zoomie

I've been eyeing the: http://www.autothority.com/products/ECU-Upgrades.html and it looks quite attractive.

Hoping someone could give some some imput on experiences they've had with the chips they own. Powerchip, Speedchip...etc.

Please keep the layout similar to the one listed below. It'll help readings go through it more quickly. If you have other info to add, just add a #8 and keep going. Thanks a ton.

1. Which chip do you have?
2. What others did you consider?
3. How did you ultimately decide on the one you chose?
4. Cost?
5. HP gains expected?
6. HP gains achieved?
7. Are you happy with the mod?

Drop-a-Daimler

First!!

I did an A.P.E. chip on my fuelie Stang and it was OK. I just did the JLevi/Speed Innovations ECU upgrade on mu 2006 C350 NA 3.5L and I love it. SI claims 21 hp and 29 lb-ft TQ for $799 and that was the most bang for the buck among all the ECUs. I don't really think you get all that but you do get a good bit, enough to feel. MB says the car will run 6.1 seconds 0 to 60, the magazines all get 5.8, I run 5.4 consistently so something is working. I aslo did the K&N filters and deleted the resonator. MKB made the most HP but it was $3000. They claim 305 hp from thier C350 chip which if true would be amazing. PowerChips looks about the same as the SI. With the SI ECU I immediately felt the part throttle increase. The car got "stronger" over a few days of learning too. Now it will smoke the tires and even chirp 2nd in auto mode. I also lightened the car by 120 pounds which made a big difference. And I have run a can of octane booster with the SI programming at the track and that really works too. But overall, on a NA engine, the ECU or chip is a quick way to some early HP. If you have bigger things planned like cams you may want to wait until you get it done then have a custom ECU tune otherwise you may throw away the early tune. Headers are another great way to make power! Since (I think) you have an SC then pullies and an ECU will make a big difference. I'd got for it. Call the guys at JLevi first. Their website says they will make 12 hp and 14 lb-ft on your C230K. They were really good to work with.

Your questionnaire ...
1. Which chip do you have? JLevi/Speed Innovations
2. What others did you consider? Power Chips, MKB, Carlsson, Kleeman
3. How did you ultimately decide on the one you chose? Bang for the buck
4. Cost? $799 which includes 2-way overnight FedEx
5. HP gains expected? 21
6. HP gains achieved? Maybe 10 to 15
7. Are you happy with the mod? Big yes

How about these ...
8. Torque gains expected? 29 lb-ft
9. Torque gains achieved? Probably 10 to 15 lb-ft
10. Removal/install time and ease? 10 minutes, no tools, simple
11. Fuel/octane requirements? 93 R+M/2
12. Octane you use? 93 R+M/2, 1/2 can of 104+ octane booster at the track
13. Drive ability changes? Not really, not noticeable
14. Idle changes? None
15. Throttle response changes? Yes, noticeably better
16. VMAX changes? Yes, bumped to theoretical, probably 155 now
17. Rev limiter changes? Yes, bumped to 6400
18. Overheating? None, no problems
19. Pinging? None
20. 0 to 60 performance increase? 5.7 sec to 5.4 sec (+.3 seconds)
21. 1/4 mile performance increase? Don't know before, 13.6 @ 103.9 now

BrianKim

one thing im wondering is how the heck did u take out 120 pounds?!?! O_O...

Drop-a-Daimler

Easy! Delete resonator saves 10. Odyssey racing battery saves 40. Swap spare for fix-a-flat saves 40. Perf silencer saves 30. It all adds up and makes a big diff. New dry weight is 3390; 3640 with me in it at the track.

BrianKim

u are my hero... hahahaha i shall also do these mods... im really considering that ecu tune also though... seems like a good investment... but is the battery in our cars that heavy?!?!

zoomie

Ever heard of Speed Tuning USA? They seem to have excellent prices and decent reviews from what I read on the forums here and elsewhere.

Drop-a-Daimler

I was surprised. I read the replacement battery was 56 pounds. I pulled mine and it was like 2 batteries in size (and weight). I weighed 60 pounds. It was huge! I put in the Odyssey 680 battery which is 15 pounds. It has 680 cranking amps it just has no reserve so you can't crank tunes for a few hours with the car not running.

IngenereAMG

We have a really nice set up for the 230K cars. I don't have it currently listed on our site, so if you are interested PM me for details.