Whichever quality version is chosen, and whatever year the car, I can highly recommend using some kind of rear exhaust heat shield, especially for those living in hot climates. That shield deflects a lot of heat away from the fuel tank. After some exhaust work mistakenly omitted the shields many years ago (thanks dad :-), I do well remember frequent fuel odors from an overheated tank's vapor pressurizing past the filler cap, especially when sitting with no airflow just after a drive on a hot summer day with a full tank. Fuel can expand 2-3% from a cool morning to a 115F desert afternoon, more when you add in the exhaust heat next door. Maybe most cars lived in nice climates and Mercedes cost-cutters thought they could delete that shield at some point, but if you ever notice the odors and you know the cap and fuel lines are good, then this shield might help. Another way to tell is from the paint around the filler that can eventually become cloudy and brittle after repeated fuel vapor exposure. Adding the shield back is fairly easy and didn't require removing the whole exhaust, just removing rear mountings and pulling it down enough to slide in. Hope that helps someone. Best regards, Mark
