Vrodman

Hey guys,

Just pulled the trigger on a mild tune from EP. They made me a very reasonable offer that was hard to pass up.

I am getting:

Handheld interface tuner to keep

Will be able to switch between stock, EP tune, and valet mode at will.

22HP at wheels

29 ft-lb of torque

Removal of top end speed governor

Faster shift times

And better throttle response

I should have it flashed by later next week. I will repost a review after I get it done. Basically I got the P30 performance without the LSD. Thinking about doing that too at some point. That upgrade is ~$1800 total though. I will figure out if I need it after the tune.

Anybody else with E class use these guys? I heard they are quite popular with the C guys. The same tune they claim on C 156 is 70 hp !

vcci

I used them for my 07 E63 with the same motor thats in your car. While the gains weren't huge i could tell the difference. The shifts were much better and overall it made the car just feel right. The reason the C guys are getting 70hp is because the C is de-tuned from factory. For the money I think its a great tune. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. good luck

Davidkuo0330

Congrats man. Can't wait to see your review. Good luck.

AMGJAY

Well worth it. On downshifts the car will now be louder and have more aggressive rev matching (car should come like this from factory to be honest).

Also, the car will become more responsive overall. Can't really tell too much from the top end, but once you drive with the tune in for many months then remove it, you'll quickly learn all the great things it actually did. Speak from personal experience.

I typically only remove it when my car needs to see the dealer, just to be on the safe side. I've been told by many people that the dealer will never pick up on the tune, but to me it's not worth the negligence of being lazy to potentially void my warranty.

Let me know if you have any questions.

loungn14

Celicasaur

Good luck Vrod, keep us posted. I can't wait to get mine tuned purely for the faster shifts. My 1-2 and 2-3 shifts are pretty rubbish at the moment.

I hear that the gains of a custom tune with a decat are reasonably close to that of those with a pair of longtubes and a custom tune. Either way though, I'm sure your car will feel nicer to drive with this new tune.

Mixedfruits

What is this good deal and how does one get in on this? hehe

Vrodman

I bet Loungn14 will PM you with the deal. It is a GOOD deal! I just dont want to cross these guys up if they don't want it public knowledge.

Good Luck.

TheVazha

Great tune and fantastic pricing. It's tough to pull power out of this M156 but with the tune it feels like a true track car which is what this motor was designed for. You get a bit more power in the lower RPM range which is where this motor lacks. Also, because the HP/TQ curve is a bit more aggressive in the lower/mid RPM range, your shifts are going to feel brutal, in the best way possible. Add some headers and you've got a car that may not be as fast as the TT but just an absolute pleasure to drive.

Vrodman

Thanks for the positive endorsement! Hope everything you and others have said is correct.

Unfortunately, I am still trying to get the operating system loaded onto the handheld. Apparently the maker of the handheld based in Italy has some SW glitch that we are trying to get resolved. If I dont have a fix by tomorrow it will not fare well in my review. I cant even get to the car flash yet because the programmer is not configured.

Sent them the problem yesterday with screen shots of the error messages and I received a 5 word response asking me what car it is for. So with time difference between cali and Italy that last question kicked out the solution 24 hours!

Hopefully tomorrow I do not receive another question. Better be getting a solution.

I really want to give everybody a fair evaluation. But at the same time, I have little patience for unnecessary delays.

Crossing my fingers.

TheVazha

What handheld do you have? The mygenius? There should be a USB drive that has the PC software to upload onto your laptop.

What step are you stuck on? I am not aware of any software that needs to be uploaded to the actual mygenius handheld device..

Vrodman

Yes it is MyGenius.

You are not aware of the issue I faced because your device was configured properly for MB by Dimsport. This meaning that the serial number for your device was in their database for a MB car. So when you uploaded the OS from the PC to MyGenius it verifies via internet that your device is OK to use with MB. If they did not enter MB protocols into their database for your serial number device, then you get the errors I got.

Good news is that they did infact straighten it out and I was able to pull the stock file off of the car this morning! I already sent it into EP.

Really hoping that they turn around the tune back to me by tomorrow at latest. I already lost 2 days due to the config issue with MyGenius.

LuvMySilvrSupra

Keep us posted Vrodman, I'm interested in hearing how this goes!

Vrodman

Real progress being made now.

EP really expedited my tune SW turnaround time. 7 hours from when I sent them my native/stock file, and the returned modified file.

The whole process to get from email response to modified tune onto car was around 5 minutes!

I did drive it just a bit afterward, ensuring the car still ran (lol), and the first observation seems to agree with a couple of you that downshifts are quicker and louder. Rev matching also seems better when paddle down shifting.

Tomorrow I will really feel it out. Hoping for the best.

I will follow up with a more thorough review later.

Cheers!

Celicasaur

Via My Genius, is it possible to download the ecu map and data logs (airflow voltage, knock index etc) and tinker with fuelling, vvt and ignition? Or do I need a separate, expensive piece of software in order to make changes to the map?

loungn14

expensive piece of software

Celicasaur

Roughly how expensive are we talking?

Because a proper dyno tune here in the UK is around ~$1200USD....I wonder if it's a few hundred more on top or a couple grand?

PeterUbers

Vrod... Great news ... Seems promising ... Awaiting your final review

loungn14

Couple grand. Then you need to buy files to read the encrypted tunes. It's not like the gm days where it is easy to find were things like timing are located.

Vrodman

Here it is:

First I want to thank EP for very good customer service and technical know how!

Even though I ran into a snag with the hardware, by no fault of theirs, they steered me through everything painlessly.

Now as far as observations after 2 full days:

It does seem to indeed have better torque and power in the lower rpms. Feels more responsive for sure in that 1/4 to 1/2 gas pedal depression.

There is a noticeable "bark" when paddle down shifting that sounds cool. The same sound you get when you are in park and rev the engine quickly to about 4k rpm and let off. This seems to be a side effect of more aggressive rev matching during shifts. Again, it is kinda cool and makes the beast sound meaner FOR SURE!

Now this next observation might be placebo, but it seems like the exhaust in general is a bit louder. My thinking is that it shouldn't be, but it seems like it. The wife actually commented on this too.

I have no fuel economy data yet to report.

It does not seem to be any problem with my existing Sprintbooster either!

One observation that I am a bit worried about, is take off when not fully warm. Now this has always been less than ideal, but it seems worse since the tune. It feels like the clutch is slow engaging off of the line. Perhaps this is a tradeoff to getting better shift times and such in the tune??

In closing, I will say I have no regrets and am happy with my decision to do this.

Davidkuo0330

Great news V. Glad you finally woke up Ava and even better that you have no regrets. Have fun with her.

LJMartin

May be he can pm me too.

Vrodman

Thanks David,

It is nice. But nowhere near what you are driving!

BTW, her name is Eva not Ava. Took my 10 minutes to calm her down after you mispelled her name!

"Easy girl, easy girl, it was a simple mistake. He didnt mean it"

LOL. LMAO. 😄😄😄😎😎

Vrodman

I meant me, not my.

Davidkuo0330

LMAO. Sorry Eva, now show the beast that is inside of you.