Smart Roadster Coupe Brabus
Discussion
First Post on here so I thought Ill start here.
Having a family who have had Smarts since the very beginning and having once previously to this I was familiar with the driving style and oddness that they have.
So this popped up for a reasonable price and 2 and a bit years later here we are.
Over the coarse of these two years it has been a frustrating and a learning experience.
All Roadsters Leak, this one seams to be especially bad at doing it, literally streaming into the drivers lap and face, which keeps you alert but can be slightly annoying. From the get go this car had a lot of small niggles with it, it would seem not all of the 10 owners were knowledgeable of these cars.
-The roof clips were broken the roof would not retract smoothy either.
-Handbrake was useless
-Large bulge in offside Rear sidewall
-Needed a C service
-Charge cooler was loose in engine compartment
September 2018
So after taking the car apart, literally as doing the spark plugs without cutting three holes in the rear of the car, necessitates removing the entire rear panel. So after doing all 6 plugs and changing the oil and fuel filters, putting everything back together agin with fresh clips and new side skirt brackets (They were all stuffed), I could start from a relatively fresh point. Not long after this The rear tyres were replaced as one was bulging badly. Then not long after that I replaced the front tyres from Wanli ditch finders to Eagle asymmetric's. Having the toe adjusted at the same time made the car for the first time, feel not too bad. Roll on winter....
Having a family who have had Smarts since the very beginning and having once previously to this I was familiar with the driving style and oddness that they have.
So this popped up for a reasonable price and 2 and a bit years later here we are.
Over the coarse of these two years it has been a frustrating and a learning experience.
All Roadsters Leak, this one seams to be especially bad at doing it, literally streaming into the drivers lap and face, which keeps you alert but can be slightly annoying. From the get go this car had a lot of small niggles with it, it would seem not all of the 10 owners were knowledgeable of these cars.
-The roof clips were broken the roof would not retract smoothy either.
-Handbrake was useless
-Large bulge in offside Rear sidewall
-Needed a C service
-Charge cooler was loose in engine compartment
September 2018
So after taking the car apart, literally as doing the spark plugs without cutting three holes in the rear of the car, necessitates removing the entire rear panel. So after doing all 6 plugs and changing the oil and fuel filters, putting everything back together agin with fresh clips and new side skirt brackets (They were all stuffed), I could start from a relatively fresh point. Not long after this The rear tyres were replaced as one was bulging badly. Then not long after that I replaced the front tyres from Wanli ditch finders to Eagle asymmetric's. Having the toe adjusted at the same time made the car for the first time, feel not too bad. Roll on winter....
January 2019
The car had been perfectly reliable over the December period, I had bought a shower cap for when it was really wet and had managed by having a dry bag in the car at all times. The car developed a temperamental headlight issue, which turned out to be a dirty connection cleaning that up, fixed that. So far the car had proved it self this is where things are about to turn...
March-April 2019
The car had started to feel sluggish and then on the way back from Hastings the cycle valve (Boost control) went. the car went like a rocket for about 5 miles then went into a limp mode, max speed was 40mph. The valve being a £30-40 part, bought that from Mercedes fitted it and fixed that. Not long after the thermostat went. So it never reached operating temperature 88degrees would only go to about 75 max. Having bought that as well (The parts department were knowing me well by this point) I attempted to fit that. Most of the guides online recommend using the lowing bolts for the engine cradle to have good access to the thermostat. I didn't have these, but as I am quite dexterous I thought I could do it. 4 hours later after removing the charge cooler and replacing the bracket and cooling fluid within it I had replaced it. With graved knuckles afterwords.
Towards the end of April the car developed a starting issue, which will rear it head later. Now the car didn't want to boost past 1 bar. Should be 1.5bar. After a little bit on investigation I deduced that the exhaust which had a dent in it had collapsed. So after a bit of deliberation one was ordered from S-mann with upgraded earth leads which I though would help with the starting issue. At the same time I decided it would be good for a new clutch, Lambda sensors a few seals and sensors here and there and a tune.
I dropped the car off at S2 Smarts and a few days later, and more unexpected parts (Sump and yet another lambda sensor) I picked the car up and it felt much better. More responsive and much better bight point.
Two weeks later
The car now sporadically refused to start, which after sending it up to S2 smarts Turned out to be a dodgy earth on one of the leads that I didn't replace. S2 fixed the issue and since then the car has been fine. Only real costs since then is a few switches here and there.
September 2019
I was becoming tired of using the Smart everyday and wanted something different I looked around and ended up purchasing a R171 SLK 55 AMG. I'll go into that in another thread. So the Smart sat for 5 months being run around the block in order to keep the battery charged and fluids cycled.
January 2020
Using the Merc over winter had been better than the Smart (Nice and dry) but had become boarded by the fuel cost and the relatively cold driving experience. So I dusted off the Smart and have been using that ever since to be my daily.
July 2020
Having reached a point I decided that the car could do with a front end freshen up. So I wet ahead and asked S2 to do the following
-New springs
-New Dampers
-New Ball Joints
-New Discs
-New Pads
After having this done the car feels much tighter and more planted up front and much younger for it.
This week the car will hit 70'000 miles, and is in much better condition that when I first picked it up. It is a one of a kind experience and I am struggling to find anything that will better it. A lotus elise is too serious and seat heaters in the winter are nice.
The car had been perfectly reliable over the December period, I had bought a shower cap for when it was really wet and had managed by having a dry bag in the car at all times. The car developed a temperamental headlight issue, which turned out to be a dirty connection cleaning that up, fixed that. So far the car had proved it self this is where things are about to turn...
March-April 2019
The car had started to feel sluggish and then on the way back from Hastings the cycle valve (Boost control) went. the car went like a rocket for about 5 miles then went into a limp mode, max speed was 40mph. The valve being a £30-40 part, bought that from Mercedes fitted it and fixed that. Not long after the thermostat went. So it never reached operating temperature 88degrees would only go to about 75 max. Having bought that as well (The parts department were knowing me well by this point) I attempted to fit that. Most of the guides online recommend using the lowing bolts for the engine cradle to have good access to the thermostat. I didn't have these, but as I am quite dexterous I thought I could do it. 4 hours later after removing the charge cooler and replacing the bracket and cooling fluid within it I had replaced it. With graved knuckles afterwords.
Towards the end of April the car developed a starting issue, which will rear it head later. Now the car didn't want to boost past 1 bar. Should be 1.5bar. After a little bit on investigation I deduced that the exhaust which had a dent in it had collapsed. So after a bit of deliberation one was ordered from S-mann with upgraded earth leads which I though would help with the starting issue. At the same time I decided it would be good for a new clutch, Lambda sensors a few seals and sensors here and there and a tune.
I dropped the car off at S2 Smarts and a few days later, and more unexpected parts (Sump and yet another lambda sensor) I picked the car up and it felt much better. More responsive and much better bight point.
Two weeks later
The car now sporadically refused to start, which after sending it up to S2 smarts Turned out to be a dodgy earth on one of the leads that I didn't replace. S2 fixed the issue and since then the car has been fine. Only real costs since then is a few switches here and there.
September 2019
I was becoming tired of using the Smart everyday and wanted something different I looked around and ended up purchasing a R171 SLK 55 AMG. I'll go into that in another thread. So the Smart sat for 5 months being run around the block in order to keep the battery charged and fluids cycled.
January 2020
Using the Merc over winter had been better than the Smart (Nice and dry) but had become boarded by the fuel cost and the relatively cold driving experience. So I dusted off the Smart and have been using that ever since to be my daily.
July 2020
Having reached a point I decided that the car could do with a front end freshen up. So I wet ahead and asked S2 to do the following
-New springs
-New Dampers
-New Ball Joints
-New Discs
-New Pads
After having this done the car feels much tighter and more planted up front and much younger for it.
This week the car will hit 70'000 miles, and is in much better condition that when I first picked it up. It is a one of a kind experience and I am struggling to find anything that will better it. A lotus elise is too serious and seat heaters in the winter are nice.
My wife changes her car very often as she gets bored quickly. A couple of years ago she ran one of these and it is just about the only car that she still talks about regretting selling.
Don’t believe everything you read about the gearbox, it isn’t the greatest but like everything you can learn to drive around it.
S
Don’t believe everything you read about the gearbox, it isn’t the greatest but like everything you can learn to drive around it.
S
Thought with the weather starting to turn a little more wet in the coming days, I would dust off the hardtop and get that fitted.
The gearbox isn't that bad, not great but suits the cars character fine. You can only drive these cars with it in manual mode, as the 'automatic' mode isn't really up too much, hence you have to have the paddle shift.
The gearbox isn't that bad, not great but suits the cars character fine. You can only drive these cars with it in manual mode, as the 'automatic' mode isn't really up too much, hence you have to have the paddle shift.
SLK55 in the background too - awesome.
My memory of my mates Smart Roadster is that it used to piss water in at an hilarious rate. I've had water drip in car before, this used to come in like a tap
5 dealer visits, couldn't fix it, they told him "TADTS" so he ended up chopping it in. Shame, it was a fun car.
My memory of my mates Smart Roadster is that it used to piss water in at an hilarious rate. I've had water drip in car before, this used to come in like a tap
5 dealer visits, couldn't fix it, they told him "TADTS" so he ended up chopping it in. Shame, it was a fun car.Your Brabus does look good. I only had a passenger ride but it was obvious the suspension was more controlled than the standard car.
My second one had a few dribbles and a leak into the SAM unit but main dealer warranty did manage to sort them all out eventually - thank god! There were quite a few issues and that warranty got a real work out.
This was mine: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-carpool/ph-car...
My second one had a few dribbles and a leak into the SAM unit but main dealer warranty did manage to sort them all out eventually - thank god! There were quite a few issues and that warranty got a real work out.
This was mine: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-carpool/ph-car...
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff