bhvrdr

Greetings,

I noticed the C250 JB+ tune is now available on the burgertuning website so I will now post on my impressions. I have had the unit for approximately one month but have not written about it in order to give an ample trial period.

INSTALLATION and PACKAGING:

The unit is a piggyback module that comes ready to plug in. It is easy to connect. It takes approximately 5 minutes. The overall quality of the packaging of the product (wire insulators, solder, connectors) is very good. My only gripe would be that one connector mates to another without a true socketed connection but rather relies upon the pins from the factory connector to act as the fulcrum and connection rather than an OEM fit that would allow a secure male to female socketing. That being said, I did not experience any damaged pins throughout this relatively short period of time I have had it.

1/4 MILE DATA:
I first connected the JB+ and noted it comes OEM dialed in at the 50% setting. I experimented up to the 75% level at first and took it to the 1/4 mile track at Palm Beach International Speedway. I had run the JB+ for approximately 300 miles. With the unit dialed in at 75% settings I ran a 15.60 at 88.9mph. I then disconnected the unit, drove the car a bit, came back and ran the car bone stock. Bone stock the car ran 15.49 at 89.92mph. The results are technically a statistical wash. There was no improvement nor decline in 1/4 mile performance.

CITY DRIVING DATA:
Around town under moderate and mild mannered driving conditions there is considerable more torque in the lower rev band (until 4500rpm or so). I say under mild mannered conditions because any prodding of our throttle past 1/2 throttle or so will create a downshift and you'll be up over 4500rpm and out of the powerband of where this unit is adding torque. You can absolutely feel the torque when giving a light touch to the throttle for passing and acceleration from cruising speed. This low end torque increase is mirrored by the dyno logs posted by Terry. For the majority of folks who do not spend much time at redline this will be a terrific mod and it does add noticeable torque.

SUMMARY:
For the great majority of C250 drivers this will be a great mod. For the price of $279 it is a real no brainer. Unlike the sprint booster (no comments on this please) this mod really does add torque and for the price, there is nothing out there like it. For the person who is wanting added power for a lap day or for quarter mile runs, you'll probably want to wait for a tune and hardware package that can address the upper rev band where you will use that power. I suspect this is a great minority of drivers however. Top end is important to me though so i'll probably take the next step and look for a solution that addresses top end. I do actually take the car to redline several times each time I drive it. I do hit the sport shifting button 100% of the time as part of my startup ritual and my average mpg display shows 17mpg. If your average mpg display shows over 20mpg, this mod is probably for you. I'm glad it's out there and i'm still pleased with the purchase. I cant wait for more. Additionally, I found Mr. Terry Burger very easy to purchase from and to be very easy to communicate with and would absolutely do business with him again.

cheers! mike

silversx

your butt dyno is hardly a precise review.. if jb wants to sell a tune for 280 jb better strap a car to the dyno..

sorry im used to hard data products like http://cobbtuning.com

bhvrdr

Hence the line in the post that reads...

"This low end torque increase is mirrored by the dyno logs posted by Terry."

He has dynos sitting right on his site.

silversx

that's not a dyno.. that's some squiggly lines someone drew

bhvrdr

Please stop posting nonsense. That would be a real live baseline versus modified dyno.

silversx

Knightmare69

Thanks for taking the time to do a review. I myself am looking for a tune for my fiancee's C200 CGI, but after reading your review I'll prob stay away from this company. To think that you ran a faster time bone stock is quite a shock considering that these units are suppose to improve performance.

sklok

I had installed the JB+ Beta yesterday. The installation was simple and straight forward. I did feel that the torque had increased at 2.5 to 3k RPM. I think it is a good deal.

kevink2

A few Q's:

1) did you notice an improved response of the engine, to movement of the gas pedal?

2) did you find downshifts occured too often, when squeezing the gas pedal a bit for more power?

It makes sense that there would not be much inprovement in 1/4 mile times, just by looking at the dyno runs. A zero to 60 would show more of the fatter torque curve.

.

slowhatch

There is no way with a 40wtq gain under the curve that your trap speed didnt increase with the tune between stock. Either you were heat soaked on the first run (unlikely as the c250 has a true fmic), or somethings up.

kevink2

We can agree to disagree on this 1/4 mile point.

I just look at the hp improvement, noting that the dyno chart starts at 50 hp, so the change in hp is visually magnified. Then consider what rpm range the engine will be in during a 1/4 mile run. For ~ 6000 rpm shifts, the increase in hp would be where hp was increased by just 10. The engine will only see the high torque range during a brief time in 1st gear.

Back in the days of more manual transmissions, Car & Driver used to test cars in top gear pulls from 50-70 mph. If it could be done, that is where the JB would shine. It may also show better on a 0-60 test.

Just a general question, did VW have the oil sludge issue with the turbo I4's resolved by your '07 passat? My nephew has an 02 passat wagon that I worked on. It was "fixed" by VW before he got it. It's a wagon, and great fun to drive .. even stock!

.

slowhatch

You are way off base in your assumptions about how acceleration relates to a tq curve. I'm not going to get into the specifics as I hate typing long messages on my nexus.

As far as the sludge issue with the b5 passats I wouldn't be able to comment on, I have no experience with the 1.8T motors. I know we don't have those issues on our b6s but then again we have our own share of issues. Failing hpfps, coil packs, cam follower issues and carbon buildup on the intake valves. Pretty much the same growing pains as most late year DI motors experience

kevink2

I'm 100% confident in my analysis. As long as the hp curve is like on the chart above (does not drop down early) that's how it is. You can " show me your's " when you get near a keyboard?

The early DI engine on the Mazdaspeed6 had those same problems, showing up at 25K miles.

sklok

1) did you notice an improved response of the engine, to movement of the gas pedal?

it improves the low end torque. It is most noticeable at 2nd and 3rd gear at 2.5 to 3k rpm. The Gas paddel is the same, it didn't loose up or feel any lighter. But I can feel the turbo spools up faster between those rpms.

2) did you find downshifts occured too often, when squeezing the gas pedal a bit for more power?

To me, it does downshift a bit more often when it reaches over 2.5k rpm. But I rarely go that high since most of my shifts are mostly around 2.1k.

It makes sense that there would not be much inprovement in 1/4 mile times, just by looking at the dyno runs. A zero to 60 would show more of the fatter torque curve.

Yes, it only improves the around low rpms which is good for lane changing in LA during rush hours LOL...

blue00r6

True, although such a large torque improvement would obviously allow him to get out of the hole and into the higher rpm range quicker. This initial period of acceleration is very key to a good run in a 1/4 drag. His results of a slower 1/4 time are purely due to driving inconsistencies.

Mathematically he must go faster w/more tq and horsepower given other variables are constant.

increase the run sample size and you'll see that the car runs quicker 1/4 times w/the tune I promise.

kevink2

That torque curve was generated in a higher gear run, starting at 2000 rpm, giving the turbo adequate time to fully spool up and make max torque at ea rpm point. On a 1/4 mile run, it's probable that the turbo will not see enough load in 1st gear to deliver the same max torque curve.

That is true, but a trivial improvement for unrealisticly constant variables. Reality is, based a bit on my prior paragraph, the higher torque benefit may only occur during .2 secs on a 15.5 sec run.

I hope that's not typical of your promises. OP said it right: "The results are technically a statistical wash. There was no improvement nor decline in 1/4 mile performance."

There is a reason why the most often used mathematical predictors of 1/4 mile times is based on peak HP and car weight.

.

MBNUT1

Based on your response I am unable to determine if the off-idle hesitation that plagues this engine is cured or not. I would guess that it wouldn't be otherwise Mercedes would implement it in their software.

MiamiDJs4u.com

I just received the JB+ and installed it over the weekend on my 2013 c250. It has only been 2 days since i installed it and I can feel a small but much needed increase in power. The car drives nicer in E mode and S has an even better feel. I have not driven the car too much yet so it is too early for a real review. I have noticed that my mpg increased a bit so far. It seems to be giving me about 2-3 more mpg.

I will write more once i have been driving it for a few weeks.

wxmark

Installed the JB+ and the air filter from Burger 2 months ago on my 2013 MB c250. At first it was amazing. A noticeable pickup in acceleration on a pretty sluggish car. The best part was that 2 second lag, when I hit the gas at around 25 mph disappeared.

Things were great for a month. Then the car started going into limp mode. I would have to pull over and restart the car. Then the check engine light came on.. and the car started going into limp mode more frequently.

I had a mechanic clear the code (turbo overboost) and I turned down the dial about 5 percent from the original setting. The car didn't drive as smoothly with the JB+ turned down, but it was still better than it was originally.


It drove fine for another month.. and then it started happening again. Check engine light.. and limp mode.

It totally sucks.. but it's still better than driving the car with factory settings.

I just ordered an Actron CP9575 from Amazon. Hoping I can clear the codes myself. Hoping I will only have to do this once a month.

Knightmare69

Sorry to hear, it seems what the tuner said about our ECU is true. We run the Siemens ECU instead of the Bosch ECU the older versions run, this new ECU is supposedly alot smarter and harder to crack for tuning, which may cause it to be fighting the JB tune.

Reddio

Hi all
Need some advices.
After installing the JB tuner today
It drives fine but now the yellow engine light are showing.
I have restarted my car but the light are still showing. It is a concern.
Will this go away after time.
Or should I take the JB tuner off.
Please advise

wxmark

I had the same problem. If I hit the gas too hard, the turbo would be thrown into overboost.. and the car would go into limp mode.. I would have to restart the engine to get the turbo running again. It's more than likely, your engine light is nothing more than a signal that your car had at one point, gone into turbo overboost.
I bought a code reader online, for less than $100. I plugged it into the car (under the steering wheel to the left) and cleared the code and the light went out. It's an added but necessary expense to run the JB. I love my JB but I wish it were better. The car gets thrown into limp mode often... even with the dial turned low. It mostly happens when I'm driving around 75 mph and try and hit the gas. And don't even think about using cruise control with it. You will be thrown into limp mode within a minute or two.
2013 MD C250

wxmark

code reader:
http://www.tooldiscounter.com/ItemDi...e&kw=ACTCP9575

Reddio

Thanks for the advice
So I would need at decoder.
Might go to the auto shop tomorrow to find out more.
will let you how I went.

I don't the jb intake are the problem.
Is more the job tuner are screwing with the vehicle computer.

wxmark

Agreed.. it is not the intake.. it is the tuner. Your auto shop can clear the codes for you. Interestingly enough. After I cleared the codes on two seperate ocassions.. after that, I've had plenty of turbo overboosts.. and limp mode incidents.. but they never show up on the codes anymore, and I never get the engine light anymore.