Long range fuel tank for G350 Bluetec

COMMENTS

Re: D6S Brabus 'eco chip' for G350 Bluetec (G463)
Submitted by Theo on Wed, 30/11/2011 - 15:26.
I had a chat about this topic with an engineer; he knew of but was not familiar with the Brabus kit; he said that the output is similar to the G350 engine offered in the ML/ S-Class; as such the increased output should be no problem but he pointed out that the engine in the ML/ S-class has different pistons, compression, cooling, turbocharger and commonrail system; therefore the Brabus kit is a cheap way of getting more power but reliability and emissions will suffer.
He furthermore said that Mercedes has tested versions of the engine with more than 300bhp; whether or not such an engine will be offered to the public is unclear as the configuration would be stretching the reliability parameters and therefore would need extensive modifications and Mercedes is not sure whether there is sufficient demand.
This sounds discouraging but as my standard G350 is able to create wheel-spin in tighter corners resulting in clumsy ESP "assistance", I would expect that one uses the extra power of the Brabus system rarely and therefore reliability should be no problem.
As a by-product of this conversation I realised that today’s 3l diesel engines achieve performance figure achieved by 5l V8s 10 years ago. Technically the diesel has come a long way, now they have to improve the sound.

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Re: D6S Brabus 'eco chip' for G350 Bluetec (G463)
Submitted by phileas on Wed, 30/11/2011 - 16:06.
Hi Nik.

I would have to agree with Theo on the reliability aspect of modern diesels if pushed too far. The fact that some of them are approaching the golden halo 100hp/litre mark puts them on a par with modern petrol engines.....and the only way they can achieve this - given that the fuel is less calorific as well - is to compress the contents of the in-cylinder gas+fuel to a degree as never done before. High compression, high heat output, high localised forces: all ultimately only lead to lower fatigue life and at worst outright failure. In the G350 that I drove I was actually very impressed with the 'feel' of the car: as Theo mentioned, it wasn't that far off my G500 (certainly it eclipsed the 300TD with the old straight six/pre-ignition chamber). The same engine is also offered in the professional (derated) and the current miliary version (albeit derated further....) and the reasons for the lesser power is to improve the reliability. If we look at the qualities of the G, one of them HAS to be that they are very reliable cars (save certain versions of the old 350L6 and 400V8 diesels). Personally, I wouldn't want to mess with this endearing aspect of the car. In fact one is almost led to the conclusion, if you chip your 350 cdi your resale value also goes down as there will be people who will try too hard to get more power (as there always are) and these cases will be all over the internet and press.

Regards/ph

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Re: D6S Brabus 'eco chip' for G350 Bluetec (G463)
Submitted by Mountain Goat 7 on Wed, 30/11/2011 - 17:43.
Hi Nik

I have an ML320 with the Brabus chip. It was done when the car was new (some 4 years ago now) and has been totally reliable over the last 93,000 miles done so far (touch wood ... )! Fuel consumption better by about 10% and straight line speed definitely much improved. If I was getting a new G350 (or another ML for that matter), I wouldn't hesitate to have another Brabus chip. Hope this helps.

Regards.

Huw

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