Tesla's are far from boring. *see signature.

But yeah, I didn't get the firmware update, and have avoided it like the plague from all the reports on here prior. But my exhaust pops/crackles are likely because I'm holding higher boost/rpms now just.. because..

 

How involved is install for this piggyback? Do they have to gain direct access to the ECU which I've heard is quite buried in this car. Dinan lists 4 hours of labor for install. Is this time for install locked in by Dinan with it's certified installers or does the installer have the discretion to charge over 4 hours of labor? I can foresee a situation where it could take extra time as these shops are not yet familiar with working in MB engine bays. Is there a set or a suggested hourly labor rate for the USA certified installers to follow? Anybody know how much expense to expect on install?

Another issue that was mentioned to me by my dealer was that a modified car cannot be sold as a CPO car at a later date which would negatively effect the trade in value of the vehicle. Anybody else hear of this? As somebody who tends to cycle through cars an easy and equitable trade for the next toy is important.

 

No, this (and most piggybacks) do not need access to the ECU, which is in a PITA location.

I can't comment on the 4 hours from certified installers, but I can say that I spent about 4 hours installing my previous piggyback (prior to Dinan's) which used almost as many sensors. I think 4 hours is a safe amount.

If you revert the car back to stock before trading it in, you'll be fine. Most of the dealer doom-and-gloom comes when you are doing things like downpipes, suspension, etc and don't revert it back to stock.

 

To be fair, if the dealer marks it tuned under the MBUSA, itll be seen by all dealers so they'll know you had a tune even if you take it off?

 

That's assuming (a) the dealer had to mark it due to a warranty issue and (b) you trade in at a MB dealer.

I had a modded CLA45 prior to my C63S. No issues with trade-in/return (at my usual MB dealer) and they gave me full KBB Blue Book trade-in value for it. And my service advisor even asked me how much more power I got.

 

Maybe I should start going to your dealer haha, which dealer do you go to?

 

I would be shocked if the install took anywhere near 4 hours. It really does not seem that difficult. Yank the air boxes, take a few screws out, lay out the harness, clip in the sensors, tidy up the wiring and plug it into the main box which just get velcro'd in. I thought I read in this thread or in the pre-launch thread that the install time was really 1 hour if you knew your way around it, or more like 2 hours if you're taking your time for the first time through the process. The 4 hours might account for testing and whatnot.

 

Apologize for the delayed responses. Won't officially be back from a mini-vacation until this coming Monday but had a WIFI signal and knew I didn't want to be buried up to my eyeballs upon my return if I could help it so here I am.

BIG thank you to Vaelin for answering what questions he could. Saved me a bunch of time. =)

No. Leave it in. You wouldn't want to take that thing out anyway. Crap is buried and it would be a PITA to do all the time.

A piggyback tune would have no bearing on exhaust noises. A piggyback in the most simplest of terms is boosting the stock map and not making ANY changes to the base programming which is where all those burbles and stuff come from. An ECU tune, while more comprehensive, CAN alter those variables which effect the burbles/over run etc. Not to say they will always affect it as some tuners may program them back in but an ECU tune is the only way those would be affected if the point.

Should be noted that the Dinan warranty is not a 3rd party warranty (like an extended warranty) it is solely backed by Dinan. We put our money where are mouth is so to speak. There is no true middle man at play in our warranty claims. Its BMW/MB, the dealership to a small degree and us. If MB USA determines that whatever failure occurred due to a Dinan part (within reason and can be "proven" under the Magnusson Moss act, we step in and cover the claim. Its really as simple as that. Given, in the early going I think its safe to say there will be some claims that will be fought a bit to keep MB USA honest but it wont put the end user in a pinch. It will be hashed out behind the scenes. We have done this for 25+ years with the factory matching warranty so its not something totally new and something we don't stand behind. If we didn't we wouldn't be in over half of the BMW dealerships across the country (including BMW's flagship corporate store in Manhattan). We intend to do the same with MB.

Install is slated at 4 hours for someone who is familiar with the install and wants to do it right as far as harness mounting. It could probably be done a bit faster but it wouldn't be as pretty of a presentation. It could also take 6 hours for someone doing it for the first time and being methodical. Theres a lot of possibilities but there is quite a bit of removal and getting access to sensros which takes some time. We cannto force a dealer to abide by our recommended install times as it is THEIR labor after all but most follow suit regardless. Just make sure to get a quote ahead of time and if they are trying to bill for some absurd amount of time for the install ask why or get a quote from a different shop.

As far as CPO goes. Just bring it back to stock before trade-in and you should be fine. CPO's are one of he biggest forms of income for all dealers in the new era of lease's. Don't give them a reason to reject a car from CPO that is blatantly in their face and they won't. They want that cash cow a second time around just as bad as you want to get rid of it for a new toy.

Of the couple test cars we have had in the bay area a couple have made it into dealers and they were all greeted with excitement and a bevy of questions for the customer as well as Dinan. We have been surprised how open at least our local dealers have been to the tunes considering the stigma we always here about MB dealers and how anti-aftermarket they are.

See above.

 

Thanks for all the nice updates. Any plans to put a video out of an install? The directions on the site seem fine, but possibly oversimplify some steps, if the install really is a 4-6 hour affair. A YouTube showing detailed steps and the entire process A to Z could be really nice to have.


Meaning the dealers detected it right away and asked about it, or did the owners proactively mention it? My hunch is that any normal routine maintenance, it is not going to be noticed, but maybe each visit the car gets hooked up to the computer in the shop and it is glaringly obvious to them?

 

Dealer saw it right away. When you're looking at the engine bay on a daily basis, you can easily see these things. Just checking oil and air filters would have you going by where the harness sensors go, multiple times.

Needless to say, I wouldn't try to pull the wool over their eyes.

 

No immediate plans for install video that I am aware of. The install is straightforward though just time consuming since you have to un-burrow a bunch of stuff to get to the correct sensors is all.

I can't speak for all of them but the 2 instances I am aware of the dealer noticed it pretty much immediately and started asking the customer questions about it and wanted to take it for a spin and all that jazz. They seemed to be pretty pumped on it though. The more recent one the customer let the dealer know ahead of time, they were appreciative knowing up front and knew who to call if they ran into something that they needed help with. Was a pretty brief conversation from what I was told but smooth and cordial nonetheless.

Seconded. No point in hiding the stuff. Goes against one of the main reasons to go with Dinan. Being up front with the dealer gets you much farther then trying to fool them anyway.

 

You've sold me on this. Ordered. Let the adventures begin (as soon as it ships)!

 

Thank you for the well thought out and articulate response! I’ve been lurking in all of the vendor tune postings and have not seen anything to date that qualmed concerns like your post did. I’m definitely pulling the trigger once I get my car back in working order. It’s been at the dealer for 6 days with electrical issues they can’t seem to work out. (Pointed a finger at me for tinting the windshield correlating to issues w/Auto on off lights lol) That’s scary as no other to me but when I’m confident they’re gone I’ll be ordering my tune!

 

So with this chip we cannot put catless downpipes?

 

You quoted your answer. Nope.

 

You can but it would not take advantage / not optimized for the lack of CATs, nor would it remove the associated CEL. It would also not pass emissions and lead to some gray area in terms of warranty coverage.

 

alright thanks for the feed back. would a full exhaust system with cats work?

 

Yes.

 

Received mine today!

Have an appointment for tomorrow morning to get it installed at Steve Dinan Auto Tech in San Jose.
New Pilot PS4S tires being put on Friday.

Will make a full review!

 

 

Looking forward to your review!

 

Let us know !

 

Vroom vroom!

 

My 2018 Cabriolet will keep you company. It’s in their now for the same and a few other goodies.

 

Yeah I saw it in the shop... looks sweet! heard what they were doing and

One of the guys was telling me after they did their suspension work on the C63s, Steve Dinan said it drove better than any BMW ever.