Well, in reference to Renntech's prices, it will be fast and reliable then.

 

There is also another old racer's saying.... 'Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?' :-)

 

Hi everyone. Just got a tune for my GL450 from OE Tuning (Huntington Beach, CA). I just wanted to leave some feedback for anyone else considering tuning options because I found this thread and the exchanges helped me greatly in deciding which tune to go for. Just wanted to return the favor!

Before: Pretty soft pedal feel, and the cars feels awkward because when you step on the pedal, you can feel that the engine is eager to go. Yet, the acceleration never quite matches the engine's eagerness.

It is clear that the M278 engine has been brutally castrated (electronically) by Mercedes, and they know this too, which is why they are putting a smaller V6 in the 450 starting next year (2015 - so actually this year). The GL is a heavy car, and I personally always felt that it needed just a little more push.

After: Fast, responsive, and overall much improved pedal feel. The GL is much more nimble and agile in terms of acceleration and I absolutely love the new performance. The car feels much sharper, and the engine's response fits the car's movement now too!

Conclusion: The GL doesn't feel like a 7100 lb pound car at all now and I'm looking forward to testing the tune out more!

 

Nice. Thinking of going the same route. Did you mail in your ECU or did you have a custom tune? Also how is your MPG? I heard it goes up around 4mpg.

 

I just drove my car down to OE Tuning's shop at Huntington Beach and had them do the work there(be sure to just call ahead of time and make sure they have an opening before heading down)!

You can also see the scale and operations of the shop for confidence. I mean there were so many other high end mercedes parked there! And a lot more hoisted up in their shop being worked on when I got there. Really made me feel like I've come to the right place.

I inspected the engine bay afterwards and everything looked clean and like it was before!

Personally I think MPG will improve in the long run! After I can finally stop myself from abusing my newfound power hahaha! But seriously, the engine is making the power it should have been and I think just overall much more efficient now. I cannot imagine MPG to be any worse than before as long as you are driving normally.

Hope this helps

 

whats the power increase in hp and tq?

 

Should be around +138hp and +174 torque.

https://oetuning.com/mercedes-benz-g...8-biturbo.html

Can't wait to put it on mine.

 

Haven't done a formal Dyno yet after the tune because I'm still waiting and letting the car/ECU adapt to the tune. But yea, the end result is somewhere in the ~500 HP and ~570 Torque range. So far, at least according to my butt dyno, and keeping in mind each time that this is a ~5800+ pound vehicle!?!....Definitely pretty close to those numbers XD

 

Glad to hear you are liking the new power upgrade Jack!

 

That's because it's not a 7100 lb car... it's a 5400+ lb car. And BTW, I LOVE my Renntech tune!!

 

Thanks for the correction TOURIN! It certainly felt like a much heavier car tho without the tune. It's been a while now since my tune and it's still difficult to believe how powerful this car/SUV is now! Amazes me everyday still...

Renntech and OE's tune both offer near identical gains so I'm sure you are absolutely certain of what I'm talking about

 

Oh yes I am! I love the power mine makes!

 

Can anyone confirm getting better gas mileage on normal day to day driving?

 

Yes... I live quite close to work(1.5 miles) so I only show 11.7mpg on the puter... highways @ 65mpg flat ground puter is showing 25-26mpg. I got better before the tune but I don't remember how much better....

 

Just wanted to add another thumbs up for Jeremy and OE Tuning! Got the tune done in just over 2 hours and have been extremely pleased with the results. Car feels so much more nimble and no worries anymore about whether the stock 362HP is enough to overtake other cars.

Looks like we'll be keeping our now 500HP BiTurbo V8 GL450 for a while since the next GL450 will be arriving with a 3.0 V6... =)

 

Glad to hear you are enjoying the new tune Dan!

 

Hi sir how much cost to tuning the ECU.

 

PM sent.

 

Will the laser iridium be suffice or would I need better ones for a gl550 and also; what gains am I looking at approximately for my gl; and will gas necessarily be worse and lastly is anyone able to give an estimate on how much a ecu flash would be on the 550... thanx in advance;

 

Contact Jeremy @ OE Tuning. Not sure if sale is still going on. Don't know whether you absolutely need spark plugs but tune should get you approximately 71 max hp gain and 64 max tq gain over stock per OE Tuning's product page here: https://oetuning.com/oe-tuning-products-html/mercedes-benz/mercedes-benz-gl500550-4-6-v8-biturbo.html

I expect gas mileage to improve over time but right now it's worse because it's so much more fun to drive a bit more spirited. =)

 

We have not had any 550 or 450 M278 require plugs to be upgraded after tuning..... If you need plugs we can help you out.

 

Why does it state that on a 2013 gl450 "Should be around +138hp and +174 torque gain" and a 2014 gl550 should get around 90-100Hp & +110-130Tq.. isn't it pretty much same engine.. the 13' GL 450 is a 4.7 v8 liter bi turbo and 14' Gl 550 is 4.6 liter v8 bi turbo... please explain; thank you...
Mike

 

They are exactly the same engine. The reason is math. ECU tuned power minus stock Power

 

So basically my 14' gl550 is last year's 13' GL450 already tuned pretty much... knew 567 hp and 690 tq seemed a Lil high. ..

 

Sort of, but not really. The '13 and '14 models didn't change. '13-'14 GL450 use a detuned version of the '13-'14 GL550 engine. Same engine in many 550 models (S, CL, ML, etc.) for many years. The GL450 is a great value in this respect in that the tuned engine will be the same no matter which model you have, 450 or 550. This is probably one reason they are moving the '15 GL450 to use a V6 as to differentiate the 2 models more.