vrus

There are a bunch of other things that I want to look at improving in the E55.

This is your chance to cast your vote on what you would like to see done first.

Please vote so I can get an idea of what everyone's wants are.

vraa

Hey you figured out how to make a poll!
I voted camshaft. It was that or the cylinder heads.

I can get the airbox made in carbon fiber with Euroteck Motorsports.
To clarify, Neal can get you custom carbonfiber stuff made. Besides he's coming out with an E55 lip soon so I don't think he'd mine with some more E55 stuff.

Grumpy666

I doubt that an expensive air box will do much for your HP goal. You need to shift the torque curve higher in the RPM range. Both heads and cams will do this. Do you know (or can you find out) the part number(s) for the SLR heads? If they're the same as your's, then there's more to be had from your engine. I think cams are the next logical step. Plus, they'll be less work to install.

vrus

Interesting... Neal.. What do you say? Can you do something for $1500 retail?



The Renntech airbox is good for 15hp - 20hp (from some vague numbers I remember hearing). I think Kleemann's cams are only good for 17rwhp from what I remember. That puts them both in the same bucket with the higher cost going to making the Cams..

I will have to find some more concrete numbers on both and see which one has the performance advantage..

Thanks for your input.

CynCarvin32

I have been told by several tuners that P&P on the cyl head yields serious gains in flow and power. The 3 valve head is simply TERRIBLE at flowing air but cleaning it out and installing 2 new cams (what ever happened to 4 valve motors... oh wait they are back ) will yield serious increases in power.

Clearly I see the cams and the P&P as going hand and hand.

vrus

They do go hand in hand.. I agree.. I will be doing all the items above. I just wanted to get a handle on what most of the people were looking for so I know in what order to do them in. In terms of HP rewards, I think heads will provide the highest return but will take the most time to accomplish.

I will probably end up putting the feelers out for all the items at the same time and see what will be the easiest to accomplish. Right now, the hurdle on the heads is finding a good set of cores to work from..

Buying new castings from MB will cost me $4,100 per side!!

vrus

Just want to throw something out there...

Any chance someone on this board has purchased a Renntech airbox and hasn't installed it yet? I would love to have a close up look at it.. I'd like to see what they did and maybe get some ideas from it. I know its a long shot, but, it would help tremendously.

Rock

That's too bad because many of us find this type of non-invasive modification very appealing. I assume you do not agree with the tuners claim of a 15HP increase?

Vic, congrats on completing the TB project. That thread was a great read. Any chance we will see some track numbers from your car soon?

vrus

Thanks!! Did you end up getting the Kleemann TB? Just wondering what your impressions were of the extra power if you did install it.

As for getting to the track... hahaahahha... I guess I should leave it alone long enough to find my way to the 1/4mile track huh??

I'll make a point to get there once I verify the TB and the car is running 100% after the dyno testing. I am dying to see what she'll do...

dragonAMG

My vote goes for the P&P. This is something that I am heavily considering.

L8Apex

I voted for a bolt-on mod (airbox).

It would be interesting to see someone push the limits of the w211 suspension by either modifying the current or replacing with a coilover setup.

vrus

I see that everyone is leaning towards the airbox... It isnt too complicated so it can probably be done in parallel with either the Cam or cylinder head R&D.

I want to keep the Cam and Cylinder heads separate because I think both will be involved and I would like to test each of those components separately.

catalystkid

I voted for the airbox because of price and ease of installation. I think P&P the heads would provide the biggest return though. If you do a project in parallel with the airbox I vote for the heads.

BlackC230Coupe

Ricky,

The only airbox we have for the E55 is the stock airboxes in CF. We do not use a different airbox then stock simply because MB designed that airboxs pretty well. Even any aftermarket airbox would only gain a few HP. Which is definitely not worth it for the $$$. With the amount of power these cars have, you would never feel or see a HP gain. This is why its best mod for cosmetic only. I would say our stock CF airbox with Green Filters that we install in them would be just about what a new airbox design would yield in power.

If you want real power, skip the airbox mod.

Rock

Victor, I have not completed the TB upgrade yet. I am hoping to have one installed before September. I am interested to see the final unit you put together for sale. Include me on the interested list.

JamE55

Victor,

Go for the Cylinder Port & Polish. I'm in the processing of trying to do this with Cory but don't have the complete info on it. I've pretty much done everything(cams & TB etc..). Per Cory the TB should yield about 25-30HP but the Port & Polish according to him should yield around 30-40hp? So that'd be quite interesting to see. As far as the cams i think PTE made a post about that. You may want to ask him about the gains on it.

oblax4

Can someone please explain to me how an airbox upgrade, and Green filters, help with power? Do they both improve airflow to the intake? If so, how? Sorry, but I'm pretty naive about this stuff. I talked to RennTech a couple weeks ago, and the guy was pushing me to get the airbox.

Grumpy666

A 15 HP increase implies that the stock air box is a restriction. I don't think this is the case. So then, how do you sell an expensive air box? You claim that it will provide X amount of HP. If it doesn't, do you think they will happily take it back and refund your money? Or do you think they may explain off your results with other variables? You decide. I agree with BCC, it's primarily a cosmetic, feel-good upgrade.

Can Drive 55

I, too, talked to RENNtech about the airbox and TB. I was told that the stock MB set up is fine on a stock motor. Once you raise the boost and increase exhaust flow, via headers, then the RENNtech air box and TB do increase air flow, and result in HP gains. Just passing on comments from RENNtech, not my own.

vrus

This is what I would really love to validate... problem is, I have an issue with plopping down $4,000 for an airbox that might not do a damn thing.. I was hoping someone had purchased one already that I could look at and possibly dyno test..

Or, if whomever has one can do a before/after dyno with the stock airbox installed and then the Renntech one installed. $200 worth of dyno time is all it would take and then everyone would know for sure.

E55 RUSS

I vote Camshafts !!! Should help a lot at higher speeds...

Did you finished with you Exhaust system ??? What is your set up NOW ???

vrus

I pulled the 3" exhaust off and is waiting to be copied into 2.75" version. It will have 2 race cats (100 cell count) and smooth mandrel bending from front to back.

Right now I am running the stock exhaust. Its more restrictive than what I had before but that is what I will be testing with until the new exhaust is complete.

Kev04C320

Victor,

Do you think you can do anything with the cold air intake other than the CF Airbox? I mean what about the tubing before the intake?

vrus

Yeah.. I have another design which uses a 3.5" hard pipe connected to the TB.. The hard pipe runs through the firewall on the passenger side (there is a rubber gromet there) and would use a flat 11" square filter. It sucks air in from the high pressure area at the base of the windshield. That "pocket" on the passenger side is completely blocked off from under hood hot engine air so it is completely sealed and would provide the coldest air source.

Now that I have the concept down, I am looking for the parts to make this happen so I can test it and see if it is better..

It should be because the air path is much shorter so it wont heat up as much and also the windshield area is a higher pressure area than the front grille so it should get even better airflow.

vrus

You guys that voted for the airbox..

If I get someone to make the mold and create these things how many of the 17 people that voted would buy one for $1,500?

The mold and creating the first one is what is expensive. The idea would be to make a design like the Renntech one which they claim ads 15 - 20hp.

Would you guys poney up $200 each that would go towards the purchase price of the finished product? The reason I ask is that it looks like it will cost just over $4,000 to make the mold and generate the first airbox in pure 100% carbon fiber.