If you have a Mercedes-AMG C43, adding a $400 ‘piggyback’ tuning device can get you well into the low-12s.
The Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG sedan is an impressive performance machine, with the twin-turbocharged 3.0L V6 providing 362 horsepower and 384 lb-ft of torque. When that power is funneled through the 9-speed automatic transmission and the advanced all-wheel-drive system, this sleek sedan is capable of scooting down the quarter mile in the high 12-second range.
Those are great numbers, but forum member “18bora” found that with nothing more than a “piggyback” tuning device, the AMG C43 can get down into the low 12-second range.
Tuning the C43
The OP who owns the AMG shown above has shared quite a few threads on the forum as he has made his AMG progressively quicker over the past few months. The car is completely stock except for the addition of a “piggyback” tuning device. After spending some time working with the canned tune that came with the piggyback, the OP wanted to get more out of it, so he began tinkering with the tuning parameters of the device.
As a result, he was able to work his best quarter mile time down to a 12.081 at 116 miles per hour. Again, that is a tuned C43 with no other modifications tickling the 11-second range. In this thread in the W205 section, he explains all of his tuning methods, along with providing some short launch videos and a dyno sheet.
Tuned C43 on the Dyno
Speaking of the dyno sheet, that might be the most impressive aspect of this tuning thread, as this C43 laid down 352 horsepower and 376 lb-ft of torque at all four wheels. The OP provides stock dyno numbers of 222 and 274, but those are unreasonably low for a stock C43. However, the tuned numbers of 352 and 376 look like solid figures for one of these AMG sedans with a tune. Based on an 18 percent drivetrain loss factor, 352 all-wheel horsepower leads to roughly 430 horsepower at the crankshaft. That represents a gain of nearly 70 horsepower from the $400 tuning device.
The bottom line here is that if you are looking to get more performance out of your Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG sedan, a custom tune applied via a piggyback can make a big difference.
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