Hey Funkwagen, I sent you a PM.

 

Looks like it, but I can't offer any advice on which system is best to buy or not. Sometimes when you order these complete kits, there's some issues, and support from the seller tends to be limited. On top of that, there's so many versions/types of multiplexer clones, it's hard to say which would be best. Your only real option is to do a bunch of researching before ordering any of them, and even then it's sometimes a gamble. I took a pretty big risk, ordering mine. Some tend to work better than others and vice versa. My multiplexer is completely different than that one, that is the "old" design - and yet it apparently works just as well on w204 models. I linked the one I purchased in post #4. It didn't come with a laptop or anything, (only a hard drive for a dell D630, which I've never used - I took the VMware route on my own laptop since I have plenty of experience with VMware) I set up the software myself. It's a painful process. I don't think I could offer a walk-through if I wanted to, I'm still surprised it even works and I'm still not quite sure how I've managed to do it..

Sorry about the delay, I'll likely be sending you some more info later today as well

 

Why is a virtual machine required?

 

It isn't necessarily, but it keeps my laptop cleaned up, theres a bunch of required software running in the background of the vm, etc. Also people have trouble installing the software on machines that specifically are not the Dell D630 laptop, or some other Dell laptop that I forget the model number of. Basically, if you decide to install on just any old laptop, you'll run into loads of issues that could have been avoided..

 

I think it is pretty much a must unless you are a pro at this lol. I've already scrapped like 5 VMs in less than a week cause I have been making a ton of changes like removing useless softwares, expanding the C: drive, moving around directories, etc.

 

Success!

I was able to change all the settings and oh man is the throttle responsive, it is instant. I've only driven it once since change so we will see how it holds up.
I only had to make the first three changes since the fourth was already set as default.
I also got to update my HU to silver theme and man does it look so much better.

 

Excellent!


Please update us after you've spent some time behind the wheel.

 

I'm trying to figure out how best to make these changes and I'm not clear. What did you use to connect and update your car?

 

You need to have a Mercedes Star C3 or C4 which is a dealer tool that can be bought as a clone from China.

 

Glad to hear it's had an effect for someone else! It's stayed responsive for me, I'll be curious to know if it does for you too

 

So far so good. It should be noted that we have different engines, I have the M272 and you have M271 so this is obviously some transmission changes that improve the shifting points by giving instant throttle when asked. I would imagine it should be on all cars that have the transmission learning system which is all of them? This is not for everyone though, this is for those willing to sacrifice up to 5MPG for some instant throttle fun.

 

I actually have the M272 as well, it's just a 2.5L instead of a 3.0. Less power than the M271... removing the throttle lag really, really helps in C mode which feels like an absolute slug normally. Have you noticed that much of a change in fuel economy? I've always been driving with a bit more spirit so I haven't noticed much of a change in fuel economy...if anything, it got better

 

Does anyone know whether the 5 speed auto has 'gearbox learning' ?.

 

If it's the 722.6 transmission, it does have adaptations as well.. I'm trying to see if there's any way to modify that for the 722.9 as well but it's not looking good unfortunately.

 

Hey Funkwagon, I very am impressed with the effort you have put into this thread and I appreciate all the information you have shared with us. I hope to be able to put it to good use soon.

I may have two options to temporarily access OEM mercedes star das c3/c4 systems, both of which will cost me from $120 to $160 minimum. I have found someone with das experience in my area who is willing to rent me the system for $120 an hour and possibly help, and I have found a tuning shop who has quoted me "at the minimum" $160 to professionally make the changes for me. The $120 will probably increase if I need the loaner's assistance, and the $160 may be more because the shop owner told me that these sorts of things don't always go as smoothly as planned.

I have only watched the videos and followed this thread, so my experience with the software and hardware involved is minimal. I also am a little weary of making changes that I may regret, for example which KLD value to choose, excessively aggressive changes in driving behavior or experiencing significant MPG loss. Since I have not purchased the system, I would not have easy access to change settings as I please. I think I would go for KLD2 as I am a spirited driver, and change all the other settings as advised.

I would also like to request more details about how the car behaves with these changes. If I want to drive slowly and calmly, is that any harder to do? Do the RPMs stay in the same range when driving normally? What would you do in my situation? I'm inclined to just pay the shop to do it for me, but with the way the shop owner was speaking, it definitely seemed like they wanted to squeeze more out of me. I would have loved to borrow their equipment but they obviously won't allow it.

I would have sent this as a PM, but I thought it may be helpful to others if there is more discussion out in the open. Thanks!

 

I can answer some of these questions on how it has worked for me. When it comes to accelerating the moment you step on it a tiny bit say 5-10% throttle, the car picks up speed immediately so the lag is 95% gone in my eyes. When I drive normal on my way to work in the morning, it feels so much better now that I can cruise like I could before, but now if I stop at a light/turn or am overtaking, I immediately get the power I need to get moving. It is always a risky move turning or overtaking when there is traffic, but it is even more risky if the car won't respond for like 1 second due to lag or you have to really step on the throttle. I was doing some spirited driving on the back roads and I felt that the transmission was so much sportier. The car held the RPM at the top end while taking curves instead of downshifting (likely due to the setting that doesn't reduce speed as much while taking a curve).

I don't think you can go wrong with these settings. All they do is remove the throttle lag and make the car shift more aggressively. Disabling this does turn off the smoothness of the throttle though which equates to lag and 2-5 MPG more. It all depends on how you are driving and if you are using S mode which is even more aggressive.

 

Look up the ECU Throttle Reset procedure. If your car feels more aggressive after doing the pedal reset steps, then that means the system was reset and I would imagine it could be turned off too.

 

Well I was driving like I stole it and making it hold high RPM so that could be part of it.

This pic is what I got after 6/8 or so miles of driving like I stole it on S. Not sure why average MPH is 12, must have not reset after idling for a while.

 

I made this video last night while I was driving through the back roads. My car is stock so it is a bit hard to hear unless you put the volume all the way up, but throughout the video you can clearly see how the RPM is being held at 3-4k and the car is not downshifting through 40-50MPH curves.

 

whats the 0 to 100 like is there still the initial lag ? or is it gone ?

 

Yes, it is the 722.640. Thanks for looking.



I did the reset & noticed no change.

Toggling between E & S makes little difference also to the way I drive.

I would be much happier if MB had spent the money & put a drain plug on the torque convertor rather than farting around with this rubbish.

Thanks for your input.

John

 

Maybe you didn't do it properly? My '05 C240 has it cause I've done the throttle reset and it doesn't feel like a granny car after.

 

Not sure, but the fact is I wouldn't be surprised if it was close to 1 second off 0-60 due to the fact that the initial throttle is instant and before it hesitated for like a second unless you smashed it to the floor. Also the transmission is not scared to shift inefficient, but more rapidly anymore.

 

Thanks! I'm happy to contribute to a forum I've found very helpful. I very much agree with what xEryx has said (quoted below) about how the car feels now with the changes made, he's described it probably better than I could. The changes don't make it difficult to drive slowly and calmly at all. They apply to both S and C mode, so you get all the power/throttle you want/need in either mode, but but the car can be driven calmly without any issue. xEryx said it removes the "smoothness" of the throttle, and this is true to an extent. Basically, the throttle will be as smooth as your foot is on the pedal; the artificial feeling smoothness (aka: step on pedal...wait for car to ramp up throttle input slowly) is gone, and that's a good thing. The changes improve the "sportiness" of S mode, and keep the "calmness" of C mode, but remove that feeling of hesitation you get sometimes. If I had to sum up the change in one sentence, I'd say these changes allow you to drive your car the way you'd like much more easily without interference/unnecessary alterations to throttle input from the ECU. You won't see a change in fuel economy unless you do some aggressive driving

I definitely agree with all of this. As for the change in fuel mileage, I don't doubt it. If you're doing some spirited driving and the throttle reacts appropriately, you'll see fuel consumption increase as expected These settings make the car more responsive to the drivers input, unlike the default settings which basically feel like they only somewhat take the drivers input into consideration..


The initial lag has been significantly reduced. These changes improved 0-100 times for me by about 0.5s on average. Not a big gain, but the change is noticeable - immediate launch has a bit more kick to it, possibly because of the removal of the electronic torque limit in combination with being in 1st gear.

I think I'll have to update the first post with a FAQ to answer all this at some point soon!

 

I've learnt a lot from this thread (thanks Funkwagen, in particular). I can get the hardware and software to make the changes for about $1000 for a fully working system that doesn't require messing with VMs, ports and other technicalities. It's a lot of money to make 2 to 4 minor changes. Rather than buying all this for a one time change I was wondering if there is anyone in NE Florida area who has the tools to do this - I would pay?

Or, if not, I'm willing to buy the stuff if others in the area would be willing to share some of the cost - I would confirm it works on my car and then do others cars...

let me know...