E55K Tuning Options

[Cyclone1]

Hi All,

It's been a while since I was looking into buying an E55 but will be on the lookout again, so was just enquiring about what the current tuning options are, with recommended Tuners / Garages and estimated costs?

It would also be good to hear from owners who already have their E55 modified and understand what they have had done.

Cheers
Jules.

 

[SavMan]

It depends on how far you want to go and what power you are looking for?

A simple remap could cost as little as £300 but can quickly rise to close to a grand for a custom map on a dyno.

Here is my very simple guide

Headers £2k+
82mm TB £2k
Pulley and remap £1.6k - £2k
Camshafts £2k+
Cooling £0.5 - £1k
Exhaust £0.5k - £ 2k
Airbox £2k+
LSD £2k+
Suspension £1k+

A fully modified car including styling will require £20k+ a members recent sale listed all the things they had done over the last 3 years

Mercedes-Benz : E55 AMG Kleemann K2 2004

Or of course you could just get a remap for £300.

 

[RichAJ]

Theres an E55K on sale on autotrader atm the moment for £14k with genuine Brabus wheels and panoramic roof looks decent.. thats had a modified exhaust and a remap and is saying its now churning out 531bhp which is always good

 

[Cyclone1]

Thanks for the replies...

Savman I have been following your thread on the mods you have done, it's a very interesting read.

I am looking more for what levels of tuning can be applied and what should be done and when, e.g.

Remap
Remap + Pulley
Remap + Pulley + Headers
Remap + Pulley + Headers + Cooling
Etc etc etc etc

Each of the above plus more with costs and estimated outputs.

Also, would like to get into the detail of who the key suppliers of the parts are, when I last looked it was Kleeman, Renntech and a few others from the States, are these still the one's to go for?

Does anyone in the UK offer performance packages at various stages of tune / modification? I see that there are some members / companies quoted but no firm recommendations.

I am quite savvy when it comes to enhancing performance of cars so it's more a case of getting back up to speed. VMax Starfire was an interesting read as I have done many VMax events in the past, so it was good to see how the Mercs did at this event, especially the E55's.

Jules.

 

[SavMan]

Renntech, Kleemann and Eurocharged are all good companies
All 3 have different packages
Eurocharged quote

Stage 1 remap, pulley and cooling - 557 hp
Stage 2 above + headers 607 hp
Stage 3 above + TB - 642 hp

In terms of price Eurocharged are the cheaper then Kleemann and finally Renntech.

Take a look at this recent thread, there are a number of recommendations


http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/engine/130831-e55-w211-re-map.html

 

[RichAJ]

god its tempting to blow all budgets and get that one off autotrader and get it to 642hp lol... nice work. stunning cars though E55K's

 

[Alps]

RichAJ - id like to see the proof of the power and how\by whom the mods were done.... if installed\tuned by the wrong [people (or people with little or no knowledge) it may well blow your budget.

mods are nice but wrongly modded cars will cost you alot of money to rectify.

Savman has done all his mods and his estimates are a very good guide on how much these things cost !

 

[RichAJ]

what mods? I was merely acknowledging the stages of mods mentioned by Sav as really nice lol

 

[Alps]

what mods? I was merely acknowledging the stages of mods mentioned by Sav as really nice lol

never comes across right when i rush a reply!

i was referring to the one you were talking about on autotrader and just saying "be carefull" when looking at modded E55`s unless you know the history of the mods

 

[RichAJ]

ahh ok, haha.. yeah completely agree, id prefer to start from scratch unless i knew the history and they had took the brunt of the cash spends lol.. its a pipe dream for now.. will have to stick with the humble CLK

 

[markevo]

Hi All,

It's been a while since I was looking into buying an E55 but will be on the lookout again, so was just enquiring about what the current tuning options are, with recommended Tuners / Garages and estimated costs?

It would also be good to hear from owners who already have their E55 modified and understand what they have had done.

Cheers
Jules.

Hi Mate , I've just gone through the whole tuning thing and found the guy's on here very helpful and MSL comes highly recommended for advice .
I have had X pipe fitted with the deletion of the primary cats , K & N Filters and finally gone for the Viezu remap which was fitted today by a local company .

 

[lopes80]

Kleemann K2 if your budget allows. Don't worry about dyno numbers it will be fast.

 

[Cyclone1]

Cheers Guys appreciate the replies.

So when it comes to stage 2 and similar as per Lopes80 recommendation above how critical is the pulley size and can this be specified. If my memory serves me correctly the sizes varied from 168 / 170 / 172 / 178 / 180, is this still the case and are there any threads where owners / tuners have done back to back testing on th pulley's to determine which is the most effective? E.G. the bigger the pulley the higher the peak bhp / torque but maybe this is offset by having lower bhp / torque further down the rev range when compared with a smaller pulley?

Also at what point does cooling become critical if linked with pulley size? Or does that have less impact in our rather cool climate?

Reference Kleemann / EC etc, is there a known outfit on here that fit and supply or is it better to order separately and then have fitted?

Cheers Jules.

 

[SavMan]

You forgot the 190, 195 and 200 pulley size that are becoming popular in the US right now, Acid has a 200 fitted to his which is probably the only one in the UK at the moment.

Heat is an issue in Europe even in stock motors, I have a 176mm Pulley and on a recent trip to Germany I hit 60 deg C IAT after 3 mid to high speed runs at full throttle. In all honesty the difference in performance would have only been obvious with a stop watch or against another vehicle.

There is a good thread here on mbworld on the matter of pulley size vs hp and boost.
Relationship between pulley size and Boost - MBWorld.org Forums

The theory being that a 168 (Renntech and Kleemann typical size) will achieve 40+hp and a 180 will achieve 78+hp.

The cooling issue seems to stem from the fact the weak link in the chain is the supercharger which is already spinning at its peak efficiency in stock form so as the pulley size goes up the efficiency of the supercharger is ever decreasing creating more heat.

Try this one for further info
Compressor map - MBWorld.org Forums

In the end it all depends on what it is you are looking to achieve:
Is it a very fast but reliable everyday car?
A temperamental but all out monster on the right day?
Drag strip 10 sec car?
A dyno queen/king?


Renntech are a US company but have agents here (PCS/Olly in Horndean)
Eurocharged are also US based (MSL/Acid in Birmingham)
Kleemann Denmark (SKG Performance/Steen Greev in Mayfield)
All 3 tuning companies have vast experience with the 55k engine.

 

[sinewave]

How tuneable will/is the new twin turbo V8 compared to the 55K and 6.2 litre engines?

Have the Yanks fettled one yet does anyone know?

 

[lopes80]

You forgot the 190, 195 and 200 pulley size that are becoming popular in the US right now, Acid has a 200 fitted to his which is probably the only one in the UK at the moment.

Heat is an issue in Europe even in stock motors, I have a 176mm Pulley and on a recent trip to Germany I hit 60 deg C IAT after 3 mid to high speed runs at full throttle. In all honesty the difference in performance would have only been obvious with a stop watch or against another vehicle.

There is a good thread here on mbworld on the matter of pulley size vs hp and boost.
Relationship between pulley size and Boost - MBWorld.org Forums

The theory being that a 168 (Renntech and Kleemann typical size) will achieve 40+hp and a 180 will achieve 78+hp.

The cooling issue seems to stem from the fact the weak link in the chain is the supercharger which is already spinning at its peak efficiency in stock form so as the pulley size goes up the efficiency of the supercharger is ever decreasing creating more heat.

Try this one for further info
Compressor map - MBWorld.org Forums

In the end it all depends on what it is you are looking to achieve:
Is it a very fast but reliable everyday car?
A temperamental but all out monster on the right day?
Drag strip 10 sec car?
A dyno queen/king?


Renntech are a US company but have agents here (PCS/Olly in Horndean)
Eurocharged are also US based (MSL/Acid in Birmingham)
Kleemann Denmark (SKG Performance/Steen Greev in Mayfield)
All 3 tuning companies have vast experience with the 55k engine.

Now theres a man thats done some serious research! Spot on!

 

[RichAJ]

^^ I agree.. pretty impressive knowledge Sav

 

[SavMan]

How tuneable will/is the new twin turbo V8 compared to the 55K and 6.2 litre engines?

Have the Yanks fettled one yet does anyone know?

The 55TT is going to break all the records for mercedes modified cars in terms of 1/4 mile times at least, the tuners have already achieved in 6 months a similar performance that took them 6 years with the 55K.

 

[Alex]

How tuneable will/is the new twin turbo V8 compared to the 55K and 6.2 litre engines?

Have the Yanks fettled one yet does anyone know?

V8TT has a lot higher tuning potential because a) it's a newer engine, b) turbos are easily reconfigured with only a MAP and c) turbos don't need power to run as opposed to the s/c. They weigh a lot less as well. The beauty of the s/c however is in instant delivery of power unlike turbos that need to build up some speed first to run @ full PSI.



OP, does it have to be an E55? V12TT can gain 100HP and HUGE torque with a MAP and further 60-80HP with bigger top mounted intercoolers. £3-4K all in and little to no fabrication.

 

[Cyclone1]

Kleemann K2 if your budget allows. Don't worry about dyno numbers it will be fast.

Hi, yes it will be fast for sure but unfortunately I do get a bit hung up on dyno numbers

The threads added by Savman have been great in that they add a bit of science to what seems to be quite personal opinions as to what is the best recommended route of modification. Your car was the fastest at VMax Starfire of the E55's yet it runs a 168 pulley? Why was your car faster than the one's with larger pulley's fitted, were they not quite right on the day or are your other mods and map more effective?

Jules.