rondocap

I have an S55, but the E55/CLK55 seems to be more common to mod so I figure I'd post this here since the engines are the same.


I know that generally the supercharged 55 AMG's get more attention in this matter, and that the gains on NA 55 engines are not as great, but I'd like to explore some options if people can give me their opinions.

I am actually very happy with the "seat of the pants" feel of my S55, I think it pulls pretty strongly. I've driven various newer AMG's, (S55k, SL65, C63, etc) and while obviously they are faster, in lower speed driving I did not feel a night and day difference, just a mid-day to evening difference. (haha )

Anyway - I'd like to possibly mod it in the future for a bit stronger performance, regardless - as I think I can get a bit more out of it.

So I've done some research, and while I have not really seen many people mod this NA S55, some work has been done to the CLK55, E55 W210, etc - which is the same engine.

So what can I do, and how much power can I realistically gain from the stock 354hp, 391lbs of torque it currently has?

Here is what I think, let me know if my gain estimates are off:

Headers (Like Kleeman or Evosport) Can I get at least 20hp/tq from these?

Pulleys (Should give me around 11hp gain?) My engine can take upgraded pulleys correct?

ECU - Another 15-20hp gain?

So with those above mods, can I realistic gain close to 40/50hp? Or is that too optimistic and I'd be around 30hp total with all of those?

Any other mod that is reasonable and would get me gains? I don't want to supercharge, I know that's an option, but I just want a little more lively performance out of it and nothing mind boggling.

Thanks!

saintz

If you do all the main N/A mods, you can probably get to 400 hp. So your estimate is pretty good. I would look at air filters, x pipe (this should be doable on an S), pulley (I assume an E55 pulley will fit), headers (this might be harder to find), and lastly ECU. The E55 headers will probably bolt up to the engine, but probably won't bolt to the exhaust, but that's just a guess.

Schweinhund

I've heard that the induction side is good for well over 400HP, so might respectfully disagree with saintz on the induction side. If you do explore there, I am not sure you want to go with any oil sprayed filter (such as K&N) as it eventually destroys the MAF.

All of the rest of it, I do agree with.

Fabio D

Filters: BMC's
Xpipe: Summit Racing 20" lenght
Exhaust: Amg mufflers work good, only remove the center resonators (2 in this car), upgrade to hi-flow primarys, remove secondary & put the x pipe in this place
Headers: AMS performance surly have it & maybe kleemann
ECU: Tuned via AMS or so you like
pulley: AMS, Renntech, KEvosport

This is my 2 cents Take pics if you do some works bro!

Fabio Daniel

rondocap

Thanks for the responses guys - I am definitely going to do at least the ECU tune in the future, and the exhaust mods seem good as well. I am actually fairly happy with my car's performance and the fun to drive factor, but I know it has that little bit extra to give and I just want to utilize that.

benz_addict

You can also upgrade your TB and give your intake manifold a nice port/polish job on the inside good for 15-20HP...

ABALONE

Before i raped my car with a S/C it had a "full" N/A setup.

Mid-pipe Headers
Double 2.5" exhaust with no primarys and 2 secondary race cats
Custom ECU tune with a Raised rev limiter to 6400 rpm.
Stock Air filter (paper) Don't use K&N with oil.

It all gave the car a VERY reliable 420 HP and 600 NM of torque

A few race videos with that setup below,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb1DsV3NhgA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07mi5...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OSlq...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kqGJ...eature=related

MBFLO

I'd be kind of weary investing in bunch of mod's on a 150k-200k mile car .. If you can live with the power it allready has but im at 125k on my NA 55 and contemplating so i feel you 100%. lol

Schweinhund

Me too. 130K on mine. But in my experience, with synthetic lubes and proper maintenance, high miles isn't what is used to be.

420hp while still NA and reliable is very tempting. I know parts are expensive, but headers + exhaust and ECU tune is very compelling. 70HP is very noticeable bump.

Fabio D

Upgrade the filters! when you upgrade the exhaust system, more exhaust flow, more intake air flow. (Not for Abalone's car, cause her are FY now) but in N/A cars upgrade filters only when upgrade exhaust. MAF's die when you re-oil the filter exesively, other way no issues with K&N or BMC, i recommend BMC cause i use the 2 models & K&N comes with more oil than BMC from factory, but in term of quality are pretty same

Schweinhund: 1+ 50 - 60 hp's in this car is very very noticiable kick

Fabio Daniel

rondocap

ABALONE, I've seen your car on youtube before - we even had a little chat a while back. Awesome setup!

I think at least an ECU tune should give me a little kick. My car does have high mileage, but it is very properly maintained and everything is running fine - but it does concern me a little bit to add a lot of power, even if it was lower mileage, as to not reduce its overall useful life.

I have K&N filters in now. I can't really prove much of a difference, but I do feel something minor with the sound and sometimes it seems to pull a little bit better, but it could also be the recent cold weather here in NY.

Oh and sometimes I wish I had you guy's W210 E55 vs my W220 S55, same engine but the lighter weight gives you that added kick. Not fair!

AMG_Drvr

@ rondocap - Mine might be lighter, but I think your split exhaust looks way cooler!

AMS Performance

The good news is AMS has the stage 2 Performance package for the NA S55 Application. The AMS S55 headers are a direct bolt on and require no custom modification whatsoever.

The Stage 2 performance package is now only $1499 w/ free domestic shipping.

On top of that I would highly recommend high flow 2nd cats to upgrade overall to Stage 3.

You don't really need an ECU upgrade but if you chose to do so it will give a marginal boost. Stage 3 alone should get you close to 400HP. With ECU upgrade, stage 4 will push you over 400.

Hope that helps,
AMS

desired_speeds

I would defnintely start with the basics if applicable on your 220. For us 210 guys, it would be resonator delete + x pipe, its very inexpensive and you get some sound. I would then suggest headers, go with the AMS headers if you don't want the hassle of having to weld. Somewhere in between there, you should pick up some 300 cell metal high flow cats to replace the secondaries (welding required). With the exhaust side pretty much done, a tune would be more beneficial compared to if you did it to your stock car. A pulley upgrade would also show some gains. There's not very much to mod on these engines, but reliably 400hp+ is easily obtainable. If you're feeling savy after doing whats mentioned above, you could always port/polish your intake manifold for another 20hp or so.

itrne55

Which vendors offer ECU tuning for these motors?

rondocap

itrne55, quiet a few do - AMS above, OE Tuning, Evosport, Renntech, etc.

ABALONE - your car is definitely a very good inspiration and guideline for people wanting to make more power. It's amazing you got so much power without the Supercharger, and how you were able to keep up with/beat much newer and supposedly faster cars. It really updates our cars fairly well.

To be fairly honest - the power that our cars have, and even considering the W210 E55 is faster than the NA S55 I have - I think it really is quite enough for the roads, especially around here in the northeast/NY. You can't really speed much because: Here the police hide out even 3am, and the roads generally aren't the best, especially in the winter. So I think our cars with a little mod is more than enough to satisfy the speed craving, at least for me currently ha. I've driven much faster cars - the newer AMG's, including the 55k's and 65's, 63's - and while faster, often it's not usable on the roads and the "seat of the pants" feeling didn't blow me away. (Although the SC E55's have a serious kick. The 65's are very fast, but they felt a bit too smooth and tame)

AMS Performance

ECU is the last thing you should do on these older M113s ... there just isn't that much power to squeeze out from off the shelf tune. Unless you do a custom dyno tune and have all the hardware mods its really not worth it. For reference, the difference between Stage 3 and Stage 4 (basically all hardware mods vs hardware + ECU) is really only about 10HP at most on dyno ... so its not much. As you add more and more mods, the potential power gains obviously is reduced as you are getting closer and closer to the engines natural maximum power output.

Moral of the story: upgrade all the hardware first then get software last

Hope that helps,
~AMS~

Anatoly

^ What are the prices on Stage 3 and Stage 4? I looked on your web site, but come up with only stage 2 price.

TheBenzManE55

tailpipe turbo

xlr8tin

Ditto^

What's included in stage 4...1-4...and how much is stage 4?

I'm getting ready to sell the 750, and wanted to know how much I needed and what I needed exactly.

AMS Performance

Stage 2 is our headers & pullley for $1499. Stage 3 = High flow cats (you can purchase on ebay for ~ $180 shipped). Stage 4 = ECU tune, depending on tune type its $350-500.

Stage 3 is the best bang per buck, you simple purchase stage 2 from us and then buy the cats on ebay and install together (we pass on the savings to the customer instead of charging premium on cats).

Do stage 3 first, then decide if you want to do the ECU tune... you may not end up wanting to in the end so its best to start off with all the hardware mods then go from there.

Hope that helps,
~AMS~

xlr8tin

Come on now...How could I not want more power and not get the tune?

So your ECU tunes are 350-500? Did I read that right? What do you mean it depends on the tune type? Hmmm...I'll definately do this when the car sells I'll stay in touch

AMS Performance

$350 is the standard off the shelf tune, $500 is for a more aggressive version of the tune. Don't expect much from the tune. People claim absurd numbers from tunes, but once you get to that level (stage 3+) the Ecu tune makes less and less since the ECU is already adjusting to the new incoming air & etc so the gains aren't as pronounced. If stage 3+ makes 400HP, then Stage 4 would be about 410HP roughly. Difference is usually about 10wHP at most. If you do want to make more power from a tune it has to be a true custom dyno tune done on the dyno specifically for your exact car. Most off the shelf tunes are pretty similar and the results aren't that spectacular. That's why we never really push them as they rarely live up to their promises. Expect 10HP and be happy with that ... just being honest.

Hope that helps.

xlr8tin

Well, I'll let you know once I'm at stage 3, but 10hp is 10hp I'm sure if you bought this car with stage 4, and you went back to stock tune, then you would notice a difference, and would want to keep the tune. Right?

Schweinhund

Rule of thumb is you feel a 20% boost in the "seat of your pants". Less is harder to really feel it.