Hi Omar & Jean,

I just wanted to send over a review of your tune to you guys. I realize it's a little long too. On the other hand, it's 100% honest and completely how I really feel...and then some!

Cheers,

Txxxxx


I put my order for a C63 Black Series in the late summer of 2011 and so I had plenty of time to think about what tuning and mods I might add to the car (if any) and who I wanted to have do it. I knew there were a lot of tuners tuning the C63 and P31 and so I took my sweet time deciding which tuner to go with. I was looking for a tuner with a solid reputation for both performance and reliability and I didn’t want to do anything to the car that I could undo and maker stock later. In the end I seriously considered half a dozen tuners and though it took me three or four months to finally make my decision to go with Omar and Jean at Velos Designwerks, I couldn’t be happier with the result.

I received my tune (the “Performance Software for Mercedes C63 Black Series”), with the personal USB tuner, and was very impressed with how slick and easy the process was. The personal tuner plugged into the port—located under the steering wheel—and was able to get the original file read and sent to Jean via email in just a few minutes. I received the new Velos map later the same day. After installing the map onto the personal tuner and then onto the car (Jean talked me thru it on the phone) I was ready to see if this tune was for real or not.

It was. I don’t have access to a dyno nearby so I was forced to rely on my finely-tuned and highly-experienced butt to make the before-and-after assessment. Idle sounded and felt exactly the same as stock. I left the shift control in C (Controlled Efficiency) mode initially as I headed out the driveway and onto the road. Even in C mode—where the car starts in second gear and upshifts as soon as it feasibly can (and in generally a mellow way)—there was a difference. The greatly improved throttle response, more than anything, caught my attention. Whereas things were sluggish and easy-going before, now throttle response was crisp and instant. I had to learn to adapt by not pressing as hard on the gas for the previously desired result now. The change was significant and very noticeable. Everything just felt much tighter and more responsive.

I let the car warm up completely before I switched the shift control to S+ mode and came onto a long freeway onramp ahead of me. I pressed the throttle to the floor and BAM! The gear changes—which I had thought were great before, by the way—were completely transformed. Every upshift now was lightning fast and was accompanied by that marvelous booming noise you hear coming out of DTM C63s. I got massive wheelspin in the first upshift, of course, but now also wheelspin going into third and a nice loud chirp into fourth. And I live at 4000’ and therefore loose about 12% HP compared to sea level. Impressive to say the least! I felt like Jeremy Clarkson and wanted to start licking my steering wheel! But I refrained.

The with Velos’ tune over stock is just night and day to me. Of course, I realize my observations are subjective. But I’ve owned a number of very fast cars and my “butt dyno” tells me that the car literally feels like it has as much new-found power as the Black Series did over the stock C63 when I got it. Way more power and way more torque. But that’s not the best thing (I know, it should be). The best thing is the very real-world change to the personality of the car. It’s a Black Series so even stock it should be raw and brutal, right? But it wasn’t. Sure, it was fast but it never was in personality like my old Viper or my Porsche Turbo S was. Of course. It felt like the fastest Mercedes I’d ever owned and it fully lived up to my expectations as that. It was competent, fast, and refined. And classy.

After the Velos tune, however, I can honestly sense a strong schizophrenia about the car. It really does have two distinct personalities now: the extremely capable, refined, familiar Mercedes personality “C-mode” in which you can take your wife or mother somewhere and never arouse their ire… OR a nasty, brutal, barking, black-in-black personality I just can’t get enough of. And all from a tune? I simply wouldn’t have thought it possible. No way.
It has occurred to me a number of times since that had this tune been in place when Chris Harris, Clarkson and the other auto journalists had done their testing of the C63 Black Series there simply wouldn’t been the complaints of “Well, yes it’s just so marvelous but the gearchanges are just a bit of a letdown, just a bit too slow.” It would have been a different story, I have to believe.

Does the Velos tune turn the car into a Viper- or Lambo-eater? Of course not. Is it a second faster in the quarter? Again, of course not. Is it more fun to drive? Oh yes. Does it suddenly upshift and downshift like it means business? Oh yes. Does it put a big fat smile on my face now? OH YES!

I just couldn’t be happier. Thanks, Omar and Jean—you guys rock!