mrademacher

Hello All,

I'm new to mbforums. I just got my cls 55 back from House of Power in Huntington Beach. They installed a k2 kit, Quaife LSD, Kleeman lowering module and a custom carbon fiber airbox. The car was producing 455 hp at the wheels when I picked it up. I was told the computer was still learning and it should produce about 500 after driving it around for a day. At any rate, I'll see if thats true tomorrow. My big question for everyone is, how do you launch a car like this? I use G-Tech to measure 0-60 times. Before the parts where installed I achieved in the mid 4's consistently with a best of 4.35. With the new parts installed I have a hard time getting down to the mid 4's. Any suggestions? The line between not enough gas and tires spinning seems to be very hard to find.

-mrademacher

moldowan

reminds me of when i was thinking of a paxton for my viper. It would of put the HP in the range of 650-700 HP but good luck launching it with that power-LOL
Your mods will be best suited for roll on runs rather than from a dig. Dragstrips provide much better launching due to prep of the track, etc.... but for the street you have made your car SLOWER (to 60mph) than it was stock!
I don't think anything except getting more rubber to the pavement can help your launches, will 345's fit on the cls-

JamE55

From 455 to 500...Delta of 45HP Not correct. Even though after the computer has learned your driving style, it's not going to net 45hp. At the most around 10-15hp. Congrats on your K2 kit. Got any pics of your ride?

mrademacher

I am going to dyno it again today. I'll let you know what happens. I'm waiting for my new rims (last time I called they were still being cut) then I'll post some pictures. So you guys don't think the 0-60 times is due to my driving skill? I was really hoping I could cut down the time with some practice.

zdkdeeier493

To be honest, thats all it comes down to - practice. Unless you're planning on using slicks (and even then), what its really gonna come down to is how well you can feather that yolk of the throttle to get it to be putting down just enough power. Wrap your new rims in PS2's or some other high-performance tires for the extra grip. If you're still on the stock Conti's you'll be surprised by the difference. To get that little extra kick off the line try powerbraking, but be careful because too much power and you'll do the exact opposite of what you're trying to do and the wheels will light up the second you try to launch.
What did you think of the House of Power by the way? Ive heard of it and I wanted to go check it out. Good service? I won't ask about the prices cuz I know its $$$$

mrademacher

I think you're right about practice, I did get a 4.1 0-60 once but it was far from perfect. Getting better...
House of Power is very nice. He has one lift and only takes in one car at a time so you know it gets his undivided attention untill its done. When I brought my car in he was just finishing a k2 kit for an sl 55 and when I picked my car up he was taking in another amg so I know he has a lot of experience with our cars. Also the custom carbon fiber airbox is made at the body shop next door and is awesome.

I didn't get to dyno today, probably Tuesday of next week. I'll post the results.

clos

but are these mods that will net a 10-15hp gain really worth the money. Can you really feel the difference with such a gain. Don't get me wrong people may think that putting all these upgrades on my car which is a lease is a waste of money.

Just wondering, what the general consensus is on these Kleeman mods.

Hope you enjoy your mods!
Clos

mrademacher

LMAO! Are you on crack? Why would you think I'm only getting a 10-15 hp gain over stock?

jdj27x

^ Maybe he is talking about the 15 hp gain from the airbox?

I know he doesnt think that a k2 will give you 15hp!

Ted Baldwin

...........JamE55 is quite right. I wish vendors/tuners/installers will stop makig these ridiculous clams. Whatever HP your car dynoed, is the HP you got. Don't let them convince that there is mor HP coming in the mail.

..........You have an awesome car by the way. As far as traction is concerned. I have the same problem and had Racelogic traction cntrol system installed in my car. Turned out to be a major undertaking because the system required RPM sigal which is not available in modern benzs except via CANBUS. Finally had system working. Initial impression is that it is simply amazing with street tires. It shuts off to the cylinders in microsecond intervals to prvent wheel spin. No fishtailing whatsoever. BUT, I'm not sure that it will result in better 60ft times. I think a god set of drag radials and a good driver will do much better. Unfotunately, I cannot test it much further. It rained yesterday when I picked it up. Today it is sunny, but my belts broke again this morning for the third time after installing Evo underdrive pullies, this time installed by a different mechanic. So I'm sitting here gazing at the car instead of driving it. I willll have issues resolved on monday and give a better write up. By the way the racelogic is incredible in the rain and will likely be awesome on a road course. I'm not sure about it at the dragstrip.

Ted

mrademacher

As far as the claim of my hp rating going up. He wasn't saying it needed to learn my driving style. He was saying that there are so many sensors and adjustments made by the computer that it wasn't done adjusting itself after everything was installed. It was his idea for me to come back and dyno it again at his shop. He got a 490 hp dyno from the sl 55 with the same parts minus the airbox. All this leads me to believe he knows what he's talking about. But like I said before, I'll post the results when I get them.

clos

thanks Ted for clarifying this, and by the way I only smoke crack on weekdays so I was sober when I wrote that.

Clos

mrademacher

460 hp and 490 tq.
he said it was running thick this time because I've been driving hard (it was too lean after the mods where put on) he showed me the dyno of the sl55 with the same parts running a good fuel mixture and getting 490 hp, its really too bad mercedes doesn't allow control over things like this, the computer is constantly adjusting to the way you drive, not always doing what you want it to... I'm probably going to get a z06 vette as my tuner car, you have total control over the computer and its much easier to mod

Ted Baldwin

.............thanks for the follow up. I have a few modded AMG's so I have heard the entire list of popular vendor phrases and can tell you that gaining additional HP "later" is not true. Yes the Ecu needs to adjust etc, and most you gain a few HP if any. I don't know who your tuner is but a good tuner can adjust your a/f ration to optimum. Yes I agree with you about difficulty modifying a Mercedes due to computer issues. I am almost ready to twinturbo an E55 from scratch but I am gun shy because no one is sure what to do with the ECU.

Ted

mrademacher

Are you sure its possible to adjust the a/f ratio on a cls 55 ? House of Power in Huntington beach is telling me that it's constantly being adjusted by the computer and there is currently no way to control or set this manually.

Ted Baldwin

............yes I'm sure. Get a copy of your dyno with A/f ration plot and talk to Cory at Kleemann. This does not mean that the ECU will not do some fine tunning depending on driving conditions. But telling you that nothing can be done about your a/f ratio plot is incorrect. How much additional HP you can get from this is debatable, but for safety resons your car shouldn't run too lean and if your car is running rich, then yes you can wring out a few more HP by adjusting the a/f ratio which CAN be done.


Ted

mrademacher

thanks for the info, much appreciated

rob1fin

mrademacher you may want to look into a toe link.
I had Renntech mod my car and had the same problem. I added a rear toe link mod and the traction was much better.
It wasn't very expensive, about $1200 if I remember correctly.

mrademacher

Thanks for the info on the toe link. Here are some pictures of the House of Power airbox.

JamE55

Is it me or does that look exactly like RennTech with the exception of the name?

mrademacher

Thats the idea. HOP was looking at what they charge for their carbon fiber airboxes and decided they could make one and sell it for less. Plus they added fins inside to help route the air.

BiTurboAmg

Can you ask them if they offer one for an sl65 and for how much??

theboogers

is the airbox one piece with a single connection to the throttle body? is your throttle body stock or enlarged to 80 mm? thanks

mrademacher

I'm on vacation. I'll get the number to you when I get back.

mrademacher

Yes, once piece, yes stock throttle body. I was told a bigger throttle body would not get much gain. Any opinions on that?