gonzjed

Anybody get an ECU tune on a stock car? I'm wondering if there would be a noticable difference if I went that route.

Don't want to go mod crazy because Hawaii only has 1 dealership here, so if they blackflag me for modding, I'd be screwed big time.

Fr33kn63

I too dont plan to go too nuts modding my ride.
I did the resonator delete and the the Renntech ECU tune and ELM. Yes I did see noticeable gains from the ECU tune. It is mostly noticeable in the first 4 gears. they are a little more responsive and seem to give me just a little more mmmppphhh in each lower gear. ECU tune also changed my top speed from the stock 155 to 187.5 mph
Only plan on really doing a few more mods. Got the VRP CF airbox coming in some day....not sure what else im gonna do but for now thats probably about it...
I see you have a 55k, not sure if ECU will help much with those, on the 63's its seems to make a difference

55wagon

I have used Veloce ECU and dyno before and after. it only bump a few hp more.
but the the main different was the responses. it was really fun driving with it..
that was on a 55 stock car.

juicee63

ECU tuning on the 55 makes a much bigger difference than it does on the 63, but w/o modification seems like a Sprint Booster will do some of the work at a fraction of the cost.

ECU tuning on the AMG cars is hit and miss and sometimes gaining something takes away from something else. Good luck it would be worth a try, if you are not happy get a refund immediately

jangy

A tune without other mods can really just focus on tightening the tolerances to get better power. Things like octane setting, leaning out, moving the speed limiter, moving the rev limiter, etc. is all you can get. In all honesty, I wouldn't do it.

Instead, find a way into your dealership. Once you are connected, you can do whatever you want.

AMGfan

If you don't want to go mod crazy, then you might want to consider:

1. Stickier tires...I've tried BFG's and Nitto's drag radials. My personal opinion is that the BFG's are better for traction, but the Nitto's are better for day to day. I was worried about the driving in the rain, but the Nitto's were a lot better than I thought...the caveat...just as long as you don't go crazy on the throttle.
2. Lighter wheels from stock (unsprung weight reduction)
3. Lighter rotors (unsprung weight reduction)
4. Upgrade your IC pump.
5. Sprintbooster (no real performance increase but perception of quicker throttle response is boosted)
6. Upgrade your brake pads (increased stopping performance and less brake dust)

Like Jangy said, I think an ECU tune without engine mods would be wasting your money.

gonzjed

Thanks for all the honest feedback. I think I'm going to talk to my SA first and see what he says about modding.

joshd

My understanding is that it's worth 20HP/20TQ on a stock car. Which is not that much given 500HP/500+TQ stock. However, due to timing increase the car might feel more responsive and due to leaning out a bit you might actually get better gas mileage if you can stay out of it. As mentioned you also get speed limiter removal and rev limit increase if you want. Given that, it may or may not be worth it to you based on the cost.

Fr33kn63

Well I chose to go ahead with the ECU tune. Yes its only a little bit of additional gains, but i was given a price I couldnt turn down. I agreed not to disclose the price per my agreement with Renntech, but can say it was VERY significant with what they typically charge for a tune.
Thats why I went that route. And personally I dont regret it one bit. Car feels they way it should have out of the factory with what was done.
GL with your decision.

jangy

For 63s it is the only game in town and I would also get an ECU tune if it were mine. But on an E55 a tune alone is just not worth it. I dunno when you got your tune or what it was tuned to do but I do know that rennTech has spent some time on the 63 and the various tunes on the CLS63 are pretty refined. But out here in California we have RennTech quality concerns and Powerchip has really focussed on MBs of late, including the 63 so there are a few choices. Also, you already mentioned the price stigma, especially given that we can get some deep discounts through the vendors that aren't at dealerships...