AutoTech Racing

So far I have two days of testing this product. We are scheduled for tuning next week in Georgia and then a track day at NOLA on the 19th.

The design thought is that the heat exchanger itself is not a bad part, it has such a high fin density, like that of an aircraft where it would receive high pressure forced air... unfortunately the airflow is allowed to bounce and escape over these heat exchangers because there is no restriction to force air through them.

The definite advantage we can feel is the throttle response at speed... which would indicate cooler, denser air is reaching the intakes. AGAIN... these are all seat of the pants and looking at the feedback on the ecu, but the real test will be the dyno and track test.

Case1906

This is really interesting....Keep us posted.

abcut973

I think i saw you this afternoon on I12. Car was on a trailer. I recognized the unusual exhaust . Which track are you heading to?

AutoTech Racing

LOL!!!!

That is awesome!!! We were wondering if you noticed and were a member on here! Did you see my LSU Alumni sticker?

LOVE YOUR CAR AND YOUR WHEELS ARE SICKNEHS!!

We are on our way to Georgia to get the cams installed, then tuned. Hopefully we can make it back to NOLA for Friday's track day test of the car and our cooling mod.

If you can make it... Come meet up with us.

abcut973

Lol @ LSU sticker. I'm not really local so it doesn't make a difference
Anyway thanks i just installed the wheels 1 week ago. I think i need a drop. Now that i got used to them all I see is the gap!!!
Your car is grounded which makes a big difference. I like it. The vorsteiner diffuser and the mode carbon spoiler makes it even more aggressive .
What part of the day you'll be testing friday. I doubt i'll be able to make it but who knows...Drive safely.

Roswell

Good luck Autotech Racing! Keep us posted on the results!

Mort

^^^ I'll second that. Best of luck on tuning the cams.

G55AMG

Love what your doing, good luck and keep us post it.
And Geaux Tigers, I'm also LSU Alumni.

PaulWdz

I'd also like to know who you have tuning for the cams/headwork.

AutoTech Racing

Sorry that i have been so busy not to update the thread lately. The crew at Critz Mercedes in Savannah has been outstanding! The tech working on the car, equally outstanding with such perfectionism of his work, meticulously caring of each step has just completed the cams install and we are about to leave for Alpharetta, Georgia to install the new exhaust system and get all the tuning work.

I wanted to share that none of the parts that Andy said were shipped, and that his customer "Shell" had also said were shipped last week were, which added an additional $2000.00 in cost of parts, a loss of another full day of waiting for the components needed for this installation to be sourced from different Mercedes dealers across the USA and the FedEx of those pieces so we could have them to complete this cam swap. Another huge issue was these new MHP cams did not have the rear oil control plugs installed, the bore of the rear was too large for the stock factory plugs to be used, so we had another additional cost for a local machine shop to work there bore so the next size available plug could be installed. So if you are considering the purchase of these cams, make sure when you buy them you are aware this problem could be significant!

We are now waiting for the trans service and fluids change before leaving, and will have pics of the car posted on our Facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/atrtx

Rock

^Does this mean it's time for a new MHP thread?

AutoTech Racing

No. And.... I only posted such here to keep people up to date on our issues in prep to get ready for OLOA.

I will be requesting the MHP thread be unlocked so I can post this update and show clearly that once again a Customer of MHP has been left with massive additional costs, parts not delivered as promised and parts not made to the specs needed to work with their designed application as sold without additional work needed.

Please... let's keep the focus of this thread about our OLOA progress, I will post this info on the original thread.

Rock

Okay done.

Fung63

you guys probably dont have the time / budget left due to extra costs incurred but it would be kinda nice if you had the c63 done up to be more unique. maybe colours to match your autotech racing logo... just something that if our members see you on the road they will instantly know you are in town rather than wondering if.

AutoTech Racing

I am back in Texas after what feels like a OLOA test run to Savannah, Atlanta and back within a week. We didn't even make it to Road Atlanta for the Grand Am race event.

As before I wanted to share that I could not be any happier with the service we received at Critz Auto Group. If you have any issues with your car or need service, be sure to contact Richard Papy and he will be your service coordinator through the entire process. Even if you are feeling a bit "Warranty Sketchy" at least give them the chance. http://www.CRITZ.com

We accomplished a lot and I feel really good about the car now. The tuning could not have gone any further given the time constraints and parameters for what we are wanting to achieve. Our focus for this new tune was 93 octane only and to make as much power as possible over a wide rpm range... We achieved that first goal with perfection! The second goal was to achieve a tune that would not remove performance by the ecu pulling timing out during sustained high rpm use and to keep the same power levels in each gear, not just during a 5th gear dyno pull... And we achieved that goal. The results are a very smooth power delivery with no spikes in the power application to the tires in any gear, drivability and reliability. The torque curve is putting down in excess of 426 lb/ft of torque from 3500 rpm to redline without falling off. Another gain I feel worth mentioning was that no matter how I drove this car before, I would NEVER see better than 18 mpg at a 75 mph cruise and now I am showing 20-21 mpg depending upon the road surface. Right away, that is close to $150 saved during OLOA in just the fuel costs... which will go towards energy shots or pay for a night's rest in the hotel.

The real test was last night a short few runs with the 2013 GTR netted the first loss by the Nissan to the C63. So given the power delivery, the fuel reliability... my confidence is now back in the car's drivetrain leaving me to focus on keeping it cooler by making up really neat stuff in hopes it works.

I posted a few pics of all the surgery and what not at the dealership on our Facebook page. Tomorrow will be the installation of the larger mufflers and resonated tips in an effort to quiet the car substantially.

Stay Tuned for more!





Cam tool in place:


Making the alignment marks:


New Cams installed with timing and alignment marks for accuracy:

betrezra

Cool project auto tech!

91 LSU alumn here as well in sugar land.

Keep the updates coming.

AutoTech Racing

DUDE!! We should get off the computer and grab a beer! I am right off Lexington and First Colony Blvd.

betrezra

Will def get together to see your project. Great platform to start with.

AutoTech Racing

Here is another tease of updates!!

I just finished the exhaust modification to bring down the interior sound levels of the C63 with long tube headers, not cats with the X-Pipe! I have a great working relationship with Magnaflow, so naturally I chose their products to help tame the sound of this wild car... only the sound is not tame at all when you step into the throttle. The video does it no justice at all... but gives some small hint as to the deep tone it gave the car. The engine wraps up like a Mexican with cheese and beans in a burrito!

The mufflers are the Magnaflow Race, 6" round, 24" overall with 3" ID. If I were to do it again, I would opt for the 14" body, 20" overall length to save me a lot of time cutting and welding to make the resonated tips work as well.



This tip is fully resonated, double wall and mirror polished stainless steel.




Check it out and enjoy the sounds!!

abcut973

Looks like you managed to create a deeper sound than the usual raspy for LT + xpipe. Nice job
Although i assume you removed the OEM resonator it still doesn't sound like a amg .
And just for the look your tips need to be centered with the openings on your diffuser.

What's next?

AutoTech Racing

Thanks for the thumbs up!

There simply is no way to get a straight muffler of that size to line up on the right side with the diffuser since the spare tire/battery well is offset in the car. So I did the next best thing and made it line up with the exact angle relative to the other side.

The mufflers are awesome for a deep sound and like I posted, the cellphone video does it no justice at all!

AutoTech Racing

For all you Road Racing Junkies out there following this thread... I will be at NOLA testing our C63 at 5pm this Friday the 26th.

Our plan is to run two 6-lap sessions then bring the car in for a hot Dyno pull, then change the oil to a different type and run two more 6-lap sessions with the same protocol.

The test is to see if the new oil will reduce the engine temps while also increasing horsepower. We will also be shooting pics and video, so if you are NOLA local, let me know and we welcome you to come visit.

Case1906

I like experiments. Keep it cool.

AutoTech Racing

If you have been following our updates and mods to the C63, then I am sure you have been waiting for our actual test of the closeout panel and the oil change.

I am VERY happy to report great results from both areas which gives us a very positive outlook for the upcoming OLOA event.

On Friday we traveled to NOLA Motorsports Park to undergo testing to determine one if the transmission would still go into limp mode or shift the car out of (M)anual and into Sport(+) modes.

Testing also included running a baseline of 12 laps in 6-lap groups as fast as I could push the tires and brakes to test the oil thermal breakdown, peak temperatures and rates of recovery. The outside air temp was 92 degrees and humidity was 63% on an overcast day with threats of drizzle rain.

Before leaving the shop in Texas we changed the oil using fresh Mobil1 0w-40 as specified in the Mercedes Manual. Our Weistec oil/air separator was also cleaned and installed to be sure no residual from previous driving was in the catch tank. Upon arrival at NOLA, the car was removed from the trailer and allowed to sit idle to warm up to the thermostat temp of 195 degrees and an oil temp of 211-217 degrees was observed.

I took the car out onto the track giving it a full lap for the transmission and rear diff to come into play before dropping the hammer for the first few laps. Tire pressures cold were 36F/34R and after the first session rose to 43F/40R.

The first test session saw peak oil temps of 253 degrees during the slow speed turns where airflow to the heat exchangers was most likely interrupted and would stabilize at 242 under wide open throttle upon the straight areas of acceleration in 3rd, 4th and 5th gears. Water temps in slow turns went to a high of 202 degrees and never went below 199 degrees.

The second test session, taking place after a twenty minute idle in the shaded pit area with the hood open to check all the hoses and to make sure there was nothing missed from our previous work showed even worse results with the Mobil1 oil. Several Technicians from the local New Orleans Mercedes-Benz Dealership were on hand to keep watch of our testing and progress. The peak oil temp soared immediately on the first lap to 258 degrees, stabilizing at a lower 247 degrees under the same high pressure airflow and after the third lap, I could feel timing being pulled from the engine at WOT and not returned to full power until the car was straightened out and full frontal ram air was cooling the oil below 255 degrees. Water temps never exceeded 204 degrees and would stabilize around 199 in full ram air.

The transmission remained rock solid with never a falter between gear shifts, never a hesitation on downshifts and no signs of any slippage during the first two sessions. I can only assume our closeout panel over the first 12 laps was a success with no change in how the transmission behaved, nor any issues with the power steering.



Now with a baseline of performance, I drove the C63 to the garage at NOLA Motorsports Park and put the car on one of the many lifts to drain the Mobil1 oil. I removed the filter and replaced it with a new OEM part. I also removed the Air/Oil breather tank to find nearly half an ounce of oil. With nine fresh quarts of the Royal Purple XPR-40 oil, a clean separator tank and adjusted tire pressures, I went back out for more testing!

Repeating the same warm-up and first lap procedures I dropped the hammer for five more laps with a peak oil temp of 232 degrees and a stabilized low temp of 217 degrees. Water temps never exceeded 195 thermostat temps until the actual cool-down lap where they touched 199 while entering the pit area. A quick check was performed under the hood and I resumed the test for a duration of six more laps. In the second session with the Royal Purple XPR-40 the oil temps once again never rose above 232 degrees, the stabilized oil temps on the second session hovered between 217-222 with water temps a rock solid 195 degrees. At no time did the ECU restrict power delivery or remove timing to affect the performance and my lap times showed a final session best of 2:00.46, a drop of two full seconds from the earlier sessions when power was intermittently restricted. Note these lap times are on full tread, brand new Michelin Pilot Super Sports, not an R-Compound or Corsa type Cup tire as required by the OLOA rules. Once again, the transmission performed flawlessly, indicating the closeout panel was doing its job.

Certainly these results might not be reflected on every C63, but for our tests and the scope of our event coming up... having any restriction of power over a three lap burst is completely unacceptable. It is with these test results, our decision to run the Royal Purple throughout the entire One Lap of America event has been justified with performance and proof of protection.

abcut973

Glad you made it to NOLA motorsport and carried out some positive testing
Unfortunately i've been pretty busy with work over the week end so i couldn't join you. Matter of fact I'm just seeing your posts right now.