xolinlevh

Hey guys, so I got my E550 about 2 weeks ago now and LOVE it to death. Its worlds faster then my C was, and yet....i still want to squeeze more speed out. So ive been looking at the options from all the various tuning companies, and so far these seem to be my options:

Brand - Peak HP / Tq - Price
----------------------------
OE tuning - 414 / 418 $595
Eurocharged - 404 / 427 $534 or $899 for the DIY tuner
Renntech - 402 / 405 $1,490
Carlsson - 475 / ? $?
Brabus - 500 / 720 $? NO idea if im reading this one right


So im currently trying to make up my mind who to go with, I'm leaning to Carlsson right now although i have no idea how much their kit costs (item number 11000470 M, performance kit CK50 if anyone curious to take a look). Brabus sounds awesome, but im guessing its more then just a tune, and so would require a ton of engine modifications. Has anyone used any of these guys on a '11 (pre bi-turbo) and can give me any pointers who i should use?

Thanks!

(PS I formatted that chart a lot better when i was typing it but i guess it dosent keep all the spacing once you hit post *Doh!*)

BenzV12

There is also Racechip . It should be cheaper than those . However, these are specialized at MB

captj3

I don't think anyone would feel the tunes for the E550. 10/15 HP/TQ is rated at the crank not rwhp imo. Now if you had the new TT motor that would be a different animal.

xolinlevh

Hmm, yea ive never tuned a car before, and the majority of the tunes post ~20-25 more hp/tq, which i have no real sense of how much you would notice that. the Carlsson one seems to post some major gains which i wouldnt mind (475 from 382?). And someone posted earlier about doing a Carlsson ECU tune, which sounded great because of improved MPG too, which i wouldnt mind

captj3

The one thing I can guarantee is there is no way carlsson can get that much power out of a tune for for the 5.5 lt NA motor. Maybe with a turbo or supercharger.

CEB

Ask yourself this question:

If an indy tuner with limited funds can develop a device that adds roughly 25% more HP and increases gas mileage, then why wouldn't the OE manufacturer (with virtually unlimited R&D money) do that themselves?

Assuming the claims are correct (and they aren't) then there has to be a huge downside somewhere.

Karl901

I have a 2012 E 550 bi turbo 4 matic. I did a Renntec tune to 530 HP .
It is faster then the old E 63 Amg NA. Tuning the old 550 Na engine is waste of money.

mcschofield

Brabus will never fail you! best and most professional. I hope you have a big wallet.

If you can bring it to UK I've got a lot of contacts! Haha!

mcschofield

I live in the UK and we we chip and tune our cars regularly. I had an AUDI A5 3.0 TDI from 246hp to 306HP. The reason manufacturers wont tune them to this is because of differing qualities of Diesel or Gas (Petrol). They have to tune them low so they can ship them anywhere.

xolinlevh

Hmm. Yea I've been looking at Brabus options, no idea what they cost. I was looking at a Keeman kit last night, ~£5500 and it boosts to 460 HP and like 620tq. Not bad

Roupin

I had an OE tune on my old CLS550. It's not the actual increase that you're looking for...they also changed the parameters of the torque limiter in 1st gear. Yes, that car had a torque limiter. The factory programs it to deliver roughly 80% of the torque in 1st gear. After the chip the car would launch quite a bit harder. Definitely worth the money.

xolinlevh

hmm, how much of a impact did it have on your MPG? id be willing to take a hit to it IF the power went up enough, but if its only a small increase id rather not have to spend more at the pump....

Roupin

It actually had slightly better mpg than stock when driven in the same manner since he leans it out slightly at lower rpm. The best I ever got was 27.1 mpg on a long distance trip.
Then again, after the tune you'll forget about mpg and stomp it all over the place

Karl901

Is your E550 a new BiTurbo engine or the old NA?

xolinlevh

Old N/A sadly. I wouldnt have minded a BT, but wasnt able to find any 12s for as near a good deal as i was able to get on the '11 model

xolinlevh

haha, yea my new job has me doing a decent bit of freeway driving to get there, so it may be nicer there...hmm, think im sold on doing a ECU then, sometime next month. Just not sure who to go with, OETune has a ton of great reviews, but kleemann/Renntech/Brabus have a bit more name recognition and may help resale value when i trade it up next year...hmm

Karl901

I had a 2008 S550 tuned and I must say, it was not worth it.
I really could not see any real gains in power.

Roupin

Mods don't increase the value of the car, unless they're extensive and you're selling to another enthusiast.

Yosheego

loungn14

First congrats on the car purchase!

All the tuners will put out about the same hp/tq as each other. Carlson and brabus are looking at forced induction for that type of power. (fun tho!)

Our tune is currently on sale for $499 with mail in ecu or $899 with the handheld. One thing to remember is with the handheld you can flash YOURSELF back to stock for dealer visits. The change is undetectable from the dealer prospective, so you don't have to worry about warranty issues.

The tune will change parameters like pedel feel, torque management, remove the speed limitors, and will actually improve gas milage by 1-2mpg.

We offer a money back guarentee on our tuning as well, and offer FREE retunes if you ever want to change mods or get the latest sofware from us!



True, but one thing you need to remember is they have to make sure grandma who accidently puts 89 octane in the car doesn't screw up the engine! Also, it needs to be protected from different fuel types across the world. We custom taylor the tune for the elevation and octane rating of the area in question.



Typically the tune doesn't help resell... Just food for thought!

xolinlevh

Thanks for all the input, id love to do the forced induction, get some major HP boosts...but im quite sure the price would be too much, so i think ill just do a ECU. I know its not a huge boost but hey, why not? Just gotta figure out what order i need to shop in, need a new part for my home computer, E63 style bumper, CF wrap a bit of the car, get spoilers and pick a diffuser....what to buy first lol.

JY888

I got rid of my 2010 E63 for a 2012 ML550 (more practical) thinking of doing the Renntech tune, just a few questions

How long have you had the tune?

Any problems?

Any issues with warranty through the dealer when servicing?

thx

collie87

Have you come up with a solution yet? In a few weeks time my brother and I will be handed down an SLK as a joint birthday present (I hate being a twin...) and he's talking about doing some diesel chip tuning... I'm not really into the whole increasing the performance thing, I just want to drive the car but seeing as my brother and dad both seem quite into the idea so I thought I'd do some research on it. Does anyone have a vague idea of how long it might take, price etc? My brother and I are taking it in for a preliminary look-in next week and I just didn't really want to seem like an amateur, save us from being ripped off! Can anyone see if their website seems legit? They're called tuned2race and they do diesel chip tuning as well as other performance related stuff, do you think they look okay from the website? I know it's about a lot more than that but it's a start.

Thanks!

stale-bread

Hi Karl901, Do you really think it's a waste? If he could not afford the newer TT, I think its a good option. I just picked up a 2010 E550 and I want to tune it as well. Adding possibly 25HP and adding more responsivness for roughly $600 may be worth it because from what I'm seeing, there are not many other options out there unfortunately. I wish I could have the HP yours is producing! Pretty amazing getting over 500HP.