V8SLK

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what a great idea for a section, i'll bet it becomes one of the most popular. i have 3 questions for Dan. my car is an 05 slk55...

1 what is the widest size of tires i can run on 18 or 19 inch rims without scraping or having to modify the body?

2 are there benefits or potentials for damage by running 100 octane pump gas?

3 would running a k&n aircleaner on an otherwise unmodified motor be worthwhile? benefits? downsides?

thanks much...

DansSlk

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Hi mate,

1 - I would not go any larger than 265 on 18 inch alloys the best option i think are 255's they are basically risk free and you should get 235's on the front but to be honest the front tyre's seem adequate size wise to me also by not going overboard on the size you should help your warranty aftermarket parts can void the warranty on the suspension components it they are above certain limits i am afraid i don't know what these limits are in the US but i think the sizes i have provided should be within them and so should 19 inch alloys.

2 - You wont do her any harm running 100 octane gas but it might be above the adaption range of the ECU in that case you won't notice any improvements performance wise as the car will treat it like the maximum number stored in the ECU so my advice would be to give it a shot if you want to 2 or 3 fills of the stuff should make sure that any other fuel left in the tank is used up and see if you notice any difference if you don't i would save the extra cash, if you can try and find fuel with additives for cleaning the engine don't specially add any to the car as that can harm it but the small amounts used in some fuels can help keep her clean.

3 - Don't run a K&N they are oiled and can damage your MAF sensor this will mess up you performance big time and left unchecked can cause permanent engine damage because the ECU cannot correctly measure the incoming air flow rates and adapt accordingly i would use an unoiled performance air filter such as the ones produced by Green since they wont harm your expensive MAF sensor.

Hope this helps and i will get back to you about the max sizes asap.

Cheers
Dan

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dsb

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I can jump in on this too since these concerns are very common and have been discussed umpteen times at MB forums.

1) On the front wheels, you can run 235 wide. That's about the widest you can fit on the stock wheel. Even if you were to get wider wheels (ie 8.5), the wider tire wouldn't fit without modification and I can't think of ONE person that tried anything wider. On the rear, you can fit 265/35/18 or 265/30/19 depending on which wheel you use. AM wheels are best kept at a 9.5 wheel max. 10 wide wheels can cause problems. Also note, 265 /35/18 will have issues on your stock wheels if you lower your car.

2) Dan knows alot more than I do!

3) I have the Green Filters. I like the change. It sounds just slightly different. I hear a little burble as I left off the gas. Not sure about the actual power gains... probably next to nothing.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on this stuff.

dsb

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BTW, like Dan mentioned, 255 would probably be a better bet on the rear stock wheel. It's either 255/35 or 265/35. There's more available in the 265 size but you're running a high risk of the tire rubbing the fender as diff mfr have diff thickness sidewalls. In addition, 265/35 is significantly different in diameter than stock so expect your speedo to be off..

EDIT: I just noticed the title of this thread. Should it just be left for Danslk to answer? If so, sorry for jumping the gun.

V8SLK

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thanks to mein guru and dsb for the quick response and good info... this leads to a follow-up question (which may point out my stupidity). can you provide a link or more info on the green filters? i've never heard of them before.

DansSlk

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Hi mate,

http://www.euroteckmotorsports.com/ these guys sell the green filters just select the SLK tab on the page and you will see them on there.

Hope this helps

Dan

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ssoji

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Hi Dan,
Have been looking for new air filters for SLK 350.
You mentioned above that oiled filters would cause damage to MAF sensor.
From previous message threads it seems green filters for the SLK 55 dont fit in the SLK 350. Correct me if this is wrong.

x-t-c.com is advertising sports air filters for the 350 and describes them as per this quote from their web site:

"XT Sportfilter for SLK350 (R171) XTREME high flow cotton gauze air filter is washable, reusable and built to last for the life of an automotive engine. The filters consist of various sheets of cotton gauze layered between two sheets of wire mesh. This media is pleated and oiled to enhance its filtering capabilities and overall performance. The result is an air filter that allows much more air into an engine, is washable and reusable IMPORTANT! For this car are two filter-elements requiered."

Are all oiled filters going to cause damage to the MAF sensor (such as the one from x-t-c) or just the ones from K&N?

Thanks for your opinion,

Scott

DansSlk

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Hi Scott,

From experience Green don't make the filters for the 350 but another member on the forum jbanks15 brought the same ones you did and he said that they where not oiled so i would just ignore what it says on the site about the oil and buy them if thats what you want since they don't actually appear to be oiled.

Hope this helps

Dan

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DansSlk

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Ah right OK Bill i have ordered my Green's but have not received them yet i just knew from experience that K&N is not good when it comes to MAF's.

Maybe jbanks15 will chime in since he actually has these performance filters that x-t-c sell for the 350 so hopefully he can say for sure if they are oiled or not they look more like the K&N type filters but they don't say who actually makes the things.

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jliu

if your going to max tire size ... I wouldn't recommend the Michelin pilot Sports ... they are supposed to have the squarest side wall. I switched to Goodyear GSD3's and 0 rubbing with no mods.

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Dan and Bill,
Thanks for the response.
It seems the oil issue may be a relative thing.
Might wait to see if a part no. becomes available for the MB special sports air filter for the SLK

DansSlk

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Glad to help

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etyu

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You may want to subscribe to this thread then: http://www.slkworld.com/ask-dansslk/...280-350-a.html

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Pewter/Beige, PIII package, Airscarf, Hands-Free Communication System, Lighting package
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biker451

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Dan,
After reading about K&N filters not being used for cars with MAF sensors I wrote to K&N and asked them about it. As I've been running K&N filters in every vehicle I've owned for the last 15 years this got me a bit worried. As a matter of fact I'd just ordered one for my new to me SLK 230 the day before reading your post so it was already on its way to me.

According to K&N this is an Urban Legend.. They have articles about it at>
http://www.knfilters.com/news/news.aspx?ID=422
and
http://www.knfilters.com/MAF/massair.htm

DansSlk

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Hi biker451,

While i am sure K&N are not trying to deceive anyone and from the article is states somewhere that they always tell the truth you have to understand they need to sell the filters to keep the company alive so information received from them on the effect parts produced by them have on cars should be treated as suspect.

Like tuning companies will show you dyno charts with huge gains from things like ECU upgrades this is of course crap as the ECU has at the most 10BHP extra to be extracted from it and if you where to have one of these upgrades done and then dyno it yourself you would agree with this statement unless of course the ECU was modded as part of a larger upgrade process and then it is different has the hardware changes to the engine itself are often providing the performance increases seem and the ECU is tuned to work with these upgrades.

I can't just post DAS printouts from customers cars because of the data protection acts here in the UK but next time i have a car in that has a faulty MAF i will ask permission to post the diag report.

I take offence to the part of the article where they say most places don't have the necessary skills and tools to properly diagnose the MAF sensor and it shows how little they actually know the SDS system contains full instructions on how to test a MAF using various different tools and the results a healthy unit should provide and all techs are given training in addition to what is provided by the computer during the certification course they are required to pass.

The point here is the oil must be of a very exact amount as it appears to be on Green Filters since Bill pointed out that they are actually oiled i always thought that they where not as i have never had a single problem where i could say they caused the original fault i cannot say the same about K&N where the oiling process seems to be to dunk the filter in a barrel of the stuff and ship it out how they can say that oil does not get removed from the surface of the filter simply baffles me anybody who has placed a hand near a unshielded engine intake will tell you that there is considerable suction provided by the engine in fact AMG policy says no tools are to be left near the engine intakes during testing in case the thing sucks them in and we are talking about torque wrenches and stuff here so unless the oil is 100% absorbed by the filter and it never is then it is simply a fact that some oil will enter the engine and in doing so will come into contact with the MAF and its heating process is not designed to remove oil and the oil simply sticks to the wires crossing the opening.

I have nothing go gain from saying K&N are over zealous with the oil just like i have nothing to gain from saying Green's are better when it comes to the MAF so i have no reason to lie about any of this unlike a company who lives from producing these things.

I can assure you that this is far from a myth my friend a good place to look would be a BMW M3 forum where is seems to be common practice to fit a K&N and then promptly remove it again.

I will try and get permission to post i diag report next time a car comes in with a faulty MAF and i will also take some pics to post up here.

Hopefully this reply goes part way to helping justify my comments.

Dan

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dsb

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My Green Filters were very lightly oiled. However, as a precaution, I l left them to sit on a paper towel for a day. That way, it can soak up any excess oil.

In addition, I will never re-oil the filters. Yes, I know they are designed to last a long time, but I do not wish to accidentally use too much oil. When the time comes, I will merely buy new filters.

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biker451

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Very interesting stuff. One thing about K & N that I've noticed over the years is that I've seen owners re-oil them quite heavily. That might happen because most of my friends are old enough to remember "Oil-bath" filtering systems and our poor feeble minds think "if a little oil is good, then a lot must be better." <grin> For myself I just replace even the K & N every 15,000 miles or so. Always looked at the cost as just good insurance, so I've never really re-oiled one myself but I have seen others literally bath the things in oil.

In reading the "Green" site it didn't seem all that different than K & N, other than in color, and I get the impression that it gives up great filtering to get less restriction. I'm not sure that is a good thing, but that being said I did a bit of searching for them and found their #2245 for the SLK 230 which lists for $62.40 USd on Amazon.com for $28.34 each, which seemed like a very good price indeed. Put "B000CMFI5I" in the search box at Amazon.com. or click here: http://www.amazon.com/Green-Filter-2...8&s=automotive

I guess I'll buy one of them also and give it a try.

DansSlk

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biker451,
Like Bill posted in the sticky thread about the K&N study most of the problems are caused by over oiling the thing but i also know from experience that K&N are very heavy with the oil when compared to other companies so there filters always start with plenty of oil on them too much in my opinion and then when end users come along and add even more to it the problem just gets worse.

You have the right idea replacing the thing man.

About the green's i know a lot of people using them including people on this board and none have had any problems so i think the filtering abilities are fine so i would not worry about that, i always thought that they where dry so to speak but Bill said that they are actually oiled but that they don't use much oil so thats a good thing.

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