Okay, so I got tired of the stock Benz air cleaner and decided to do something about it. That danged thing is heavy! 22+ pounds, 10 kilos for you enlightened folks. That is a lot of weight to have whipping around on top of the engine on those chintzy little rubber mounts and the one stud on the TBI unit. So, even though I preferred the "stock" look it was time for it to go.

Spent some time brainstorming, searching on the web and general head scratching and came up with a solution.

I used a Spectre part # 9849 TBI "hat" for the cover over the TBI. Its main draw back was it is a 4" opening. No big deal, just used a 4"-3" coupling adapter. I ran the inlet (Vibrant Performance 3" 45 degree tube) down to an air filter housing I scrounged at the Pic'N'Pull. It's off a mid 90's GM product, Buick, Pontiac, Chevrolet, whatever they're all the same. The nice thing is it uses a standard filter available from any auto parts store for about $14. Much easier on the wallet than the $65 + stock M110 filter. Came out pretty slick but there is a big drawback. Now I can see all the wiring and linkage shortcuts which were hidden by the "flying saucer". Sigh, it's always something. I guess I'll spend tomorrow straightening out that mess and prettying up the undone things. Less than 10 lbs total AND more than half of the weight is mounted solid on the body. The TBI hood only weighs about 3 lbs and that is located directly on the TBI unit so no "flopping".

Pic #1. The nice SHINY, polished pieces. I HATE shiny!


Pic #2 Scuffed that nasty ol' shine right off the parts using some 100 grit.


Pic #3. A coat of primer, an undercoat of "hammer finish" black and a top coat of high temp semi-flat.


Pic #4. A side view of the piping. Now that I can see them, those plug wires look like an octopus missing a leg.


Pic #5. A top view showing the filter housing and all the wiring mess I get to straighten out. Believe it or not, the washer bottle still fits! I did lose the bracket with all the non-working relays and mystery wiring though. I'll probably install a brace running from the fender well up to the front wall. I seriously doubt it was for support but better safe than sorry.


In retrospect I would suggest using 3" aluminiumized exhaust pipe in place of the 45 degree piece I have. The angle is a bit more than 45 degrees, probably 60 degrees for a smoother fit. 3" is pretty standard exhaust size so any muffler shop would be able to bend you up a piece for probably $10-$20. Cheaper than the $29 I spent on the shiny piece which I cut 4" off each end and scuffed up.

So performance and fuel mileage? What are we seeing?

__________________
With best regards

Al

Jeez, Al, I just put the air system on today! Give me at least a week to get an idea.

I got upper 15's the last tank. I ran it up to ahem, a bit over the posted speed limit on the interstate with no problem. Let's just say, I went 20 miles in less than 15 minutes and it never missed a lick. That was with the stock air cleaner.

I've bonked the new system around town a bit and it SEEMS to be more responsive at 3/4's to full throttle but it might be just an impression. It is indeed a different sound. Not the "whoosh" I was getting with the after-market round air cleaner or the heavy "sigh" which seems to be the norm for the stock cleaner. It is more of a "deep breath" sound. Could just be resonance but I should imagine not being choked down to the 2" oval opening of the old cleaner has got to help, especially with the fuel injection.

Still not ready to go out and challenge those "ricers" yet but I'm feeling pretty cocky about mini-vans!

That must be pretty impressive

2012 Dodge Caravan Engine & Performance

Base engine size: 3.6 L
Cam type: Double overhead cam (DOHC)
Cylinders: V6
Valves: 24
Valve timing: Variable
Torque: 260 ft-lbs. @ 4400 rpm
Horsepower: 283 hp @ 6400 rpm
Turning circle: 39.1 ft.

Base engine type: flex-fuel (FFV)

__________________
With best regards

Al

Oh great, pop my bubble!

6400 RPMs? What engineering genius came up with that? I wonder how long it takes for those sleds to get to 6400 RPM's under load?

I'm not sure but it's supposed to do 0-60 in 7 seconds . I love what you've done to that car. I really need to figure it how to install MS.

__________________
With best regards

Al

Dayumm! 0-60 in 7 seconds? Maybe I better lower my sights to UPS, Fed-ex and school buses! UPS trucks are the easiest to beat. They never go more than a block without stopping!

WHICH car are you looking to MS?

Quite a few actually.

My 6.3 and 71 280SL both have mechanical injection pumps which will probably cost considerable money to rebuild.

Then there are my Jaguar XJ12's. They use D-Jetronic, except it's made by Lucas. Yes.... Lucas made D-jetronic...it really doesn't get any better .

__________________
With best regards

Al

Makes perfect sense. I mean, Lucas is known as "The prince of darkness". Consider it an upgrade. When the car catches on fire you have light to see the problem by!

Hah! I'm hi-jacking my own thread!

Oops... sorry... back on topic

__________________
With best regards

Al

Mike D, i also have a M110 engine, could you post the flash file that you have already tweaked, this would be of great help for anyone williing to try this setup

Wow, found this thread while searching for WUR adjustment info. I have a 1985 280te that has an M110 and four speed (standard) from a Euro 280se (wish I had noticed the electric speedo)I would like to know what mileage you are getting. wonderful project. I am in Albuquerque.

Mike D, that would be the .MSQ file.

Ha ha ha ! That's funny.

Gerardo, I wish I could keep a single tune long enough to recommend settings. I have too much fun changing stuff around.

My basic tune was evolved from using the default settings with a couple of adjustments. Since then I've been playing with Tuner Studio's Analyzer settings. I'm having a bit of a struggle getting the O2 readings down at an idle. My cruise O2 is doing fine but I haven't figured out the problem with idle. I don't know whether it is the O2 sensor being so far back in the system (it's a heated narrow band sensor back where the pipes meet) or the fact the TBI unit is not allowing enough vacuum at idle (one of the curses of the hemispherical combustion chamber which is why MB added the auxiliary vacuum pump to begin with) to properly disperse the fuel.

I'm running 6 squirts simultaneous because it gives me a smoother idle. I tried alternating which brought the O2 down but gave me a lumpy idle and a definite decrease in mid-range power. The O2 isn't too bad, .8 volts but I'd like to get it down to at least the .6 range without it surging all over the place.

I'll post you up a file when I feel I have a good solid tune.