Ashkan's C43

ca is the only state with crazy emissions laws, so I think you would be fine there, and I still say go for headers and cats, and that other section you were going to straight pipe, finish it all, youre so close, why stop at the very end?

Bernanke

you are wrong ashkan, Houston TX is almost as bad as Cali and they are cracking down hardcore... its not worth it anymore. It was hell just to pass my M3 for emissions with straight pipe. Its just not worth the headache on a luxury benz. plus straight pipes do emit a really nasty smell and i just dont want that on a benz. im not stopping, just changing directions to a more conservative approach which may actually net me more HP. I cannot do headers and cats on stock software, car would be running dangerously into the lean so i have adapted my modding strategy to my cars current situtaiton... don't worry... I'll still be the worlds more powerful naturally aspirated S320

Ashkan's C43

won't the ecu learn once you add headers and cats? granted I am not expert on obd1 cars but i still figure the ecu learns everything, and even in cali, you can run two high flow cats and still be fine, I correct me if I am wrong but its 400 cell, and that should pass, hell you might be able to get away with 200 cell with race cats, and what about that other section, the one you said was restrictive, what will be done about that?, and how goes the lower stat project? Did you ever buy it, if I remember correctly it came out around 20 bucks, which is not bad at all, much lower than the fan switch, are you still planning on doing that?

Bernanke

these old OBD1 ECU's do not have nearly the adaptive capabilities as the much newer OBD2s do. they are much simpler and as a result they are easier to mod but the tradeoff is they are not as adaptive.

As far as the engine temps... the reason my car was running so hot was because of hte massive lean condition. as you know lean conditions create much higher running temperatures b/c of the extremely hot burn it creates (thats why lean conditions are so dangerous b/c if it gets hot enough everything can melt). I did the electric fan which keeps temps very low. honestly i have not seen the temps get over 85 and now adays its running at 81. So i no longer think i need to push the motor as hard. I think software may cure majority of my problems. Once i get the new software I will see what needs to be done but until then i think MAF is my main priority. I will definitely keep all of you updated.

Bernanke

AMG KNOB INSTALLED!

WOW, what a nightmare of a install, but i finally got the knob installed. Its definitely a 2 person job and its not easy. However i the final product is definitely worth the hard work. it feels so much more sporty than the old knob and really helps finish off the AMG theme in the interior. I definitely like the results. Anyways, here are the pics... enjoy

Den.

Nice job Omey!

Bernanke

Gracias ... if anyone actually wants directions to install it i can write some up. Its not an easy install (probably like a 5/10, 10 being an engine overhaul). Lemme know guys. Anyways can't wait to finish up the project after the holidays. enjoy guys

Bernanke

Hey guys, Tomorrow I will be taking final pics of my finished exhaust system, its is finally finished once and for all.

maci911

looks good!!!!Omey i bought the same shift.....wow looks awsome, can u please post a little instruction on how you install the shift.

Bernanke

well first you have to pull off the little rubber surround peice, then you have to lift up the wood panel and use a flathead screwddriver to prive the for lips on the shifter gate cover peice (very hard part, you will have to pull it thorugh the wood opening, not easy). Then after you will see the flexible gate cover strip and the gear position display unit, once you do all that you will see the shaft extend downwardto the gear selector. The shifter rod is held in place with a circular clip you need a set of circlip compressors, once it comes undone (be careful its spring loaded) the shifter will pop out with pretty staggering force so be careful. Note the order of the circlip, the washer and the shaft spacer peice. once u pull out the shaft (be sure not to lose any of the pieces) you will see a gold-ish washer with a spring under it. it is that spring that makes this install so super hard (its extremely powerful, like 50-80lbs of force). take all that apart and now its time to install the new shaft. its actually easier to install the two peice shaft. Undo the shaft from the shift rod so you are just holding the rod. put the order back in. You will see the shift selector rod spacer peice has a set of notches on it that align with the two knubs that stick out the side of the shaft. It is this peice that holds the rod downward (and the spring provides hte upward force). These two forces combined are what keep the shifter in place and not slip out during shifting. you will still use the shift knob to push down on the shaft but dont put the bottom screw peice of the shift knob on b/c you will have to take shift knob off to put all the shifter gates and etc back in place (much easier to do it this way then finalize knob last). push down with a good amount of force on the spring (requires two people). while your friend is pushing down on the shaft, put the circlip in place and alight the knob on the side of the spacer to the slit on the left side of the selector shaft. If you are lucky you will finally get the circlip in and it is now in place. once u do that then put the flexible shift gate peice back in (put one end into each slot at the front and back of the shifter box, then after that put the Gear display peice in place and finally clip the shift gate cover back into place. once you do that arrange the wood peice back in place (u may have to disconnect and reconnect the stereo fader to get the wood back in place). Once u do that put the rubber peice back and then put the bottom peice of the shifter (silver cone) on first then the shift knob and then tighten the peices together, once you do this the knob will be tightened in place and you are done. its not easy but if you have an extra set of hands it makes life ALOT easier.

hope that helps guys, Good luck (literally!).

C240-Merc

Now you just need to match the interior by installing metal trim.

shadowgriffen

Def

Yup, some brushed aluminum would look great!

Bernanke

the problem is... NOTHING matches with tan except wood... sucks. sometimes i wish i had a black/black S600 lol. oh well i may do some costmetic stuff but i think im pretty much almost done with the project, just a few more small steps.

shadowgriffen

I guess you're right...I never really thought about that.

Ashkan's C43

say it aint so omeed, i hate to see this project end, its been fun on my part talking to you about, and watching you make a bad *** 140, I can't wait to see your next project take off, there is much more to do on that than there ever was on this one, but good luck with this, and remember, bling bling mirrors look damn good on 140s....

Ashkan's C43

and for that matter so does headers and race cats... (:

Bernanke

its not COMPLETELY done... i do have one or two more tricks up my sleeve but i wont reveal it until i installed it

Bernanke

hey guys. Well i recently added another mod to the list... one that could directly impact all of us mercedes benz owners. Its called the PhantomGrip LSD. I am in the process of seeing what would be required to get this in production for the mercedes. the best part is its $299-350. here is the link to the E55 thread i started. check it out....

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...26#post1399726


As far as the rest of the project. I will be cleaning the Mass airflow sensor to see if that helps and if not i may just get a whole new MAS. I will also get royal purple oil change. I will also do one more modification for some extra power

Bernanke

UPDATE:

hey guys, I have added a modification to my list. I will be doing the S320 steel exhaust manifold swap and I will port and polish them (i've done numerous headers in the past myself so i have experience with that). Its a much lighter header and smoother design and i should be able to pick up a few HP as well. I just need to locate a set. Also I will hopefully try and replace my 300SE Mass airflow sensor b/c its in pretty bad shape. I will try to clean it with alcohol but i think its on its last leg. Anyways i'll keep yall updated.

Upcoming updates: Exhaust sound files, and Pics of the Aero turbine resonator setup.

Bernanke

hey guys,

i know i have not updated the thread so i figure i'd chime in. The Mass airflow sensor has been acting up for some time now so i decided to give it a bath. Using 2 bottls of 91% isopropyl alcohol i put it in a ziploc baggy and swished it around for 5 min. I also removed the little screen filament infront of the airflow sensor. The results were a higher normal idle again (it used to idle at like 500-600, now its back up to 700-800 like it should be). In addition the car revs much smoother and overall feels much peppier (better throttle responce). i still feel a new MAS would help out more but for temperary measures this would do.

I will be redoing the intake one more time in order to get the perfect fit. After a while, i came across a good candidate. The previous intake pipe was out of a cavalier but I will actually be using a Dodge Ram intake pipe b/c it has a smooth small radius bend that is LARGER than 90 degrees, this allow for much better fitment under the hood (Picture below).



as you can see its a much better design. I will still retain my ractive intake and cold ram air setup just replace the piping. This will be my last and final intake revision

After doing more research about headers (with the help of my new benz EPC/WIS DVDs), I found out that my suspicions were correct and the bolt pattern for the old 300SE and new S320 (along with C280 and all other M104 engines) are identical and the cat sections are identical too (even on C280 it still uses the same front cat section so headers are literally a bolt on mod. After looking more into the EPC i found out that the newer Steel manifolds are nearly half the weight of the old ones (roughly 22 vs 12lbs). I will also proceed to grind down and port and polish the headers for maximum flow and to make them look nice as well. The rest of the exhaust system is completely done and pictures should be up shortly.

As far as software is concerned, my suspicions were also correct and i cannot chip my car b/c the 92-93 cars had the LH-Jetronic system not the Motronic systems (which almost every car uses today). As a result I will probably have to look at alternatives to see what i can do.

I also will be doing lower thermostat soon once i get a chance. The thermostat will help keep engine temps lower so when i chose to do fan delete the car should be able to handle it no problem.

I have included a comparison of the old and new headers, you can see its quite a big difference.

Thanks again guys... almost on the home stretch.

Bernanke

Exhaust Gen4 finally done:

hey guys, well heres the last of the exhaust pics. As you can see they are high quality full stainless resonators (dual inline) and you can even see the Aero turbine logo stamped into the resonators. they are roughly 10" long and 2.5" inlets (roughly 4" diameter). enjoy.

Coming soon: MP3 Sound files of the Gen 4 exhaust!

Bernanke

Intake Update:

hey guys, I just purchased another intake, i changed my mind and decided to go with a powdercoated black finish (which was cheaper in fact). I feel it is much more OEM and cooler looking than a spray painted finish. The total cost for the dodge intake kit was roughly $42 shipped ($26.99 before shipping costs).



Anyways, I'll will keep yall updated regarding the Gen4 intake and the upgrades stainless steel headers.

Bernanke

Finally bought my updated headers today and they should arrive in a week or so. I will be port & polishing them as soon as they arrive and once they do I will get a dyno once the rest of my mods go on the car. Till the next update... ttyl

Bernanke

Hey guys, My Gen4 intake got in today, I should have it installed over the next few days, My S320 stainless steel headers will be here on thursday so I will port & polish those over the next two weeks (and maybe even ceramic coat them depending on if i can get the equipment soon enough.) Also audio clips of the final exhaust should be here soon.

93300Se

What car are the headers off of? Can you get a Difference in weights between stock and new headers when you swap them?