acroholic

Guys,
I'm new to the boards here. I bought my first Mercedes last March, a 2012 C63 Coupe with the P31 package. My prior playcars have been Corvettes and Vipers.

Anyways, I was thinking of having a local MB dealer that does tuning do a Renntech ECU Tune and install a CF cold airbox. Then, thankfully, I found these boards and realized that an ECU tune and an airbox install were basic DIY installs for anyone that has ever had a wrench in their hands. I also now see there are other Tuners that are reputable in addition to Renntech, but have a lower cost to their products.

Eurocharged seems to have a good rep, and they have a good deal with their ECU Tune/Programer sale at $999, and they sell a cf airbox that looks to be the exact same product my local MB Dealer was going to install. I can do the Tune/Airbox myself for about $3k vs $5K from the tuner.

Anyways, my question is are these ECU tunes worth it? I know the tune is the best bang for the buck, but the airbox seems a good addition for the tune and any other future mods. I can find threads on here that say there is very little to be gained from an ECU tune and it is a waste of money, and others that love their tunes. The dyno slips posted seem to say they work.

The 6.3 in my C63 would be a prime candidate for a tune, however, as the overall impression of the 6.3 AMG line is that this is just detuned to have less HP that the E63 and other, higher priced AMG Models?

Assuming the ECU tune/airbox install works, would I be reasonable in thinking I should end up with 535-540 flywheel HP after all is said and done? Just keeping it in line with the 481 flywheel HP of my car as it stands.

Thanks for any comments and advice.
Dave

gthal

One correction... it's a 6.2L not 6.3L

I think you would need more than just a tune and airbox to get 60hp. Many will report that cars with the development package benefit from a tune but less so than cars starting from 451hp. Most say that a tune in a car with 451hp brings it to be effectively on par with the 481hp development package cars. Starting from 481 to get to 540 would be tough without exhaust/header work too IMO.

Ezec63

Not 100% correct ... it is true that non PP cars see much better gains than PP cars but you can still gain a bit from a tune with a PP car. The 481hp flywheel rating for PP cars is very underrated they consistently put down around 415hp to the wheels which with a 18% automatic drivetrain loss puts them at around 510hp at the crank. With a good aggressive tune and and airbox mod you can get to around 430-440 wheel horsepower. The best bang for the buck airbox/intake mod is to remove the charcoal filters replace the stock paper filter with a k&n or BMC filter and dremel the air opening ala ROW airboxes. Run a search on it or if your in the NY area give Bruce from Tuning Technology Motorsports a call hes been doing them for a while at a great price. after that an under drive evosport pulley would be your only choice

Ezec63

that is if you dont want the crazy noise associated with long tube headers but they are the next big power addition.

Jons95c36amg

You have the performance package meaning your car should be equal with a tuned C63. Well.. it depends which tune.

SROC276

I have the P31 and just flashed it (oetuning)and added the carbonio intake kit for my car. The car is a lot smoother due to the tune and top end pulls a lot harder than stock. I am not sure about hp figures but avg is about 10-20hp at the crank from the tune on our car. The carbonio kit looks good and adds a bit more on the top end. I did notice a lack of low end torque though but top end is strong vs drop ins. I am using afe pro drys.

Karl901

A ECU tune is first level, simple and easy, the next level requires intake and exhaust work. Bored throttle body and headers short or long. Then air box and exhaust work. Now your in the 560 to 580 BHP range.
Just bring your wallet!

_timothy

doesnt adding a tune onto the P31 change the throttle mapping at lower RPMs favorably like on the non-p31? or does the P31 already include that? i figured total HP would remain the same but a change like that is pretty big i would have thought

Karl901

I am not a tuner, that what you pay for, each tuner has their own style.
Some companies just resell tunes, others like Renntech do in house programing/mapping. Do your home work.

AMG9

How about throttle response? Did that improve?

acroholic

Well guys, I bought a Eurocharged tune/programmer and a Carbonio airbox last night, I also found that one of the Forum Sponsors, BI Performance, is really close to my house.

Thinking of a pair of MBH long tube headers.

ced357

Update us on your impressions once installed

adibaiz

This is what my car did with a Renntech tune and Rowairbox.

acroholic

Really nice. That's about 535 flywheel, I think. Is your car a P31? I'll be happy if I can get that with mine.

adibaiz

I got those numbers out of a stock 451 hp, no P31 package.

Sincity

That is running strong. Here is mine:



Done on 3/13/2010

Mods:

-Kleemann K1
-"ROW" AMG airbox tops
-K&N filters w/charcoals removed

Conditions:

-65 degrees
-17% humidity (approx)
-2000 ft elevation (approx)
-1673 current mileage at dyno time

Max results after 3 pulls in 4th gear (SAE smoothing 5):

421.75 HP/384.30 TQ

Karl901

Dyno tests are all different, track times tell the story.
Renntech
ECU tune
100% LSD
Tranmission upgrade
downpipes with 200cel cats
305 Michelin SS
Intercooler pump up grade.

AMG9

Do you have p31 or non p31? How does it feel?