Kleemann Tune
09-25-2016, 10:52 PM
#1
Super Member
Thread Starter
Kleemann Tune
Well, I've had my tune on the car for a little bit, and I thought I'd share my thoughts. On a day to day basis, I've noticed no difference in day to day. It shifts buttery smooth, and makes no drama whatsoever. My Grandma could take it to church on Sunday and never have the slightest indication it's got the hammer of Thor under the hood. Which, for me, is a good thing. Muscle cars are fun, I love mine, but it's really nice to have a daily driver that isn't permanently in race mode. I bought my Mercedes to be coddled first, taken away swiftly second, and it certainly fits the bill.
Now, on to the swiftness. For when I intend to get going quick, ABC and transmission get flipped to sport. Kleemann claims 625 hp and 700 lb/ft, and according to my butt dyno, that's about right. The tires struggled for traction before, but now it's just hopeless. Best not to touch that ESP button unless you're just trying to blow all your money on tires. That little light blinks at me all the way to 60, under good conditions with good tires. If it's raining, best to keep the pedal away from the floorboards. Yes, even if you're already going 75 on the freeway. Otherwise, your car will look very pretty getting towed out of the ditch. My absolute favorite thing to do is if I notice an STI or Mustang or whatever behind me on the cloverleaf getting on the freeway, is I go pretty slow until it's about time to merge. Then, when they cut over the solid white line and two lanes of traffic, I punch it, and they never stand a chance. They try, but it's clearly futile. They get beat so badly that they've no choice but to ponder there life choices up to that point while the three pointed star gets smaller on it's way to the horizon. I did also have the TCU tuned, getting the torque limits out of the way and it does crisp up the shifting in sport mode, and it does hold the gears a bit longer after acceleration runs, so handy if you're enjoying some twisty roads.
So, in short, well worth the $1500 spent. The guys over at Kleemann were super nice, and got my ECU and TCU back to me 24 hours after they had it. They also were kind enough to clean out the TCU free of charge after finding some transmission fluid had wicked it's way up there, calling me so I could fix the cause. It performs exactly as it was advertised, and although I have noticed 15.3mpg in my mostly city driving, as to the usual 14-14.5mpg, it's too early for me to call that a permanent gain(I calculate it every tank, not using the indicated economy.) I should note, that after the tune, the car had to relearn its adaptions, and it didn't immediately provide the full power the tune has. It took a couple trips.
Now, on to the swiftness. For when I intend to get going quick, ABC and transmission get flipped to sport. Kleemann claims 625 hp and 700 lb/ft, and according to my butt dyno, that's about right. The tires struggled for traction before, but now it's just hopeless. Best not to touch that ESP button unless you're just trying to blow all your money on tires. That little light blinks at me all the way to 60, under good conditions with good tires. If it's raining, best to keep the pedal away from the floorboards. Yes, even if you're already going 75 on the freeway. Otherwise, your car will look very pretty getting towed out of the ditch. My absolute favorite thing to do is if I notice an STI or Mustang or whatever behind me on the cloverleaf getting on the freeway, is I go pretty slow until it's about time to merge. Then, when they cut over the solid white line and two lanes of traffic, I punch it, and they never stand a chance. They try, but it's clearly futile. They get beat so badly that they've no choice but to ponder there life choices up to that point while the three pointed star gets smaller on it's way to the horizon. I did also have the TCU tuned, getting the torque limits out of the way and it does crisp up the shifting in sport mode, and it does hold the gears a bit longer after acceleration runs, so handy if you're enjoying some twisty roads.
So, in short, well worth the $1500 spent. The guys over at Kleemann were super nice, and got my ECU and TCU back to me 24 hours after they had it. They also were kind enough to clean out the TCU free of charge after finding some transmission fluid had wicked it's way up there, calling me so I could fix the cause. It performs exactly as it was advertised, and although I have noticed 15.3mpg in my mostly city driving, as to the usual 14-14.5mpg, it's too early for me to call that a permanent gain(I calculate it every tank, not using the indicated economy.) I should note, that after the tune, the car had to relearn its adaptions, and it didn't immediately provide the full power the tune has. It took a couple trips.
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compaddict (09-26-2016)
