i bought the chip from performance motor group/AMG of canada (http://www.performances.com). the chip is relatively easy to install, and replaces the stock chip located in a computer module housed in a box where the battery would ordinarily be located (in the engine compartment, in front of the passenger seat). if i recall correctly, the correct module is second from the center of the car (you should confirm this). You have to remove the module and VERY CAREFULLY open the module: the chip to be replaced is located beneath a little plastic box on the circuit board. (note that the entire circuit board, including the plastic box, are covered with -- i'm sure a very purposeful -- jelly of some kind. i tried to disturb this stuff as little as possible.) squeezing the box on its ends releases it (pull up) revealing the stock chip below. pry off the stock chip (make sure you are grounded to avoid circuit frying static electricity) and replace with the new chip. pretty simple. then put it all back together, again.

john

Lee:

just though i'd let you know i received my 500E AMG suspension today: i'm so excited i can't stand it! the kit includes front struts, rear self-leveling shocks, springs front and rear, extra rubber spring cap sets (1-3 nubs), assorted odds and ends, and a new sway bar(!). i'll keep you posted on intallation, etc.

[This message has been edited by revbond (edited 08-31-1999).]

Congratulations Revbond! Can't wait to hear how it drives.

Lee

Revbond:

AMG Suspension? Cool! I hope that you will get a chance to install soon and post your results!

Group: Anyone else got any cool mods to their cars? Question: How can I tell what front brakes I have on my car, stock, 500sl or 600sl?

Eric,
If your car has coated black aluminum front calipers then it has the original calipers. If your car has 300mm front rotors with steel calipers (try a magnet) you have the "updated" 500SL brakes. The 600SL brakes should look similar to the 500SL's but be larger in size.

As for cool mods...search the Shop Forum for posts pertaining to 500E's. Personally, I have 235/50/16 Michelin Pilots on all four corners but other than that it is pretty much stock. (could see where the car could easily carry 245/45/17 on all four corners) Have to wait for the "W124 cracked wiring harness problem" to be resolved before tackling any other upgrades. Part was supposed to be in July 30th but has been repeatedly pushed back since. Supposedly the part is 500E specific and is being fabricated in Germany. Hopefully no other 500E owners are experiencing this delay/problem.

There are a few things planned for the 500E, but we will see. Anything that can run 5.3sec 0-60 and 13.6@107.1 mph in the 1/4 is pretty fun bone stock. As Lou said, you may not be able to use a whole lot more on the street. If one were to do a chip, airbox+filters, supplemental cooling, wheels/tires, remove the clutch fan for a high speed/volume electric, possibly a supercharger, and/or NOS....you'd have a real monster on your hands. With that much power on tap you'd need the big brakes, extra cooling, mad tires, and perhaps some suspension tweaks. But then one would be tempted by the 6.5 engine, 6-speed tranny, etc.

talk about hard choices j/k....Lee

Hi All,

I e-mailed RENNTech about their performance chips and this is the response I got back, in case anyone was curious. I also note that Superchips has a 500E chip for $299

Eric

Renntech reply follows:As you may be aware, RENNTech is owned by Hartmut
Feyhl who was with AMG for over 10 years before starting RENNTech 10 years
ago. The most amount of HP you will get from a chip is 15 HP on the 500E. The
Fuel management EPROM only controls fuel flow and does not do anything to the
ignition. If they say you will get any more than 15 HP, and you believe them,
you are only fooling yourself. Our programing comes directly from Germany.
AMG does not make any chips. You would be better off putting your money with
a high flow rear muffler, larger front sway bar, 1st gear start. Over the
years we have done many 500E's, we have removed many chips from these cars.
Many of them were copies of our earlier chips that other people were selling
as their own. Some of the chips actually gave the cars less power. If you are
only buying do to price than go with Super Chips. regarding your talking to
Mercedes Benz of North America, we have and do build special project cars for
them. The last one was the one they gave to Jerry Seinfeld, it was modified
by us. Best of luck no matter what you do.

Bob Brady

Regarding the 500E AMG suspension, I have two questions--where did you get it and how much does it cost??

------------------
'93 500E
'99 E320 Wagon
'88 Tyrrell 017
'95 Ducati 916

Regarding 500E mods, it seems that there are lots of different voices.

I just spoke with Barry Taylor of BTE (calls himself AMG west ?) who told me that the 500Es did not have a limited slip and that by defeating the ASR alone one wouldn't gain very much due to wheel spin. To really go faster, according to Barry, one must install a locking differential along with the ARS defeat. He suggested a 3.27 or 3.08 final drive as well. Apparently the diff plus the ASR defeat can be installed for around $5500 where he guarantee's over 1 second off the 0-60 mph times. He also has a performance chip available for $600 which he makes himself and claims 15-25 hp gain, but better throttle response. For $1000 he has a different chip set that eliminates the top speed limit as well. He claims that the computer controls both the fuel managment and the ingnition, while Renntech claims the chip only governs fuel managment. Anyone know which is correct? As far as exhaust goes he tells me that he has installed a number of performance mufflers for 500E's with little effect. Apparently big gains can be had by installing a complete AMG or other system with downtubes, 12cyl cats muffler and pipes.

well, i'd like to add my two cents. I spoke with the technical person at MBNA specifically regarding the 500 differential ( posted this a while ago). The tech person indicated that the 500 E did have a limited slip, albeit a limited one (25%). So who's right? Maybe both... if, technically the diff is limited slip, but not limited enough to prevent serious wheel spin under extreme use. I won't be truly satisfied with an answer until i get my hands on the service CD that contains all the service manuals for the 500E and would, presumably, have all the car's specifications (MBNA says the CD will ship in the next month or so).

regarding the AMG suspension: I purchased it from PMG in canada (www.performances.com). It took about two months to arrive -- apparently, AMG does not keep many of these on order from its suppliers - it appears to be manufactured by Sachs for AMG to AMG specs. The entire kit cost about $3k US.

[This message has been edited by revbond (edited 09-01-1999).]

See my post/new topic in Performance Paddock "500E tuning ideas".

Lee

Attn: EricH, post of 9-1-99, 8:16PM.

You are correct about a lower gear ratio and
how often can you run your car in the US as
compared to Europe! So you knock 20mph off
the top end of 158 but you'd have more fun
in every day driving and doing some lickin
and kickin to the unsuspected. Because of the advent of street rodding I had looked for quite a while for a stronger, ltd. slip
rear diff for my 190. I now have (2 yrs) the
diff from a 92 Vette ZR1 and no CV joints. The axles are custom with spicer joints on the ends and a splined male/female joint in the middle....each axle is the same as a driveshaft in a 1 ton truck. The whole switch ran about $1400 and there are many ratios available....reasonably. This makes a MB a bastard car but who sees the rear diff?

Just more food for thought.

TobiasMB
300SE
300CE
190/5.0

Tobias:

Wow! That seems like a much more expensive mod than $1400. Did you do the work yourself? How much of the suspension linkages did you have to change? What ratio did you end up with?

EricH
I did all the work myself including making a new rear cover out of steel, placing threaded mount bars on the cover, and cutting the center from the subframe and welding in a new small box. When I did this I removed the subframe and put it up on sawhorses for a good working height, did a
lot of measuring and cut the center out but tacked in the new section so no alignment was lost. The axles were made by a shop here that does many Nascar and Legends shafts. The whole subframe was bolted back in and NO realignment done as the original links are used and nothing changed in that regard. I
admit the diff was only $550 and that was a steal, usually around $1K. Works great. Car is now on my lift for a swap from a/t -5spd.

TobiasMB
300SE,300CE,190/5.0

Hello all - thought I'd share my experience with installing a Superchip ( a do-it-yourself job) in my 94 E500. While I haven't dyno'd the car to tell HP gains (waiting till spring), the back to back comparo tells the seat of my pants that the car revs smoother and quicker with appreciable power to be felt. Now if only I could make it sound as nasty as it feels...

yeah, I know the thread is onyl 5 years old, but I was wondering how the AMG suspension install went - and if you ever got more power from the exhaust mods, etc...

__________________
Dave
Boise, ID
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