Another MAF Relocation Method for Kompressor Models

[xvvvz]

I finally got around to finishing the MAF relocation project. I have had to wait due to the silicon people taking forever to ship the right part and then not wanting to mess with this until after the new air conditioning compressor was installed since I didn’t want to rip out all the intake parts again in order to access the air-co parts. FYI - HiTemp silicon has good prices and a nice color selection but their service is non-existent.

As I posted before, I wanted something that is hopefully a little more reliable than the “sand and jam” method for connecting at the intercooler. Therefore, I took a stock MAF housing (note the pencil line for cutting):

http://www.betterscanning.com/p/fullhousing.jpg

And then cut it down to size to function as a connector, complete with clipping brackets so hopefully there won’t be any popping off of intake parts. I also sanded down the internals for better airflow although in reality I don’t think that the sanding/”porting” really makes much difference:

http://www.betterscanning.com/p/cuthousing.jpg

Silicon has a reputation for not sealing well unless it is mated to a connector that is very close to the same size. Therefore I had to increase the diameter of the connector end so it mated better with the silicon.

http://www.betterscanning.com/p/increasedtube.jpg

Here is the silicon attached to my custom connector and it shows the tubing before I trimmed the silicone down in length (of course color-coordinated to match the red “Kompressor” spark plug cover!).

http://www.betterscanning.com/p/tubehousing.jpg

I also wanted to keep things fairly close to stock in case I needed to revert back to stock for some reason. Therefore, I didn’t want to chop up the Mercedes connecting tubes any more than necessary (but I also didn’t want to pay the ridiculous prices silicon producers charge for multiple small pieces). If I were doing this again, I would order one five inch piece of silicone tubing and cut that into two pieces with the second longer piece taking the place of one of the Mercedes OEM black connecting tubes. FYI – you cannot buy the connecting tubes by themselves from MB. They will only sell you the whole tubing system as one kit for lots of $$.

Here is before (stock):

http://www.betterscanning.com/p/intakebefore.jpg


And here is after:

http://www.betterscanning.com/p/intakeafter.jpg

After you are finished, one thing I would recommend *after* you do an initial test to see if the car will start and idle OK is to reset the adaption values for the car computer. You can either do the routine involving ignition sequence and gas pedal presses (Google for it) or disconnect the battery for 10 minutes (make sure to resynchronize your windows and sunroof plus have your stereo theft code handy). If you don’t do this, you could get some funky transmission downshifts when you go full throttle from a rolling start if your car’s ECU has not had time to self adapt.

Nothing about this project is hard but it can be aggravating if you are like me and want to do a quality job even on a simple upgrade like this. Finding an old MAF housing (thanks for everyone's help!), dealing with the silicone people; measuring, trimming and retrimming the flexible parts to get a good seal, swatting Asian Tiger mosquitoes, etc., was a bit of a pain in the back (literally). During the initial test ride, the engine did seem more linear in acceleration (less “lumpy” between 1500 and 3000 rpm) which was nice but I need more time and miles behind the wheel to make an objective judgment.

[C280_Spawrt]

Excellent cverage

what improvements are you expecting?

[Proven Guilty]

excellent job man. this exactly what I had done with my previous relocation, but I had also worked up a cad drawing to replace the intake pipe that connects to the throttle body for a less harsh connection that still fit under the hood, rather than the OEM almost 90 degree bend.

i'll dig around and see if i can get the cad drawings if you were interested in having one fabbed up.

[xvvvz]

>>what improvements are you expecting?<<

Just the increased smoothness/linearity in acceleration. As I mentioned, the Kompressor models can feel a bit lumpy in the 1500-3000 rpm range under hard accleration.

>>i'll dig around and see if i can get the cad drawings if you were interested in having one fabbed up.<<

Thanks, PG, but I think this would be pretty far down on the modification list. If I invest in anything else major, I think my priorities would be exhaust and/or supercharger pulley upgrade.

I talked with a local Kleeman agent and he told me that the Kleeman supercharger pulley is just like an ASP in that it is a modified stock pulley instead of a single piece purpose-built one. He said to go with ASP since they are cheaper and easier to find/still in production. I won't be doing anything soon, but for some reason I thought the Kleeman had the edge because it was purpose-built and less prone to balance issues over the long run. Bummer.

[Logic]

everything about the relocation and everything said about it i still dont like the way it looks....the factory located MAF looks better in cosmetics... i know i know but i also like to see any one fabbing one up maybe using stainless or custom built to see the difference's . i was thinking to replace the plastic pieces with stainless to match my CAI ...

[Proven Guilty]

The reason it looks badly is partly due to the angle of the final aluminum intake pipe connecting to the throttle body. It forces the tube closer to the washer tank, and puts unecessary bends and length on the intake pipe itself from the IC to the TB.

Ideally, replacing the leading pipe on the TB all the way back to the IC with color matched silicon or black for the OEM look makes it much better overall.

[Cru328prod]

lmfao u stole my idea:(