New E55 owner, soliciting opinions on upgrades
 

I've had this '04 E55 for almost a year now, purchased from a friend that owned it for the last 8 years or so. It's about to roll over 100k miles in the next few weeks. I really enjoy it, but I'm starting to get the itch to make it faster. I've been lurking/reading sporadically here for a few months now, but wanted to solicit more specific opinions on my initial plan.

What input can I get on the following:

• MBH Long Tubes (with MBH cats)
• MBH Mid-pipes
• UPD 77mm clutched SC pulley
• UPD Belt Wrap Kit
• Eurocharged E55 Cooling Kit (heat exchanger and CM30 IC pump) VRP Stage 3 cooling kit
• Eurocharged E55 ECU & TCU tuning

I've read about other things I should change/upgrade while in this process, including motor mounts and idler pulleys. I'm assuming aftermarket aluminum idler pulleys, but have seen some discussion about reinstalling new OEM Black Series AMG engine mounts. Thoughts?

Is there anything else I should consider addressing (or just NEED to do) if doing all of the above? How close am I on needing larger fuel injectors with this setup? Will the CM30 pump from EC's cooling kit suffice, or is the Bosch 010 that much better?


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...501bcc0194.jpg

If you’ve got money to blow, I’d spring for the black series engine mounts.

Looks like a good list of quality parts. I wouldn't use the CM30 it is a tiny pump. My guess would be the 010 is a better choice and plug n play also. You can also consider the poly mounts from creative steel. You should be ok with stock injectors but getting close. I would buy oem idle pulleys if you can afford them, otherwise get the 3 piece aluminum kit as they are the only ones that are insanely overpriced from Mercedes. The small idle pulley and accessory tensioner is pretty reasonable.

Are you sure the engine is factory / stock? The car has an aftermarket bumper and wheels so I’d usually suspect some power mods as well.

Yes, the previous owner added the E-63 front bumper cover and some other AMG wheels. Otherwise, there were no engine mods made to this car. Can someone here tell me from which exact AMG model these wheels were original equipment?

There is a thread called "the intercooler pump you didn't know about" It has a chart. CM30 is one of the worst in a high resistance system.
Crank pulley is a better option if you can afford it and have someone who knows EXACTLY how to install it.

With everything I've read about belt shredding issues on aftermarket crank pulleys, I'm simply staying away from changing mine.

Now I'm looking harder at the VRP stage 3 cooling kit, as it comes with their Superflo IC pump. If anyone has any experience with one (good or bad), please let me know.

A quality crank pulley will not shred a properly sized belt.
Much of the issue of shredding you’re reading about may be due to improperly installed/designed belt wrap kits. There are a lot of BWK’s out there now, some better than others.

I agree that a crank pulley is a better, albeit more expense, option for increasing boost. Only downside is more rotational mass.

You absolutely will not not be disappointed with the MBH set-up you mentioned. The car comes alive! And a great side benefit to the added power, is it drops the boost to help keep the extra heat from the CP down a bit.

I can’t stress this enough: Get a dyno tune!!
Given the cars age, and some of the fueling/heat issues they have, I wouldn’t want to be running around with mods from a can tune. It’s fine to start there for the drive to the dyno:). Just so much safer to have a tuner reading real world feedback from your car.

Good lunch and have fun going fast!

Avoid the TCU tune. You'll have clunky and annoying non-Mercedes shift qualities and won't gain any performance.

i'm running the upd clutched 77 on my car. cannot say enough good things about it. lot's of people will tell you its not worth it for all the extra heat, but personally i'm not somebody who floors it everywhere. I like to enjoy the power of the supercharger in the low rpm range and the extra torque from the 77 is so satisfying

Mbh set up is amazing its what i run
I have the superflo an its great dont remember but i wrote a thread on it an my experience
The 77mm pulley is great i have the 76mm from vrp an love it
I disagree with e55greasemonkey i have the tcu tune an it makes a big difference esepcially in manual mode. I have not experienced any clunky shifting.
I would look into getting the east coast euro motor mounts an trans mounts. I would also look into their rear subframe bushings as well!

Great looking ride and PM me if you need anything on your go super fast list !

If you want the best engine and trans mounts for your car we can help! The fastest E55s are running them on their cars 💪 We also built the fastest M113 on the planet so we know our way around these cars. Let us know how we can help

Bought a used DTK tuned TCU from my buddy in FL for $200, worth every penny! Can really tell the difference in smoother shifting and a bit quicker. Plus the rev limiter is off that helps rev car up.

For a ECU tune I recommend Tony at Race IQ! Have had tunes from every vendor and Tony to me is the best.

Might as well toss 82mm TB and injectors on that list as well lol. 77mm pulley and long tube headers are going to be chocking on that 74mm stocker.

I'm riding stock now as well and have been thinking a little bit about what i may do in the future. I'd probably begin with the MBH longtubes since they give a nice boost in power + liven up the exhaust note. I also recently came across the race IQ street beast cams. I realize it's probably not everyone's goal to have their mercedes sound like a 70s muscle car but i've always loved the ka-chunk of a lopey cam. check out the video link on vrpspeed

https://vrpspeed.com/index.php?route...product_id=303

Wow, thanks for the all the input while I was away for a week! Sounds like there are a lot of good options from which to choose for the E55. :cheers: