ColoradoJordan

I'm considering this upgrade for my 2016 Wagon; RENNtech ECU+ Upgrade | S212 | E 63 (S) AMG. Can any share their experiences with this? If you remove it from the OBD 2 Port is there anyway MB can see you have used it (I'm trying to not void my warranty)?

Thanks everyone.

https://www.renntechmercedes.com/ind...-fl-e63-detail

PeterUbers

Check this thread out ... lots of discussion on warranty and tunes:

https://mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/...-w212-amg.html

5soko

Renntech ECU+ is a GREAT tune for this car.
Just to be clear, you connect the Renntech HHT to the OBD, flash the ECU and when finished, you remove it and store it away, it doesnt stay connected into the OBD. Likewise when your ready to flash back to stock. I would call or email Patrick @ renntech when your ready and have more questions, he is a great help, tell him Senad sent you.

Here is my review:
https://mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/...-datalogs.html

PeterUbers

if you tune your E63S and have major engine troubles as a result of the tune, do you feel benz is responsible to cover that repair bill?

Cylinder Head

iTrader: (1)

I think we all know who is responsible, that said we also know who has incredibly deep pockets that we paid handsomely for our cars + warranty. I have paid Mercedes probably $20k for additional warranties that I almost never utilized. I’d have no problem taking some back after re-flashing my M157 back to stock.

PeterUbers

no one forced you to buy an AMG, the warranties, or a tune.

having "deep pockets" doesn't make it right.

mrmotoguzzi00

If you tune it's noted in the ECU... there is no fooling it.... i believe it's called status 8 ?

Cylinder Head

iTrader: (1)

Giant corporations don’t care about what’s right, and neither do I. Mercedes screwed W211 owners over forever about the gas tank issue. BMW is raping their M3/M4 customers with the crank hub issues that affect nearly everything. We are way past right and wrong and into self preservation. You can go ahead and be a sucker, “do the right thing” but this world just takes advantage of people like you.

homeofstone

For me and many others, including Giant corporations, we do care about what is right and for those that don't we pray to God to help them find the right path. Not caring about what is right is how criminals think.

PeterUbers

i disagree with you but I respect your right to share your opinion

PeterUbers

amen brother.

rlevy

Just wow. I do not share your perspective and have taught my children differently, not just through words but with my actions.

oLONEoWOLFo

Back on topic, I just got my RennTech R1 package (Tune/Diverter/BMC Filters) installed today but it has been raining and haven't been able to test significantly. I also got RennTech to ship me some pre-gapped OEM spark plugs to go with the tune and diverter but i'm holding off on installing the air filters for now because a) I just got new OEM filters 5k miles ago, and b) I heard mixed things on the BMC filters re; the silicone shell disintegrating.

I did trigger a CEL for misfires on one very hard pull on the way home. Only reason i knew what it was immediately is it happened once before on first trip home from purchasing abour 6 months ago because carmax had filled with 87 fuel...turned off engine and back on and wasnt able to recreate the issue over about 8-10 pulls after. Not sure what could have caused the misfire issue as i run 93 octane and as previously stated i got the RennTech recommended pre-gapped OEM plugs (0.022). The other thing to know is I ran the tune for about a week before getting the diverter valve or plugs installed but just was very conscious of not hitting max boost (the R1 tune opens up an additional 1-1.5 psi over the tune w/o the diverter) and didn't have any issues over that week of driving.

Tomorrow i should have more time and better weather to evaluate some more. Once thing I can say is the diverter valve is borderline hilarious to use. I hope I can control (reduce) that air whoosh more in comfort so it only is noticeable in more aggressive driving, but again I will know with more testing.

Initial impressions outside of all that is the power kicks in right around 3300-3500rpm and when it does, it's nasty. There is a noticeable difference in the amount of kick you get at that point. Will update soon...

oLONEoWOLFo

Here is the update for me;

I was able to datalog the issue...only time I can trigger misfire is at 20psi which is the max psi of the R1-package specific tune. In short Renntech offers three base tunes. The first (intermediate) is for 91 octane states (unsure max psi for this one), the second is for 93 octane states w/o diverter valve installed (18.5 psi max I believe but could be 19 psi max), and third is in 93 octane states with diverter valve installed (20 psi max). I had the third tune as I purchased the R1 package.

Im going to have them send me the second tune since it seems the 20psi tune is just slightly too aggressive with the gas quality I'm able to get (even though its listed as 93 at the pump everywhere and I'm using Shell and BP). It sucks to lose that extra ~30hp and ~70tq at the crank but every time I hit 20psi on the datalog I'm getting a misfire CEL so its not worth it.

jvakos

Have you tried adding some 100 octane mixed with your 93 to see if the misfires continue?

curious to hear if you try that and if it helps....even if not tuned for 100, these m157 tuned motors do like the high octane fuel for the reduced knock properties

brutus_tx

Exactly what I was going to suggest. If you have access to E85, 4 gallons in the tank should net you a safe increase in octane as well. Enough to see if it's an octane related issue at least.

PeterUbers

https://mbworld.org/forums/w213-amg/...tuned-ecu.html

oLONEoWOLFo

First thing I'm doing (tomorrow actually) is having a second tuner here locally pull plugs verify none are fouled, set to correct gap, and retorque to spec (23Nm/17psi). I have a second set of plugs from FCP Euro being delivered tmr in case there are any issues. If i still have issues after that, i'm going to take your suggestion of boosting octane to confirm it is in fact a fuel quality issue before sending tune back. I was under impression we could not use E85 in our vehicles without some upgrades to fuel system and a e85 specific tune so my idea was to either find race gas somewhere or see if anybody has experienc with Boostane and try their product to boost to high 90's. RennTech has already agreed to replace tune with lower boost if I so choose, but I just want to confirm that gas quality is in fact the issue first.

brutus_tx

Your car is already running 10% ethanol in the tank every time you pump gas. Your tune will easily accept a few extra gallons of E85 in the tank, up to 30% ethanol safely, more so than any off the shelf octane boosters available will for sure.

You cannot run a full tank of E85 without fuel system modifications but there are many people in here running 30% ethanol safely on the stock system and have for years.

What's your fuel level and I'll tell you how much E85 you can add to net E30 in the tank.

oLONEoWOLFo

I'll get plugs pulled, checked for correct gap (i assume they are since Renntech pregapped), checked for any fouling, and most importantly properly torqued (in case they weren't. I want to control for that first. If i'm still having any misfires CEL's after that, i'll get with you about proper level of e85 to boost and test gas-quality theory.

Appreciate the help for everyone. Hopefully that will help resolve all issues with tune i actually paid for.

BTW, i saw an older thread on the BMC air filters indicating they were not necessary and could cause issues due to disintegration. Is that still the consensus because i did not have tuner install the BMC filters when replacing plugs and installing diverter valve?

FastWgn

ColoradoJordan,

Welcome again - you have only had your car for a few weeks, take some time to get used to it and enjoy it before you tune. It's already faster than almost anything else on the road and I agree with the people below. Tune if you must, but be ready to as they say: "you have to pay to play". I think that should always be the baseline for tuning your car.
Maybe they will find the tune, maybe they won't. If they don't - great. If they do - swallow hard and pay up. Enjoy the extra power.

Again - you bought a beautiful car, last year (=most sorted), wagon and faster than 95% of cars on the road. Maybe you already have, but if not, take some driving school lessons with Skip Barber, BMW club, MB club, SCDA, Porsche club etc and you will then be faster than 99.9% of people on the road. With control and safety!
Get an ALP laser warning device, remove your front plate, get Uniden r7 or Max360 radar detector, enable Carplay/Andoid auto (so you can run Waze on the screen) and then you will have a lot of fun without getting caught by the revenue chasing police.

Will I tune my car? Likely - once warranty is over and the car is worth $25-30k. Worst case - you blow the engine/transmission, wave good bye to it and start over with a newer car.

oLONEoWOLFo

Update on my wagon...took to different tuning shop than who installed diverter and spark plugs a couple weeks back to pull plugs and check for fouling/gap/torqued to spec. Turns out there was blowback on the first plug they pulled so we have to assume rings are gone. It makes more sense now because within first week of having car i had an instance of misfires on all cylinders that the benz dealer chalked up to carmax putting a drive away tank of 87 as they said they couldn't find any other issues (carmax never admitted to this and since issue seemed to be gone i didn't pursue it further). Now my thought (and the shops' thought) is that there were already issues with rings at that point (when i bought car) but it wasn't presenting itself because stock boost was insufficient to allow enough oil to make it's way up the cylinder and cause the misfire. At the VERY upper edge of the RennTech tune however, enough oil made its way around the piston to cause the misfire.

Took car to carmax and they've already agreed to look at it (although it will be two weeks before they can get it in), diagnose, and if confirmed determine whether it's new engine or pull and replace. I have maxcare and they've already confirmed that would be covered so long as it comes in with stock tune. They actually encouraged me to try to trigger CEL again but i don't have a desire to hit 130 on the interstate trying to trigger check engine lights but so many times, and i hit my limit on that already. I have to figure with the prices of these m157's it's going to be pull and replace rings however if that is the route i'm going to ask for pics of cylinder walls and pistons so they don't half-*** that job and leave another future issue to deal with.

It's crazy because in a way, having that higher boost from the tune for just one week allowed me to diagnose the issue earlier than i would have otherwise been able to diagnose it. It's been back on the stock tune for the past week already and under WOT i still can't trigger the misfire so there's no telling how much longer it would have lasted with an undiagnosed issue if not for pushing it with the tune.

Will update when i can but it will likely be 2-4 weeks.

Good news is the tune was not the issue (at least not at this point), and diverter valve is working perfectly. I chose not to install the BMC filters, so no advice to give OP there.

PeterUbers

sounds like you got a bad e63! Glad you're optimistic

oLONEoWOLFo

I would def be a lot more pessimistic/frustrated if not for the maxcare warranty i purchased. i've already just about made my money back on that in the first 6 months of ownership just through suspension fixes and will def make it back after this. The loss of vehicle is only a minor inconvenience for me as i can just continue driving the company car.

The thing that i cannot fathom how carmax has not yet figured out their lack of adjustment on their warranty costs for high risk vehicles. afaik maxcare does not adjust the cost of their warranty based on probability to have issues so i was able to get a 3yr, up to 75k mile warranty (40k miles left until that point at time of purchase) for around $2k. Sure i paid more up front that i might have elsewhere, but when a situation(s) like this arises, i'm at ease. I guess they still make plenty of money in the sum of it off of cars that they sell the product on that have significantly fewer issues, but they have to get eaten alive on the benzs/audis/bmw's they sell.

PeterUbers

you totally nailed it -- the amgs etc are loss leaders for carmax and their warranty. In fact most companies won't warrant the e63 on the used market for their own actuarial understanding of these losses. That being said, as you appropriately mentioned ... the rest of the carmax inventories make up for this.

maybe buying a used e63 from carmax with maxcare is the best way to buy an e63?