FWIW, Tmans and BrabusCLK04 from the w209 forum both had custom Brabus replica CF lips made for around $500

 

Just picked it up actually... getting the calipers refinished right now, then I'll slap the HRE's on while I wait for the TS-6's (could be a little while). Going to get through the break-in and then do the stage 2 of course. Nice to have a benz again.

 

Dayam...you don't play around do ya? Why are you gettin your calipers refinished? Are they worn out already? Which HRE's you puttin on there for the time being?

 

All my cars have blue calipers, just a personal thing. The rims are 19" black 540R's off my W210. I'd probably be interested in the lip spoiler as well, keep me informed.

 

wow, do you know who did the work for them and can they do silver???

 

I'll find out where brabusclk did his and pm you killer.

 

For those of you concerned about water, I have a bit of experience with vented hoods.

I ran a couple of vented hoods on my Supra and without question it helps with heat disappation. However, there are three major things when designing vents:

1.) Aerodynamic drag (and this can be SIGNIFICANT if the vents are not done right)
2.) Water leakage
3.) Latching / securing to body



This was an awesome hood. It is similar to the hood used on the JGTC Supra race cars, and has done over 200mph on Supras before. Few things to notice - vents HAVE to be facing backward as to EXTRACT heat with the FLOW of air. If incoming air starts flowing in TO the vents, you will not only create drag but you actually trap heat in the process. Notice also in the back portion by the passenger side window there is also a vent - that is where the hot side of the turbo and downpipe were on my car.

I'm not suggesting you do a hood this wild, but an exact copy of the Brabus hood will not yield and positive results as far as ventilation goes. Use the engineering around this hood as a starting point. The Brabus hood simply looks like holes were cut in it (which is pretty ghetto IMO) - a proper hood needs these vents designed into the mold. My hood - which is for a Toyota - cost me around $2500 including shipping from Japan. I am willing to pay more to get a hood that does it right.

Water leakage - keep the vents positioned over the motor and you will be fine. The motor is hot enough where most water evaporates very quickly and the real downside is after a heavy rainstorm you will have a dirty motor. Also be careful not to position the vents around and portion of the intake tract where water could make it into the motor itself. Our intakes run alongside the motor and although it's a fairly well sealed system some caution should be observed here.

Latching - Depending on the ridigity of the hood and how it's reinforced (if you pop your hood and look underneathe, it's not just a flat surface) may require the use of additional latching such as hoodpins or dzeus fasteners. Vents can affect the ridigity of a hood, so be careful. Since I'm sure nobody wants hood pins on a $90K MB, this is another issue whoever designs this hood is going to have to take into account.

Hope this helps,

Marcus

 

Thanks. I was actually panning to see after the hoods were done and after we finished the C55 and C32 lips if there would be any interest in a C55 custom frot CF lip. A Brabus replica can be done. I would probably only do that if we had maybe 10 people. I may try to get around to it when we have time. I would say its about 1-2 months away till we would work on it. So if you find something else in the meantime, you may want to go for it if you dont want to wait since we have no exact date on it.

Btw, if we were to do it, it would be much less then 1500. I would not try to ask more then 600 for it. I would try for maybe 499-550.

 

Very good points. And btw, that supra looks badass!

We are simply not just going to be cutting holes in the hood. In fact once i heard we want vents, my guy who was going to do it originally is not going to do the job. So instead my other contact who works for a large company making and designing custom hood is going to do the job. They will strategically place the vents where need be according to the car, and not just cut anywhere. The vents will help dissipate heat. Maybe not as much as the hood on your supra, but there is always a compromise with looks and performance. So this should be somewhere in between. Just like i mentioned somewhere else, these vents are something similar although not exact to what comes stock on a jaguar XKR.

 

As a matter of fact, I was going to mention the hood off the XKR. I saw one today and thought about the whole ventilation issue. Here is a pic of the XKR

 

Yes its very similar, although still a bit different, but its the same idea/concept.

 

Marcus shed some light on how we might have been ignoring the engineering that should be discussed on the hood. I like the idea of the type of vent on the Supra hood pictured, albeit in smaller sizing.

 

To be honest, we are not going to do anything but the brabus type vents. As is we are already doing whatever we can for those vents and not the regular OEM hood. I do not plan on any other types of vents or heat extraction vents other then the brabus style. I am already having my guy who creates hoods for a living help me out and do all the engineering to make it right. I tell him what i want and he makes it right.

 

Fair enough. However, keep in mind the main reason us E55 guys want the vents is actually more for functionality than for looks. In fact, I would never have considered a replacement hood unless it was functional. Lets face it, the E55 is a tank and a cf hood won't really make nearly as big an impact on power-to-weight ratio as on, say, a Civic. As long as it helps vent heat and doesn't look like ***, I'll be happy.

 

Sorry for the delay guys. My guy said he will have the exact price on tuesday. Then we can start taking orders. He is just playing around with a few molds to make sure it can be done perfect. I was told it should weigh approx. 11-14 lbs. In the meantime, this will give people who are interested but did not see this thread time to respond if they are interested.

 

Count me in for the hood and lip in silver C/F, even if I have to carry it on the plane myself.

 

W211 CF hood

1. Benzoboi
2. Medici78
3. M5Killr
4. Vrus
5. Jangy
6. E55 Baller
7. houston
8. gmdebruyn
9. Marcus
10. upjon
11. pch 4.2
12. Amg Bliss
13. Saber
14. Archi
15. Rafal

 

Neal once we get done with the whole cf hood deal. Can you pm me and I'll try to get a list of people interested in the cf lip going on then.

 

Absolutely. I will PM you once we get the hoods all taken care of.

 

if it will fit a wagon

Also, no body addressed Marcus's issue about hood pins..are these going to come with a hood latch and hydraulic arm to lift the hood? I've got a CF hood on my Audi, hood pins and a straight rod to keep the hood open when I'm showing or need the access. You guys want to do it this way or retain factory opening/closing features?

 

I will check and see if the W211 E-class/E55 hood is the same as the wagon.

About the Hood pins! no way! This hood is going to be an OEM quality hood only carbon fiber and hopefully the vents. It only comes with the hood. You simply use your stock hood latch and attach all the hood shocks to it just like you would if you were to replace your stock hood. So the hood will operate just like your stock hood does now.

 

Any way to get 1 made and do a test fit and show some pics of the fitment quality (up-close shots of the gaps between hood & fenders & bumper). I dont want to end up with a hood that doesnt have factory type fitment.. I went through this with other cars and found it difficult to get something made custom which fits just like OEM.

I know it can never be 100% perfect, but it should look pretty good when you are up close to it.

 

^^Very good idea

 

Yeah... It would be a good preventative measure.

I wouldn't wish 15 angry E55 owners on anyone...

 

you think with 15k on the line this shouldnt be a problem.