DHawk615

As some of you know, i just purchased an 05 C55. I was curious to know, what mods are the best bang for your buck as far as hp/tq is concerned? When i pick up the car on Monday, i am going straight to the muffler shop to have the resonator removed (I've gotta have a little growl), but other than that, what should my first mod be? Im more concerned about power than suspension/handling, so i will probably go that route first. So my question is, what mods should i do first to get a little more power without breaking the bank? ECU? Airbox? Headers? Input would be sooo greatly appreciated. I'm pretty much a rookie when it comes to these cars so im counting on you guys to lead me in the right direction. Help me out guys!!

mikekuriger

I was unable to find any "bang for the buck" mods for my C55. So all I've done is NOS. everything else is bone stock. I'll still probably outrun many of the modded C55's out there!

jturkel

start off with doing your resonator delete. then i would do larger airboxes with aftermarket filters (Green or K&N*(which i prefer)). headers should not go on yet, but when (if) they do, make sure they are stainless steel. a tune is an option as well, though i would do that after most of your boltons like intake and exhaust and such. i think Mike (Hooleyboy) deleted his secondary cat(s) and gained a ton of power. you can also do high flow front cats and true dual exhaust, which sounds like a beast on this car, especially with headers. PM Mike for info about that, and info in general about the best mods for the C55. He has basically tried them all. Hell, he just supercharged his C55 lol.

here is his profile link: https://mbworld.org/forums/members/44822-hooleyboy.html

||C55AMG||

Here is an awesome thread by hooleyboy about mods to a C55:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c32-amg-c...arts-list.html

hooleyboy

I'm a bit drunk and Had the Mini-Bike guy drive my car home tonight ( Fold-up mini-bike dude rules!)! Whats your budget? Totally cool what ever it is.

The res-delete is like $50-100 at any exhaust shop, It wont yield any power but your car will sound amazing.

Call any exhause shop they will squeeze you in, rev the motor = love it.

I will add more when I'm sober (Saturday morning). Bare with me.

Get K&N filters, You will never feel the gain but they are cheap and thats a start.

I want to add more but i'm to hammered. PM me.

wawy

Best bang for the buck? I would say a Kleemann blower. However, not everyone wants to spend that amount of money or commit to such an undertaking at first which is understandable, so......

Headers: I have the Kleemann ones, and they are the only ones that include downpipes that replace your first set of cats. Because of this reason, you will probably see more HP/TQ gains than the strictly bolt on variety. Because of the deletion of the primary cats you will also get a CEL because the O2 sensors will recognize the primary cats are gone. This can be addressed easily by Kleeman programming your ECU though. Also, installation will require some cutting and welding so a good shop that knows what they are doing is crucial.
If you would rather go with just bolt on headers then then you can check out the ones made by AMS, VRP, Evosport and Renntech$$$.

As for airboxes, you really only have two choices:

The Renntech Carbonfiber one which we have several dynos showing it does make power..

The W211 E55 AMG V8 Kompressor Airboxes which are basically a larger version of what you have made to fit the C55/SLK55/C55

Finally, a good ECU tune that takes into consideration your other mods (A/F readings etc..)...

There are many other things you can do (IE underdrive pulleys) but this is, IMO, the best "bang for the buck".

///AMG4EVER

Kleemann is your answer.

I think they had a deal for headers + ECU for $1500. These guys are top notch when it comes to upgrading the brand.

My recommendation is get used to the car first. It has plenty of power in stock form. If you go the modding route you will be bored after a few months and start looking for more.

jturkel

ZINGO! haha

http://www.randomreviewcrew.com/zing...e-avoid-a-dui/
http://www.zspotlight.com/establishm...EstSub=profile
haha

AMS Performance

The 3 biggest power mods for the C55 are Headers, Pulley & high flow 2nd cats (or just delete them, or do all 4 high flow for maximum street legal performance). The rest of the stuff tends to be minor and doesn't do as much for power. Software does help but it should be done last b/c it does very little on a stock car (regardless of what any ECU tuner will "claim").

Hope that helps.

DHawk615

I agree. I will do the res-delete as soon as i pick the car up on Monday. As for that $1500 package do you know what the estimated gains are? Sounds like a pretty reasonable price compared to some of the other ones i've been looking at.

About the pulley, who makes a good one and what kind of gains should i expect? I was always under the impression that a pulley did very little to non-supercharged cars, but i very well could be wrong.

Thanks for the help guys!

AMS Performance

pulley & header independent dynos on NA 55....

AMG Sleeper

is there a consensus on which is better - to remove secondary cats or add hi-flow ones?

Quicktwinturbo

Can't really go cheap on these cars... If you want power, expect to pay good bit of money.. Otherwise, all you'll see is 5-10 hp gain...

If I were you, I would save some and get Kleemannnnnnn sc kit

TemjinX2

its expensive modding NA cars. Cheapest dollar per hp gained ratio would first be Nitrous and then FI like the kleeman supercharger everyone else mentioned. You should figure out out much hp power you really want and just plan accordingly.

If you lego build it, your gonna be spending extra money you dont really need.

cdd

+1

As Steven Covey says--"Begin with the end in mind"

Decide what amount of output you want--and if it's much more than 350 to the wheels, then just forget about everything and go the SC route.

c32used

This is the guy to know He perform step by step modding procedures prior to his AMG Kompressor retrofit..I suggest get to know him and read all his C55 modding threads.

AMS Performance

high flow cats are recomended. They will make 80-90% of the gains of straight pipes while still remaining 100% street legal and they sound better (less drone & rasp than cat delete). 200-300 cell metal core cats are the way to go and they are roughly $90-110 each

SoCalC55

what about replacing the two primary cats with aftermarket high flow ones and removing the secondary two. I would think that would give you the best gains in both sound and power...?

billapex

Depending on local/state smog laws, high-flow cats are not 100% street legal. In many states, they will not pass the visual inspection, even if they fly through the sniffer test with flying colors.

Bill