More power is the one language that all car enthusiasts speak, and tuning is one of the easiest and budget-friendly ways to increase a vehicle’s horsepower, which is why our very own offshoot brand, VR Tuned, was created to meet this common need in the community. We have some of the best tuning kits for different car models including the Ford Raptor Gen 3, Aston Martin Vanquish, Audi S3, and more.
The 4.0L V8 Bi-Turbo engine in the Mercedes AMG cars is an excellent platform to get some serious horsepower out of. VR Tuned has been doing ECU flashing and tuning since 2014 for cars worldwide. Utilizing the Dimsport MyGenius OBDII device, we allow you to flash your vehicle’s ECU from the comfort of your own garage without needing to take your vehicle somewhere or send in your ECU. Want to see what this ECU Flash can add to your Mercedes, check out all our tuning options here
The Audi R8 will forever be renowned as the flagship of the German automaker and their slogan, “Vorsprung durch Technik”, meaning “Progress through Technology” is more evident than ever in their line of R8’s. While Audi decided 2 vastly different trim levels of their latest supercar would best serve the consumer, the most elite drivers chose the V10.
I have read time and time again that the V10 was built to make you feel special, while the V8 was built around driving experience. Yet, I have come to my own conclusion: anyone that states the V8 is the true driver’s car, must not have had their V10 Audi R8 VR Tuned.
This is not to say the Italian engineers at Lamborghini didn’t do an absolutely marvelous job with Audi’s 5.2-liter V10 (yes you read that correctly), but they left so much on the table because they weren’t just going to let Audi have their cake and eat it too. It’s all-too-common knowledge that the R8 and Lamborghini Gallardo share an engine. However, what’s less commonly known or understood is the concept of de-tuning. Typically, when automotive manufacturers share power plants, the borrower will often get a de-tuned version to justify the price difference and fund the R&D of the originator. Changing as few items as possible to restrict performance is the name of the game, and the easiest way to achieve this is through ECU mapping. See Ferrari and Maserati as reference.
However, enthusiasts like the team here at Vivid Racing believe you should get what you pay for and we’re in the business of doing just that. Our VR Tuned ECU flash is designed to bring your V10 R8 out of the paddock and place you aggressively ahead of the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4. Producing 525hp and 391ft/lbs of torque was impressive, but our guy Dan said those were rookie numbers. So we filled the R8 with 91 octane and hit the dyno on a summer day and still managed to extract over 600hp and 439ftlbs of torque from this borrowed heart with no bolt on modifications. Once we paired our VR Tuned Flash with the BMC Carbon Racing Air Filter and Kreissieg F1 Valvetronic Exhaust, we found ourselves in Huracan Evo territory, so it’s pretty clear that your V10 wants to eat. If your R8 is looking for a meal fit for a king, VF Engineering is serving up Aventador level torque, at a fraction of the price of an Aventador without sacrificing the character of the R8, with their VF750 Roots-Style supercharger system, but that’s a story for a different track.
So if your R8 just isn’t doing it for you anymore, don’t sell the car, VR Tune it. For anything else you need to get the most out of your R8, shoot me an email direct at iori@vividracing.com and we’ll get you on the podium.
The Dimsport MyGenius OBDII ECU Tuner has been a classic tuning tool for a long while in the automotive community, for obvious reasons. You can easily tune or detune your vehicle with ease with little to no work. All you need is an updated Dimsport device, the tune file(s), and obviously the connecting cables. If you’re reading this blog, chances are you’re looking for a more ‘tutorial-like’ blog on writing your ECU. Luckily for you, that’s exactly what we’re going to go over, start to finish. We’ll be tuning a Mercedes Benz C63 W205 with a VR Tuned ECU Flash with the Dimsport MyGenius ODBII ECU Tuner.
To start off, you will need to make sure your Dimsport device is updated to the latest software version. You can do this by connecting the device to your PC (which must be windows 8 or newer), and setting up the necessary software. From here on, we do recommend connecting a battery charger to your vehicle, as the ECU Tuning process can take quite a bit of power. For reference, we made sure to connect a battery charger to our C63 and had 12 volts running constantly. Next, we will need the accessories to be turned on on your vehicle to power the ECU Tuner. Once all your lights are on, plug in the Dimsport tuning device. Once the device boots up, you should see four different menus to browse through. You should see “Work”, “Reset”, “Setup” and “Info”. For now, we’ll go into the Work menu.
Once inside the work menu, you’ll see three options, “PRT Identify”, “Setup” and “Back”. Click on the PRT Identify option. Follow the on-screen instructions until you come to a menu where it asks whether you want to read the ID or the Tool. Choose the ID option so we can read the ID of the ECU. Once the device reads, “Task completed Successfully” the ID reading is completed and you can shut down your vehicle & remove the device. Next, you will need to connect the MyGenius device to your computer to extract the ID file. Once your device is connected, open the same program (MyGenius client) on your computer and click on “Download from MyGenius”. Follow the on-screen instructions and save it to your desktop.
Next, you’re going to upload your file to us, through this link here. After we receive your file, we will do our modifications & send the file back to you. This modified file will have both your stock file, as well as your tuned file so you can switch between the two at a whim. We typically are able to complete this process within 24 hours during business hours. Once you get your file back, open the MyGenius software and click the “Upload to MyGenius” option. Follow the on-screen instructions.
From here, the process will seem super familiar. Connect your device back to the car, and make sure all accessories are on. Click into the work menu, and click on the VR Tuned mod. This should take around 15 minutes and will require a few ignition cycles. Be super careful during this time, as the ECU is being written to. Interrupting the writing process can possibly brick your ECU. After the ECU is successfully written, start up the vehicle & make sure it starts up fine. If the vehicle runs fine, and there are no lights lighten up on the dash, congratulations you’ve just tuned your car! Give it some time to warm up, and give it some revs! It is completely normal to see a quicker rev climb than usual once you’re tuned. To switch back to a stock tune, reconnect your device, and follow the exact same steps just click on the Stock tune when choosing the file to write. The Dimsport device can hold up to ten total tune files, so there surely won’t be a shortage of tunes for you to choose from!
Overall, we highly recommend the Dimsport MyGenius ODBII ECU Tuner. It’s extremely beginner friendly, easy to use, and has a lot of online support. However, if you do still need help with any part of the tuning process, we have an instruction list here, or you can contact us at 1-480-966-3040 or tuning@vividracing.com!
The BMW 550i/650i is truly the perfect mix of luxury & sporty in all model years. However today, we’ll be focusing on the sixth generation (F10/F11/F07/F18). BMW certainly took care of the luxury aspect of the car, as BMW does. Even though the car comes with a 4.4L V8 twin-turbocharged engine, after a while it can start to feel bogged down. With the earlier generations of the BMW 550i/650i coming down to a more affordable price, we’re expecting to see a whole new generation of car enthusiasts eagerly waiting to modify their new shiny, high-end BMWs. Whether that description fits you perfectly, or you’ve had the car for a while, and just want a bit more ‘pep in the step‘, this article is perfect for you. We’ll be going over the special features of the 550i/650i and the best way to add more horsepower, instantly. Pretty interesting stuff.
The BMW 550i/650i is definitely one of the higher-end luxury cars money can buy. With that being said, they’re very desirable, and you can pick up some of the slightly older models for a decent price point as of right now. What makes the 550i/650 a different, unique competitor to the other luxury sports cars in the market? Well for starters, it comes with a 4.4L twin-turbocharged V8, giving it the power it needs to really throw you in your seat. The big engine along with the dual-clutch transmission(available in all the F10 models), active rear steering, automatic parking, along with much more make it stand out against much of the competition. The only real downside we’ve seen is the weight, coming in at around 4,300lbs. It sucks, but we’ve got to remember that it is a luxury AND sporty car.
“I’ve never worked on cars before. What mod can I start off with?”, “What mod should I do first?”, “Which mod will give me the best bang for my buck?”. You’ve probably asked yourself at least one of these popular questions before, or maybe even recently. Luckily for you, you’ve found the place to answer all of those questions. If you’ve never worked on cars before, you’re probably pretty intimidated by all the terminology being thrown at you. Don’t stress out, we’ve made this as easy to read as possible. The first mod you’ve probably looked at doing was a cold air intake, exhaust, or maybe even some side skirts. While these are cool, they don’t improve the power of your vehicle a considerable amount. Plus, with how much exhausts cost nowadays, that can be pretty disappointing. We have the perfect answer that fixes all these problems. The most bang for your buck can be found in a modification called tuning. Tuning is the process of changing the fuel-to-air ratios, along with a few other programmable engine timing components to maximize power output. If you’ve been in the car industry for a while, tuning isn’t a new concept as cars have been getting tuned since the carburetor days. There’s a reason car tuning has been around as long as it has, because it works, and it works well. That along with being relatively cheap can make for a perfect first mod or a perfect 100th mod. Plus, tuning doesn’t just add power, it also adds a couple of new exciting features. These new features include an optional enhanced sports display and a higher speed limiter. All you need is the VR Tuned ECU Flash unit!
Once you’ve got your unit, simply plug it into your OBDII plug, press the “Tuning” button, select your model, and follow the on-screen instructions. If you’re having trouble, we’ve made a YouTube video that you can find here, and we’ve embedded it at the bottom of this article! Still, having trouble? No need to fret, shoot us an email at tuning@vividracing.com! Once you’ve installed the tune, you’re all set! What about our test? How well does our tune work?
We ran a BMW 550i on our dyne here at Vivid HQ and wrote down the stock numbers we ran. We got 450HP, and 479FT/LB of torque. We’re not necessarily disappointed by these numbers, but we know we can do much MUCH better. After loading our new VR Tuned ECU Flash onto the 550i, we were shocked by how much of an increase this simple tune was able to accomplish. We got 510HP with 549FT/LB of torque. That’s an impressive increase of 60 horsepower with 70 ft/lbs of torque! We did not forget about the 650i. Since both the 550i and the 650i run off the same engine, the results are the same.
Crank Horsepower Ratings:
Stock Power: 450HP | 479FT/LB
Tuned Power: 510HP | 549FT/LB
Overall, the VRTuned ECU Flash is a great, cost-effective way to add that extra power you’re looking for. It’s perfect for the first-time car enthusiast all the way up to master technicians. The ease of use, and instant power gains make it one of the best modifications available to the 550i/650i platform.
