OE Tuning Review- GL550 ECU Tune
12-27-2018, 09:05 AM
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
OE Tuning Review- GL550 ECU Tune
I put the OE Tuning ECU tune on my wife's GL550 this week. They ran their end of the year special so I picked it up for $800 + shipping to/from CA. I always have access to 93 octane gas, so my tune is specific to that. Only other mod is some drop-in K&N air filters. Power at the crank is now roughly 550hp/650tq. Here's my initial thoughts:
Good
The low rpm response is much better. I'm not sure if there is a electronic change in power availability or if it's just the additional power, but it's so much quicker.
The power gain is truly noticeable. It's more than just a "I gained power so it must be faster" type of mod. You know it's there!
The price is great. It's not a horrible price year round, but to get another 30% off now makes it a great value.
OE Tuning received and sent out my ECU the same day. Very fast service.
Bad
I had to send the ECU in. My wife's car was immobile for 8 days. I will say about 3 days of that was because USPS was slow during the Holiday (took 5 days to deliver a 2 day priority shipment).
I didn't get the OBD flash tuning because I was told it wouldn't be available until 2019. It became available the day after they shipped my ECU out! This would have saved me all the down time and I could have reflashed my own tune.
They have an option to raise the rev limiter. I left it up to the tuners discretion. I have been unable to get a response from them if my RPM limit was increased. I don't believe it was.
Overall, I recommend the tune. It really makes this big SUV move!
Good
The low rpm response is much better. I'm not sure if there is a electronic change in power availability or if it's just the additional power, but it's so much quicker.
The power gain is truly noticeable. It's more than just a "I gained power so it must be faster" type of mod. You know it's there!
The price is great. It's not a horrible price year round, but to get another 30% off now makes it a great value.
OE Tuning received and sent out my ECU the same day. Very fast service.
Bad
I had to send the ECU in. My wife's car was immobile for 8 days. I will say about 3 days of that was because USPS was slow during the Holiday (took 5 days to deliver a 2 day priority shipment).
I didn't get the OBD flash tuning because I was told it wouldn't be available until 2019. It became available the day after they shipped my ECU out! This would have saved me all the down time and I could have reflashed my own tune.
They have an option to raise the rev limiter. I left it up to the tuners discretion. I have been unable to get a response from them if my RPM limit was increased. I don't believe it was.
Overall, I recommend the tune. It really makes this big SUV move!
12-27-2018, 01:51 PM
#2
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2015 S550
If they installed their standard 93 octane tune for your truck, be aware that if you have emissions testing in your state, then it's possible that it may not pass. Mine wouldn't pass since it had 2 or 3 systems that said "not ready" and I couldn't get that to change with lots of miles of driving. I ended up having to send the ECU back to OE to reinstall the original tune so that I could get it to pass emissions. After it passed, I then mailed the ECU back to them and had them make some adjustments to the tune where my top end had better power. They were also able to fix it where I no longer have to worry about it passing emissions testing in the future. I recommend picking up an Autel AL319 OBD code reader. It will run the emissions test for you to see if your car will pass. In most states, if there is more than 1 system that says "not ready", it will not pass. It will save you a lot of time and aggravation with your emissions testing facilities. It can also read most CE codes that may come up in your car.
I'd be highly surprised if they came out with a handheld OBD device for our ECU's. Every tuner has told me the same thing about these particular ECU's that they are required to be cracked open to be tuned....and that an OBD tune is impossible.
I'd be highly surprised if they came out with a handheld OBD device for our ECU's. Every tuner has told me the same thing about these particular ECU's that they are required to be cracked open to be tuned....and that an OBD tune is impossible.
12-27-2018, 01:54 PM
#3
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Santa Ana, CA
Posts: 5,696
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OE Tuning C63 AMG
I put the OE Tuning ECU tune on my wife's GL550 this week. They ran their end of the year special so I picked it up for $800 + shipping to/from CA. I always have access to 93 octane gas, so my tune is specific to that. Only other mod is some drop-in K&N air filters. Power at the crank is now roughly 550hp/650tq. Here's my initial thoughts:
Good
The low rpm response is much better. I'm not sure if there is a electronic change in power availability or if it's just the additional power, but it's so much quicker.
The power gain is truly noticeable. It's more than just a "I gained power so it must be faster" type of mod. You know it's there!
The price is great. It's not a horrible price year round, but to get another 30% off now makes it a great value.
OE Tuning received and sent out my ECU the same day. Very fast service.
Bad
I had to send the ECU in. My wife's car was immobile for 8 days. I will say about 3 days of that was because USPS was slow during the Holiday (took 5 days to deliver a 2 day priority shipment).
I didn't get the OBD flash tuning because I was told it wouldn't be available until 2019. It became available the day after they shipped my ECU out! This would have saved me all the down time and I could have reflashed my own tune.
They have an option to raise the rev limiter. I left it up to the tuners discretion. I have been unable to get a response from them if my RPM limit was increased. I don't believe it was.
Overall, I recommend the tune. It really makes this big SUV move!
Good
The low rpm response is much better. I'm not sure if there is a electronic change in power availability or if it's just the additional power, but it's so much quicker.
The power gain is truly noticeable. It's more than just a "I gained power so it must be faster" type of mod. You know it's there!
The price is great. It's not a horrible price year round, but to get another 30% off now makes it a great value.
OE Tuning received and sent out my ECU the same day. Very fast service.
Bad
I had to send the ECU in. My wife's car was immobile for 8 days. I will say about 3 days of that was because USPS was slow during the Holiday (took 5 days to deliver a 2 day priority shipment).
I didn't get the OBD flash tuning because I was told it wouldn't be available until 2019. It became available the day after they shipped my ECU out! This would have saved me all the down time and I could have reflashed my own tune.
They have an option to raise the rev limiter. I left it up to the tuners discretion. I have been unable to get a response from them if my RPM limit was increased. I don't believe it was.
Overall, I recommend the tune. It really makes this big SUV move!
12-28-2018, 03:38 AM
#4
Member
Do you mind posting a video of the acceleration? I'm planning on getting one of these 550s and doing this exact tune. Thanks if you can it'll be amazing 
12-28-2018, 12:57 PM
#5
Super Member
If they installed their standard 93 octane tune for your truck, be aware that if you have emissions testing in your state, then it's possible that it may not pass. Mine wouldn't pass since it had 2 or 3 systems that said "not ready" and I couldn't get that to change with lots of miles of driving. I ended up having to send the ECU back to OE to reinstall the original tune so that I could get it to pass emissions. After it passed, I then mailed the ECU back to them and had them make some adjustments to the tune where my top end had better power. They were also able to fix it where I no longer have to worry about it passing emissions testing in the future. I recommend picking up an Autel AL319 OBD code reader. It will run the emissions test for you to see if your car will pass. In most states, if there is more than 1 system that says "not ready", it will not pass. It will save you a lot of time and aggravation with your emissions testing facilities. It can also read most CE codes that may come up in your car.
I'd be highly surprised if they came out with a handheld OBD device for our ECU's. Every tuner has told me the same thing about these particular ECU's that they are required to be cracked open to be tuned....and that an OBD tune is impossible.
I'd be highly surprised if they came out with a handheld OBD device for our ECU's. Every tuner has told me the same thing about these particular ECU's that they are required to be cracked open to be tuned....and that an OBD tune is impossible.
The following users liked this post:
SALES@OETUNING (12-31-2018)
12-29-2018, 04:06 PM
#6
Newbie
Thread Starter
If they installed their standard 93 octane tune for your truck, be aware that if you have emissions testing in your state, then it's possible that it may not pass. Mine wouldn't pass since it had 2 or 3 systems that said "not ready" and I couldn't get that to change with lots of miles of driving. I ended up having to send the ECU back to OE to reinstall the original tune so that I could get it to pass emissions. After it passed, I then mailed the ECU back to them and had them make some adjustments to the tune where my top end had better power. They were also able to fix it where I no longer have to worry about it passing emissions testing in the future. I recommend picking up an Autel AL319 OBD code reader. It will run the emissions test for you to see if your car will pass. In most states, if there is more than 1 system that says "not ready", it will not pass. It will save you a lot of time and aggravation with your emissions testing facilities. It can also read most CE codes that may come up in your car.
https://youtu.be/IwxRX2Ws-Xc
Last edited by PTCBenz; 12-29-2018 at 07:32 PM. Reason: Trying to add video
The following 2 users liked this post by PTCBenz:
mefferso (12-30-2018),
SALES@OETUNING (12-31-2018)
01-18-2022, 06:41 PM
#8
Has things changed since the original post, are we able to flash without mail in ordering? Any price increases? Does the tune change the transmission setting to hold shifts etc like an AMG?
06-16-2023, 06:04 PM
#9
Junior Member
I recently purchased a 2015 GL550. I checked OEs website and don't see an option for the 2015 GL550 tuning. Do they still make a tune for this or do I need to check other vendors for a good tune?
06-16-2023, 06:27 PM
#10
06-16-2023, 06:40 PM
#11
Junior Member
Thanks for the link. How often do they run sales? Searching for ECU Tunes on the site pulls up past OE Tune sales. Hopefully they have one later this year. I need to get a trailer hitch installed first.
