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2005 CL600 (US model) & 2019 S450 Coupe (EU model)
M276 3.0 TT Further Cooling Upgrades
M276 3.0 TT Cooling Upgrades
I have recently watched a few videos by Tasos where he made sensible upgrades to the cooling systems of the m278/m157 engines*, and considered that there are quite a few people on this forum that are pushing the m276 platforms quite far** with just an intercooler upgrade. I have done upgrades to intercooler systems in the past as well (thanks to the m275 community and @Welwynnick ) and from what I saw in the m276 documentation those of other engines (see attachments***), there is quite some room for improvement. What I will talk about below does not apply only to the S class coupe with this engine but also to the S class sedan, E class, C class, and the GLC class as all of them have their v8 AMG counterparts.
The S-class coupe with the m276 engine can make use of the following cooling upgrades (SKIP TO POINT 7 FOR THE TOPIC OF THIS THREAD):
1. Upgraded Intercooler - this is the most common cooling upgrade as the Wagner intercooler and the rest of the manufacturers made them widely available and provide over 130% more volume to the intercooler. For more info see the links here.
2. Split Transmission Cooling with Transmission Oil Radiator - offered by ZAC and MW, but some people do it themselves @TwoC400s and I believe it is quite a good upgrade for hot countries, especially given the fact that the transmissions on tuned m276 are under quite some stress as they are set up for 500Nm of torque at the crank and simple ECU tune for our engines will easily put over 600Nm and above.
3. (Not tested/researched enough)Additional Engine Oil Cooler - usually added at the bottom front horizontally and require AMG shield underneath or to "open" up the non-AMG ones. The
by Tasos for this type of modification in particular for the m278 engine "borrowing" parts from m157. I am not quite sure how difficult this would be for this platform, however I know that for the S class coupe one can mount the m157 oil cooler as shown in Image 1 below, and there might be a way to hook up engine oil lines to it - subject to further research. For some models (E63 M177 LS2) this may be in the wheel arch behind the auxiliary wheel arch engine coolant radiator (see p. 17 of the E63m177 pdf attached).
4. (Not tested/researched enough)Auxiliary Wheel Arch Engine Coolant Radiator - depending on the model it may be placed in front of the left or right wheel arch getting cooled by the incoming air from the vents on the respective side of the bumper. See p. 17 of the E63m177 pdf attached and
by Tasos. Keep in mind that for this upgrade you will also need to "open" the vents on the respective side of the bumper if they are not or fit a bumper with openings (e.g. 63), and wheel arch covers will also have to be "opened"/cut or AMG ones have to be fit so that the incoming air exits through there. Typically the following part numbers A0995003203 and A995005903, for the radiators. Also I believe it is best to use the brackets and other parts used in the 63 models to attach this type of radiators. There are aftermarket upgrades to these radiators, about which I will talk a bit later in this thread.
5. (Not tested/researched enough)Larger Primary Heat Exchanger - SP, ZAC, CSF and others offer larger primary heat exchangers for the 63 models. The idea here is whether these heat exchangers or those from a 63 models would fit the 400/450/43 models.
6. (Not tested/researched enough) Coolant Pump Upgrade - With more piping and larger heat exchangers/radiators and intercooler cores come more resistance. More resistance will require more effort from the pump to keep up the flow - too small flow (speed with which the coolant circulates a system) and temps will go up, the same is true for too big flow as there won't be enough time for the coolant to remain in the heat exchangers to get cooled off by the incoming wind and frothing is possible. Possible upgrades here, also longevity-wise would be the Pierburg 50 or Pierburg 100. Installing multiple pumps across the system is also possible but much more time consuming.
7.(TOPIC OF THIS THREAD)Auxiliary Wheel Arch Heat Exchanger- See Image 2 below - it shows the m133 charge air cooling system. Image 3 shows the m276 charge air cooling system. The following observations are made:
a) The M133 intercooler system has an auxiliary wheel arch heat exchanger / cooler which is not present in the M276 system.
b) The entry of the Coolant Return is piped at the bottom of the auxiliary heat exchanger and exits at the topand enters below the middle of the primary heat exchanger. This setup places much more stress on the pump obviously. The Coolant Return should enter the aux. heat exchanger at the top and then exit at the bottom and enter at the top the primary heat exchanger. I am not sure why it was done in this way, perhaps design limitations. If anyone has any idea let us know.
c) The Coolant Return is piped well on the M276 system - enters at the top and exits (feed) at the bottom moving towards the pump.
What I believe can be done is what I have sketched in Image 4. (1)Intercooler - improved with e.g. Wagnertuning intercooler. (2)Auxiliary wheel arch heat exchanger - what I believe can be added here (for the S coupe) is the one from the m278/m157/m176/m177/m279 (either A0995003203 or A995005903 will do or an aftermarket). This will be easy to mount as I show in Image 1.
The Coolant Return(B) has to enter from the top and exit from the bottomandenter the Low-Tempreture Cooler/Heat Exchanger(3) from the top and then the Coolant Feed (A) moves from the top towards the Charge Air Coolant Circulation Pump(4). Then the pump moves the coolant feed towards the intercooler and the Coolant Expansion Tank (5) - Coolant Expansion/Ventilation (C).
Possible aftermarket Auxiliary wheel arch heat exchangers from CSF, SP, Wagnertuning. The stock units are between 1.62 and 1.79 liters, while the upgrades are from 50% to 100% larger depending on the manufacturer. Wagnertuning for C63: +85% increase from 1.62 to 3 liters Wagnertuning for E63: +210% increase from 1.77 to 5.5 liters Wagnertuning for CLA/A 45: +76% increase from 1.79 to 3.15 liters
The C63 and the S500/S63 coupe pre-facelift use as stock A0995003203. Increases to total volume of the system - primary plus secondary heat exchanger can be calculated individually. I will attempt to attach A0995003203 to my S450 (along with my TA Technix intercooler (it is like the Wagnertuning intercooler)) and will report on the results. At some point in time I may upgrade the stock auxiliary heat exchanger with one from the aformentioned companies.
Let me know what you think.
Image 1: S63 Coupe pre-facelift (m157) 1. Engine oil radiator (m157)
2. Wheel arch "side" radiator for the charged air cooling system
2005 CL600 (US model) & 2019 S450 Coupe (EU model)
I forgot to mention the 5-minute cooling mod from @Gincohttps://mbworld.org/forums/c450-c43-...s-ic-pump.html
Also what I have done for my upgraded intercooler pipes is wrap them in "gold" heat reflective foil. Brabus used to do this on the m157 engines, not sure how effective.
I have recently watched a few videos by Tasos where he made sensible upgrades to the cooling systems of the m278/m157 engines*, and considered that there are quite a few people on this forum that are pushing the m276 platforms quite far** with just an intercooler upgrade. I have done upgrades to intercooler systems in the past as well (thanks to the m275 community and @Welwynnick ) and from what I saw in the m276 documentation those of other engines (see attachments***), there is quite some room for improvement. What I will talk about below does not apply only to the S class coupe with this engine but also to the S class sedan, E class, C class, and the GLC class as all of them have their v8 AMG counterparts.
The S-class coupe with the m276 engine can make use of the following cooling upgrades (SKIP TO POINT 7 FOR THE TOPIC OF THIS THREAD):
1. Upgraded Intercooler - this is the most common cooling upgrade as the Wagner intercooler and the rest of the manufacturers made them widely available and provide over 130% more volume to the intercooler. For more info see the links here.
2. Split Transmission Cooling with Transmission Oil Radiator - offered by ZAC and MW, but some people do it themselves @TwoC400s and I believe it is quite a good upgrade for hot countries, especially given the fact that the transmissions on tuned m276 are under quite some stress as they are set up for 500Nm of torque at the crank and simple ECU tune for our engines will easily put over 600Nm and above.
3. (Not tested/researched enough)Additional Engine Oil Cooler - usually added at the bottom front horizontally and require AMG shield underneath or to "open" up the non-AMG ones. The this video by Tasos for this type of modification in particular for the m278 engine "borrowing" parts from m157. I am not quite sure how difficult this would be for this platform, however I know that for the S class coupe one can mount the m157 oil cooler as shown in Image 1 below, and there might be a way to hook up engine oil lines to it - subject to further research. For some models (E63 M177 LS2) this may be in the wheel arch behind the auxiliary wheel arch engine coolant radiator (see p. 17 of the E63m177 pdf attached).
4. (Not tested/researched enough)Auxiliary Wheel Arch Engine Coolant Radiator - depending on the model it may be placed in front of the left or right wheel arch getting cooled by the incoming air from the vents on the respective side of the bumper. See p. 17 of the E63m177 pdf attached and this video by Tasos. Keep in mind that for this upgrade you will also need to "open" the vents on the respective side of the bumper if they are not or fit a bumper with openings (e.g. 63), and wheel arch covers will also have to be "opened"/cut or AMG ones have to be fit so that the incoming air exits through there. Typically the following part numbers A0995003203 and A995005903, for the radiators. Also I believe it is best to use the brackets and other parts used in the 63 models to attach this type of radiators. There are aftermarket upgrades to these radiators, about which I will talk a bit later in this thread.
5. (Not tested/researched enough)Larger Primary Heat Exchanger - SP, ZAC, CSF and others offer larger primary heat exchangers for the 63 models. The idea here is whether these heat exchangers or those from a 63 models would fit the 400/450/43 models.
6. (Not tested/researched enough) Coolant Pump Upgrade - With more piping and larger heat exchangers/radiators and intercooler cores come more resistance. More resistance will require more effort from the pump to keep up the flow - too small flow (speed with which the coolant circulates a system) and temps will go up, the same is true for too big flow as there won't be enough time for the coolant to remain in the heat exchangers to get cooled off by the incoming wind and frothing is possible. Possible upgrades here, also longevity-wise would be the Pierburg 50 or Pierburg 100. Installing multiple pumps across the system is also possible but much more time consuming.
7.(TOPIC OF THIS THREAD)Auxiliary Wheel Arch Heat Exchanger- See Image 2 below - it shows the m133 charge air cooling system. Image 3 shows the m276 charge air cooling system. The following observations are made:
a) The M133 intercooler system has an auxiliary wheel arch heat exchanger / cooler which is not present in the M276 system.
b) The entry of the Coolant Return is piped at the bottom of the auxiliary heat exchanger and exits at the topand enters below the middle of the primary heat exchanger. This setup places much more stress on the pump obviously. The Coolant Return should enter the aux. heat exchanger at the top and then exit at the bottom and enter at the top the primary heat exchanger. I am not sure why it was done in this way, perhaps design limitations. If anyone has any idea let us know.
c) The Coolant Return is piped well on the M276 system - enters at the top and exits (feed) at the bottom moving towards the pump.
What I believe can be done is what I have sketched in Image 4. (1)Intercooler - improved with e.g. Wagnertuning intercooler. (2)Auxiliary wheel arch heat exchanger - what I believe can be added here (for the S coupe) is the one from the m278/m157/m176/m177/m279 (either A0995003203 or A995005903 will do or an aftermarket). This will be easy to mount as I show in Image 1.
The Coolant Return(B) has to enter from the top and exit from the bottomandenter the Low-Tempreture Cooler/Heat Exchanger(3) from the top and then the Coolant Feed (A) moves from the top towards the Charge Air Coolant Circulation Pump(4). Then the pump moves the coolant feed towards the intercooler and the Coolant Expansion Tank (5) - Coolant Expansion/Ventilation (C).
Possible aftermarket Auxiliary wheel arch heat exchangers from CSF, SP, Wagnertuning. The stock units are between 1.62 and 1.79 liters, while the upgrades are from 50% to 100% larger depending on the manufacturer. Wagnertuning for C63: +85% increase from 1.62 to 3 liters Wagnertuning for E63: +210% increase from 1.77 to 5.5 liters Wagnertuning for CLA/A 45: +76% increase from 1.79 to 3.15 liters
The C63 and the S500/S63 coupe pre-facelift use as stock A0995003203. Increases to total volume of the system - primary plus secondary heat exchanger can be calculated individually. I will attempt to attach A0995003203 to my S450 (along with my TA Technix intercooler (it is like the Wagnertuning intercooler)) and will report on the results. At some point in time I may upgrade the stock auxiliary heat exchanger with one from the aformentioned companies.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
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