Hi Everyone,

I'd really like to get more out of my E430. Does anyone have any suggestions on what modifications I could do to get a quicker response and also more power from the 4.3 litre V8.

Car is stock standard other than the exhaust system (which i know most will look at as a sin!) well thats what the authorised Mercedes shop expressed to me when i first bought the car and had them check it over) Apparently MB spent huge amounts of money on the design of the exhausts to be a quiet V8 and i've gone and added a twin flow master system!

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Does an after market air filter make much difference? Hard to install?

Thanks

 

I just ask WHY must you make it go quicker?

If you must, any number of "tuning" firms will re-programme the engine ECU and alter the MB compromise of power / smoothness / consumption / emissions / longevity etc etc.

Yep you can make it go quicker but to what end?
Wear your tyres out more quickly?
7.8 sec to 60 vs 7.9 sec. (out of the hat figures)

A different air filter (easy to fit) will make little to no difference and may well end up giving you all sorts of issues with the engine management system.

 

Thanks for the advise Snanceki

Truth be known the reason i want more from the vehicle is I have have been beaten twice off the mark from standing point both at traffic lights by BMW540i and i'm curious if the 540i is the model that would be in direct competition with my E430 because if is it then i expect more from my car.
Both have a nearly same size engine. Maybe they are just quicker off the mark? I'm not sure as i have not drivin one?
Maybe i should just save my pennies and buy the E55 (that I expect would teach the 540i a lesson)

 

Engine power/torque (rather than size) and vehicle weight are the things that most impact acceleration time.

Your MB didn't set out to be the fastest thing on 4 wheels.
I suspect without looking up the figures that both the power/torque is down and the weight up on yoiur MB vs the BMW.

Manufacturers model designations don't accurately identify engine size. They are used to show where a model comes in the "lineup" and sometimes numbers bigger than the real engine size are used, sometimes the reverse.

The current MB 280 designation refers to a 3.0 litre engine. May also be the case for BMW.

Stuart

 

Year for year, the5 series V8 hasusually been a bit quicker then the E class V8.A bit more HP and a bit more torque. If all you are interested in is a drag race, just change out your rear diff to say a 3,50:1and have a run at it. Much cheaper then an E55.

 

I put a K&N air filter in my E320 at 118K miles. I just rolled over 175K miles and have had to clean it only 3 times. Engine management troubles? Not me. Mileage? 25 in mixed and over 30 hwy each and every single time.

Get your engine tuned up if it is not already. Lighten the load by getting crap out of the trunk.

Cool about the exhaust. If it works and you like it, go for it.

Maybe someone will chime in with some real performance tips. I'm afraid that I can't offer much. Good luck.[sm=vader.gif]

 

You can ad power pullies/software/headers/ center muffler delete

 

Baloo - after becoming an MB owner about a year ago with an e500 sport, and then thinking about having some fun tuning it a bit and joining this forum recently, my advice is to think about what car you want to get next to have fun with. From what I can tell on this forum, the majority of owners have never touched a wrench in their life and want very little to do with the performance DNA in their car. Take for example the first reply asking why must you make it go quicker? This is fairly consistent with the majority of what I have been reading when doing a search for horsepower, and performance in this forum. The proof is also in the absence of aftermarket products made for these cars, the owners haven't created demand, so there is very little innovation or supply. Of course these same owners are convinced they bought a near formula one racing engine, where each part and system had millions invested into research. The irony is that the engineers having understood their market, probably restricted the intake & exhaust reducing HP, because they are fully aware their clientele won't tolerate a throaty exhaust. Now for all of you MB owners who are performance enthusiasts, please forgive me for grouping you with the others I have read. Ohlord seems the most knowledgable on the site, but even he believes the MB engineers squeezed every drop of performance out of these cars within the reasonable cost of increasing HP. There is always give and take: increased fuel economy, decreased performance; how about meeting emissions regulations and restricting exhaust - some car forums will even discuss breaking the law and removing these restrictive elements. In all fairness, ohlord may be right, but I haven't read one post where someone actually tried an ECU chip or flash, gutted the cats, tried a new intake, and then did a pre and post dyno to discuss the results. After spending a few hours on this site, I am now not suprised, these just aren't the type of owners to be doing this sort of thing. That is fine - their answer for more horsepower is "buy the next bigger engine". For us that have enjoyed improving our vehicles in the past using our own hands, trial and error and reaping those rewards (yes improving .1 0-60 is fulfilling for some of us), and were lured by the beautiful lines of the Mercedes Benz, it's legendary engineering, etc...I say take a look at what you are going to buy next time. Some manufacturers have embraced the movement, TRD. PS - I feel sorry for the moderator who is trying desperately to interject some ideas for those who get lambasted by the geriatrics when an unsuspecting newbie asks how to improve performance. Poor guy, just trying to have a lively forum of "enthusiasts" vs. grandpa's wanting to find out how to fix that light on the dashboard.

 

transmission adaptation program on a weekly basis.Use manual mode and shift just below rev limiter.Race on the track.Retain your factory air intake,just make sure your filter is renewed yearly.www.autohausaz.com has them cheap.