Boulder GT3

There's been some back and forth on the board about the Kleeman K/D box regarding how it works and how it is installed. I bought one via a helpful board member. Here's how it went for me:

I put the KD/Kleeman box on the CDI tonight. Very easy install. 6 torx screws, 2 connectors and some tie wraps. Maybe 15 minutes. In the pictures below, I have left the box and harness visible and external. After I’m comfortable with it, I’ll put it under the shroud and clean things up.

A couple of comments on the box and some context about my experience with electronic tuning. This is very general coverage but the basic trajectory is the point:

At the top of the food chain is a system like MOTEC. These are ECU’s that will monitor 20-30 different parameters. Fuel pressure, temp, baro pressure, water temp, throttle position, speed, ambient temp and on and on. The MOTEC ECU then has a software file you build that determines what to do based on what it is reading. When you are racing with these the file is the “special sauce”.

Next up are tuning profiles like I’ve got in the Porsche Turbo that basically figure out how to let the motor run more boost without blowing up. That’s the hope anyway. In the case of my turbo, I’ve got bigger turbos, trick exhaust, blah, blah, blah. The net is that a stock turbo will run about .8 BAR and mine will run 1.2-1.4BAR. Pretty simple math. 50% more boost gets you 50% more HP. In my case, 400HP stock to 625HP or so.

The diesels I’ve screwed around have taken pretty complex tuner programs. They will control the “timing”, basically when they fire an injector and in many cases work in conjunction with the transmission to make it slip less which can cut down on some heat. In the truck diesels the challenge is that all that extra HP makes more heat and again the whole thing can go poof under load or spit a transmission or whatever. Nevertheless, these are pretty complicated programs that are loaded through the OBDII ports and the software is a file that overwrites the factory one. It leaves a footprint.

After that boring description here’s what I have figured out about the Kleeman. I think it’s pretty simple and nothing to be afraid of. It basically spoofs a fuel pressure sensor function which the ECU interprets as a call for more fuel. The result is better throttle response and more power. You can only go so far with this as I’m sure the injectors can only deliver so much or the motor will start belching black smoke when it’s getting more fuel than it can burn. My guess is that MB has the car de-tuned a bit out of concern for a diesel quality. The bad news on this system is that it will never do hyper power tuning although I’d guess it could be a part of mods that do. There is some very good news though:

I would be very surprised if it can be tracked as it’s not ECU SW. If it failed it would throw a bad sensor code but that’s about it.

The other good news is that I doubt it can do any damage other than deliver too much fuel if set too rich as listed above.

It is practicing a basic diesel hop up trick of spoofing the ECU to deliver more fuel rail pressure.

I may have screwed up how it works but I don’t think so. I'm sure there are many that no more about the box than I do.

So far, the drive is crisper. I’m on a long drive tonight and will post driving reactions in a bit. So far, I like it.

The photo on the left shows the box. The photo on the right shows where it plugs into the sensor at the bottom middle of the frame.

harkgar

This Kleemann box looks different from the one in Kosher Benz's photo. His box showed 6 wires with connectors at their ends and dangling all over the place. Your box looks like the Carlsson one with only two terminals. I bought a Bullydog box which is supposed to be arriving next Tuesday. Carlsson America does not have one for the 2006 and I thought (wrongly) that the Kleemann box is hard to install.

Why did you leave the box in front of the firewall? It is much cooler behind it, close to the ECU.

harkgar

Keep us posted with how the Kleemann box performs after its "run-in". The TDi guys told me it takes a while for the black smoke to disappear.

philfna

Looks great. I concur the system is well designed. I've had it now for a month, and I have had an 8 percent gain in fuel economy on the stock setting of 4.

I am looking to do some dyno testing next month. My box looks identical, and it is clipped in with cable ties (high grade).

The responsiveness, and the "pleasure" of driving is just plain fun. I agree that it is probably quite safe. Not to mention several MB dealers sell and install them.


BTW No black smoke here.

harkgar

I wish you guys had posted these before I ordered the Bullydog. Would you post a photo of the Kleemann box or a link? How many terminals are there on your box? Two or 6? Part number? Price?

Thanks.

philfna

$850 from my local MB shop. You give them the VIN, and they tell you the part. BTW the splicing I am not familiar with. My buddy has a CDI no splicing and I have a Bluetec no splicing.

pinebaron

In the Bluetec its totally plug in and takes five minutes or less to install. It takes the computer around 300 miles of driving to adjust to the KD-Box and after that its Heaven. Improved acceleration, greater passing power and can also result in 2mpg or more improvement in mileage if you drive steadily.

Boulder GT3

There's no black smoke.

The sensor on the fuel rail is on the front of the motor not the firewall. I left the box out so I could adjust easily if I want to. I'll mount it under the shroud in a week or so once I'm comfortable with the settings. It will not be visible.

The point I was trying to make in my rambling original post is that this is a very simple box. It does not talk even talk to the ECU. As near as I can tell it is just changing the baseline value on the rail sensor. The rotary switch on the box sets a different level of resistance which tells the ecu to put more fuel on the rail. Settings for Bluetec diesels are on the box as well.

Boulder GT3

There is no splicing. The connection to the rail sensor is a 3 wire M-F connector. You unplug the connector and plug in the K/D harness that is supplied. One end of the harness goes to the sensor and the other end goes to the factory harness. In the middle of the Kleeman supplied harness there is a DB-9 connector and you plug the K/D box in there.

A PDF of the harness is attached.

harkgar

Thank you man. This setup definitely is different from the Kleemann box so much talked about around 2006 - 2007 when Kosher Benz installed one in his car. He had since sold his E320 CDi and gone onto othe hobbies like a Corvette and a very healthy looking young lady in a bikini.

I notice that this KD box fits the inline 5 as well as the inline 6.

Final question. Is it necessary to disconnect the battery before installation?

harkgar

Thank you Philfna. I shall report on my soon to be installed tuning box coming from California by UPS.

philfna

The Bully box does the same thing I suspect -- but Kleeman has such a great rep with Mercedes rather get the box designed just for MB's. I always am nervous about any add-on to start with. The tech did not disconnect the battery when he put mine in.

Barrf

I've just installed mine in my 2006 E320 CDI, and it has produced immediate and startling gains, particularly under heavy throttle. So far so good. I do have a question, however. The installation sheet says to set the little dial to B for the CDI. What exactly happens with the other settings, some for the V6? Is there a more powerful setting? Or is it safest just to use B?

pinebaron

For the Bluetec V6 it is set to '5'

cdi pa

Kleeman box helped turn my car into a sporty ride. Just traded in my 2005 E320 CDI last night.

I now have a Kleeman Box for sale. Will sell it for $450.00 (shipped in the united states). I also have a set of Bremmer Kraft 18" rims that are staggered and looked really sharp on the car. Tires have about 6K miles on them and I'd like to get $1K for the wheels and tires (pick up only in SE PA). Purchased both the Kleeman Box and wheels about a year ago, tires are only a couple months old. email me if interested cwvonlindenberg@yahoo.com

DubVBenz

KD-Box is a scam, just a rebranded first gen Diesel Power box for additional money that Cory@Kleemann won't bother to respond to posts about. I sold mine as well and bought the 2nd gen Diesel Power box

cdi pa

You are entitled to your own opinion, however the KD Box made a difference in my vehicle. A very noticeable difference. So much so, I am starting to regret trading the car in.

No BS, I'm on cars.com looking for another CDI vehicle right now. "IF" I find one with low miles, this box will not be sold.

Glad to hear you found something that you feel was "better" in terms of performance. I was happy with the KD box.

Dan Wang

I have the Carlsson C-Tronic unit in my 2006 E320 CDI. I'm not sure how this works, but its my believe that it alters the signal that is going to into the ECU. Whether its increasing the fuel pressure rail and timing, I really don't know.

The butt dyno tells me that there is more power to the wheels. No black smoke except for a small puff at the beginning of Wide open throttle smash.