RE: Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG: PH Heroes

[swisstoni]

daveco said:

swisstoni said:

daveco said:

Walter Sobchak said:

What engine is in the SL600?, I know it's a V12 but is it turbocharged too?, I always thought that was the SL65.

Twin turbocharged.

The 55/65 AMG's are supercharged.

I personally think it is the best looking car Mercedes have designed in the last twenty years. The only other Mercs that come close are the previous R129 and the W220 S-class.

You know a car is well designed when it still looks good on 16 inch alloys.

SL65 was a biturbo

What's the difference between a twin turbo and a biturbo? Is biturbo one smaller turbo at lower revs followed by a larger turbo taking over at higher rpm?

No difference - its just a different way of describing the same thing. MB called it a biturbo so that's the correct name for it I suppose in this context.

[anonymous-user]

daveco said:

What's the difference between a twin turbo and a biturbo? Is biturbo one smaller turbo at lower revs followed by a larger turbo taking over at higher rpm?

Bitubro - 2 identical turbos either side of the engine, twin turbo - sequential turbos, one smaller than the other working at different rev ranges

http://www.arrowheadmb.com/blog/twin-turbo-engine-...

[daveco]

cb1965 said:

daveco said:

What's the difference between a twin turbo and a biturbo? Is biturbo one smaller turbo at lower revs followed by a larger turbo taking over at higher rpm?

Bitubro - 2 identical turbos either side of the engine, twin turbo - sequential turbos, one smaller than the other working at different rev ranges

http://www.arrowheadmb.com/blog/twin-turbo-engine-...

Ah, very good.

[swisstoni]

Hmmm. Some thin ice here but let's leave it.

[Rocksteadyeddie]

s m said:

Walter Sobchak said:

What engine is in the SL600?, I know it's a V12 but is it turbocharged too?, I always thought that was the SL65.

It says above - V12 Twin turbo - 5513cc - 493bhp @5krpm 590lb ft @ 1800-3600rpm

SL65 is 5980cc turbocharged with 604bhp

That was circa 2004

DMS will take the SL 600 to 600bhp if the performance is inadequate (it's not)

[Walter Sobchak]

Rocksteadyeddie said:

DMS will take the SL 600 to 600bhp if the performance is inadequate (it's not)

I'm sure it's not, I had the 55K engine, I think if I went for another I'd try the 600, I doubt there's a lot of difference in performance, the 600 looks more understated though.

[irocfan]

AJDMoss said:

I have an SL55 F1 06 facelifted car, I have had a good run with maintenance in the 3 years of ownership. All that went wrong was a window switch broke and the alarm siren stopped working. The pads need changing soon, on the performance pack car the fronts pad are £200. The service ended up costing me about £600 When it was serviced I was unaware but this engine has 16 plugs, Mercedes wanted best part of £450 just for supplying and changing the plugs. This is where a good specialist can reduce the maintenance costs.

If you are considering buying one I would suggest checking that everything works. Make sure the suspension raises up and down evenly. Also check for the damp in the boot if it is an earlier car ask about the fuel tank and roof seals as these were a couple of the early car gremlins.

I wouldnt say it the most engaging car handling wise, but there are not many cars that sound this these. It is well balanced tourer with a good dose of lunacy for good measure!

Edited by AJDMoss on Wednesday 24th August 10:00

cool lurking there, good post too

[anonymous-user]

Learnt today that a carbon splitter and a big dip in the road do not mix :-(

[gf15]

Really wanted one of these back in 2010, but as a work tool, I could not justify a SL55 and 25k miles per year, I thought an SL500 was a compromise. I checked out 3 examples. One was cheap, but had mushrooms in the boot, so ruled out.
Next was OK but dull. I upped the budget to a 2004 blue one with Cream leather and very high spec, it was low mileage (30k), but rattled something dreadful and felt heavy and slow. A quick google at the time convinced me it was not for us. Moved on.....

However, I think they are a beautiful piece of kit. I was passed by a 500 on the M6 about 05:30 on Tuesday with 4 exhausts and it sounded sublime.

One day I would love an SL55.

[tali1]

Autocar road test of 2012(current) SL 500 "0- 60mph in 4.3sec – quicker than the previous SL63 AMG – and on to 100mph in less than 10 seconds"

[George111]

tali1 said:

Autocar road test of 2012(current) SL 500 "0- 60mph in 4.3sec – quicker than the previous SL63 AMG – and on to 100mph in less than 10 seconds"

Just read it, fantastic - also available used from just £40k for 2013 model which is less than half it's new price ! Got to be one of the performance bargains Autotrader has a good selection.

[Walter Sobchak]

tali1 said:

Autocar road test of 2012(current) SL 500 "0- 60mph in 4.3sec – quicker than the previous SL63 AMG – and on to 100mph in less than 10 seconds"

That's the new 4.7 bi turbo engine isn't it?, have to admit that engine does make the 63 seem a bit pointless for most, think I'd even have the S Coupe in 500 form if I was in the market for one, sadly I'm not .

[only1ian]

swisstoni said:

Mine is one of the last (2007) with factory Performance Pack. It's cost me a few bob in the first year of ownership, but I'm hoping that will even out over the years as I'm not going to be selling.
They are virtually invisible to non-PH types, which is fine by me. It's a really nice comfortable car but a true factory breathed on monster if prodded.

I totally agree i have a 2009 SL63 with the performance pack an essential addition if you want to use the R230 SL as anything more than a grand touring machine,

[Schermerhorn]

s m said:

Edited by s m on Tuesday 23 August 19:06

Just looking at the figures, the SL65 AMG sounds like a weapon once it gets going!

[s m]

Schermerhorn said:

s m said:

Edited by s m on Tuesday 23 August 19:06

Just looking at the figures, the SL65 AMG sounds like a weapon once it gets going!

Here's the later years Black edition!

[s m]

George111 said:

tali1 said:

Autocar road test of 2012(current) SL 500 "0- 60mph in 4.3sec – quicker than the previous SL63 AMG – and on to 100mph in less than 10 seconds"

Just read it, fantastic - also available used from just £40k for 2013 model which is less than half it's new price ! Got to be one of the performance bargains Autotrader has a good selection.

[swisstoni]

IMHO the SL design went downhill after the R230, though it's echos remain even in today's SL. I hope the next generation is a complete rethink. If the AMG GT is going ragtop, then it's going to have to be quite something.

[blueSL]

I have one, one of the first in the UK, Sept 2002, 28000 miles, silver with premium berry red leather. It's obviously a car I only use in the summer for long trips and it fits the bill perfectly.

Maintenance is a headache though. As the dealer likes to remind me, it's a £100k car and the bills relate to that, not its current value. Even so, the costs are less than the depreciation of replacing it and it looks so much better than the later models. As a touring car, it's great and mine has been down to Italy several times.

It provides me with all the open top motoring I need and I confirmed the 155mph limiter a couple of years ago in Germany. With the roof down.

[urquattroGus]

cb1965 said:

urquattroGus said:

Later SL63 with M156 V8 might be the one to have??

It drives better but looks hideous front end wise. The Jag guys were obviously found and removed and the square brigade were put back on the job!

Just looked at some pictures again, wholeheartedly agree, the 55 looks a lot better!

[anonymous-user]

Just thought this nugget might amuse you all. A few days back I alluded to smashing the carbon splitter on my car. What happened was I was making progress on a road near Delph near Oldham when I failed to notice a dip in the road. The car went down, the road went up and the carbon splitter took an impact. However the car also made a more metallic noise when it hit the road that I assumed was something behind the splitter hitting the ground. The impact wasn't that great though so I was a bit perplexed.

I looked later and couldn't see anything other than a lot of scraped carbon. Yesterday I wen to use the roof and got a 'visit workshop' message. On opening the boot two things became apparent... one of the roof cover flaps was hanging down from the boot and a large trim panel from under the rear window was lying on the luggage cover.... this was what made the noise as it detached from the rear cross member.

I clipped it back in and then decided to just shove the roof flap back... if it broke so what... the car goes wrong so often I could probably just tell it to drive itself to the local specialist to be fixed. Anyway it clipped back in and the roof now works again.

However this is a £100K car.... should a small impact like that have those sort of repercussions.... I don't think so! It's ludicrously fragile!