Good morning,

Several weeks ago I bought a local trade in, 1 owner 45k mile E550 4matic Sedan here in VA. When I got it I had my shop (buddy owns a Euro shop in town) do new OEM plugs and OEM coil boots just preventatively as well as an inspection and everything passed w/ flying colors. Fast forward a couple weeks later, I spoke to Eurocharged and bought their Stage 2 tune, (awesome customer service so far from them btw). I talked to them and advised I was planning on deleting all 3 resonators and doing the blackboost intakes but not planning on doing the true downpipe as it requires subframe drop or engine out to access and remove the back part of the OEM piece. I was told that was fine and wouldn't be a problem, from the sounds of it, several have done as well.

Once installed everything felt good, albeit a little more sluggish than I expected which I attributed to heat (80-92 every day), couple days later I got a CEL even though car was driving smoothly. Code is P1CE7 (Crankcase Ventilation something). I'm just guessing here but figuring its intake related, unfortunately both were installed within 4-5 hours of each other so hard to pinpoint cause/effect. Reached out to Blackboost and they've always been responsive, tried clearing code twice, changing universal connector to intake sensor 180 degrees, etc.

So yeah a couple things going on, waiting for further support but wanted to get everyone's opinion on what the CEL could possibly be but more interested in the sluggishness. My prior car was a 20 BMW X3M non comp, 473 hp 4600 lb SUV and it felt considerably quicker than the E550 Tuned (560/715 crank). Brainstorming I've thought of the following, let me know if any further advice, thanks!

1. Heat here 80-92 when testing
2. OEM Cats are too restrictive?
3. I need Weistec or a very expensive true downpipe (hope not)
4. Need an X Pipe installed for exhaust flow vs. straight pipes

 

There a few tuned E550 cars that are around here or on the W212 AMG section and hopefully will see your post and respond. My car is completely stock and the M278 is underrated at 403 HP. It’s more like 430. In stock trim it goes like stink, so something is really messed up if your car fells sluggish on a tune. It could be caused by a lot of things. I hope you get some assistance here and can get it sorted.

 

Thanks man! It's definitely not slow by any means but it doesn't throw me back in my seat like it should. Stock also impressed me with the power.

 

It should throw back into the seat, as 1g of acceleration. I stay away from black boost, don't know of anyone that has run anything from them without issues.

How much boost are you running, and what is your AFR(commanded and actual)?

 

Hey man thanks for the reply. It felt a little better yesterday (honestly only put like 20 miles on the car since the tune and intake) and CEL didn't come back (adapting?). Merging onto a busy highway I had to get on it or I'd be screwed over and run out of "runway", she pulled really well, I think I'm used to the ZF 8 speed auto and S-Tronic/DSG from past cars and part of my feelings about power. I really want to know if the cats are bottlenecking the exhaust too w/ the Stage 2 tune. Good chance they are or if I need a proper H or X Pipe in place of the deletes.

To answer your question, don't know, any suggestions on P3 like vent gauges or good OBDII gauges I can look into? It's a simple off the shelf tune so I wasn't planning on a large expense for a gauge setup but I suppose it's good insurance. The My Genius handheld tuner may do it, I need to look into that also. Also wish I did more research on BlackBoost, the few recommendations I received were pro Blackboost, probably should have just done the performance BMC filters and saved $900.

 

Car felt quicker as time went on with adapting to the tune, definitely needs a TCU tune at some point though. I do keep getting a slowly recurring CEL though which I think is the BlackBoost Intake system. It is a crankcase ventilation code, P1CE700, which I think is because the intake system isn't closed. May have to live with clearing that one every week or two.

 

Are you sure its BB intake that cause your problems? I haven't had any codes and that BB intake did help me to reach tens on 1/4 mile etc. TCU tune is way to go!

 

I am not, but it sounds very, very likely. It also may stop popping up over time. First time it happened it came up in 48 hours or so after intake install. Cleared, came back 3-4 days later. This time it stayed off for 2.5 weeks and came back.

Error code P1CE700, CEL, CE crankcase wide open throttle - MBWorld.org Forums

 

Going catless you'll pick a **** ton of Tq i wanna say like 80wtq or more. look around you can find downpipes for not weistec money lol. I have an X pipe in my '12 with a tune sounds good with E63 mufflers. cant really see a major difference X to straight tho.

numbers look good with the intake. i did just a tad under 500whp and 600wtq. with nothing else besides minor exhaust work, still with stock DP's.

 

Damn you had me at 80 wtq. That will have to be very soon.

Ya I think I'll go with RedStar Exhaust's downpipe, but still looking at big money, just not Weistec money lol. X Pipe is going on as soon as my shop can catch up (my projects are not primary concerns lol). I think with X Pipe I"ll just be happy to get rid of that walloping V8 note that gets a little sloppy.

 

Been off the forum for a while and just saw your message Nate. Sorry. yeah, the error you are getting is because there is no vacuum signal on the sensors that were in the stock airboxes. I know some of the early BlackBoost systems had an incorrect setup for the evap system and this code will pop up every time you go full throttle. I have the sane issue with my homemade intake, but it does not attribute to any running conditions, it's just a tattletale. Also, going catless is the most increase you will see(other than a custom Full E85 Tune and an extra in-tank fuel pump, but I digress). The difference in 93 and E85 is violent in my car...it's brutal...With everything in the car and a bunch of crap in the trunk I ran a best E/T of 11.3@122mph in the 1/4(Dragy). Estimated power at the crank is 675hp/850tq.

Get an ELM327 OBD device and use TORQUE app to monitor your AIT's when running the car. You could have an issue in the intercooler system, like a bad/weak pump. Another option is to wire your I/C Pump to run any time the ignition is on, that helps with heat soak quite a bit.

 

Thanks man, I knew you'd have an answer for my issue lol, turns out one of my MAP sensors (I think?) was not fully seated and you could see a visible gap between the sensor and the intake tube. Advice from a fellow member on the W212 Facebook group. Waiting to see if the CEL will come back, it typically was coming back every 2-3 weeks. That is a STOUT time on E85, good god. I wish it was easier to get around here. For now I am just heading to get my TCU tune done Thursday and still considering downpipes especially now that I have a second quieter daily driver. How loud is the W212 with the downpipes for longer drives? Still not sure I want to venture into that territory of loud.

 

Also, in case you see this sooner than later, I do believe I have a belt slipping or something going on. When the car is almost to temp or just AT temp, if I go WOT or near it beyond 4000 RPM, I get an almost "Hellcat" sounding belt whine. It is hard to replicate. Any idea what this could be?

 

Something in the belt drive, if I had to guess. If you have a stethoscope listen to the pulley bearings when running. If not, remove the belt and check all pulley bearings for looseness and/or noise.

 

Catless is much louder than catted. Hard to quantify how much louder, but it is loud. These cars have such good insulation/sound isolation that it's not too loud inside, but VERY loud outside. I have 3" catless downpipes and some "Verex-style" valved mufflers. Even with the valves closed all the way, the car is still pretty loud. With the valves fully open, it's really loud. Granted, it's nowhere near as loud as a catless Mustang GT as the 14 Vane turbos reduce the engine noise pretty well.