After scanning through this forum and checking numbers on vendor sites, this is a summary of the top 3 most popular tunes you can get for the CLS550:

RennTech
HP: 540
Torque:705
Price: $2480

Eurocharged
HP: 530
Torque: 606
Price: $1999

OE Tuning
HP: 500
Torque: 580
Price: $1195

Is this about right? Which one do you have and what is your experience with it? Can you load any of these tunes yourself without having to ship the ECU? Do you all of these tunes produce the "pops and crackles" that mimic AMG models? Will any of these tunes do well with Premium 91 octane fuel? Do any of these tunes have additional requirements like spark plug upgrades?

 

I have mine tuned by OE, through a flash loader. The flash loader goes in through the OBD2 port and you can load your tune on from there, no ECU shipping required. However I do think OE produces a fair bit more power than is advertised, especially if you look at their dyno sheet.

And OE does give you an option to get a burble tune, and my god is it glorious when you crack downshifts! But I do believe euro charged and RT give you the same options.

Regarding my tune, it completely transformed my car, the car was fast stock, but holy hell Is it a completely different monster now!

 

Thanks for the quick reply @bob2011 , this is exciting to hear. Did you require any other engine upgrades to handle the tune? What fuel grade do you use?

 

No worries! No other engine upgrades are required, you can run stage one safely with just software! And I'm on 91 octane unfortunately, 93 will net you a bit more power!

 

Eurocharged run specials deals sometimes, reach out to “loungn14” he’s a member here in the forums. This can be the deciding factor it was for me. I haven’t gotten it yet I’m having other problems but I digress. Hit him up and see what he can do for y’all.

 

What do you guys think of the VR Tunning? https://www.vrtuned.com/tuned-ecu-fl...151077797.html

it used to 2000 no its 1500 for both stage one and two. anyone tried them?

 

just message me. I’ll hook you up Big time

 

I messaged you and I didn't hear back from you yet

 

Anyone use pressertech for tuning

 

I got a tune from Bren Tuning in Upton, MA.

502 whp, 598 wft/lbs (not sure what Dyno they use)

 

What car was this done on , Im looking for a tune for my 2011 CLS550

 

I got 502/598 to all wheels on a stock car, 2012 cls550. Custom dyno tune from a very reputable tuner local to me.

 

Those are really good numbers to the wheels if just a software tune. Do you have any other mods? Thanks in advance.

 

No other mods. It was tested on a Mustang Dyno.

 

Can you guys hit on how easy it is to remove for service? Reliability? Longevity? Thanks in advance

 

It takes less than 2 minutes to go back to stock with the handheld. Reliability with all the tuners is really high, no issues with the actual tunes themselves. Longevity is affected, how much tho? that's the question. But by my calculations, and correct me if I'm wrong, you're not gonna be using all the extra power all the time, and mostly are gonna be in the lower boost range, where the stock tune was gonna be anyway. So I believe instead of 250,000 miles miles, you might only get 225,000. IMHO, the extra power is well worth slight loss in longevity.

 

I have the handheld tune for my 2014 CLS 550. I've had the tune for a little over a month now. Car had 55,000 miles when I got the tune. Renntech suggested new plugs and changing the gap on the new plugs. The difference in the car is pretty amazing. In normal economy mode, you don't notice very much at lower RPMs. But as you start to roll on the accelerator, the torque comes on noticeably stronger than stock. In Sport or Manual, hold on with both hands. If you drive aggressively it can be a bit scary at first. I have gotten a little used to it now, but the first couple of times was shocking...I wasn't expecting what I got. The car is really fun to drive again. Oh, and if you are on the highway, it will leave people like they were standing still. MB left a ton of hp and torque untapped in these engines. Switching back to stock is quick and simple. I am very pleased.

 

I don’t understand why you think longevity would be affected. These are software changes. It’s not like the old days when major hp increases required extensive modifications. There’s certainly no objective evidence of these tunes causing ANY reliability decreases, so anecdotally there should be no negative impact to reliability. Are you referring to any data, or is this what you think?

 

Increased boost and timing means increased cylinder pressure which puts more stress on reciprocating components and potentially increases egt. That being said, unless you are beating on it regularly the decrease in longevity and reliability should be slight and not something most owners will come up against.

 

Can you hook me up big time too? xD i have a 2012 cls550 looking for a eurocharge tune. Theres a sponsored dealer around the corner from me.

 

You forgot one of the best - Weistec Engineering:
540 HP, 715 Ft Lbs
Only $1500
My CLS550 has had this tune for 10K miles and it's a monster

 

Let me start by saying that you will get better pricing for tunes and parts if you get in touch with their sponsors from this forum. Not for all, but you can score a better deal that way and that's how I got mine. The tune has been awesome and no issues. You will only get issues if you go with a non-reputable and cheap tune. And on to the second part...

I got F U C K E D over by EC a bit, on the pricing. Tune has no issues. I asked multiple times from two different EC sponsors on this forum for the reflash price of going from Stage 1 to Stage 2 tune. I was told $35 ONLY. I have their messages in the Private Messages on this forum. When I paid the $35 for Stage 2, I got told that "NO, It's $500. I am returning your $35."

Then the person who told me $35 on this forum from THAT account above, the EC sponsor, did NOT return any messages once I mentioned that I'm being told it's $500. I mean, from $35 to 500...real quick...wtf? After sending the screenshot of our conversation, they lowered my bill to $250 instead.

I think multiple EC staff use that EC Sponsor acc, so I don't know who is running it now, but I tried to stay positive and label it as an "honest mistake" by the account holder, but I was mad angry bc I had my cat-less downpipes ready to go and I was only looking for the $35 bill lol

Make sure you know the prices for their Re-Flash (for minor upgrades) and Stage 2 or even Stage 3 tunes (heavy upgrades) if you are planning to go that route a few years down the road. You'll save $$ and headache. I'm still heated about it lol. I just want my $$ back and be charged only $35 as I was told. lol But I was stuck without options.

Also, if you can wait, OE Tuning usually has a special sale taking place for Thanksgiving time for ~$800 for Stage 1. I think that's the cheapest of the bunch and you can probably ask them to make the tune a little more aggressive than what they offer.

 

Weistec has been awesome, stage 2 I ordered the handheld as well and I didn’t care about price as much as I did reputation. They respond super fast got me a new file right away when I was having launch issues almost like having a private tuner. Also heard they are adding a tcu tune soon if not already done. I added their asv and turbo charge pipes and will be ready for meth injection hoping this summer. All plug and play as far as I’m concerned the experience with weistec has been A1

 

OE tuning has been on my CLS550 for about 1 1/2 years and zero problems. They will prob have a sale around Memorial day. Give them a call and ask for Jeremy, tell him you're on this group and you'll get a discount. Using the MyGenius handheld is great for switching between the Factory tune and the OE tune when going to your dealer. Love my tune, Marv

 

To the OP I don't think you can go wrong with any of the listed tuners. I can only speak about OE personally, and I agree with the above! I had excellent customer service, they honored special holiday pricing which is unbeatable even though I got mine at a later time. I also honestly believe that they gave me a little more juice then advertised as well, car pulls like a train! This car is an unbelievable daily driver, and I couldn't imagine driving it without the tune. I am also about 1.5years on the tune and no problems so far.

Good luck