Reference this thread for SL55 vs SRT Y-Pipe (air distributor) comparisons:
https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum/showthread.php?p=169393#post169393


I just installed it tonight. Read below for the details.

First impressions (hope to get track time next week, and possible dyno with and without this weekend):

• Low end torque DEFINITELY feels like it increased! From a stop, the throttle seems like it is a good bit more responsive and feels like it lays down the power a little quicker. I did a 45-100mph run and noticed quite a difference in sound and feel. First gear punch will easily roast the tires with traction off, same from 2nd with high enough RPM's. ALL OF THIS WITHOUT the sprint booster installed! (had it off for dealer work). Hopefully I can dyno it to verify this is actual gains and not just excitement. I'm pretty sure there is tangible benefit though, especially for the low cost.
• Supercharger much more audible. You don't just hear the 'whine' now, but you actually hear the 'chirp' that they make...not obnoxious, but with the radio off, you definitely hear it. Especially on high RPM runs, and when letting off the gas from a high RPM without the car shifting to the higher gear (letting the car engine-brake)...but even at idle it is audible. The cars intake sound is also more aggressive.
• Best of all - it looks factory, and I didn't have to cut or modify anything that came on the car, so I can put it back to stock if I need to take the car in for warranty work. I am doing this research for a friend of mine who wants to retain the stock look of the engine cover and air boxes but still help the breathing of the car. I plan to add different intake tubes and what not later, and will update it as I progress.

Here's a few pics - install info below:

1. Here's how it went. Uninstall the stock inlet tubes, PCV(?) breather hose from the drivers inlet tube, and then uninstall the stock Y-Pipe.
   If you haven't installed K&N filters yet, you will have non re-usable clamps on the airboxes. Remove these with a flathead screwdriver...use the tip to 'lift' the clamped end and 'open' it. You'll see what I mean. Your couplers will come with clamps.
2. After the clamps are removed, you'll need to remove the PCV(?) breather hose off of the drivers inlet tube. This just slides out. Now, pull the inlet tubes off of the car. They are flexible, so don't worry about using some force. However, The stock rubber inlet tubes are 'sealed' to the factory Y-Pipe....so it may take some effort. I later used a razor blade to clean the residual sealant off of the inside of the rubber tubes.
3. Now that the inlet tubes are off, pull off the factory Y-Pipe. The Y Pipe has a clip on top, and a clip on the bottom. Look at your new SL55 Y-Pipe to see how it works. You lift the end of the top clip closest to the nose of the car, pull the Y-Pipe towards the firewall,and it pulls right off of the throttle body. You should now have the stock Y Pipe and stock inlet tubes off the car, and the PCV Breather hose detached.
4. I then used dawn soap for lube, and installed the factory rubber inlet tubes onto the SL55 Y Pipe. They are a very tight fit, but it went on and sealed just like they should.
5. You now have the stock inlet tubes installed on the SL55 Y Pipe. At this point, I installed the Y-Pipe and tubes to see how it worked. The SL55 Y-Pipe is not as wide as the Stock one, so the inlet tubes didn't reach the air boxes to seal it all up. So, I purchased 2ea. 2"x2" 'Flexible Couplings' made by American Value. I bought them at Lowe's for less than $5/ea. in the plumbing section near all of the black rubber couplings.
   When looking at the coupler, there is a 'ridge' on the far outsides, one on each end, to allow the clamp to stay on the coupler. On one end of the coupler, I cut JUST this ridge off...making the 1/2" on the end of the coupler smaller than the rest of it. This 'thinner' end slides into the stock inlet tubes perfectly. forming a good seal. The other end slides over the stock airbox outlets perfectly (you may need soap to help them slide). Install a clamp on the airboxes, and you're good to go other than the PCV(?) breather hose.
6. For the breather hose, I removed the 'coupler' that is on the end of the hose. I then inserted a 2 1/2" x 1/2" PVC Coupler ($.46 @ lowes) between the stock hose and the stock inlet tube fitting. The piece I bought is hard PVC, gray, and threaded. It should stay in just fine...but I plan to replace it later with flexible hose like the factory stuff.

Now you're set!

I also plan to install a clamp on the Y-Pipe connections just for insurance, but I need to go buy some that are large enough. I believe they will be 3" or 4", I will need to check.

The hardest part was getting the coupler to slide into the stock inlet tube WHILE they were both installed. I was trying to force the coupler inside of the inlet tube, and kept pushing the inlet tube off of the Y-Pipe. I believe if I would've clamped the stock inlet tubes onto the Y-Pipe, this wouldn't have been as difficult.

Also, one thing you will notice when installing the Y-Pipe: The stock Y-Pipe points almost perfectly horizontal. The SL55 one points up at about a 20-30* angle, which puts the inlet tubes higher than the air box openings. If you 'rotate' or 'clock' the inlet tubes while they are on the Y-Pipe, you can get them lined up perfectly with the Airboxes because of the way they are shaped from the factory. You have to do this to get a good seal between everything. Make sure the couplers are not touching the metal areas up top as these get quite warm.

Words of caution:

• Make sure you rotate the inlet tubes to line up with the air box openings.
• Watch out for the 'heat shrouds' or they will cut you.
• Let the engine cool down prior to working on it.
• Clamp the Y-Pipe/Inlet tube joints AND the airbox/inlet tube joints!
• Make sure to clean the sealant off of the inside of the inlet tubes by scraping or peeling it off. Make sure all of the residue is OUT of the tubes before installing to prevent them from getting in the Throttle Body
• Make sure to extend and re-connect the PCV hose!
• Make sure the shape of the couplers are 'round' when they are installed into the stock inlet tubes. Due to have to distort the shape to install them, they have a tendency to 'fold' if you don't check them, and flatten them all out.
• Double check the seal all around between the Y-Pipe and the Inlet Tubes.
• Listen and check for leaks prior to driving.
• Drive a short distance - let the car sit for a minute to 'heat soak' the intercooler boxes on top. Check to make sure the couplers are not melting against the sides of the aluminum plenums.

This sounds a LOT harder than it was.

Parts Needed:

1. 1ea. SL55 y-pipe MB Part # 1130940103 - $63.75 @ oempartsdirect.com (Try a discount code 8253 for a little savings if it still works). I bought mine used on mbworld.org for $45
2. 2ea. 2" x 2" Flexible Coupler made by American Valve.com- $4.37/ea. @ lowes
3. Piece of tubing to extend the PCV Valve breather line - haven't verified size of this as I used a hard piece of PVC temporarily. Will update.
4. Clamps for Y-Pipe/Inlet Hose connection.

Tools used:

• Single Edge Razor Blade
• Flat-Head ScrewDriver
• Dish Soap for lubrication

Time to install now that I know how everything works - <30mins

Hope this helps!

SQ

 

Now this is what I've been waiting for, a great guide with part numbers! Thank you very much, ShawnQ. I plan on doing this upgrade immediately, especially since you did all of the pathfinding. Thanks again!

 

No prob!

Just make sure to rotate the inlet tubes on the SL55 y-pipe, this will make it MUCH easier in the long run. I was trying to make it all work and was somewhat stumped until I simply twisted the inlet tubes. Voila!

I will update the clamp and PCV hose info when I get it tomorrow.

I would like to make some inlet tubes that do not have the ridges in them, and have a consistent size/shape...I am going to look into this too. I don't think it is a huge concern, but it couldn't hurt.

SQ

 

Good job, nice to know for sure the SL55 "Y" will fit the intake. I wonder if the SL55 hose's are longer than our stock one's to make up the 2 inches.
Thanks for letting us know for sure that the SL55 "Y" will fit our cars, I've read threads about it, but I don't think it was ever stated for sure that it would fit.

 

Sounds a great alternative/comprimise........Would the SL55 rubber pipes reach the srt6 std airboxes without have to modify the existing ones ?

 

Great work and write up Shawn.

I look forward to installing this Y-pipe and SL55 AMG V8 Airbox next week.

 

Steve/Simon,

I am under the assumption that the SL55 inlet pipes MAY work. However, I haven't been able to put my hands on them so I can't say for sure.

Here are the part numbers:

Left - 1130942382
Right - 1130942482

They are around $20/ea.

I was going to purchase them, but one would have to ship out of New Jersey (to TX), and the other out of Germany - so who knows how long it would take.

There is a guy on MBWorld selling the SL55 Air-boxes and inlet tubes if anyone is interested, but I think he wants like $225 for the setup.

I will likely try to make my own inlet tubes with less restriction. We'll see what I can come up with.

SQ

 

I'm thinking I can likely make one of these work:

http://www.siliconeintakes.com/produ...385889d7cb94dc

The Y-Pipe inlets are ~3" (although not a perfect circular shape), so a 3" coupler should be able to fit onto the Y as long as it is flexible.

The Airbox outlets worked with the 2" couplers I already bought. Again, they aren't a perfect circle, but the 2" piece fit fine.

I may buy a pair and see if they fit. I think they may be too short though.

SQ

 

This looks pretty cool. I'm really looking forward to haw it compares the NeedsWings setup as far as power. This looks to be a great stealth and low budget mod.

Now if you could do the same thing for the Y-pipe coming out of the intercooler, then I'll be a very happy camper!

 

Hey guys,

After the replies I got to this on MBworld.org http://forums.mbworld.org/forums/sho...2&goto=newpost ,

I think I've come to the conclusion that the Stock SL55 Inlet hoses (which are now sold WITH the SL55 Y-Pipe) also require some minor modification to make them fit...But not as much as these stock ones.

SO, you would likely be better off buying the SL55 Y-Pipe WITH intake hoses...and modifying the SL55 Intake hoses to fit. This will cost you around $120 IIRC.

The part # I posted above is the Y-Pipe ONLY..
The part # with inlet tubes AND Y-Pipe should be : 1130900129

Purchase the Y-Pipe WITH the inlet tubes if you want to make it a little easier (but more $$).

SQ

 

I doubt it will compare to the NeedsWings kit because we still have restrictions on the intake - but it does feel like it helped it breathe at least a little better.

And, it was under $60 as it is.

I plan to dyno as soon as I can.

SQ

 

I just e-mailed oempartsdirect with the part #1130900129 to make sure that it does include the "Y" and both hose's. I'm waiting on a reply, I tried to just call them, but both #'s you get a fax machine.

 

First of all, I will run on the dyno on Saturday at 10am - Dynojet dyno. I'll do it with and without if and see what comes of it. Hopefully the air is decent.

A little more reasearch on MBWorld.org ...

It seems that the Inside Diameter of the SL55 Intake hose are LARGER than the outside diameter of our stock air boxes.

BUT, they are the correct length.

So, basically, people are buying the same 2" coupler I bought, and cutting two pieces off of it about 1/2" wide. They use these pieces as a sleeve to make the O.D. of our stock airboxes larger, and therefore able to fit the SL55 intake tubes.

So, easiest way to do this - buy the SL55 Y Pipe WITH the Intake tubes, buy a 2" rubber coupler and cut a small section off as a sleeve. Done.

I had to go and do it the hard way...

SQ

 

Shawn,

Thanks for the great write up. I just ordered the Y pipe. Can't wait to install it.

Thanks,
Steve

 

very good write up can't wait am adding it to my winter mods

 

Had a read on the MB thread. So I need to source a piece of pipe to "Pad out" the difference in Air box size to make the Stock SL55 pipe fit the SRT-6 boxes and the lenght is correct. Wow this looks so simple, if I can source the pipe required to do the mod to the airbox in the UK.

I ordered the 1130940103 (Y tube and pipes) for £65 icl VAT ($123.50 ish) today, deleivery on tuesday next week.

Does the new Y pipe (SL55) fit straight onto the SRT-6 throttle body without any modification ?

Really excited now, but will have to wait till next weekend to fit it !!!!!

Cheers,
Si

 

When entering part number 1130940103 at oempartsdirect.com, I am prompted with six choices with that number. Are the parts all the same, or do some of them come with the aforementioned airbox pipes?

Edit- Nevermind, just noticed the post about part number 1130900129. I'll be buying that kit then instead.

 

sorry for any confusion on my last post, i meant to say I ordered the 1130900129 (Y intake and pipes)

 

Simon,

Go here:
http://www.americanvalve.com/flexcon...couplings.html

See if you can source something similar in the UK - any hardware/home store (if you all have those) should have it, or a plumbing supply.

If you look where the clamps seat, the coupling actually has a recessed area. I'm not sure if the recessed area is the right thickness, or the wider area outside the clamps. Either way, this piece cost $5u.s. or less

I used the 2"x2" coupler, and it stretches to fit VERY snug. Snug enough to where you use something to help it slide on, and possibly even heat it a bit to make it more flexible.

Hope this helps.

SQ

 

Forgot to mention - check this site out:
http://www.siliconintakes.com/

And, there are a TON of 2" x 2" couplers on Ebay if that is easier...

SQ