ECU 'chipped'

[Koolvin]

no U dont, they have dealers up north too

 

[GrahamC230K]

Originally posted by Koolvin
no U dont, they have dealers up north too

Any ideas where the other dealers are in the UK?

There must only be a handfull.

 

[Koolvin]

UPSOLUTE UK
Simon Coe
54 Hallowers Lane
S18 1ST Dronfield - Sheffield
England
phone (+44)(0)7957 240822
fax -
e-mail [email protected]
homepage http://upsolute.com

 

[GrahamC230K]

Not having read Koolvins post, I had already sourced Simon's email .

I have emailed Simon with my own questions and have invited him to the forum.

 

[jimmy]

Greg,

I know where you are coming from being put off by dirty, untidy backstreet garages. Being in the trade I get to deal with all types of garages from smart main dealers to scruffy one man outfits working from home.

To be totally honest I would and do recommend the smaller garages as they are often owners/mechanics and are more consiencious of their work and do a better job at a better price. I know this is not always the case but around here there are only two or three little garages I would not send work to but many more large garages to avoid, all the Fast Fit outfits included!!

One of my customers in particular who is now a good friend has the dirtiest, wettest, untidiest places you have ever seen, holes in the roof, oil and parts everywhere but he is a top mechanic and I put alot of work his way.

It is off-putting for the public though to take their beloved car to a dirty garage, but you have to realise that a clean tidy setup costs money to maintain and you pay for that in labour.

I guess I will have to be the guinea pig and let you all know how I get on, the bloke does sound like he knows what he is doing which is the main thing. I guess this is why he charges £300 not £700+

 

[jimmy]

Originally posted by GDC200
Jimmy your Pm box is full so I can't reply or e mail you. Thankyou for the kind invite what time have you to be in Rochester?

Sorry about that, emptied it out now.

I am aiming to get their for 9am, I am expecting it to be an all morning job.

Where is Power Engineering? Would it be on my way home? Got to meet with someone.

 

[GrahamC230K]

I have had some feedback from Simon @ UPsolute.

I have fired back a few more questions by email and when I get all the answers, I will post here, if Simon doesn't beat me to it.

 

[jimmy]

:bannana: :bannana: :bannana: Guess what I have had done today?:bannana: :bannana: :bannana:

Yippee

 

[GrahamC230K]

Originally posted by jimmy
:bannana: :bannana: :bannana: Guess what I have had done today?:bannana: :bannana: :bannana:

Yippee

You can't just leave it at that!

How long did it take, did you see what was done, does it feel different, did you have it dyno'd?

Most importantly, would you recommend UPsolute?

 

[Koolvin]

neeeeeeeeeeed more info Jimmeh!

 

[Simon]

It's not funny Jimmy

 

[jimmy]

Patience.................................................

I have been writing a reply for the past hour and a half but keep getting disturbed Nearly there!!:bannana:

 

[Koolvin]

coool!

 

[jimmy]

Just a quick one for now, it's been a long day, I left at 6am this morning!! I will post more info and some pics when I have more time. Also thanks to Greg for meeting me at Rochester and taking me to the garage, (doubt if I would have found it on my own!).

It took all morning to have the job done, although most of that time was waiting for Upsolute to write the new program and e-mail it back.

The process was quite simple, the ECU was removed from my car and opened up. The actual chip was de-soldered and removed from the circuit board and a new chip socket soldered in it's place to allow for swapping of chips in the future.

The old chip was placed in a gadget connected to a laptop and the program was downloaded and e-mailed to Upsolute. Mine was slighlty more complicated as the ECU chip number is the same as a C230K and CLK230 which doesn't make sense as mine has not got a kompressor!! Turns out it is the same chip and uses the same program and modified program.

Everthing was put back together and we fired her up and made sure everything was working OK.

Next, we drove 12 miles to Gravesend to go on a rolling road, immediately I could notice a difference but in heavy traffic and town driving it was difficult to tell how much of a difference.

The rolling road was quite an experience!! The car was anchored with big straps fixed to the floor with little bolts ASR was switched off and the car was run up to speed, but there was a problem , the dyno was recording wheelspin at every gear change so an accurate reading could not be obtained.

We got round this by getting four people to sit in/on the boot this was quite an experience, sitting on the boot of your car with the wheels spinning at 160Km/h (100mph) just beneath your feet A graph was printed out showing peak power and negative power (gearbox/transmission losses) on deceleration at the wheels.

The figures show a peak power output at the wheels of 65Kw, and gearbox losses of 38Kw. Add these two together and you get a peak engine power of 103Kw this equals approx 138bhp. The C180 as standard is claimed to be 122bhp, so the chip has given me a gain of around 16bhp.

Admittedly an extra 16bhp has not made my car into a supercar or GTi thrasher, but it has made it much smoother and more responsive. I don't have to press that pedal so hard or as far for something to happen and I do not need to use that magic button under the right pedal that I have just discovered(hehe) to get the same results.

It was difficult to tell how much difference it had made on the way home on the M25/M11/A14, lets just say that the speed limit comes up much quicker and acceleration from 40-50mph upwards is much brisker.

It wasn't until I got home and travelled on roads that I know and travel regularly that I realised just how much of a difference it has made. Once I have had it for a few weeks and have finished enjoying it all the time, I will be able to get an idea of fuel consumption, I reckon MPG will increase quite significantly if the power isn't used all the time for speed. The engine feels much less strained and more eager to pull without being thrashed.

So far I can definetely recommend Upsolute, and Impossible Performance, although I am sure some of you would be shocked at their set-up and lack of showroom/waiting room/coffee and general untidiness and lack of professionalism. Saying that though Michael did know what he was doing and has lots of experience at it, it took him a little while to 'open-up' and start chatting but perhaps he is not a morning person.

The upgrade and work is fully guaranteed including a lifetime of free updates as they become available. I have the old chip so I can change it back to normal by myself in ten minutes.

Can't wait to drive to work tomorrow, I might get up early and take the long way in.:bannana: :bannana:

Any questions?

 

[Koolvin]

what do Upsolute exactly program the chip to do apart from throw more fuel in and maybee advance timing?

I would have liked to seen some dyno reults before the chip, but I guess you can do that in 10 mins like u said.

will your ECU still be adaptive like the OEM one?

got any pics? I can't wait to see your car in March I think Grham has his heart set on a Chip now!

 

[jimmy]

Originally posted by Koolvin
what do Upsolute exactly program the chip to do apart from throw more fuel in and maybee advance timing?

I would have liked to seen some dyno reults before the chip, but I guess you can do that in 10 mins like u said.

will your ECU still be adaptive like the OEM one?

got any pics? I can't wait to see your car in March I think Grham has his heart set on a Chip now!

From what I have learnt, the ECU contains many different 'maps' that alter the fueling and timing and other techincal stuff according to air flow, fuel grade, load, temperature etc, the ECU picks the appropiate map according to what is being asked from the engine. I have noticed that under 'normal' driving conditions the gear changes are happening 500-700rpm sooner than before, apparently this is because there is more torque available and the gearbox/ECU adapts to this.

I have already noticed that the engine sounds sweeter particularly when being pushed and sounds less harsh at higher revs, you know what I need next to really make it sound better . I was wondering if a standard C200 zorst would be better than my single-pipe pea-shooter, might make it breathe better, what do ya reckon?

I know a local garage with a dyno so I will book it in for an hour and try different combinations of my old/new chip and with and without the K&N filter.

I wasn't too impressed with the dyno place today, they had a cossie waiting to go on after me that was expected to be 450+hp so I was in their way . I don't know if it is possible for a dyno to work out your bhp and torque and plot it against engine rpm, I will find out tomorrow.

Still early days but so far I am well pleased, 16bhp for less than 300 squid is good. I know it's nowhere near the power of your turbo but it will hopefully keep me happy for a little longer. I love the car, the colour, the comfort, the economy and the practicality of an estate but it was always slightly lacking in performance.

I will be able to get that caravan now I have the power to tow it.:bannana:

 

[GrahamC230K]

I am pleased with your findings, makes me think Upsolute's claims are not too far fetched.

The soldering part scares me and also tells me, there is no hiding this from my insurance company. Physical evidence.

I would also be happier if they mapped or at least adjusted the pre-programmed chip whilst the car in question was on a rolling road.

A lack of understanding on my part is probably the issue, but my mind wonders if my ECU has cleverly adapted to particular settings on my car for whatever reasons and then Upsolute's is going to come along, reset to although tweaked, otherwise default settings.


More questions for Simon the Upsolute rep!


Well done to you Jimmy anyhow. You now have 2BHP over a C200. Time to find one and make them wonder what's up with their car!

 

[GrahamC230K]

Originally posted by jimmy
I don't have to press that pedal so hard or as far for something to happen and I do not need to use that magic button under the right pedal that I have just discovered(hehe) to get the same results.

I wish my logic would work like that sometimes.


My line of thought would be:


My car is now more powerfull + I discovered cool kickdown switch = Woo Hoo catch me if you can. :bannana:

 

[jimmy]

Originally posted by GrahamC230K
I am pleased with your findings, makes me think Upsolute's claims are not too far fetched.

The soldering part scares me and also tells me, there is no hiding this from my insurance company. Physical evidence.

I would also be happier if they mapped or at least adjusted the pre-programmed chip whilst the car in question was on a rolling road.

A lack of understanding on my part is probably the issue, but my mind wonders if my ECU has cleverly adapted to particular settings on my car for whatever reasons and then Upsolute's is going to come along, reset to although tweaked, otherwise default settings.


More questions for Simon the Upsolute rep!


Well done to you Jimmy anyhow. You now have 2BHP over a C200. Time to find one and make them wonder what's up with their car!

Graham, go on you know you nnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeed a chip!!

We could have our own MBClub sub section for chipped cars.

I have got some pictures and I will take some more when I have time, seriously you would not be able to tell it has been done just by looking at the circuit board or by using the diagnostics computer. The soldering is upto OE standard and cannot be seen, besides an insurance company is unlikey to take your car apart peice by piece after an accident, not on cars with values like ours, maybe on a £30-40K motor.

The new ECU chip is still adaptive so will adjust to your car, fuel etc, it can't be done whilst on the dyno. Some older VW's, Audis can be done that way but not Mercs.

I reckon I have the same chip as you would need, anybody know how to clone chips??

Not come up alongside a C200 yet, but seriously pissed off a bloke in a Vectra 2.0 DTi yesterday. (yes a DTi is petrol and not a diesel before anybody makes a smart comment!!)

 

[Koolvin]

cloning chips is easy