W203E35

What is the real point of Dyno Mode?

LILBENZ230

It's meant to be a test mode that the MB techs access when needed for maintenance/repair purposes. It's not really meant for the car to be driven in. As I've said, all it does is disable electronic nannies. It has no benefit whatsoever.

mleskovar

It does if you track the car. But on the street all it does is allow you to waste rubber, abuse the drive train, and take chances with your safety and the safety of others.

LILBENZ230

Although in a C230 good luck wasting that rubber on dry pavement, dyno mode or not. You'd have to really drive stupid in the force-fed fours to even notice the lack of traction aids. There's no point in dyno mode on the street.

PA_Pete

It will also give you random information like engine model and some sort of Software and Hardware versions, if I recall correctly. It also has a live readout of your oil level, which, while driving, will alter due to the angle of the oil sump. This is a handy screen to use when performing your own oil change to check on the exact measurement of your oil. However, just remember that there is probably residual oil throughout the engine, so you can't go on this reading alone.

mleskovar

Good points. I did a sump plug drain and checked as I added oil to see how accurate the reading is. Mine was pretty accurate when you take into account the oil in the filter housing.

LILBENZ230

The oil feature - measuring electronically and the dyno mode readout - was removed after 2005, I believe. At least in the C230. Not sure about the C350. Just wanted to put that out there so people with the the later W203s aren't scratching their heads.

Glyn M Ruck

Did you guys go back to dipsticks being provided?

LILBENZ230

I am fairly sure the W204 is back to electronic. I know for a fact the 2007 C230 has a dipstick and no electronic measurement capability. I assumed so about the 2006 since it was the same M272 2.5L V6. Not sure why that feature was removed for just one or two years.

Glyn M Ruck

It's weird - In South Africa they took it off of final production C280s but left it on other models

holycaoAMG

I never said it makes a car achieve some sort of magic, making the car more dangerous for a skilled driver is always welcomed.
you never see a supercar on a track doing dangerous things before?

by all means, my car is not a supercar, but danger=no electronics help= more fun on the track/street.

anyway most owners on here have the C230 (1.8 or 2.5). its weak, period. you wont feel any difference; dont get me started on c240s.
im talking to all you 320/350 and AMG owners, you will feel a difference... or as some people might call it,"achieve some sort of magic". lol

LILBENZ230

And my point (and Glyn's, I assume) was that the W203 is a pretty balanced car that handles well (at least my Sport does) and that if you on the street driving to the point where the electronics are limiting you - you need to take it to a track because you're endangering the lives of others. ESP is meant to help you in extreme avoidance maneuvers and inclement weather - not designed to be intrusive in daily driving. I live in the country and there's a little traveled road near my house that's very curvy that I like to drive when it's clear and dry. I push my car and ESP has never had to activate to assist, and handling has nothing to do with how much horsepower you have so C230/320/350 whatever.

Dyno mode is pointless on the street. Seeking to make the car "dangerous" because you feel you are a "skilled driver" on public roads is stupid, plain and simple. On the track, yeah. On the street, no.

And again Dyno Mode is a diagnostic mode not intended for use except by a technician. Abusing your car in dyno mode can cause problems. No offense to MY01 owners, but developing problems is not something that year needs any help with

Glyn M Ruck

+1 - Exactly - anything that makes the car safer on the street in an unexpected avoidance situation is "welcome" & should not be defeated. Any really good driver would welcome the catch net. Tracks are a controlled environment & the right place to play with driver aids defeated. And don't get me started with MY 01 W203s - especially North American ones! They must be some of the most troublesome cars in the history of MB. My near perfect, totally trouble free C240 with 30,000 miles on the clock is all I want until I buy my W204 C350 Elegance debugged facelift in a few years. I'm not a boy racer. I personally only buy mature cars if possible and out of the box so no other idiot has buggered the thing up. The lady of the house drives our present W204.

LILBENZ230

Not to mention ESP's ability to do things not humanly possible, like braking individual wheels. I use dyno mode regularly.. to get an accurate measurement of how much oil I have.

Glyn M Ruck

Or BAS making up for your slow reaction times

holycaoAMG

LOL, oh no. im not talking about drifting (handling) or anything like that, that would cause danger in the streets, im not that stupid. what i mean is straight line launches from stops (and yes hp/torq does count) whenever i hit it pretty hard, the car just stops for a few seconds before going, i want that delay gone!. like i said, you 230 owners wouldnt know what im talking about simply cause its weak upon take off. My car aint fast, but obviously faster than the 230.
If you guys did read the previous posts above in this thread, you should already know im not talking about handling in the first place

ALL of the problems/recalls faced on my 01 were completely fixed BTW.

mleskovar

Yea! Everyone should thank us for being the guinea pigs! I actually believed it would be OK to buy a first model year Benz :-)

holycaoAMG

Yup. We sure suffered but hey, having the first year sure felt great back in 2000 when this was fresh!
its still running strong since the day i got it and im very proud of it reguardless of the things that went wrong. Cars are bound to break down somehow one way or another so i wasnt expecting my car to be bullet proof.
My family has a long history of buying pre-face lifted MB's and I was one of them! I dont know why! LOL

LILBENZ230

Perhaps you should buy some real tires if your 220ish torque is causing you to not be able to manage a quick start off without ESP interference. Our 300tq@1400rpm BMW 135i can take off without overwhelming the tires quite easily.

mleskovar

Ha! We ordered a 128i for the wife a month ago (softer suspension, smoother power delivery, more reliable)!

LILBENZ230

The 135i is a bit harsh but that engine is unbelievable. We have black/black 6MT Sport & Premium packages.

Glyn M Ruck

Don't like the car - Don't fit in the darn thing, but that engine is gorgeous!!

LILBENZ230

'Tis quite the small vehicle. Not comfortable for long trips but that's where the C230 comes in. Paid $38,550 for the BMW - $300 over invoice. Deals are out there.

Glyn M Ruck

holy - no one is trying to argue with you - just enjoy your car - It's a damn nice vehicle when it's behaving & the V6 models are vastly superior to the I4s.

But this was the verdict of some of the most respected auto journalists in Europe when reviewing the entire w203 range.

NCAP: 5
Best Models: C240 Elegance, C270 CDI Elegance
Worst Models: C320
Replacement: 2007


BTW - that delay is built into the ECU map for American cars to semi neuter the throttle. The Sprintbooster does not get rid of it - The only way to get rid of it is an ECU remap by a competent tuning house.

mleskovar

Same we ordered but with auto and no sport...my wife is 5'2" so it fits her better than the C. After tracking the reliability of the NA 6 I'm happy with the results.