C63newdude

For the last few months (since a did a pre-trade in January) I have been loging in 2-3 times a week on this forum just to check the progress of the CLA 45/A45 aftermarket parts to find out that one of the most basic and best selling mods (downpipe) is not in the market yet. It gets my attention that even if the downpipe is front mounted and located"right in front of your eyes" that there is little progress.


So far I have seen a report of a CLA 250 getting a custom downpipe done but I haven't seen a post or nothing on downpipes for the CLA45 AMG.. If someone decides to make a downpipe they will hit a gold mine because I haven't seen much at all other than catbacks that hardly makes any power and cost a fortune.


I have done (purchased) downpipes in just about 60% of all my turbo cars, I think is paramount for someone to release a downpipe ASAP. I am in the market for a Mercedes but I have been steered away from the 45 amg because of the slow progress of basic aftermarket (air filter and downpipe), I know that there are a few tunes available but someone needs to please get their hands on a downpipe and get it done.


I am looking forward for the 450hp + tune/air filter/downpipe deal. With the C400 around the corner and many undecided people like me in the market I will guarantee that this will make people look at other options.
People think that the turbo response is great, I personally think and believe from own experience on many turbo cars so far the spool up can be improved greatly by just placing the cat a few feet down the exhaust. My question is : why no one has done it yet? Is the stock downpipe good enough? or is it that initial testing makes the turbo spikes ridiculously high (from an already very high peak boost)?

my .2c

jamesyot

1. No one has dynoed their car with the catback exhaust....I dont even think any one in the USA has a catback on their car! I will be the second person in the USA (the other was ordered a day before mine) to get a catback upgrade exhaust. I will be taking my car to the DYNO! BTW Renntech told me they think the Catback is restrictive.

2. Mercedes censors are very sensitive, I am sure weistec will be coming out with a tune for a catless DP that wont throw an engine code. From what I heard it is very hard to get that CEL to not come on.

3. Intake I dont think it will make that much difference without a intake tune too.

4. The car is still new....we all need to have more patience...myself included!

C63newdude

^^^.. I think that the engine/turbo location with the stock air filter were already engineered for crazy fast spool up specially considering the location"in line" of the intercooler.


My personal prediction, again, this is based on my experience with turbo cars is that a catless downpipe would be a crazy difficult set-up for a tune. I can really see the turbo spiking in the mid 30(psi) and causing a temporary lean spot on the AFR making it hard to tune.


This "fictitious" catless downpipe could make a mess on cold winter days accelerating on top gear(taller gears) at lower RPMs in manual mode, I am talking about a real engine mess(extreme boost spike/creep). If you guys owned turbo cars you know exactly what I am talking about.


I see more feasible building a metal catted downpipe with higher flow but having the cat located downstream... I believe that could be the main reason why the downpipe hasn't ben released yet.

jamesyot

If the car is tuned correctly a catless DP should not be a problem. Tuners have tried to tune the US car with a 200 CEL cat but they are still getting a Check engine light. The cars in asia are not getting a Check engine light with a 200 CEL cat. I am pretty sure the car comes with a 400 CEL cat....200 CEL will obviously double the flow and a catless would triple the flow.

A tech from Renntech said they didnt think the DP was all that restrictive...they said most of the restriction might be coming from the catback.

dblock110

these guys are supposedly working on one/have one for a cla250 . .

https://www.facebook.com/NHBM.Int.Motorsports

Weistec

We're working on it...

3.5" downpipe (before Ceramic coating)





Batch of midpipes(connects downpipe to catback)



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http://www.weistec.com/

jamesyot

That "Fictitious" catless down pipe looks pretty sweet lol

C63newdude

WOW!!! that is all I can say. It looks like a super smooth design. I just can't wait to se this product on the car itself. My situation is that I did a pre-trade and I am on the market for a new car. I test drove the first CLA45 AMG available at my dealer but the compact size in the rear et me back. Then the C400 was launch with a projected delivery of Sep 2014(same with the GLA) so I have ben waiting and following updated on the CLA 45 aftermarket since January.


I want to see a good downpipe, tune, air filter combo and I might be sold. Thanks for your input Weistec.

mr747

Damn those things are a piece of art

J_Maher_AMG

A tune can NOT fix boost creep/spiking. Boost creep/spiking is a mechanical issue, has absolutely nothing to do with the tune whatsoever. Only way to avoid it is to have the wastegate of the turbo ported (PnP) so that it can flow enough to keep up the with flow of the exhaust system, or to install and EWG (External Waste Gate) to control boost levels.

Also, because the number of Cells decrease by half, does not mean it will double the flow... It's not even close to that. It's not directly proportional.

jamesyot

I didnt mean it so literally with the cat lol. Obviously you are going to increase flow. But if you car is tuned correctly a spike in boost should not really be a big deal right? My mitsu overboost in cold weather too w no issues

Team@Rebellion

Question.... We often get asked about warranty concerns etc regarding tuning the platform, so how many people are actually thinking about running after market down pipes? It was something we looked at but put on hold as we guessed the demand would be low based on the number of 'what about my warranty questions'

jamesyot

Thats some good info, thanks for clearing it up. Now if we did get a intake and a DP for the benz we would have to have a matching tune to get the full benefit correct???? Its not like my 91 mitsu where you can just throw on a intake and a dp and get 50 hp w no issues......right?

jamesyot

Matt,

Do you guys have any idea what part of the exhaust might be restrictive?

hihistan

armytrix and IPE had the 200cells and catless downpipe, but not sure going to trigger the check engine light......

J_Maher_AMG

Absolutely correct. Newer cars have much more advanced ECU units that are much more 'finicky' to change. Absolutely anything that alters airflow must be tuned for to ensure the safety of the engine. Sure, if you add an intake without a tune it will 'increase power' due to the fact that you are increasing air flow and the ECU is only delivering fuel based on the stock amounts of airflow; essentially it would just lean out the tune, which isn't good for longevity of the motor.

TighTT

You obviously have a lot of car tuning knowledge. What cars have you tuned yourself?? What tuning platform do you write your software with?

J_Maher_AMG

EDIT: Misunderstanding; discussed privately.

TighTT

I think you're taking my question the wrong way.

ScorpionT

Correct. Boost creep is not a large enough wastegate, and boost spike is a wastegate reacting too slowly.

The VR4 was fairly restricted from the factory, and doing the downpipes/intake definitely helped and wouldnt get you into trouble. That is, unless you pushed it to 20psi+ and hit fuel cut.

The CLA doesnt have quite as much left on the table and with a more advanced ECU the boost will be more controlled. To get the full benefit of a downpipe you need an ECU tune.

Koru_Kinshi

We're having the same problem here w/BenzWorks & OETuning. We need an actual tune to get around the CEL issue if a down pipe is put on. Nobody has it cracked yet. Hopefully my guys will have it done soon, then I can finally have some results for everyone.

I'll ask BenzWorks how the intake/filter is coming along, though.

dblock110

i tried looking through posts to find a price on a similar weistec part for older AMG cars . . .

that downpipe is going to be about $1500 by the looks of it! at the least . .

the full exhaust by them is about 5k for c63 i think too

again im just going off public posts! not weistec!

anyway . . i cant bring myself to buy any $1500 down pipe lol.....

but it DOES look like it worth that much !

P3T3

What about anti-foul spark plug adapters? Use them for gutting bad cats, similar empty pipe. Tap bung and put 2 spacers in, then screw sensor into anti-fouler. Fools sensor by restricting flow and no CEL.

TighTT

This.

Or even, companies now make them specifically for this use. Way more money then a simple drilled-out non-fouler...but looks more pleasing to the eye.

http://www.etektuning.com/42-draft-o2-sensor-spacer/

Koru_Kinshi

Has *any* company made an air filter yet for this car or no? I can't seem to find anything from anyone. K&N, BMC, Green...nothing...