Are al sl55's generally noisy?

[desant89]

Ok, so I had the car for a week now, and absolutely love it. I am about to change the stereo system, and the possibly work on performance upgrades. One thing that i have been wondering though. Are all of these cars generally noisy when idling? Do the superchargers whine a little at idle? Just seems to not be the quietest running car to me. Runs perfect and smooth, just a little loud to me.

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[thill381]

My experience with all Mercedes is that the engines are a little louder in terms of mechanical operation. The fans make a lot of noise (moving air) when initially started.

[desant89]

How about a whine like an power steering pump type of sound. Is that the supercharger at idle?

[Z06KLR]

I can hear the supercharger whine and a pleasant low rumble at idle and accelleration. Call me crazy, but I love it!

[desant89]

Originally Posted by Z06KLR

I can hear the supercharger whine and a pleasant low rumble at idle and accelleration. Call me crazy, but I love it!

I actually do not mind it either. Just wanted to make sure this was normal, and they were not supposed to be quiet. I think when I start it near someone who has no clue, they may think it does not sound too great for car that was originally 148k.

[Z06KLR]

Originally Posted by desant89

I actually do not mind it either. Just wanted to make sure this was normal, and they were not supposed to be quiet. I think when I start it near someone who has no clue, they may think it does not sound too great for car that was originally 148k.

Well...if you like it, wgaf? When I started my Blown C6, it rattled windows and set off car alarms. Old ladies would scowl and babies would cry but I liked it

My SL55 is comparatively quiet but it has a nice rumble that reminds you of the heavy German build quality under the bonnet.

[desant89]

Originally Posted by Z06KLR

Well...if you like it, wgaf? When I started my Blown C6, it rattled windows and set off car alarms. Old ladies would scowl and babies would cry but I liked it

My SL55 is comparatively quiet but it has a nice rumble that reminds you of the heavy German build quality under the bonnet.

I wish I can get a sound clip on here. Cause having many sports cars in my life with work done and not, this sound can easily be misinterpreted for a crappy sound as opposed to a good rumbling supercharged car sound. I am sure I will run into one at some point to hear another one. I know there is nothing wrong with the car as Mercedes inspected it, and found a lot of work that needed to be done, and was prior to me buying it. They would never of have let this sound go if it were not normal.

[Z06KLR]

Originally Posted by desant89

I wish I can get a sound clip on here. Cause having many sports cars in my life with work done and not, this sound can easily be misinterpreted for a crappy sound as opposed to a good rumbling supercharged car sound. I am sure I will run into one at some point to hear another one. I know there is nothing wrong with the car as Mercedes inspected it, and found a lot of work that needed to be done, and was prior to me buying it. They would never of have let this sound go if it were not normal.

Have you ever owned a Carrera? Tell me those don't sound like they are going to fall apart.

[AMGfan]

Mike...I have gutted mufflers and I love the extra low rumble. At WOT it's even better, but mine is a 65 and a turbo (vs supercharger). My old E55 was straight piped and sound like a NASCAR entry...I even got cited by local HOA...bastiches. In general though, the SL55 exhaust sounds much better than the E55 if left untouched.

ZO6...my 993tt has a muffler bypass and sound pissed off, which I personally like...

[B Feelgood]

Originally Posted by desant89

How about a whine like an power steering pump type of sound. Is that the supercharger at idle?

You should hear a loud whine upon cold start up for about 30-45 seconds. If it persists longer than that, then something is wrong. Take your supercharger belt off and start the car without it on. If the loud whine is gone then it is more than likely one of your pulleys going bad. First one to check would be the dual idler pulley. If you can move the pulley front/back with your hand and it makes noise when you spin it, then it is time for replacement. The bearings seem to go bad around 30K miles.

I had an older 03 SL55 that had an extremely loud whine during idle that sounded like a bad power steering pump also. Replacing the dual pulley fixed mine.

[desant89]

Would anyone mind sending me an email address through PM? I just taped it on my phone, and would be able to send you the clip. May be able to send to a cell phone too, but not sure. Thanks!

[DigitalKnight]

Originally Posted by B Feelgood

You should hear a loud whine upon cold start up for about 30-45 seconds. If it persists longer than that, then something is wrong. Take your supercharger belt off and start the car without it on. If the loud whine is gone then it is more than likely one of your pulleys going bad. First one to check would be the dual idler pulley. If you can move the pulley front/back with your hand and it makes noise when you spin it, then it is time for replacement. The bearings seem to go bad around 30K miles.

I had an older 03 SL55 that had an extremely loud whine during idle that sounded like a bad power steering pump also. Replacing the dual pulley fixed mine.

My loud whine stops about 20 seconds after starting cold but boy is that whine
VERY loud during that initial cold startup! I was a bit worried at first but after I did a search on these forums I found that it is normal.

[DigitalKnight]

Originally Posted by desant89

Would anyone mind sending me an email address through PM? I just taped it on my phone, and would be able to send you the clip. May be able to send to a cell phone too, but not sure. Thanks!

PM sent.

[desant89]

Originally Posted by DigitalKnight

My loud whine stops about 20 seconds after starting cold but boy is that whine
VERY loud during that initial cold startup! I was a bit worried at first but after I did a search on these forums I found that it is normal.

I would say the whine is much louder for the first 20 seconds after a cold start, but it never goes totally away. I can understand that it has a whine though. Just wanted to make sure it is normal.

My last car was supercharged, and I never heard anything at all from it. not sure why it would make sense to whine in the beginning either.

[alx]

They are noisy. Blower whine, valve train clatter, emissions pump upon start... Enjoy and don't bother. If something is about tO give up- you will know

[thill381]

Originally Posted by Z06KLR

Have you ever owned a Carrera? Tell me those don't sound like they are going to fall apart.

Isn't that the truth!

[cal1]

I'm joining the party late here, but yep, like everyone else said, these 55ks are noisy. I swear my dad's old 300 D was quieter.

[AMGfan]

Mike...these sound clips are pretty raw...so I apologize.



Jon

PS May not be to some folks taste but I personally like it loud. The SL65 @ idle is ok and not too obnoxious...the old E55 @ idle was obnoxious and @ WOT x10 obnoxious.

[desant89]

Originally Posted by AMGfan

Mike...these sound clips are pretty raw...so I apologize.



Jon

PS May not be to some folks taste but I personally like it loud. The SL65 @ idle is ok and not too obnoxious...the old E55 @ idle was obnoxious and @ WOT x10 obnoxious.

Both sound good, but I love the first one. However, I am actually after hearing what it sounds like from the front of the car with the hood closed. That is where I hear all the racket from in my car. The whine etc. I need to figure out a way to post mine on here...

[GT-ER]

The whine at start-up is the transmission pump. It SHOULD go away withing a minute or two but sometimes they don't go away completely, which isn't bad but it rather means there is wear on the pump.

[Reddawgy]

After 3 weeks i agree the 55 is noisy at start up, but it quiets down after it warms up a little. I know it's a totally different animal, but i have had 3 Ford Lightnings all with a 5.4L supercharged motors, and they all sounded similar to the 55 on start up. Almost disconcerting, but the idle is smooth and it runs great, so no worries.
I thought a MB would be quieter, but considering the MB/engine we are talking about i guess we should expect some growling when it wakes up. I stepped down a little hard at 25mph last night and tires started spinning and it just roared, man i love that. What a beastly car.

[alx]

Originally Posted by GT-ER

The whine at start-up is the transmission pump. It SHOULD go away withing a minute or two but sometimes they don't go away completely, which isn't bad but it rather means there is wear on the pump.

The whine at start is air injection pump to shortern the cats light off time.

[GT-ER]

Originally Posted by alx

The whine at start is air injection pump to shortern the cats light off time.

No it's not, It is 100% the transmission pump. I know because I removed my air injection pump and it still has the same whine. I then started to find the source and the noise came from the transmission. After talking to a few MB techs, they also agreed that it was the transmission pump.

[alx]

Originally Posted by GT-ER

No it's not, It is 100% the transmission pump. I know because I removed my air injection pump and it still has the same whine. I then started to find the source and the noise came from the transmission. After talking to a few MB techs, they also agreed that it was the transmission pump.

what i meant is that the only whine (besides the blower) after start should be the air injection pump and maybe a little chatter from the abc pump. the tranny pump should be very very quiet. you should not be able to hear it- especially if the car is not on the lift and you directly below it.

[GT-ER]

Originally Posted by alx

what i meant is that the only whine (besides the blower) after start should be the air injection pump and maybe a little chatter from the abc pump. the tranny pump should be very very quiet. you should not be able to hear it- especially if the car is not on the lift and you directly below it.

I have yet to hear a 55K that doesn't have the tranny pump whine on cold start ups. Even on youtube, when people are showing off their engines for whatever reason, the tranny whines right at start up. I've connected the secondary air pump directly to the battery and it is VERY quiet, not nearly loud enough to be heard over the regular engine noise.

Again, as far as I have seen...they ALL do it.