benhays98

After speaking with a number of people, I've decided to go forward with my E550 mod plans over the upcoming summer. They are as follows;

Headers (brand is TBD)
Cam swap (brand is TBD)
OE Tune Stage 2 ECU tune

I haven't come across any information of someone doing a cam swap for the W212 E550, so adding it in will be new territory for me.

I'm shooting to see an increase of 85whp-105whp from the above list, while staying around $6000/installed. Yes, I realize that these modifications aren't the best HP/$, but financially, its far cheaper than buying an E63.

thefisch

Do you know the cost and gains of each?

Munich77

85 hp from a cam, headers and a chip - I want to see that. I am guessing you would end up with a gain of 40 hp.

benhays98

I can list the #'s from a particular tuner
Headers/Tune--55-65wHp @ ~$4500/installed
Cam- As far as I can tell, it hasn't been attempted & we haven't selected a vendor yet

I have zero experience in the MB world, when it comes to tuning. I can only base my decisions on the data that is presented to me, via my own research and the selected tuner's experience.

With that said, 2 separate tuners have stated that a gain of 20-30 whp from a tune is considered a normal gain. Both have also stated that a header/tune combo usually nets a 50-70 whp gain (#'s depending on particular header and tuner selected). It stands to reason that an additional 15 HP could possibly be extracted via a different cam profile and an updated tune.

If someone has already taken this route, I would love to view their findings. I don't mind being the first to try, even if it results in failing. I haven't, up to this point, found any thread, site or blog that leads me to believe that all of the above have been tried on the NA 5.5L. It seems to have been written off as ludicrous without any further exploration.

I didn't start this thread as a pissing contest or an open invitation for the community to flame me, for no reason. I am, however, open to dialog to discuss potentials of what I can/will find and if anyone has attempted this type of project on the NA 5.5L before.

belarus27

This is a very interested thread... I wish you luck , and can't waut to see results

KEY08

Subscribed to follow your progress. Good luck with your mods and have some fun with it!

YYZ-E55

The MY10/MY11 5.5L NA motor puts out 382hp /391 ft-lbs
The MY12+ 4.6L bi-turbo motor puts out 402hp / 443 ft-lbs

I'd be curious if it would be possible to invest your $6k into a MY12+ E550 instead. You'd get a newer, quicker car with factory warranty, plus it would be significantly more cost-effective to mod given that it's a turbo.

I don't know what the pre-owned E550 values or availability are in your area, but going this route you would get some of your $6k back in the end. Your mods won't add value to the car (if anything, they will detract from it).

Good luck with your project in any event!

benhays98

I would love to get into a turbo'ed E550, but, I would take too big of a hit on my trade-in value. I would probably be required to add a down payment of $7k+ and it will definitely increase my monthly payment.

As for mods, I'm not looking at my car, nor the planned modifications, as an investment. This vehicle is to drive and to have fun with.

Thank you! I will try to keep a detailed thread on my journey.

SoCalCLK

Renntech has a good package with headers and an ECU tune. Pair that with an exhaust and you got yourself a growling beast!

AudiA4Turbo22

Looking forward to this, for those of you who think Cams don't make a big difference, here's a little info in my experience:

On my 2.0L Stroker turbo Audi A4, an upgrade to both the intake and exhaust cam netted an increase of 100BHP. Definitely worth it.

Tracers

I'm truly looking forward to your feedback/results when you are done!! Our 5.5 NA motors have quite a bit of room for more power and we all know they are extremely durable.