Woot woot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the mail friends are a KLEEMANN ring type pulley and the KLEEMANN Lightwieght Flywheel, High Performance clutch assembly.

As many of you know I have been racing my Sport Coupe on a regular basis. Do to classing restrictions in the SCCA classification guidelines for 2003, forced induction motors are not allowed in STS, and STX limits forced induction motors to 2.0 L.

Through a unique relationship with KLEEMANN USA, Brandon and I have established a sponsorship of sorts, to help enable my coupe and myself to continue to be competitive. I am being classed in SCCA ESP with Corvettes, factory motor sport Camaros, and Roush Mustangs, so I need all the help I can get, and I cannot thank Brandon and KLEEMANN USA enough for coming through for me and demostrating KLEEMANN's dedication to MB enthusiasts and MB motorsports.

Due to this relationship with KLEEMANN, many more high performance modifications and race oriented enhancements will be finding their way to my coupe and to the track..

The parts have shipped, pictures to follow!!!! Please stay tuned in the Performance Mods forum where my original post is. When I install the components, I will also post pics and detailed write-ups and DYNOs!

THANK YOU BRANDON AND KLEEMANN USA!!!

 

Are you getting his software mods too? Why the ring pulley and not the alloy pulley? Doen't he claim a significant power difference between the 2 types?

 

Congrads man! I told you this could work out.
Mercedes USA and aftermarket performance parts manufacturers will help you. Its a lucrative market.
Now you need to do a Lap of America; http://www.onelapofamerica.com/

 

Well, tuners are one thing, but MBUSA doesn't even help teams running MBs in professional motorsports.

 

Is that because corporate heads at MBUSA can not comprehend that Mercedes could be raced? Or because analysts here have a different thoughts about average MB owner comparably to MB owners in Germany or other countries in Euro zone?
Look at DTM.

 

Thanks guys!!!

S- unfortunately, no, MBUSA won't help no one. Maybe in the future? Thankfully we have very dedicated and professional tuners.

Buell, let's call the ring type pulley an interm solution to help produce an increase in HP. No promise yet, but there are on going additional conversations between KLEEMANN USA and I regarding significant increases in HP with special projects and one offs.

We are also discussing the ECU upgrade. Unfortunately, Kineda beat me to playing test mule on it, so I will have to wait, but I am ok with that.

----
Let me say here, after spending a year viewing, and participating on these forums, and after meeting Brandon at the NY Auto Show, and continuing to discuss the possibilites for the c-coupe since then, I could not be more pleased with modifications we have selected for the first round of performance tuning on this vehicle.

The ring type pulley was removed from the market do to the amount of installations performed DYI, and the inscesent negative comments and results, despite being warned by Brandon of the potential pitfalls of DIY pulley installations if you are not mechanicall inclinded. Buell, we know you are an exception, and have been tuning different cars for an unknown length of time.

The Lightwieght Flywheel/ High Perf. clutch consists of a significantly lighter, one piece flywheel, and a 6-puck clutch from and S4, and modified for the C-Coupe. I am recieving the prototype. I have been made aware of the results understood after 700 miles of R&D, and I know what to expect.

After lighting up my clutch at the last two Auto-Xs to the point friction was unobtainable, I am extremely excited about this mod. Less wieght, better friction, less stress, less pressure required to get things moving. I will experience a slight vibration, that many mainstream customers might consider inappropriate. This product is not going to market and is being provided with these results completely understood. Again, my car is being built to support me in ameteur racing this year, and hopefully as a rookie next season in this car!

There will be much more to come.

 

What I don't understand from a racing point of view, if you are up against some serious cars with serious power, how do you compete with an overweight, under powered luxury car, even with some minor tuner mods? If you are up against modified Corvettes how can you keep up, even with a fancy S/C, or do they handicap you? Sorry for the question, never raced outside of rallies or dragstrips.

 

Wow, Nuk, that's great news. I hope you do well in the new class.

 

I am sort of wondering that as well.
Good luck with the parts and the races, funny how I asked you 2 weeks ago if you had the pulley upgrade...from my mouth to Kleemans ears...

Erik

 

There are a lot of factors that influence the answers here. There are no handicaps in what I am doing. Questions are good Buell, we all have different experienes with our coupes, I can't share mine and answers everyone's questions without knowing them. btw, thank you for participating on the thread....

A. Driving ability plays the most significant roll in the navigational style courses typical to autocrosses. A friend of mine in a 70 HP gen 1 civic is usually within 1 second of the fastest time of the day, and always faster then I am.

B. The coupe is heavy, but the characteristics are surprisingly well suited for racing. Even wieght distribution, better steering response then most people seem to think. The oversteer is controlable with tire pressure.

C. Excellent predictability. When the **** breaks free, I have always been able to regain control. Hardly any fishtailing, usually one rebound. When I've overdriven a turn, the braking system has always come through for me as I corrected the mistake.

D. Max speed that I have hit on an autocross was 70 mph. My M111 coupe has excellent acceleration. Utilizing the manual trans, proper foot work, and choosing the right breaking and acceration points in the turns, the coupe is extremely well geared and has enough HP and torque. Even being a novice, there is enough here to make up the seconds I've lost on tactical mistakes.

E. On the track, the current suspension in my coupe allows me to make up time where I lose in open areas due to HP. Enhancing the brakes will also help. In this case, bigger is not always better. There is a clear need for an improvement over stock. I will be addressing this shortly.

The additional HP I will net gain from these and future KLEEMANN performance modifications will help me make up, and decrease additional time. I did well without, I am hoping to do great with.

Honestly, I was not expecting the coupe to do this well. The first auto'x I did, Tommy (<- mbworld sn) and I where just shocked at how well it did. So, here we are. I am doing well, I have been doing well since I started. It is a good vehicle for this. Everyone has thought it wouldn't do well since I've been on the forums, but who else has really done it? 2 other that I know of. The M3 owners and other were saying things like "that's not a good car for autox", ironically, the ones that said that or things like it, have not beaten me to date.

Beyond that, the pulley is an interm solution to bigger and better things. If, for example, and SC conversion did come my way, it would be good for 300 HP on it's own. Then, include the intake and exhaust modifications I am planning, revised internals, ECU remapping, other wieght saving measures, etc., you have one bad *** I4...

Again, I think that KLEEMANN has done an amazing job making these enhancements possible. I have always said so, and obviously I have great faith in their work and Brandon's word.

 

I think that MBUSA is in reality only a sales and marketing division of Mercedes and doesn't really have the authority to fund any type of racing endeavour in the US without corporate approval. Unfortunately for us here in the States, corporate HQ has decided to only race in three series, German F3, the DTM and F1.

I've read that the reason MB races in F1 is for the overall "image" associated with it, while the DTM is done specifically to sell cars in Europe. The German F3 program is relatively new and I've never heard exactly why MB started it. Considering that the M271 is to be the backbone of almost all future Mercedes models, especially in Europe, I assume that they felt that taking it racing would assist in the development.

DaimlerChrysler does compete as Dodge in a number of US-based racing series. However, racing is a pretty expensive way to market cars, and MB doens't need to race in the US because they really aren't losing market share to BMW or Lexus because of racing success by these competitors. Personally, I think they should race a Mercedes in the ALMS, as Dodge isn't there any longer and most of the spectators watching these races are more or less the demographic that MB would like to target for future sales.

 

Serg, and anyone else-

Check mbworld Events & Gatherings forum. We are organizing a meet at the Beach in New Jersey on 8/24! This should all be installed and police presence permitting, I'll show off a little

Serg- You going to be able to make the M club autox this Friday?

jpb- What's up man? Thank you... hehe this should be a lot of fun!

 

Not to add to Nuk's already expanding ego , but he is doing well because he's a very good driver, which is key in autoxing. In a weird way, I think he's doing well despite his car more than anything. Put him in a Miata, and I'm sure that he'd be competitive with the better drivers at the events he's gone to.

Not that the ccoupe's an awful choice, don't get me wrong. Can't wait to see pics of his stripped interior, which I'm assuming is coming up any day now.

But I'm looking forward to what he's going to do, and learning from his mistakes...

 

And a bit nuts

I'll attest to that (the good driver part).

Erik

 

Tommy, Erik





Thanks guys

EDIT- It's actually my scrawniness and small aerodynamic head that have been allowing me to do well Ego!?!! I ain't got no stinking Ego...