PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post - Chip Tuning and Engine Operating Envelope

jay_bob · #8 03-04-2014, 10:07 PM

Shertex posed this question to me in an e-mail exchange this morning. For the benefit of the others on this board, here is my response to the question:

Personally and just my opinion, chip tuning is not for me.
Every engine has an operating envelope. At one end you have higher reliability and the other you have high performance. The ECU limits are there to keep the operating parameters in the "reliability" end of the envelope. As an engineer myself, I would not pretend to know all the design decisions that went into the development of the engine, and the rationale behind the limits placed upon the engine by the stock ECU. The third party guys who develop these chips don't likely have access to that information either. I would like to keep my car for a long time and I am quite happy with the stock performance (especially having started out on my MB experience with a 240D).

I don't overclock my computer either for the same reason.

My opinion, put that $435 into preventative maintenance. To include changing the air filter, fuel filters and the 6 fuel hoses. Also change the o-ring behind the shutoff valve. Also change the transmission fluid if it hasn't been done in the last 50k or so. And pull your injectors and send them off to Greazzer.