pdougklein

Does anyone else notice that when you hit the gas, there's a lag before there's acceleration? Why is this? Is there anything that can be done?

I had looked at a tuning chip, but don't trust those. Are there other performance upgrades that would give the off-the-line more bite on my C350?

Just curious what you've tried, or what you might suggest looking into.

Thanks!

tejgambhir

An intake with higher flow and a throttle response kit would be the cheapest and one of the better solutions to 'fix' that lag.

michail71

I think most of the lag is just electronic. The car tries to be smooth, until you give it more throttle and then wants to go like crazy. It's hard to get that in-between start in a C-Class.

ECU and TCU flashes would probably be the most effective but that gets a little bit expensive.

SteveE400

Don't forget the inherent lag in the drive-by-wire throttle system. The lag will vary from car to car, but it is always there. Is that what you're feeling?

C300Sport

Modern throttle response is generally terrible compared to old school carburetors or even fuel injected cars without "emission sensitive" throttle controls. I hate to say this but if you "need" to jump off a light, etc. you may have to do some "two footed" driving and brake torque.

The modern/slow throttle response also makes it hard to switch between old and modern manual transmission vehicles as you have to "relearn" your timing for throttle lifts and blips...makes you a beginner again for the first few minutes...

eteller

Might look at getting a Sprint Booster, search it.

pdougklein

Looks cool. Does anyone have any experience with these? Does it really just give you a touchy pedal, or does it cut some of that lag?

What's required to install it? Any electrical modifications or wire cutting? I've had enough of those problems.

pdougklein

Makes a lot of sense, but I'd become used to racing around in my wife's Infiniti G37, and it didn't seem to have the same lag.

michail71

LOL, true. But I find if you're really heavy footed you get catapulted. It's the somewhere between granny and aircraft carrier launch that's the tough spot to hit. I've not seen this level of unpredictability in any other manufacturer.

I've had to apologize to passengers for the afterburners kicking in unexpectedly.

Funkwagen

heh, I just posted my fix for the throttle lag.

SteveE400

This is not limited to the C-Class autos. I have a similar situation with a new E400 turbo. At least, if I drive it calmly in 'E' mode, it can keep up with traffic without rear-ending the car ahead.

pdougklein

Interesting stuff. Probably wouldn't apply to my 2012 C350 though, right? Or is this just a W204-wide thing?

Funkwagen

It may be, couldn't tell you for sure. What engine do you have? If it has an ME9.7 ECU/has an M272 engine, it's a possibility. I just forget if 2012 was the year they changed to an M276 engine, and I can't find any info on what ECU that engine has

edgalang

The only mod that will improve this is exactly what you just mentioned (ECU tune).

VividRacing

We offer some power pedals. Also looking to get a car to help us develop our flash tune for it as well. PM me if you are interested and we can work something out.