patsy1099

Hi everyone. Haven't been here in a while. Lots going on! Had a 2008 GL550. Loved it. Picking up a Diamond White Metallic GL450 this week. Looking forward to it. Thanks to everyone here for all the great info and updates to assist in the purchase.

JimBarnhart

Welcome to the X166 club, from a former member of the X164 club as well. It will be interesting to see your perspective, but from the few on the list (Blittle, myself, etc) we have found the 2013 GL to be much nicer than the previous models.

patsy1099

Jim, thanks for the welcome back. I am very much looking forward to checking out the new model. I haven't even driven it. I am that confident (or dumb). I have to admit I am a little apprehensive about the turbo because of the lag. I was so used to the raw power of the naturally aspirated v8 in the 550.

I will probably look to tune this when I get it. I know it might sound crazy for an suv but I have tuned a few of my other vehicles. Not to turn it into a racer or anything but because there is so much room in stock turbos for ecu tuning. In the 450 this is especially true because it is the first model year and is a detuned version of the 550. There is basically a governor on the engine that MB put there to allow itself room to release more ponies over the next 5 years. So there is free (well nothing is free) poniesand torque you can unlock in this engine. I am going to start a separate thread about tunes. I know I saw a few already.

It's nice to be back on this board. Trying to catch up on some reading. I'm not sure I remember your name from back in the day but I'm pretty sure I remember seeing blittle and there was a guy NevadaJack, is he still active?

Thanks for the welcome.

Apollosalon

I recently purchase a 2013 GL 450 and am too considering tuning it, because I feel that the low end torque is lacking. Since you've tune your previous car, I was wondering what company you went with to tune your ECU, and did you run into any warranty issues? Thank you.

patsy1099

The few cars I have had modified in the past, anything from cats/pipes/ecu tunes, etc., have been very different vehicles. I really don't consider myself a mod junky but I enjoy customizing my cars to make them my own. That includes some cosmetic tweaks as well as performance tweaks. My (somewhat limited) experience in this area has shown that the experts (tuners, etc.) tend to be different from vehicle to vehicle.

My previous MB was a GL550. I did some mods to that but did not do a tune. I did a Brabus exhaust, a lowering module, then some fascia kits/chrome, etc.

All that said, if you want the "no brainer" decision and if you have cash to spare, based upon my limited research it would have to be Renntech. They have been in the business for a while, was started by an ex-AMG guy (MB now owns AMG), some MB dealerships even will send out your ecu directly to them (go figure).

As far as warranty my experience is this. I don't think an ecu tune is ever going to blow anything up or get you into warranty trouble. By tuning the ecu you are adjusting revs, shift points, boost pressure, etc. Very unlikely any of those optimizations will cause major problems or void a warranty. If the tune is done by "a hack" they could physically damage your ecu handling it (=bad) or over-optimize the programming which can lead to cels (check engine light) which are a nuisance more than anything. That's why, especially when dealing with very expensive vehicles, I would proceed with caution. Do your research. You probably want to go with someone that specializes in MB as opposed to people who perform tunes for (pick your brand). Each car manufacturer and each sub model, has their own nuances which requires careful tweaking of the programming. Once a particular model has been out for a year or more, word gets around (as does copies of ecu files) about how to write a solid tune for that model. So YOU CAN get good ecu tunes from vendors that won't rip your head off on price but it usually takes a year or two before those tunes filter down to those (multi) vendors.

The big question is, has the GL450 been out long enough for some good competition between the vendors who write ecu tunes OR do we still have to pay top dollar to the big names for peace of mind and security. I don't personally have an answer to this question (yet).

JimBarnhart

I was a little later on the forums, I got my 2007 in the latter part of 2007 (bought with 7,000 demo miles), so it was a later 1st year build.

blittle was one of the first, NevadaJack too. I sent NJ a private message quite a few months back with no response. He sold his GL for a convertible if I remember right, but was still active on mbworld.

Apollosalon

Thank you for your input. I have contacted Renntech and I'm considering them to be my first choice to upgrade my ECU. They are quite expensive though. Doubling in price from other companies like Eurochage and OE Tuning.

fabbrisd1

First, you needd to confirm with your dealer before the tune so that when your GL goes in for service the tune is not erased during diagnosis/update - and with a tune you do close the door on MB update, just so you know.

Choose what you will, but frankly the tunes are way out of whack on pricing - and frankly dial in and price improvement will take time until the Euro guys have more road experience to do more right..

Message is this .. tune money will be less, and tune will be more effective the longer you wait for your personal implementation..

patsy1099

From what I can tell I don't think the tunes will get that much better. They have had plenty of time to get the mapping figured out. They might get a bit cheaper but can already be obtained for less than $1000 (non-Renntech) and for what you actually get for that money (hp & tq) it is an incredible bang for the buck. There is so much available with these turbos that you get enormous hp & tq. People pay the same or more for only a 30-40 bump in hp on other vehicles.

As far as not being able to have the dealer update your ecu in the future I'm not sure I would agree with that. Dealers don't frequently update the ecu. Yes sometimes they do, recalls, etc, but it's not often (in my experience). If the dealer has an ecu update I would have them go ahead and do it since it is probably fixing something important and then just send back the ecu to your tuner for (re)update. Just make sure the tuner you select will allow you to send it back in for free.

I said Renntech was the no brainer because they have been in the business for a long time. That said, they are VERY expensive. You should do your research and at least seriously consider OE and Eurocharged. Each person will have their own reasons for who they choose and nobody is wrong. You need to feel comfortable who you trust with your expensive vehicle and where you see the best price/peace of mind value. Just my opinions.

blittle

Welcome back!! The GL is a terrific vehicle ( for its intended purpose ) in all its variations. Each that I have owned has been a significant improvement over the previous..... What you have noted about the capabilities of the gas engine in the 2013 to be "tuned up or down" re model 450 or 550 is correct......but here's an interesting point: I included the so called "off road" package on mine, and, several of the program selections in that package are "tune shifts" designed for "on road" performance! When you select "sport".... hang on....you are getting some of the same performance of the 550 varirant! Select "trailer" and you are getting a further adjustment of shift points, throttle response, torque delivery, etc. .... neither of these programs have anything to do with the "off" road programs also included. In short..... i think the OR package costs pretty much the same as a quality tune......its all in what you want, of course, but if those folks wanting a bit more "off the line" or specifically related to torque, could test drive the GL450 with the "off/on" package, I think they would be amazed! 10K on my 2013 450 and I love this thing so far!

fabbrisd1

I am trying to be helpful based on solid experience with the X166 and with both Mercedes and AMG development teams.

If someone is antsy/excited to tune now - I am not going to hold you back - you'll be impressed as part of being a 1st adopter - so you know a good # of dyno graphs posted -to me look like they we done in Excel ....


Reputable is in the eye's of the beholder - I guess actually owning a Dyno is the only requirement - yes, you will get a "bang" for the buck, but when can you will get a better bang is the question - and after the '14's are released and tested your upgrade dollar will be better spent....

patsy1099

blittle, thanks nice to be back.

I have to say that I am very impressed with the new turbo engine. I have read some people complain of lag or underpower but I don't feel it at all. I think the engine in the 450 is very smooth and very powerful. I detect very little lag. I think part of the problem is that some people do not know how to drive a turbo, they stomp on it. You really need to feather the accelerator and get it into the proper rpm range before further gunning it. Otherwise you will experience hesitation (lag).

I had no idea about the off road package adjusting the shift points like that. Very cool! I'm sure in sport mode you also get the revs adjusted. Nice to know you get more ON ROAD benefits as well. One thing they won't do with that package however is adjust the boost pressure and that is where you will see significant gains in hp and tq. It's not like most people are going to track a GL but since this engine is detuned, why not get the extra ponies!

fabbrisd1, I think you are being very helpful and I agree with a a lot of what you say. I just think that this isn't really 1st adopting anymore. The vehicle has been out for a year. The tunes that are available are not piggybacks but legitimate re-mappings. I have had many other vehicles over the years, and have tuned them so I also speak with some experience. Most of the major players have a tune for this vehicle. Some of the Euro players may/may not, especially the smaller ones, but the remapping on this ecu has been figured out and from what I can gather appears to be rock solid. The only two things (possibly) left to conquer is being able to program the ecu via odbII rather than opening it and price......and how much is price going to drop, another few hundred, if that? You can already get a dynamite deal on this tune from a few of the tuners. All my opinion of course.