Mercedes CLA45 AMG Intake R&D, Part 4: Final Prototype
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Mishimoto Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG Performance Air Intake
It is a pretty exciting week here at Mishimoto! All our final prototype components for this awesome intake system have arrived. We have plenty of images to share, and we are excited to get our test vehicle back in the shop to confirm our final design.
Final Prototype Inlet Hose
One of the most discussed pieces included in this kit is our turbocharger inlet hose. This piece connects the turbocharger compressor housing to the airbox unit and is a vital component within the system. A couple of sensors are located within the stock unit and must be retained on our design.
The stock inlet hose is of a rubber material; our counterpart is constructed from a combination of silicone and CNC-machined (CNC) aluminum. We were able to mold our CNC aluminum sensor housing into the hose itself, creating a leak-free connection that will provide ample durability for a long duration.
On to the pictures of our prototype!
A look from the inside of this tube showing the ports. Note our subtle logo on the exterior of the hose in this shot.
You can also see a lip toward the end of this hose; this portion meets with the turbocharger compressor inlet. We have incorporated this lip so the hose will butt-up against the housing flange just like the stock unit. Below is a closer look.
This image also gives you a look at the thickness of the inlet hose we have created. This piece is a four-ply unit for optimal durability and resistance against any damage.
Inlet Tube CFD Analysis
One feature of this inlet tube that we touched on earlier is the additional airflow provided due to the more streamlined inner design. We hypothesized that this design made a big impact on the gains we saw on the dyno in the previous portion of this article.
The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software we use displays the velocity of a fluid (air, in this instance) passing through a component modeled in 3D. We modeled both the stock inlet tube and our counterpart to provide a nice visual representation of what we were able to achieve with our design. See the pictures below!
Now, the legend at the top left shows that red represents the quickest velocity, and dark blue the slowest. For an intake system, you want to see the highest velocity possible. By eliminating the step in this tube and by providing a smooth inner surface, we were able to improve airflow substantially over the stock inlet tube.
The stock inlet tube acts as a chamber, similar to a resonator, and works to reduce intake noise. Consequently, this reduces air velocity and will have a negative impact on performance in areas where absolute maximum airflow is required. Our design eliminates this issue.
In short, our engineering team knocked this one out of the park!
Final Airbox
Along with our inlet tube, we finished our final airbox prototype. As we discussed in the past, this piece is constructed from aluminum and ended up very lightweight. Check out a few shots!
This airbox is powder-coated to provide a nice clean, durable finish. We also added weather stripping to appropriate edges to eliminate the chance of vibrations and to provide a factory-like installation. The images below show the duct for the ECU cooling area on the airbox.
The ECU is held in place with the bracket shown below. Each connection point features a foam weather-strip to prevent scratching and to provide more vibration resistance.
We need a lid for this box as well! Check out a shot of this component.
Coming Up!
Next time we will be bringing in our test vehicle to confirm the fitment of our final prototype. Assuming everything fits correctly, we will be launching a discounted presale for folks interested in picking up our intake system.
Thanks for reading!
-John