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1999 C43 top speed at the Texas Mile October 13–15, 2023
I took my 99 C43 to the Texas Mile expecting to hit 155mph. I completely rebuilt the suspension, steering, replaced all components on the serpentine belt. The car is running perfectly. And it wouldn’t go faster than 133mph. Is it software governed to that limit? I wanted to hit 155mph and then have it tuned, removing the governor and go back next year. Has anyone had experience hitting the 155mph limit?
Well, that solves it, thanks. I was sooo frustrated with the car. Watching the Mustangs, Camaros, Vettes, etc hit 180+. Now I have to find a tuner to remove that weak stuff.
Am I really drunk? My 99 C43, all stock, was easily capable of going past 133mph. I never hit the alleged top speed of 155mph, but I know I was in the 145mph range before I ran out of space. This was on my stock 4.3 motor when it had nearly 300k miles on it!
With my 55 engine swap (and no ECU tuning) it hits 155mph quite easily. I've done it multiple times IN MEXICO
All, I sent my ECU to Weistec Engineering for tuning and I asked them to either delete the speed governor, or boost it to 190mph.
Although they advertised that they could modify the tune, etc on their website, and through phone conversations, it turns out they said it was "too risky" to try and modify the software settings. They shipped it back to me. It is still stuck at 133mph.
Does anyone have any other vendors that can modify these ECU's?
Thanks, Dan
All, I sent my ECU to Weistec Engineering for tuning and I asked them to either delete the speed governor, or boost it to 190mph.
Although they advertised that they could modify the tune, etc on their website, and through phone conversations, it turns out they said it was "too risky" to try and modify the software settings. They shipped it back to me. It is still stuck at 133mph.
Does anyone have any other vendors that can modify these ECU's?
Thanks, Dan
We offer tuning for all ME2.0 ECUs.
Please contact us directly for more details and specs.
I've gone past 133mph in my 99 C43 several times. I'm really not understanding why there's an inclination that the top speed is limited to 133mph. All press at release said it was 155mph/250kph as per every other Mercedes/AMG built in the last 30 years.
I'm going to conclude this thread is expert trolling. The only spot on the entire internet claiming the w202 C43 was governed to 133mph is this thread.
All, I am the second owner of this C43, I bought it in 2004. As a former Daimler-Benz employee of 23+ years, I know a thing or two about the brand and the speed governing at 155mph.
As I mentioned in my original post, the car doesn't go past 133 mph, see the picture album under my userid for details. The software change could have happened at a dealership after delivery, perhaps when they changed the tires at some point.
There aren't any records of the change in the vehicle history, I have checked with the dealership.
A big thank you to Jeremy at OE Tuning, I am sending the ECU to have them tune it and remove the speed governor.
Sorry if I didn't ask this before. You mentioned being a Daimler-Benz employee for over 20 years.
I have not, but I've been owning nothing but Mercedes since the mid 90's and have lived off forums, message boards, and facebook groups like this. Lots and lots and lots of MB techs have blessed us with their expertise and support over the decades.
But I've never once heard of MB altering an engine's ECU to change a car's top speed (even to lower it for safety reasons). I've never even heard of them having the capability.
"Normal" US delivery cars were limited to 130 mph since the late '80s because they were delivered with H rated ties. I don't think that applied to the AMG models. The only non AMG car we own that I ran a top speed run with (our 1999 E430) gradually cuts back power as it approaches 130 mph, then levels off and holds the speed. The US delivery C43 my son owned until recently kept pulling well past 130.
"Normal" US delivery cars were limited to 130 mph since the late '80s because they were delivered with H rated ties. I don't think that applied to the AMG models. The only non AMG car we own that I ran a top speed run with (our 1999 E430) gradually cuts back power as it approaches 130 mph, then levels off and holds the speed. The US delivery C43 my son owned until recently kept pulling well past 130.
When I was a teenager, me and my brother got our mom's 1992 300e to 140mph on more than one occasion. Later on, I got my own 1994 C280, which I took to a little over 140mph several times in the 13 years I owned it. My sister bought a brand new 2005 C240 once. I couldn't get it past 137 mph, I couldn't tell if it was a soft limit or not powerful enough.
Am I just now learning that by some huge coincidence I ended up with 3 non-AMG cars that MB forgot to limit or the dealers decided to remove the limiter upon arrival??
Sorry, Sulaco, I didn't see your comment earlier, and I apologize in advance for the lengthy answer. MBUSA (formerly Mercedes-Benz of North America/MBNA) brings all vehicles into the country to one of 3 Vehicle Preparation Centers (VPC's), Baltimore, Maryland; Brunswick, Georgia and Long Beach, California. In addition, the Vance Alabama plant has a limited vehicle preparation center. In the years I worked at MBNA, 1984 - 1994 there were VPC's in other locations, I worked in the Chicago Region and there was a VPC in Franklin Park, Ill. The VPC's were/are considered an extension of the factories in Germany, there was an assembly line for vehicle preparation before distribution to the dealerships. In the mid 80's the cars came into the country covered in cosmoline. There was a processing line to remove the cosmoline and then they all went through a complete final line inspection by MB technicians prior to delivery to the dealerships. These locations had the capability to change the governed speeds. When the 140 S-Class was introduced in 1991 there was a problem with steering wheel shimmy, violently shaking the steering wheel. This was due to several things, the main reason was the soft Z rated tires, especially in a cold Chicago day. The vehicle was heavy and overnight the tires would become pancaked, out of round and driving the car before the tires warmed up created the shimmy. Totally unacceptable performance. The solution was to replace the Z rated tires (149+) with H rated (130mph). In addition, all the front subframe body mount bushings were replaced. The technicians at the VPC's changed the software governed speed limit from 155mph to 130mph using the factory software tools. I don't know if the dealership Star Diagnostic software tool has/had the capability to change the speed. I have asked one of my friends at an MB dealer to check/answer this question, I'll let you know what I hear. Perhaps someone on the forum has worked with the Star Diagnostic software and can answer the question. Gentlemen's Agreement between BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz.
sales@oetuning ... are you still in business? I've been trying to call you and email you for quite some time but have not gotten a return call yet about the problem I had with your tune.
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