Designed and built by Mercedes-Benz, the Dodge Sprinter is powered by a 3.0 liter turbodiesel engine that produces 154 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque between 1200 and 2400 rpm. Not bad (especially considering that this full-size cargo van delivers almost 21 MPG), but nothing to write home about ... and that's where Hartmut Feyhl comes in.
As owner and chief engineer of South-Florida tuning firm RENNTECH (and ex-technical director at AMG North America), Feyhl has built some of the fastest, most exciting Mercedes' of the last 20 years. In that time, Feyhl and company have learned quite a bit about making internal-combustion engines more powerful, and also more efficient.
The end result of RENNTECH's tuning program is an upgraded Dodge Sprinter that puts out 200 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque from 1600 - 2800 rpm. More importantly, however, customers have been reporting significantly improved fuel economy.
Hartmut Feyhl explains: "When you make an engine more efficient, it produces more power. This is what we have accomplished with the Sprinter, and many customers have reported getting significantly better fuel economy. We are waiting to have our figures confirmed by independent agents, but are seeing an improvement over 10%, almost 24 mpg at cruising speeds. This is approximately what Mercedes claims for the GL320 SUV, which uses the same engine."
With rising gas prices and an increased emphasis on fuel efficiency, RENNTECH believes their new ECU software makes sense for Sprinter-based RV owners and fleet managers motivated to "save some green by going green" - and with the introduction of a low-emission, flex-fuel racing engine and higher-mileage tuning software for Mercedes' V8 cars now on sale, RENNTECH is taking important steps towards becoming an environmentally responsible performance tuner.
Available for Dodge | Freightliner 3.0 CDI (2007 - )
