anomen

Hi guys I just installed my catted downpipes but cannot drive until I have installed my stage 2. Which tune of the three should I get?
Please: Note I am not concerned with differences in horsepower. Rather I want the most reliable tune for my car?
DME Eurocharged or Renntech

DLAMG_1979

Eurocharged

MatthewJ

Just an opinion here:
Reliability: 1.Renn 2.EC 3.DME
Cost: 1.Renn 2/3. EC/DME tie
Performance: 1:EC 2.DME 3.Renn

waisoserious

Renntech is by far the most reliable tune.

But not because Renntech did anything amazing with the tune or anything. Its the most reliable because the tune only yields 40 more hp.

Less HP = Less Load = Less Strain = Longer Longevity

Any tune is reliable if you only plan to drive it for a few years. Stock is supposed to be reliable for 10-20years. If a tune adds another 50-100hp the car may only be reliable for 5-10 years. Thats why tuners only warranty cars that are still under the original factory warranty and only cover for 1 year.

Any tune is reliable if you maintain your car well and only drive it hard sometimes after its warmed up

Any tune is reliable if it only adds 30-40hp

If your tune was going to add 160hp, no tuner would reliably be able to accomplish that with tune only. not even Renntech.

Edit: I am running EC (Houston) V4. with FI Exhaust Midpipes and Muffler. Stock cats. No problems so far but like I said. I dont drive fast everywhere I go or everytime or even every day.
Car has about 70k kilometers. 30k of those with EC.

Howyalivin

A response to the opinion, knowing nothing about DME. DME isn't talked about extensively on this forum, which should speak volumes, no pun intended. Renn, more reliable, not because it's better engineered, but because it barely does anything. Cost: Renn is cheaper, but then again, doing nothing to your car is cheaper as well. Performance, there's a reason the fastest cars are either EC or JB4.

MatthewJ

Agreed on the RT tune being very conservative to maintain the warranty.
Renn is definitely not cheaper for Stage 2. Its $2240 for 416hp. DME and EC are $1500 (+$400 for handheld if you dont get it on sale).
Ill bet I make 416hp with JB4 on my C400.

Howyalivin

I would say you're making a lot more than that, with a 119 mph trap speed. You should be running closer to 11.6. Your 60 ft could use improvement, but 119 mph is the kind of mph that a 450 hp Viper GTS produces.

How did you get past the CEL with the downpipes?

MatthewJ

C400 just doesnt seem to launch as well with the 7G vs the shorter geared 9G, trade off is higher trap. Not sure i could do 11.6 but maybe with some good DA i can lol.
I went with rear O2 spacers that keep the CEL off. My fuel trims are also good too considering i dont tune for the extra flow. Stock ECU fuel table does a pretty good job with the mild mods.

Darrington

Nice. What map are you running? BMS suggests I stay at map 3. I’m stock other than the JB4. Thanks.

MatthewJ

I would follow their suggestions if you sent them a log. Not everyone has the right weather and fuel conditions to move up a map.
I run map 6.

Darrington

Good guidance, thanks. Yes, I’ve been sharing my maps as I go. Somehow I need to get some runs in to know where I’m at in the 1/4 mile.

Darosen1

which downpipes did you purchase? In my biased opinion i recommend EC. i have had their tune for close to 10k miles and no problems whatsoever. granted i dont have downpipes yet but their customer service has been nothing but spectacular when ive contacted them with questions or recommendations along my build process

Freder8d

2017 AMG C43 i bought in Feb 2020 with 13k miles and Just turned 72k miles and 60k miles with my Eurocharged tune with BMS intakes. Not a single issue. When i take it to the dealer for the scheduled services i put the stock air filters back on and use the MyGenius hand held to uninstall the Eurocharged tune and reinstall the stock map in 10 min. Once i get it back i immediately put the Eurocharged tune back on along with the BMS intakes. Eurocharged also offers a warranty on the motor. Not sure if the other 2 do or not, but as i said i haven't had an issue driving my car hard for 50k miles and this is my daily driver. Jake Pederson is the owner, down to earth who will answer any questions you may have and who doesn't talk smack even if you dont have his tune unlike some other non mentionable tuners around here.

Howyalivin

You're overworking yourself. No matter the tune, MB can tell you had one even if it's not still installed. There are embedded telemetry and flash counters that tell them. Don't bother removing your flash, and since you have a flash, don't bother with the CAI, which we all know isn't a CAI. As soon as a dealership plugs up a computer that also syncs data with MBUSA, it collects data that the dealership doesn't know about. Not one single person. Not your mechanic friend you buy beers for, not the service advisor, not the GM, unless they have been told by MB Corporate or had the misfortune to be on the customer's side when the **** hits the fan.

Just because you have a tune doesn't mean your warranty will be void. If you have a tune and your motor or trans have issues, then you will immediately lose the warranty on those parts. It doesn't matter if the GM is your father, unless he's paying for the motor for you, you're not warrantiedand never will be again, on the powertrain. However, if you just paid for your repair and then have suspension issues the next week, or the factory alternator or intercooler dies, those are parts that MB corporate will cover,because there is no chance that your mods caused issues.

waisoserious

I have never seen or read any proof of flash counters. When I was having problems with MB's newest stock ECU update (before I was ever even tuned), I went to the nearest AMG performance center and 1 of the techs drove a heavily modded 140i. He told me as well that dealers do not have a flash counter (at least not MB dealers). Also from my own interaction with MB and their ability to troubleshoot, I am starting to believe that their dealer level diagnostic tools to not provide the ability to read much at all, just write.

Also a valid point that was made by a tuner was that if anybody thinks a service tech will spend half his day digging into your car on behalf of the dealer just to see if your car is tuned or not, you are massively overestimating the time a tech has to spend on 1 clients car or that he even cares that much if the work hes doing even should be covered under warranty.

Personally I have not read a story from any member here that said a dealer was able to detect his tune. Usually the dealer knows a tune was done after a problem had already occurred because the owner was forced to admit it since there was no way around not admitting it.

waisoserious

Also, the dealer has no reason to tell you the moment your warranty is void. They still want to service your car and make money off of the parts and labor. They would only be motivated to tell you your warranty is void after you try to make a claim with them.

If there is no problem with the car, they will just not bring up the mods cause the car is running still, because they do not want you to service the car elsewhere. The dealer telling the owner that they do not have a warranty would discourage the owner from getting the car serviced at the dealer.

threeMBs

Agree, all good points.

C43HeartBoost

100% agreed.