Mercedes LeMons Racers Prove to Be Up to The Challenge
Mercedes is all the talk in F1, but the more noble among us can take a Mercedes racing, too. In the 24 Hours of LeMons!
We’re all sports car fans here. The AMG name is stuff of legends, after all. But when it comes to actually taking cars on track, Mercedes and AMG does fall a bit short of the competition. Not on performance, but on attendance numbers. The other German car brands – specifically that one with a blue and white logo – are prolific at track events. But that just makes tracking a Mercedes much more interesting.
To prove that a Benz could be a strong runner, we went to Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois and saw two of our favorite cars holding their own during the “Doing Time in Joliet” race hosted by the 24 Hours of LeMons folks. In order of finishing position, in 21st position, there’s the #89 1995 Mercedes C280 of “Oops Logistics” a play on UPS, and in 33rd is the #934 1998 SLK230 Kompressor of “7/10ths Racing”. Overall, the field had an impressive 66 starters.
Of the two, we found the team of the #89, and dove into what makes their car good for LeMons racing. This C280 is running the venerable M104. Engine, transmission components and pretty much everything related to the driveline is mostly stock. Though some extra coolers were added here and there, understandably. The interior is gutted, but still uses the key to start, and the factory gauges, too. Keen eyes will see it’s registered for the road, so it is emissions compliant, too.
With a solid base to start from, the most amount of attention was spent on the suspension and brakes. The W202‘s aren’t known for a lot of aftermarket support, but KMAC bushings gave critical camber adjustment up front to stop chewing through tires, and the brakes are upgraded AMG 4-piston units. All together, this package was running up and near the top 10 for most of the race.
Unfortunately, sheared lug hardware ended the day of the #89 with about two hours to go, sending them down to about 21st place. But that kind of a failure is fixable, and upgradable, too. Lug-to-stud conversions are simple on these cars, and allow a wider variety of wheels and spacers to be used while retaining the same hardware. While the W202 finished higher, the R170 actually finished the race. We’re not sure what problems they encountered, but the SLK was almost 100 miles downstream in terms of laps completed.
Now, here’s an interesting way to look at endurance racing. Fastest laps aren’t always the best. Because reliability is paramount. The fastest laps of each car were 1.8 seconds apart, with the SLK230 having the edge. But the C280 finished higher because it completed 54 additional laps, despite dropping out two hours early. So if you’re going to do track days with your Benz, you’ll want to put a focus on handling and braking first and foremost. Because the rest of the car? That’s up to the challenge.
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