anton28

I want to get more air flowing but I don't want to get rid of the factory airbox look. Are my only options K&N filters and spacers? Is it worth running new pipes down to the grill from the OEM air box?

What can I do but still retain the OEM look?

tw2

Just leave the OEM airbox and ducting. Aftermarket variants rarely flow more and it often ends up less. I don't know if there was ever a consensus on the spacer kit but the OEM intake is generally quite good.

AMGPilot

Have you actually measured the flow on your air boxes? I can guarantee that you are not out flowing them

leave them alone, there are better ways to spend your time and money

anton28

Great feedback guys. I was not sure of the factory box's capabilities or restrictions. I'm about to tune the car and add an 80mm pulley. Upgrading the factory box was an intuitive decision based on everything else I have built in the past. Seeing all the modified 55 engines online with the crazy intake setups made me belive, the factory box was very restricted. It sounds like that might not be the case.

Yuille36

I'm sure that Mercedes Benz had their best engineers, thinking long and hard about getting the best air flow into that supercharger.
This can not be solved by simply added a new air filter, airboxes etc.

cnterline

If your mildly modding the car then leave the factory box, if your going crazy FBO then that’s a different story .

StarvingArtist

There are some green filters that are supposed to be good. K&N's let in a lot of fine grit. I went back to stock

anton28

Very good point.

E42AMG???

Stay stock unless putting bigger tb

anton28

Thanks for the input everyone. Staying stock!

CDC55AMG

I went with Weistec drop in air filters, they are thinner than stock variants so you do not spacers in order to keep the filters from blocking incoming air flow.

AMGPilot

The Filter doesn't block air. Never has and never will

tw2

Doesn't the stock filter hang down 3/4" or so into the incoming air? Maybe I made that up.

CDC55AMG

This is what I was talking about:


Weistec air filter

Stock paper filter

AMGPilot

Yeah? and how does an air filter work?

That is not a restriction Fluid dynamics doesn't work that way

tw2

Please be kind enough to explain this. I was under the impression fluids generally don't flow the best with solid objects jutting into their path.

AMGPilot

That's not a solid. that is filter element.

tw2

Yes and air from the intake snorkel runs straight into the side of it before making an eddie and going around and through it.

AMGPilot

only that’s not what happens

tw2

You are oozing technical information today. Please refer to post 16.

CDC55AMG

Filter element or not wouldn't it still increase turbulence or disruption of the incoming air flow hanging into the air intake tube vs not at all?