For those of us who have a budget in mind....

[zmatt]

I was digging around on the intertubes and found this;

http://www.driftworks.com/forum/drift-car-projects-builds/133270-mercedes-c230-kompressor.html

The brit sold his car last month but with only some DIY intake mods he got 20hp and 40lbs of torque on the stock map. He also did some very simple and well thought out mods to set his car up for drifting, which according to him is one of the better drifters he has had. The thread includes pictures and some video.

These mods look stupid easy so even if you are thinking of going big and doing a turbo later there is no reason not to do this now. For free mods you beat 330is and Type R civics.

[Yujin]

Yeah, I read up on this guys car. Its loud as balls. Thanks for sharing this, I could never find the actual post, just pictures. Racing seats... Now that sounds fun :)

[zmatt]

Yeah he got a stupid deal on those seats. I knew our stock seats were heavy, but 110lbs difference? wow. I imagine that plus the asp pulley and that chip tune you can get would be pretty good for someone who didn't want to go turbo.

[Yujin]

Yeah, thats crazy. I would like a chip tune, and an ASP pulley is it didnt cost an arm and a leg. I didnt really think our seats were THAT heavy Lol. Damn luxury!

[zmatt]

yeah Benz seats are really hefty, but they are some of the nicest seats I have sat in. My buddies caddy has softer seats, but they have no support and you slide all over the place. I contacted powerchip back in May and they quoted me at 203hp and 220lbs of torque on a 93 octane tune (98 octane for the Euro guys). I would like to see what that would be with these mods. The chip is $490. ASP is over a grand if I remember right and it comes with cold plugs a new fuel pressure regulator and a new maf pipe.

Too bad the mounting space for the IC is so damn tiny, a half decent unit would probably help things out a lot.

[C43inNC]

So besides getting rid of the seats, what else did this guy do? I'm reading it, and I don't see anything, and he's dynoing 226bhp and 242lbft. thats over 30 hp gain for free? I mean I'll do the other shit he did, and keep my seats.

[Yujin]

So besides getting rid of the seats, what else did this guy do? I'm reading it, and I don't see anything, and he's dynoing 226bhp and 242lbft. thats over 30 hp gain for free? I mean I'll do the other shit he did, and keep my seats.

He also watercool'd his intakes, this has raised the lightbulb in my head Lol. He also added a few custom pieces and I think headers? I am starting to decide on...

Chip Tune
Pulley Upgrade + Cold Sparks, Better Fuel Filter/Fuel injector
Performance Header
High flow resonator

Better air flow is my #1 concern right now, Im looking at increasing efficiency through the intakes, like getting rid of the restrictive mesh/plastic meh near the MAF.

Meh, i'll see what happens.

[ypkx]

Air intake is a major part. I'm already sketching out a way of maximum air flow, where it will be scooped from under the car. I also plan on freeing the radiator from all that plastic gash in the front for maximum fresh air... DId this to my old car and it worked a treat, probably a mile less to the gallon but it made it extra nippy.

[C43inNC]

So ripping the mesh off my MAF and replacing the air box to a filter like yours will do all that? And I didn't really follow him on the water cooled shit. Can you break it down for me?

[zmatt]

I actually did this mod today more or less. the best way to get the mesh out of the plastic maf unit is to knock it out with a screw driver until you can pop it out. That was the most annoying bit. Removing the mesh form the throttle body too two seconds. I somehow managed to measure the intake hose wrong and bought a 3inch filter for a 2.5inch hose. I was able to secure it though. I'm going to go back in the next day or so and get a silicone hose to better mount it and bring it forward so I can get more fresh air. I'm also having the guy who did my exhaust make a heat shield. As it is know it is a bit faster and pulls harder in the lower gears. The supercharger is much louder and the recirculator makes a BOV "psssh" sound when you lift off. Very cool. it sounds pretty much like in Yujin's videos, but I have a slightly meatier exhaust. I ran it most of the day like this, the job all said and done took 2 hours including a trip to the store. My check engine light popped on on the way back home, but performance did not change. I'm gonna get it read tomorrow. I assume it's freaking over all the new air.

@KompressorInNC, water injection is used to cool the air and make it denser. You spray a very fine mist into the intake, not enough to mess with the A/F mixture or screw up the fuel igniting, but enough to cool the air. It increases power as well as reliability. By cooling the air you make it denser, and denser air means more power. Cold air intakes, intercoolers, water injection, meth injection etc are all ways to make the air cooler. Heat is your enemy. Density is your friend and density increases as the temp drops.

[Yujin]

Thanks for the clear up on the water injection, Im going to look into that. Zmatt, your MAF could be getting a little fussy over the new air stuff yes, did you do anything else? Funny a CEL went off... Anyways, double check the hoses near the MAF, that SOB will cause a CEL for no reason. What kind of setup did you do? Pics?

[zmatt]

Thanks for the clear up on the water injection, Im going to look into that. Zmatt, your MAF could be getting a little fussy over the new air stuff yes, did you do anything else? Funny a CEL went off... Anyways, double check the hoses near the MAF, that SOB will cause a CEL for no reason. What kind of setup did you do? Pics?

No prob. My guess is it's the MAF without having read the code. I'm using a specter filter right now. I have nothing on the bov thingy right now. I'm going to buy a coupler and intake pipe to do it up like yours, right now the filter is kind of shoved on. For the recirculator I am actually going to put a velocity stack on it. It was my buddies idea. It's basically a miniature throttle body, and we measured it at 52mm. Should really trip people up lol.

Is there an official term for the metal pipe that you have the filter on other than "intake pipe"? I know for a fact the nearby auto parts store have the 3inch to 2.5inch silicone coupler, I remember seeing it. I don't remember the pipe.

[gakz]

siliconeintakes.com is a money saver, never had issues gettin stuff from them including proper T clamps for cheap

at a certain point the OEM MAF starts reading to much air at high RPMs and throws it in limp mode, you'll need to put a 5V clamp on it

[gakz]

I'm not sure if space is much different on the w202 than the R170 in the front.. My intercooler is slightly angled and has rubber spacers to stop rubbing, but i removed ALL that crap between the bumper and bumper stop/frame

[Yujin]

Lol, Zmatt, its literally called an intake tube.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Spectre-3-in-dia-x-4-in-straight-polished-aluminum-air-intake-tube/_/N-25n3?counter=44&itemIdentifier=939523_0_0_

They are cheap, and plentiful in sizes and angles. Pepboys also has them, and advanced auto. Most car auto shops do from what I seen.

When I had the intakes on, I never got a CEL, which is leading me to believe something else. Did you remember to reconnect the plug back into the throttle body? As stupid as that sounds, I actually forgot and that gave me a CEL, Lol. DUH!

Anyways, hope this helps.

[zmatt]

Gakz, what do you mean by a 5v clamp? Thanks for the link. That is super useful.


Lol, Zmatt, its literally called an intake tube.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Spectre-3-in-dia-x-4-in-straight-polished-aluminum-air-intake-tube/_/N-25n3?counter=44&itemIdentifier=939523_0_0_

They are cheap, and plentiful in sizes and angles. Pepboys also has them, and advanced auto. Most car auto shops do from what I seen.

When I had the intakes on, I never got a CEL, which is leading me to believe something else. Did you remember to reconnect the plug back into the throttle body? As stupid as that sounds, I actually forgot and that gave me a CEL, Lol. DUH!

Anyways, hope this helps.


I didn't actually have to unplug anything when i was doing the mod. The first time we ran the car the bov thingy fell off in a tun because we didn't tighten the clamp enough. Made the car run slow, but no cel. I only got the cel last night when i made a U turn with a little bit of throttle. The didn't run any different after it threw the error. I also popped the hood to make sure nothing came loose and it all looked fine.

The coupler and intake tube are both 3 inch right? I want to get the sizes right so i don't have to keep running to the store lol.

[Yujin]

Itll probably go away soon, let it run for a bit in parked, and like 2 minutes in neutral. That usually clears up a CEL from what I found if there really isnt a problem. Also, if there is an Autozone near you, you can just have them read the CEL for you for free, they do that in mass, so Im sure its a free service elsewhere.

[zmatt]

Ive had them do it before. I was planning on doing it today too. My bet is it's either A/F related or egr since the erg hose is kind of just out there chilling.

[gakz]

The 5V clamp limits the MAF wire to sending no more than 5V to the ECU. MAF sensor uses a electric signal to the ECU to determine the density of air/etc that it picks up, if the signal goes over 5V it "limps" it temporarily. Sometimes itll throw a CEL and not engage the supercharger, sometimes itll just disengage the supercharger


edit: This is usually only the case after you've upgraded the crank pulley and a few other things are done

[MikeD]

Did anyone try this stuff on a 280?

[zmatt]

The 5V clamp limits the MAF wire to sending no more than 5V to the ECU. MAF sensor uses a electric signal to the ECU to determine the density of air/etc that it picks up, if the signal goes over 5V it "limps" it temporarily. Sometimes itll throw a CEL and not engage the supercharger, sometimes itll just disengage the supercharger


edit: This is usually only the case after you've upgraded the crank pulley and a few other things are done


Ah gotcha, that may be whats happening cause the throttle can sometimes feel kind of.......like it has holes in it? Liek it can't make up it's mind. How do I do this mod? Do I just need to solder in a resistor in the line somewhere or what?

[gakz]

the holes ur feeling could be because you need MAF relocation


You can use a 4.7V zener diode, i have, but the .3V at the top range is affected

[zmatt]

OK, where should I relocate it too? And do you have any indepth instructions on replacing the diode? I have a spare maf and I know my way around a soldering gun.

[gakz]

if you hop over to benzworld there was a write up for both, under R170 section

[zmatt]

I'm having trouble finding threads that don't have dead picture links. Think you can give me a hand?


EDIT:

I was able to dig this up in our own forums. So when we say relocate the maf we are just moving it up from the IC. Well dang, you coulda just said that lol.

[gakz]

I'm not to good at explaining stuff without pictures, lol. Here is my engine bay right before I left for afghanistan. Some more mods to the pre-S/C portion will be done

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o97/gakzjoo/SLK/DSCF1368.jpg

[ypkx]

just a thought, 'heat rises' think about where you're putting your intake.. In my old car, it was under my fog light.. with a massive 10 inch scoop

[zmatt]

I'm not to good at explaining stuff without pictures, lol. Here is my engine bay right before I left for afghanistan. Some more mods to the pre-S/C portion will be done

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o97/gakzjoo/SLK/DSCF1368.jpg

no problem. I just wanted to know where everyone was "relocating" their maf too. Anyone know where i can get a maf tube without having to buy a new maf?


just a thought, 'heat rises' think about where you're putting your intake.. In my old car, it was under my fog light.. with a massive 10 inch scoop

I know some people put the intakes very low for even colder air, but I don't want to run the risk of sucking up water on a rainy day after going through a puddle. I think a good heat shield should be enough. You have to make compromises between performance and practicality.

[gakz]

just a thought, 'heat rises' think about where you're putting your intake.. In my old car, it was under my fog light.. with a massive 10 inch scoop

I dont have a picture up here, but I have one of the AMG sport bumber for non-SLK32 cars and I do not have fog lights anymore, I may possibly put it down there, or make a scoop from down there up on both sides.

In regards to the MAF tubing, Just keep the OEM sensor housing and do like I did with new couplers/metal pipes

[ypkx]

I dont have a picture up here, but I have one of the AMG sport bumber for non-SLK32 cars and I do not have fog lights anymore, I may possibly put it down there, or make a scoop from down there up on both sides.



Thats also what i plan to do on my merc, because the fog light carrier is a perfect little hole for a bit of fibreglass and a pipe.