GT/C192/R192: Upgrading a GT 55 to a GT 63
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Upgrading a GT 55 to a GT 63
Since the only difference between an AMG GT 55 and GT 63 is about 100hp, am I right to say a computer chip swap will make the GT 55 into GT 63?
And it is even a computer chip swap or.......is it a factory setting in the engine management system?
And it is even a computer chip swap or.......is it a factory setting in the engine management system?
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See post #19 few threads down
https://mbworld.org/forums/amg-gt-gt...ml#post9037640
https://mbworld.org/forums/amg-gt-gt...ml#post9037640
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main diff is ecu internals, they bog down the ecu in the 55 to make the tier for the 63.
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10000% you put a stage 1 in a 55 and it’s a stock 63. You start stage 2 and up tuning your 55 and suddenly you’re faster than a stock 63. Still for much less than the price of a stock 63.
main diff is ecu internals, they bog down the ecu in the 55 to make the tier for the 63.
main diff is ecu internals, they bog down the ecu in the 55 to make the tier for the 63.
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And for those who think just slapping on tune is the way- there is no tune yet only a piggyback device thats readily free and available. And the one video that 'I" posted was a Canadian group that put that car on the tarmac and the 63 still reeled it in even though the 55 had the RT piggyback.
This isnt a 63 vs 55 war thingy to me; its point of acquisition issue which Benz clearly f'd up with regarding the 63. I have a 63 but got over 50k off net net. I was not coming close to that with the 55 so it made sense for me. Others it clearly makes more sense to get a 55 and kudos to you all for getting an amazing ride.
Further there are probably 2 people here that have tuned their car (no one does it) with a piggy. I have one and now my 63 is that much faster but thats just me. And 99% of the owners will want a warranty intact car. Its always easy to say "put a tune on it" but after 25 years of tuning over 60 plus cars is easier typed than done if we incorporate the true ownership census. 100 more hp is a good gain with a warranty from the factory but its not worth the msrp bump IMHO.
Last edited by Vic55; Jun 17, 2025 at 08:56 AM.
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Yes there are some different internals but the difference is still minimal. The ovr makeup and engine platform is more similar than different by a wide margin. Think 90% similar to 10% different
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superswiss did...
And for those who think just slapping on tune is the way- there is no tune yet only a piggyback device thats readily free and available. And the one video that 'I" posted was a Canadian group that put that car on the tarmac and the 63 still reeled it in even though the 55 had the RT piggyback.
This isnt a 63 vs 55 war thingy to me; its point of acquisition issue which Benz clearly f'd up with regarding the 63. I have a 63 but got over 50k off net net. I was not coming close to that with the 55 so it made sense for me. Others it clearly makes more sense to get a 55 and kudos to you all for getting an amazing ride.
Further there are probably 2 people here that have tuned their car (no one does it) with a piggy. I have one and now my 63 is that much faster but thats just me. And 99% of the owners will want a warranty intact car. Its always easy to say "put a tune on it" but after 25 years of tuning over 60 plus cars is easier typed than done if we incorporate the true ownership census. 100 more hp is a good gain with a warranty from the factory but its not worth the msrp bump IMHO.
And for those who think just slapping on tune is the way- there is no tune yet only a piggyback device thats readily free and available. And the one video that 'I" posted was a Canadian group that put that car on the tarmac and the 63 still reeled it in even though the 55 had the RT piggyback.
This isnt a 63 vs 55 war thingy to me; its point of acquisition issue which Benz clearly f'd up with regarding the 63. I have a 63 but got over 50k off net net. I was not coming close to that with the 55 so it made sense for me. Others it clearly makes more sense to get a 55 and kudos to you all for getting an amazing ride.
Further there are probably 2 people here that have tuned their car (no one does it) with a piggy. I have one and now my 63 is that much faster but thats just me. And 99% of the owners will want a warranty intact car. Its always easy to say "put a tune on it" but after 25 years of tuning over 60 plus cars is easier typed than done if we incorporate the true ownership census. 100 more hp is a good gain with a warranty from the factory but its not worth the msrp bump IMHO.
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superswiss did...
And for those who think just slapping on tune is the way- there is no tune yet only a piggyback device thats readily free and available. And the one video that 'I" posted was a Canadian group that put that car on the tarmac and the 63 still reeled it in even though the 55 had the RT piggyback.
This isnt a 63 vs 55 war thingy to me; its point of acquisition issue which Benz clearly f'd up with regarding the 63. I have a 63 but got over 50k off net net. I was not coming close to that with the 55 so it made sense for me. Others it clearly makes more sense to get a 55 and kudos to you all for getting an amazing ride.
Further there are probably 2 people here that have tuned their car (no one does it) with a piggy. I have one and now my 63 is that much faster but thats just me. And 99% of the owners will want a warranty intact car. Its always easy to say "put a tune on it" but after 25 years of tuning over 60 plus cars is easier typed than done if we incorporate the true ownership census. 100 more hp is a good gain with a warranty from the factory but its not worth the msrp bump IMHO.
And for those who think just slapping on tune is the way- there is no tune yet only a piggyback device thats readily free and available. And the one video that 'I" posted was a Canadian group that put that car on the tarmac and the 63 still reeled it in even though the 55 had the RT piggyback.
This isnt a 63 vs 55 war thingy to me; its point of acquisition issue which Benz clearly f'd up with regarding the 63. I have a 63 but got over 50k off net net. I was not coming close to that with the 55 so it made sense for me. Others it clearly makes more sense to get a 55 and kudos to you all for getting an amazing ride.
Further there are probably 2 people here that have tuned their car (no one does it) with a piggy. I have one and now my 63 is that much faster but thats just me. And 99% of the owners will want a warranty intact car. Its always easy to say "put a tune on it" but after 25 years of tuning over 60 plus cars is easier typed than done if we incorporate the true ownership census. 100 more hp is a good gain with a warranty from the factory but its not worth the msrp bump IMHO.
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Not really in the grand scheme of things. the 55 and 63 use the exact same M177 4L twin turbo V8 same engine block, same bore and stroke, same cylinder heads, and overalll architecture. The only differences are bolt on performance upgrades like larger turbos different tuning and possibly minor cooling enhancements. That’s why I said 90% the same, 10% different. You’re not getting a different engine or even a redesign you’re just getting a more aggressive variant of the exact same one. The power difference is real but mechanically it’s still the same engine family just turned up to handle sustained abuse at higher loads and output.
Best analogy I can give is tot think of it like taking usain bolt on two different days same guy same body same talent but one day he’s got better shoes and better hydration with lighter gear. sure he runs faster but he’s still the exact same athlete underneath.
Best analogy I can give is tot think of it like taking usain bolt on two different days same guy same body same talent but one day he’s got better shoes and better hydration with lighter gear. sure he runs faster but he’s still the exact same athlete underneath.
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Not really in the grand scheme of things. the 55 and 63 use the exact same M177 4L twin turbo V8 same engine block, same bore and stroke, same cylinder heads, and overalll architecture. The only differences are bolt on performance upgrades like larger turbos different tuning and possibly minor cooling enhancements. That’s why I said 90% the same, 10% different. You’re not getting a different engine or even a redesign you’re just getting a more aggressive variant of the exact same one. The power difference is real but mechanically it’s still the same engine family just turned up to handle sustained abuse at higher loads and output.
Best analogy I can give is tot think of it like taking usain bolt on two different days same guy same body same talent but one day he’s got better shoes and better hydration with lighter gear. sure he runs faster but he’s still the exact same athlete underneath.
Best analogy I can give is tot think of it like taking usain bolt on two different days same guy same body same talent but one day he’s got better shoes and better hydration with lighter gear. sure he runs faster but he’s still the exact same athlete underneath.
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Here is highly knowledgeable member Superswiss's quote:
I've actually been to the factory and learned first hand how they do it. The differences between the power levels are pistons (piston length/shape to change the compression ratio, and depending on the power level forged or non-forged), turbo size, turbo type (single vs twin-scroll) and boost pressure. This engine is good for over 600 hp already with the proper piston, turbos and boost combination, so the 575 hp is not some kind of a huge feat. They've been there done that. I haven't looked at the detailed specs, but based on the power levels the variant in the GT 55 most likely has non-forged pistons and single scroll turbos like the C63/S had and the one in the 63 has forged pistons, twin-scroll turbos and higher boost pressures like the E63S and GT63S 4-door and most likely the compression ratios are different between the two, so yes an ECU tune is not gonna turn the GT 55 into a GT 63 that much I agree with. As said, they've gotten their mileage out of this engine. As much as I like it, it is a bit of a parts bin effort between the different models. They are just reusing what they've already got.
The interesting development was the flat-plane M178 version for the GT Black Series and now the supposed flat-plane version of the M177 they are working on to be unveiled in the CLE 63. But the current GT 63 has the proven existing M177 that we already know and love, but not even at its highest power level. No longer the M178 as the previous GT, which is the dry-sump version of the M177 as you probably know.
The interesting development was the flat-plane M178 version for the GT Black Series and now the supposed flat-plane version of the M177 they are working on to be unveiled in the CLE 63. But the current GT 63 has the proven existing M177 that we already know and love, but not even at its highest power level. No longer the M178 as the previous GT, which is the dry-sump version of the M177 as you probably know.
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Id guess the major differences come from ecu tuning higher boosts and advanced cooling. The 63 is the same engine with tweaks to handle higher loads and sustained abuse.
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on a minor scale. As per my understanding they both use the same block same heads same forged pistons and internals same compression ratio and yes both use twin scroll turbos in the same layout. AMG made some upgrades in the new gt platform that come synonymously in both the 55 and 63 as confirmed by them.
Id guess the major differences come from ecu tuning higher boosts and advanced cooling. The 63 is the same engine with tweaks to handle higher loads and sustained abuse.
Id guess the major differences come from ecu tuning higher boosts and advanced cooling. The 63 is the same engine with tweaks to handle higher loads and sustained abuse.
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Number 2 an article and press release linked below from MBusas website confirms the vast similarities between the 55 and 63 engines including BOTH HAVING the twin scroll turbos, his experience as stated stems from the M177 variant in the c63 model. Remind you this is a GT were talking about not a c-class, completely different worlds here.. So the idea that the GT55 uses or may use single scroll turbos like the old C63 is flat out wrong. That reference point doesn’t apply, this is a flagship top tier AMG GT not a c-class with older hardware..
The only thing id say i cant argue is his claim about a simple piggyback tune not turning the 55 into a 63 which is somewhat correct, but it gets it fairly close for just a piggyback. Put a real ecu tune and some minor cooling upgrades and youre there. Both engines share the same mechanical dna and makeup. Its the same engine same platform tuned differently with minor upgrades to allow for sustained abuse and higher tolerance as implied by Mercedes benz themselves. I still stand firmly by my 90% same to 10% different stance and the facts from mercedes benz themselves undeniably backs it up.
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Last edited by AMGeneticzo; Jun 19, 2025 at 02:08 PM.
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I am pretty sure they use different size turbos. I have been working with dme on a tune. They are able to get a much larger hp increase from the 63 vs the 53. If it were just the tuning was different everyone would buy the 55 and put the 63 tune in it which isnt possible.
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I am pretty sure they use different size turbos. I have been working with dme on a tune. They are able to get a much larger hp increase from the 63 vs the 53. If it were just the tuning was different everyone would buy the 55 and put the 63 tune in it which isnt possible.
the 63 has more aggressive fueling and cooling which definitely helps for giving it extra headroom for tuning out of the box.
most people choose the 63 for the 100+ hp gain not really for how tunable it is. Once they realize the glaring similarities between the 55 and 63 they suddenly start opting for the 55. It’s actually quite a debated topic considering how similar the two are at stock unless you take them to an open track.
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Actually just got my 55 back from Renntech and definitely worth the money. The 55 had plenty of power before but I felt the responsiveness was lacking a bit and the Renntech tune fixed that and the extra power certainly was nice. I initially drove the 63 and 55 and think the 55 plus the tune is quicker (and certainly for the price). Also noticed a bit more burbles in sport+ mode when letting off the gas at speed.
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Mercedes hasn’t published turbo size specs but it could be possible the turbos are slightly bigger. What we do know for sure is both use twin scroll turbos in the same hot-v layout as confirmed by Mercedes as well as use the same bore stroke compression and displacement. Even if this was the case and the turbos were slightly larger it’s still just a bolt on component difference. The overall engine layout is the same.
the 63 has more aggressive fueling and cooling which definitely helps for giving it extra headroom for tuning out of the box.
most people choose the 63 for the 100+ hp gain not really for how tunable it is. Once they realize the glaring similarities between the 55 and 63 they suddenly start opting for the 55. It’s actually quite a debated topic considering how similar the two are at stock unless you take them to an open track.
the 63 has more aggressive fueling and cooling which definitely helps for giving it extra headroom for tuning out of the box.
most people choose the 63 for the 100+ hp gain not really for how tunable it is. Once they realize the glaring similarities between the 55 and 63 they suddenly start opting for the 55. It’s actually quite a debated topic considering how similar the two are at stock unless you take them to an open track.
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From: EARTH
2026 MB/AMG GT63 PRO
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From: EARTH
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Actually just got my 55 back from Renntech and definitely worth the money. The 55 had plenty of power before but I felt the responsiveness was lacking a bit and the Renntech tune fixed that and the extra power certainly was nice. I initially drove the 63 and 55 and think the 55 plus the tune is quicker (and certainly for the price). Also noticed a bit more burbles in sport+ mode when letting off the gas at speed.
Last edited by Area51; Jun 20, 2025 at 10:44 AM.
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This is completely false and could not be further from the truth. Both the GT55 and GT63 M177 engines indeed use twin scroll turbos. This is confirmed by mbusa during thier press launch of the new gen GT.
You must be thinking of the M177 w205 c63s. Which used a single scroll turbo.
https://media.mbusa.com/releases/rel...ce=chatgpt.com
You must be thinking of the M177 w205 c63s. Which used a single scroll turbo.
https://media.mbusa.com/releases/rel...ce=chatgpt.com
