I own a 450 and would have to say the two best things I found for improving the shifting were getting more air into the system (better filter, larger pipes, etc.) and a remap.
Is there anyone in the US offering remaps yet for the NA 451 and if so are they experiencing better and faster shift times?
In My research so far, I have found that the ECU closes the throttle VERY gently, rather than quickly after the clutch disengages, slowing the engine gradually rather than quickly. I believe this is for emissions, as there is usually a sharp rise in exhaust hydrocarbons if the throttle is closed quickly on most EFI cars. It should be possible to change this via ECU remapping. I'm working on this because the long 1-2 shift time in manual mode makes me crazy! Fast, Crisp, Snappy up shifts in manual would be nice. The down shifts are not to bad (IMHO). As I learn more, I'll post it.
the 450 model could be slightly tweaked when doing a remap to improve the shift
the 451 model can not, the engine ecu and gearbox ecu are two seperate items, it is not possible to remap the engine and then all of a sudden have quicker gear changes..
in regards to the fly by wire throttle and tweaking that during changes, it's been done and makes things worse so it's best left alone, the shifts become jerky and the engine slurs like an old auto thats slipping.
there is a company in italy that has the ability to alter the gearbox programming, the hardware that you need to do it is about 10K euros!
try emailing brabus in europe as the real brabus smart car has a different gearbox ecu and 10% faster shifting... thats bugger all really but its something..
bigperformance in the UK claim to be able to remap your gearbox ecu for 10-25% faster shifts, i say he's full of ****... but no one else can do anything, so someone should give it a go and measure the differene
the 450 model could be slightly tweaked when doing a remap to improve the shift
the 451 model can not, the engine ecu and gearbox ecu are two seperate items, it is not possible to remap the engine and then all of a sudden have quicker gear changes..
in regards to the fly by wire throttle and tweaking that during changes, it's been done and makes things worse so it's best left alone, the shifts become jerky and the engine slurs like an old auto thats slipping.
there is a company in italy that has the ability to alter the gearbox programming, the hardware that you need to do it is about 10K euros!
try emailing brabus in europe as the real brabus smart car has a different gearbox ecu and 10% faster shifting... thats bugger all really but its something..
bigperformance in the UK claim to be able to remap your gearbox ecu for 10-25% faster shifts, i say he's full of ****... but no one else can do anything, so someone should give it a go and measure the differene
He's full of **** is a bit much, especially as you don't know what you are talking about, we have had the 451 longer than you have, and the 450 and the Roadster and the for4, and Big does know what he is talking about, he knows a lot about smarts.
It is not only him either, there are lots of remap companies over here that do very good remaps for smart cars, and I know Red Dot does a remap for the 451, and it is put on a rolling road into the bargain.
You guys are playing catchup with us, we have had smarts for over 10 years, so maybe you will be able to get a remap soon for your cars, the first company to do a good one will make a fortune over there, as it is the best possible thing you can do to your car, completely transforms it into a little rocket, with better gearchanges into the bargain, so good luck and get it done when you can.
El
ps just as an example, a standard smart roadster has 81 bhp, with a remap and a k&n filter, it throws out 110bhp.
I think you will agree, this is a great power increase for a small outlay, and if you read on the British forums about remaps, the concensus is that they are reliable and worth having.
He's full of **** is a bit much, especially as you don't know what you are talking about, we have had the 451 longer than you have, and the 450 and the Roadster and the for4, and Big does know what he is talking about, he knows a lot about smarts.
It is not only him either, there are lots of remap companies over here that do very good remaps for smart cars, and I know Red Dot does a remap for the 451, and it is put on a rolling road into the bargain.
You guys are playing catchup with us, we have had smarts for over 10 years, so maybe you will be able to get a remap soon for your cars, the first company to do a good one will make a fortune over there, as it is the best possible thing you can do to your car, completely transforms it into a little rocket, with better gearchanges into the bargain, so good luck and get it done when you can.
El
ps just as an example, a standard smart roadster has 81 bhp, with a remap and a k&n filter, it throws out 110bhp.
I think you will agree, this is a great power increase for a small outlay, and if you read on the British forums about remaps, the concensus is that they are reliable and worth having.
well pea brain im not in the USA and we have has the smart car here for 10 years... the old smarts had the ability to tune the gearbox through the ecu, the 451 you can not...
in the usa there are remaps for their cars, but an atmo car thats already highly tuned the gains are minimal
and i call bull****, every time i've ever asked for the hard facts or real data there is never a reply, ask all the companys in the UK where they got their maps, and they will say they developed them inhouse, but it's not the case and they all deny it... there is alot of dodgey **** happening there, you can buy the file and it will be sent to you via email, then with the correct hardware and a white van you too can claim to be a remapping expert!
i still have seen NO hard data and before/after runs of a 451 turbo with all data on the dynosheet.
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