Introduction: This report presents the results of a dyno test performed at ZAC Motorsport's R&D workshop in Toowoomba, Australia, on 26th January 2023. The aim of the test was to compare the performance of the stock air intake system of a 2017 W205 C63 AMG against the ZAC Motorsport Cold Air Intake system. The test was performed on a Dyno Dynamics rolling dyno, with the car's hood down to simulate real-world driving conditions.
Methodology:
The dyno test was performed in a controlled environment with the ambient temperature and humidity recorded on the day of the test. The base wheel horsepower of the stock car was 401hp, and the test was performed with the engine heavily heat soaked after testing the factory intake system. The ZAC Motorsport Cold Air Intake system was installed after the factory intake system was tested, and the performance of the car was recorded again on the dyno. The car was running completely stock (no ECU reflash/tune) with the only modifications being our RPA BOV conversion, and catless downpipes both were left on for both runs.
Results:
According to AMG specifications, the base engine horsepower of a 2017 C63s is 503hp, so the 401 wheel horsepower achieved in the test represents a parasitic loss of 20.2% through the dyno, wheels, and drivetrain of the car. Or to calculate the engine HP from the dyno's output add 25.5% to 401 WHP. The results of the test showed a favorable increase in power, with a 15.5 wheel peak horsepower increase, and a maximum power increase of 26 wheel horsepower at 6750 rpm (from 380hp to 406hp).
If we add the same 25.5% to these figures we achieve a calculated engine HP increase of 20HP at peak, and more importantly, 34HP at 6750 RPM. This gain at higher RPM is expected as the engine requires a greater air volume at high RPM, and the ZAC Motorsport Cold Air Intake is far less restrictive than the factory system.
ZAC Motorsport back to back runs on dyno dynamics dyno. View the entire video below..
Conclusion:
The dyno test performed by ZAC Motorsport demonstrates the benefits of the ZAC Motorsport Cold Air Intake system, with an increase in horsepower and torque. The results show that the ZAC system outperforms the stock air intake system and provides a noticeable improvement in the car's performance.
Ambient Temperature and Humidity: On the day of the test, the ambient temperature in Toowoomba, Australia, was recorded as 30°C, and the humidity was 71%.
It is important to note that the engine bay was already heavily heat soaked and that the test was performed with the car's hood down to simulate real-world driving conditions, affecting the results. The 20.2% parasitic loss through the dyno, wheels, and drivetrain of the car is consistent with industry standards.
When ZAC Motorsport set about solving the obvious intake restriction issues with the W205 C63 it was apparent the volume of air required to support 1200+HP these engines are capable of required some "out of the box" thinking (bad pun). The C63 is extremely limited in engine bay space, the filters sit right beside the hot v turbo chargers, the factory airboxes are limited in post filter volume, also the inlet into the turbo is extremely small in cross sectional area.
Air volume post filter help turbo spool on initial throttle opening and also flow better at high RPM
It was obvious there was not sufficient space for a traditional closed airbox if we were to feed this engine with the volume of unrestricted cool air it needed. It was also very obvious that the standard plastic cold air inlet tubes into the airboxes were another restriction, with small cross sectional area, and convoluted plastic flex joints that cause a great deal of turbulence. The engineers at AMG are likely well aware of these restrictions, and deliberately design them into the C63 to choke the performance of the baby (and less expensive) AMG model. ZAC Motorsport is heavily involved in motorsport, and assists as pit crew and also sponsors several AMG GT3 cars. We reference the BOP (Balance of Performance) restrictions placed on the AMG GT3 intake...
This restriction is put in by the governing authorities to limit performance.
ZAC Motorsport proudly sponsors and assists the Volante Rosso/ Harrolds AMG GT3 team.
The same physics applies to the intake of any ICE (internal Combustion Engine). So it is obviously pointless making a high flowing filter or air intake tube from the filter to the engine, if the bottleneck (called a "gate" in automotive engineering terms) is the inlet into the sealed airbox. To reiterate, another analogy would be having a firehose being fed water from a garden hose. Doesn't matter how big the firehose is, the restriction is the garden hose.
ZAC Motorsport intakes are all designed and tested in Australia using the latest CAD software.
The solution ZAC Motorsport engineers came up with is what makes our intake system unique not only in performance, but looks and also sound. We love the pleasure of driving our AMG's just as you do, and that intake sound is intoxicating! Something not achieved in a closed airbox system.
ZAC Motorsport C63 intake system, showing the massive effective airboxes.
FULL VIDEO OF TEST:
Note: This report should not be considered a substitute for professional analysis or tuning. The results presented here are specific to the vehicle and test conditions and may not be representative of the results that may be achieved under different conditions.
