Tuning the Mercedes M276

"Comprehensive guide to tuning the Mercedes M276 engine!"

We are always getting messages inquiring about getting more power from the M276 and wanting to know what are the ultimate M276 modifications. So let us look into Mercedes M276 parts and outline the best modifications on this great engine and point out some frequent tuning mistakes along the way.

The Mercedes M276 really good project engines and with the ultimate modifications like remapping, turbo upgrades and camshafts you will definitely improve your driving opportunities.

Our aim here is to consider M276 tuning and outline the premier upgrades.

The best M276 tuning parts on an engine are as we have found the ones that give the best value for money.

We won't be swayed by popular M276 tuning parts, they need to be cost effective.

Altering your M276 camshaft will make a dramatic difference to the engine power band. Choosing a higher performance camshaft profile raises the power band accordingly.

NB: Fast road camshafts tend to push up the bhp throughout the rev band, you might lose a little low down bhp but top end will be lifted.

Competition camshafts, push up the top end band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

A Race camshaft will just annoy you whilst driving in heavy traffic.

You should ideally match your torque band to your usage of the car so for a car driven daily stick with a shorter duration M276 camshaft

Different M276 engines respond better to less aggressive camshaft durations check your engine on a rolling road.

The ECU mapping and fuel pump and injectors also will say much on the torque gains you'll make.

Altering valve durations can alter the torque band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.

M276 Tuning Stages

Stage 1 M276 modifications: Remaps/piggy back ECU, Fast road camshaft, Intake headers, Panel air filters, Sports exhaust manifold, Drilled & smoothed airbox.

Stage 2 M276 modifications: induction kit, fuel pump upgrades, Fast road cam, high flow fuel injectors, Ported and polished head, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust.

Stage 3 M276 modifications: Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Twin charging conversions, Competition cam, Engine balancing & blueprinting, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves).

Remaps allows a tuner to fully realize the full potential of all the modifications you've done to your M276.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but your mileage often differs on the modifications you've applied and the condition of your engine.

It is the main goal to any engine performance tuning task to push fuel and air into the M276 engine

Intake take the air during the suck phase from the filter and allow it to be sucked into the engine cylinders.

The bore size, shape and flow rate of the Plenum can make a noticeable change to fuel engine efficiency on the M276.

We often see headers are in desperate need of performance upgrades, although some OEM provide decently flowing headers.

Big valve conversions on the M276, doing a bit of port matching and head flowing will also improve bhp and torque, the fantastic side effect is it will give you a greater bhp and torque increase on other parts.

Turbo upgrades for the M276

NASP engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your M276

The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes superb power gains.

When your motor is fitted with a turbo parts are going to net you a larger power gain and you will discover turbo charged engines are built with more solid components.

There are weak spots for every engine, with some being extremely strong and some only just able to handle stock power

Research these limits and upgrade to better quality components to survive the power.

It's not unheard of guys spending a loads of money on turbo upgrades on the M276 only to have the engine catastrophically fail when it's used on the roads.

Large turbochargers commonly experience a bottom end lag, and low capacity turbochargers spool up quickly but do not have the high rpm power band gains.

Over the last 20 years the market of turbo chargers is always improving and we commonly find variable vane turbo chargers, permitting the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end performance.

Twin scroll turbo chargers divert the exhaust gases into two channels and feed these at differently profiled vanes in the turbocharger. They also help the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is not unusual that there's a limitation in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on the M276 when considerably more air is being fed into the engine.

We note 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor was restricting power at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp gains, although more complex to configure. We have this feature on twinchargers if you want to read more.

Uprating M276 fuel injectors

Don't overlook the need to improve the fuel system when you are increasing the performance - it makes the car more thirsty. It is important to over specify your injectors flow rate.

As a rule of thumb add 20% capacity when buying an injector, this accounts for injector deterioration and affords you some spare capacity should the engine need more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

Best M276 performance exhausts

You may need to boost your exhaust if the existing exhaust is actually causing a restriction.

On most factory exhausts you'll see your flow rate is fine even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Note that with the widest exhaust you can get this will slow the exhaust rate - the best for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

Usual exhaust restrictions can be traced to the filters installed, so adding a freer flowing high performance alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Problems and issues to look out for on the M276

The M276 engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Regular oil changes are vital on the M276, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

For more information on Tuning your M276 engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our M276 owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

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We really like hearing from our readers, and hearing about which tuning mods were the most effective for them, it helps us improve our recommendations and articles to reflect current trends in modifications and ensures that our M276 guides and tips are kept up to date.

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This article is flagged for an update, so please pass on specific tips below that I can include. All articles, and content was written by me, Waynne Smith TorqueCars founder. Some outlines are just too general so I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Mercedes. You can leave a response below or join our forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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