I have been patiently waiting for Carlsson to release the CD32 module for the GL, unfortunately today I was told the Carlsson will not be releasing it in North America. I was told that Mercedes has asked the tuners to stop offering performance upgrades for the V6 diesel as there may be potential recall issues. This didn't make sense to me as there isn't an issue in Europe but did raise a flag around the durability of the engine. Can anyone shed some light on this.
I would also like to hear from those that have installed the Kleeman chip if they have had any issues.

 

Hey, I'm in Calgary, too! Just waiting on my CDI.

There must be some sort of issue, could be ambient temp. range? Driving conditions are also pretty different in most of NA...

 

Who told you?

It won’t be a recall issue but a potential warranty issue that MB might have to cover. Since the 320 mods do not change the ECU and the car is easily converted back to stock, MB could not blame you for some engine failure. Besides Carlsson, Kleemann and Brabus still sell theirs.

http://www.carlsson.de/en/tuning/m-k...4/motor/03.php

http://www.brabus.com/en/deliver.php...D6(III)-EN.pdf

http://www.kleemann.dk/site/Main/per...products/item6

 

How many people here have upgraded their diesel GL's with performance enhancing chips? Is it worth it?

 

The Carlsson N.A. guy in Flordia told me.
I have emailed Brabus N.A. but no response. Kleemann appears to be the only one currently available in N.A. and my understanding is that their chip increases rail pressure whereas the Carlsson one changes the timing which is supposedly better from a reliabilty perspective.

 

I tend to agree with IMA55r2 that there may be potential warranty issues.

By the way I think you will love your GL diesel, we sure do

 

I agree, although sometimes the wide range of conditions in North America are outside of the programming parameters that european tuners use. This is a situation we have encountered before in my Golf 1.8T.

Benz should have no say in what a tuner offers, unless they are underwriting the work, and they are not.

Where did you buy?

 

I've had the Kleemann for about 5,000 miles now and really like it. Good power, great responsiveness, and mileage is about the same.

 

The german tuners and their stateside importers continually rip off most American MB owners with their high priced esoteric tuner modules and other mods. They feed into the notion that if it is from Germany and it is expensive, then it must be better.

Check out this source for CDI tuning modules. Let them explain how they increase performance without raising the fuel rail pressure. www.tdc-technologies.com. The digital unit is the one you want.

I have tried this unit as well as another brand. This module makes a noticeable difference in power and mileage. The service tech at my MB dealer was very interested in this unit, and assured me that the technology used was the most conservative out there.

 

Thanks MBAtlanta, I will check them out. How long have you used their box, and what kind of increase in MPG have you seen?

 

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that MBAtlanta is selling these things. That doesn't make them bad, of course, and I'm somewhat interested.

That said, I do NOT want to void the warranty on a new MB diesel, and for now, I find the CDI grunt to be more than sufficient. If I had a MB C32 CDI AMG, I might want to add some horsepower, but how fast do you need a 6,000 lb. SUV to be?

 

Sorry, it took so long for me to respond to the comments on this thread. I don't monitor this site that often.

To begin with, I don't sell these modules; I'm semi-retired and have plenty of other things to do besides pedal $400 aftermarket parts.

Secondly, the unit does seem to offer some improvement over stock.

It is impossible to be totallly scientific here, but (conservatively speaking)there is a noticeable difference in torque on acceleration, especially in "stop and go" driving. I estimate that I am getting approx. 1.5+ mpg improvement in town and 1+ on the highway at 75 mph. To some owners, the expense of this unit, may not justify the ROI.

As far as warranty issues, most of these units can either be deactivated or removed easily if warranty work is needed. Dealer diagnostics cannot trace any evidence, as they don't leave an electronic footprint. Regardless, these types of units do not change anything in the engine except the length of time that the injectors are open.

Most MB owners are not mechanically interested in, nor have the desire to modify their cars, no matter what the benefit may be. Plus the fear of warranty reprecussions seem to be pervasive, especially in the USA.