keble

maybe it's old topic, but I'm new here. a 450 with ECU upgrade gives great addtional hp. What is drawback with ECU upgrade? and how to figure out the warranty issue with ECU upgrade?

thank you!

xxGenericSNxx

Drawbacks:
Price (For the Renntech one at least)
Possible warranty issues if your dealer is not mod friendly- if your dealer performs the ECU setup then you're probably good (but ask to make sure anyways)

keble

how about fuel consumption? what's the theory of ECU upgrade? is it ok for engine?

I called my dealer (in Canada) today. they say all Benz dealers in Canada don't do ECU upgrade, so I'm going to have warranty issue if I do this..

for the price, 360hp to 530hp for 3000$. I think it's good deal

fabbrisd1

Sorry - but Renntech is marketing a hype - a ECU tune is in the range of $500-$700 - and nooo, MB dealers don't do tunes.

It's not a question of "voiding a warranty" - your relationship with your MB dealer is important because if a MB dealer on a system scan detects the custom tune (and a LOT of scans are done cloud based with MB central - then your ECU tune can possibly cause a "warranty flag" on your GL by MB central where ANY and ALL warranty work will require submission to MB for manual approval - and that is a pain often manual approvals don't get done for 2-4 days !

xxGenericSNxx

Renntech markets the ECU tune as improving fuel economy by one or two. I've got it on an older ML430 and don't really notice a difference either way in terms of fuel economy.

While it's true that most tunes should be "cheap," Renntech has been in the business for a long time and I would personally trust that name and its quality with the general idea that what I get from them won't blow up my engine. Some tunes can give you too much boost and will lower the engine's lifespan (from my BMW experience on ECU tuning turbo cars) so for me I'd rather go with a name I trust.

fabbrisd1

Do what you feel - but a $2.5K premium for that - and a ECU tune can be wiped in 10 minutes by your dealer if they are not on your side - best to have a understanding with your dealer 1st before you dive in.

Like I say - a lot of hype is around on this issue - but little real world expereince reported from the streets yet.

Keep the beat !

keble

I don't mind to spend 3k$ for that, but I confirmed with dealer, they don't want me to do it, they told me in Canada, no dealer will do that for me.

xxGenericSNxx

Well that sucks (and may also be misinformation). In the US we're pretty loose about it and there's plenty of dealers out there that actually do the tune install for you. Maybe ask another dealer?

What part of Canada are you in? Like fabbrisd1 said, I'd suggest getting the tune done directly at the dealer with their cooperation- otherwise, if you go the tune route, you have to "remove" it every time you bring the car in for service so no questions are asked.

fabbrisd1

I personally don't know a MB dealer that will install a tune - those days are like long past for almost all.

On "normal" maintenance service - when MB updates programming (and they do-do that about every 6 months) then on a normal maintenance service the scanner will show a modified tune - that's the scenario, no one is going to be upset, it's the scenario "what happens with the dealer so that the modified tune is not reported to MB" because then if that happens, again no drama, but under another warranty clause MB has the option to instruct the dealer "all warranty work needs to be pre-approved by MB" - which in the case of future warranty work kindof slows down that end of the process.