and how do they effect the car's performance? and where can I find them in my C?

thanks

 

Headers = intake
Camshaft = under the engine covers above the pistons.

First rule of paying for mods. If you dont know where it is on your car you are best off not touching it. Some people like to take advantage in that situation.

 

Here are some links to howstuffworks to give you a general background on those parts.

Start here with the general overview of the engine:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/engine.htm

Then you can read more about camshafts:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/camshaft.htm

And read a little about how the headers work:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question172.htm

-----

Also, the headers are part of the exhaust system not the intake system.

I don't have much experience with the C-Class cars themselves with regards to performance, but from my knowledge of Japanese Normally Aspirated engines, the general order of modifications would be something like air filter, exhaust system, hi-flow catalytic converter, then maybe the headers. The camshafts are somewhere around #50 for items to change since it involves opening up the engine and lots of dyno time to tune correctly.

Headers work by tuning the front portion of the exhaust to setup a standing wave from the collector ( where the 6 pipes of the header meet) to the exhaust valve of each cylinder. When headers are designed correctly the standing wave will help create a partial vaccum in the exhaust system which helps to suck the exhaust gas out of the cylinder and propel the exhaust gas down the exhaust pipe and out the muffler. This effect only works when the engine is in a very narrow range of RPMs. That range is determined by the design of the headers and the exhaust system.

So what does that mean for the C-Class? It means that the headers probably aren't going to help too much on a street car that has modifications which the header designer couldn't take into account. For example if the XYZ brand header was designed to give a stock C-Class an extra 4hp at 5000RPM, adding an air filter or adding an exhaust system is going to throw all of the designers calculations out of whack and who knows what you will end up. You will probably end up with an increase of hp at a certain rpm, but what rpm that will be and how much if any hp you will gain is unpredictable.

Lawrence

 

headers are not intake but exhaust manifolds.

they take the products of combustion from the exhaust ports and bring them down to the exhaust system. they are considered part of the exhaust system itself. they are a performance modification because they in effect can reduce pumping losses from unequal length tubing, and increase scavenging efficiency. the faster the exhausts gasses travel, because of equal-length makes a faster path air instead of having turbulence (which slows down air due to a "pumping" effect like a syringe), the cylinder gives better scavenging, which is basically vacuum. the more efficient the design of the headers the better vacuum and thus the next air-fuel charge is cleaner. with an improved design, ideally headers would be equal-length in tubing so each cylinder charge is dispersed equally, so the air/fuel mixture for the next cycle of combustion is cleaner. there are lots of areas involving headers, such as short versus long tubing. basically long tube headers show better low-end gains whereas shorter tubing headers show better top-end gains. all you have to know is that they are the Exhaust Manifolds...


camshafts operate the valves. they are like sticks with lobes on them which push the valves when they rotate. they can rotate 360 degrees naturally, so when you see "duration" numbers, that is the numbers of degrees they will rotate. they are considered to be in the cylidner heads, because they operate valvetrain. the "cams" or lobes on the shaft lift the valves, and the camshaft is timed in conjunction with the crankshaft. the timing and lift is very important because they should be in harmony with the motion of the piston. they are measured in degree of rotation and lift, the higher degree of rotation the more likely chance of valve overlap so your idle will be raspier. this is an overgeneralization but i don'ot want to go into too much detail. they time your intake and exhaust strokes in a sense because they operate the valves. there is variable valve timing such as bmw's VANOS and honda's VTEC, both which control the camshafts duration and lift. there are intake and exhaust camshafts. the number of camshafts depends on your engine configuration. depends if it's DOHC, or SOHC, and V or inline. a DOHC V6 or V8 will have 4 camshafts. an SOHC V engine will have 2 camshafts. meanwhile, a DOHC inline engine will have 2 camshafts. because DOHC = two camshafts per bank of cylinder head, and the v-configuration denotes two banks. camshafts are complicated in a sense because you should consider that the install is tricky and must be very precise since you're dealing with the valves here. camshafts aren't a mere bolt-on upgrade, they can dramatically affect the engine's powerband, characteristics, and of course power.

i agree that if you do not know what they are you should not get them camshafts are not a simple bolt-on. they're not overly complicated, but they are best to be appreciated by the performance enthusiast as to keep stock-like idle, their gains may not be realized as good Return on Investment for the labor you have for install...

kevin

 

Measured in hp/dollar, you will get a lot more if you look at supercharging first. If you have the I4, change pulleys ( approx 1K ). If you have the V6, get a supercharger ( approx 10K ).

And Miroj offered some very wise advice.

 

My local Eaton dealer seems to offer great service. They are willing to supply me with an OEM Eaton SC for a Benz by ordering directly from the factory. The cool part is that they cost only $2000 (obviously there is labour on top and some essential parts) - so it should come to less then 10K. I can order them with a smaller pulley too.

The sad part is that I would be up for new pistons and a camshaft if I wanted to go for a precise conversion. Which kind of takes us back to the original post in a way.

The assembly and conversion poses no great problem to me. Perhaps it is that a complete engine would also come up for sale at some time.

More power with same engine v's better engine with more power.

 

KompressorKev... First off, you left out where the camshaft made its first appearence. The OHV engines, or pushrod engines. These are now really only seen in small blocks. The chevy V8's, the 350 (LS1, LS2, LS6, LS7 engines, basically all corvete engines from the mid 80s on, and the bigger camaro V8, and the Trans-Am and so many more!) being the most popular is a pushrod engine, as well as the new Hemi from Chrysler. A pushrod engine has one camshaft in the block. On a V setup, the camshaft is in the V, on I's it is off to the side. This type works by the camshaft rotating and the lobes push rods that run to the heads and push the valves. Same basic principle as an OHC engine.
Second, camshafts are actually pretty easy to install, especially on OHC engines. Taking off the valve cover exposes the valves and the camshaft and lifters and rocker arms. Taking off the the rocker arms, the camshaft is right there, unbolt it and put in the new one. Tunning it is the hardest part! For a OHV engine its a little trickier. You need to take out the engine, or take apart the front of the car. Then you need to take off the water pump followed by the timing chain cover. basically taking apart the front of the engine. Then pull out the old cam, and carefully slide the new one in paying close attention to the makers instructions for TDC loaction, and DO NOT ROTATE THE ENGINE with the cam out. Then adjust the degrees to tune it. I mean dont get me wrong, its not the easiest thing in the world, but not the hardest. A good performance guy can do it no problem, especially on an OHC because it only requires dismanteling the heads, not the whole car and engine!

 

Has someone been leading you down the wrong path or what? First you say headers are part of the intake, now you need to change your cams if you supercharge????

Yes you could get an Eaton and overdrive pulley for 2k, but you'd still be missing a couple big things no? Sounds like if you are going to do it, you'd be better off calling KLEEMANN and getting a professional system.

What do you drive now?



EDIT- Good historical data thread

 

thanks a lot everyone. that was really helpful