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I have a 2005 E320 CDI and will be replacing the downpipe shortly. To do this, we are creating a jig and tig welding from Stainless. Curious if there is other folks in the market for such a thing? I could make 1 or 5 - cuts everyone's cost down if I make a few.
Alternately, if someone knows where I can buy one outright I wouldn't even go through the trouble.
Two is good enough for me. I will keep everyone posted on the progress. Not doing a group buy til I have one in hand. Would be about 90ish days to complete.
Two is good enough for me. I will keep everyone posted on the progress. Not doing a group buy til I have one in hand. Would be about 90ish days to complete.
Sounds good, Ill keep an eye out on this thread.
Thanks!
Two is good enough for me. I will keep everyone posted on the progress. Not doing a group buy til I have one in hand. Would be about 90ish days to complete.
I just got the full delete exhaust from eurotuned on my 11. Was gonna list full exhaust probably locally. The dpf and cat alone are 400 bux to a scrapper
I have a 2005 E320 CDI and will be replacing the downpipe shortly. To do this, we are creating a jig and tig welding from Stainless. Curious if there is other folks in the market for such a thing? I could make 1 or 5 - cuts everyone's cost down if I make a few.
Alternately, if someone knows where I can buy one outright I wouldn't even go through the trouble.
I realize this is an older thread but could I pay you to make me a downpipe? I also have an 05 e320 cdi
If you want something that makes a HUGE difference I recommend you do the blue top solenoid sway on the valve body ..... THESE CARS SHIFT SLOW ..... This makes shifts instant and with no hesitation.
Even the blue tops still shift really slow.I would at least upgrade the entire valve body.
A tune will make more difference than removing the cat. That being said I haven't seen anyone try the stock cat in a higher power application to see how it effects things.
Where have you heard that "Even Blue Tops shift Really Slow" That is just false information . Its not an opinion just a fact that they shorten the Duty cycle and up the line pressure a lot . Everyone who has done this modification loves it including myself . The shifts are aggressive and fast and actually people complain about the down shifts being aggressive on the down side .
With the power level he is at it makes ZERO sense to get a $1000 valve body when the blue top swap will get the very close to the same results. I got mine for $220 I have seen new ones cost $400 $300 Massive performance for little $ with his current engine and set up . If he was at 400-500 then maybe but again even the SRT Dodge guys love them.
Mine have been night and day but do not take my word for it there is plenty of Forum reviews between the Dodge NAG1 guys and the AMG crowd and the JAG people on the internet that can attest .
SRT and AMG guys have been doing this for years and actually company's that make those aftermarket valve body still send them with blue top solenoids .
Last edited by Oliver1232; Apr 26, 2020 at 11:55 PM.
Where have you heard that "Even Blue Tops shift Really Slow" That is just false information . Its not an opinion just a fact that they shorten the Duty cycle and up the line pressure a lot . Everyone who has done this modification loves it including myself . The shifts are aggressive and fast and actually people complain about the down shifts being aggressive on the down side .
With the power level he is at it makes ZERO sense to get a $1000 valve body when the blue top swap will get the very close to the same results. I got mine for $220 I have seen new ones cost $400 $300 Massive performance for little $ with his current engine and set up . If he was at 400-500 then maybe but again even the SRT Dodge guys love them.
Mine have been night and day but do not take my word for it there is plenty of Forum reviews between the Dodge NAG1 guys and the AMG crowd and the JAG people on the internet that can attest .
SRT and AMG guys have been doing this for years and actually company's that make those aftermarket valve body still send them with blue top solenoids .
Thanks for the reply. I was planning on upgrading to larger vrp intercooler and a downpipe. I’ve already removed mufflers (mostly because I love the sound of the om648). I’ve been speaking to the tuner that legitstreetcars is currently using and he said that the best upgrades are intercooler and downpipe for stage 2. Do you have a part number for those solenoids? I have noticed that the transmission shifts extremely slow. My cdi has a brand new transmission and valve body/ conductor plate that were installed about 20k miles ago before I bought it.
Yes there are actually TWO part numbers . in late 2006 some people got Blue tops from the factory and those still end in 98 like the brown ones but look and are different obviously because blue tops and brown tops are completely different . . those still had the A240 270 00 98
after 2006 all started being stamped # A240 270 00 89
Those are The MAIN way to tell is the bottom ... I have a Spare solenoid set but they are used . its a set of all 6
Last edited by Oliver1232; Apr 28, 2020 at 08:11 PM.
If you think blue tops will magically make the 722.6 shift fast then you need to ride in an AMG car with the 722.9 or most any other modern performance car to see what a transmission that shifts fast feels like.
Sure the blue tops will shift faster than the brown top solenoids will, but that being said they are not fast. The blue tops shift harder and faster when swapped into a brown top car at part throttle because the calibration in the TCU opens the valves xpecting the brown tops but the bluw tops having a larger internal orifice shift faster because more fluid can go through them then expected. This is why the AMG cars with factory installed blue tops do not feel harsh, they are programmed for them.
Maximum pump pressure/line pressure does not change when you change from brown to blue tops. This is only increased when you begin to modify the valve body.
The difference in the blue and brown top solenoids at WOT is very small. Yes they do shift SLIGHTLY faster, but you are better off if you want more then just the slightest performance increase to get an upgraded valve body or possibly a TCU tune.
Harshness at part throttle and on downshifts does NOT actually mean the transmission is shifting faster at WOT. I like how smooth the CDI is at part throttle shifting and around town, but can shift quicker when you are WOT with a valve body upgrade.
If you want to hear this information from another source that is far more knowledgeable on the 722.6 give Sound German Automotive a call and speak with Russell.
on the VRP intercooler see where they source their cores from. You may find for the money that you are better off getting a higher quality core and just buying a set of the silicon 90 couplers and V band clamps. I'm not sure where they are sourcing them from currently, but was under the impression that the originally came from China.
I am curious to see if the downpipe will actually offer any performance increase. Hopefully legitstreetcars will have some dyno info soon. Make sure you are able to find a tuner than can remove all of the hidden limiters in the ECU. There are a lot of limiters restricting fuel to ~85-87mm3 of fuel. It took a lot of looking to find all of these and to get my car to fuel more than this. Once they were all removed the car really woke up and will now haze a little at WOT due to the long injection window at higher RPM in crank angle. Time for an injector upgrade, time to justify putting another $2500 in parts into this car.
Originally Posted by Oliver1232
Where have you heard that "Even Blue Tops shift Really Slow" That is just false information . Its not an opinion just a fact that they shorten the Duty cycle and up the line pressure a lot . Everyone who has done this modification loves it including myself . The shifts are aggressive and fast and actually people complain about the down shifts being aggressive on the down side .
With the power level he is at it makes ZERO sense to get a $1000 valve body when the blue top swap will get the very close to the same results. I got mine for $220 I have seen new ones cost $400 $300 Massive performance for little $ with his current engine and set up . If he was at 400-500 then maybe but again even the SRT Dodge guys love them.
Mine have been night and day but do not take my word for it there is plenty of Forum reviews between the Dodge NAG1 guys and the AMG crowd and the JAG people on the internet that can attest .
SRT and AMG guys have been doing this for years and actually company's that make those aftermarket valve body still send them with blue top solenoids .
If you think blue tops will magically make the 722.6 shift fast then you need to ride in an AMG car with the 722.9 or most any other modern performance car to see what a transmission that shifts fast feels like.
Sure the blue tops will shift faster than the brown top solenoids will, but that being said they are not fast. The blue tops shift harder and faster when swapped into a brown top car at part throttle because the calibration in the TCU opens the valves xpecting the brown tops but the bluw tops having a larger internal orifice shift faster because more fluid can go through them then expected. This is why the AMG cars with factory installed blue tops do not feel harsh, they are programmed for them.
Maximum pump pressure/line pressure does not change when you change from brown to blue tops. This is only increased when you begin to modify the valve body.
The difference in the blue and brown top solenoids at WOT is very small. Yes they do shift SLIGHTLY faster, but you are better off if you want more then just the slightest performance increase to get an upgraded valve body or possibly a TCU tune.
Harshness at part throttle and on downshifts does NOT actually mean the transmission is shifting faster at WOT. I like how smooth the CDI is at part throttle shifting and around town, but can shift quicker when you are WOT with a valve body upgrade.
If you want to hear this information from another source that is far more knowledgeable on the 722.6 give Sound German Automotive a call and speak with Russell.
on the VRP intercooler see where they source their cores from. You may find for the money that you are better off getting a higher quality core and just buying a set of the silicon 90 couplers and V band clamps. I'm not sure where they are sourcing them from currently, but was under the impression that the originally came from China.
I am curious to see if the downpipe will actually offer any performance increase. Hopefully legitstreetcars will have some dyno info soon. Make sure you are able to find a tuner than can remove all of the hidden limiters in the ECU. There are a lot of limiters restricting fuel to ~85-87mm3 of fuel. It took a lot of looking to find all of these and to get my car to fuel more than this. Once they were all removed the car really woke up and will now haze a little at WOT due to the long injection window at higher RPM in crank angle. Time for an injector upgrade, time to justify putting another $2500 in parts into this car.
The vrp intercooler is the same one that Alex installed on his CDI. It’s listed for $300 and I’m sure that I could find something cheaper but I’m fine with paying that price considering it includes all the couplers and clamps. Saves me some effort.
As for the downpipe, I’m sure it doesn’t make a large difference but I’m willing to give it a try. I talked to Alex’s tuner on Facebook and he said the best basic upgrades I could make are a larger intercooler and a downpipe for a stage 2 tune.
I’m also having him delete the egr and intake swirl flaps via programming. I already have the egr unplugged because it’s failed due to carbon buildup and puts the engine in limp mode. I’ll physically remove the swirl flaps eventually. I already tried to buy a European intake manifold that doesn’t have swirl flaps but it got denied for international shipping...
Once I get some more power I’ll consider some transmission upgrades but we’ll see if I’ll want to spend the money on it. I won’t lie, I really like how smooth the transmission shifts, even if it’s pretty slow.
The vrp intercooler is the same one that Alex installed on his CDI. It’s listed for $300 and I’m sure that I could find something cheaper but I’m fine with paying that price considering it includes all the couplers and clamps. Saves me some effort.
As for the downpipe, I’m sure it doesn’t make a large difference but I’m willing to give it a try. I talked to Alex’s tuner on Facebook and he said the best basic upgrades I could make are a larger intercooler and a downpipe for a stage 2 tune.
I’m also having him delete the egr and intake swirl flaps via programming. I already have the egr unplugged because it’s failed due to carbon buildup and puts the engine in limp mode. I’ll physically remove the swirl flaps eventually. I already tried to buy a European intake manifold that doesn’t have swirl flaps but it got denied for international shipping...
Once I get some more power I’ll consider some transmission upgrades but we’ll see if I’ll want to spend the money on it. I won’t lie, I really like how smooth the transmission shifts, even if it’s pretty slow.
Thanks for the advice!
I looked and saw $400 on there for it, hopefully it's only $300.
I have an extra Euro factory flapless intake here and a couple of 400 CDI high pressure pumps I've been planning to list. My flap actuator arm would occasionally fall off of the ball piece and the flaps would close giving me a loss of power and hard starting then eventually a limp mode. I did the burn method to clean the garbage from this intake before installing it and also removed the resonator, EGR cooler and modified the EGR mix pipe while I was in there. It looks much nicer in the engine bay with the extra room.
Wait until you have a tune and you will really see how lazy the 722.6 is when shifting. That being said you have a nice mod plan and the 722.6 is very strong.
"If you think blue tops will magically make the 722.6 shift fast then you" BLAH BLAH BLAH
Its not magic bud ... you just explained it The blue tops shift harder and faster when swapped into a brown top car ..
No one said the Transmission was a FAST TRANSMISSION..... Actually you will see that it is SLOW and Everyone agrees with that WHICH IS WHY WE UPGRADE IT ...
The statement I made is that it shifts faster ...IT DOES .... I am a A&P Mechanic myself . I also have done the ACTUAL MODIFICATION to my car . E55 and Dodge guys put these in to make it shift harder and faster and it works ....
The Blue Top solenoids DO raise the LINE PRESSURE that is a fact . One thing you failed to mention is the BLUE TOPS also shorten the DUTY CYCLE making everything happen sooner but I am sure your good pal explained ........ Why would I call some dude instead of MERCEDES FOR ANYTHING LOL......?
I have all the FORUMS DODGE NAG1 FORUMS ...... MERCEDES AMG FORUMS ......... and JAG people do it as well ..... ALL SAY IT WORKS including the dealership and your saying it does not because some guy named russell told you so ... Yeah ok bud .... I will take the ENTIRE INTERNET ..... The dealership and my own experience because they are in my car ......... Enjoy your slow transmission if you want some of us actually MOD . No reason to get a valve body unless your pushing 350-400 HP not worth the $1000 valve body when a simple $400 mod does the same thing at these power levels .
My Mercedes Dealership actually suggested it when I called them .....and I am very happy with the results ....
No one said the Transmission was a FAST TRANSMISSION
Originally Posted by Oliver1232
this makes shifts instant and with no hesitation.
Good point, you didn't say it was a "FAST TRANSMISSION" you said "shifts instant." Apart from yelling one of these, I imagine others can see a similarity here and I did not want anyone to be misled thinking that these solenoids will magically make the car "shift instant(ly)."
Originally Posted by Oliver1232
"If you think blue tops will magically make the 722.6 shift fast then you" BLAH BLAH BLAH
Its not magic bud ... you just explained it The blue tops shift harder and faster when swapped into a brown top car ..
I did explain why they make it shift faster and harsher at low/mid loads. At WOT the difference is very small.
Originally Posted by Oliver1232
I am a A&P Mechanic myself
And that makes you an expert on automotive transmission applications?
While I'm sure you are good at what you do and that is a very precision oriented field, I don't think there is a lot of material you learn about geared transmissions in your training for this.
Originally Posted by Oliver1232
The Blue Top solenoids DO raise the LINE PRESSURE that is a fact . One thing you failed to mention is the BLUE TOPS also shorten the DUTY CYCLE making everything happen sooner but I am sure your good pal explained ........ Why would I call some dude instead of MERCEDES FOR ANYTHING LOL......?
Wrong. They do NOT increase line pressure. They will increase shift pressures because of the larger orifice allowing faster transfer as I said before and again this difference becomes virtually zero at WOT.
Not a pal of mine at all, but I would consider him to be one of the experts on the 722.6 and NAG1 transmissions.
I'm glad you trust Mercedes to provide you the best advice and fastest shifting option and not in providing a transmission that has to meet many requirements for NVH among other things to appease the mass market not the enthusiast that wants to make them even faster. I guess you will not upgrade your turbo because Mercedes didn't offer larger turbos so surely they can't be better!
Originally Posted by Oliver1232
I have all the FORUMS DODGE NAG1 FORUMS ...... MERCEDES AMG FORUMS ......... and JAG people do it as well ..... ALL SAY IT WORKS including the dealership and your saying it does not because some guy named russell told you so ... Yeah ok bud .... I will take the ENTIRE INTERNET ..... The dealership and my own experience because they are in my car ......... Enjoy your slow transmission if you want some of us actually MOD . No reason to get a valve body unless your pushing 350-400 HP not worth the $1000 valve body when a simple $400 mod does the same thing at these power levels .
My Mercedes Dealership actually suggested it when I called them .....and I am very happy with the results ....
I guess the internet is always right so I probably shouldn't waste any time replying to this part. The dealership also knows performance application on their products so well and stands to gain nothing by having you purchase some solenoids from them for $500 or so (Haven't priced them recently if they are even still available so keep that in mind)
I do enjoy my slow transmission, it is holding up well to my current power levels and abuse. It will also be getting a valve body when I do the injector upgrade as I have had great results with them in another vehicle with this transmission. Ideally I will also be able to take it to the 1/4 mile track to see what quantitative improvements it makes so that I will have some hard numbers to support my point of view that the valve body will improve shifting speed which will show in reduced ET. I am currently limited a bit on injectors as I am sourcing them from overseas and don't want them to be stuck in customs forever or sent back. Feel free to bring your CDI to the track and we can always line them up to see who managed to make the put the most power to the ground consistently. I'd even take a timeslip from another track if you want to compare that way.
Good point, you didn't say it was a "FAST TRANSMISSION" you said "shifts instant." Apart from yelling one of these, I imagine others can see a similarity here and I did not want anyone to be misled thinking that these solenoids will magically make the car "shift instant(ly)."
Well I do have the first hand experience and capitalizing does not mean yelling has I did not remember putting any !!! points at then end of it just highlighting . That being said it seems that you do not actually have any first hand experience yourself with this mod so as far as misleading anyone at least between us I have actually performed the change on my car .
I did explain why they make it shift faster and harsher at low/mid loads. At WOT the difference is very small.
You say the difference is small . I disagree but I have actually done the change on my car so between us again... First hand experience ... That being said (EVEN) and again not yelling , EVEN if it was small like you say it is STILL and improvement in response and firmness over stock and does not cost $1000
And that makes you an expert on automotive transmission applications?
While I'm sure you are good at what you do and that is a very precision oriented field, I don't think there is a lot of material you learn about geared transmissions in your training for this.
Really dude haha //// What makes you an expert yourself ? Could ask you the same question but I will humor you . I and most people on here would agree that as an Airplane mechanic that holds a lot of certifications in not only Airframe and Powerplant applications that I am also certified in Turbine Engines and Prop engines and have experience with HELO systems as well . SO are you telling me that a BASIC 5 speed transmission is to much for me to comprehend because I think others and myself would disagree. Again you make assumptions and assertions .
1. I never said I was a transmission "expert" I was saying that I hold degrees and certificates in much more complicated things and I think I have more of a basic understanding of a 5 speed transmission that has been around since 1996..
Wrong. They do NOT increase line pressure. They will increase shift pressures because of the larger orifice allowing faster transfer as I said before and again this difference becomes virtually zero at WOT.
Larger Orifice that does what ? Moves more fluid .... more fluid in a closed system IE valve body does what when dealing with fluid being pumped at higher volume in a closed system increases pressure that physics .
Not a pal of mine at all, but I would consider him to be one of the experts on the 722.6 and NAG1 transmissions..
I'm glad you trust Mercedes to provide you the best advice and c and not in providing a transmission that has to meet many requirements for NVH among other things to appease the mass market not the enthusiast that wants to make them even faster. I guess you will not upgrade your turbo because Mercedes didn't offer larger turbos so surely they can't be better!
So... You are saying trust "your guy" But do not trust people at Mercedes Benz ..... Also I am not sure what you mean about the Turbo ... No one said I was looking for the "fastest shifting option" But lets be real brother $1000 for a valve body .....200-300hp is not needed and as I have stated $400 BRAND NEW at FCP Euro is a great upgrade at half the cost and again from first hand experience I do not feel I will ever update the valve body on this car I do not think the $1000 would be worth it for a valve body on a CDI
I guess the internet is always right so I probably shouldn't waste any time replying to this part. The dealership also knows performance application on their products so well and stands to gain nothing by having you purchase some solenoids from them for $500 or so (Haven't priced them recently if they are even still available so keep that in mind)
The internet is not always right and I want to be clear I never said that .. I said that I read Multiple Reviews from across 3 different brands of cars all who have done this and all loved it and did not find anyone who did not like it .. And again I have done it ....and I am saying its great . SO now I am speaking from personal experience and just happen to be added to the BIG list of people that like them.
I do enjoy my slow transmission, it is holding up well to my current power levels and abuse. It will also be getting a valve body when I do the injector upgrade as I have had great results with them in another vehicle with this transmission. Ideally I will also be able to take it to the 1/4 mile track to see what quantitative improvements it makes so that I will have some hard numbers to support my point of view that the valve body will improve shifting speed which will show in reduced ET. I am currently limited a bit on injectors as I am sourcing them from overseas and don't want them to be stuck in customs forever or sent back. Feel free to bring your CDI to the track and we can always line them up to see who managed to make the put the most power to the ground consistently. I'd even take a timeslip from another track if you want to compare that way.
Unless we meet up I do not trust your time slips ETC this is 2020 But I am in Atlanta and would be more than happy to meet ANYTIME you are in town for sure .
You said "It will also be getting a valve body when I do the injector upgrade" Well if thats the case you wont know if any improvement is a result of valve body OR the injector upgrade will you ? Nope.....
I am sure you know the stock injectors are good to 300hp so I can only imagine that you are also doing a fuel pump upgrade as well...
Anyway we can agree to disagree all day long but the fact is : I have done this and you have not . I am speaking from personal experience and you are not ... I am not a transmission expert and Neither are you . I have a lot of people across the internet that agree who also have experience you do not .
Yes I will take Mercedes advise over your guy sorry but having followed the advice and being happy with the results I will continue to source information from the same people . You can play internet warrior all you want . Please do post any progress on your CDI I was having trouble locating any post you have made pertaining to your CDI and I do like pics to go with a good debate.
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.
And that makes you an expert on automotive transmission applications?
