squeel off the line....before i blew my old engine, i could chirp in second gear (189,000 miles), and i have an automatic....that's pretty awesome...

but for the german road...i keep hearing from other techs that the m104 engine and m103 was designed to be rocksolidily balanced...with no real room to expand, unless you do something drastic to the heads, engine, etc... in other words...
the only way to get real performance out of these panzer tanks is to spend a minimum of 3000.00 (and that's a renntech racing cam and porting job)

__________________
~there is no spoon~

1984 300CD Turbo Diesel (soon to be "powered by VEGGIE") - dolphin silver

1999 e430 Sport blk/blk, my sexy ***** ;-)

(my other girls)
1992 300CE 24V 3.0L (w124) (R.I.P. "she was killed 7/12/03 by some ricer kids speeding in a honda accord")
1990 Acura Integra RS (w/94' engine)
1966 Cadillac Sedan de Ville (Hardtop)

Agreed

__________________
1985 190D 2.2l Sold-to Brother-in-law
1996 Mustang 3.8l -"thinks it's a sports car"
1988 Grand Wagoneer - Sold (good home)
1995 Grand Cherokee Ltd -"What was I thinking??!!"

This may sound like a ridiculous comment, but does a dirty filter filter out more dust and guck than a clean new filter (exclude the problem of restricted air flow and the engine having to compensate)?

i.e., does the dust react (i.e., attract) to the elctrostatic charge of the filter materials, like an electromagenetic fishing net which if loaded with particles, loses its ability to attract new particles, or is the filter like a material fishing net that as it collects dust and dirt, its filtering capacity increases as the webbing of the net decreases in diameter.

Well, as newbie I have no Mercedes perfromance knowledge.
However on MR2 Turbos the K&N filter (FIPK not just the drop in unit) gained 15-20 hp on lightly modified cars we tested. As far as the cleaning ability? We found that Foam filters cleaned better, but any filter that uses oil is far better than a "dry type" or paper. Turbo cars show this very easily by the amount of grit on the intake side of the turbine.The K&N out cleaned and out flowed the stock airbox system hands down. removing the airbox in the MR2 turbo also netted a 17 degree lower temprature in the engine compartment. I think on Mercedes in particular the gains are not as large so members are less likely to recomend them. go to any other message board, the people there are cotton element filter crazy wether its a K&N or not. But I do believe that any engine has something to gain with a higher flowing intake.A Mercedes just doesnt have as much!

On an OEM/paper filter it has millions of microscopic holes. The dirt and dust which follow the air look for the path of least resistance. So when dust it trapped into one of the holes the air looks for a different, easier route. The dust does the same. This would mean that having dust in the holes doesn’t necessarily mean its cleaning the air better, for as soon as a hole is filled, the air/dust doesn’t head towards that hole anymore. Furthermore if you continue to use a filter past the point of being full, I would think it would start sucking dust in.

__________________
1986 190E 186K (For Sale)
(Maroon, Tan leather)
1996 C280 Sport 208K
(Brilliant Silver, Black Leather)
2002 CLK430 Sport 45K
(Brilliant Silver, Gray Leather , Birdseye Maple)

I must thank all of you for convincing me to make the proper decisionon this matter. Two days ago I made a visit to autozone and i was all hyped up about getting my K&N filter. So i order it and it, go home and check out the new topics in the forum. Low and behold i see this one and i check it out expecting to hear all this praise....but mostly bashing and more $. So i go to autozone 2 days later and sent it right back. Went to the dealer and ordered an OEM. Thank you from myself and my wallet.

__________________
Pete

1986 Euro Black Metallic 190E 2.3 16V

should have gone to Pep Boys and buy a paper one for 1/2 price of OEM. Does the same thing and your wallet would be even happier. Don't know about your car though...

__________________
1985 190D 2.2l Sold-to Brother-in-law
1996 Mustang 3.8l -"thinks it's a sports car"
1988 Grand Wagoneer - Sold (good home)
1995 Grand Cherokee Ltd -"What was I thinking??!!"