Did all of the C219 Grand Edition models have the upgraded engines?

[Mactech]

Many thanks for the comprehensive reply.

My E320 CDI is a great car, spacious, comfortable on good quality road surfaces, well made and can cover long distance with ease.

What it is not is involving.

Despite being the "Sport version it isn't particularly rewarding to hustle along.

The worst culprit is the steering which is low geared and doesn't provide much feedback.

Hopefully a CLS will be better in this respect.

It will be, but just don't expect MX-5 levels of feedback! What it does retain is the 'ocean liner' levels of straight line stability on almost any road surface which most big Mercedes are so good at.

 

[DSM10000]

It will be, but just don't expect MX-5 levels of feedback! What it does retain is the 'ocean liner' levels of straight line stability on almost any road surface which most big Mercedes are so good at.

Excellent.

That is what I am looking for.

I have the MX5 for the country lane driving where you can explore the limits and have fun at sane and leagal(ish) speeds

 

[Mactech]

I have the MX5 for the country lane driving where you can explore the limits and have fun at sane and leagal(ish) speeds

Me too!

 

[DSM10000]

Me too!

A friend has one of the original 1.6 Miata Japanese imports.

Lacking in torque it needs to be kept above 4000 rpm to make progress but it is fun. I have never lost control of it even when being a hooligan on some private roads at another friend's farm.

As soon as the rear breaks away you catch it with the steering and carry on.

Out 1.8 is faster and more tractable but no more fun overall.

 

[E55BOF]

Excellent.

That is what I am looking for.

I have the MX5 for the country lane driving where you can explore the limits and have fun at sane and leagal(ish) speeds

I have the SLK for the country roads. Sane and legal(ish) speeds are not necessarily involved...

The CLS has a noticeably quicker rack than the equivalent E class.

A decent remap will see the OM642 at around 320-330 hp. I had the 256 bhp OM642 in a 2014 E350, with a (TDI) tuning box on it, and was somewhat underwhelmed. My MSL/Big Fish tuned CLS 350 SB, with 322 bhp and 530 lb ft, is much better; definitely whelming...

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

Did that era of CLS ever come with the 265bhp engine?

A Grand Edition nor any 231bhp version of the car is not gonna get 330hp as it's not based on the 265bhp or later version of the engine... as discussed, it's a 231bhp / 540nm car with a D6, taking it to 272 / 590nm.

A remap of the 231bhp engine (best to remove the box if it's the GE), will take it to 290-300bhp and 690-710nm from GAD, but most other tuners give gains that are more modest.

 

[E55BOF]

Ah! It's a late 219, not a pre-facelift 218 like mine. Mine is in fact quoted as having a 261 bhp OM642 as standard.

A decent remap would be well worthwhile on the standard engine, but with a Brabus box, probably not. Mind you, on the figures I've seen, despite their high cost OE Brabus boxes do not seem to offer a great deal of extra bang for buck.

I've often wondered how GAD achieve such high claimed outputs with only a remap when others do not...

 

[DSM10000]

Ah! It's a late 219, not a pre-facelift 218 like mine. Mine is in fact quoted as having a 261 bhp OM642 as standard.

A decent remap would be well worthwhile on the standard engine, but with a Brabus box, probably not. Mind you, on the figures I've seen, despite their high cost OE Brabus boxes do not seem to offer a great deal of extra bang for buck.

I've often wondered how GAD achieve such high claimed outputs with only a remap when others do not...

Surely any power gains claimed without the vehicle being tested on a Dyno pre and post tune are to taken with caution?

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

GAD do give you a pre-post rolling road (unless you opt for their mobile service or simply want to save money and not get the RR readout).

There are pages and pages in a thread where I ask the same question re: how do GAD get their figures so much higher than others. I will say that the owners have had many E350s as their daily drivers and map them for customers day in and day out, and apparently they simply 'know best'. I've asked them directly and asked other remappers questions on their figures and... the reality is we'll never know the answer!

I've been very skeptical of GAD and how they do business and communication (I've sent them messages and they don't get back to me, or they've flat out been rude) - but there are hundreds of happy GAD customers and they map cars work over £100k or 200k all the time, so I'm sure they know what they're doing and can be trusted with a 10 year old 3L v6 diesel...

I have a Brabus D6 box in my 231bhp E350 and it's not a huge difference, but I haven't floored it much since I've had it and given the car time to adapt to it. I think 700nm would be a lot more noticeable!!! My car should have 272bhp / 590nm with the Brabus, but I'm not sure it feels as fast as a standard 265bhp / 620nm E350, perhaps due to that torque difference. The D6 gives 50nm extra, which is only about 9% more torque from standard. Fast enough for the time being, though!

 

[E55BOF]

.....I haven't floored it much since I've had it and given the car time to adapt to it....

That reminds me of a question I've often wondered about, but never actually asked. If you normally pootle about and the gearbox adapts to your driving style, if you suddenly floor the throttle do you get any less power and torque than if you floor it a lot?