fkong777

Here is a Carbon Fiber CAI from D.I.Y. Racing Products for ML55.

sosh

It will not give you any performance boost thats noticable. It will only disrupt your air flow and perhaps damage your MAF

fkong777

Say what you want but I removed the intake and reinstalled it a couple of times. There is a little gain on the upper rpms. I'm using a dry filter so it wont get the MAF dirty. Anyways you can clean the MAF. Just dont use anything to touch it.

lkchris

Did you think you did not have cold air intake with OE setup?

SL-ML-C

agreed fkong777, my Cold air seems to let the engine rev more freely, with power gain that is noticeable., since I do use a k&n oiled filter, I have had to clean my MAF once in the last 50,000 miles, nothing a can of carb cleaner can't fix in 5 minutes.

Porschenut

Looks good and I'll bet it wasn't that expensive. Don't let the naysayers get you down either. A well designed high flow cold air intake system will get you a little bit of dyno proven power. I've used a variety of intakes on my previous cars and I would have gone with one on my ML but I decided to keep things pretty stock looking under the hood and installed a drop-in K&N instead.

MJ50

it would've made more sense if CAI went down and if the filter sits behind the fog...

500AMG1283

SL how is your system run? as you know im looking to change mine out but i want to see other setups before I try and do one or not

SL-ML-C

The cold air works fabulously, when it was a short-ram (same cone, but in the engine bay) it sounded great, but had a loss of power, when I piped it out into the front bumper (I had to buy a water resistant cover for the k&n to make sure the ML wouldn't get water into the motor) and it finally started to breath cold air, now it's all around great, sounds throaty, gained about 1 MPG around town, and about 1.5-2MPG at a 85-90mph cruise, and seems to have gained more torque than horsepower, but it feels like at least 4hp, and 6lb/ft gain pulling my 25ft pontoon is much easier for it now. so if you've got a muffler shop near by ask them to bend you a custom 3-3.5" aluminum cold air, and you should be golden. my system has 4 3.5" to 3.5" connecting grommets because of all the bends and for easy installation. it was worth it for me, but for some it may not be worth it as far as how much it costs vs power gained.

hanniep

Green filters, work great for me,..whatever works for you, is good,..what is the red flex hose made out of???...Good Luck!

500AMG1283

do you notice a performance boost with the green filter? i was looking into this too, not sure what to do though

and SL, only a 4 hp boost? or did i just interpret that wrong

///AMG55

Goodlooking! Finally someone stepped up to the challenge. How did you mount it so it doesn't flop around? pics?

I made my own airbox with vents and ducts which gave me minmal gain. Although it did increase the engine note which I Loved!! I always wanted to mount the filter directly behind the grill but never got that far.

hanniep

yes I did, throttle response was better during hard launches, acceleration is much better and gas mileage has improves a VERY LITTLE!!! They claim a 6.7% increase in HP which in my case is @23 more ponies..and it did not kill my MAF...@$70

fkong777

Some type of hard plastic. It will stay in shape after you bend it to the way you like. Then you can compress it again to reset the hose and start over if needed. It's pretty tough. Not like most flexible hose you see at home depot.

SL-ML-C

I like to estimate horsepower conservatively, 4HP at the wheels probably 10+ at the crank, it's noticeable, my ML is very quick now, green filters, K&N, K&N drop ins, I've used all of the above, all good. I GTECH'd it, and it came out a fair bit quicker than with factory box.

fkong777

i just reinstalled the OEM airbox to the ML in preparation to bring the car in to the dealer for engine mount. I have to admit that OEM airbox feels a little choked up at spirited driving. However on normal cruising it feels smoother.

ruey220

that would mean that the engine is probably struggling to get more air with the cone vs the airbox. in the airbox setup, with the hole facing the direction of the resistant wind, it goes straight into the pipe. now, it is facing sideways and it has to "scoop" the air in

it feels choked up at spirited driving because the airbox has to fill up before it gets the momentum going, but once it is already streaming in it is smoother.

so if i read correctly, the cone is good for response, but crappy at high end which is why others said they got more torque than hp. also, the resonance of the open air intake is going to make it feel psychologically like it's struggling, which in some ways it is as i described above.

15 years ago when open cone filters became common on rice rockets, everyone was getting them as sleepers on stock looking hondas, then when the opened up on the throttle a monster sound came out of that 4 banger. it became a fad and later died out because they found for normal street applciation it wasn't as effective as one wanted it to be. you can put the pipe anywhere you like and fool yourself that it is really a good upgrade, but the truth is there is so much compromise for that 3-4 hp you get from this upgrade, when the disadvantages hit (i.e. hot air, wrong angle at certain wind speeds) you lose 10-15 hp.

This explains why the tuners as much as possible stay away from that snake oil. (renntech, kleeman, amg avoid cone open filters) It works if you're on the track and if you take out your headlight to put the filter, or you poke a hole out of your hood to let the cone stick out. i was about to get one for the heck of it, but after thinking about it writing this long piece just now i'll stick with the box.

the best air mod i ever recall in all my experiments is to modify the airbox with a direct pipe to the strongest gush of wind direct to the box, then use a K&N. if you think dirt doesnt' get in through the K&N try this, throw soil into one side of the K&N where the air flow comes in, then stick that part facing the wind under the sink, turn on the water, and see if the water coming out is brown, or clear. this will tell you what gets through the filter.