Engine ECU chip advice

[Developer]

Hello team,

I've been looking at an engine reprogramme company called Chipped UK. Someone I know has had his A3 modified there and speaks volumes of them and it (the car). He has bought a unit that he plugs into the harness from inside the car which allows him two stages of tune and the ability to return the tune to it's original setting at the twist of a knob. For my 204bhp W211 320 Cdi Chipped UK claim 235bhp and 570Nm torque.

Any thoughts on chipping generally, Chipped UK, and the types of chip options available. What about reliability? What about insurance?

All opinions welcome, particularly the reliability issue.

Thanks

John

 

[NewMB]

Perhaps my thoughts may give you a good opinion, although not about Chipped UK.

I went through an MB dealer in Ipswich to have the Brabus D6 chip installed. Basically a box mounted next to the engine and cables run to the injection system. The box itself is as big as 2 packs of fags next to each other.

This chip is fully covered under warranty and does NOT void any warranty whatsoever as long as it is done by MB.

This gives me an additional 48bhp and 80Nm of torque. In total 272bhp and 590Nm torque.

Better tell your insurance company who obviously will make a charge for it. They want to know % of power (hp) increase and value.

Don't tell them..... I think you probably know what happens if they find out.

As for reliability. Perfect! No problems at all.

Fuel consumption has gone down and I now get more mpg.

You can not install this under warranty if your car has more than 18000 mls or are over 2 years old.

I would think this is by far the best route. Yes, it is not cheap, but fun!

If you need any further info, please let me know.

 

[Seeker_UK]

Given my car > 18K on the clock, who can I get to install a Brabus chip?

 

[psmart]

Basically, your engine ECU is like your PC BIOS, you can flash an update into it at any time with the correct kit and the updated software. Unfortunately, a built in counter counts the number of times you reprogram the ECU, so an experienced engineer can determine if the ECU is original or not.

I have the kit, basically a KWP2000 interface which plugs into the socket under the steering wheel and allows you to read the old program out and program a new program in. You can buy these devices off Ebay, but the key requirement is an updated program specifically for your car. I got a company in Cologne, Germany to revamp my ML270cdi from 163bhp to 220 bhp and it made a very big difference.

You have to be careful flashing yourself though, because if your dont know the gotchas, like disconnecting the cooling fan, you can wipe your ECU memory and the only way of fixing it is for the integrated circuit (flash ram) to be desoldered, reprogrammed and re-soldered!!

I bought a second ECU on Ebay for my car which I intended to have the performance program in one and the standard in another as it only takes about 2 minutes to swap ECUs! Unfortunately, each ECU is coded to a car and I have as yet been unable to get the 2nd ECU coded (I own Carsoft Ultimate which wouldnt do it and also have been to Merc, who refused to code it)!

In summary, your best, where possible, getting a software reprogram because only the computer (ECU) has access to all engine information. Add on boxes adapt information going into the ECU, trying to fool it to gain the extra power. As the original ECU program for your car remains in place with the Brabus box, then the engine can never go out of parameters as designed by Merc, so its easy to see why they support/warrant it, but you may not get the best performance. Look around for a reputable company who takes your ECU program and re-maps it to give you the power or economy your looking for.

 

[keith100]

'You have to be careful flashing yourself though'



Too right

 

[jibcl500]

I own Carsoft Ultimate which wouldnt do it and also have been to Merc, who refused to code it

PS how much is carsoft ulimate? I run 7.4 (legal) which is ok but want to upgrade.
jib

 

[psmart]

PS how much is carsoft ulimate? I run 7.4 (legal) which is ok but want to upgrade.
jib

Memory not as good as it used to be, but I paid circa 2k (exc. VAT) for Carsoft 8.1 and they provided a free upgrade to Ultimate when it was released. Unfortunately, Ultimate 2 is not free and I cant see a reason to pay the extra.

I contacted their support department, who told me to plug in the old ECU, 'read' the codifing information, change to the new ECU and 'write' the coding information! I tried various methods around this and non worked! Could just be I have got a duff ECU off Ebay.... but how do you prove it!

 

[jibcl500]

Memory not as good as it used to be, but I paid circa 2k (exc. VAT) for Carsoft 8.1 and they provided a free upgrade to Ultimate when it was released. Unfortunately, Ultimate 2 is not free and I cant see a reason to pay the extra.

I contacted their support department, who told me to plug in the old ECU, 'read' the codifing information, change to the new ECU and 'write' the coding information! I tried various methods around this and non worked! Could just be I have got a duff ECU off Ebay.... but how do you prove it!

PS
so does that mean you still need the license from 8.1 for ultimate or is your version 8.1 available forsale?
jib

 

[psmart]

PS
so does that mean you still need the license from 8.1 for ultimate or is your version 8.1 available forsale?
jib

From version 8 you get a USB Key which your license key is coded to (ie. You fax your details plus the USB Key number to CarSoft and they return you an activation key). The USB key and activation key from version 8 works with CarSoft Ultimate. Unfortunately, you always need the USB key in order to run CarSoft version 8/Ultimate, which I wont be selling for a while as it does prove useful.

 

[NewMB]

Given my car > 18K on the clock, who can I get to install a Brabus chip?

Your local MB dealer will do it. At a price, but at the same time, peace of mind knowing you are still covered under warranty!

With this chip/box installed, I have outrun a few M3's, S4 and stayed right behind the devil, RS4!

Oh, one of the small hot Clio's as well.....192 I think it's called... he had no chance :twisted:

 

[coxyhog]

According to my local MB dealer the Brabus chip does affect the new car warranty.
It changes it from unlimited mileage to 60k.

 

[jberks]

all chips work by overfueling and possibly increasing boost. At the end of the day, both are going to reduce engine life so 300k+ from your turbo diesel goes out of the window.
Injector wear is dramatically increased I understand so expect to need a new set a lot earlier than you would otherwise.
Everything has a downside.

 

[phil.30]

hi, can you let me have the name of the company ect, my local mb dealer said barbus only do chips for deisels, also what was the cost, cheers phil

Perhaps my thoughts may give you a good opinion, although not about Chipped UK.

I went through an MB dealer in Ipswich to have the Brabus D6 chip installed. Basically a box mounted next to the engine and cables run to the injection system. The box itself is as big as 2 packs of fags next to each other.

This chip is fully covered under warranty and does NOT void any warranty whatsoever as long as it is done by MB.

This gives me an additional 48bhp and 80Nm of torque. In total 272bhp and 590Nm torque.

Better tell your insurance company who obviously will make a charge for it. They want to know % of power (hp) increase and value.

Don't tell them..... I think you probably know what happens if they find out.

As for reliability. Perfect! No problems at all.

Fuel consumption has gone down and I now get more mpg.

You can not install this under warranty if your car has more than 18000 mls or are over 2 years old.

I would think this is by far the best route. Yes, it is not cheap, but fun!

If you need any further info, please let me know.

 

[NewMB]

hi, can you let me have the name of the company ect, my local mb dealer said barbus only do chips for deisels, also what was the cost, cheers phil

www.brabus.com

No, Brabus is owned (whole or partly - not sure) by MB and makes all kind of tuning parts to various MB models.

In the UK, only the chip to the 280/320 Cdi engine has been approved and will be fitted under warranty. They will not do the 200/220 Cdi as it has not been tested (according to MB UK).

Yes, it is correct, warranty goes from unlimited to 60K, but still 3 years.

If you local dealer say "can't do it", call another. My local is Colchester, the guy had no idea "never done that... don't know". I went to Ipswich. "yes, we can do that, no problems" was the answer. Once fitted, I went back to Colchester... "oh, yes, hmmm, I see...."

I fitted mine back in 07 I think, cost £1500 incl VAT & labour. I think the actual unit was £900 or so.. expensive but fun!

Hope that helps.

 

[Dinnie]

all chips work by overfueling and possibly increasing boost. At the end of the day, both are going to reduce engine life so 300k+ from your turbo diesel goes out of the window.
Injector wear is dramatically increased I understand so expect to need a new set a lot earlier than you would otherwise.
Everything has a downside.

What about the C200CDI where its a detuned version of the C220CDI (i.e. the same engine, i think).
A remap will cost about £350 whereas, Mercedes will charge you c.£2,000 when new. You can't even bring spec into the equation as e.g. the Elegance is the same regardless of engine size.
Basically, buy a C200CDI and remap to save money.

 

[psmart]

Mercedes, VW etc all seem to go this way now, use the same lump, but just skimp or use different parts.

The 200CDI has different injectors to the 220CDI and possibly other parts, so in essence, if the injector nozzles were smaller on the 200, you would have to open them for longer into the power stroke (ie. when the fuel has ignited) to get the same power as the 220, which causes the damage. The Turbo etc are the same, so pumping the same air into the cylinders is just a matter of ECU map.

I tried for quite some time to get a set of injectors for my ML which were oversize and I did get some contacts in Poland who could make a custom map, but I never finished the project. Using oversize injectors, you dont need to keep them open into the power stroke, so as long as you arent going for extreme power increases, then this solution would end up with a more reliable outcome than just forcing the existing injectors to deliver more fuel.

 

[GCLTuning]

As above if you have a vw golf 140ps the only difference if the "map" so to get to the same spec as a 170ps it will cost you £300. it dose not matter who dose the upgrade weather it be the main dealer or a independent tuner as long as the parameters are set in the correct way you will be fine.As for engine life in this case it will not be affected as the 170ps will take 200ps + in its standard form.However if you us a "tune it box" you will be confusing the ECU.In some cases this will bring up an engine management light.This is because the ECU will be seeing more boost,more fuel ECT. With as remap Generic or Custom you will be making a new set of rules for the ECU . Therefore the ECU will no longer see the boost,fuel pressure as being a fault this will just be the norm as far as it is concerned.