MSL / Torque Flow X Pipe System

[Cyclone1]

Full system looking from the rear of the car.


Front of the system with the secondary cats removed and replaced


The X pipe


X pipe going into the straight pipes that replace the Resonator


Straight pipes close up!


Looking from the X Pipe to the rear of the car


It needed more sound, so this time I went down the Torque Flow route at MSL. I had the secondary cats and resonator removed and replaced with an X Pipe and then straight pipes. Being an awkward customer I asked for a subtle difference to the standard X pipe system to be applied, of which Imran had no issue with. I watched some of the system being crafted and it was great to see a professional doing their job well. As always a great experience at MSL.

Sound wise it's not as loud as I expected, maybe I've been out of a 55k too long. Maybe I got my calculations wrong, although I think it's just me!

It also sounds different to my old CLS55 and this is the sound I wanted. However, given the build of this system is different to my old system, then it was never going to be the same, it's not as deep nor smooth sounding if that makes sense.

That aside............

It sounds bloody AMAZING!!!!!!!!

It's the only way to enjoy an AMG......

Jules

 

[JDMUK]

Do headers or gut the back boxes lol I have it on my e55 and its perfect

 

[John]

It's threads like these that re-ignite my enthusiasm for the old 55s like mine.

:bannana:

 

[AMGeed]

Glad you are happy with the sound Jules. Imran certainly is a craftsman and meticulous in his work.
I'd say my x-pipe is a good 300mm closer to the engine than yours. You are lucky in that the CLS back boxes are louder than my E55's to start with.

 

[Grovsie31]

Looks fantastic. Im really thinking about doing similar to my C55.

Does it drone at cruising speeds?

 

[JDMUK]

What difference did you have done to the x pipe? I tempted to have my poorly designed x pipe removed and an h pipe put in

 

[Cyclone1]

Glad you are happy with the sound Jules. Imran certainly is a craftsman and meticulous in his work.
I'd say my x-pipe is a good 300mm closer to the engine than yours. You are lucky in that the CLS back boxes are louder than my E55's to start with.

Yes you are right, there is about 20-30cm of straight pipe before the X, this is too allow a smoother flow through the X, theoretically it is right, but at the slight expense of being moved away from the engine (flow balancing occurs very slightly later, but with less impact if that makes sense).

Jules.

 

[Cyclone1]

Looks fantastic. Im really thinking about doing similar to my C55.

Does it drone at cruising speeds?

There is no drone from this system.

Jules

 

[Cyclone1]

What difference did you have done to the x pipe? I tempted to have my poorly designed x pipe removed and an h pipe put in

The X section itself is really good internally (forgot to take a photo!), the flow through it should be spot on with no mis-matched dimensions or "sharp" turns.

Normal systems are 2.5inch all the way which then marries up to the 2.5/2.6inch at the front of the exhaust / secondary cats, through to the section that fully replaces the resonator section. I asked for 2.75inch on the exit of the X and apart from the slightly longer entry to the X this is the only subtle difference. My reason for this is as follows;

Std Exhaust
Secondary Cats 2.5/2.7 inch
Pipe after secondary cats and into resonator 2.75
Post resonator to back boxes 2.75

Std Exhaust replaced with 2.5inch X Pipe System
2.5 all the way from secondary cats to resonator section
Post resonator to back boxes 2.75

My Exhaust
Secondary Cats replacement pipe 2.5
X Pipe section 2.5
Post X pipe through the resonator section 2.75
Rest of system to back boxes 2.75 (std system)

My ex CLS 55 System
Small section of 2.5 pipe to link to X pipe
X Pipe section was 2.75 (different type of X)
Post X pipe through to resonator section 2.5
Rest of system to back boxes 2.75 (std system)

Slightly different configurations but I was looking for a clean flow hence the progressive increase in size.

The benefit of going to 2.5in is that it recreates backflow pressure that removing the cats and resonator loses. If you go too big say 3in, then on a standard or stage 1 modified car then this can have a noticeable negative effect. For example low down torque will suffer but with the offset being a gain at the higher end of the rev range. This is less marginal I guess though when comparing 2.5 / 2.75 inch systems.

On my old CLS55 it showed torque figures that were a touch lower than comparably modified cars, but more torque / power further up the rev range. This "could" have been down to the exhaust, or other factors....

Jules.

 

[nico2014]

Fantastic job i have to say! Do you have a video you could share so we could appreciate the new exhausts sound? Would love to hear them!!

 

[Alps]

stick some c63 rear boxes and some headers in and it will sound immense

 

[simon1966]

Nice work Jules and I like your thoughts on pipe sizes in relation to retaining some back pressure.

It would be interesting to get your car back on the MSL dyno to see if the power and torque figures have changed much. I've always thought this mod did little regarding power, but maybe losses in torque. I know changing the sound characteristics is of course the primary aim.

 

[Cyclone1]

Nice work Jules and I like your thoughts on pipe sizes in relation to retaining some back pressure.

It would be interesting to get your car back on the MSL dyno to see if the power and torque figures have changed much. I've always thought this mod did little regarding power, but maybe losses in torque. I know changing the sound characteristics is of course the primary aim.

It's an interesting match between the right pipe dimensions, how back pressure is created / reduced and how well the gases flow. Quite a few variables to determine the most optimal flow but it can be done.

My old system definitely flowed well at the top end, but lost out marginally to yours and Billys at the bottom end of the rev range. To me this can only be down to the fact I had a 2.75 X pipe versus either standard set up or 2.5 X pipe.

I would have put it on the dyno but Acid and Sarim are away. I'll do it the next time I am down there though as I am also interested to see what affect it has had on the AFR. On my first map post the pulley going on it needed a bit of tweaking to perfect, so gut feel is that the AFR will have changed.

Jules.

 

[simon1966]

Would be interesting to see results Jules.

For some reason my car has always seemed to give strong torque figures compared with most, even if bhp may have been down a little. As you know my main section of the exhaust is back to stock so I have all my original cats and resonator. I never felt my car drove as well with the resonator and secondary cats removed. It just seemed less responsive which I can only put down to losing some back pressure. I never had my car on the dyno at the time with my system modded, but I would guess it may have been a little better at the top end, but maybe slightly worse at lower end

 

[Cyclone1]

Would be interesting to see results Jules.

For some reason my car has always seemed to give strong torque figures compared with most, even if bhp may have been down a little. As you know my main section of the exhaust is back to stock so I have all my original cats and resonator. I never felt my car drove as well with the resonator and secondary cats removed. It just seemed less responsive which I can only put down to losing some back pressure. I never had my car on the dyno at the time with my system modded, but I would guess it may have been a little better at the top end, but maybe slightly worse at lower end

I'll get mine dyno'd and post up the results, it will show any obvious changes. I think it will need tweaking again but should only be a minor adjustment. My maps not bad but would benefit from Jerry tweaking like he did when over at the dyno day at MSL, driveability after that map was superb, no low down pauses and it even improved the jerkiness at 1800ish rpm, with the closed loop issue.

It's all good and great to be back in an AMG...

Jules.