E55 AMG - won't pull past 130ish mph?

[youngsyr]

Went on an airfield day yesterday in my Dad's E55 AMG Estate (semi-auto). It pulls really well to approx 120 mph at the rev limit in 3rd, then at the gear change the revs just seem to "hang" and it creeps up about 1 mph every second or so.

The top speed is supposedly around 157 mph and at 120 mph it feels like it will pull easily to that speed, but there seems to be something stopping it once it goes into 4th (in any gearbox setting), despite it having 2 gears left to pull in?

Can anyone offer any advice? It hasn't been remapped, but has had some tweeks in Star Diagnostics.

[ricky s]

w210 0r w211 model

[slippery]

Unhook the caravan?

[youngsyr]

W211, I believe.

[youngsyr]

BTW, the winter tyre speed limit is definitely off.

[ricky s]

if the w211, a good place to start checking is the ic pump, infamous for appearing to be working under normal driving, with apparent no problem, but when asked to perform under hard driving and the resultant heat build up to the sc, it does not work as should be, the ecu then just throws some safe guard's at the timing and fuelling to prevent potential detonation, resulting in a drop off performance. be, this was very apparent in a couple of Mercedes tuning events that where held this year, numerous SC cars suffered this fate. It may well be that you have different issue's rather than this, but as said be a good place to start. The IC pump is up in the front of the drivers wheel arch behind the arch covers. All the best with your fix

[youngsyr]

That's great, thanks.

What exactly is an IC pump though and how would I know if it was faulty?

There were no fault codes or lights present on the car.

[ricky s]

youngsyr said:

That's great, thanks.

What exactly is an IC pump though and how would I know if it was faulty?

There were no fault codes or lights present on the car.

As said may not be your issue, but would be the first thing I would check myself. The fact that you have no fault codes up, may need more educated people to comment, but FYI Its part of SC cooling system, if the temperatures to the SC rise too far, performance will be lost as described previously. Best way to get it dealt/checked with would be a visit to a decent merc indie with "star", or you could just replace the pump, albeit the "star" diagnostic may be best route, as it may also divulge any other potential reasons/issue's, more so as you said the car had been tweaked on "star" at some time, that potentially is a minefield if the persons operating "star" is not fully conversant with the whole programme, but hopefully not a problem here. The basic Borsch pump for this is around £110, albeit numerous upgraded pumps are about for a bit more money, another Borsch pump, CM30 Johnson and a Davis Craig pump also known to have been used. Be good to know what the problem is, once you have it looked at.

[youngsyr]

That's great Ricky, thanks for your help.

I'm certainly no expert, but a cooling system pump failure sounds like a reasonable explanation for the symptoms, bar the absence of any fault codes or lights.

I'll post up what we find, if anything.

[ricky s]

youngsyr said:

That's great Ricky, thanks for your help.

I'm certainly no expert, but a cooling system pump failure sounds like a reasonable explanation for the symptoms, bar the absence of any fault codes or lights.

I'll post up what we find, if anything.

You will find something, your car even in OEM standard is capable of higher speeds, as you already expect, which brings me back to the pump, but let us know the outcome. Not to distract from this forum, but many knowledgeable people in the MBCLUBUK, pop in there, may people to help you, have learnt so much from the guys there.

[jgy6000]

Did you get this issue resolved?

[youngsyr]

Not yet, my Dad is looking into replacing the pump.