19 cars and counting - Calibra/200SX/E46 BMW x 8!
Discussion
(but wtf is cutters?!)
Admittedly in the honeymoon period, and coming from cheaper metal, but i love it. Effortless pace, can just waft around the rest of the time, and the interior is a nice place to be.
Engine & gearbox are by all accounts bulletproof. Being forced induction, they respond very well to tuning. A smaller supercharger pulley(83mm) & remap will yield 550+bhp & 600+lbft for less than £1k. Beyond this headers and a smaller pulley again will yield figures in the realm of 600/700 but cooling mods will be needed. Charge cooler pumps are prone to going resulting in intake temps rising and the ECU pulling timing/disengaging the SC pulley to protect the engine. Upgraded pumps are cheap though £100
Suspension is airmatic. This is probably the biggest gotcha on these cars. I think youre probably looking at £1000+ a corner at MB to sort. Arnott do their own air shocks at about half that price as an alternative and seem to have a decent rep.
Brakes are 8 pot calipers at the front with 360mm discs IIRC. They are not mega money like the later 63 engined cars. These cars use a SBC braking system, not sure on the ins and outs of this system tbh, but understand the pump is the best part of £1500 if it goes.
Interior is a nice place to be with perforated AMG leather & alcantara everywhere. Doesnt feel as big inside as it looks outside. The Command system is probably quite dated to those used to modern machinery. Sound system is very good IMO. Massive boot, only 4 seats. Nice V8 burble from inside (probably significantly louder outside) but not as loud as you might hope/expect - the secondary cats and centre resonator can be removed which will help on that front.
What else. Short, stop start journeys around town expect 12-15mpg. On a run i've heard low 20s is realistic but havent had chance to test this yet. But if youre considering one of these youre probably not too bothered about that! I know i wasnt.
Engine & gearbox are by all accounts bulletproof. Being forced induction, they respond very well to tuning. A smaller supercharger pulley(83mm) & remap will yield 550+bhp & 600+lbft for less than £1k. Beyond this headers and a smaller pulley again will yield figures in the realm of 600/700 but cooling mods will be needed. Charge cooler pumps are prone to going resulting in intake temps rising and the ECU pulling timing/disengaging the SC pulley to protect the engine. Upgraded pumps are cheap though £100
Suspension is airmatic. This is probably the biggest gotcha on these cars. I think youre probably looking at £1000+ a corner at MB to sort. Arnott do their own air shocks at about half that price as an alternative and seem to have a decent rep.
Brakes are 8 pot calipers at the front with 360mm discs IIRC. They are not mega money like the later 63 engined cars. These cars use a SBC braking system, not sure on the ins and outs of this system tbh, but understand the pump is the best part of £1500 if it goes.
Interior is a nice place to be with perforated AMG leather & alcantara everywhere. Doesnt feel as big inside as it looks outside. The Command system is probably quite dated to those used to modern machinery. Sound system is very good IMO. Massive boot, only 4 seats. Nice V8 burble from inside (probably significantly louder outside) but not as loud as you might hope/expect - the secondary cats and centre resonator can be removed which will help on that front.
What else. Short, stop start journeys around town expect 12-15mpg. On a run i've heard low 20s is realistic but havent had chance to test this yet. But if youre considering one of these youre probably not too bothered about that! I know i wasnt.
The honeymoon continues. I love the CLS. After living with M3's the last year or so the instant torque at naff all revs from the 55k motor makes me laugh. The car is a genuine license loser though, so easy to pile on speed without even really trying.
Not too much to report. Ive picked up some new rear tyres (Conti 5p 285/30/19) in anticipation of a change in the near future (rears on 3.5mm). Been working out some of the gadgetry on the car. Got a new GPS antenna coming (£6) which should solve an issue i was having with the nav and realised i need a bluetooth adapter to pair my phone with the Command unit.
For those interested in MPG. As i said 11-15 around town is realistic. On a run, turned out to be a tad better than i thought it would be...
Not too much to report. Ive picked up some new rear tyres (Conti 5p 285/30/19) in anticipation of a change in the near future (rears on 3.5mm). Been working out some of the gadgetry on the car. Got a new GPS antenna coming (£6) which should solve an issue i was having with the nav and realised i need a bluetooth adapter to pair my phone with the Command unit.
For those interested in MPG. As i said 11-15 around town is realistic. On a run, turned out to be a tad better than i thought it would be...
Is it a petrolhead thing to constantly be looking in the classifieds for the next car?! Tempted by a B7 RS4 currently.
The CLS55. Doing everything asked of it with a wall of torque from any revs. Did have a front SAM issue that ended up costing £700 for a new unit from Merc fitted at a good specialist. But comes with the territory i guess when you buy cars that were originally 70k.
Averaging 14mpg - 75% round town
The CLS55. Doing everything asked of it with a wall of torque from any revs. Did have a front SAM issue that ended up costing £700 for a new unit from Merc fitted at a good specialist. But comes with the territory i guess when you buy cars that were originally 70k.
Averaging 14mpg - 75% round town
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