andreigbs

Ah yes, the spirit of innovation.. by that standard we'd still be driving horses and buggies, instead of tinkering with this internal combustion nonsense (sorry for the sarcasm, it's early morning).

This is my 6th Benz in my lifetime, 4th diesel overall and I have over one million miles logged in my driving career without blowing any of them up. I think it'll be ok!

andreigbs

Update 7/25/17: We just took a 1,100 mile trip to MN and back. The tuning box was set to level 4. After about 85 miles of spirited freeway driving the CEL has come back. At the first fueling stop I turned off the box by selecting level 1 (no change in fuel pressure, box is only on) and completed the rest of the trip.

What I noticed: limp mode was easy to trigger once the CEL was on. Engine revs were limited to 2400 rpms and very little power output until engine was shut off and restarted. As long as I didn't drive it too hard, limp mode would not come back although CEL remained lit.

What I did: At an AutoZone I scanned it and pulled up code P0088 (fuel rail pressure too high) but could not clear it until I got home. Should have remembered to take ScanGauge with...

What I will now do: Set box to level 3 and see if this behavior can be elicited again. If not, will continue operating at that level. If it still triggers a CEL and the same code but after a longer time interval than level 4 did, I will just remove the entire thing and run it completely stock. Lesson learned will be: moar powa does not come cheaply.

Stay tuned...

formerjeepguy

W203_Fan

The 250 cdi version already has high horsepower output, you cannot squeze a lot more out of that engine. On the 200 cdi version on the w203 I used the chip to its max settings all the time with no problems.
On the 250 cdi I cannot go too high on the settings for a long time without entering limp mode.
The settings I use now ( about 20% extra Power ) are enough to leave the ECU happy in all the situations.
Also, I forgot to add, the guys at Racechip told me that they use 2 different programmes for this engine. I tried this one first ( the one on the w211 ) and it works fine. The other software was for the newer CDI engines.
And the American GLK 250 is the Bluetec version, most of the GLK 250's in Europe are Bluefficiency, maybe the tuning box you have is for that version.

andreigbs

@ W203

I'm not sure what version is actually inside the tuning box, although the description on the site said it's for the Bluetec.

---

Update 7/31/17:

What I notice: Since dialing the box to level 3 last week, I now have a persistent CEL as soon as I place the vehicle in gear. The error codes that come up are P0088 and P0193, both referring to the fuel rail and fuel pressure sensor circuit.

What I've done: I have since removed the tuning box.

Both codes come back even though I clear them. One suggestion was to check the wiring to the fuel pressure sensor since that is what I touched/handled when connecting tuning box. I've inspected the wiring and nothing looks amiss.

The fact that the "fuel rail pressure too high" code keeps coming back even though the box is now removed is concerning. Either the fuel pressure sensor is damaged, or the circuit itself is damaged, or the pressure control valve might be damaged. Maybe something in between "faulty" and "damaged."

Either way, it seems the tuning box may have caused some errors or faults that are not fixed by simply removing the box. It drives just fine, only that the CEL won't stay off and the 2 codes are persisting.

What I will do: Let my local MB shop look at it. I will keep this thread updated. For now, it appears the tuning box's attempts to fool the ECU may have backfired.

Rp9300

What a shock.

andreigbs

Even a bad result is a good data point. The more you know...

wunderless

I know you are getting bagged on here, but thanks for following up.
Personally I wouldn't try one of these but give you a thumbs up for trying it and at least following up with your experiences.

Don't know why folks here are being so rough to be honest.

andreigbs

Dunno, they must have their reasons... as I said from the outset, if my experience helps anyone, then even if it turns out bad it's still good information to have.

DoI recommend it for everyone? No.

Would i do it again? Probably, yeah. I like to tinker with my toys/tools.

Do I recommend this tuning box? Nope. But it's just my opinion having tried this particular one. The goal was to test it out and report back.

Goal accomplished, mostly.

I try to be helpful in my posts usually. I thought that was why these forums exist.

Otherwise I enjoy reading posts here and participating as well, despite the attitude of some.

W203_Fan

Sorry to hear that it didn't work for you. The fact that the errors you are receiving are about "rail pressure too high" means that the tuning box is doing half its job right.
I mean that the power increase is achieved by that mechanism. The other half is "fooling" the ECU into thinking this is normal parameters - this is what makes a difference betweeen a good tuning box and a bad one .
You need a good software and a fast processor on the tuning box, especialy with the complex computers and software that are equipped on the modern Mercedes cars.

Today I got 5,7 l/100 km ( 50 mpg ) fuel consumption on my GLK 250 - measured at the pump - with the Racechip. The chip does the job right for my car so far.

I found this video on YT with a dyno test for a E 300 Hybrid equipped with Racechip. I know that it has the same 2.1 litre diesel engine found in the GLK 250. Skip to 6:05 to see the dyno test.

andreigbs

I've seen a dyno printout of the Racechip box on another diesel Merc and it was very unimpressive. You can probably find it online still. It only made several HP more at the most extreme setting.

My hope was to find a cheap substitute/alternative. Apparently this isn't it either.

Thing is, you don't know for sure until you try.

W203_Fan

It all depends on the car and your luck. They told me that the parameters vary a lot for each vehicle and its tolerances. It is also possible that some cars don't accept the tuning box- in that case they give you your money back.
I know 2 guys with E 250 cdi who tried 3 software versions on the Racechip before they got it right- it does vary a lot from vehicle to vehicle and if your ECU wants to accept the tuning box software.


Good luck with your tinkering and experiments. I know I love doing them myself in my free time.

W203_Fan

Hello ! A little update:

I reduced the power level on my Racechip after I got an error. It was right after I refueled when I started the car to go away from the pump- maybe the bad fuel- in fact I am almost certain since the guy that pumped fuel in used high pressure and probably mixed dirt in from the walls of the tank, or just bad fuel in general. It lasted for 1 second- engine bucked , got an error light on the dash and went into limp mode. I restarted the engine and I got out of limp mode... The car went bad for 2-3 km then started working normal- probably it burned the bad fuel .Got the battery disconnected to remove the error light from the dash bord... Just to be certain I reduced the tune on the chip- 200 km later I have no problems...
I guess that the ECU tried to adapt to the bad fuel , but the chip left not much room for extra parameters. I didn't have time to check for errors on the STAR.
I hope this doesn't happen in the future and I will never allow other people to put fuel in my car again.

W203_Fan

After many experiments I left the chip on the E-2 setting ( 19,5% extra power after 1350 rpm according to manufacturer) . It doesn't give any errors so far , even after 1 month and 1000 km in all the driving conditions.
I believe it is the best setting for this engine - good fuel economy ( 6,5 -7 liters /100 km highway ) and decent acceleration boost compared to stock.
I wrote this for those who will use Racechip in the future on the GLK 250 CDI Bluefficiency.

andreigbs

Sorry for the long delay in updating, it was an easy fix by my local garage: replaced fuel rail with pressure sensor.

I have since driven it more than 7000 miles (epic roadtrip out west) and no more issues.

I also did not reinstall the box, no plans to try it again as the modest increase in performance isn't worth the potential trouble.

I'm happy with it on the "Sport" setting and with top-quality fuel, it makes good power. I may consider a software tune at some point but for now (and while in warranty period) it's enough.

In other news, I seem to have developed a warped front disc on the DL side. After some searching, it seems this is a relatively common occurrence on these trucks.

Anyone tried an upgraded disc/pad set-up they'd like to share?

Thanks in advance and happy dieseling.

formerjeepguy

Most people seem happy with Akebono ceramic pads. I recommend that you look into cryogenic treated rotors but any premium brand should be fine.

Hugo L.

I went with EBC Redstuff and I like them.

Mazspeed

Complete load of BS. These race chips gave you “0” hp. These cheap piggyback systems do nothing but cause issues. They don’t fool the computer, it’s a pass through, nothing more. You need to use a reputable company like Brabus, Weistec, Eurocharger or something along those lines. This racechip crap is just that, crap. What do you expect for $89 bucks.

W203_Fan

@Mazspeed
The chip I use is 500 euros new, so not a 89$ chineze fake and it does work as intended with the correct settings . Also I don't need a dyno test to see if my car is faster, I do have common sense. If you drove the GLK 220 CDI with 170 hp and then drove the GLK 250 CDI with 205 hp you woild certainly feel the difference without dynoing the 2 cars... The same is with stock vs chipped car.

As for the chips made by Brabus and others , you do have to realize that you pay extra for the Brand name.

Mazspeed

Yes you do need a dyno. All their clams are rubbish. Increasing fuel does nothing if you are not tuning the ECU for it, timing, air flow, fuel rate, and about a zillion calculations that go through the ECU that isn’t being dealt with on these chips. I have raced cars for years and know every chip tuner, and every way to make more power in modern cars. This is the placebo effect. “Oh it feels,so much faster”. You just think it does, but you have absolutely no proof or backing on this. I spoke to Steve Dinan at length about these types of things after he left his own company and he explained that it was complete fiction. On the C63 board for example, people would get the ECU tunes and then would say how much faster their car shifted and that it also transformed the transmission, when in fact it did nothing to the TCU. It’s the placebo effect. These chips are a waste of money and you risk daminging your car with these stupid, pointless chips. I have been there and done that a million times over. It’s not doing anything for you other then making your wallet lighter.
By the way with Brabus, yes you’re paying for the name, but you’re also paying for years of their race proven engineering and race success.

W203_Fan

@mazspeed
Sorry, but all your claims are rubbish since you don't know anything about this product and you haven't tested it. Denial is a easy way out of an argument.
Hundreds of thousands of drivers in Europe are using this chip on their diesel and petrol cars and there are lots of testimonials about this product. You can check on Youtube alone for weekly videos about Racechip with random people putting dyno test results and acceleration tests with good results.

I don't care if you believe me since I don't get paid by Racechip , but please be civil.
All I did is share my honest opinion about a product that I use on my car.

Mazspeed

Absolutely no 3rd party has put a dyno to the test as far as I could tell. Mostly just silly dyno clams by the manufacture. I do know a lot about this product. I had a few friends try it. 1 sent it back and got a refund except for the shipping, the other took it apart and saw that it's just a phone app type electronics piece so you can play with it on your phone like a video game but he never got any results that he could feel, plus it error coded his Audi like mad. So no, it's not a good product. Just because you either work with or for them doesn't make your clams valid. I could flood youtube with bull**** as well and make it smell like a rose. I am in the race car world and know these things a hell of a lot more than you do. That's a flat out fact. And I am telling you, you're not gaining anything other then a potential headache and voiding your warranty. This has no ECU tuning so you can't possibly gain power by "pushing more fuel" into the manifold. That is controlled by the computer, not the box before it. This isn't even a piggyback set up. Some of those do make power but need the ECU to be tied into it for it to work, and those are from major manufactures who spend millions on R&D. Even some of these systems don't make much power because NA engines typically don't make more than the final product. Take the 2008-2013 M3 for example. No tuner can get more than 15hp off any tune for that motor because their is none left to get. Even shops like Dinan can't get more than that, and yet these guys claim all kinds of crap that even Dinan can't do. (Yea right) How do you get better gas mileage by flooding your intake with fuel without adjusting timing and airflow??? And then claim it get's better millage while doing it without touching the ECU?? How is this done? Does this have magic beans that come with it? I don't care what you say, this is a BS product. It cannot work based on what it says it does to gain power and improve fuel mileage, it's impossible. You just think it does, I know it doesn't.

Mazspeed

I cannot for the life of me find 1 legit magazine test. In fact I cannot find any magazine or review tests of this product. Maybe because they don't want to waste their time on something that doesn't work. That should tell you something, but when you check other web boards, it's pretty much people saying it's BS and the like. So I guess that's that on this. And by the way, don't tell me to be civil when I have been nothing but civil.

Hugo L.

Mazspeed, are you calling BS on this particular tuning chip, or most/all in general? Because there are verified instances of pre- and post-modification dyno charts out there, for various tuners.

Mazspeed

There are some that also need ECU support that do, do things, but it has to have tuning of the ECU to do anything. I know of a few that are effective in that regard. You can't just plug in a chip and expect it to work without changing airflow, timing and fuel. This race chip does none of those things in the ECU. The ECU controls everything as far as engine management. But as far as dyno stuff goes, this always needs to be verified by a 3rd party type of thing. Even with "Dynojet" those results can be manipulated by plugging in different correction factors. I can make a dyno give a 30 hp increase without doing a single change to the car by imputing different correction factors, so that's why a reputable 3rd party test is critical for tuning and or increases with any product. Every time you see someone claim a product is making more hp and show some dyno run means absolutely nothing to me. Not only do you not see a side by side comparison with any of race chips videos, but that the dyno can be manipulated to show gains where their were none.