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One would think that with the price Renntech charges for their hand held EC tuner they would include the badge that fits on the trunk and a small insulated carry box.
What you get is a cardboard box a foot long that will only store in the trunk and no badge. My picture shows the cardboard box and travel soap box I will keep the tuner in for on the road. The tuner is 1/2 the size of the soap box. It cost $1.50 at the dollar store! LOL
Last edited by Utopia Texas; Oct 5, 2019 at 08:47 AM.
One would think that with the price Renntech charges for their hand held EC tuner they would include the badge that fits on the trunk and a small insulated carry box.
What you get is a cardboard box a foot long that will only store in the trunk and no badge. My picture shows the cardboard box and travel soap box I will keep the tuner in for on the road. The tuner is 1/2 the size of the soap box. It cost $1.50 at the dollar store! LOL
I know the Renntech tunes have been discussed a bit on other threads, but I'm thinking about it now for my 450, so I'm just curious what your experience has been on the 550? Do you feel like you're getting $2,200+ worth of extra fun? Possible that there's some placebo effect, or does it feel real and measurably different? Obviously they're very different engines, and I know Mercedes has already pushed the V6 a bit — but if the HP and torque make a meaningful difference I might pop for it.
Anyone here who's done it on a 2017+ SL450 already?
One will never know for sure how much boost a EC tune adds as far as HP without a before and after dynamometer test so any replies otherwise will be seat of the pants opinion. I personally do not care about 0-60 times and do not spin the tires on my cars. On weekends my son and I take 200-250 mile rallys on back two lane country roads with our cars, his is currently a 2018 Mustang GTO, and we constantly get stuck behind drivers piddling along at 40-45 mph where passing might be iffy on hills so my impetus for more power are the 45-85 mph speeds.
Could I live without the additional power.....yes. Is it a lot more fun....yes. At 45-50 mph pushing the pedal to the floor does slam you into your seat more and you can tell the difference. Enough difference for the price? That depends on how deep your pockets are. I do like the fact that the newer units allow one to change the mapping from factory to Renntech in less than a minute and you do not have to mail your EC unit back and forth to the vendor. If I have to take the SL in for service I can adjust accordingly. Difference in power for the SL450? I will be curious to any answers as I am new to remapping a EC tune. Third SL, first tune.....
P.S.- We are spoiled with the torque and speed of modern cars. I can remember lusting after the muscle cars of the 1960’s when I was a young boy. The reality is many modern cars right off the showroom floor are worlds faster than modified cars of the past....
Last edited by Utopia Texas; Oct 11, 2019 at 09:50 AM.
One will never know for sure how much boost a EC tune adds as far as HP without a before and after dynamometer test so any replies otherwise will be seat of the pants opinion. I personally do not care about 0-60 times and do not spin the tires on my cars. On weekends my son and I take 200-250 mile rallys on back two lane country roads with our cars, his is currently a 2018 Mustang GTO, and we constantly get stuck behind drivers piddling along at 40-45 mph where passing might be iffy on hills so my impetus for more power are the 45-85 mph speeds.
Could I live without the additional power.....yes. Is it a lot more fun....yes. At 45-50 mph pushing the pedal to the floor does slam you into your seat more and you can tell the difference. Enough difference for the price? That depends on how deep your pockets are. I do like the fact that the newer units allow one to change the mapping from factory to Renntech in less than a minute and you do not have to mail your EC unit back and forth to the vendor. If I have to take the SL in for service I can adjust accordingly. Difference in power for the SL450? I will be curious to any answers as I am new to remapping a EC tune. Third SL, first tune.....
P.S.- We are spoiled with the torque and speed of modern cars. I can remember lusting after the muscle cars of the 1960’s when I was a young boy. The reality is many modern cars right off the showroom floor are worlds faster than modified cars of the past....
I just installed the DME stage 2 tune on my 2014 sl550. The HP and torque increase are very noticeable. The price for the 550 is $400.00 less than the RennTech tune.
I just installed the DME stage 2 tune on my 2014 sl550. The HP and torque increase are very noticeable. The price for the 550 is $400.00 less than the RennTech tune.
How about drive-ability and fuel economy? Most of us spend the majority of our time just driving around...
Scratch that...you already answered: "like it's not there". Sorry.
Regarding dollar value, Renntech's tuner can switch back and forth between stock and tuned, while DME makes no such claim. So, tuned and done, basically. Also, I just went to DME's site, and they have the wrong factory ratings for the SL 450. They've listed the ratings for the pre-facelift cars. Does this bode ill for their reliability, or even their believe-ability? Those are some suspiciously hefty torque numbers that they're bandying about for the 450's 3.0L, stage 2 tune. The 992 S's 3.0L has similar hp, but nowhere near that kind of torque. I wonder what gives. Perhaps just creative marketing? Or, if the numbers are real...a possible disregard for the V6's longevity? Just Wondering.
Last edited by Dr. Manhattan; Oct 23, 2019 at 09:39 PM.
How about drive-ability and fuel economy? Most of us spend the majority of our time just driving around...
Scratch that...you already answered: "like it's not there". Sorry.
Regarding dollar value, Renntech's tuner can switch back and forth between stock and tuned, while DME makes no such claim. So, tuned and done, basically. Also, I just went to DME's site, and they have the wrong factory ratings for the SL 450. They've listed the ratings for the pre-facelift cars. Does this bode ill for their reliability, or even their believe-ability? Those are some suspiciously hefty torque numbers that they're bandying about for the 450's 3.0L, stage 2 tune. The 992 S's 3.0L has similar hp, but nowhere near that kind of torque. I wonder what gives. Perhaps just creative marketing? Or, if the numbers are real...a possible disregard for the V6's longevity? Just Wondering.
The handheld tuner they supply holds both the stock tune and the the stage 1 or 2. You can reflash the ecu whenever you wish however it is not as easy as the RennTech.
One other thing: I've read somewhere that the dealership can tell whether or not a car has been re-flashed even if you put the stock tune back in before going to them. Is this true?
One other thing: I've read somewhere that the dealership can tell whether or not a car has been re-flashed even if you put the stock tune back in before going to them. Is this true?
Yes, If the dealership goes deep enough into the ecu data points they can find different shift points and mapping left in memory even if you have changed back to the original program. Information from a mechanic neighbor who lives next door.
What about the tune for the SL from Weistec https://www.weistec.com/m278-ecu-tune.html
Gains of +111bhp and +272 lbs of torque. I am so surprised MB would leave this much power on the table.
Shoot us a Message.. we have Tons of parts and Both stage 1 and Stage 2 tunes for the 278 and 157. With a big halloween sale going on right now the Stage 1 tune is $1200
It seems to me that Renntech is the best/safest (even though one of, if not, the priciest and offers probably the least bang for a buck) way to go if contemplating ECU tune. The reasons of course are: ease of tune/stock changeover, undisputed reputation (specifically for MB) and most importantly since many (or at least some, depending on location) Authorized MB dealers are also Authorized Renntech dealers, they should be "friendly" to Renntech modifications (assuming if purchased from MB dealer directly vs. Renntech).
I am just amazed how much power gains are coming from the SL550! These numbers are crazy and I am amazed that MB leaves that much on the table.
It sure is surprising what a tune can do! However, I wouldn't say Mercedes is leaving a lot on the table. CAFE is a huge issue for Mercedes and because of this they can't run more aggressive tunes on their cars, since emissions will increase and fuel efficiency will decrease, and Mercedes is WAY off target for their CAFE and average emissions numbers. This leads to quite a bit of headroom for aftermarket tunes to extract more power.
I struggle to understand how they, Renntech, justify their pricing.
I realise that there will be some R&D cost but considering the number of units they sell for all the different manufacturers, I'd expect that they are pretty skilled at getting to a ECU tune/map pretty quickly.
We all know that electronics costs nothing to manufacture these days (even with top end components). Where is the cost (sincere question)?
I struggle to understand how they, Renntech, justify their pricing.
I realise that there will be some R&D cost but considering the number of units they sell for all the different manufacturers, I'd expect that they are pretty skilled at getting to a ECU tune/map pretty quickly.
We all know that electronics costs nothing to manufacture these days (even with top end components). Where is the cost (sincere question)?
I owned my own business for 42 years before retiring and have seen the way pricing for products has changed over time. Many years ago a manufacturer would add up total overhead and cost for a unit, add a modest mark up for gross then net profit and that was the final price on the market for that product. Over the years “ marketing” and “perceived value” were added to the price of a product knowing some groups would pay more for a product just because they think it is worth more money. Just look at the outrageous price people will pay for children’s toys that are hot on the Internet or trendy.
Same goes for Renntech. A perceived better quality and reliability can ask a higher price. Whether their product is actually better is in the eye of the consumer. I assume many folks buy a MB, A or C class, just so they can tell folks they drive a Mercedes and pay the price though they cannot afford the mark. Some of the price for a MB is status and prestige.
For good or for bad a lot of the U.S. economy is based off massive sales and perceived value. We are constantly bombarded with advertising for products we “cannot live without” and the masses immediately buy on credit they cannot afford. Sad but true.....
PS- My wife just commented that you can take a $10 bottle of perfume from WalMart, put a Channel or St. Laurent label on it, and someone will pay $120 for it just because of the name.
Last edited by Utopia Texas; Dec 29, 2019 at 11:42 AM.
It is specific to M-B, will be honored by authorized MB dealers who are also authorized Renntech dealers (if there is a problem, I do not care who pays, MBUSA or RENNtech, as long as it is taken care of). This alone makes the price warranted. While I am 100% absolutely content with the performance of my SL550 on Michelin PSS tires and installed SB(almost instant power delivery with almost no throttle lag), I will be getting Renntech tune (already installed SB on day one) for my GLE43 hence was interested when a poster in a different thread was asking about a tune for SL450.
Edit: after posting above, I was informed that regardless of where Renntech tune is purchased/installed, even at MB dealer, original MB warranty is voided once they know tune was done. If Renntech will still pick it up or not is not guaranteed. With this in mind, I'm not considering Renntech tune for my GLE43. Racechip is the only option left.
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