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I picked these up last summer but was busy, put them in a drawer and promptly forgot I had them. If you're not familiar with turbo blankets, the basic idea is first to reduce radiant heat in the engine bay and second to keep the hot side of the turbo hot, improving spool and reducing turbo lag just a touch. ZAC's set appears to be well made and similar to the DEI Onyx Blanket that I ran on my 370z.
Anyway, on to the install. ZAC does not provide instructions, deeming this to be a simple task, and it pretty much is.
0) This task is most easily accomplished with intakes out of the bay. I'm not sure if this is possible with stock intakes, but I took the covers off the Weistec setup and was able to get at everything I needed.
1) Remove engine cover. No pictures of this. This is just 4 bolts positioned on mobile plastic mounts with threaded rods. Only trick here is that you need to grip the threaded rod - this was easily done with either a 10mm or 12mm wrench, I do not recall which.
2) Remove heat shield above turbos. 3 bolts per side, socket cap, and one in the back of the bay. I used a ratcheting wrench on these.
3) As pictured above, that will expose your turbos. Now comes the fun part, getting the ****ing blankets on.
4) This part is kind of a pain in the ***. The drivers side turbo blanket doesn't fit very well in the right hand portion of the bay, and ZAC includes these springs to hold the blanket in place. I had to spend a lot of time working on this to get the springs into the right area and clipped on. But whatever, I was able to make it work. Took a long magnet and my largest set of needle nose pliers and a lot of patience as I dropped the spring clips repeatedly into the engine bay. I said many bad words at this point.
5) Re-assemble everything and enjoy. Will report back if I see a difference in either spool time or if temps change in any unexpected ways.
it makes (only) sense if all heat in this aerea is shielded.
the heat from turbo is now encapsulated - that means turbo can not put the heat away and that means turbo will going hotter.
I hope the oil in the turbo can regulate it. i am not a F1 technican but this point i would double check.
ask this company for a down pipe jacket too - if they know what they are doing their tailor will do something & activate sewing machine.
I see you use open air filters … thats (in my mind) worst case of temp intake air you can do.
~ anti-performance-tuning.
Overall - much worse than good OEM system.
Use a OEM like system with cold& fresh air from outside.
Maybe the system vom PTG … with bigger filters too.
Last edited by C63s_Jack; Mar 29, 2026 at 02:30 AM.
Jack, you seem like a nice guy, so I won't be sarcastic, but you also seem to need a lot of spoon feeding of information.
1) These air boxes are normally closed. This is visible in my other recent post on Weistec/tune. I removed the top portion of the airbox to get access to the engine cover and heat shielding for the purposes of this install - which are not easily accessed with airboxes of any kind in the car.
2) If you've looked at the downpipes on these cars, you'd already realize there is a massive amount of heat shielding on those DP's, especially around the catalyst-areas. There is a wrap that can be used on exhaust piping, but looks to be unnecessary here.
3) I would suggest that you do some reading on turbo blankets. Why they work, how they are used, and so forth. I'm not going to post redundant widely available information here, although I've done that for you in the past.
okay Josh - we only make a discussion here - everyone can do what he wants on end. I am always happy and grateful when I meet genuine experts in forums because we all know not everyone can know all.
1. Can you show a picture in closed condition please ?
2. i know down pipes ( with catalysator) and the good (expeensive) of them are all isolated. i would guess there is a reason why.
3. turbo blankets info (have you a link to your posting ?)
Last edited by C63s_Jack; Mar 29, 2026 at 05:56 AM.
okay Josh - we only make a discussion here - everyone can do what he wants on end. I am always happy and grateful when I meet genuine experts in forums because we all know not everyone can know all.
1. Can you show a picture in closed condition please ?
Sure.
2. i know down pipes ( with catalysator) and the good (expeensive) of them are all isolated. i would guess there is a reason why.
Yup.
3. turbo blankets info (have you a link to your posting ?)
^ there is an immense amount of information available to you through a simple google search, which I will do for you, and curate this down to a single video. Please enjoy.
@JoshLarson Nice job on the write up. The only thing I would correct you on is in step 1 you don't have to remove the nuts from the "threaded rod" to remove the outer heat shield / engine cover. Those "threaded rods" are just pushed into rubber grommets. They all have a little ball on the end and you can just pull up on the cover and they pull out of the rubber grommets. There is no need to hold the bottom of the little post and unscrew the nut.
Second, when I put on the Zac Turbo Blankets I found it very helpful to put the springs on one side of the blanket and then use some needle nose pliers to close that end of the spring hook a little so it wouldn't fall off the turbo blanket when you put it on and tuck it under / around the turobo, then all I had to do was grab the other end of the spring and pull it over to hook on the other side. I also found Zac's springs to be a little long so I trimmed one and reformed a hook end.
Overall I am not sure I notice quicker turbo spoiling, but I do think it keeps underhood temps lower. I used to drive my car to an event and pop the hood and the heat wafted out. Now it's more like a normal engine, and it doesn't seem to have as much radiating heat from the turbos. My Modal Works downpipes are also completely heat shielded, including the cats, so that's probably helping too.
Lastly, I have a Zac Motorsport intake system too and I think it works better than stock. I can definitely tell that the car doesn't run out of steam on the top end anymore. My intake temps are the same as stock, and often a little lower at cruising speed.
Lastly, I have a Zac Motorsport intake system too and I think it works better than stock. I can definitely tell that the car doesn't run out of steam on the top end anymore. My intake temps are the same as stock, and often a little lower at cruising speed.
@JoshLarson Nice job on the write up. The only thing I would correct you on is in step 1 you don't have to remove the nuts from the "threaded rod" to remove the outer heat shield / engine cover. Those "threaded rods" are just pushed into rubber grommets. They all have a little ball on the end and you can just pull up on the cover and they pull out of the rubber grommets. There is no need to hold the bottom of the little post and unscrew the nut.
Oh ****, neat! I totally missed that - thanks for the tip! I'm still early into my Merc learning curve, so this is very helpful.
Regarding the springs, pretty sure they fixed the length... I did something similar to what you described, kind of squished the hook down to better retain the springs. Passenger side went ok, albeit very slowly. Drivers side was very tight for one of the springs and I had to get creative with fishing it + pulling on it.
I did think about the ZAC intakes. The price was very attractive. Happy with the Weistec though, they address the same issue. Before, the loss in grunt was pretty apparent around 5k rpm's.
I've installed the Zac Turbo Blanket on my '22 C63 and it made a noticeable difference in the under hood temps during long highway drives, especially when towing my trailer. I had to do a bit of fabrication to get it snug up against the intercooler, but it was pretty straightforward install otherwise.
@C63s_Jack You can live monitor various sensors, including air intake temperature, using Xentry "Actual Values". I use a laptop and Star Connect C4 set up by BenzNinja.
@C63s_Jack You can live monitor various sensors, including air intake temperature, using Xentry "Actual Values". I use a laptop and Star Connect C4 set up by BenzNinja.
Circling back on this. Ambient was up over 80 yesterday with stop-and-go traffic on my way out of Philly. Oil was at 212 after 30 miles in those conditions, which is exactly where it always is in identical conditions. I'm mentioning this specifically not because I'm surprised but because I saw a post elsewhere ragging on turbo blankets for raising oil temps... seemed far fetched, but I'm a firm believer in measuring data and let the data do the talking. So that's it! No change.
Turbos spool entirely too fast for me to tell if the blankets moved the spool point.
Okay no influence to engineoiltemp as you say.
sounds good.
30 miles stop & go sounds hard.
what do you think is the turbo it self gone hotter ?
To Lower engine compartment temperature
i would isolatet that downpipe stuff ( maybe turbo blankests) and important do some
ventilation holes like C63 204 BS or 507 in the hood.
Last edited by C63s_Jack; Apr 2, 2026 at 05:56 AM.
I don't have the tools to measure turbo temp at present.
As an aside, I ran a turbo blanket on my turbo'd 370z for over 50k miles. The type of turbo I was using for that car, a Comp (watercooled, grease lubed), advises a turbo rebuild at 50k as general PM. When I sent out my turbo to Comp for the PM rebuild, they noted it was still in excellent condition. I'm not just relying on someone else's youtube videos for this... I've done this before. It's at least my second rodeo
You don't use turbo blankets on a downpipe. If you were trying to insulate that further, you'd go with an exhaust wrap. Design Engineering makes a good one. Seems unnecessary in this case though. Benz has a lot of isolation and heat shielding around the DP's already. If I were tracking the car, I might consider a vented hood of some kind.
@C63s_Jack I have been in almost specifically turbo cars for years and years. These blanket things seem to be a fad that comes and goes. It seems that the majority of the folks who are putting them on have not taken physics nor understand that energy can not be created or destroyed (it can only change form).
Turbos as we all know get HOT HOT HOT (I have had many cars where you could see the red of the turbo heat on the road surface - 911 Turbo S for instance. It was a game in my VR4's to pop the hood and see the turbos glowing (back then, 96-99). There were some folks wrapping turbos in the 300ZX, 3000GT and Supras all claming this or that. The reality is that all it did was keep the heat in the turbos and not allow it to rapidly dissipate the heat away from the engine (to the air) - these turbos would (science) need MORE effort from the fluid cooling systems of the car to dissipate heat as compared to allowing a higher percentage to trasfer to atmosphere right there (the heat will transfer to atmosphere in a radiator after going down an oil/water path.
You are also spot on about the internal "charge" are being a higher temp with that intake system. In our cars right down to the C240 in 2004 my cars have had air intakes at the front grill bringing in a "cooler" charge of air that was not subject to as much under-hood heat as a car with out the air intake pipes....
But, if someone has a security blanket pacebo to convince them that they are doing an upgrade (despite what physics has to say about it)...well, god bless em.
Oh, maybe it would keep the paint on the hood in better shape....
Last edited by OldManAndHisCar; Apr 4, 2026 at 09:18 AM.
Turbos radiate heat to the air pretty efficiently. And,
Adding hot air to the intake charge reduces power (less air density).
These facts above are exactly why a turbo blanket works well in our cars, they keep engine bay heat down, and since the air intake box (stock or aftermarket) is adjacent to the turbos, the blankets can help keep intake air temps down too. The reduction in overall underhood temp is undeniable.
Does the engine cooling system have to work harder, yes maybe a little. (I haven't noticed any degradation in performance).
Do the turbos spool faster... Not that I can tell by seat of the pants.
Is there more heat being put into the upstream catalytic converter... Maybe. (might be a good thing for those of us with 200 cell single-cats that need them really hot for emissions purposes)... (my Modal Works downpipes are also heat shielded to reduce under hood temps).
The stock intake as well as most of the aftermarket ones, including Zac, make an effort to collect cooler air coming in from the front of the car and guide it toward the air filters. The design of the M177 engine cover and the hood in our cars, is designed to funnel some air from the front grill right down the center of the engine, over the turbos, down the firewall, and out the bottom of the car. Extreme heat soak in the turbos should only occur if you drove the car hard, got the turbos very hot, and then remained stopped or parked immediately afterwards with no airflow over the turbos. Even then, the blankets would help with engine bay temps, even if at the sacrifice of keeping the hot side of the turbos hotter.
The bottom line for me is that when I open the hood after driving I notice way less heat radiating off the engine. And I like the way the turbo blankets look. And I like the conversations it strikes up (like this one).
Turbos radiate heat to the air pretty efficiently. And,
Adding hot air to the intake charge reduces power (less air density).
These facts above are exactly why a turbo blanket works well in our cars, they keep engine bay heat down, and since the air intake box (stock or aftermarket) is adjacent to the turbos, the blankets can help keep intake air temps down too. The reduction in overall underhood temp is undeniable.
Does the engine cooling system have to work harder, yes maybe a little. (I haven't noticed any degradation in performance).
Do the turbos spool faster... Not that I can tell by seat of the pants.
Is there more heat being put into the upstream catalytic converter... Maybe. (might be a good thing for those of us with 200 cell single-cats that need them really hot for emissions purposes)... (my Modal Works downpipes are also heat shielded to reduce under hood temps).
The stock intake as well as most of the aftermarket ones, including Zac, make an effort to collect cooler air coming in from the front of the car and guide it toward the air filters. The design of the M177 engine cover and the hood in our cars, is designed to funnel some air from the front grill right down the center of the engine, over the turbos, down the firewall, and out the bottom of the car. Extreme heat soak in the turbos should only occur if you drove the car hard, got the turbos very hot, and then remained stopped or parked immediately afterwards with no airflow over the turbos. Even then, the blankets would help with engine bay temps, even if at the sacrifice of keeping the hot side of the turbos hotter.
The bottom line for me is that when I open the hood after driving I notice way less heat radiating off the engine. And I like the way the turbo blankets look. And I like the conversations it strikes up (like this one).
^ This. Given the cost of a turbo blanket, and that MB found it wise to put some level of heat shielding on the E63 turbo but did not do so for the C63... seems like an easy choice to make.
@JoshLarson that shielding was to protect the paint on the hood more than provide any benefit to the engine performance. Not to diminish the theory of a potential performance increase but that is why the shielding is there.
@JoshLarson that shielding was to protect the paint on the hood more than provide any benefit to the engine performance. Not to diminish the theory of a potential performance increase but that is why the shielding is there.
Interesting, thanks for sharing that.
Also, maybe worth a quick note, I'm under no misapprehension here that the heat simply disappears, in reference to your physics comment above.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
… thats (in my mind) worst case of temp intake air you can do.
