allminesl550

Guys, as far as i can tell an sl55 is about as powerful and as heavy as your cls55, so why is it that the sl car is so much slower-going on a track?
Any Mercedes experts with serious answer, I appreciate.

Addicted2Speed

SL55 is much faster on track than E55 and CLS55, your data is wrong.

Here are a few Mercedes lap times from Evo Magazine 1.8 Mile Bedford racetrack:

SLK55 AMG - 1.29.30
SL600 - 1.29.95
SL55 AMG - 1.30.05
CLS55 AMG - 1.35.50

5 seconds is an eternity on a 1.8 mile track BTW.

Zod

i belive there is something funny there . you have to take into consideration if the sl had LSD or the 030 upgrde....600 is a beast insanne time on lap, and i do not even want to se straight line

streetfire

The SL55 I drove felt noticeable slower than either an E55 or CLS55 in a straight line. As it should it weighs a few hundred pounds more.

Also on Top Gear's track the CLS55 spanked the SL55. 1.26.9 vs. 1.33.2.

Look at the impressive list of cars the CLS55 beat. 911 GT3, Viper, CL65, M3 CSL, 911 Turbo.

Really depends on the track. I would think higher speed big sweeping corners is where the CLS would beat the SL, slower autocross type stuff is where I would expect the smaller SL to have an advantage.

Thblur7

Dragtimes.com shows

CLS55 at 12.49
12.50

SL55 at 12.91
13.01

For the 1/4 Miles

CynCarvin32

The SL55 on topgear was driven in extremely wet conditions and the car was owned by Jeremy Clarkson so he told Stiggy to take it easy and not crash his new car.

I have a feeling the SL would have been quicker as ABC works better than AirMatic. I will would take steal springs over both however.

chutia

streetfire-
impressive list indeed that the 55 beat. impressive and I would not have thought it could beat those cars.......hmmmm.....

TREZ63

I would think the SL55 would SPANK the CLS55 around corners. But on a streight line, forget about it. The CLS55 is king on the streight line. The ABC in the SL is f-ing amazing though, which we had that on the CLS.

allminesl550

Yeah, im shocked by those TG cls stats, the EVO run was in the wet (*) so im less inclined to accept that time than the former. Beats a GT3 and TT911!? wtf...

Wish i could pull up the show to see how those 3 dudes reacted to that.

I havent been able to access The Stig's top runs/cars on video, nor the follow up discussion. Anyone know if its available?
Selected videos are available for viewing but not the top Stig runs, it seems.

Murtaza

+1

SL's handle great in corners for the amount they weigh. In a straight line tho, the SL55 has no chance.

Fantasm

Those are ****ty runs... 12.4 STOCK consistently on my old SL55... 414RWHP dyno

streetfire

You can search for and download any episode of Top Gear via bittorent at www.finalgear.com. Those are full episodes and include The Stig's runs in them.

http://www.finalgear.com/shows/topgear/6/1/
This is the CLS55 video. Click on Go Get a Torrent for file Episode under Links.

allminesl550

WOW, that thing is freightening! "Click here to download, OR use Azures and some magnet method to download, OR use utorrent client, Or instead go to Usernet and so-on and so-on....."
So i go check out the so-called beginners guide, only to discover i may need the guide to the beginners guide! in order to gain any trust with this thing.
If that guide had been wriiten and explained by a more reasonable person i reckon i could grasp it, but im out of luck today!

I just bought this new mini laptop and it cost me a bundle special delivery fron Japan, would like to get some use out of it before i screw up and download something that just might fxxx it all up. Im not aware what i have and dont have here to protect me, for all i know those clients are already in this box.
Time to sleep on it, just may have to wait till July 25 to enjoy topgear videos again, oh well
thanks

Murtaza

That SL55 was driven in the WET and conservatively, how can you expect that to be a legit comparison

jmf003

Well, yes, those results are on Dragtimes but you are comparing two of the best reported times for a stock CLS55 with the two very worst reported times for a stock SL55.

If we compare best time to best time and worst time to worst time the data looks a bit different:

Best time, stock car:Worst time, stock car:The variance between the fastest and slowest CLS55s is four times larger than the variance between the fastest CLS55 and the fastest SL55 (0.50 seconds versus 0.13 seconds).

In other words, variations due to race-specific factors (track conditions, weather conditions, vehicle-specific issues) are four times more significant than variations due to design differences between the two vehicles. They're that close.

chutia

IMHO, impressive #'s for basically heavy cars, no matter how you look at it.

BTW, saw and sat (could have driven but did not have the time), an 08 CL63 today......nice, nice car. It's luxury features make even the 55/63 look spartan by compare, and that ain't easy to do!!

0700700

stop posting stuff like that ... it was on a wet track, this is clearly stated in the magazine

allminesl550

Never been in one, was shocked to learn most dear MB base, thought the S was the top car.
Care to say, chutia, what is in this car that makes it cost like 50,000 bucks more than the similar looking/powerful CLS. I just dont get it, they pull 2 doors and double the price.
What the hell does that CL do, suck toes or something!
They must really think we're saps. (whats this mean)

allminesl550

btw, while there noticed the 08 Cl 63, very nice of course, they mod'd the grille for 08, added these short vertical slats between the lateral ones, gives the car a more aggressive look imo, prob amg feature, expect to see more of it.

kip

Sport auto:

Hockenheim, kleiner Kurs 1.13,5 m SLR
Hockenheim, kleiner Kurs 1.18,2 min SLK 55
Hockenheim, kleiner Kurs 1.18,0 min E55
Hockenheim, kleiner Kurs 1.15,6 min Sl 65
Hockenheim, kleiner Kurs 1.17,8 min CLS 55
Hockenheim, kleiner Kurs 1.16,5 m SL55 517bhp
Hockenheim, kleiner Kurs 1.15,9 min SL 55 500bhp old!
Hockenheim, kleiner Kurs 1.17,6 min SL 600
Hockenheim, kleiner Kurs 1.18,6 min C55

bltserv

Guys its close.

Last year drove both at the Challenge. And now I have one
of my own. The CLS was so close in the "seat in my pants
meter" to the SL55. You almost could not tell.
Because the SL had a smaller size in wheelbase it feelt like it
had the edge. Straight out they felt the same.
SL sounded better.

This year drove both again. New style SL55 with more HP
and the CLS63. Again close. But the SL has the extra HP
this year and wins. The CLS with the 7 speed is like a whole new world.
The downshifts and the new paddles are awesome. I think the CLS
would be real close on a tight track. That tranny helps a bunch.

Addicted2Speed

It was already established in a difference thread that the Top Gear CLS55 time was wrong. Any person with an ounce of common sense would not claim that CLS55 is faster than GT3, Viper, M3 CSL, 911 turbo, etc. Just by looking at CLS55's skidpad numbers, in managed 0.85-0.88G in independent tests, which is much lower than other sport cars you mentioned, including SL55 which achieves 0.90+G. Porsche GT3 is close to 1.0G grip. Look at any other track times, including Nurburgring times, and you'll see that CLS55 is in a totally different league from these cars and is slower than SL55.

Zod

Did you actually watch the clip of the cls lap time before you wrote any of that ?

Do you know what options the cls had? oh lets say LSD or 030 package? I am not sure if it did or didn't. Point is it kicked *** on their track and there is video footage to prove it .

allminesl550

The thing is those arent the fastest, most recent examples of those cars, it beats lower-tech Ps and Vs and M3s, with less advanced tires. The tires make all the difference, just 2 years of improvements can be significant, not even 2.
If you dont compare same year its fairly meaningless. Too bad they dont post the test dates,, they really ought to, those charts are becoming so confusing.

ps: Blew off a hybrid last night, btw.

allminesl550

gotta go, Motorweeks On.