Alright guys. I'm not sure if this will end the discussion or not. I had my ECU re-flashed by the dealer a few weeks ago for the recall. I had been putting this off for fear of loosing power like a lot of the guys on here have been suggesting. After the recall, I sent the ECU up to Cory at Kleemann to have the new Kleemann program put on the ECU. This past Sunday we had a track rental at Capitol Dragway. This is the same track that I ran my 11.38 late last year. The problem I have with comparing my times are that this time out, I didn't have R compound tires. The car ran good but traction was a problem. The best run I had was an 11.55. I was happy with the ET considering this is on regular street tires and not drag radials or any R compound racing tire. My concern is the trap speed. I could only manage a 119-120mph trap speed. The last time out, my trap speeds were 122-123mph.

I don't know if this is ECU related or if any of the other factors are hurting the mph. I have just started notiicing my IC pump is starting to fail. At the end of the track, the car felt like it was starting to fall off. Also, when I was coming down the return road the car had zero power. Wouldn't spin a tire, nothing, just dead. Also, I was feathering the throtle out of the hole to keep from spinning. This could have hurt more than anything because I had to walk the car out pretty far before going to the floor. Bottom line for me is, I don't think the recall/reflash is hurting these cars at all. I have most all of my power and then some. Hopefully this will help you guys that haven't done the recall.

 

i noticed 2mph gain with better air...if density altitude was higher than your previous time, i think your mph would be slower.

for me the ideal conditions at HRP...55 degrees, late afternoon so the sun is still putting some heat into the track, low humidity and the barometer is 30.xx or higher

just my $.02 worth! and 11.38 on RA1's...bad ***!

john

 

IC pump can be a huge factor in mph,also the weather conditons play a big roll.If the car cant get good air then it want pull the mph as easy.If you were only down 2-3 mph I wouldnt be looking in the ECU's directions as much as the weather for that day or the IAT's for that day.

 

BINGO...and dont forget lots of VHT on the track.

 

DJE55 and Housclass talking on the same post. It's like watching Jordan and Pippen working together again.

 

 

Do you recall the conditions from your earlier run? The difference could be down to weather conditions.

 

I would agree that the air could play and huge factor. I was just thinking since my pump is failing and I had to walk the car out of the hole so carefully that it would be one of the two. Most of the track events that I've attended I've run over 121mph. I don't think it's the ECU but I would agree that it's either IC pump, launch or weather.

enzom, I don't remember the temps exactly but it was cool. From what I can remember, I think the conditions were pretty similar but I'm not possitive.

Jakpro1, your a trip dude. We are all just a bunch of nuts that love to beat on big 4dr lead sleds.

 

DJe55,
How did the car run after the flash, but before you sent the ECU to Kleemann?
I heard (Renntech) the ECU flash from Mercedes dealer locks ECU.
My 04 is 3456 miles till service, and I am scared to take it in.

 

Not true. Kleemann or Renntech can re-flash after the MB re-flash. I have the pulley on my car so I didn't run the car hard until after I got the ECU back from Kleemann. I wouldn't worry about the re-flash. I think we've had enough guys on her that have had it done and haven't seen any change in numbers. All of the complaints about power lose is purely guys guessing by the feel. It's all in their heads. Proof is in the numbers.

 

.............did any one of those guys even bother to dyno or run their car at the track after the recall?

Ted

 

.............answer...........yes!!!

Ted

 

i don't know what to say anymore to these people. there's PLENTY of DOCUMENTED evidence to PROVE power losses and much of it has even been posted on this board!!!

 

I guess you guys are right, the reflash has slowed me down. i only ran 11.50's on street tires not dr's with a K2 set up. I was away a little so maybe I missed all the PROOF of the power loss. I do have PROOF from a few guys that haven't seen any power loss. If MB's re-flash hurts one it hurts all and i can say for a fact it hasn't hurt my car. How is it that my didn't see any power loss? Ted? chiromikey?

 

.............maybe your are just special. Or maybe you should look at your trapsped and a/f ratio and forget about /4 mile time.

Ted

 

I am glad that someone around here does not care about ET. This is my trap speed after the MB recall and post K2 reflash:

If you cannot read it, it says 124.63mph

 

I will look at my A/F ratio next time I do a mod that requires me to dyno my car. i'm not one of those guys that really cars how much horsepower the dyno tells me I have. They are not as reliable as taking your car to the track and comparing numbers there. My trap speeds were off a tick but so was my ET. That is more than likely due to the way i had to come out of the hole with the street tires compared to DR's. If you really think you are loosing power from the reflash, call some of the tuners. These guys deal with these cars every day and they don't seem to have a problem getting the power back.

 

Rock,

Is that 12:61@124mph?

 

Did you have just a little trouble out of the hole Rock??? Your trap speed is amazing. That car will run some crazy numbers once you get it to hook.

 

Exactly. 12:61@124...thats ice skating with 4200lb skates.

 

Yeah, I have been a little embarrassed to post this slip but since the discussion turned to post-MB recall power loss, I figured this was as good a time as any to come clean. Once I master a non-spastic driving technique I will rule the highways!!!

 

I was going to go that day but it was raining 50 miles from the track so I bagged out. I check out the conditions at that time. 49F and 94% humidity...although if it wasn't raining it had to still be > 90% humidity as I checked several other weather stations...not sure how that DA compares to your 11.38 DA run.