I have successfully updated the firmware on my tuneOBD device with Vladimir’s guidance and activated ILS on my 2015 E250 Bluetec. I’ve already confirmed the additional functionality of the fog light.
I also successfully deleted the seatbelt warning chime and added agility mode. Very happy with Vladimir’s service.
Can’t wait to go for a test drive when it gets dark tonight!
I'm almost more interested to hear about Agility mode(or sport +). I found videos on youtube, in Russian and posted in the last few weeks, that basically describe it as making the transmission refuse to downshift. If it's that rather than sport +, I'l pass.
As for the taillights, I don't might blinking under emergency braking, but I definitely don't want it under normal braking conditions, as that looks like the sort of thing a teenager installs on his civic and is likely to attract police attention. Is that functionality separate from ILS? Can the two be run independent of one another?
Okay I tested my car tonight and the tail/brake lights operate the same as always.
1. they do not vary brightness based on ambient or on rear fog usage.
2. They do not strobe even under full panic stop.
3. The hazards do not activate under any circumstances on their own.
Again this is not surprising. The 2014-2016 taillights are physically different in the USA than they are around the world. So there is likely a hardware difference.
I'm almost more interested to hear about Agility mode(or sport +). I found videos on youtube, in Russian and posted in the last few weeks, that basically describe it as making the transmission refuse to downshift. If it's that rather than sport +, I'l pass.
As for the taillights, I don't might blinking under emergency braking, but I definitely don't want it under normal braking conditions, as that looks like the sort of thing a teenager installs on his civic and is likely to attract police attention. Is that functionality separate from ILS? Can the two be run independent of one another?
Seems counterintuitive that A mode would be the slowest 60-140 but the fastest 0-100.. still trying to figure this thing out
Have you driven a newer Benz with Sport+? This looks like the exact same thing. It just is too aggressive especially about upshifting.
My car starts in 1st gear all the time anyway and is plenty aggressive enough in its built in sport mode. So this was not something I was interested in.
Just got in contact with Vlad. Apparently he also has the option to Tune the vehicles Via OBDII. He said he can get 500hp out of my 2014 E550, for a relatively good price (Considering Renntech is +$2000 for 550hp).
Just curious if anyone else got this option, or whether anyone thinks its a reasonable claim. (Is it worth it to try? or does it strike you guys as too risky?) Up until this point, I had just kind of assumed that the ECU had to be sent off for any tuning..
Aside from the tuning, he gave most of the options that have already been listed here. I'm definitely going to do the light upgrade, but I'm indecisive about the rest.
Anyone thinking to do a group buy? Let me know ASAP, otherwise I'll probably just get impatient and pull the trigger on my order.
Just got in contact with Vlad. Apparently he also has the option to Tune the vehicles Via OBDII. He said he can get 500hp out of my 2014 E550, for a relatively good price (Considering Renntech is +$2000 for 550hp).
Just curious if anyone else got this option, or whether anyone thinks its a reasonable claim. (Is it worth it to try? or does it strike you guys as too risky?) Up until this point, I had just kind of assumed that the ECU had to be sent off for any tuning..
Aside from the tuning, he gave most of the options that have already been listed here. I'm definitely going to do the light upgrade, but I'm indecisive about the rest.
Anyone thinking to do a group buy? Let me know ASAP, otherwise I'll probably just get impatient and pull the trigger on my order.
There's a lot of good tuners that do tunes for decent prices that are proven. I would highly suggest you stick with one of them instead of an unknown tuner. Also majority of the tuners offer a way to flash your car from home, no need to send your ECU off.
Oops, I was premature to declare success. While I have the "A" showing on the dash, once on the road there is no difference from normal E mode, with 2nd gear starts and early shifts. Sport mode still functions properly but Active mode isn't active!!
Okay I tested my car tonight and the tail/brake lights operate the same as always.
1. they do not vary brightness based on ambient or on rear fog usage.
2. They do not strobe even under full panic stop.
3. The hazards do not activate under any circumstances on their own.
Again this is not surprising. The 2014-2016 taillights are physically different in the USA than they are around the world. So there is likely a hardware difference.
Very useful test, thank you.
I am still quite interested to know if any or all of these features can be coded in.
There's a lot of good tuners that do tunes for decent prices that are proven. I would highly suggest you stick with one of them instead of an unknown tuner. Also majority of the tuners offer a way to flash your car from home, no need to send your ECU off.
You're right.. I think I just needed someone to talk sense lol.
After looking it up on Renntech (I have avoided it because their pricing depresses me) I see that they now offer a hand held tuning option. That is pretty cool to see! May have to finally give in and treat myself!
You're right.. I think I just needed someone to talk sense lol.
After looking it up on Renntech (I have avoided it because their pricing depresses me) I see that they now offer a hand held tuning option. That is pretty cool to see! May have to finally give in and treat myself!
I got a handheld from Renntech and I don't regret it. But I would probably get an hp tuners one if I had known they were so close.
I am still quite interested to know if any or all of these features can be coded in.
I would think not. In the ROW the turn signal in the rear is an amber strip at the bottom where our lights are clear but there are no LEDs there. And the pins are different going to the tails so you can’t just plug/play the ROW lights even with coding. So my best guess is that the hardware/pin difference is the problem not the coding.
If it was easy to swap tails for the ones used elsewhere with the amber turn signals I would be all over that. But someone did it on the W213 side and it was a nightmare.
Vladimir updated my OBD module using Teamviewer yesterday and I was able to successfully load the options without any reject messages. Then my partner and I went out last night just after sunset for a country drive to test out ILS functionality. It really works!! The activation options appeared on the COMAND under Lighting menu. After activation, when the highbeam stalk is pushed forward a headlight symbol, with "A" inset, appears on the dash. Great fun watching the light beams dance around, reacting to both oncoming and traffic being overtaken. It was also smart enough to recognize when highbeam wasn't required and turn it off. For example, driving down tree-lined country roads and highbeam came on, but turn into the sunset or approaching the city lights and it shut off.
The safety of this ILS system was proven very quickly. On top of darkness and ground fog, fairly consistent traffic on the highway caused the ILS to shift around in the centre of its beam but kept the peripheral light at max, illuminating the shoulders. Doing a steady 100 kph on cruise and my partner suddenly shouts "ANIMAL". Glanced right to see a large moose just coming visible on the right shoulder, ready to cross the road in front of us. Hard brake and swerve left. Moose changes mind and runs back into the trees. Pulses racing, nervous laughter. Good mod, she agrees.
Unfortunately I still don't have the AMG menu or Agility mode. Have sent Vladimir the logfile for his analysis.
Vladimir updated my OBD module using Teamviewer yesterday and I was able to successfully load the options without any reject messages. Then my partner and I went out last night just after sunset for a country drive to test out ILS functionality. It really works!! The activation options appeared on the COMAND under Lighting menu. After activation, when the highbeam stalk is pushed forward a headlight symbol, with "A" inset, appears on the dash. Great fun watching the light beams dance around, reacting to both oncoming and traffic being overtaken. It was also smart enough to recognize when highbeam wasn't required and turn it off. For example, driving down tree-lined country roads and highbeam came on, but turn into the sunset or approaching the city lights and it shut off.
The safety of this ILS system was proven very quickly. On top of darkness and ground fog, fairly consistent traffic on the highway caused the ILS to shift around in the centre of its beam but kept the peripheral light at max, illuminating the shoulders. Doing a steady 100 kph on cruise and my partner suddenly shouts "ANIMAL". Glanced right to see a large moose just coming visible on the right shoulder, ready to cross the road in front of us. Hard brake and swerve left. Moose changes mind and runs back into the trees. Pulses racing, nervous laughter. Good mod, she agrees.
Unfortunately I still don't have the AMG menu or Agility mode. Have sent Vladimir the logfile for his analysis.
Happy to see another positive review of the ILS unlock - it really does change the game. I remember when I was shopping for my W212, I was like "meh" as to whether or not the ones I looked at even had the upgraded LED lamps, I was fine with not having them. I thought they were a bit over-styled and I knew that they'd be neutered in the US anyway, plus the regular static low beam LED was quite good on my test drives. I only ended up with the lighting package because the only designo Cardinal Red one available in my area happened to have it, and that was the color I was after. I would seriously be kicking my own *** now if I had settled for the static LEDs.
Part of my tail/brake light test the other night involved me driving in front of my E350 with my MX-5 and observing. Looking in the rear-view mirror, even with a car as small/low as the MX-5, I could not tell anything was happening with the lights even though I could see the sides of the roads well in front of me. I could turn off the headlights of the MX-5 and the E350 would basically light the road in front of the Mazda, but absolutely never dazzled me at all.
Alright, it took some back and forth but the AMG menu is finally installed, really stoked :-) On my vehicle it had three screens; 1) water/oil temps, 2) traction on/off, trans temp, 3) lap timer. The only unsuccessful option was Agility mode and Vladimir has offered a refund on that.
Alright, it took some back and forth but the AMG menu is finally installed, really stoked :-) On my vehicle it had three screens; 1) water/oil temps, 2) traction on/off, trans temp, 3) lap timer. The only unsuccessful option was Agility mode and Vladimir has offered a refund on that.
Does your car now display an AMG startup graphic? I would like the temperatures but I don’t want the startup graphic that was shown in his example video of a different model.
I got Agility mode. I haven’t had a chance to really test it as I’m recovering from a motorcycle accident which makes aggressive driving difficult. However on my 2015 E250 Bluetec it does seem to be different from E and S. It seems to hold gears a little longer than S if you’re pressing harder on the accelerator. But if you’re driving sedately it will still upshift through the gears very quickly instead of holding them. In my limited experience I would say the difference between S and A is smaller then the difference between E and S. I was hoping for something significantly more aggressive but I’ll reserve final judgement until I get a good backroad drive in.
When I scroll across to the AMG menu, it briefly displays an "AMG" banner at the bottom that disappears within seconds.
Quote: I got Agility mode. I haven’t had a chance to really test it as I’m recovering from a motorcycle accident which makes aggressive driving difficult. However on my 2015 E250 Bluetec it does seem to be different from E and S. It seems to hold gears a little longer than S if you’re pressing harder on the accelerator. But if you’re driving sedately it will still upshift through the gears very quickly instead of holding them. In my limited experience I would say the difference between S and A is smaller then the difference between E and S. I was hoping for something significantly more aggressive but I’ll reserve final judgement until I get a good backroad drive in.
Sorry to hear about your bike accident :-( When you are in A mode, does it start in 1st or 2nd gear? Although I have A showing on the dash display, there is no difference with E mode, while S mode is clearly more aggressive.
When you are in A mode, does it start in 1st or 2nd gear? Although I have A showing on the dash display, there is no difference with E mode, while S mode is clearly more aggressive.
E250BT and E350s from 2014-2016 start in 1st gear at all times, regardless of mode.
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