Beautiful job they did there AMGSC! Now I'm conflicted because just when I thought I'd be going with the 1st gen HPS kit which E55cent has been having success with,the price,kit improvements and performance of the 2nd gen kit looks very enticing enticing. Good luck and nice job HPS did there,please do keep us posted.

 

I wonder if it would in fact work on a slk55. Their website doesn't list that model. I thought it was the exact same engine as the C55. Is there other problems (ie clearance) that would restrict the HPS supercharger on the slk?

 

It is the same exact engine! It should not be an issue(clearance) on the SLK55.There should be no restrictions.

 

Those are some hot w202 in your sig

 

http://www.myhps.com/clientuploads/_photos/_19/_369.jpggood thing the exact same picture is on the myhps.com website... from someone living in Irvine =o weird!

 

Congrats on your HPS purchase, I had my Gen II unit installed on my E430 a year ago and during the 4.5 months I had the unit on my car I did venture on a few upgrades to boost power...and yes, despite against Adam & Bill's recommendation, but they were cool with it since I kept them in the loop.

I do highly recommend you install a boost & fuel pressure gauge before any upgrades, this should be mandatory when adding aftermarket FI units. Send me a PM if you want detail info on my HPS upgrade modifications.

Looks like you got a good deal on your HPS kit, Adam gave me a smokin deal I couldn't refuse...under $6K installed out the door and he even payed for my rental car, and assisted me in selling the unit, his customer service was outstanding!

Good luck and enjoy it!

 

Thanx! I love those rims on your car.Are they HRE's?



I'm thinking more and more of going positive displacement S/C on my car.I have to call Adam.

 

Carl you know you want a roots style blower. The instant TQ will put a smile on your face time after time. I have very little issues with my blower but I would have loved to get the Gen II but I also wanted money to buy HRE's. If I would have bought the Gen II then I would be riding around on 16" American Racing wheels.
I love my supercharger and the loud whine scares small children more than tent full of clowns.
Refi that house and pull out 12k to make that C55 your dream car.
Mario

 

I noticed the engine cowling looks nothing like what's on my C55. Was this part of the kit?

 

LOL! Just got back the block for the Talon,$$$$ more $$$$.That's my next big project as of now.550awhp. With the c55 I don't know what I want to do Mario.Project after project ,$$$$$$$. I still have to put the Schrick cams in my 99 M3 but I have to take them out of the M332i.
More $$$$

If I take $$ out the house I'll have to live in the car I'm gonna sell my black M332i is what I'm gonna do.

However this gen II S/C from HPS seems like the real deal if they got all the bugs out.It's a no brainer price wise and HP wise compared to Renntech and kleeman!

 

?? what's so weird abt it ? Irvine is still in the LA metro area.

 

I have now put close to 3000 miles on the car and noticed a DRAMATIC increase in power since the first dyno's were done after installation. I will schedule a follow-up dyno in Early January.

I think Adam and Bill were right about the expected power gains over the time and miles as the brand new engine loosens up and also the ECU adapts over time to the new SC. I feel that the car has at LEAST 10-20% more power because the car was so tight immediatley after te install and 1st dyno. You can see that my baseline HP was only 293rwhp when it should be closer to 300 rwhp.

Has anyone added Carlsson, Kleeman, Lorinser, Renntech, etc...performance mods on top of a HP gen II SC with any long term success?

 

Thanks for everyone's advice.

I am now considering the following in numerical order...
1) Smaller Pulleys.
2) Headers
3) K&N or Green Filters
4) Replace Exhaust System and remove resonator
5) ECU reprogram
6) LSD
7) Cams and Downpipes.

Does this make sense?

 

Why don't you ask HPS first since HPS advises against modifying/changing the ECU, Headers, Exhausts, Intakes or just about anything else.

 

What air boxes are those? Same size as the C32. Do you have an auxillary coolant tank? Does the hood close without any obstructions?

 

congrats on the s/c setup!

i would recommend doing ECU and headers. ecu is vital since safety is key, you want to make sure your afr's are healthy and timing and fuel is all tuned for your setup. if you are running rich, then you will free up some power if you lean it out (safely). if you are running lean, then this should be corrected. i think getting your ecu tuned should be a must, even if tuners say it isn't necessary, the safety and possible power gain is worth it. and programming specific to your car will only make your setup run safer and more efficient. you should pick up some decent power for the money with ecu tuning.

i definitely recommend getting headers as well. they always seem to be a bottleneck area on mercedes engines. the amg v8's and v6's always benefit greatly from headers - the geometry of the stock headers makes you wonder how inefficient the airflow is. stock headers are especially inadequate for your supercharged platform, now that you have so much air in, your exhaust is likely stifling some of your power output. at least on the v6 kompressor and v8 kompressor motors, the stock headers are pathetic, and at least on c32 i know, are the same as the non-amg motors of the same configuration (c32 headers stock same as c320's). the stock headers are very restrictive, and gains from changing them to tuner headers are pretty dramatic on amg cars. i'm not sure how many cats you have, but on c32 i know, there is a set of secondary cats which are useless, and deleting them will free up a little power (but at very very low cost), and since the 02 sensor is before them, deleting the secondaries will cause no Check Engine Lights.

camshafts are probably not the best return on investment money wise. i don't mean to nitpick, but "cams and downpipes" don't really go together. it should be headers and downpipes, or cams and other associated valvetrain, like valve springs is usually what tuners offer. cams can be beneficial, but the margin with which you are tuning is very small and their relatively high cost makes them some of the last modifications to do, especially on a budget-conscious mod plan. since you're supercharged, you can't play with duration and overlap, but only lift. for the price tuners are charging for blower-grind cams, i don't think it's worth it. i'd definitely recommend ecu and headers before camshafts.

i'm not sure if anybody answered this yet, but the Roots (eaton) and Twin-Screw (aka "Lysholm", AMG uses IHI) are fundamentally different, though they are both considered "positive displacement" superchargers. Roots blowers, such as HPS, are external compressing. that is, they do not internally compress air, but rather the "rotors" expedite the air at a faster rate than normal to the intake manifold where the air is crammed together and thus the charge of air is "compressed". they are least adiabatically efficient, but are the least expensive. twin-screw blowers are internal-compressing, where two "screws" mesh air in the blower and compress it. they are more adiabatically efficient, but are also more expensive. roots and twin-screw blowers produce similar powerbands, as they are both "positive displacement" superchargers, i.e. it seems like the car now has a bigger motor. they both produce great low-end torque, unlike centrifugal superchargers, whose boost is inveresely related to the square of the rpm. basically roots and twin-screw blowers are both positively displacement, but produce boost in a different way, i.e. external vs. internal compression, respectively.

overall i think you would best benefit from ECU and Headers. the price of air filters is nominal, you should probably pick these up anyway, but it is not a significant mod.

 

subscribing

 

excellent explanation!

 

If you do the ECU you may screw up the calibrations they made the SC to run at. A smaller pulley to create more boost, not a good idea on a motor with such high compression. I think the CR is 11.0.1 seven psi is alot. I ran 13psi on a stang with a CR of 8.5.1.

 

I definitely wouldn't do a smaller pulley on an Eaton that already runs hot. The first thing you should do is look into upgrading the cooling (upgraded heat exchanger and/or the water/alc injection band-aid).

 

true, the eaton (roots-type) is the least adibatically efficient, and being external-compression, generates the most heat. i think cooling is something that would net more power especially for something as heat-sensitive as the eaton unit

 

I wouldn't do the smaller pulley either. I did it on my Gen 1 but I was only at 4lbs and now I'm at 5.5. Your Gen II is at 7lbs and even though we have the same motor, yours is 11.0 to 1 comprssion and my is 10.5 to 1. I would do headers, bigger cooler, ECU (if you can) and a cooling mist.
Good luck, I love you car.
Mario

 

WOW! That was a alot of GREAT ADVICE!

I will definitely ask Bill K, the Engineering Director and Creater of the SC at HPS about the cooling upgrade since he is already going to install a special pulley kit that will get me another 1-2 lbs of boost in exchange for exhibiting my car at the LA Auto Show (Jan 6-15th). They will also install the K&N filters.

Bill mentioned that he "still has a few extra tricks up his sleeve" so I guess I'll ask him what they are when the show closes. I also want to get his blessing on the Headers, Downpipes and Exhausts since some of you made a good point about that. As far as ECU I will ask him exactly what they do to the stock ECU to make a replacement unnecessary.

Nobody has mentioned the traction problem. Is the LSD that much better than the stock ESP? I have experienced some slippage when I accelerate from zero. Would ligher, wider, bigger rims and softer tires help?

 

AMGSC, I saw your car at the L.A. car show. It looked great and I love the carbon fiber lip. I'm glad to hear you are happy with your car and S/C, but I guess we all just want a little more power. :v
Keep us posted
Mario

 

I'm glad to hear Bill is now open to modifications on the HPS kit, this is a plus. A year ago, I use to get messages from him to leave the system design well enough alone. He's a great guy and means well.

Give Jim McFarland or Travis a call at Mech Tech, they are more hands-on and can provide real world results, also they each played a role in the design aspect of the Gen II kit.

I did receive your PM...sorry for my tardy response!

I do suggest you install a reliable boost & fuel pressure gauge, it becomes really handy and can save your engine's life.

Madd props on the CF spoiler, it looked real wicked on ur blown C55!!!