Showing posts with label 600. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 600. Show all posts

4.4.11

the goldilocks car




IGNORE THE OTHER AWESOME CARS


One of the reasons I've been hiding from Sunshine as long as I have is that we've been running around like mental patients eight-year-olds trying to get. Things. Done. And yes, I know that. Writing. Like. This. doesn't emphasize what I'm trying to say any more than it makes my computer sound like that asthmatic kid from Malcolm in the Middle, but (dammit, man!) I am tired.

As far excuses for being tired go, though, I'm sure that jamming a massive, 875 hp (700+ whp) V12 into a relatively small E Class Mercedes ranks right up there with "dude, she's a machine!" for acceptability, so I'll get right to the point: this is "the Goldilocks car", and it is what happens when the C class is too small, the S class is too big, and the SLR McLaren 722GT is too motherloving SLOW. There's a full press release and photo-gallery over at Speedriven.com, but you can CLICK HERE to jump right to it.

Enjoy!

28.12.10

speedriven | about that block tuner




EVEN BIGGER IN PERSON


A few weeks ago, this gorgeous 2010 S63 AMG showed up at Speedriven's Palatine, IL garage ... presenting a perfect opportunity to illustrate how the Block Tuner works on the newer Mercedes / AMG models.

In short, Speedriven's Block Tuner allows the end-user to "flash" their car's ECU through the OBDII port, effectively switching between a "stock" file and a "tuned" file in a matter of minutes - which is ideal for customers with warranty concerns or who choose to go to their local dealer for regular maintenance.

The S63 shown here makes use of the Bosch ME9.7 ECU (in fact, all of the current naturally-aspirated 63 series AMG cars do, as well), which needs to be "unlocked" here at Speedriven before it can be tuned over the OBDII. On the S63, the ECU is located under the hood, at the base of the windshield, on the driver's side (shown, below).



SIMPLE ENOUGH


The ECU is usually sent back the day we receive it here at Speedriven, so if you drop the ECU into a FedEx box on Monday afternoon, you'll be back on the road by 10AM Wednesday. Now that the ECU is no longer "write-protected" you'll be able to write to it using the Block Tuner.

NOTE: using the Block Tuner to read the ECU won't be a necessary step on a 63, because we can load a Speedriven file on the ECU while it's here being unlocked, and ship the Block Tuner pre-loaded with the factory file and the Speedriven file, already. Unlocking the ECU is not detectable by the dealer.

The process for loading a file from your computer to the Block Tuner is the same as a USB thumb drive or external hard drive. Just drag and drop the file into the Block Tuner folder (shown here, on a Mac).



STILL SIMPLE ENOUGH


You can load 2 files on the Block Tuner, and select between them using the physical switch on the Block (up/down = stock/tuned, or pump gas/race gas, or tuner 1/tuner 2 for a comparison, for example).

Once that's done, you can remove the Block Tuner from the computer. Select the file you'd like to load onto the car by putting the switch in either the up or down position, then plug the Block into the OBDII port, under the dash (below) ...



IT FITS PERFECTLY


... turning the key to the "on" position will initiate a programming cycle. The instruments will react and the engine fans will start running throughout the cycle. Once programming is complete, the Block Tuner's LED will glow green. Turn off the car, remove the Block Tuner, and you're ready to go with a new file loaded on the car.

If you ever want to put your ECU back to stock, make sure there is a stock setting on the Block Tuner, select the stock file by setting the switch to the appropriate up or down position, and load the file to the ECU (following the included manual, of course).

1.3.09

godzilla gets strapped to tymmeh's dyno








Whenever a new car gets strapped down to Tym Switzer's dyno, you can bet the result will be something pretty extraordinary (evidence HERE and HERE).

Earlier today, Switzer posted this video of a 600-plus awhp Nissan GTR. I can't share much more quite yet, but keep checking in - I'll be posting more details soon.

4.9.07

renntech + ditec = shiny new toys






DITEC International, a paint preservation and protection company focused on providing cars, airplanes, motorcycles and boats with protection and preservation services, announced today that the company has entered into an agreement with RENNtech, one of the nation's foremost authorities on high-end performance cars, which certifies RENNtech as an authorized  DITEC Service Provider.

Since 1989, RENNtech's focus has been the engineering and development of superior aftermarket performance products for Mercedes-Benz, offering their customers 700 hp supercars that are every bit as refined and reliable as a "factory" Mercedes. The DITEC certification gives RENNtech an additional competitive edge in the aftermarket performance industry.

"It really is an amazing process, the engineering behind the products is just fantastic. The most important thing for RENNtech is to provide a fully integrated tuning package that makes the car perform better, look better, and, ideally, work better. DITEC offers a product that does all of that, and stands behind its product with a six year warranty. Ditec's approach fits well with RENNtech's motto of 'performance without compromise," explains Hartmut Feyhl, RENNtech's president and former technical director at AMG North America.

"Over the years, RENNtech has built many incredible cars that pushed the boundaries of performance, and has done so with only the highest quality materials and service," offers Chris Alison, CEO of DITEC International. "RENNtech's clients expect the best, and that is very good for DITEC, since we are the only company of our kind to offer a paint preservation system that has been tested and endorsed by the Swedish National Testing Institute (Europe's most respected testing institute), the European AAA, and many others - all of which took many years of testing. Both RENNtech and DITEC are leaders in their fields, and combining the world’s most endorsed paint preservation system with the best high-performance tuning company simply makes that leadership undisputed.”

Alison goes on to explain that DITEC's Paint Preservation System was first introduced in Denmark in 1975. "Since then, DITEC has only enhanced and developed its products and services - today, DITEC's products represent the highest quality of protection and are available only at a select few Authorized DITEC Centers."

With over three decades of experience and hundreds of certified centers in Europe, the DITEC Preservation System has proven to be the most reliable paint preservation system in the world. DITEC's products and services are provided in Sweden, Norway, Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Denmark and Portugal and (now) in Florida.

Alison explains that DITEC "increases the gloss value on a new car by 20-40%, and adds clearly visible higher luster and shine. Also, the DITEC reduces the cost of maintenance by up to 90%, and the expenses of waxing and polishing are completely eliminated.

From an environmental point of view, DITEC products are organic and contain no synthetic substances such as Teflon/PTFE and Silicon. A DITEC preserved vehicle does not get as dirty, and only needs to be washed about half as often, so it further reduces (and, in many cases, eliminates) the use of harmful wash chemicals and saves water. The DITEC has also been shown to reduce air resistance on the vehicles, which can provide better fuel efficiency.

The DITEC preservation systems applied at Authorized centers, like RENNtech, are backed by DITEC's 6 year guarantee against oxidation, sun-burn, corrosion, and rust. For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.Ditecusa.com.