smokersteve

I am going on a 700 mile round trip from the 23 to the 28. I will be sending in my ECM to get flashed at Powerchip the Tue before I leave. They had a sale and I got it for $350. They have a 14 day full $ back return policy and it starts the day that they get the ECM and they over night it back to the customer, ME Since I am sending it in on the Tue before I will have time to send it back (to get the original program that the car had on it) when I get home on the 28 just in case I would like to go back to stock.

I will let you guys know what I think of it and all of the differences compared to stock.

im excited!


Here is the info that I was given about it.
http://www.powerchipgroup.com/produc...sp?pid=Mer0299
http://www.powerchipgroup.com/datasheets/2/Mer0299.pdf
http://www.powerchipgroup.com/intera...p_brochure.pdf

smokersteve

I am taking off my ECM today or tomorrow. When ever I have time. I will take pictures of how I did it.

cyeung65

IS the sale still on? I did not see any info on their website.

After a month of my new 333 hp supercharged Q7, I am getting impatient with the R350's power.

smokersteve

no I think the sale has eded.

I am uploading pictures now. give me a few

smokersteve

For me this took ~15 min.
!ools needed:
1/4 socket and a 13mm socket, no extenders needed.

Remove the gasket.



Remove rubber spacer on top of the engine.



Lift up and pull off plastic engine cover.
[IMG]

http://i935.photobucket.com/albums/ad192/smokersteve18/DSC07501.jpg[/IMG]


The next few pictures will show you the metal clip that is directly on top towards the rear of the engine. This holds the air filte asembly and the intake together. Put your hand back there and push towards the cab on the metal clip. The clip stays there, only push it off.







Remove the bolts on the drivers side with the 13mm socket.



Remove the bolts on the passengers side with the 13mm socket.



In the center of the picture there is an odd elongated bolt. Use the 1/4 socket on this.

smokersteve

All of the tools and parts.




Remove the metal cover.









Remove the 2 intake tubes, they just pull off.




Remove what ever this tube is.




Lift the air filter assembly off. It has 4 clips then the rear metal clip that was removed earlier. Lift up and pull.






Engine compartment with the large metal cover and air filter assembly off.

smokersteve

Lift the ECM up of the mounts. On the rear of the ECM, pull the clips out. There are 2, one on each side. As they pull out, the electrical plugs will pull away (off) of the ECM

smokersteve

So I sent in the ECM with over night shipping yesterday around 11:00am. I ended up being lucky, they re-flashed it and shipped it back today. I should get it tomorrow!

AsianR350

Thanks for the all pics and info.

avlis

Will you have a before and after dyno? I'd like to see the difference $350 makes. Other than snappier throttle response, I'm having a hard time buying their HP increase claims.

smokersteve

No sorry, I will not be putting this on a dyno.

smokersteve

SO!

I received the Ecm today. Not pleased. The tuning is not the issue, it is the quality of work that is the issue.

My complaint is the stamped steel plate seal against the aluminum housing is uneven. Before it was clean and straight. Now it looks like they gave it to a monkey to work on it. It makes me question the quality of work on the inside....


This one it looks like a screw is missing.




Uneven seal. On the corner edge it is flat. Towards the left it is lifted up.



Uneven



Uneven.

smokersteve

Now on the tuning.

This first bit of description is put simply on a first test basis. As previously stated I will be going on a 700 mile round trip from the 23(tue) - 28 (sunday). Throughout that, I will be giving much more detailed review, along with mpg change against the one listed in my sig.




I drove around town and there is definitely a power increase. That is a fact. Regardless for how often you drive you will feel the power increase.

I do not feel a much more agile throttle, or quicker throttle response. On light throttle, less than 1/3, there is no difference. Past that, you have power sooner than stock. This will be noticeable for merging on the highway or pulling out into traffic quickly, something like that.

There is no transmission tuning so the shifts do not change. That would really make a huge difference with the feel of this car, but they do not tune that.



While testing out the new programing, I learned somethings about the transmission when you push the C/S button on the console to change the trans function. C(comfort) will not go to 1st gear, it will only drop down to 2nd unless you tell it to by using the paddle shifters on the steering wheel, and the engine will not pass 5,000 RPM. S(sport) will drop to 1st gear and will hit the red line, ~6,100 RPM.

That is in drive, once you use the electronic shifters, this will change those "drive" parameters.







Now back to the power increase.



I do not notice a difference under 2,000 - 2,500rpm. But once I do get to 2,500 rpm the difference is definitely noticeable.

If you drive this everyday you WILL enjoy the difference. This is not like diesel tuning where you can get an extra 50-150HP. But you will feel the increased HP for sure. You are only getting probably 20HP at the most. Look at the links I posted in the first post.

If this car is for your wife who just drives around the block, this is not for you. I feel that it would be a waist of $$$$$$. lets say less than 10miles a day every month every year, it is a waist.

Now they list it for $600 something. Regardless how how often you drive that is not worth the tuning. I got this for $350 from their sale. Yes, depending on the use of the car that is worth it, I have no doubt.


Putting the warranty aside and the poor quality of work, for $350 I am glad that I have the tuning. My wife drives this car 4 miles to work and 4 back, + her other activites around town. We use this car on long trips about once every 1-2 months. If we only used it for 8 miles a day, then I would not be happy to have the tuning.

smokersteve

Pleas ask questions if you have them, I am very willing to answer

cyeung65

Thanks for sharing your experience. I wish I jumped in at $350. I have also looked at Upsolute. They claim a boost from 272 to 297 hp. $690. Ocassionally they have sales too. Now that the R class has been in service for 16 months without any problems, I will definitely be looking out for the next opportunity.

smokersteve

Thanks.



I did some more driving today. And I have a correction to my previous statement on when I feel a power difference at X RPM.


First of if you drive with a heavy foot, you will feel the difference regardless of rpm EXCEPT when you are in 5,6,7 gear. I will explain.



My testing is at ~ 1/2 throttle. At 1/2, this is a good acceleration, not hard, or slow like a grandma. And i am using the electronic paddle shifters so that the trans will not shift down and effect the results.


For gears 1,2,3 you will feel a power increase at every rpm. This is noticeable at less than 1/2 throttle.

4th gear at 1/2 throttle 1,500rpm is when the new power is noticeable.

5th gear at 1,800-2,000 power is noticeable at 1/2.

6th gear at 2,100-2,200 the power is noticeable at 1/2.

7th gear at 2,300 -2,400 the power is noticeable at 1/2.

So when ever you pass the listed rpm you WILL feel that extra power!



One thing that was VERY fun is in 1st gear and holding at 3,000 rpm, then flooring it..... THAT IS LIKE A ROCKET. Same with 2nd gear. The entire rear of the car shoots down. This new tune does have much more power if you are worried about the difference. there is a power increase.



At $350, If you are at a true 50%/50% on getting or not not to get it. I will say get it.

If you are 60% not sure you should get it and 40% to get the tuning. This might not be for you depending on how the car is used.




Still not sure, or I am confusing, Pleas ask

smokersteve

Besides MPG, do you guys have any questions???

nanoera

Hey Steve,

Thanks for the nice write-up and photos/instruction.
Does the chip increase the redline?

smokersteve

Thank you!
No I do not think so. On my first drive I wrote about the difference with C and S for the transmission. Even though they do not tune the trans, C will shift at 5,000rpms and S will shift around 6,000 rpm. S will also go into 1st gear and it seems like it holds the gears at a higher rpm little longer before it shifts down, not sure.

I was leaving today but am leaving tomorrow morning and getting back Sunday.

But I will go and confirm the red line for ya

smokersteve

In sport or paddle shifters, the engine will rev to 6,200. The first white tally after the 6.

I also noticed that in "S", the trans will **** down sooner than "C". Which is GREAT because I really hated that it would not shift down until allot of throttle.
The transmission programing has not been altered by powerchip. I really wish that they did. Trans tuning would honestly make me 100% happy. But im not because eng tuning and trans tuning go hand and hand.

Tomorrow or the next day I will give more detail on the power and what kind of driver this programing is good for. So far I am not seeing an increase in mpg cruising at highway speeds. I will have a better idea after 6-9hrs of driving depending on traffic.

If I do see an MPG increase at a cruising speed, then this programing will be for everyone. But if it is the same then this will benefit a certain type of driver, unless you just want more power. And if it is less mpg than stock then you will just be in it for the power.

smokersteve

Well I was very wrong to say that I am doing a 700 mile round trip. I drove almost 500 miles today, then I will drive ~200 Friday, then ~300 Sunday.

But today It was difficult to get a repeatedly consistent mpg rating. On the flat roads it was windy, then when the wind stopped, it was hilly...

smokersteve

Well I did ~300 miles today. I finally had 1 long, very flat and straight road. The temperature outside was 60* at sea level and at 65mph I was getting 25.0-25.3mpg. What mpg do you guys get at that speed?

So far on this entire trip I have put in 889 miles, and for the last 616 miles I have averaged 22.5 mpg and an average of 55mph.

Out of the 889 miles I have had situations where I really enjoyed the increased power and others where I needed it. The power is not like my engine went from a V6 to a V8, but there is a good power increase.

smokersteve

Well I just got home from a 1,140.00 mile trip.

1. I like the increased power, it is noticeable, I want to keep the new programing.

2. I do not see a drop in mpg going 65 mpg, I get 25mpg.

In a previous post I listed an average mpg. And before I initially started the car today, I reset the computer. So today I drove 224 miles and got an avg of 21mpg and avg speed of 54mph. I think that is very good because of how intense the hills were for the first half. The reason why the avg mph is 54 and not higher is because of the hills.

3. I enjoy the the new tune and want to keep it. I do not enjoy the quality of work as the previous pictures show. I will be calling Paul(Im calling him because I have talked to him from day 1, he knows my history) form powerchip tomorrow. He was suppose to call me last Monday, the 22 but still no call.

smokersteve

So I just talked with Paul from Powerchip about the condition with the ECM. He said that it is normal. There is a glue for the seal and it takes a little bit of work to get it separated.They have to take it apart to do the entire programing of the chip. And he is sending me the screw that was missing.

Whether it is actually "normal" for it to look like that or not, I would rather that they took more care with the unit but I am not really that concerned over it, it does not seem to be a major deal or an issue for the metal to be bent like that.

smokersteve

So far so good with the tuning.