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S-Class (W222) 2014-2020

Recommend BenzNinja Mods

Old Dec 16, 2025 | 10:27 PM
  #1  
James S's Avatar
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2014 S550
Recommend BenzNinja Mods

I signed up with BN and have a session for mods this weekend for the following mods:

ILS+
Sport + Agility
Video in Motion
AC Off with Fan Speed

Which other mods are recommended by the group?

Not sure that I need last mode remembered as my wife drives the car as well so I wouldn't want it left in sport mode for her and Eco start stop rarely engages anyways.

Curious about lowering to Euro spec and whether or not it affects ride quality.

AMG instrument cluster? Not sure what that gives me. I always have Carplay running so the right dash gauge panel would not be used and I don't think I need a horsepower gauge.

Any recommendations?

Thanks!
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Old Dec 16, 2025 | 10:43 PM
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If available - map/nav update. Lat/long for La Fonda in Artesia.
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Old Dec 16, 2025 | 10:59 PM
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La Fonda is one of my favorites!

After 35 years in business, Peppers here in Roswell is closing at the end of the year. Lots of great times there as well.

If you're ever back in Artesia, try Adobe Rose.
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Old Dec 17, 2025 | 12:34 AM
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Have him open up more colors in the led lighting.
Get the AMG screens.
Have the one tap blinkers do 5 blinks instead of 3...5 makes more sense...
Don't lower the car much more than 4-5mm.
If you do this you will chew through rear tires like a teething baby.
The issue is the rear has no camber adjustment, only toe adjustment.
So if you go more than 1dg out of camber, you will need to get new rear tires every 20k miles or so.
There is a kit that allows camber adjustments, but I don't know if id trust it and its annoying to put it on (Kmac camber adjustment kits)
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Old Dec 17, 2025 | 08:26 AM
  #5  
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From: Alien Town Roswell NM
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2014 model so I don't think more colors is an option. I believe 2016 + models can.

What do the AMG screens provide?

Thanks
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Old Dec 17, 2025 | 09:58 AM
  #6  
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Originally Posted by James S
I signed up with BN and have a session for mods this weekend for the following mods:

ILS+
Sport + Agility
Video in Motion
AC Off with Fan Speed

Which other mods are recommended by the group?

Not sure that I need last mode remembered as my wife drives the car as well so I wouldn't want it left in sport mode for her and Eco start stop rarely engages anyways.

Curious about lowering to Euro spec and whether or not it affects ride quality.

AMG instrument cluster? Not sure what that gives me. I always have Carplay running so the right dash gauge panel would not be used and I don't think I need a horsepower gauge.

Any recommendations?

Thanks!
Maybe the flashing brake lights during sudden stops? I understand that it is only during emergency or sudden braking and not all the time. I think you have to be going faster than 35mph/60km/h and stop quickly. There are YouTube videos that show what it does.


The AMG menu provides lots of good information and well worth it. It shows oil and coolant temperature (an maybe transmission temperature on certain models) with the speed and gear selection, a lap timer, and the status of the transmission selection and suspension selection.

Did you see BN is now offering tuning? https://benzninja.com/tuning/
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Old Dec 17, 2025 | 10:03 AM
  #7  
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Thanks!

I have the Weistec tune and filters.

I'll look for more info on the AMG gauges.
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Old Dec 17, 2025 | 10:15 AM
  #8  
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I found a picture of the AMG menu.


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Old Dec 17, 2025 | 10:39 AM
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Anyone know how the full AMG conversion differs from the AMG additional menus only?
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Old Dec 17, 2025 | 12:08 PM
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Originally Posted by James S
I'll look for more info on the AMG gauges.
BenzNinja also offers "DIGITAL GAUGES" which display engine data on the center screen of your S550. I've got it on mine.


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Old Dec 17, 2025 | 01:11 PM
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Get the Engine Auto Start/Stop programmed to remember last setting. That way you don't need to turn off the feature every time you drive the car.

Engine Start/Stop is bad for your engine's longevity. Best to always disable it.
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Old Dec 17, 2025 | 04:30 PM
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I also liked the conversion to gallons vs percentage of gas tank. It is great to see and know exactly how many gallons are left in the tank vs. guessing a percentage. ILS and engine data are cool, just be aware that the text enablement while moving isn't really worth it, you cannot use the voice commends to send back texts and the system still restricts a lot vs my Android Auto cars or even the Nissan system in my wifes Leaf, that was my only disappointment. I may have to get Peter to raise my car up a little as I probably went a little too low, but it handles nicer. I went 1" down
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Old Dec 17, 2025 | 05:56 PM
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From: Alien Town Roswell NM
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I installed Carplay and use Waze for maps so no need to type - just say commands and it responds.
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Old Dec 17, 2025 | 10:43 PM
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Just my two cents, I would skip the S+/Agility mode. Unless you are going to drive very aggressively, the shift points are up at like 5k or so, personally I never use it.

I would recommend going with the remember last mode/start stop off, add the "unlimited recirculation off/closed," traffic sign display on dash is nice to have (blue circle in attached pic), this requires an updated map package, and the euro height (no difference in ride quality)



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Old Dec 18, 2025 | 08:32 AM
  #15  
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Thanks

Does the base Sport mode still function the same or does Sport+ replace it. Is Agility part of the Sport+ mode or a mode of its own?

Thanks again!
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Old Dec 18, 2025 | 08:46 AM
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The current Sport mode still exists, so it’ll go from comfort to sport to sport+ to manual.

For me, it’s at the point I consider it cumbersome, switching between comfort and sport has the added sport plus step. Whenever it’s clicked in to, automatic gear drop. Next session I’ll be removing it.
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Old Dec 18, 2025 | 09:00 AM
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Good to know.

Thanks
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Old Dec 18, 2025 | 09:10 AM
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Originally Posted by James S
Thanks

Does the base Sport mode still function the same or does Sport+ replace it. Is Agility part of the Sport+ mode or a mode of its own?

Thanks again!
The Sport+ (Agility) mode are in addition to the S, E, and M modes. (Sport+ and Agility are different labels for the same thing.) In some cars (e.g., non-AMG turbo cars) the Sport+ mode makes a HUGE difference. In other cars, it does not. In my SL, which is also tuned, the difference was significant; in my C350 it was not. So, it depends on the year and model, I guess.
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Old Dec 18, 2025 | 09:20 AM
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Originally Posted by vincheung
The current Sport mode still exists, so it’ll go from comfort to sport to sport+ to manual.

For me, it’s at the point I consider it cumbersome, switching between comfort and sport has the added sport plus step. Whenever it’s clicked in to, automatic gear drop. Next session I’ll be removing it.
Why remove it? Just don’t select it. I don’t use it all the time, either, but I don’t find it cumbersome. Regardless of the mode you are in when turning off the car, it will start in either E/C mode (if that’s what you were in) or S mode. I prefer to start in S mode to reduce the load on the engine when it is cold.

LSPI is potentially caused by a lot of things and one of them is lugging the engine before it is fully warmed up. “Low Speed” refers to engine speed, not vehicle speed. So when the tranny moves to the upper gears quickly when in E/C, you potentially are loading the engine before it’s ready. If you have ever driven a turbo car with a boost gauge, you will see that going uphill in a tall gear will max boost before going up the same hill in a lower gear. That’s because the load on the engine is greater in the higher gear when going slower than the optimal speed for that gear.

So, I always start in S mode to minimize engine load when driving slowly, like through the neighborhood.
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Old Dec 18, 2025 | 10:26 AM
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Originally Posted by GTIBlack
Why remove it? Just don’t select it. I don’t use it all the time, either, but I don’t find it cumbersome. Regardless of the mode you are in when turning off the car, it will start in either E/C mode (if that’s what you were in) or S mode. I prefer to start in S mode to reduce the load on the engine when it is cold.

LSPI is potentially caused by a lot of things and one of them is lugging the engine before it is fully warmed up. “Low Speed” refers to engine speed, not vehicle speed. So when the tranny moves to the upper gears quickly when in E/C, you potentially are loading the engine before it’s ready. If you have ever driven a turbo car with a boost gauge, you will see that going uphill in a tall gear will max boost before going up the same hill in a lower gear. That’s because the load on the engine is greater in the higher gear when going slower than the optimal speed for that gear.

So, I always start in S mode to minimize engine load when driving slowly, like through the neighborhood.
Where I am, I maintain sport mode in the city and switch over to comfort for highway drives (80-90 mile drive or so). When cruising on the highway I toggle down to comfort mode for a more relaxed quiet drive, clicking past sport+ forces immediate gear (or two) drop even for the half a second. I'd rather toggle to Manual (maintain gear), then comfort (also in gear) without any surge. Considering i've used it once or twice over the years, I've spent more time passing the selection more than in it.
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Old Dec 18, 2025 | 10:52 AM
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This speaks video generically to Sport versus Comfort (Drive) modes. Yes, switching to S+ (Agility) mode does drop a gear or two, causing the engine to rev a bit, but only if you are moving at the time. I don’t think it harms anything, but I understand your annoyance. Still, I find S+ well suited to back road, hill climbing, twisties, especially for a heavy car.

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Old Dec 18, 2025 | 11:57 AM
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OP....
Remember last mode to get rid of Stop-start and have it wake up in whatever mode it was in when parked is a nice thing.
Additional modes for transmission (Adds Sport+) changed how the transmission behaves in regular S mode for the better. Yes; S+ is there but you don't have to select it.
Hot climate A/C programming. I live in the desert. Much of NM qualifies as such.

ILS is a must where the car is equipped with the lights.

Gallons for fuel.

Remove speed limiter if you want to go faster than 130.

I did a number of others along with that I don't recall now. Love it.

If Peter can give your dash the AMG cluster for pre-facelift cars it is worth doing. I enjoy seeing the engine oil and transmission temperature.

Seems like Peter may have also given my car the speedo to 220MPH.

Last edited by JohnLane; Dec 18, 2025 at 12:01 PM.
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Old Dec 18, 2025 | 06:12 PM
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I'll do the last mode remembered and assume either transmission or engine will work. If I choose transmission last mode and leave it in Sport, Eco is disabled or at least I think it is.

Top speed limiter was removed with the Weistec tune. I verified this on a road in Mexico of course.

Still on the fence about the AMG cluster. Seems there are a few options: 1) Head Unit AMG Design 2) Head Unit AMG Digital Gauges 3) Add Full AMG conversion

Last edited by James S; Dec 18, 2025 at 06:13 PM.
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Old Dec 18, 2025 | 06:54 PM
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Originally Posted by James S
I'll do the last mode remembered and assume either transmission or engine will work. If I choose transmission last mode and leave it in Sport, Eco is disabled or at least I think it is.
Last transmission mode remembered means it will start in either E/C or S. If you were in E/C when shutting the engine down, it’ll start in that mode. Otherwise, if you were in S, S+, or M, you will start in S mode.
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Old Dec 18, 2025 | 07:07 PM
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That sounds okay to me and makes sense.
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