Or... to 100% disable traction control.. Go under the rear backseat on the left and unplug the module.. Hasta-lavista no more traction control until you connect it again.

You mean Rocketchip Jeff? When I asked him about it, he downplayed doing dyno tests, saying various factors will change the readings from test to test, especially on lower powered cars like mine....said best to drive the car and enjoy it. Might not be such bad advice.

It's quite apparent on the dash, if your's has it. Guess not.

The later W210s are definitely drive-by-wire - at least mine was. -As was questioned in another poster's post. His isn't at all as my '99 was, from his descriptions on at least one parameter check. Disabling one feature on the W210 through your method and others, in some cases disables another function as well.

You're not referring to the on/off for the ESP, are you? I have that.

Got my head stuck in my '99 E300. Disabling ESP through the module, disables ABS also so yes you are correct.

Once you start modding your car, there's no limit/end to it. YOLO

I cut my teeth on the '99 I bought new - to stay ahead of the warranty. ;)

No. There's a tow-disable/abling feature rocker button.

Sometimes I wish I still had the car.:o

Is that the circular port that's a part of the fuse box assembly?

The SIL is working on it.

Dan

In this whole thread, this is the best advice. You have a great car, and in your earlier posts you mentioned how well the car responded after the mod was done. Now let me be the devils advocate.....if you do get the dyno test done, and it does not show improvement, what is your next step? You could be "spinniing" your wheels for a long time, all the while missing the enjoyment of actually having a great vehicle to drive. Good luck

Thanks, Dan. It will be interesting to see what your SIL comes up with.

Part of the mild tension of the encounter were different senses as to who should be responsible for figuring this out. The tech clearly views me as having an odd, uncooperative car; and that if I want to have a dyno test run, I should figure out how to disable stuff beforehand. I'm not unsympathetic with his perspective. On other hand, I would think that, if I'm running a dyno shop, I should probably become familiar with different types of traction systems, etc. and have some sort of database that enables me to figure things out on the customer's behalf.

I agree with you. If I ran this shop I would see your car as a challenge and a way to add to my knowledge base. I wouldn't charge until I had a good run to charge you for. In the dyno business, sometimes you get the typical "gravy job" - bring in the kid's Honda and give him a number - and sometimes you have to actually THINK and work thru an issue. When a job like yours is done the shop knows more than it did before and that's how you get good.

My dyno guy didn't want to charge me until we had the Camaro (I was running a '78 Camaro with a 250" six at the time) to the point that it would do a pull. I took it to him 3 times before we had it sorted to the point that it would run well enough to actually make power and do a pull. I had to force a $20 on him for the preliminary work and he only charged me $60 for the hour when we did actual tuning. He just has a DynoJet (not the most sophisticated dyno) but he does well with it. He took the attitude that he was learning so it was worth his time - he hadn't done much six cylinder tuning and it turned out to be a challenge.

As far as the "drive it and love it" comments - I hear where they're coming from. But the dyno is a useful tool and it should let you know what you REALLY accomplished instead of what you THINK (or want to think) you accomplished. The other way to do that is to take your car to the track w/o the chip and run at least 3 runs (more are better) to get a new baseline then repeat the runs with the chip. Remember to correct for changing ambient conditions (there are programs to do that). I don't know where you're located but I suggest the ECTA track in Wilmington, Ohio (just don't exceed 140 w/o a roll cage). Your local drag strip will also give you a rough idea of the actual improvements. There are several calculators to translate top speed numbers into an estimate of HP.

Guys who say "my car makes 100 more HP with the new chip" but have no actual data are kidding themselves. The truth is that they have no idea how much HP they have and are likely taking the chip maker's word for it. There are SO many variables you can't believe it. Google for "SAE HP determination procedures" for a real eye-opener!

Dan

The pay up front bit seems to me he's more interested in being paid for his time, not a successful dyno run.

Good point. While I am interested in being able to quantify the gains to satisfy curiosity, I really could not be any happier with the car than I currently am.