B200 CDI tuning help & suggestions (Remap/ Exhaust/ EGR Blanking/ DPF delete)

[tommerc49]

OK so I've owned this B200 CDI Sport for a few months now (having initially purchased it for my Mrs, but I have since took ownership of it as it seems more suited to me than it does her)...



Problem is, I have never owned a Diesel before and in truth I never thought I would ever own one because I'm a petrolhead at heart. But... this car has really grown on me. It's quite a quick car with lots of space, yet fuel economy is rather impressive. The problem now though, is that I'm getting a bit bored and I therefore want a bit more from it in terms of power and drivability, so here goes...

I don't seem to have any issues with my EGR at present, but I've recently purchased a blanking kit, and whilst I'm usually rather competent with with a bit of automotive DIY, I've never worked on a Diesel engine before quite simply because I've never owned one.

I've had a look but can't seem to even locate the EGR valve. Can anyone help with its location? I know this is a longshot, but perhaps a how-to guide for how to get to the EGR valve even exists?

Has anyone blanked off the EGR valve on this engine previously and if so, did you notice any difference in the way the car runs? Did it cause any issues with lights on the dash (or the ECU)?

I'm planning to have the car remapped by Superchips within the next 3-4 weeks and I'm unsure if I should wait and blank off the EGR valve after the remap, or is it ok to just go ahead and do it before.

The gains offered by Superchips for this car are quite substantial:
http://www.superchips.co.uk/search?make=22&fueltype=2&model=81&variant=229

They are not the biggest gains I have seen advertised for this car (some other remapping companies claim a higher BHP increase), but I know Superchips have been around for a long time and having spoken to them about why I should opt for them over the other remapping companies, I feel quite certain I have made the correct decision. If anyone has any input here however - I'm all ears.

Likewise I'm also interested in DPF removal but I'm not even sure where to begin with this, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Would this help the engine perform better or is it more a case of deleting the DPF to avoid running into problems with it at some point in the future?

Finally - on Monday morning i shall be booking the car in to have a Powerflow exhaust fitted. Initially I looked at this mod as a way of making the exhaust a little louder, so as to try and drown out the sound of the noisy diesel engine (which is the main thing that annoys me about this car!)...

I'm not looking for anything too loud/ raspy/ boy-racer-ish... I just want a nice purr/ muffle. Something subtle.
Though with that said I'm not overly sure what to expect from a Diesel.
I've been quoted £450 for a duel exit or £495 for a quad exit, with back box delete and it's the quad that appeals to me most.

I'm not yet decided on exhaust tips but I'm leaning the way of these:
- AMG Style 4 x 3 Inch Staggered Twin (LH) - Powerflow Exhausts Tailpipes - For Custom Build Exhausts
- AMG Style 4 x 3 Inch Staggered Twin (RH) - Powerflow Exhausts Tailpipes - For Custom Build Exhausts
Or two of these:
- Atoll 3 Inch Twin - Powerflow Exhausts Tailpipes - For Custom Build Exhausts

There are also a lot more tips available if anyone wishes to take a look: Products Archive - Powerflow Exhausts Tailpipes - For Custom Build Exhausts

Opinions would be appreciated... but my main question in regards to the exhaust is regarding performance...

Does the exhaust have any effect on a Diesel car as it does with a petrol? Is there a cat further towards the front of the car that I should be looking to have deleted whilst I'm having this work done? Would this cause any ECU/ dash light issues?

I appreciate I'm asking many questions here but absolutely any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[merc85]

If its a Generic map there using it's not really going to matter whether you mess about with the car before or after.

If however if they are going to map it on a Rolling road eg Custom map then yes do any mods before hand.

More fuel (map) lower intake temps (poss Intercooler) and a free flowing exhaust would be the way togo imho

Others will say sell it and buy the correct car, But the fact you like the car and want to stay with it is fair enough.

Ps Welcome to the Forum

 

[fabes]

Superchips develop each map for each engine by running it on a test car (they told me....)
I wouldn't touch yours until you have spoken to them as it will require a modified map

I run a 1.5dci QQ with their map on (Renault engine) and the modest +18% suits me.
After we had the QQ back from the main dealer for a recall software upgrade, the bluefin device wouldn't recognize our car. We spent quite some time emailing files and maps to each other (for no additional cost) so the they had a post recall map built and I still had what I had bought.

It could have been a post diesel gate factory ECU map update as it changed lots of stuff, not just the thermal controls Nissan said it was all about btw...!

The guys there are approachable, and seemingly knowledgeable.

 

[tommerc49]

Thank you both for your input.

Regarding the exhaust/ remap... I spoke to Powerflow (St Albans) about getting booked in to have the exhaust done and they were as helpful as ever...
They advised me that with a Diesel it's very hard to get *any* additional sound out of the exhaust, which kind of put me off paying £495 for a rear box delete/ quad exit.

He said that to get anything substantial, I would ideally need to go straight through from the manifold (doing away with the DPF and middle box if indeed there is one).

However because they've never done one of these cars he wasn't able to quote over the phone but he did say if i bring the car in he would stick it up on the ramps and take a closer look.
The biggest challenge however is that he believes if they removed the DPF, the car would likely go in to limp mode until the car's been remapped (and it's been mapped out).

I suggested that I have it remapped first (and have them map out the DPF) prior to having the exhaust done, but again there was uncertainty whether or not the car would run OK (being told there is no DPF, but yet it still physically existing -until the exhaust has been done). He also said I would possibly need to have it remapped yet again after the exhaust has been done.

He wasn't certain of any of this and was very honest about it all, so I need to speak to Superchips (and a couple of others) about it to see what they say.

I had already spoken with a few of the remapping companies previously - not about DPF deletion but about their maps in general... Superchips were indeed VERY approachable, so I'll give them a call first today and see what they have to say.

And yes - all of the remapping companies I have already spoken to will load a generic map to the car. I'm sure there are places will a Dyno who would entertain live-mapping this car but having already spoken to Superchips about it they told me I'd be wasting my money because with every car they offer up a map for, they have had one of those cars on a Dyno and created the best map for it in terms of Driveability. They said that some of their dealers have a Dyno but I'd be better saving my money because it's pointless.

Whilst Superchips don't claim the highest gains in terms of power - my thinking is that some other remapping companies *may* well be slightly exaggerating their power gains, or possibly they've managed to squeeze a few more horses/torque from the engine but if they have, was this done solely for the purpose of being able to boast higher gains to potential customers?

In truth I think I'd much rather the car was mapped for use in the real world, hence I'm leaning more towards Superchips than any other.

Though with that said I may yet be swayed depending what they all have the say when I speak to each of them.

 

[tommerc49]

More fuel (map) lower intake temps (poss Intercooler) and a free flowing exhaust would be the way togo imho

Thanks a lot - I wasn't sure whether or not it was the same case with Diesels (having never owned one, never-mind tuned one).
With an intercooler upgrade how would i go about this? Is it simply a case of finding an uprated intercooler that will fit in place of the old one and then custom-building the pipework (using parts from perhaps Forge/Samco/Roose/etc) to plumb it all in? Or is there more to it than that?
How do I know an aftermarket intercooler will offer up more than the OE one?
I've really no clue about this

Others will say sell it and buy the correct car, But the fact you like the car and want to stay with it is fair enough.

I have seriously considered selling this and buying the B200 petrol turbo model, but its MPG frightens me. In years gone by it wouldn't have, but with age comes more responsibility I suppose (and a keen eye cast over the cost of fuel )

Ps Welcome to the Forum

Thanks! I feel at home already

 

[merc85]

RE Bigger Cooler, Have a look measure up the space "if any" you have and find a Cooler off a MB Larger Model as it may have the same connections for ease of Fitment,

If not then Aftermarket would be the next way to go, Again measure what space you have and shop around, You may have to modify your existing connections.

Of course you may not have the space for a Larger cooler.

I did all this with my e320 cdi a couple of years ago, and previous car's.

 

[tommerc49]

RE Bigger Cooler, Have a look measure up the space "if any" you have and find a Cooler off a MB Larger Model as it may have the same connections for ease of Fitment,

If not then Aftermarket would be the next way to go, Again measure what space you have and shop around, You may have to modify your existing connections.

Of course you may not have the space for a Larger cooler.

I did all this with my e320 cdi a couple of years ago, and previous car's.

I see, so basically the bigger/ the better?
Did you notice much difference on your e320 CDI after changing the intercooler? Did it result in more power, cooler running temps.. both?

I'd most definitely need to do custom plumbing if going down the aftermarket cooler route because I've recently had one of the intercooler pipes replaced because it kept blowing off (resulting in the car losing about 80% of its power). The new pipe has a rather strange fitting at both ends, which I very much doubt would clip straight on to an aftermarket cooler.

I hear what you're saying regarding looking at 'bigger' Mercs to see if I could fit one of the intercoolers from them. Just all seems a bit trial and error - ordering a cooler from a Mercedes XXX then it arriving and finding out my existing pipework can't fit on to it.

When I had this intercooler pipe issue i looked at creating custom pipework instead of buying the plastic OE replacement part.. but the connections on the OE intercooler itself are very specific, so silicone hoses/ ally pipes had no chance of fitting to it.

Any tips you can offer up about this would be greatly appreciated

 

[tommerc49]

As an update to this, having spoken to several remapping companies I have now gone ahead and booked the car in to ZenSport next week to have both a DPF delete, EGR delete, and of course a performance remap (closing off the DPF and EGR in the process).

Once this has been done I will look at getting it booked in to Powerflow to have a cat-back system fitted.

Still very interested in the intercooler upgrade also... just not sure where to start with it all. I'm going to speak to ZenSport whilst I'm there but if anyone else has any input it'd be most appreciated.

 

[tommerc49]

So, I took the car to have the EGR blanked off, the DPF internals removed, and a performance remap, along with the required tweaks thrown in to the map for the EGR/DPF...

I have no idea what gains the car has realistically seen since Zen don't have a dyno, so I only have this to go on.

With that aside however, given the drivability matters more to me than some figures to feed my ego, I can honestly say the work carried out by Zen has absolutely transformed the car...

Fuel economy thus far seems around the same (if not slightly better), performance is MUCH better, gear changes feel a lot smoother, and the hesitation (when pulling out at roundabouts etc) seems to have vanished completely.

It's a lot quicker to get up through the gears now and motorway driving is great fun. When cruising along in 6th gear the car is quiet and smooth, but with lots of power (and a nice grunt) available when overtaking is needed.
So much so when the go pedal is pressed, 6th gear feels more like 4th (almost as if it could do with another gear).

I imagine this would have lowered top-end figures somewhat, but obviously with everyday road driving that's really not important.

Overall I'm more than happy with the results and can honestly say that having owned Vectra V6 SRI's, GSI's, Golf GTI's and Subaru's in the past, I never thought I'd ever speak so highly of (or enjoy driving) a 'family diesel' such as this B.

I'm quite content with performance as it is now (aside from the pending suspension upgrade and Powerflow cat-back system which I can now get booked in), so I'm going to leave the intercooler upgrade option for another day.

With the DPF sorted out the car already sounds a lot better so fingers crossed the Powerflow system can give me just that little bit more.

 

[Bilo]

Late to the party but had my 2014 B200 Cdi 7-AT BE tuned last week.

Joined this forum to give you guys an update.

for some reason the car made more power than what Merc claims.

106kw/142hp and 328nm at the wheels - these were the figures in a 100% standard vehicle which supposedly makes 100kw 300nm at the flywheel/crank

Before anybody pins this to the dyno being happy, my buddy's 2013 Nissan Navara 2.5 made 114kw at the wheels on the same day as we both went in for tuning. These Nissans are rated for 140kw which when doing a correction to crank power on the 114kw dynod figure is slightly below 140kw.

There was also a Corsa VXR with a catless downpipe that made 110kw at the wheels before being tuned.

The tuner immediately checked if the car had already been tuned but I was 100% sure as the car was bought in 2016 from an MB dealership.

After logging and tuning and about 3 or 4 revisions.

We ended off on 130kw 404nm at the wheels. There is a huge difference in the drive. The car is so much smoother and responsive, when switching to manual/sport, there is alot more urge in the drive. In E, the delay in pull off is all but gone, gear changes are some how smoother too.

I would definitely recommend having your B200 CDi tuned!