I replaced the driver's side air intake hose with the less restricted version today. The picture below shows the clearly evident constriction in the original hose. Not sure how much of a difference the replacement hose will make, but more air with less restriction seems good.

 

Is that the snoke mod that I read about?
Care to spare the part number of it?

Thanks,

 

What car is this hose for? I got one for a S55 a while ago (I heard that was the one to use) but its impossible to fit in. How'd you do it?

 

Yes, this is the so-called snorkel modification that's been discussed previously (search archives). The larger hose is used in several models, one of which is the S55 AMG Kompressor. The MB part number is A113 094 12 82.

Installation is pretty easy. First, remove the front upper engine cover plate (snaps out) so you can see what you're doing. Next, remove the original hose by sliding it towards the front of the car away from the air filter housing. Once the rear of the hose is free, then tilt the hose slight down and pull it towards the rear of the engine compartment. This will allow it to slide off the air scoop neck. Install the larger hose by first removing the air hose that runs along the radiator support frame from its clip and then lift that small air hose slightly upward, without too much tension, away from the air scoop connection. The replacement snorkel hose has a slightly wider mouth than the original hose, but it will still slide over the rear of the air scoop. Mount the new snorkel hose by starting with the air scoop end and making sure the end of the new hose slides completely over the neck of the air sccop. You may need to apply some mild pressure towards the radiator to compress the wider side of the opening on the new hose. Once you have the inward side in position, tilt the hose downward to complete the install over the air scoop neck. Confirm the fitment by peering through the air scoop and making sure you see nothing but the inside walls of the new hose. Complete the installation by apply enough force on the new hose towards the front of the engine to compress the accordian-like appearing section of the hose to allow enough clearance for the rear end to slide over the neck of the attachment point on the air filter box. Once the hose is connected on both ends, you may need to rotate it slightly to locate it for optimal positioning within the engine compartment. Complete the installation by moving the small air hose back into position immediately behind the frame rail and then tugging it back down into its retaining clip. Since the new snorkel hose is larger than the one you replaced, the little air hose will end up in a slightly difference position relative to where it attaches to its mounting clip than it did before. If the snorkel hose is installed correctly, there is virtually zero chance, as some previous posts on this topic suggested, of hot air from the engine compartment entering the engine's air intake because the front of the hose should be sitting flush against the back of the air scoop.

This is a very simple and inexpensive mod, but probably not necessary; it's unlikely the AMG engineers would deliberately undersize the air supply for cylinders 5 - 8. On the other hand, though, the "new" hose is less restricted and does match the size on the air supply hose for cylinders 1 - 4, so surely there's no harm and perhaps a modest incremental benefit from making the change. Hope this helps.

 

It helps very much so. Thank you for the detailed write-up. I have an S55 snorkel back home and I will install it as soon as I get back into town. When I first got it and attempted to install it, I was reluctant because the front end of the snorkel did not completely cover the back of the air scoop. Whereas the opening on the stock snorkle is more of a perfect oval, the S55 snorkel has a slight bend in the right side. Therefore, when I tried to slip it over the back of the air scoop, it fit flush on one side, but on the other it did not because of the bend in the lip of the snorkle.

 

You're correct that the S55 hose has a wider opening on its right side due to the bend you describe. Even so, you can compress in so that the opening of the S55 hose slides completely over the neck of the air scoop. The neck is long enough to extend far enough into the S55 hose that the non-perfect match of the opening is a non-issue. I think the next logical step is to check out the S55 air scoops, which apparently have a larger bore, at least on the driver's side, than what came on the E55.

 

Ah, I see. You know, I was actually thinking that. You think we could fit the S55 air scoops onto the E? My friend had an S55 but he traded it in literally a week ago Maybe I'll just run over to the showroom and pop the hood on one and check it out. That part of the engine bay is fairly similar to our cars so I wouldn't be surprised if it could be retrofitted.

 

An issue with the air scoops is that they are attached to the radiator permanently, so unless you are willing to get the whole package, don't even bother with it. There might be a small or no change at all in terms of performance after you replace the tube with the S55's.

 

This is probably true and it is why I did not install the tube until now. Before, when my car was stock, I tried to install the tube and after I couldn't fit it in after 3 minutes, I gave up. Now that I have the ASP pulley the car wants more air and it wants it faster. The snorkel mod now made more sense to me so I took the entire 10 minutes to install it. Its a quick and cheap mod, so I figured why not. As far as retrofitting S55 air scoops, well, I'll leave that up to the guy whose willing to buy an S55 radiator.