Mercedes and AMG Blog, Performance, Tuning, Motorsport, and Modification News

The C63 AMG Black Series is in a much higher state of tune than standard C63 AMG which should be obvious to most people. Renntech in SAE correction got a baseline of 434.4 and 436.7. The tuned numbers are 453.9, 452.8, and 451.2 on the three post tune dyno runs. This makes for gains just under and around 20 wheel horsepower on 93 octane pump gas. Logged temperature details are also included showing it was quite hot during these runs in the 90 degree range. ...

Yes, Mercedes is quite serious about rolling out a ton of S-Class variants in the wake of Maybach's demise. Normally one would think a coupe or convertible based on the S-Class platform would be called a CL as it was previously. That is not the case however as it appears Mercedes will be dropping the CL name in favor of following a similar route as when they dropped the CLK name opting for an E-Class coupe instead. Sounds like change for the sake of change. ...

Renntech has set a new benchmark for the Mercedes-Benz M278 Twin Turbo V8 used in the 550 models taking tune only output to 489.7 wheel horsepower. This is a large jump over what Renntech hit previously which was 447 rear wheel horsepower last year. This graph was revealed to us by Renntech in the M278 versus N63 comparison article. No other tuner is even remotely close to where Renntech now is with the M278. This gain is thanks to the raising of certain limitations in the ECU that it seems other tuners have not been able to do. ...

Introducing the new tuning program from Carlsson for the new W166 M-Class. This vehicle is based on the ML350. They start with the body kit which is a very nice looking design. The front bumper is replaced with one that features new fog lights, a new grille added, wider fenders, and a rear diffuser complete the look. The car is then lowered using the Carlosson C-Tronic lowering module which lowers the air suspension and can be adjusted electronically with an Iphone app. ...

Rosberg was back on form this weekend and took advantage of a good start and two safety cars to finish in fifth place. Michael Schumacher trailed Rosberg all weekend and for the second year in a row, he saw himself crash into the rear of another driver which ended his race prematurely and cost himself valuable points at this point in the season. ...

The Weistec M156 Stage I, Stage II, Stage III, and 50 State legal CARB certified supercharger offering for the naturally aspirated 63 AMG motors has been updated along with price drops. Weistec officially announces the Stage 3 system as well which includes the updated 3.0 liter twin screw blower. The Stage III setup is capable of 1000 horsepower but of course without a built motor including forged pistons and rods the motor will not reach this output. ...

The new Twin Turbo direct injected V8 motors from BMW and Mercedes-Benz are absolutely incredible motors with a ton of tuning potential. The question is, how do they stack up to each other and which design is better? On the surface they have many similarities as they both have two turbos, direct injection, a 90 degree configuration with four valves per cylinder, and both go into their respective manufacturers mid-level models such as the Mercedes E550 and BMW 550i which are just below the AMG and M offerings. ...

Here is the Brabus program for the new R231 Mercedes SL550. Most noticeable is the body kit which is not their best work. A rear spoiler, diffuser, fender air vent covers, side skirts, and front fascia. The fender air vent covers just seem a little tacky for someone like Brabus. The rear diffuser is also a bit awkward with a part sticking out. Just not clean or sophisticated like what we all usually expect from Brabus. ...

The Mercedes-Benz CLA is an exciting new model for several reasons. The first of which is that it is coming to the United States. Secondly, it's price point opens the car to a large number of people and with turbocharged motors being a staple for this model it will become a very popular tuner platform. The base cars will feature 2.0 liter M271 turbo four cylinder derivatives and the CLA45 AMG version will features about 340 horsepower out of the 2.0 cylinder sent to all four wheels. ...

AMG recently answered some interesting questions regarding their motor development. You may remember a recent post where a person not working at AMG assembled one of the motors but it was not revealed how long it took. So how long does this process take? Well, for the M156 naturally aspirated V8 one of the AMG techs can do it in just 2.5 hours. The M279 Twin Turbo V12 takes just about 4 hours for assembly. ...

The new Mercedes twin turbo motors generate quite a bit of heat. Heat soak will adversely affect performance and an intercooler upgrade will help reduce this aspect. The Renntech pump upgrade flows twice as much coolant as the stock pump specifically 8.7 G.P.M @ 11.6 PSI versus the OEM 3.00 G.P.M. This increase in flow will dramatically increase intercooler performance as well as reduce heat soak. ...

The question on the minds of a lot of Mercedes and BMW enthusiasts will be if the M157 Twin Turbo V8 63 AMG models are faster of if the new M5/M6 S63tu Twin Turbo V8 models are faster. Well, we may have our answer. We know the new M5/M6 are underrated putting out around the 530 wheel horsepower range. This exceeds the standard M157's comfortably and even the performance package models. ...

Velos Designwerks continues to impress with their various tunes. Their BMW N63 tunes are opening eyes all over and now they are tackling the naturally aspirated Mercedes 63 AMG M156 platforms as well releasing tunes and a handheld flash at home solution. This C63 Black Series put down 422 wheel horsepower completely stock in STD correction. After the tune, 462 wheel horsepower STD for a gain of 40 horses at the wheels on the fairly high strung C63. ...

Here is a video of a recent Renntech tuned M157 motor in a 2012 E63 AMG. This car does not have the performance package option and put down a baseline of 471 rear wheel horsepower. Tuned it put out 626 rear wheel horsepower for a gain of 155 horsepower to the wheels. The torque numbers are outstanding going from 463 to 738 pound-feet or torque for a gain of 275 pound-feet of rear wheel torque. ...

Introducing the Hofele Design W166 Mercedes-Benz M-Class widebody kit. The kit consists of 14 pieces including a new front bumper with LED lights. Wider fenders are included of course along with a new rear bumper, diffuser, and sideskirts. Hofele also has 22 inch wheels available to fit the widebody perfectly along with a lowering module which will drop the car 40mm up to 50 miles per hour at which point the car returns to the factory ride height. ...

Renntech is really pushing the M157 platform hard having the highest horsepower and fastest tuned 63 AMG's with the new twin turbo V8 motor. Matt Farah of Drive got to experience a Renntech tuned CLS63 AMG said to be putting out around 700 horsepower. In addition to driving the car we get a small tour of Renntech's facility in Florida which houses some very impressive Mercedes machinery being built for customers literally all over the world. ...

The Mercedes power fizzled out a bit this weekend as two Mercedes powered car retired, The first was Mclaren Mercedes' Jensen Button, who retired from 2nd place with a fuel pump malfunction and Force India's Nico Hulkenburg. Lewis Hamilton dominated the race from the start and looked unbeatable. He took off from pole position and never looked back. With his win, he jumps up to 2nd place in the championship standing, 37 points behind Alonso. The Mercedes AMG F1 team finished 6th and 7th with Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. At the start of the race Schumacher was able to maintain his position of 4th, but by lap 7 fell to Vettel and Alonso aided by DRS and slipstream. Schumacher was forced to pit a second time with 10 laps remaining and fell to 9th place. being on fresher tires he quickly passed Senna, Kobayashi, and Di Resta to finish right behind Kimi Raikonnen. ...

The Mercedes powered teams came to Ferrari land and have dominated the race weekend so far with Mclaren Mercedes leading the charge and Mercedes AMG F1 right behind them. This track suits the power of the Mercedes engines well with Red Bull Racing and Lotus Renault unable to challenge with their Renault engines. Ferrari broke the Mercedes dominance with Massa securing his qualifying spot in 3rd place. ...

The last update posted by BenzBoost on the SLS AMG Black Series came on July 13th where spyphotos revealed the car close to production ready with ceramic brakes. Our graphic design artist Wild-Speed worked with the spyphotos to create a rendering on what the finished product will likely look like. Considering how accurate Wild-Speed is, these renderings are likely very similar to the real deal. ...