So has anyone done this with their Xfire. I came across this video and it seems easy but at the same time if Mercedes designed the engine to have a balance shaft they probably had a reason for it.


opinions?

 

Never mind.

 

You really don't want to disable the balance shaft to a 90 degree V-6. An inline 4, like the one in the video, only has to deal with second order vibrations, which tend to be modest. In our M112 engine you will get a lot more vibration if you try this.

 

other than the vibration are there other issues that could arise from this modification? I have to do an oil change soon, so I thought I would remove the chain and if I don't like it I would just put it back on. Thanks for the quick reply. Happy New Year!

 

Most worthless video to date. Why do you think high performance engines are balanced?

 

Good One Doc. Come to think of it, I've never heard anybody ever say, "they were going to get their engine unbalanced and blueprinted".lol

 

Sure you can do this, if you never plan to rev your car over like 2500 RPM. The engine would not last long without its balance shaft operating before beating itself to death from vibration.
If you want a honda, in look AND feel, buy a honda. This car is a Mercedes.

 

[QUOTE=MoparFreak69;716177]Sure you can do this, if you never plan to rev your car over like 2500 RPM. The engine would not last long without its balance shaft operating before beating itself to death from vibration.
If you want a honda, in look AND feel, buy a honda. This car is a Mercedes.[/QUOT

Funny you would say that Mopar, I use to balance a nickle on my old Gold Wings engine, just to Pizz off the Harlley guys.
I think it was Mitsubishi (Mopar's Asian dedicated hitter) that was so well known for balance shafts.
So much so in fact, Porsche had to pay them to use the design on their 944's.

 

WTF!!!! Should have used that bolt cutter about 20 years ago to do a vasectomy on those kids fathers!!!!!! Going outside right now and see what I can cut off the old SRT. Wacking off the super charger should free up about 20HP.

 

Sorry guys but the balance shaft doesn't have anything to do with the "balancing" of an engine in respects to the same balance one achieves when all the rods, pistons, rings and pins have an identical weight. The balance shaft in our engines actually hurt performance because it is additional mass in the rotating assembly which robs horsepower the same way a water pump or power steering pump does. The main reason for a balance shaft is to minimize the sensation of a harmonic that is very noticeable at idle and low RPMs and by having a weight rotating 180° the opposite of the crank, it mitigates it enough that the motor mounts can absorb a majority of it and it's not really felt in the passenger compartment. That being said, this isn't me saying it's OK to remove the balance shaft because you can't really do it that easily and it comes with it's own set of challenges. It's an integral part of the timing assembly and doesn't have it's own chain driving it like in some other engines but if you're determined to free up some horse power and you don't mind pulling the front engine timing cover and rear main seal plate, you can replaces the balance shaft with the intermediate gear from a V8.

 

do you want to sit at idle and shake? Its there for a reason like power steering, alternator, water pump, etc. they all rob power but I like having them there. I am not disagreeing but agreeing. Not worth the trouble. Keep the ricer mods on the ricer forums.

 

While I understand what you are trying to get at, I dont necessarily agree with what you are saying. I agree that the balance shaft is there for harmonics, not actual engine 'balance' by definition, but harmonic distortion can be just as harmful to an engine as lack of balance can be. These harmonics can occur anywhere in the rev range, but are more likely to show up at higher RPMs due to the forces being generated.
Like I said, remove it if you want a honda, but be prepared to hate your car for the extra 2-3 hp increase that you are never going to feel in the first place.

 

Those harmonics are absorbed by the crank, not that balance shaft. And the power gain is more than 2-3hp but you need to be ready to accept an idle "stumble" that comes with it. I've had mine out since the swap and while it's not the end of the world, I will agree that the feeling that I have a bad motor mount is sometimes a pita at stop lights but that is the only time it's bothersome.

Doc, you can't tell me that a big cam wouldn't have the same effect at idle... and you and I both know you'd completely accept that if it made power. And power steering and water pumps are becoming available more and more in electric versions for a reason, they are more efficient and power conservative than their belt driven counterparts, even when the higher power request of the alternator is taken into account. As for ricer mods, I don't have any stickers on my car, even AMG ones. LOL

 

Doc drives a Harley, trust me, he knows about idle vibration.

 

Only if he has buddy's with 2005 and earlier model sportsters.. LOL.