2006 CL 65 AMG, Renntech upgrade?????
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Joined: Nov 2006
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From: Louisiana
2006 CL 65 AMG, 2006 BMW 1200 GS, 2006 Yamaha R1 LE
2006 CL 65 AMG, Renntech upgrade?????
Well, I had to get one. I prefer this 'older' body style and am not too keen on the new 2007 CL's(sorry)....so....I found her up in Tuscon AZ(still new), did the deal over the phone and drove non stop (except for fuel an' Coffee) with my little 993 TT that I 'donated' to the Mercedes dealership as a trade in,sniff, sniff.
Bleedin' heck!! I thought the 993 TT was silly fast......after careful driving back home in the CL 65 AMG (again non-stop) I had 1500mls logged and decided to see what she could do....you all know....I didn't!!! I had a multiple Organism!!! ;-) The car refuses to show any signs of 'topping' out, the acceleration is so effortless, not to mention the wonderful tones emitted from the engine / exhaust!!! And stable as a rock!!!
When the engine shutdown does occur, it is somewhat......well.....very disappointing as I wanted the acceleration to continue....so....my question for you Mercedes boffins is.....1) Do I get the Renntech ECU which eliminates the 155mph cut off...or 2) Can I still get the Mercedes De-restrictor(is that the correct term?) which increases top end to 186mph or...are there other options??
This CL will be with me for a long, long time so therefore reliability must be an issue....don't want to blow transmissions etc.
I'll never drag race the car, just the occasional wild hair...know what I mean?
I am in the States.......
Thank you in advance
Wolfgang
Bleedin' heck!! I thought the 993 TT was silly fast......after careful driving back home in the CL 65 AMG (again non-stop) I had 1500mls logged and decided to see what she could do....you all know....I didn't!!! I had a multiple Organism!!! ;-) The car refuses to show any signs of 'topping' out, the acceleration is so effortless, not to mention the wonderful tones emitted from the engine / exhaust!!! And stable as a rock!!!
When the engine shutdown does occur, it is somewhat......well.....very disappointing as I wanted the acceleration to continue....so....my question for you Mercedes boffins is.....1) Do I get the Renntech ECU which eliminates the 155mph cut off...or 2) Can I still get the Mercedes De-restrictor(is that the correct term?) which increases top end to 186mph or...are there other options??
This CL will be with me for a long, long time so therefore reliability must be an issue....don't want to blow transmissions etc.
I'll never drag race the car, just the occasional wild hair...know what I mean?
I am in the States.......
Thank you in advance
Wolfgang
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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 2,934
Likes: 387
From: Kenilworth, il usa
GT63S ePerformance 4dr, '25 Bentayga Black Ed.(wife), Wrangler and 250 MLB(kids)
Well, I had to get one. I prefer this 'older' body style and am not too keen on the new 2007 CL's(sorry)....so....I found her up in Tuscon AZ(still new), did the deal over the phone and drove non stop (except for fuel an' Coffee) with my little 993 TT that I 'donated' to the Mercedes dealership as a trade in,sniff, sniff.
Bleedin' heck!! I thought the 993 TT was silly fast......after careful driving back home in the CL 65 AMG (again non-stop) I had 1500mls logged and decided to see what she could do....you all know....I didn't!!! I had a multiple Organism!!! ;-) The car refuses to show any signs of 'topping' out, the acceleration is so effortless, not to mention the wonderful tones emitted from the engine / exhaust!!! And stable as a rock!!!
When the engine shutdown does occur, it is somewhat......well.....very disappointing as I wanted the acceleration to continue....so....my question for you Mercedes boffins is.....1) Do I get the Renntech ECU which eliminates the 155mph cut off...or 2) Can I still get the Mercedes De-restrictor(is that the correct term?) which increases top end to 186mph or...are there other options??
This CL will be with me for a long, long time so therefore reliability must be an issue....don't want to blow transmissions etc.
I'll never drag race the car, just the occasional wild hair...know what I mean?
I am in the States.......
Thank you in advance
Wolfgang
Bleedin' heck!! I thought the 993 TT was silly fast......after careful driving back home in the CL 65 AMG (again non-stop) I had 1500mls logged and decided to see what she could do....you all know....I didn't!!! I had a multiple Organism!!! ;-) The car refuses to show any signs of 'topping' out, the acceleration is so effortless, not to mention the wonderful tones emitted from the engine / exhaust!!! And stable as a rock!!!
When the engine shutdown does occur, it is somewhat......well.....very disappointing as I wanted the acceleration to continue....so....my question for you Mercedes boffins is.....1) Do I get the Renntech ECU which eliminates the 155mph cut off...or 2) Can I still get the Mercedes De-restrictor(is that the correct term?) which increases top end to 186mph or...are there other options??
This CL will be with me for a long, long time so therefore reliability must be an issue....don't want to blow transmissions etc.
I'll never drag race the car, just the occasional wild hair...know what I mean?
I am in the States.......
Thank you in advance
Wolfgang
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 4,278
Likes: 377
From: San Jose area
'19 E63S sedan
Enjoy your beast!
There's no pulley for this car -- it's turbocharged, not supercharged. Renntech also has a larger airbox for this engine, though.
The 186 MPH limiter is part of the 030 performance package, which is not offered for the CL65 and can't be retrofit anyway.
The Renntech ECU will remove the limiter, but it will also add over 100 ft-lbs of torque. That could be pretty cool, but you need to know it's so effective because it eliminates the torque restriction that AMG put in to save the transmission. The W5A1000 gearbox is certified for 1000 N-m (738 ft-lbs) and is the reason for that odd max torque for the 65 engine. I'm sure the Renntech mod makes the car even more amazing, but it would be at the expense of some reliability concern (for me). Since you mention reliability and the transmission, it's important to distinguish between max speed (VMAX) and torque limiters in the ECU.
There are other tuners that have removed the VMAX without messing with performance, at least on V8s. They charge a lot less than the full Renntech mod (over $6K) which has to flash both ECU and TCU because of torque limiters. I don't know any names or whether they'll do it on the 65. Perhaps someone else on this board knows?
There's no pulley for this car -- it's turbocharged, not supercharged. Renntech also has a larger airbox for this engine, though.
The 186 MPH limiter is part of the 030 performance package, which is not offered for the CL65 and can't be retrofit anyway.
The Renntech ECU will remove the limiter, but it will also add over 100 ft-lbs of torque. That could be pretty cool, but you need to know it's so effective because it eliminates the torque restriction that AMG put in to save the transmission. The W5A1000 gearbox is certified for 1000 N-m (738 ft-lbs) and is the reason for that odd max torque for the 65 engine. I'm sure the Renntech mod makes the car even more amazing, but it would be at the expense of some reliability concern (for me). Since you mention reliability and the transmission, it's important to distinguish between max speed (VMAX) and torque limiters in the ECU.
There are other tuners that have removed the VMAX without messing with performance, at least on V8s. They charge a lot less than the full Renntech mod (over $6K) which has to flash both ECU and TCU because of torque limiters. I don't know any names or whether they'll do it on the 65. Perhaps someone else on this board knows?
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 7,092
Likes: 13
From: Salt Lake City (but not Morm)
2003 E55 & 2014 GL550
Ahhhh, don't worry bout it man. You'll be fine.
If you just get on it now and then, you just are not going to have any problems with such a beefy drivetrain car. My dealer told me the differential on the 65 is just A MONSTER. Massive overengineering on the 65's.
I would go Renntech or Kleemann ECU. The difference is supposed to be huge and you'll be able to get er up near 186mph nice and easy.
Bottom line....the tranny runs around 5K and half shafts are about 600 each. It's not that big a deal if something should go wrong and you gotta swap um out.
For a guy that just spent 150K+ for a car, I am assuming that would not be too much of an issue for ya.
Enjoy the car, sounds incredible.
If you just get on it now and then, you just are not going to have any problems with such a beefy drivetrain car. My dealer told me the differential on the 65 is just A MONSTER. Massive overengineering on the 65's.
I would go Renntech or Kleemann ECU. The difference is supposed to be huge and you'll be able to get er up near 186mph nice and easy.
Bottom line....the tranny runs around 5K and half shafts are about 600 each. It's not that big a deal if something should go wrong and you gotta swap um out.
For a guy that just spent 150K+ for a car, I am assuming that would not be too much of an issue for ya.
Enjoy the car, sounds incredible.
