Looking for feedback on handheld tuners for the M156 E63. There are several companies that make them ...OE Tuning; Velos; Renntech; etc.


Just looking to get some feedback on:


- Does the tuner produce perceived performance gains based on the tuner company claims?


- Did you experience any "drivability issues" after installing the tune ...such as "check engine light" coming on, or just "problematic driving issues" with engine/transmission (does the car still run smooth)?


- Does your tuner allow you to easily swap between oem tune and the performance tune ...to swap back to oem tune for service calls at the dealer.


Just trying to nail down the "best bang for the buck tuner", so lets hear your experiences and opinions. Thanks!


-Mr Black

I used Eurocharged. It was a pretty easy process and they were decent to deal with. The Handheld device arrived promptly, I ran my stock set up, emailed it to them, they emailed the tune back to me, which I then uploaded to the car. Altogether took about a week including delivery of the device.

I haven't had it on a dyno but I could feel a noticeable difference, particularly on the low end. I already had ROW airboxes and high flow filters installed, which was taken into consideration when they provided the tune. I had this done on my SL63 M156 and have had no issues with daily commuting. Car runs smoothly overall. I have nothing else to compare to but am satisfied with this.

James

Wow ...I expected more people to chime in on this thread. I'd of bet money more that one person was using a handheld tuner tool for their M156 cars.


Well ...thank you mcguirja for your feedback.


-Mr Black

The handheld tuners aren't as popular as you might think, simply because there isn't really a need to go back to stock. The tuned cars usually pass emissions, have no drivability issues, and the dealer can't actually tell your car is tuned (unless you slap stickers all over it or they take it beyond the 155 MPH factory speed limiter- which is a different problem). The added cost of a handheld, plus the potential tech support issues (which you'd think would be minimal, but we've had one particularly tech-illiterate customer "brick" his 3 times now) means most people just send their ECU into the tuner and avoid the hassle.

Speedriven1 ...Thanks for the feedback. I guess I'm just getting back up to date with car tuning. Back in my day of racing 5.0 Mustangs, we just put big cams in, flowed the intake, and freed the exhaust ...topped off with the biggest Holley Carb we could fit under the hood (or not) ...Haha!


Since then I have used hand tuners on my Turbo Diesel trucks. I've always liked the capability to return the ECU back to stock if the vehicle had to go back in for service (recall most likely). Ford would "update flash" the ECU as standard practice, in turn, over writing any performance tune. And I know from experience that vehicles going to a dealer with a tune in the ECU may or may not cause problems. So again, I like to just reset the ECU to stock to avoid any issues (assuming that the dealer cannot tell the ECU had been tuned, or retuned ...which I was told by a Ford tech they could not tell if an ECU had been tuned then returned to stock with a handheld tuner). Not sure how that would work on the AMG?


BTW ...no stickers on my cars/trucks/bikes!!


Thanks again for the feedback!

Unfortunately you just missed a killer Black Friday deal - Eurocharged was selling the handheld tuner + a M156 tune for $650.

The main advantage that I can see in going handheld is for gas adaptability. I'm considering the E85 kit (mainly for the cooler temperatures), and while the tune it comes with is "dual fuel", if you know you have a full tank of E85 you can pick up ~40rwhp on the tune (but you have to swap it back before you add pump gas). Handheld makes that an easy option.

1. I'm sure they'd still honor the deal.

2. 40 WHP on E85 alone on the NA seems high to me on the M156?

Yeah ...Black Friday is always a bad time of year for me to spend money on my own toys. Usually have to budget it all for everyone else's toys this time of year!


However ...I think I've got a decent bonus coming in the next paycheck, so I'm planning on buying one soon. Just still trying to gather data on who's handheld tuner provides the best bang for the buck. I think I'm leaning towards Velos Tuner. Maybe they will advertise a good end of year sale soon?


Thanks for the feedback!


-Mr Black

Could be misremembering (verbal chat), but I know there was a decent boost just when on E85, and then a surprisingly decent boost on top of that with an E85-only tune (as opposed to a flex-fuel tune) - enough to be tempting to go through the hassle for track days.

No dog in this fight, since I'm not willing to play at that price. My take is that the Velos tuner is the same unit as EC's with different stickers from what I see on the website. Is it a MyGenius? Anyone know?

Any where where to buy row boxes for m156

They're about $500 everywhere. We have 1 in stock, I think. I'll have to confirm when I get back into the shop. PM me.

yup same exact unit just different stickers.

They're more like $310 shipped from parts.com or oediscountparts.com. No gains by paying more to a tuner for factory parts (no offense intended, it all comes down to volume).

OEM part numbers are 1560940306 and 1560940406. Check out https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...row-boxes.html for all the gory install details as well.

Speedriven1 ...the "handheld tool" may be the same across several tuners, but I am under the impression that each company uses their own "developed performance tune" in the tool. That which leads me to think that is ...when I look at the various tuners websites, they all claim different HP/TQ numbers. So ...that is why I lean towards Velos. Their claims show the biggest performance gains, compared to other sites claims. I also like the fact that Velos describes performance gains in other areas such as "upgraded transmission shifting", and "removal of speed limiter". EU does not describe any of that in their product description. They simply show a dyno **** showing HP/TQ gains.


Here is what Velos claims on their web page:


It is no secret the AMG Powered E63 is detuned from the factory. The Velos Designwerks have been able to remap the cars software to free up the missing HP. Through countless house of dyno testing the Velos Designwerks has been able to increase the Naturally aspirated V8’s power by 65 BHP and 30 lb-ft of torque.
The Velos Designwerks Performance software involves a remapping of several of the factory’s ECU maps including, but not limited to, the fuel maps, throttle maps, ignition maps, and limiters. Velos Designwerks makes it a point to show the a/f ratio where other tuners choose to hide this information due to the car’s nature to run rich. Custom software is also available for cars with exhaust ugprades, headers, or intake upgrades. Software solutions available for all model years as well as cars equipped with Performance Package upgrade from factory.
When it comes to unleashing your E63’s true potential the Velos Designwerks Performance Software is the choice for the true enthusiasts.
*Available with optional Velos Personal Tuner. Velos Personal Tuner allows vehicle to be programmed remotely via OBD2 port
GAINS

• Horsepower: 65 HP
• Torque: 30 Lbs Ft of Torque

• Improved Shifting
• Crisper, quicker shifting
• Improved Throttle Response
• Increased Gains in mid rpm range
• Improved Gas Mileage
• Refined a/f ratio
• Increase Rev Limiter
• Top Speed Removal (Off road use only)
• Refined drivability
• Improved Part throttle response

Here is what the EU website claims:

• Product Description
• Product Reviews

Product Description Eurocharged Performance Engine Software

Make:
Mercedes Benz
Model:
E63 AMG 6.3 V8
Series:
W211
Years:
2007 - 2011


Flash Type:
OBD
Mygenius Compatible:
Yes
Dealer Flashable:
Yes



Peak Power (bhp)
Peak Torque (lb-ft)











I must admit though ...I am somewhat skeptical of Velos claiming an additional 65hp. But that would be nice!


What say you?


-Mr Black

65 additional on a E? C maybe but not an E. Remember the E makes a smidge more power then the C based on software from the factory. Same engine, they all end up at the same HP

Thanks for the intel loungn14. I sent you a PM.