roscoe108

Okay, so I'm not looking to get into a debate around the benefits of proper chip tuning versus the piggy-back tuning boxes that abound everywhere on eBay. I get the difference, I know that chip tuning is better. However, I am still under warranty and my dealership is renowned for being massive sticklers.

So I am forced to consider a tuning box. Now, I am not considering this blindly. I had a tuning box once for a 2011 Golf TDI that I once owned, and it did work pretty well...at first. As you all know, tuning boxes just play with fuel pressure and eventually the ECU catches on and readjusts back to normal levels.

However, I did come across this one product out of the UK, which makes tuning boxes for pretty much every diesel car/truck under the sun. The main difference I see is that they offer twin channel tuning boxes, meaning that yes, one channel plugs into the common rail sensor, but the second channel goes straight to the turbo boost sensor just ahead of the intercooler.

I searched around this site but didn't really come across anyone who has ever purchased or installed one of these before from the vendor in question, which is called TDI-Tuning.co.uk. Check out the twin channel box for the GLK250. What do you all reckon? Is twin channel just as pointless as fooling the common rail sensor, or could this vendor actually be on to something? The company is claiming outputs of 265 hp and 487 lb-ft on the GLK250, up from the 200 hp and 369 lb-ft stock, which is exactly a 32% bump in power across the board.

All I know is, you can buy tuning boxes for Cummins Diesel Dodge Ram pickup trucks with massive power gains and no one ever seems to call BS on those. So why shouldn't it work for a GLK250? Thoughts? For basically $700 CDN (including exchange rate and shipping fees), I'm very tempted.

MKenM

I to would not want to debate the two alternatives but I find it incomprehensible that you could pick up all that HP and Torque for $450. You are not doing anything to the vehicle other than possibly playing with some settings. Tuners don't get that kind of HP with just a tune and no other mods.

roscoe108

I hear you but I have a fair bit of experience with gas turbocharged cars and getting 50 hp and 100 lb-ft from a box or basic software tune is no problem at all. I used APR on my 2007 VW GTI and saw massive gains out of the box. I just can't help but think that it might also be the case here. I'm willing to spend the dough to find out. Will let everyone know. With dyno tests to back things up of course.

roscoe108

PS - Look up the different tuning boxes for Cummins, Duramax and other V8 turbodiesels. They've been around for domestic trucks for years and are proven to add 100+ hp and 150+ torque. Just saying why can't they work equally well for 4 banger TDs? That's a rhetorical question, not trying to be argumentative here or anything. Just genuinely curious and interested.

That said I'm in no rush. My GLK 250 in sport mode is plenty fast and I love it just as it is. But more power and better highway mileage for a few hundred bucks? That I'm willing to find out about.

Team@Rebellion

If your still looking for a solution we can hook you up with our 250 iTuning system

roscoe108

Got a website where I can look at it? Is it a piggyback tune or an ECU tune?

miked807

GiDay Roscoe.....
I am also interested in this "plug-in" setup - so would be keen to see what results you have. Weird as I also came across these guys with their solution(CDTD2). I am a bit skeptical about their "claimed gains" as like you have found out "it catches up to it" sooner than later. I don't see there being "EXTRA 50HP AVAIBLE ALL THE TIME"!!!
The ECU/Bosch controller will eventually 'catch-up' to the 'over-flow' and readjust it down after few mins of driving.....

BTW - it would have been nicer if MB had used their "2.5L" - however the OM651engines is in the "sprinter" models that is now available in Canada & US. However; I am not ever likely to get those HUGE GAINS that are available in DURAMAX engines - as I am being around diesel engines for looooong time - I don't see THAT HAPPENING & retaining the "bluetech" things
When years ago I lived in Europe - I saw a guy has that ENGINE in HIS GLK - super NICEFIT AND ITS MUCH BALANCED UNIT (weight to power ratio is much nicer) Like YOU - I am bit disappointed with my (OM642)2.0Turbo's power/torque band especially with the GLK loaded in LONG ROAD TRIP (going all over North America's)

I did some research into doing with bigger TURBO & 2-stage Turbo etc ; but then decided it - left it as STOCK ,,,, for now!

So be keen to see what results you getting once you install that unit.
Thanks in advance

roscoe108

I ended up buying the Juice Box Diesel (JBD) unit from Burger Motor Sports. I chose BMS after a lot of research and talking directly to the different vendors of these boxes. It would seem that there is no need to get a "twin channel" box as hooking up to the turbo sensor isn't going to make much more power since boosting the fuel pressure naturally boosts the turbo pressure as well. Besides, I wanted the ability to install and remove the box instantly; the turbo sensor is very hard to reach.

BMS claims that the ECU will not "catch up" because the JBD's code is constantly changing. I don't quite know what that means or if it's true, but I can say that after about a month of driving with the JBD attached, the power output remains as it always was: high.

I've not had the chance to dyno my GLK but the car is much more powerful now, with no effect on fuel consumption. I have owned some fast cars in the past (Challenger 440, Challenger SRT, BMW 135i w/Dinaan), so I know what big power and big torque feel like.

I would estimate that my GLK is now producing about 250 hp and 450 lb-ft. That's at the 85% setting. I settled on 85% after many weeks of testing and playing around with it. At 95% or 100% the check engine light would come on, and under hard acceleration the GLK went into limp mode a few times. It's all good, though, as I know how to clear error codes without the use of an OBDII tool.

So 85% it is, which seems to be providing everyday spirited driving without tripping any error codes. And as for mileage, it's hard to say since we're just coming out of a bad winter, a time of year that diesels aren't as efficient, especially during short runs to the store where the engine doesn't get a chance to get good and hot. All that said, I'm getting about 25 mpg city and 40 mpg highway (testing fuel consumption the old fashioned way, that is: measuring the amount of fuel for each fillup and calculating against distance driven).

For $280, the JBD is a great deal, and the guys at BMS are pretty awesome and will answer any questions you have.

advocator

wow, great review! will definitely check this out!!

Can you report again? (two weeks after) - what are you thoughts now? how good is it?

Has the ecu adjusted itself? do you still see trusty fuel consumption data? do you still get 250hp?

roscoe108

The ECU has not adjusted as far as I can tell. Power remains consistently high. The only problems I have encountered is that the CEL may come on if:
If the CEL does come on, you have to get rid of the error codes ASAP because if you wait too long, the GLK goes into limp mode. That has happened to me twice, but it's not a huge deal since the car will still rev to 2,300 rpm or so, more than enough to get out of the way, pull over, and reset things and get back to normal right away. But ideally it's best to avoid the CEL altogether by turning the setting down to 80% or 85%.

Really though, it's not a dealbreaker for me because it's so easy to fix yourself without the need for OBD scanners or whatever.

This has been a weird spring with the weather ping-ponging around, so perhaps I should have waited til summer. At any rate, 80% setting seems to be the best one. I'd estimate 240 hp and 440 lb-ft at that setting. At 100% it's insanely awesome (maybe 270 hp and what feels like 500 lb-ft) but that's not really sustainable, I've found. At least not in the colder weather. And I'm not overestimating either: I've owned numerous fast cars, some of them large V8s too.

A guy I know is a diesel mechanic and here's what he had to say about diesel tuning boxes in general when used in the colder weather:
So I'm going to keep playing with the JBD settings. For the money, it's well worth it, and if anything my highway mileage has gone up by 1 or 2 mpg (I hit 43 mpg recently on a 200-mile road trip, measured by calculating fuel pumped in versus fuel used up, not by using the trip computer readouts). The pros outweigh what I can see is only one con (i.e. the CEL coming on under certain conditions mentioned above).

RSNovi

When I used to have a Ford truck with a 7.3L diesel I had a Diablosport tuner. If you put the most powerful tune in it would throw a CEL. The CEL was for a malfunctioning bypass valve for the turbo. Essentially the tune was creating so much boost that the ECU thought the bypass wasn't operating correctly.

In this case it would clear itself once normal boost levels were achieved.

Chris

roscoe108

Yup, that makes total sense, and was basically what that diesel mechanic I was talking to had to say about tuning boxes. They make so much boost, the ECU thinks something is wrong. Problematic, but at least it means these tuning boxes are doing what they're supposed to!

I wonder if some of the "twin-channel" tuning boxes are the answer. In addition to the fuel rail sensor, these twin channel jobbies hook into the boost sensor as well. I wonder if the boost sensor part helps mitigate the bypass valve error message?

There is a company out of Britain that sells twin channel boxes for pretty much every diesel engine in existence: www.tdi-tuning.co.uk. Their boxes are considerably more expensive, however, at roughly $640 USD including shipping. Maybe one day when I have the money to spare I'll order one of those for my GLK and try it out to see if it mitigates the CEL issue.

That said, I deliberately avoided a twin channel unit initially because the boost sensor on the GLK is hard to reach and I wanted a box that could be installed and removed quickly, without the need for tools. We'll see...

As for DiabloSport, I am well familiar with their products too. Their diesel PowerPuck makes crazy power for turbodiesel V8s found in most American pickup trucks, like +100 hp and +200 lb-ft. Now that's nuts! No surprise that your CEL came on...

miked807

Wow , that's makes 3 of us with BIG DISEALs ! :P
Yips we always used to use Diablo's tuner on my FARM TRUCKS TRACTORS etc - always worked & didn't worry us with CELs.


Nice to see we have same idea's Ross - " add quickly and take it off easy" is what I was looking for


Thanks - love to see more of your results.


Mike

Team@Rebellion

Hi,

Its a piggy back solution that we have developed, it monitors multiple channels and adjusts as required.

It wont throw CEL Lights and is designed to give gains of 40bhp and 50nm on the 250 model, with this we aim for good gains across the range not just peak figures.

We have more than 80 A45s world wide running this new advanced technology keeping them efficient and safe.

Hope that helps,

advocator

Is the percentage setting something you set physically on the tune box? whats the default setting then?

regarding the "better milage" - dont forget (like your mechanic friend said) that its just a fancy resistor fooling your ecu! maybe your ecu shows data other than what really happens at the engine? guess the best way to check is to compare it the old fashion way, as you suggested.

(recommending here an Android app called "MY CARS" .. really great for that matter).

Just ordered JBD myself. will report when its here!


BTW - How to do you reset codes (the CEL) without an OBDII scanner tool?