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It looks like the upgraded turbo m278 membership is growing! This is great. These cars really have been overlooked in the tuning community given the high amount of power they are capable of producing. Once the turbos are upgraded, they aren't far behind their m157 brothers in terms of power output. I recently acquired a set of Weistec W.3 turbochargers from a wrecked e63 in Florida that was too good of a deal to pass by. To prepare for the turbos, i'm currently getting an extra torque converter I found online upgraded by Level 10 in prep for a fall installation. With the Weistec turbos installed, the power output should be absolutely staggering as the m157 turbos make the car a monster in themselves. If it were not for this thread i definitely would have never dared a turbo upgrade on my car. I've learned a LOT. Much appreciation to everyone.
No Need to upgrade the torque converter but if you do make sure you receive the latest one (our torque converters are the latest in design and more complex inside) Last time i mesure my car on the dyno was 1390nm with meth and not a single slip on high rpm's from the torque converter. Also another lesson learned.. Our cars need to be rolled on the dyno on 4th gear (i have toasted one transmission using 5th gear on the dyno, you can loose the 5th gear...) Another plus of m278 is the smaller bore of the pistons. The rods on M278 and m157 are same but m157 pistons due to the larger diameter tends to bend the rods easier and the engine will be damaged easier under heavy loads (i have replaced 4 rods of my cls63 amg enigne as they were bend with 750hp due to detonations...). The most important when doing turbo upgrade larger than m157 stock turbos: The stock intercooler has high pressure drop which means the intercooler flow is limited. This leads to high loads on the compressor impeller as it need to work harder to reach the desired boost levels. And the second important is the need of blow off valve. The stock anti-surge protection will not handle the flow and the compressor will tends to surge which will lead to broken upgraded turbos in no time...
No Need to upgrade the torque converter but if you do make sure you receive the latest one (our torque converters are the latest in design and more complex inside) Last time i mesure my car on the dyno was 1390nm with meth and not a single slip on high rpm's from the torque converter. Also another lesson learned.. Our cars need to be rolled on the dyno on 4th gear (i have toasted one transmission using 5th gear on the dyno, you can loose the 5th gear...) Another plus of m278 is the smaller bore of the pistons. The rods on M278 and m157 are same but m157 pistons due to the larger diameter tends to bend the rods easier and the engine will be damaged easier under heavy loads (i have replaced 4 rods of my cls63 amg enigne as they were bend with 750hp due to detonations...). The most important when doing turbo upgrade larger than m157 stock turbos: The stock intercooler has high pressure drop which means the intercooler flow is limited. This leads to high loads on the compressor impeller as it need to work harder to reach the desired boost levels. And the second important is the need of blow off valve. The stock anti-surge protection will not handle the flow and the compressor will tends to surge which will lead to broken upgraded turbos in no time...
Those info is so valuable!!!
Hopefully, i can push mine in the near future.
Just wanted to share my progress with you. After installation of the top mounted intercoolers there is an issue with the integration with the engine intake manifold and throttle body. The stock intercooler is out and the only way ( due to the limited space) is to make a custom collector to merge the intercoolers and the throttle body. From the turbo to the intercoolers iam using 2.5 inch stainless steel pipes and after the intercoolers i have developed and build custom carbon fibre collector with 5 ply 3k carbon fibre and special epoxy resin then cured at 180 deg for 6 hours Thes collector include 2 x 3 inch inlets and merge to 3.5 inch outlet that connect to 3.5 inch stainless steel pipe all the way to the throttle body (this pipe will include map sensor, temperature sensor and water meth nozzles)
I will test all this mods on my car and then will be able to even provide as a kit for very good price that every one wanted to have such upgrade will be direct bolt on.
Your ingenuity is awesome excited to see your results! What does your intake manifold look like? I know the factory has the TB at the back so how are you implementing that?
Your ingenuity is awesome excited to see your results! What does your intake manifold look like? I know the factory has the TB at the back so how are you implementing that?
Hello, the 3.5 inch pipe will end with 5mm thick SS laser cut plate that will have 4 nuts welded on it (with the stock throttle gasket and contour pattern). Also i'll design another plate that will hold the SS 3.5" pipe to the stock intake manifold again using the stock bolt location pattern from below. As i have all the machines including laser cutting machine etc for me is very easy to fabricate it with industrial level of finish Will share final assembly with all the details. Also another SS plates are needed to attach the intercoolers to the engine..
Hello, the 3.5 inch pipe will end with 5mm thick SS laser cut plate that will have 4 nuts welded on it (with the stock throttle gasket and contour pattern). Also i'll design another plate that will hold the SS 3.5" pipe to the stock intake manifold again using the stock bolt location pattern from below. As i have all the machines including laser cutting machine etc for me is very easy to fabricate it with industrial level of finish Will share final assembly with all the details. Also another SS plates are needed to attach the intercoolers to the engine..
Your fabrication / engineering is impressive! Excellent quality.
Just wanted to chime in on the AMG fuel pump upgrade for members wanting to do this mod. The driver's side pump/regulator is plug and play, no wiring changes needed.
The passenger side pump only requires one change (at least on U.S. cars, works on mine). Below is a picture posted previously of the under seat wiring harness for the passenger side fuel pump. In the picture the first wire on the harness (solid brown) should be cut in two. The two halves should be capped off. That's it. The in tank wiring order of the AMG pump is unchanged. Leave it exactly like it comes from the factory. The pump should run fine after this is done. It is important to do this before connecting the wiring harness to the AMG pump as it can damage the pump or pump controller if it is powered up with the brown wire connected. Again, this worked for me. Hope this helps you all too.
Yesterday i was able to have more time and dropped the engine myself alone (it took me 4-5 hours)... The first thing today was to build the intercooler and intake setup. Laser cutting some parts and designing other.. After few hours the final design was ready and assembled only missing few plates that will keep everything bond to the engine except the blow off setup that will make tomorrow. Next thing is to replace all heat insulation on the engine, redesign my downpipes, replace engine mounts, apply heat protection, weld the temperature sensors and map sensors bunks etc.. At first it looked like normal task but it's really complicated to make it reliable (dont want to run any unreliable setup at this HP levels...) Will update later with more info. Expect to dyno the car this month
Hi All,
I have done it and was able to retrofit my GTX3071r turbos!!! So after additional fuel pump is installed this is true 1100+hp setup New intercooler radiator from frozen boost is on the way as well as new main radiator and extra compact t04b gtx3071r compressor housings to fit nice and clean in the engine bay. I'am now able to manufacture GTX3071r turbos paired with stock m157 or m278 turbo manifold. I have all the tools and machines to do it professional. Just a hint: The M278 manifold is better suited for upgrade compared to the M157 turbos (m278 wastegate ports are designed from more flow...)
I was warried after all the hard work involved that the M157 upgraded turbos i have (gt22 turbine) will be the biggest bottleneck and will not meet my expectations and all upgrades will be waste of time and $$$$$ ...
Hi All,
I have done it and was able to retrofit my GTX3071r turbos!!! So after additional fuel pump is installed this is true 1100+hp setup New intercooler radiator from frozen boost is on the way as well as new main radiator and extra compact t04b gtx3071r compressor housings to fit nice and clean in the engine bay. I'am now able to manufacture GTX3071r turbos paired with stock m157 or m278 turbo manifold. I have all the tools and machines to do it professional. Just a hint: The M278 manifold is better suited for upgrade compared to the M157 turbos (m278 wastegate ports are designed from more flow...)
I was warried after all the hard work involved that the M157 upgraded turbos i have (gt22 turbine) will be the biggest bottleneck and will not meet my expectations and all upgrades will be waste of time and $$$$$ ...
Hi All, The build is almost finished. Expect to tune the car next week. The only stock parts left are the block and the heads lol... Expect 1000+ HP and very fast responce. The goal is 9 sec 1/4 Front LSD installed, Aeromotivre fuel pump installed (the second fuel pump is wired to start with the Aquamist meth injection after 1 bar of boost is present with relay) Crazy build...
Hi All, The build is almost finished. Expect to tune the car next week. The only stock parts left are the block and the heads lol... Expect 1000+ HP and very fast responce. The goal is 9 sec 1/4 Front LSD installed, Aeromotivre fuel pump installed (the second fuel pump is wired to start with the Aquamist meth injection after 1 bar of boost is present with relay) Crazy build...
Amazing!!!
Now, I'm just hoping this can be a one shop upgrade for all m278 platform.
Are you able to mass produce these parts ??
And tune as well.
Hi Cocobeex, yes i'll be able to mass produce a complete kit including the tune for m278. I'am working with my tuner for complete pacakge for ultimate price This kit will fit any m278 or m157 engine as direct fit. After the setup is ready and real world tested will provide more info. I have invested huge amount of time and $$$$$$ to develop this setup as direct bolt on. I own very big business (selling 100 + countries) but modding cars is my passion..
Originally Posted by cocobeex
Amazing!!!
Now, I'm just hoping this can be a one shop upgrade for all m278 platform.
Are you able to mass produce these parts ??
And tune as well.
Awesome work as always! Have you addressed the CCV/PCV system yet? going to use any type of catch cans? Vented or sealed? Seems like the stock system that already is terrible would preform even worse now that you're making even more power.
07-26-2017, 05:11 PM
This is great. These cars really have been overlooked in the tuning community given the high amount of power they are capable of producing. Once the turbos are upgraded, they aren't far behind their m157 brothers in terms of power output. I recently acquired a set of Weistec W.3 turbochargers from a wrecked e63 in Florida that was too good of a deal to pass by. To prepare for the turbos, i'm currently getting an extra torque converter I found online upgraded by Level 10 in prep for a fall installation. With the Weistec turbos installed, the power output should be absolutely staggering as the m157 turbos make the car a monster in themselves. If it were not for this thread i definitely would have never dared a turbo upgrade on my car. I've learned a LOT. Much appreciation to everyone.
