ECU Remapping or is it Madness!!!

[BRABUS R230]

Hi All, I know that some of you may think that I am crazy for even considering this but I will explain, I have a very rare BRABUS modified SL55, one of only six made in right hand drive for UK, it produces 550HP and 780Nm of Torque which I know may of you will say "thats more that enough" but I want more!!!
I have spoken to DMS Automotive (DMS Performance Car Review) and they have told me that with they modifications already done by BRABUS (pulley, cooler, sports exhaust and BRABUS Remapping) they could raise my BHP to just over 600BHP which would also increase my Torque to around 810Nm without adding any other components, just by remapping the ECU!! for this it would cost me £1,380.00, I have been doing some research over the Internet and have come across another company called ECU-RS and they quote an increase in power over the original 2002 SL55 from 478Bhp to 645Bhp all for £400.00 just by remapping the ECU!! I have also checked a few other ECU Remapping companies advertising and claiming power increases between 15Bhp and 50Bhp over the standard engine at prices between £200.00 and £4,598.88 (AMD Technik) my questions are why such a large price difference and is it something that I should consider doing, would I be spoiling an already fast car, am I just going through middle life crisis? should I just take a pill and go to sleep and I'll be OK in the morning? is it a safe (for the engine) thing to do?
do any of you have any experience in having this done to there cars?

 

[roofless]

it's not a car i would trust a third party outfit with

 

[Xtractorfan]

Can you honestly say that adding more grunt will in any way make this a better car, I would doubt if adding more BHP will do anything other than spin the rubber a bit faster and longer.. also I would think that increasing the torque can only add more strain to the drive train and engine.. and most people who do this tend to use it..

 

[JEZ.S320L]

London? 600+bhp? Where? Why?

 

[BRABUS R230]

Can you honestly say that adding more grunt will in any way make this a better car, I would doubt if adding more BHP will do anything other than spin the rubber a bit faster and longer.. also I would think that increasing the torque can only add more strain to the drive train and engine.. and most people who do this tend to use it..

I do agree with you, but I heard that the drive train can cope with over 600HP, it's a funny thing because I don't drive fast often as I only use the car every other weekend and when I do drive it my wife is with me and she hates speed! its just that it's nice to know that the power is there when you need it, as you can tell by the fact that I have purchased such a car indicates that I do like a powerful car, but I really bought it because of it's rarity and style,I do like the surge of the acceleration which I enjoy when driving on motorways. I have not decided to get this ECU Remapping but I was just doing some research.

Thanks for your Reply

 

[BRABUS R230]

London? 600+bhp? Where? Why?

I know, I just like to know it's there!

 

[meanie]

On the basis that you'll be hard pressed to nail this car at legal speeds without the traction control cutting in as the car sits now,any additional horsepower gains on the dyno won't really be there on the road.All that you will really gain will be a hyper active traction control system.A company such as Brabus is more than capable of realising such figures but choose not to for reasons of drivability,reliability etc.

 

[mikestrivens]

sounds like a visit from the men in white coats is required.

 

[brandwooddixon]

On such a rare car I would be very warey of going to anyone other than Brabus for changes, if only due to the potential loss in value that you may incur by making such a change.

I would also be careful of increasing the torque curve as you run the risk of your car becoming unbearably tail happy.

 

[CL500Wizard]

if you really want the power upgrade, call Brabus and ask them yourself if it is firstly recommended and if they can do it or recommend someone in UK who can.

my recommendation however would be that if you do decide to go ahead with it if Brabus do not recommend, do not let any tuners touch the brabus chip in the ecu. piggy back ecu's are not worth doing as they can only adjust so much and tend to fool the original ECU, so either go for a standalone ECU (not sure if AEM do one for your car but worth checking as they are very good ECUs). Just don't let the tuner over-write the Brabus chip (if it is not protected).

 

[alindsay81]

Id do it, you can buy a nissan skyline with 1000bhp, i drove a 850bhp skyline and drivability etc was great

Id be looking to spend around £1500, £200 is too cheap.
Find a company thats remapped a few Lamborghini/Ferraris, they should know their stuff.

 

[brandwooddixon]

My only comment to that is that the skyline is four wheel drive where as the SL is only driven by the rear pair. I'll admit that I've never driven either so can't comment from experience, but would have thought that the Skyline's more complex drive train would cope with applying 212bhp per wheel better than the SL with 300. But it's the torque that I'd be more worried about than the outright bhp.

I remember seeing a test drive on TV of an SL with nearly 1000Nm torque (oddly enough by Brabus I think) and it seemed that most of the time the traction control was busy getting fried when applying power.

The comment made at the time was that it was a bit too tail happy to drive fast on English roads, unless you liked the rear panels being altered on a regular basis.

 

[turbopete]

i saw that test. it was on top gear. they gave it 1000nm of torque and when they started it the car wouldnt move as the traction control said it couldnt be done. then (according to the words of Jeremy Clarkson) they switched the traction control off and the car just spun the wheels till the tyres burst! so they reduced it to around 800 nm. thing is, bhp is, really an irrellevant figure. torque is what you need. the more you have, the better your car goes!thats why diesels are so economical compared to their petrol cousins. similar bhp and engine size, but no need for downshifts with a diesel so similar performance, less fuel used etc. hope im making sense. havent slept for 2 days!

 

[bigasotonuk]

Can,t comment on the prices and why they vary so drastically, but you mentioned DMS and they have a very good reputation in this field, they would be my chosen vendor if you were to decide to go this way.

 

[Cole@MBS]

I just read this thread and my first thought is "whats going to break first" auto box, diff or drive shafts???

 

[BRABUS R230]

i saw that test. it was on top gear. they gave it 1000nm of torque and when they started it the car wouldn't move as the traction control said it couldnt be done. then (according to the words of Jeremy Clarkson) they switched the traction control off and the car just spun the wheels till the tyres burst! so they reduced it to around 800 nm. thing is, bhp is, really an irrellevant figure. torque is what you need. the more you have, the better your car goes!thats why diesels are so economical compared to their petrol cousins. similar bhp and engine size, but no need for downshifts with a diesel so similar performance, less fuel used etc. hope im making sense. havent slept for 2 days!

Interesting Turbopete,
Maybe what I would like is more Torque, I suppose you cant add more torque without having more BHP?
I don't need to getaway from the lights more quickly, I just wanted more "GRUNT" available at motorway cruising speeds, not that there is not a lot already but the feel of the smooth acceleration at low rev's is so addictive to be honest, its like many things in life, once you get used to it you always want more, I think Speed, power and Torque (and women ) are like an addictive drug, you are never satisfied, hence we would not desire cars like the Pagani Zonda C12 S 7.3 (759Nm) Mclaren F (651Nm) SLR Mclaren (780Nm) and the ultimate The Bugatti Veyron (1,250Nm), I am sure the owners of these cars only get to use around 20% of there power.. if that. The latest and most powerful Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce produces 660Nm of Torque but my BRABUS produces 780Nm, listening to the comments most of you have posted I think I will leave well alone, but I do think its all about ownership!

 

[BRABUS R230]

I just read this thread and my first thought is "whats going to break first" auto box, diff or drive shafts???

I was told the the auto box, diff and drive shafts were good for coping up to 670 BHP!

MKB.de (SL55 Upgrade)
Increase in performance 456 kW (620 HP) at 5800 rpm, 800 Nm at 4190 rpm
modification:
high performance camshafts, exhaust headers s/s,
special compressor clutch, adaptation of ECU,
bigger throttle with optimized air intake tube,
V-max delimiter, limited slip differential 45% locking ratio
reinforcement transmission incl. adaptation of TCU

VATH
Hubraum: 5.733 cm³
Leistung: 456 kW = 620 PS bei 6.000 U/min
Drehmoment: 800 Nm bei 3.000 – 5.000 U/min
Höchstgeschwindigkeit: 335 km/h (elektronisch begrenzt)
Kraftstoffart: SuperPlus (ROZ 98)
Abgasnorm: unverändert zur Serie

KLEEMANS AMG 55 Modification
Kleemann is known to supply some of the best tuning solutions for all models with the 55 AMG V8 compressor engines.
55-K4: K1 + K2 + K3 + a modified inlet house and throttle body.
Up to 620 HP and 900 Nm (664 lb-ft) of torque.

 

[brandwooddixon]

I may have appeared to be talking you out of it, but that wasn't necessarily my intention.

My worry is that you've already got a Brabus and the idea of going to anyone else to tune it up even more will, in my mind, ruin any cache that it has in being a Brabus.

I think that Brabus would be my first port of call. They may be able to increase your bhp without increasing the torque values too much.

They should also be able to tell you what modifications they have already performed on your car.

 

[meanie]

I just read this thread and my first thought is "whats going to break first" auto box, diff or drive shafts???

Agreed!Whilst they may say that these components can handle this sort of power/torque,that is based upon a steady constant application of it & doesn't allow for the 'violence' of the traction control systems doing their stuff several times a second.

If you would like to know that there is more there,how about stickier rubber to help get more of it down?

 

[clive-cls]

With this sort of power im sure you will agree it comes down to how the power is introduced , as to not spin the rear end as much . You need a Custom remap to achive this . The Brabus software is all generic when i had a chat with brabus the biggest reccomendation was GCL Tuning as they are custom and offer warranty + They now have another very happy customer (me) .


Clive