mrkbbd

When will the 7G tranny be available? 2005.5 models?

rguy

the 7g tranny is already available on the slk350, will be on the slk55, all non 4matic and AMG S and E classes, plus some others. There are no plans that I know of to bring the 7gtronic transmission to the w203 c55.

cntlaw

I am aware of 7G models already on sale here in HK are the
S500 facelift
E350
SLK350

As most agree, C55 is a tactical subproduct of CLK55. Any newer technology will go to the CLK55 first.

cnt

akbro93704

the E350 is already available in hong kong?

cntlaw

" water goods " should be launched this month.

E350 7 speed could have been a more sensible upgrade from my 2001 W210 E320; but I did not wait but I got the C55 instead

04E500

I think the 5 speed in the C55 is more than adequate and the 7g probably won't see duty in the C-class until the new model in 07' although I know MB enjoys fixing whats not broken

cntlaw

Our fuel is USD 1.6-1.7 per litre.
I would prefer the 7G as it does save fuel.

Despite the high vechicle tax, if I am still employed, there is a high chance I will upgrade to the 2006/2007 C AMG if it has a new engine and 7G. I am just falling in love with mid size sedan since I just departed from the heavy W210

EM1

The SLK55 AMG getting the 7g tranny? That's news to me....I thought all AMG models were retaining the 5g 'speed-shift' tranny - at least for the time being!?

EM1

HAHA water goods...

So when should Zung Fu get the E350? By the end of the year?

cntlaw

Not sure about SLK55 , but it is the SLK350 for sure.

cntlaw

Only one shop (name forgot ) I inquired , as they also posted on their advs that E350 7 speed is coming. Hope zung fu do that soon , guess the E320 discount will be more this year as they will clear the stocked for sure.
Guess no more E320 next year....or forever no more.

MiamiAMG

I read in The Star magazine that the W203 C55 is not going to have the 7G-tronic. The SLK 55 will have it as will the E & S class.

cntlaw

Agree. The fundenmental principle is w203 will not get any technology newer than more pricey and new CLK.

CynCarvin32

My opinion on the topic would be that the W203 is the soonest to be replaced chassis and therefore there is less time to recover the R&D costs of installing this into the C55. The SLK55 and CLK55 will live on for 1-2 years after a new C-Class comes to market so they need to have these new items to keep up with other manufacturers.

Personally I think this is why the W203 failed to get the new larger AMG brakes from the SLK and CLK. The SLK and CLK will get the new direct injection V8 with a great deal more power than the current 55 AMG motor so those chassis's need to have larger brakes and better drivelines of accommodate the new changes down the pipeline.

Just my take tough.

©32

The official 7G story and reason why no 7G for W203:

Brief History
Back in the late 90s (around 98-99), Mercedes planned to offer an AMG model for all its current (except A Class). After the success of the C36, C43 and C55 (W202) AND E50 and E55, there was more demand to spread AMG 'magic' across all other models. They faced a problem with the SLK, introduced in 1996, since no current AMG engine (all V8) fits without extensive modification in the SLK. When the new C Class (W203) was introduced, it was destined to share an AMG engine with the SLK (financially and physicaly possible now to create a new engine).And so the C32 and SLK32 were born. No V8 option was planned for W203 at that time.

It is no suprise that the new AMG SLK share the same engine with 'new' facelifted C-Class. The V6 Kompressor engine is currently used in the Crossfire SRT-6. NOW comes the issue of the new 7G transmission. The reason for not having it in the C55 is because... it simply doesn't fit. I was told that AMG were not so happy about that. I sent an email to AMG to confirm and they replied:

"not for the C55 in the 203 chassis. But don`t worry the car has enough power and is well equipped with 5-speed."

So we'll have to wait for the next C Class (W204), with the new AMG engine to enjoy the new 7G.

cntlaw

Great research. Does this mean the 7G cannot fit into the CLK55 too?
Anyhow, what I could recall .... the first generation of CLK was really coming from the C , so I suppose C was once taking the strategic lead.
The current CLK , if it is still based on the W203 chasis then , it is not that 'new' as I first thought it is.

cnt

©32

We have to keep in mind certain elements:

1. Market demand vs Cost Effective.
2. Research and development cost.
3. Target Market.

The C and CLK might share major components, but the target market is different. The new CLS is built around E Class Chassis (modified?). Sometimes knowledge can be misleading when you try to understand Mercedes Benz's focus and how they 'see' the market. I've had the benefit of reading some of the marketing docs and presentation slides that MB use to educate its sales people. One interesting point... I have not seen any mention of the BMW M3 in the Training slides that points out it as a competitor to the C55. The target market is mainly C32 owners or prospect C32 buyers, and ALSO people who think the true successor to the C43 is the current C55!!! They talk about POWER... CONTROL... CLASS AND BRAND LOYALTY. Did you ever see an Advertisment (TV or Magazine) for the C55??? Not me.

cntlaw

Agreed. C55 is designed for the C36 and C32 owners.

The senior sales manager of MB HK took me to lunch at the HK Jocley Club after I picked up my C55 and we ride the C55 together.( Pity my wife missed this glory event ) He told me that MB salesman are slow to learn. Because even they have average sales skills , they have no worry to meet sales targets!

Potential C32 owners could also be potential M3 owners

sfrolich

A 7 speed transmission isn't needed for a car as powerful as the C55. Two reasons for having so many gears: 1) To make up for a lack of torque; 2) Fuel efficiency.

#1 is why an M3 can keep up with a C55

The C55 gets about as good gas milage as a 5.5 liter car will get so I don't think we are missing out on much with a 5 speed. If it had a really low 1st you would just spend your time spinning the tires and shifting through gears!

Scott

CynCarvin32

Well not quite...

I have a E500 with the 7g and it is the best trans I have ever driven (all but the odd logic for the touch shift portion). The car has a long 1st gear but the spacing of 2nd, 3rd and 4th makes freeway pulls an easy job. If the car stays at peak power and rips through the gears the car will always be fast. I bet that if the C55 had the 7g it would be .2 or so faster in the 1/4 mile. From say 60-140 the C55 would likley be several seconds faster than the 5 speed version. It is all about gear spacing after you get the car out of the hole.

cntlaw

I thought someone mentioned here that SLK55 will get 7G ......how that explains

cntlaw

E500+7G perfect !
I m an idiot of car mechanics ; but based on my experience on the 5 speed C55 , I guess the 7G will have improvement s if it were on the C55 in some driving occasions as you mentioned it shifts to higher gears in quickest manner yet giving best torque at every gear upshift. As most 5 speed presents , the 2nd gear is high torque but not fast enough, the 3rd is high torque and fast but once it upshifts to 4th the torque will not be much left unless in highspeed. So you are right, the 7G will perform better than the 5-speed at lower speeds.

Bilal

Some more snippets of information. In autocar mag today I read that AMG is looking at DSG gearboxes now. This technology is still 4-5 years away in an AMG but they say its the future. Something about widening the floor pan and its heavier than the 5 speed auto. They say they are working on an uprated 5 speed to cope with up to 922lbft of torque for the 65 models, but this won't come before 2006, maybe 2007 for US. The 7 G Tronic is being uprated for the 6.3 V8 which will have "at least" 500"BHP". They said the current auto gearbox is restricting AMG engine development, AMG wants to make more higher revving motors, and turbocharging will feature in many new AMG models. The current 5 speed auto can only allow revs to 7000rpm, but they said this restricted the engine development of the SLR/CLK-DTM, they want to make it rev higher. Something to do with the torque converter being limited to a max of 7Krpm. Thats all I think. It was Peter Robinson commenting.

So generally we can expect high revving motors from AMG in the future coupled to DSG Gearboxes, is AMG becoming BMW M?

CynCarvin32

And this is a bad thing Bilal? I if so I would say go buy a lexus for AMG is not for the weak at heart. AMG cars should be high reving high lower and light weight not low tech low reving boats. The latter sounds like a Bentley 6.5L twin turbo dung heap.

sfrolich

Uh, I wouldn't call a 5.5 liter motor that almost goes to 7,00 RPM low-tech. If you like the high revving niche, get a BMW. I grew up in the muscle car era and I want that feeling again... the C55 wil give me that and much more.

Scott