Got an SL55 last week, got it back from Eurotune today....
Discussion
OK so for those interested, as a follow on from my 'I just got an SL55' thread, here's a detailed before and after write up:
So I picked the car up last Friday in the pissing rain - what I thought to be a very good condition car in the end turned out, in my eyes, to be disappointing:
It had a number of faults, and the paintwork was nowhere near as good as it looked in the rain. The list of problems from memory:
I/C pump duff - this was semi expected though, and a risk I took testing the car in the rain.
Steering well off center - again, took a chance since it was with MB very recently and they confirmed a good mechanical car, and it didn't appear to have been repaired since all panels and paintwork looked original.
Interior doorcard loose on drivers side
Paintwork very dull over the whole car
Keyless go lock button on drivers door didn't work
Parking sensors didn't work.
So, with great buyers remorse I took to the forums for advice, and the guys at Eurocharged were recommended here and on another MB forum.
They had my car since Tuesday, and I picked it up this evening with the following done:
I/C pump replaced
Steering perfect
New door handle fitted - keyless lock working
New parking sensor fitted - now working
Confirmation that, while the car wasn't in great cosmetic condition, mechanically, it was one of the better/best cars he had seen, and would confidently buy it himself - great sigh of relief.
So, on to the additional work I OK'd once I knew the car was in good order.
Remap
Largest crank pulley they were able to recommend
Additional charge cooler to run in series with the original
Exhaust - primary silencer and rear cats removed - I liked the sound as standard, but it just wasn't loud enough.
So the car dyno'd at ~440bhp and 500lb/ft torque originally - down on power due to the I/C pump being totally duff and not cooling at all. Now I used to own an E55 before I got the 997 turbo and, to this day, I swear the turbo is no quicker.
I was surprised that the SL felt slower, however I put it down to the extra weight, and rose tinted glasses. The 997 is a faster car than both after all.
So the dyno run after the mods : Just under 550bhp and 600lb/ft of torque, with a great curve:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_oJEVipzxhnWElMTl...
This was on the third run, so the HP and torque had dipped by a few.
So the car now drives perfectly straight, sounds immense - like two machine guns firing behind your head, but still not anti-social while cruising.
First gear is now about useless, and second gear now triggers the traction control like first used to! The in gear acceleration is just immense - it snaps your head back the millisecond you press the throttle.
I took the gf for a spin after I got home. Bearing in mind she has been in the turbo with me numerous times whilst I've pressed on, she commented that me putting my foot down made her tummy feel weird. It really does feel faster than the turbo by a noticeable amount!
I will be testing them side by side when I get back to Leicester so look forward to seeing how that goes.
The guys at Eurocharged - Paul being the main chap I dealt with and spoke to - were great. They knew these cars inside out - Paul has a ~750bhp E55 himself - and really made me feel comfortable leaving the car with them.
Future plans for the car:
Full professional detail and machine polish to sort out the dull paintwork.
Lowering - unfortunately, my car was one of those that cannot be lowered by STAR
Wheel centers painted black
Exhaust - headers and sport cats
Smaller supercharger pulley
Repair doorcard - clip is broken and cannot be repaired
LED side lights
I think beyond that, anything further is looking at mega bucks so will probably stop there as sense must prevail eventually.
So I picked the car up last Friday in the pissing rain - what I thought to be a very good condition car in the end turned out, in my eyes, to be disappointing:
It had a number of faults, and the paintwork was nowhere near as good as it looked in the rain. The list of problems from memory:
I/C pump duff - this was semi expected though, and a risk I took testing the car in the rain.
Steering well off center - again, took a chance since it was with MB very recently and they confirmed a good mechanical car, and it didn't appear to have been repaired since all panels and paintwork looked original.
Interior doorcard loose on drivers side
Paintwork very dull over the whole car
Keyless go lock button on drivers door didn't work
Parking sensors didn't work.
So, with great buyers remorse I took to the forums for advice, and the guys at Eurocharged were recommended here and on another MB forum.
They had my car since Tuesday, and I picked it up this evening with the following done:
I/C pump replaced
Steering perfect
New door handle fitted - keyless lock working
New parking sensor fitted - now working
Confirmation that, while the car wasn't in great cosmetic condition, mechanically, it was one of the better/best cars he had seen, and would confidently buy it himself - great sigh of relief.
So, on to the additional work I OK'd once I knew the car was in good order.
Remap
Largest crank pulley they were able to recommend
Additional charge cooler to run in series with the original
Exhaust - primary silencer and rear cats removed - I liked the sound as standard, but it just wasn't loud enough.
So the car dyno'd at ~440bhp and 500lb/ft torque originally - down on power due to the I/C pump being totally duff and not cooling at all. Now I used to own an E55 before I got the 997 turbo and, to this day, I swear the turbo is no quicker.
I was surprised that the SL felt slower, however I put it down to the extra weight, and rose tinted glasses. The 997 is a faster car than both after all.
So the dyno run after the mods : Just under 550bhp and 600lb/ft of torque, with a great curve:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_oJEVipzxhnWElMTl...
This was on the third run, so the HP and torque had dipped by a few.
So the car now drives perfectly straight, sounds immense - like two machine guns firing behind your head, but still not anti-social while cruising.
First gear is now about useless, and second gear now triggers the traction control like first used to! The in gear acceleration is just immense - it snaps your head back the millisecond you press the throttle.
I took the gf for a spin after I got home. Bearing in mind she has been in the turbo with me numerous times whilst I've pressed on, she commented that me putting my foot down made her tummy feel weird. It really does feel faster than the turbo by a noticeable amount!
I will be testing them side by side when I get back to Leicester so look forward to seeing how that goes.
The guys at Eurocharged - Paul being the main chap I dealt with and spoke to - were great. They knew these cars inside out - Paul has a ~750bhp E55 himself - and really made me feel comfortable leaving the car with them.
Future plans for the car:
Full professional detail and machine polish to sort out the dull paintwork.
Lowering - unfortunately, my car was one of those that cannot be lowered by STAR
Wheel centers painted black
Exhaust - headers and sport cats
Smaller supercharger pulley
Repair doorcard - clip is broken and cannot be repaired
LED side lights
I think beyond that, anything further is looking at mega bucks so will probably stop there as sense must prevail eventually.
Edited by vinnie83 on Saturday 3rd May 02:34
edgun said:
Great info and write up.think the deleated rear cats is a fail on the mot, however think the tester would have to know they were there in the first place.can you give me a figure for your mods?pm if you prefare.atb colin
Hi Colin, thanks.. I PM'd you.I think the CATs will be fine unless the MOT tester is a dick. Most will turn a blind eye provided it passes emissions.
God I miss the good old days.. my old M3 had a full supersprint race system with cat-delete and I never had any issues getting it MOT'd
Great write up and sounds like you are impressed with the car.
If you have had a larger crank pulley fitted i don't think you can then get a smaller supercharger pulley, as the supercharger is already spinning faster due to the crank pulley.
A set of Kleeman headers will certainly give you a bit more bark from it as-well.
If you have had a larger crank pulley fitted i don't think you can then get a smaller supercharger pulley, as the supercharger is already spinning faster due to the crank pulley.
A set of Kleeman headers will certainly give you a bit more bark from it as-well.
lee c63 said:
Great write up and sounds like you are impressed with the car.
If you have had a larger crank pulley fitted i don't think you can then get a smaller supercharger pulley, as the supercharger is already spinning faster due to the crank pulley.
A set of Kleeman headers will certainly give you a bit more bark from it as-well.
Thanks, yes I certainly am!If you have had a larger crank pulley fitted i don't think you can then get a smaller supercharger pulley, as the supercharger is already spinning faster due to the crank pulley.
A set of Kleeman headers will certainly give you a bit more bark from it as-well.
I know they can both be put on, he showed me the dyno of a car with everything mine has + headers and the s/c pulley - unless I misunderstood him.
After having a nice drive around today, the exhaust sounds great - it just sounds so raw when I put my foot down and amazing with the roof down.
I think I may want to hear a car with headers as I really like the sound as it is - to be honest I may go the headers route for the power increase more than anything else.
JohnRS4 said:
Did you get a new IC Heat Exchanger fitted? If so was it the Eurocharged one? Interested to know as they couldn't fit one to mine so was interested as to whether you had one fitted.
AFAIK yes it was the eurocharged one. It is another smaller one that is below the existing one, you can see it through the front grille now.Why were they unable to fit to yours?
Vid of the dyno run in case anyone missed the link earlier:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_oJEVipzxhnWElMTl...
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_oJEVipzxhnWElMTl...
slk 32 said:
It won't fail MOT on secondary Cat removal. Mine passed at Mercedes dealer and let's face it- any opportunity to fail you and charge for more work they would grasp with both hands!
Ime afraid that it will fail.not saying emissions will fail,just pointing out that if the car has secondary cats as oem and they are removed then this is a fail. That merc garage obviously don't know there own cars.btw I would have no hesitation in doing this,just pointing out a minor pitfall.vinnie83 said:
AFAIK yes it was the eurocharged one. It is another smaller one that is below the existing one, you can see it through the front grille now.
Why were they unable to fit to yours?
Just seemed totally the wrong HE. I know some of the SL55s are different dependent on year. Mine is 54 reg which is first of facelift SL. The original HE is behind the rad with the oil cooler at the bottom in front of the rad. The Eurocharged heat exchanger was meant to fit in front of the rad with the oil cooler attached beneath it but either they sent the wrong one or it is not meant for my version of SL55. Am witing to hear from Eurocharged.Why were they unable to fit to yours?
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