E-Class (W212) 2010 - 2016: E 350, E 550
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by: CARiD

Feedback from tuned M278 owners

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Rate Thread
 
Old Mar 20, 2022 | 04:51 PM
  #1  
diesel_dan's Avatar
Thread Starter
Member
 
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 169
Likes: 76
2013 E550 sedan
Feedback from tuned M278 owners

Hello,
Would really like to not have this become a thread about tuning versus not. I'm looking for feedback from those particularly that have run tuned for some time - have you had any issues, if so of what nature? We plan to keep this car for some time - wife is happy with it as-is, me - I could be happier with more pep... As a compromise I had a custom tune done originally that was a little less hot than Stage 1, but I also have hotter tunes...

More story if you care:
Our E550 I decided to tune a couple of years ago, but only ran it tuned for a very short bit. The reason for that is the car had other issues that were covered under warranty, so I put it back to stock (I have OEtuning and the My Genius). The dealership made some mistakes and one of the things they did while trying to fix a problem they created, is replace the MCU, and they said they put the existing software back in. So months rolled by and I just didn't want to attempt re-install of what was in the My Genius and find out I'd bricked the MCU. Yeah and wait until the warranty ran out too... OEtuning is going to reset the MyGenius and we'll upload the current stock file and they'll send me back the updated ones - they are just a great company to deal with!

Anyway, appreciate any feedback on how your tuned cars have been, reliability-wise, things you needed to change to accomodate the tune, you tell me...
TIA
Reply
Old Mar 20, 2022 | 09:18 PM
  #2  
DeTh's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 319
Likes: 138
From: Miami
W212 E350
Originally Posted by diesel_dan
Hello,
Would really like to not have this become a thread about tuning versus not. I'm looking for feedback from those particularly that have run tuned for some time - have you had any issues, if so of what nature? We plan to keep this car for some time - wife is happy with it as-is, me - I could be happier with more pep... As a compromise I had a custom tune done originally that was a little less hot than Stage 1, but I also have hotter tunes...

More story if you care:
Our E550 I decided to tune a couple of years ago, but only ran it tuned for a very short bit. The reason for that is the car had other issues that were covered under warranty, so I put it back to stock (I have OEtuning and the My Genius). The dealership made some mistakes and one of the things they did while trying to fix a problem they created, is replace the MCU, and they said they put the existing software back in. So months rolled by and I just didn't want to attempt re-install of what was in the My Genius and find out I'd bricked the MCU. Yeah and wait until the warranty ran out too... OEtuning is going to reset the MyGenius and we'll upload the current stock file and they'll send me back the updated ones - they are just a great company to deal with!

Anyway, appreciate any feedback on how your tuned cars have been, reliability-wise, things you needed to change to accomodate the tune, you tell me...
TIA
Somewhat unrelated, but related to OETuning. Have you by any chance had your car above 160mph with the tune? I have my car tuned by them, and my speedo doesn't read higher than 160. I feel that the car has more mph to go, but I think it might be limited. I tried to reach out to them and had no response
Reply
Old Mar 21, 2022 | 11:23 AM
  #3  
diesel_dan's Avatar
Thread Starter
Member
 
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 169
Likes: 76
2013 E550 sedan
Originally Posted by DeTh
Somewhat unrelated, but related to OETuning. Have you by any chance had your car above 160mph with the tune? I have my car tuned by them, and my speedo doesn't read higher than 160. I feel that the car has more mph to go, but I think it might be limited. I tried to reach out to them and had no response
No I never got a chance to see if the speed limiter (I think mine is around 130mph) was indeed removed...
Reply
Old Mar 21, 2022 | 11:24 AM
  #4  
DeTh's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 319
Likes: 138
From: Miami
W212 E350
Originally Posted by diesel_dan
No I never got a chance to see if the speed limiter (I think mine is around 130mph) was indeed removed...
The 133 mph limiter was removed for me, I just think they bumped mine to 160 instead of their claimed number of 210
Reply
Old Mar 21, 2022 | 12:08 PM
  #5  
diesel_dan's Avatar
Thread Starter
Member
 
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 169
Likes: 76
2013 E550 sedan
Originally Posted by DeTh
The 133 mph limiter was removed for me, I just think they bumped mine to 160 instead of their claimed number of 210
You do know there is a limit to how fast that motor will be able to push your car, right? I wouldn't have thought you could get to 160 even...
Reply
Old Mar 21, 2022 | 01:40 PM
  #6  
DeTh's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 319
Likes: 138
From: Miami
W212 E350
Originally Posted by diesel_dan
You do know there is a limit to how fast that motor will be able to push your car, right? I wouldn't have thought you could get to 160 even...
Yes I’m aware haha, the only reason I believe it can go faster than 160 is since I’ve hit it going uphill, with a headwind (and multiple passengers). In my opinion, I think the car should pick up atleast another 2-3 mph downhill with a tailwind and just me in it(hopefully more). Perhaps it’s aero limited, but being that this car is so aerodynamic I feel it’s a little far from being just a coincidence that it ‘only’ goes as fast as the speedo reads. I believe Eurocharged claims a VMax of 168mph on the M276 E Class with their tune.
Reply
Old Mar 21, 2022 | 01:49 PM
  #7  
diesel_dan's Avatar
Thread Starter
Member
 
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 169
Likes: 76
2013 E550 sedan
Originally Posted by DeTh
Yes I’m aware haha, the only reason I believe it can go faster than 160 is since I’ve hit it going uphill, with a headwind (and multiple passengers). In my opinion, I think the car should pick up atleast another 2-3 mph downhill with a tailwind and just me in it(hopefully more). Perhaps it’s aero limited, but being that this car is so aerodynamic I feel it’s a little far from being just a coincidence that it ‘only’ goes as fast as the speedo reads. I believe Eurocharged claims a VMax of 168mph on the M276 E Class with their tune.
I did a little searching and I did see a theoretical top speed of 171, but that was for 4matic E350 - not much open road around me to get anywhere near that...!
Reply
Old Mar 21, 2022 | 05:05 PM
  #8  
DeTh's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 319
Likes: 138
From: Miami
W212 E350
Originally Posted by diesel_dan
I did a little searching and I did see a theoretical top speed of 171, but that was for 4matic E350 - not much open road around me to get anywhere near that...!
171 for an AWD car? Where’d you find that at? Dang…
Reply
MB World Stories

The Best of Mercedes & AMG

story-0

6 Mercedes Models That Did NOT Age Well (But Are Somehow Still Cool)

 Verdad Gallardo
story-1

Manual Mercedes? 6 Times Sindelfingen Let Drivers Have All The Fun

 Verdad Gallardo
story-2

Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren

 Verdad Gallardo
story-3

8 Classic Boxy Mercedes Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine

 Verdad Gallardo
story-4

Flawlessly Restored Mercedes 190E Evo II Heads to Auction

 Verdad Gallardo
story-5

Electric Mercedes C-Class Unveiled: 11 Things You Need to Know

 Verdad Gallardo
story-6

Mercedes EQS Gets A Major Update: Everything You Need to Know

 Verdad Gallardo
story-7

5 Underrated Mercedes-Benz Models That Don't Get the Love They Deserve

 Verdad Gallardo
story-8

Mercedes 300D Has Pushed Well Past 1 Million Miles and It Ain't Stopping

 Verdad Gallardo
story-9

10 Most Reliable Mercedes-Benz Models You Can Buy Used

 Verdad Gallardo
Old Mar 21, 2022 | 05:50 PM
  #9  
S. Madman's Avatar
Super Member
5 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 681
Likes: 405
From: FL
2012 E550 sedan 2019 E63 Wagon
Renntech has mine unlocked past 180. I have only dared to go to 168. Your butt cheeks clinch hardcore. The car feels too serene at those speeds, so you don't get a sense of how fast you are going.. That run was done with PS4+'s.
Reply
Old Mar 21, 2022 | 05:53 PM
  #10  
DeTh's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 319
Likes: 138
From: Miami
W212 E350
Originally Posted by S. Madman
Renntech has mine unlocked past 180. I have only dared to go to 168. Your butt cheeks clinch hardcore. The car feels too serene at those speeds, so you don't get a sense of how fast you are going.. That run was done with PS4+'s.
Yup, I’m running PS4+‘s on my E350. Very solid tire. Looking to get into an E550 this summer, the power is one of the best non-AMG out there 😁😁
Reply
Old Mar 29, 2022 | 08:43 PM
  #11  
BlownS4's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 442
Likes: 48
From: Los Angeles
2015 E63 - Current, 2012 E550 - Current, 2019 Audi Q7 3.0T - current
Before I sold my E550 last year I was running OE tune for 2 years and ECATX TCU tune as well. I also had downpipes, upd intakes and vrp intake piping. Car ran flawless for that time. The only issues I started to see was at 100k miles I had to go through the car and basically reseal all the oil leaks and motor mounts. What I did realize is that since our cars are wideband O2 sensor equipped I could run a mix of 4 gallons of E85 and the rest 91 and the car made crazy power. My mygenius did have 100oct program and on the E85 mix vs 100oct it made a ton more power. I only did the mix on occasion when I would take the car to the track.

Also replace your plugs and coil packs soon if you did not do so before tuning. I'm not going to lie though, all the leaks and what not was a pretty penny but in the end it was like a brand new motor when I sold it. My buddy who bought it loves it.

I do have my catted downpipes for the E550 and I will be posting those for sale soon.

Last edited by BlownS4; Mar 29, 2022 at 08:49 PM. Reason: posted too soon
Reply
Old Mar 29, 2022 | 08:46 PM
  #12  
BlownS4's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 442
Likes: 48
From: Los Angeles
2015 E63 - Current, 2012 E550 - Current, 2019 Audi Q7 3.0T - current
Do you have a 550 or a 350? either way you won't get past a certain number without supporting mods and the 350 isn't going to really do it with a carload of people.
Reply
Old Mar 29, 2022 | 08:48 PM
  #13  
BlownS4's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 442
Likes: 48
From: Los Angeles
2015 E63 - Current, 2012 E550 - Current, 2019 Audi Q7 3.0T - current
I hit 165mph without issue on the E85 mix on 91 there would be a little stutter around 145ish.
Reply
Old Mar 29, 2022 | 09:03 PM
  #14  
diesel_dan's Avatar
Thread Starter
Member
 
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 169
Likes: 76
2013 E550 sedan
Thanks for your input - we got a bit off track with the other guy... I have an E550 M278 with roughly 38K miles on it, incredibly over-maintained... Going to slap the lowest tune on it tomorrow and go meet my wife for a late lunch (maybe I'll be early!)...
Reply
Old Mar 30, 2022 | 06:47 AM
  #15  
PekkaH's Avatar
Senior Member
5 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 417
Likes: 182
From: Finland
2015 CLS550 Shooting brake 4-matic
Hi. Yes M278 engine is good. I have driven tuned about 50 000km. First stage 1, then stage 2 and now with M157 AMG turbos and supporting mods like intake, full 3" exhaust, cooling mods, TCU tune. Car still runs great.
Reply
Old Mar 30, 2022 | 12:55 PM
  #16  
S. Madman's Avatar
Super Member
5 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 681
Likes: 405
From: FL
2012 E550 sedan 2019 E63 Wagon
Originally Posted by PekkaH
Hi. Yes M278 engine is good. I have driven tuned about 50 000km. First stage 1, then stage 2 and now with M157 AMG turbos and supporting mods like intake, full 3" exhaust, cooling mods, TCU tune. Car still runs great.

​​​​​Changing the oil at 5k miles is the difference. Lots of people wait 10k until they change it, beat the car, and then cry about it. 10k is for people that drive slow, and far.
Reply
Old Mar 30, 2022 | 03:25 PM
  #17  
BlownS4's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 442
Likes: 48
From: Los Angeles
2015 E63 - Current, 2012 E550 - Current, 2019 Audi Q7 3.0T - current
Pekkah! you are on our E Tune forum! I love your shooting brake and what you have done to it!!
Reply
Old Mar 30, 2022 | 08:12 PM
  #18  
diesel_dan's Avatar
Thread Starter
Member
 
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 169
Likes: 76
2013 E550 sedan
Thanks folks! I see a number of you are running TCU tunes - is that something that will "save" the trans in higher power modes?
Reply
Old Mar 30, 2022 | 09:34 PM
  #19  
DeTh's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 319
Likes: 138
From: Miami
W212 E350
Originally Posted by diesel_dan
Thanks folks! I see a number of you are running TCU tunes - is that something that will "save" the trans in higher power modes?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it actually removes the factory torque limitations in the first gear or two.
Reply
Old Mar 31, 2022 | 06:28 AM
  #20  
PekkaH's Avatar
Senior Member
5 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 417
Likes: 182
From: Finland
2015 CLS550 Shooting brake 4-matic
Originally Posted by BlownS4
Pekkah! you are on our E Tune forum! I love your shooting brake and what you have done to it!!
Hi! Thanks for kind words man, I appreciate it! Yes im there, its a cool chat and a lot what can be learn and share there also.
Reply
Old May 20, 2022 | 07:55 PM
  #21  
tonytones's Avatar
Junior Member
 
Joined: May 2022
Posts: 25
Likes: 12
E550
purchasing a 11' 550
was thinking about the OE tune as well.
So no reliability issues? Not looking to track the car or race, just want a little pick me up when i get groceries
Reply
Old May 20, 2022 | 09:21 PM
  #22  
RA72825's Avatar
Banned
 
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 4,957
Likes: 1,640
Originally Posted by tonytones
purchasing a 11' 550
was thinking about the OE tune as well.
So no reliability issues? Not looking to track the car or race, just want a little pick me up when i get groceries
Your 2011 does not have the M278 engine and cannot replicate these HP numbers with a simple tune unfortunately.
Reply
Old May 20, 2022 | 10:23 PM
  #23  
tonytones's Avatar
Junior Member
 
Joined: May 2022
Posts: 25
Likes: 12
E550
Originally Posted by KEY08
Your 2011 does not have the M278 engine and cannot replicate these HP numbers with a simple tune unfortunately.
gotcha. i totally missed that and was thinking they were talking about the NA engine.

I did see the product being offered, https://www.oetuning.com/products/me...-e550-500-m273 for NA models as well, so excited to search more about these results.

TY !!!
Reply
Old May 23, 2022 | 01:01 AM
  #24  
Left Coast Geek's Avatar
MBWorld Fanatic!
5 Year Member
Photogenic
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 2,412
Likes: 1,482
From: 122W, 37N
2016 E350 4Matic wagon, 2019 Ford Expedition, 2019 Chevy Bolt EV
the early E500/E550 V8 used the older M273 not only are hte M278 turbocharged, they are also direct injection which provides both better economy and more power. the M273 uses conventional sequential port injection.
Reply
Old May 23, 2022 | 09:18 PM
  #25  
Blkvip's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 495
Likes: 47
From: south shore
12' E559
had mine tuned in-house here in mass. put prob 25-30k on it since. flawless. granted iv done all my maintenance(plugs, coils, pulleys etc) haven't touched engine mounts tho (no signs of excess wear),
Reply


You have already rated this thread Rating: Thread Rating: 0 votes,  average.


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 03:45 AM.

story-0
6 Mercedes Models That Did NOT Age Well (But Are Somehow Still Cool)

Slideshow: Not every Mercedes design becomes timeless, some feel stuck in the era they came from.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-12 18:09:07


VIEW MORE
story-1
Manual Mercedes? 6 Times Sindelfingen Let Drivers Have All The Fun

Slideshow: Yes, Mercedes built manual cars, and some of them are far more interesting than you'd expect.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-02 12:36:58


VIEW MORE
story-2
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren

Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-29 11:19:28


VIEW MORE
story-3
8 Classic Boxy Mercedes Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine

Slideshow: Before curves took over, Mercedes mastered the art of the straight line, and some of those shapes still look right today.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-25 12:05:49


VIEW MORE
story-4
Flawlessly Restored Mercedes 190E Evo II Heads to Auction

Slideshow: The 190E Evolution II shows how a homologation necessity became a six-figure collector icon.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-22 17:53:47


VIEW MORE
story-5
Electric Mercedes C-Class Unveiled: 11 Things You Need to Know

Slideshow: Mercedes is turning one of its core nameplates electric, and the details show just how serious this shift is.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-21 13:58:06


VIEW MORE
story-6
Mercedes EQS Gets A Major Update: Everything You Need to Know

Slideshow: Faster charging, longer range, and a controversial steer-by-wire system define the latest evolution of Mercedes-Benz EQS.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-15 10:35:34


VIEW MORE
story-7
5 Underrated Mercedes-Benz Models That Don't Get the Love They Deserve

Slideshow: These overlooked Mercedes-Benz models never got the spotlight, but they quietly delivered more than most remember.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-13 19:35:45


VIEW MORE
story-8
Mercedes 300D Has Pushed Well Past 1 Million Miles and It Ain't Stopping

Slideshow: A well-used 1991 Mercedes-Benz 300D with more than one million miles is now looking for a new owner, and it still appears ready for more.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-10 10:05:15


VIEW MORE
story-9
10 Most Reliable Mercedes-Benz Models You Can Buy Used

Slideshow: From bulletproof sedans to surprisingly tough SUVs, these Mercedes models proved that the three-pointed star can go the distance.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-08 09:55:49


VIEW MORE