W205C43PFL

Definitely not a placebo, that is the first thing I noticed when idling at operating temperature on my car post unplugging.

PeterUbers

At one point, I thought I needed motor mounts, I've not replaced them since I purchased a car brand new, and I've had several tunes on the car which definitely jacks with the motor mounts, especially with hard launches, but since this solenoid modification, I definitely feel smoother operation of the engine in particular at idle and I don't feel the steering vibration like I used to, it seems like I have brand new motor mounts

when the air conditioning kicks on, I feel more vibrations in the steering wheel. This all could be placebo, however.

kevm14

That's a good question. It seems like forward and backwards depending on what we are talking about. But I also think I have somewhat isolated the variables. For example:
- Unplug sensor toward end of 5,000 mile oil change interval: improvement
- Wet clutch adaptation: improvement
- Changed oil. Engine feels better than it did before, but wet clutch seems somewhat confused. Moved backwards.
- Wet clutch adaptation on new oil: improvement, but it still seems jerky if I am a little too "quick" with the throttle off the line even when hot. To be honest, I FEEL like my wet clutch behavior has been negatively impacted ever since I updated my ECU SW to the latest. Can't really explain why that would even occur but that's just what I am perceiving. Maybe I can convince the BenzNinja to update my TCU SW. He didn't seem confident that he knew what the proper latest SW was for my car, probably a function of my Xentry not being a true online system.

As far as the unplugging mod itself, it's all good.

CaliBenzDriver

Kev:
your engine ECU is responding to cylinders improvements. It can be unsettling to witness the tranny executing poor shifts. Adaptations are not the answer.

I will argue "best tranny shifts" in this MOD are priority No.2 while our engine keeps improving its output. You need at the very least a fresh 5w40 then shots to keep aging viscosity up to seal rings + balance cylinders.

Meaning tranny will catch-up when engine stops improving.
Then at that point you'll have an amazingly strong setup with superior driveability :
900.RPM torque + great shifts + TT


Overall the engine oil is sealing cleaned up rings to provide more homogeneous compressions on all good cylinders.

ECU directly notices that improvement and provides richer fuel metering. The outcome is more torque and new fuel map foundations below 3000.RPM.

It will be very impressive to test-drive a rich low-end torque on a TT engine. This is what we're after delivering here. The formula is:
[MOD-2.1 oil + Driving Time + solid engine]

This oil MOD does confuse tranny and MCT clutch because ECU keeps changing and TCU has a genuine hard time adapting to big changes. Concider this condition normal until engine improvements reaches stability tranny can match or learn with a simple reset.


We are dealing with enough changing variables without adding extra. Fewer changes at the time prevents confusion.
From this engine self-improving we understand that tranny must works closely with ECU.
Its hard to describe the level of chaos that can happen between ECU/TCU when things don't match perfectly.
Behing every great chassis engine, there is a great tranny! I am all for it... my fix is CAN-C bandwidth improvements.

CAN bus networking is much like WIFI: it can only go as fast as its slowest member.
Troublemakers are loose pin modules. How do I know:
I have just begun testing this to the delight of my tranny. It shifts in a whole different new ways including matched RPM shifts!

Tranny shifts extremely fast and seemlessly on a new different level. No need to split hair with tranny... it's the best or nothing!

Stock CAN-C network modules can negatively affects both ECU timings and TCU shifts. The outcome is what we are familiar with.


So for now, focus on engine then perhaps provide simple "30Sec pedal" resets to help along bi-monthly or so.
While tranny works poorly, take it easy. Most of tranny heat is generated by its friction plates/bands under high pressure. Gunning it won't help TCU learn anything.

JettaRed

iTrader: (1)

I really do believe based on my personal observation that the NA M276 3.5 liter shows the most significant effects of disconnecting the solenoid. Having both versions of the M276, the change was most noticeable on my 2014 C350. My comment back when I first disconnected the solenoid was that the car felt like it was in Sport mode when it was actually in Eco mode. The change on my 3.0 liter bi-turbo was not as noticeable until I loaded my VRTune Stage 2 tune.

So, those of you that feel you're missing something on your bi-turbo engine, don't worry. The improvement is there and you haven't done the disconnect wrong. It just may not be as apparent as others have said.

brfatal

So, in lieu of reading 10,000 posts, have we come to a conclusion yet about whether this mod is more beneficial or more harmful? 😂

CaliBenzDriver

This experimental MOD can only be as good as the oil and the engine running it.

I guarantee it will upset your hard working tranny and without reading 10,000 posts you may grow frustrated disappointed as anyone would.

I don't like unnecessary risks so I still recommend against going back to MOD-0 stock.

MOD can cause burned oil carbon to go plug the squirters... RIP! Exactly like loose cholesterol chunks plugging arterial pipe... a heart attack!
In other words: fun MOD trial has potential to WASTE engines with jammed pump.

When buying new cars, we know the best ones are dealer maintained Mercedes in stock conditions, right? Why not keep 'em that way!


For everyone else with itchy-hands (MS! )... dig right into the specifics of this experimental journey.


MOD-2.1 caused me to fix my laggy tranny. Now my engine-tranny tick on a whole new level better than it ever was new.

Hope this help.

CaliBenzDriver

JR, do you know if the MOD does relief the laggy pedal response on turbo chassis or is it still there ??

Turbos engines are seriously not short on power,
NA engines have no rush of power boost unlike Turbo.
there's a sweet spot where torque 'n power cross to get engine wilder. MOD provides oil pressure when it was limited.


> Oil pressure MOD ...:
it delivers missing performance where engine had limited pressure to work with:

1. 3x chain tensioners,
2. 4x VVT gears,
3. 1/2x HPFP prop. valve
4. 8/6x dry pistons heat

MOD has multiple tiers based on current aged oil viscosity.

-- MOD-1 gets wet lubing and some cooling

-- MOD-2.0 gets more cooling while fresh

-- MOD-2.1 captures oil viscosity without burning heat


Note that MOD-1 viscosity prevents it from getting MOD-2.1 results !!!


> In addition collaterals are ...:

1. lubricated cylinders instead of dry-lubed
2. unburned oil residues to block squirters!
3. unlikely burned ignition coils
4. unlikely burned CPS ($10k-oil-in-harness)
5. unlikely exploded/cracked pistons
6. less likely unbalanced cylinders wear
7. unlikely coolant chaos (pipes, leaks, exchanger,..)
8. Improved breaks from booster on vacuum pump
9. cooler more constant tranny ATF viscosity

....

> Everyone with MOD-2.x is guaranteed to get a chance at proper engine heat management. Engine fan is now only occasional.


> To get optimal torque improvement...:
1-- the cylinders have to seal with clean loose rings which takes time according to pre-existing conditions.

2-- the ECU has to realize it can enrich its fuel maps at low RPM instead of lean-lag slash misfire-territories.

3-- the secondary tensioners must hold back perfectly near idle.

4-- viscous "Approved 5w40" oil or better must be used to provide solid viscosity pressure.


Nothing transforming can happen without the right set-up... the ECU self-tunes to reach new levels. GDI timings are available for grab, included by Bosch in the stock ECU.
​​​​​​​

JettaRed

iTrader: (1)

It's kinda hard for me to tell because I also have the @BenzNinja tranny tune (i.e., activating Agility/Sport+ modes and some pedal tweaks). I do know that the bogging, or maybe it was lagging, that I had with my Stage 2 tune went completely away with disconnecting the solenoid.

JettaRed

iTrader: (1)

Just have to post this. Cali will love it!

CaliBenzDriver

Yes, indeed very interesting presentation, thank you JR for sharing this.


benefits from normal oiling

The video topic is dirty piston ring cleaning by Valvoline new detergent oil. We get a nice lab tour of testing facilities.

Wish we could concider that product for our gasoline engines with a 5w40 stock, not 0w20/30 or diesel oil featured.

Funny thing is they are testing low viscosity engine oil.... this tells me its dry-lube dual-rate pump! Exactly the issue this MOD is canceling.

Overall this shows dirty pistons and a new detergent gasoline engine oil to clean the piston ring deposits.

ELEPHANT... The unspoken truth is what causes these pistons oil control rings to get stuck with burned oil.

If they would tell us "dry-lube causes high engine blow-by and extreme heat..."
Then it would be a no brainer to say lets keep the engine temperature away from burning oil temps with normal wet cylinders lubing (MOD-1.0).

Then there is the topic of detergent "overwhelming the filter" with burned deposits and forcing filter bypass open.


Me little bit conservative KISS:
- regular cleaning 5w40 synthetic
- wet cylinders lube pressure MOD-2.1
- normal piston temperature
= no problem!

Just like Mr LakeJr., I fear aggressive detergents sending too much junk around the engine and plugging squirters. Slow wins the cleaning race, safely!

This video highlights the efforts deployed by the oil industry to cancel stuck pistons rings blow-by. This MOD accomplishes that with normal wet lubing at driving RPM.

This MOD adresses more than just dirty hot pistons.
When engine contribution is unbalanced by unevenly stuck rings compressions, ECU responds with lean trims... hello misfires + weak/laggy power.
With evenly smooth crank rotation the ECU is able to time cylinders work properly. Timings jitter kills performance. That's why I favor wet-sealed clean rings the way this worked for 100 years.


Sealed pistons with balanced contribution are favorable to TT engines. It decreases combustion pressure losses.

People report engine vibrations being much lower: that's what balanced engines are like: strong and even. When the ECU sees that, it's able to hand out more gas sooner = torque!

You are on the right track.


+++++++ POOR/BETTER Functions...


this is MOD-0 limited functions
Dry-lubrication limits the performance of ring Seals + piston Cooling and the longevity with limited lubrication + cleaning.

What are old engines like... drafty !
Why tolerate that on modern Mercedes??
​​​​What is MOD-2.1 like... oil sealed
You have options!

When you give your cylinders enough cleaning time the ECU relearn richer trims that confuses the snuts out of tranny learned shifts. Casee in points ridiculously short gear1-2-3 because the drafty engine has very poor torque compared to MOD-2.1 on factory stock.

PeterUbers

I currently have the 100 octane tune in, I have a TCU tune, and I have the sprint booster. My throttle tip in is absolutely perfect. However, with the TCU tune in the sprint booster, I was always impressed with it. It may possibly be slightly improved with this oil solenoid disconnect. That being said the vibration is smoother and the engine is quieter. There's no doubt about that. These are all very subtle things and could in fact be placebo however, I tend to believe that I was a bit annoyed by some of the idle vibration and that has improved. My 100 octane tune is programmed to increase the fan usage in the engine bay. However, I feel like it's being used less and this may be associated with the effect of better oiling and distribution?

i've only had the 100 octane tune ECU in place since I disconnected the oil solenoid. I'll be really interested to pop in the 93 octane tune or the stock ECU and see what the difference is in terms of driving experience.

CaliBenzDriver

Peter, having multiple computers is a sort of handicap when every of your ECU needs driving time to learn the new engine data. Each time you swap ECU you get setback into weird ECU/TCU responses related to dry-lubed engines...

The fresly sealed engine allows ECU to provide more fuel at lower RPM. That should be a stronger foundation for turbo boosted mixtures. Not skipping from lean to boosted: prevents laggy mixtures.

Yesterday we saw the outmost importance of the ring seals that preserve combustion pressure.
The engine can only deliver that from oil sprayed cylinders.

We know the spray RPM is tied to viscosity.

0w40 is only useful to dry-lube MOD-0 stock.
Its "gasoline-efficient" viscosity disables spraying at normal RPM thus MOD-1 results are limited.

The MOD-2 setup is based on improved oil viscosity/pressure to offset under-reved oil pump.


Once engine learning is completed, the whole engine driveability below 3000.RPM is transformed.
This transfirmation shows up gradually little by little given the right setup.


++++ multiple ECU for one TCU...
I think one single TCU adapting to different ECU is going to be challenging for TCU to behave itself.

TCU hability to deliver working shifts is a fairly robust firmware but will deliver a performance setback period.

You may want to learn to wipe adaptations or "soft reset" with 30sec pedal procedure.

Something specific to be discovered with your setup...

PeterUbers

it'll be interesting for sure

once I'm done when this tank of 100 I'll fill with 93 and work on stock and 93 octane tuned ecus

Manny_c450

Anyone in Canada or colder climates try this mod? I understand regardless of the solenoid being unplugged or plugged the car will run in "normal pressure" mode when it is a cold start(sitting overnight). What happens if let's say we drive the car in -10 to -25C(14F to -13F) weather and then park the car for 2 to 4 hours and start it again with the solenoid unplugged? Car will then start and idle with full pressure but is this bad since oil has had a chance to cool off in 2 to 4 hours and is starting to become thicker where as if the solenoid was plugged in and we started the car after sitting 2 to 4 hours in this cold it would run at 2 bar... Basically in cold will normal pressure start up affect anything?

JettaRed

iTrader: (1)

Sure glad these solenoids never fail in Canada, then. Especially since the CEL doesn't come on.

CaliBenzDriver

The above is an interesting FREEZING WINTER question: what happens when starting a Canadian-cold engine with MOD-1 or 2 ??

The engine startup high idle includes "normal pressure" until idle drops lower.

The engine warm idle pressure is dismally low either way, MOD'ed or not.
-15°F cold start high idle with overnight oil will be the consistency of molasses until engine has warmed-up.
There's a reason Canadians plug-in their engine block warmers and use remote-starters. It gets everything warmed up.
I recall a winter in Fairbanks AK where I witnessed all cars being kept with engines running in the parking lots while ppl are grocery shopping or at the movies theater. They do not let their truck engines chill out!

Above idle is when engine benefits from being at operating temperature. The coolant, oil and ATF share heat through heat exchangers to manage consistent operating temps.

I think you'll want to test this carefully to see how everything goes. Naturally I would not drive an engine on frozen molasses... Do like the Jones: warm up engine to near operating temperature or just near 150F if you don't want to wait all day.

If you are not excited by warm up delays, preserve your subframe from salty rot and drive summer miles with summer oil and tires.

Manny_c450

so let's say even after sitting outside for couple of hours in the cold oil will become thicker as it cools, solenoid unplugged will provide full normal pressure when starting the car. Do you think this is a concern for normal pressure at every cold starT?

ImolaSix

Had the solenoid unplugged all winter here in Toronto. No issues to report.

Manny_c450

Sounds good, will probably do this mod this weekend.

CaliBenzDriver

cold starts get "normal pressure" on both stock and MOD-1 regardless. The deal with MOD is it keeps oil pressureup and not 50% halved below 3500.RPM.

Like I said above there is a genuine concern about marginal lubrication... ppl plugin their trucks into AC block warmers + battery jackets.

Engines don't like oil starvation.

Manny_c450

Surprisingly I don’t think a lot of people use block heaters in Ontario, atleast not in my experience.

CaliBenzDriver

​​​​​​Yeah, lake-effect is nothing for locals in T-shirts
Apply polar climate warm-up procedure before driving.

JettaRed

iTrader: (1)

I could be wrong, but I believe the higher revs at start are intended to get the catalytic converters heated up more quickly. Higher revs with air injection from the secondary air pump bring the cats to operating temps (and effectiveness) more quickly. Below is my actual oil pressure readings on a "cold" engine (oil at 106°F) at idle (650 rpm). Ambient temp is at 73°F. Admittedly, the ambient is spring/summer temps. But, the point is that at idle, my pressure is at least 2 bar (30 psi). The oil squirters should be squirting continuously.

Would you expect the pressure to be higher is freezing temps? I have had my solenoid disconnected since last November (2023) and experienced no problems. But, we never reached single digit temps (in °F) all winter, if I remember correctly.


Idle oil pressure

kevm14

Supposedly the solenoid is disabled (closed, full pressure) during initial cold start anyway.

As far as updates on my end I continue to drive the car and I continue to believe that I do need thicker oil. As the oil warms up the good feeling throttle dissipates and I would like it to stay. I also think this variation is messing with the MCT function. Blackstone has STILL not given me their analysis. I may try Lake Speed, Jr next time. And still considering Motul 8100 5W-50.