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L.E.M Front Air intake (BETA) Pics and review NEWEST INTAKE!!
So Now that my embargo is over I can now post a review and synopsis of the LEM (Logos Engineering Motorworks) front air intake (F.A.I). (Beta version)
I was their tester (I currently have a C400 and C450-Test was done on the C400), and the below was their requirements for me to be a tester:
Had to sign a “if your car blows up I wont sue you” hold harmless waiver.
I had to have had a previous Intake (I had MST V2)
Had to remove all tunes and be bone stock.
All I have now is their H-pipe prototype exhaust, I was running their “Monster” series 3” catted Dp’s but had to remove them for this test.
son of a cow! This is hands down prob the best intake out there (maybe I’m biased), and I had to “sacrifice” my front intake tray by removing it but, I DON’T CARE…lol. Im not looking under my engine that long anyway.
The car pulls so much harder because spool seems to come in about 500 rpms sooner, I attribute this (in my estimation) to the super short travel distance from the New intake elbow to the turbo. Which is the shortest of anything out there.The cars rev’s just shoot up! Its so much eager to rev and rev fast. I did my initial tests mostly in comfort, and although I don’t have a real dyno test, I get pushed back into my seat unlike before (Before= Before my tune, when my car was bone stock). This happens as early has 1,250rpms…that’s the best I can gauge as I kept my eye on the tach as I floored it from a stop. I did this about 25 times to come up with the 1,250 rpm figure, not scientific but yea. Because the intake is not right above the turbos where its disgustingly hot, but nestled at the front of the car toward the nose, performance is more consistent over my old intake especially in bumper to bumper and highway driving. This will get better as this is the “beta”version and the real release will have heat shields around the filters to isolate them even more. The filters are high quality K&N units, with filter media on the top of the filter cone pointed toward the fresh air coming through the grill. They could have used a filter with a inverted top with media, like you see everywhere but they wanted an unobstructed “mini chamber” inside the filter that allows a small reserve pocket of air, maybe they can explain it better. After 3k rpms (even in comfort) the car now pulls harder and more eager.
In Sport plus, this thing is crazy (remember im stock). With more boost is where this really shines (cant wait to get re-tuned). I feel like I have a mini tune but im nearly bone stock. This has been 1 year in development (mostly due to them filing patents for the design) as the config looks simple but the super tight engine area needed a lot of trial and error to see what produced the best results. The elbow is a well thought out ABS elbow, with the sensor port to the side. This is secured to the inlet by a silicone coupler. You can get the ABS elbow version in a few weeks or wait for the CNC Billet elbow in late July, ABS version will be 595$ and CNC will bit a bit more but not more than the MST. All in all, a win for our platform in my opinion and it’s a freak long time due! Heat shields are being worked on but I will post an update when they are available. Also..they did a soft pre-release in Germany with their overseas partner and they sold out of their initial 30 unit run in about a week (pre-sale). Enjoy the pics!
Last edited by SilverBullet18; 06-10-2021 at 11:22 AM.
Forgot to mention: this design was impossible to do with the cover on, especially with the heatshields (not pictured) .
They basically counted every milimeter of usable space.
the sacrifice was the cover and air duct tray. But if you want to back to stock everything is reversible.
Trust me it's worth it. Plus the spool up sound is more audible from the outside because sound is projected near the nose of the car. Sounds like a mini turbine jet engine..lol.
Wow can’t wait been waiting for intakes like these for awhile now. Glad to hear the improvement over previous intakes finally. Great write up and big thanks to L.E.M for finally coming out with beneficial intakes!
I sold my old intakes once I tested these so no comparo. But I've been meaning to get a draggy so this would be a good time if any. I can do a a run with stock air boxes and these w/heatshields.
Intake temps: don't know to personally do this. I can borrow a friend's jb4 and do this no? ( sorry coming from the bench tune world)
Guys so some good news and bad news but the bad news is actually some good news. We heard your thoughts and are now in the process of redeveloping the kit in order to keep the engine cover on.
The only thing is that the passenger intake assembly will need to be offset couple of degrees to the side, to allow this to happen ( see pic). Also the elbow "mouth" was 3 inches, but we dont want to leave anything on the table. we want to squeeze every mm out of the opening to allow the most air to enter the inlet. that means the walls of the elbow has to be thinner, which means no ABS version because the material would not be stiff enough to allow the filter to clamp on, and this is because of the thin walls to allow for a bigger opening. That means the mouth of the opening will be 3.3 inches as oppsed to 3 inches straight. I know, i know ..not a big deal but every mm counts in this application. This is only possible with a CNC Aluminum elbow.
Speaking of Millimeters, we are also reengineering the driver elbow to be 7mm lower so that the front of the filter, does not "kiss" the top of the hood liner, and that the filter has a bit more breathing room.
These are the insane details we are obsessed with, to make sure that we bring out the best cold air type system available. Unfortunately this will push the release to mid / end of August, but it will be worth it!
The aluminum elbows are very expensive to make, and have to be milled with a special 5 axis machine, this is reflected on the cost. We expect to bring the kit out at $635 for the whole ensemble which included the ABS Plastic heatshields as well. We are doing away with the silicone couplers and t-clamps and are going more for a OEM adaption to the inlet, and simpler installation.
Guys so some good news and bad news but the bad news is actually some good news. We heard your thoughts and are now in the process of redeveloping the kit in order to keep the engine cover on.
The only thing is that the passenger intake assembly will need to be offset couple of degrees to the side, to allow this to happen ( see pic). Also the elbow "mouth" was 3 inches, but we dont want to leave anything on the table. we want to squeeze every mm out of the opening to allow the most air to enter the inlet. that means the walls of the elbow has to be thinner, which means no ABS version because the material would not be stiff enough to allow the filter to clamp on, and this is because of the thin walls to allow for a bigger opening. That means the mouth of the opening will be 3.3 inches as oppsed to 3 inches straight. I know, i know ..not a big deal but every mm counts in this application. This is only possible with a CNC Aluminum elbow.
Speaking of Millimeters, we are also reengineering the driver elbow to be 7mm lower so that the front of the filter, does not "kiss" the top of the hood liner, and that the filter has a bit more breathing room.
These are the insane details we are obsessed with, to make sure that we bring out the best cold air type system available. Unfortunately this will push the release to mid / end of August, but it will be worth it!
The aluminum elbows are very expensive to make, and have to be milled with a special 5 axis machine, this is reflected on the cost. We expect to bring the kit out at $635 for the whole ensemble which included the ABS Plastic heatshields as well. We are doing away with the silicone couplers and t-clamps and are going more for a OEM adaption to the inlet, and simpler installation.
Out of curiosity, why not just keep the front clip and engine covers and make the intakes oval to connect to the front clip? You can extend it the whole way of the front clip and hang low to the mid part of benz sign; it will be better looking more air intake and best of all it would keep the OEM look. Either way it looks much better and I look forward to dyno results!
@hc_416 we tried 17 different designs, including something similar to what you mentioned, fitment was an issue along with having the filters too close to the hood. We also wanted to push them as far as possible toward the front, so that fresh air has to do very little "traveling" to hit the filters as it enters the engine bay.
The ABS ones are made on a stratasys, The final product will be CNC aluminum.
just a small update: after some final prototyping with some materials we were able to find a solution for the intake elbow. The Aluminum version was too difficult to program on the 5 axis machine especially getting into the tight radius inner curve, so we hit a small road block in trying to make the organic shape of the profile (3.2" at elbow "mouth" where the filter is at, to the OEM 2" inlet hole).
We then got a small tip from our German partners about a proprietary 3d printing material (filament), thats actually used by 2 separate outsourced engineering companies that are used by BMW and Mercedes. This voodoo type material is a super high temp polymer that's infused with a small percentage carbon fiber powder (this is in contrast to being infused with microscopic chopped carbon like what's commonly available on the market), This allows us to make the thin walls while providing the strength that's needed. This engineering material is only available in one place (in Germany) , so we have to import it (which is expensive), not to mention the actual cost of the material itself is a pretty penny. AMG has used it on some of their racing porotypes as well, which is a cool testament to its properties.
Being that we own 2 Stratasys printers we can keep everything in house, and QC on the fly. The 3d model that we previously posted is what the final product will look like and the cool part is that this polymer stays about 1 to 2 degrees cooler under the hood than our prototypes ABS and nylon/carbon ones measuring with our temperature guns which is a added plus. Heat shield development is still ongoing, with the diver side pretty much completed and the pain in the butt passenger side one still on going. FYI it takes 12 hours to 3D manufacturer just 1 elbow.
Since we have the design and material locked down, we are going to start cranking them out in prep for the final release. Which hopefully now will be sooner than expected, maybe as early as Mid July.
the price for this which includes the heat shields with weather stripping seals, German sourced extender adaptors, left and right intake elbows, & heat shields will be 635 which puts our kit in the middle of what's currently available in terms of price.
Also, we have our "Monster" series downpipe being released in a day or two. Its the next evolution of our catted downpipes, larger and bigger with a little bit more flow and sound, stay tuned for that.
If you want to bundle the DP's and intake we can offer 50$ off the set.
Thanks for the update! Ready to try it out! Honestly I may not even use the heat shield because of where they will be located but its good to have the option!
Thanks for the love guys, you truly are the best! . Would you believe that we are almost pre-sold out of our initial 25 unit batch? the heat shields may not be absolutely necessary in all technicality.
But an engine will be an engine, and it will radiate heat no matter where its at under the hood. The heat shield will ensure that the results are consistent after things get hot, also there is a slight performance benefit as well let me explain:
Think of a boat sail how it catches the wind when you raise it up, creating a "obstacle" that the wind has to push against, therefore propelling and moving the vessel that the sail is attached to.
same thing with the heat shields, when air is not rushing past the filters its being confined within the heat shield "boxed in" area (like a sail), creating a nice pressure pocket so when the turbo "inhales" its has a nice reserve of air. All this is in effect when the car is in motion of course.
see my crappy drawing for an idea of what im talking about
Beast450AMG: Its more like a list so we can keep track of how many units we will have. Pre-orders will hit the site as soon as we finish the kit.
you can write to us at logosengineering@yahoo.com to be on the list.
06-04-2021, 10:35 PM
