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CLK350 W209 RaceChip XLR Quick Review

Zahc

Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2018
Messages
64
Location
Wiltshire
Car
C350e W205
Hi,
I've been wanting to try out the RaceChip XLR because I've always thought the throttle response on my CLK350 wasn't very immediate. Getting it through Quidco got £20 off so around £170 including postage from Germany.

It took 3 days to arrive by FedEx.

The kit comes with clear, easy to follow instructions which, unusually, I decided to follow. The product looks to be well made and sturdy. The controller wheel is a lot smaller than the manufacturer's website would suggest, which is a good thing in my view. It's 3.5cm in diameter. Fitment was very easy with only a tiny bit of swearing whilst positioning the throttle pedal assembly for refitting. I reckon it took around 30 minutes to fit and tidy away the cables.

So, is it any good? In a word, yes.

There are 7 levels of response to be had and all have a noticeable effect on throttle response. N is the neutral position, so stock throttle response. Then there is S,S+,R and R+ in order of throttle response speed. All are discernible to me. The driving experience becomes a more pleasurable experience if I want to 'push on a bit'. R+ is more for track I would suggest.
There are also 2 throttle settings, E and E+, which reduce the throttle response from stock. I guess if you're stuck in traffic they may be useful....or if you have maxed your points on your license.

I've yet to see what it does regarding MPG...I suspect there will be a hit. We'll see.

Summary: Well made, easy to fit and does what the RaceChip says it will.

Cheers,

Chaz
 
Hmmm...interesting.
Seems like a plug in gearbox re map.
Keep this thread updated as you play with it more please
 
Interesting... How old is your CLK? I was looking at this for my 2006 C350, might be a lot of fun in conjunction with a mild tune! Keep us updated how you get on with it.
 
Interesting... How old is your CLK? I was looking at this for my 2006 C350, might be a lot of fun in conjunction with a mild tune! Keep us updated how you get on with it.

Yeah I'm interested to see if there's any issues with using it with a remapped engine
 
Hmmm...interesting.
Seems like a plug in gearbox re map.
Keep this thread updated as you play with it more please

It's a pedal box tuner designed to both open the throttle plate quicker getting rid of the horrid drive by wire delay and ramps up the voltage signal .

Can't see the use of E or E+ as delay is already bad .

Best get use to one favourite mode and adapt .
 
Is this the right one for a 2007 CLK 350?

Seems to be but the C209/A209 worries me...
I'll message them as well.

Mercedes CLK-Class C209/A209 CLK350 02-09 272Hp Racechip XLR Throttle Response | eBay


I'd message them. Looks about right though.

A little update. The S+ setting suits my style of driving. As Gazwould has aid the unit removes the lag. It feels like it has 'shortened' the throttle peddle so everything feels sharper and more precise. I put it back to the neutral settings to remind myself of the difference.....night and day. You can change the settings whilst you're going along as long as you are not accelerating. I have had no issues with the unit so far. I'll keep you posted.

Chaz
 
Installed Saturday and just used one this morning albeit a different make chosen primarily for it's extra modes .

Wow , absolutely beautiful control, doing everything I wanted it to so far around town .
 
I'm thinking Sprint booster now....
 
Installed Saturday and just used one this morning albeit a different make chosen primarily for it's extra modes .

Wow , absolutely beautiful control, doing everything I wanted it to so far around town .
Great stuff. What did you go for?
 
Interested to hear how you get on withit Gazwould,keep us updated as time goes on please.
 
Big difference in that first quarter of pedal movement .

Never too touchy , always modulation there .

It felt dead at certain speeds and gears when applying initial throttle , you move it a small amount and nothing happened , sort of a dead zone heavy pedal area .

Then pulling out of poorly sighted junctions or gaps to join a roundabout was dangerous as nothing happens for half a second .

So being quite aggressive / a sudden stab was needed ( still a half second lag ) to be sure to get it going , trouble is with this the throttle plate plays catch up and you actually overcompensate for the lag thus the throttle plate would open further than intended dumping more fuel and I would think with the device turned on it would open less but with more accuracy .

From this angle I can see why there are small mpg improvement gains claims .

With good traction I can't see why 0-60 times wouldn't be improved also .
 
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Interesting... How old is your CLK? I was looking at this for my 2006 C350, might be a lot of fun in conjunction with a mild tune! Keep us updated how you get on with it.
hello, here's my tuppence worth. I've used both remap and tuning boxes and it's an even split on which I prefer. Here's my point though. The tuning box is initially set up on info on your car's factory settings. Race Chip or whoever, will look at the standard or stock settings in the ecu then change each parameter in turn until the entire ecu is overwritten. You then choose a stored piece of software to suit what driving style you want and then switch it back as required. With a remap, the original factory settings are examined and changed to suit the aims of the remap (it's not always power, you can also remap to provide better fuel economy). If you were to plug a tuning box into a remapped ecu, the processor in the box will be trying to find and change parameters to work on that no longer exist in the ecu, so as far as I can make out the box wouldn't work as the setting it's looking for are no longer there and you'll also run the risk of a very expensive rebuild and or gearbox.
Whatever you do, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES buy one of the Ebay 20 quid boxes. All they contain is a simple resistor that messes with the temperature sensors to fool the ecu into thinking its cold, so throws more fuel into the chambers. They're essentially crap.
Sorry chaps, but I really can't see that working. I'm no motor technician, but I'm even less of a software engineer, so take my thoughts with a pinch of salt.
Those are my thoughts on trying to put a tuning box onto a remapped ecu.

Whatever you do, I wish you luck and many happy hours enjoying your jalopy.

Frankie
 
Hi Frankie,

I'm pretty sure the throttle response box does not change anything in the ECU but changes the profile of the signal being sent to the ECU. The standard signal is probably linear whereas the signal being sent from the throttle box of tricks would have a curved profile. I don't know if it's a function of signal amplitude, frequency or perhaps even PWM but I'm pretty sure the ECM program (Map) remains untouched.

As for the ECU, I've always assumed it's a processor with EPROM. When the ECU is remapped the information is flashed to the EPROM and used by the processor to run the engine. Different information, or parameters, result in a change in performance due to the ECU reacting to changed parameters. If my assumption is correct then the memory addresses for these parameters have to be static (ie don't change) so in theory it's just a matter of flashing those addresses with the information required....regardless of what's in there in the first place.

Anyway I am certain there is someone out there who can educate me! :-D

Regards,

Chaz
 
Hi Frankie,

I'm pretty sure the throttle response box does not change anything in the ECU but changes the profile of the signal being sent to the ECU. The standard signal is probably linear whereas the signal being sent from the throttle box of tricks would have a curved profile. I don't know if it's a function of signal amplitude, frequency or perhaps even PWM but I'm pretty sure the ECM program (Map) remains untouched.

As for the ECU, I've always assumed it's a processor with EPROM. When the ECU is remapped the information is flashed to the EPROM and used by the processor to run the engine. Different information, or parameters, result in a change in performance due to the ECU reacting to changed parameters. If my assumption is correct then the memory addresses for these parameters have to be static (ie don't change) so in theory it's just a matter of flashing those addresses with the information required....regardless of what's in there in the first place.

Anyway I am certain there is someone out there who can educate me! :-D

Regards,

Chaz
OOPS. I think I got the wrong end of the stick there. I didn't read the post properly. I thought you were talking about a tuning box that piggy backs on the ecu, soz, will pay more attention in class next time. :) Yup, just reread it again and I'm happy to say that I was right that I was wrong... I'll pay more attention in future. Cheers zahc, I hope it works well for you.

Frankie
 
Ha, no problems. It does work well and I'm loving it.
 

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