supremo19

Hi all,
I haven't posted much, and have mainly popped in from time to time when I had issues with my car to see others' resolutions or info. However, as I close this chapter with my 2008 CL63 and move on to my next car, I wanted to make a quick write-up about my experiences with Weistec. I know most CL owners aren't too interested in Weistec and there isn't much info in this forum, but this is the car I had and I'm sure the search function will work for others who might be interested.

I bought this car in June 2012. It had been a dream car of mine for awhile so I was excited to pick it up for a great price locally in So. Cal. As I began driving it daily, I enjoyed the increased sportiness from my last car, an 08 S550, but wasn't as blown away by the performance as I thought I would be. My best friend also got a GTR around the same time, and perhaps that skewed my perspective as well. I ended up wanting more performance and found Weistec online and was especially pleased to see they were located 15 minutes from home.

I first stopped by to check out their place and meet them. I met Steve, who gave me a tour and showed me their products. He was friendly, open, informative, and just generally a pleasure to speak with. Their facility, much smaller at the time but still quite nice, was clearly professional and not a fly-by-night operation. It has gotten much larger, more organized and considerably nicer since then.

I first jumped for the stage 1 ECU upgrade. Here's the bad news: I wasn't informed enough or aware of the need to do a baseline dyno in order to later determine gains from the mods I would have done. I also didn't particularly care - it would either feel better to me or not, and since I wasn't looking for track times or anything, it didn't seem to matter. The ECU upgrade was nice - it definitely made the car feel a bit more aggressive and pulled a little harder. Shortly after I got it though, I started getting a CEL (check engine light). I took the car to Weistec repeatedly, as they read the code and tried various fixes since it was a generic error. They spent a LOT of time checking and diagnosing the problem, removing the ECU upgrade and testing, and it eventually became clear that the ECU upgrade was not the issue. They offered to continue diagnosing the issue, but I could see that a) fixing issues unrelated to their performance mods wasn't their main business and b) they were REALLY busy with their main business. They were simply trying to take care of me. Instead, I opted to get it resolved at my regular service shop and I offered to pay Weistec for their time. As I recall, they maybe asked for $100, after many hours of time spent on the car. The issue ending up being a leaky intake gasket, which I got repaired in time but remained grateful for the time and effort that Weistec had gone through to make sure it wasn't their fault and try to help me out regardless of whether their ECU upgrade was to blame, which it wasn't.

After driving the car with the ECU upgrade for awhile, the allure of more power became more enticing and I eventually jumped for the stage 1 supercharge upgrade, along with the TCU/valve body upgrade. Steve told me they like to take care of their local customers and I really felt that I received a great value and a beautiful installation. I opted not to make the jump to stage 2, as I didn't want to have the exhaust too loud on this car. I'm glad I didn't.

The supercharger rounded out the power band nicely, providing a strong dose of torque where it was a bit lacking before. Obviously, the car felt a lot faster when rolling. The CL is a bit on the heavy side and some of the electronic safeguards seem particularly conservative, so in hindsight, I'm not sure the CL/S class is a great platform for more power, at least in my model year. I often felt some electronics cutting power even with ESP off and even when I didn't feel slippage. Even rolling into the power, I felt like the car ended up much slower 0-30 than before. I knew it would be an issue, but wasn't prepared for how poorly the car handled the power from a launch. From a roll-on, it clearly felt much more beastly and a lot quicker with the blower. There were times where I felt intimidated by a lot less powerful cars off the line, just because I felt the car cut the power. I must be clear, though, that the supercharger did make the car a lot more enjoyable, without a doubt, aside from launch situations. Would I do it again on a heavy CL? Maybe. I'm weighing all the times I laughed out loud or just got a goofy grin from the power against the times the platform infuriated me and I wished I was in a car created to be more aggressive and sporty, likely handling the power better. Would I do it on an E or C? In a second, absolutely. Steve did give me a couple rides in Weistec's cars and the lighter/smaller/sportier Benzes didn't suffer from the same issues and were on another planet performance-wise.

I do have to give special mention to the valve body/TCU upgrade. I had it done at the same time as the supercharger and I was really blown away by how much quicker the shifts became. Additionally, paired with the supercharger, it gave the car the ability to accelerate and shift so quickly (in manual mode) as to give the effect of completely continuous (without pause), very torquey, power delivery. It did make me a smile, often. In my opinion, this is an essential upgrade for anyone with this tranny doing a supercharger upgrade. I drove it mostly in manual mode because I never liked the "Sport" shift programming, and manual mode felt significantly quicker.

Anytime I went by Weistec with questions or issues, Steve or Anthony were welcoming and helpful. They were always kind and professional. They are really a polite and enjoyable bunch to do business with. They did provide options or ideas on how to improve my performance and help me sort out the power delivery issues, but, in my opinion, it really was a platform issue and I was already considering cars that would suit me better, handling and performance-wise.

Eventually, I decided to move on to a Panamera Turbo. I decided to remove the kit from my car to make the car easier to sell. Weistec was very willing to help me out and remove the kit, but were so busy that it would be a month or so scheduled out, so I had another shop remove it. Weistec was helpful with reflashing the ECU to stock and were kind and helpful to the end.

I am posting all this because I know that just hearing other customer experiences can be helpful. I searched long and hard and read just about everything I could about Weistec before pulling the trigger on such a large purchase. Also, I really appreciated the extent that they went to make sure I was happy. I'm sure they made a lot of money off me, which they should have since they have a great product. At all times though, they were very fair and definitely customer service oriented. They are a great company and I wish them the best.

I did get a dyno performed before taking the supercharger off. It was on a Mustang dyno and the car got about 500 WHP and 470 WTQ. Mustang dynos are known to read on the low side, and as (hopefully) we all know, the numbers alone are not particularly helpful without seeing a baseline dyno. Now that the car has been returned to stock, I'm considering getting it dyno'd again to see what kind of gains I realized, just for curiosity's sake. I'll update the thread when/if that happens.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Thanks for reading!

JRockey

Thanks for the insight. Its always good to hear form someone that has first hand experience with a performance shop. That was a nice whipple that you had on there. Was it a 2.3L? How loud was the whine from inside your Cl?

I can imagine it did feel slower from a launch. Without drag radials or sticky summer performance tires the added torque would be almost useless. I imagine it would make for a good highway beast at that point.

What made you decide on the Panamera? I have heard good reviews about it but there is something about the exterior styling from certain angles that just doesnt seem right. Did you consider the E63?

supremo19

Hi JRockey, yes it was the 2.3L unit. The whine was not loud at all, in my opinion. When going WOT, it was discernible but not significantly louder than the engine/exhaust already were. The only time it was loud enough to really catch my attention were when I put my foot down around 50-60% from around 2500 RPM, and the whine would start and be discernible along with a really nice torque boost. I really did not find the whine to be loud at all, and actually, in comparison to some blower whines that I've heard, it was a very "cool" sound that added to the experience and sensation of accelerating.

As far as the Panamera - I did consider the CLS63, E63, and Audi RS7. I've driven the CLS and E, but didn't have the opportunity to drive the newest AWD variants. I enjoy buying used and just didn't feel the value was there since they are so new. I still gave consideration to all of them though, and the biggest, and most deciding factor for me, was the handling and overall feel of the car. In my opinion, the Panamera is the only one that has the ability to feel like a much smaller sports car, while still retaining the luxury and functionality I appreciate while driving daily. A friend bought a 2010 Panamera Turbo and I drove it quite a bit and couldn't get over the handling for such a large and functional car. I understand the newest AMG's and the RS7 are faster, as they should be since their engines are all underrated by nearly 100 hp from the factory. But the Panamera is very efficient and very quick with the power it has, hangs nicely with the others on the low end, and I can do some mods to make up a bit of the gap. To my eyes, the interior and refinement also were better on the Panamera than its competitors. Lastly, I happened across a barely used 2012 Turbo S that had been spec'd to the stars by its original owner, exactly as I would dream the car to be, for a great price so that kind of sealed the deal. I did still pay more though than I would have for the the others. As far as the exterior, it can definitely look "off" depending on color and wheel combos. I refused to buy one in any color except black, and I think the car looks stunning.

I will say that the Weistec guys tempted me a lot with their stories of the new AWD E63 and what that car can do with a simple ECU upgrade. Monster, unbelievable power and speed. If I were primarily concerned with speed and power (and even more power for not much $), I probably would have gone with the E63. I would say with the car options we have available today, it would be hard to lose!

kamilclk430

Nice write up and congrats on on all your mods. Thanks for taking the time to fill people in that might be considering to do the same. This forum exists because of people doing exactly what you did in this write up and will continue with other members doing the same thing.

Again Thanks and good luck on your next car.

Kamil

supremo19

Thanks for the kind words. No problem at all - like many other "lurkers" that I'm sure are around, there comes a time to give back.

Alex L

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. I am about to fit Weistec 3L supercharger to my 2004 CL55 (the car goes to a local MB dealer for the engine removal tomorrow) and so far found Weistec team to be quick to respond (Steve, Justin) and very helpful. Many thanks again.

supremo19

I just wanted to give a quick update, as the Weistec guys have continued to amaze me with their commitment to customer service even while I've been trying to sell my car and really am no longer a paying customer. After I took the supercharger off and had the ECU flashed to stock, I noticed an occasional hesitation while changing gears under mild acceleration. Almost a jerking sensation. At first, I thought it was the TCU upgrade, so I asked Weistec if they would remove the upgrade (which removes physically removing the TCU and modifying it), which I would have had no problem paying for. They told me if I covered the fluids, they would take care of it and they did. I was surprised by the generosity - they seemed to be committed to helping me get the car into perfect salable condition. To date, I've repeatedly offered to pay for the fluids, but they haven't charged me. I, of course, did not expect them to do it for free, but they genuinely seem to just be nice guys that aren't interested in "nickel and diming" customers.

Unfortunately, the issue didn't go away, and it turned out to be unrelated to the TCU upgrade. The problem was that I had taken out the charcoal filters early on (while replacing the stock air filters with high flow ones) and the stock ECU really needs the charcoals to function properly. Stupidly, I had thrown away my original charcoal filters, thinking I would never need them. They turned out to be difficult to find, as my independent mechanic and the dealer said that the charcoals are not sold separately, but as part of the airbox, meaning that I would have to spend quite a bit buying new airboxes to replace the charcoals. In desperation, I asked Weistec if they happened to have any around. They don't have many lying around, since most customers take them when they replace the filters, but Steve and his guys took the time to dig through their old stuff to find a set of stock filters for me. They didn't charge me a penny, and when I brought the airboxes in, they went ahead and put the filters back in for me.

Just to reiterate - I'm not affiliated with Weistec, I won't benefit in any way from this post, but I am very grateful for how well I've been treated by these guys. I wish all companies that I deal with had such a commitment to pleasing customers. I own a Panamera now, but if I end up in a Mercedes again, I would absolutely take it to Weistec and I hope these guys are in business for a long time. They are great guys that build great products. If anyone is on the fence about them, I hope this helps. As always, if you have any questions about my experiences, feel free to ask.

Worth the wait

Nice story.
I hope someday I am fortunate enough to be one of their customers.

Ekselent

Thanks for the tip...... I send them an e-mail yesterday and found an interesting thing. They use ticket numbers when they answer e-mails. I got "Your ticket is #(1034)". I think this is a good way to go.. .
BTW... I asked for downpipes with race cats to my SL600.

Juha

Ray Cullen

I have to concur with the review of Weistec Engineering. Fortunately, I was introduced to them through an excellent AMG technician. After having their ECU upgrades on a series of cars, I had the pleasure of discussing their product(s), unofficially, with a senior factory representative at an AMG event who indicated affirmatively, smiling, when talking about "tuners" for Mercedes vehicles. Weistec was the only one given that positive an indication, and this guys knows the "players." Others in the market don't do the engineering, R&D nor have the technical expertise to achieve optimal results for the vehicles, like the Weistec team under Steve's leadership.


This is not a "add-on/bolt-on/piggyback" solution. Weistec is an integrated engineering solutions that don't push for numbers (while they are impressive) but preserve the around town functionality in normal driving conditions with a more response accelerator feel. When these cars are "driven" the responsiveness, feel and results are amazing, definitely developed to factory standards.


Their website and marketing is impressive, this is because the Team is passionate about what they do and stand behind their products. I don't typically endorse products or businesses, but this is a case of talented professional car guys delivering engineering quality that is developed in Southern California and delivered domestically and internationally.


If your near John Wayne Airport in Irvine, they are close by and have always been welcoming. Seeing their facilities and the projects in progress, instills confidence in their delivery and product.