how do 126 heads respond to portwork?
12-04-2006, 03:30 PM
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380 SEL 1982
how do 126 heads respond to portwork?
Hey folks,
does anyone know how 126 gas heads respond to a little portwork?
I heard that the heads themselves were relatively efficient when bone stock but I have the opportunity to maybe do a little port work but wanted to see if it is worth the effort.
Thanks in advance,
Brett
does anyone know how 126 gas heads respond to a little portwork?
I heard that the heads themselves were relatively efficient when bone stock but I have the opportunity to maybe do a little port work but wanted to see if it is worth the effort.
Thanks in advance,
Brett
12-05-2006, 12:12 PM
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2006 E320 CDi, 2008 3/4 Ton Suburban, 2007 "rice rickshaw" Accord 5 speed
sounds exciting
Hey folks,
does anyone know how 126 gas heads respond to a little portwork?
I heard that the heads themselves were relatively efficient when bone stock but I have the opportunity to maybe do a little port work but wanted to see if it is worth the effort.
Thanks in advance,
Brett
does anyone know how 126 gas heads respond to a little portwork?
I heard that the heads themselves were relatively efficient when bone stock but I have the opportunity to maybe do a little port work but wanted to see if it is worth the effort.
Thanks in advance,
Brett
Please keep us informed of your research and work.
12-05-2006, 12:48 PM
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380 SEL 1982
I am certainly no expert but my experience is that upgrades are usually best when done in a combination, (like heads, cams,
and intake) and that simply doing one (like heads only, bigger injectors only) don't really yield any benefits. That said,
there are times when there is a 'bottleneck' in the system that can help all on its own. In my mustang, the stock heads outflow
the stock intake, so doing just the heads won't really help. Mild portwork is appealing because as you said no parts are required
and it is just a matter of finishing by hand what mass production won't do because it is too cost prohibitive. If nothing else
I would think that it would improve efficiency and smoothness.
and intake) and that simply doing one (like heads only, bigger injectors only) don't really yield any benefits. That said,
there are times when there is a 'bottleneck' in the system that can help all on its own. In my mustang, the stock heads outflow
the stock intake, so doing just the heads won't really help. Mild portwork is appealing because as you said no parts are required
and it is just a matter of finishing by hand what mass production won't do because it is too cost prohibitive. If nothing else
I would think that it would improve efficiency and smoothness.
12-05-2006, 09:24 PM
#4
You're exactly right
It's not rocket science......ther'e only three things to approach:
1. Air in (porting intake manifold, ram or cold air intake, etc)
2. Fuel in (new ECU software, injectors, cams, etc)
3. Exhaust out (exhaust manifold, hi flow cats, mandrel lareger diamter exhaust, etc)
And again, you are right in that just doing one of those only results in a noticeable gain when you are removing a bottleneck. For example, you have good airflow in, properly sized injectors and fuel mapping/pump, but very restrictive exhaust manifolds and a lousy exhaust.
So in the above example, opening up the exhaust flow will release a good amount of power that was trapped in the inefficient part of the system.
Not to rain on the parade, but the W126 is fairly efficient to begin with.....it's rare that you will see much above 10%-15% power gain even attacking all three areas. The cost vs. HP ratio is not that great.
Forced induction on these motors is the best ratio in terms of cost per HP, but it's expensive to do (and therefore gives a lot of power). I know of a guy that did a supercharger for a 560 motor.....BIG power (150+HP increase with headers) at around $6K cost. But to me, that's better than 25HP at $2K cost for porting and exhaust side work.
Bruce
1. Air in (porting intake manifold, ram or cold air intake, etc)
2. Fuel in (new ECU software, injectors, cams, etc)
3. Exhaust out (exhaust manifold, hi flow cats, mandrel lareger diamter exhaust, etc)
And again, you are right in that just doing one of those only results in a noticeable gain when you are removing a bottleneck. For example, you have good airflow in, properly sized injectors and fuel mapping/pump, but very restrictive exhaust manifolds and a lousy exhaust.
So in the above example, opening up the exhaust flow will release a good amount of power that was trapped in the inefficient part of the system.
Not to rain on the parade, but the W126 is fairly efficient to begin with.....it's rare that you will see much above 10%-15% power gain even attacking all three areas. The cost vs. HP ratio is not that great.
Forced induction on these motors is the best ratio in terms of cost per HP, but it's expensive to do (and therefore gives a lot of power). I know of a guy that did a supercharger for a 560 motor.....BIG power (150+HP increase with headers) at around $6K cost. But to me, that's better than 25HP at $2K cost for porting and exhaust side work.
Bruce
Last edited by Becks Imports; 12-05-2006 at 09:26 PM.
12-05-2006, 09:51 PM
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It's not rocket science......ther'e only three things to approach:
1. Air in (porting intake manifold, ram or cold air intake, etc)
2. Fuel in (new ECU software, injectors, cams, etc)
3. Exhaust out (exhaust manifold, hi flow cats, mandrel lareger diamter exhaust, etc)
And again, you are right in that just doing one of those only results in a noticeable gain when you are removing a bottleneck. For example, you have good airflow in, properly sized injectors and fuel mapping/pump, but very restrictive exhaust manifolds and a lousy exhaust.
So in the above example, opening up the exhaust flow will release a good amount of power that was trapped in the inefficient part of the system.
__________________________________________________ _________
Not to rain on the parade, but the W126 is fairly efficient to begin with.....it's rare that you will see much above 10%-15% power gain even attacking all three areas. The cost vs. HP ratio is not that great.
Forced induction on these motors is the best ratio in terms of cost per HP, but it's expensive to do (and therefore gives a lot of power). I know of a guy that did a supercharger for a 560 motor.....BIG power (150+HP increase with headers) at around $6K cost. But to me, that's better than 25HP at $2K cost for porting and exhaust side work.
Bruce
1. Air in (porting intake manifold, ram or cold air intake, etc)
2. Fuel in (new ECU software, injectors, cams, etc)
3. Exhaust out (exhaust manifold, hi flow cats, mandrel lareger diamter exhaust, etc)
And again, you are right in that just doing one of those only results in a noticeable gain when you are removing a bottleneck. For example, you have good airflow in, properly sized injectors and fuel mapping/pump, but very restrictive exhaust manifolds and a lousy exhaust.
So in the above example, opening up the exhaust flow will release a good amount of power that was trapped in the inefficient part of the system.
__________________________________________________ _________
Not to rain on the parade, but the W126 is fairly efficient to begin with.....it's rare that you will see much above 10%-15% power gain even attacking all three areas. The cost vs. HP ratio is not that great.
Forced induction on these motors is the best ratio in terms of cost per HP, but it's expensive to do (and therefore gives a lot of power). I know of a guy that did a supercharger for a 560 motor.....BIG power (150+HP increase with headers) at around $6K cost. But to me, that's better than 25HP at $2K cost for porting and exhaust side work.
Bruce
12-05-2006, 11:54 PM
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not stock.
on my 5.0L M117 engine I installed a K&N air filter, ported and polished the heads, intalled european exhaust manifolds, and did a custom header-back exhaust system with no cats, 2.25" dual piping, flow master delta flow 40 series mufflers and 4" round magnaflow straight through resonators.......
I also modified the OEM thermostat for better cooling, added Flex-a-Light #210 dual electric fan kit & eliminated the OEM fan clutch, and added an MSD 6AL ignition amplifier and set the rev-limiter to 6200rpm......
all these with a freshly over-hauld engine with european compression... the car runs very very smooth and strong!!
btw, the car is a 1986 300SE that began as my project car, since the engine and tranny were junk, they were swapped out for a 500 engine....
I also modified the OEM thermostat for better cooling, added Flex-a-Light #210 dual electric fan kit & eliminated the OEM fan clutch, and added an MSD 6AL ignition amplifier and set the rev-limiter to 6200rpm......
all these with a freshly over-hauld engine with european compression... the car runs very very smooth and strong!!
btw, the car is a 1986 300SE that began as my project car, since the engine and tranny were junk, they were swapped out for a 500 engine....
12-06-2006, 12:32 PM
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2006 E320 CDi, 2008 3/4 Ton Suburban, 2007 "rice rickshaw" Accord 5 speed
on my 5.0L M117 engine I installed a K&N air filter, ported and polished the heads, intalled european exhaust manifolds, and did a custom header-back exhaust system with no cats, 2.25" dual piping, flow master delta flow 40 series mufflers and 4" round magnaflow straight through resonators.......
I also modified the OEM thermostat for better cooling, added Flex-a-Light #210 dual electric fan kit & eliminated the OEM fan clutch, and added an MSD 6AL ignition amplifier and set the rev-limiter to 6200rpm......
all these with a freshly over-hauld engine with european compression... the car runs very very smooth and strong!!
btw, the car is a 1986 300SE that began as my project car, since the engine and tranny were junk, they were swapped out for a 500 engine....
I also modified the OEM thermostat for better cooling, added Flex-a-Light #210 dual electric fan kit & eliminated the OEM fan clutch, and added an MSD 6AL ignition amplifier and set the rev-limiter to 6200rpm......
all these with a freshly over-hauld engine with european compression... the car runs very very smooth and strong!!
btw, the car is a 1986 300SE that began as my project car, since the engine and tranny were junk, they were swapped out for a 500 engine....
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12-08-2006, 06:52 PM
#9
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Hey folks,
does anyone know how 126 gas heads respond to a little portwork?
I heard that the heads themselves were relatively efficient when bone stock but I have the opportunity to maybe do a little port work but wanted to see if it is worth the effort.
Thanks in advance,
Brett
does anyone know how 126 gas heads respond to a little portwork?
I heard that the heads themselves were relatively efficient when bone stock but I have the opportunity to maybe do a little port work but wanted to see if it is worth the effort.
Thanks in advance,
Brett
12-11-2006, 09:39 AM
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2006 E320 CDi, 2008 3/4 Ton Suburban, 2007 "rice rickshaw" Accord 5 speed
A lot of dough for 20 horses
I have also read about some cam swap which is also pricey. You should go to mbcoupe.com and see some of the cars there.
12-11-2006, 10:35 AM
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380 SEL 1982
not a lot of money...sort of
if you are doing the heads already adding mild portwork adds little to the total cost. I don't think I would rip off perfectly good heads just to port though.
I already replaced both cats with a magnaflow cat and a 2" pipe going to an aftermarket center muffler/resonator and a walker application speficic muffler with custom bent s tips because the walker tips were crimp bent and very ugly.
I already replaced both cats with a magnaflow cat and a 2" pipe going to an aftermarket center muffler/resonator and a walker application speficic muffler with custom bent s tips because the walker tips were crimp bent and very ugly.
12-11-2006, 06:13 PM
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This sounds like a lot of money for little hp gains. Maybe a combination of European headers, free-flow custom exhaust system, cold air intake and chopping off the cats can result in 10 horses?
I have also read about some cam swap which is also pricey. You should go to mbcoupe.com and see some of the cars there.
I have also read about some cam swap which is also pricey. You should go to mbcoupe.com and see some of the cars there.
12-11-2006, 06:15 PM
#13
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if you are doing the heads already adding mild portwork adds little to the total cost. I don't think I would rip off perfectly good heads just to port though.
I already replaced both cats with a magnaflow cat and a 2" pipe going to an aftermarket center muffler/resonator and a walker application speficic muffler with custom bent s tips because the walker tips were crimp bent and very ugly.
I already replaced both cats with a magnaflow cat and a 2" pipe going to an aftermarket center muffler/resonator and a walker application speficic muffler with custom bent s tips because the walker tips were crimp bent and very ugly.
12-11-2006, 09:39 PM
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2006 E320 CDi, 2008 3/4 Ton Suburban, 2007 "rice rickshaw" Accord 5 speed
if you are doing the heads already adding mild portwork adds little to the total cost. I don't think I would rip off perfectly good heads just to port though.
I already replaced both cats with a magnaflow cat and a 2" pipe going to an aftermarket center muffler/resonator and a walker application speficic muffler with custom bent s tips because the walker tips were crimp bent and very ugly.
I already replaced both cats with a magnaflow cat and a 2" pipe going to an aftermarket center muffler/resonator and a walker application speficic muffler with custom bent s tips because the walker tips were crimp bent and very ugly.
12-16-2006, 03:02 PM
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380 SEL 1982
No the Magnaflow cat I am running is not W126 specific. It is a universal cat that is roughly the same dimensions as the stock W126 main cat (not the pre-conv) but with a bigger inlet/outlet diameter.
My exhaust person installed this in a pipe from the exhaust manifold to the aftermarket center muffler I am running.
