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I feel, patience will be rewarded. The car was special ordered and we waited patiently. Took months to get. I think it will be well worth the wait. Plus a one off perfection. Lol. Hopefully will be having fun with many trouble free miles, a quarter mile at a time.
They will have to ship the car back to me in Kansas. I take care of mom as she is 90 years old. She cant wait to go for a ride. The place is located in Houston. The two companies are owned by the same owner and they share a building together, I think. The vehicle was sent to Eurocharged of Houston and the sister company is Spool Performance in Houston of course. I don't think it will be too much longer for the tuning to start. I talked to them on Saturday. I think some people have been calling them about my build. Lol. As I mentioned. Many people build the C, E, CLS vehicles. Very few if any build an S class. I think it will be amusing surprising people on the highway.
Barry do you have the car back in your possesion ? If so im sure you will have an extensive write up & review on your S63 W222 as i also have the identical model and i take mine to the drag strip for 1/4 mile runs on ocsassion.
People are really surprised how big these car's are and how fast they are for the size. Thats exactly why i chose the AMG S63 W222 its unexpecting. And it does everything else for me i.e. long comfortable road trips , carring 4 passensgers and it makes a statement because of its size.
Not yet. Sorry. They are still breaking it in. Not sure on the miles they are planning for break in. The shop has seen my posts. They may chime in and post some pictures and videos. If not, I will definitely keep everyone posted. I will complete the post with the final results. I do plan on having some fun with the car. I am sure it will surprise everyone. It already was. Since the car is quite large and heavy. I think the one part that makes me nervous, is the front differential. I did contact a company in Germany who had billet modified front differentials. However they were for right hand drive cars only. They had posted videos about there front differentials. It came with beefed up axles also.
2019 AMG S 65 and too many other vehicles to list here in this small box
Originally Posted by barryrobinson19
Not yet. Sorry. They are still breaking it in. Not sure on the miles they are planning for break in.
Sorry but they need to keep your car a little longer while they continue to "Break It In"
Originally Posted by barryrobinson19
I think the one part that makes me nervous, is the front differential.
I would be more than nervous, I would be anticipating a loud banging noise the first time that front axle is expected to handle that much power.
You know there is a good reason the S 65 only came in RWD and never got the lighter-duty 9 speed transmission...too much power and kaboom.
Howdy. No news yet, sorry. It is running. They were waiting on some odds and ends. As far as I know, all four axles are stock. Just the internals of the transmission are beefed up. They said they had some surprises for me and as I mentioned before, there are some one off pieces that were made specifically for this build. I am sure I will learn a lot more when I get the final bill. Like an itemized receipt on what the money and coupons went towards. Lol. I just hope I get it back before we get snow. I typically don't drive the car in heavy snow. They said they would call me, send some pictures and videos, when they are ready. I do really miss the car. Hearing it, and feeling it.
Yes sir. I do miss the car. However they assure me it will be well worth the wait. I trust them. I have been watching you tube videos on S63s, just to see them and hear them. Lol. The shop and I usually connect on Mondays or Wednesdays. I just cant wait to see the numbers and feel the new thrust the vehicle will have. Plus have a little fun with people who don't know what it is. I have raced many people who don't know what the car is, or what kind of engine it has.
Received an update this afternoon. The shop is doing five M157 projects at the same time. However I believe mine is the one closest to being finished. Because of how special this build is, the turbos have been redesigned and they want this car to be the first to have the latest and greatest turbo on the market. So they are currently removing the engine to install the current turbo. Trying to keep everyone updated. With as fast as they can have these engines out, I would think that would take a day. Lol. Then tune the car.
Tuning started tonight and/or tomorrow. YAY. Look out Bugatti.
It's been more than a year...I hope all the mods are worth it.
I can't imagine anything I'd want done to my car that would take ayear to complete, but this is what makes forums so great. We get to live out experiences through someone else's time money, taste and preferences, and priorities.
Looking forward to hearing more about how this turns out!
I guess you cant rush perfection. Or a one of a kind. Lol. I am sure it will be amazing, once completed. Plus surprising the heck out of people and various sports cars. Yes it has been a while. The received the car early December.
Just a quick update. I think during the tuning process they got a code. They have replaced the wet clutch and will continue the tuning process. Yay. Excited to push the ludicrous speed pedal.
Howdy. I usually text them on Mondays. To see how things are going. If I understood them correctly. They were doing the tuning process and they were slowly adding more and more boost. Something the tuner felt while on the dyno felt off. So that's when they stopped the tuning process and looked into the transmission. I think they are done with the reassembly of the transmission. That's what I need to check on, on Monday. If the transmission went smoothly and is back together, then they can get it back on the dyno and finish the tuning process and then if everything passes and they are happy with the final outcome, then I can get the car shipped back to me and enjoy it. At least that is the plan. I am just hoping I don't get the car back when and if we start getting snow on the ground. Lol. That's all I know so far, until I text them on Monday. I hope all is great and you had a great weekend.
I am confused on the timeline of this one. Did they tell you this project would take over a year? It seems like they are either working on this project a hour or two per day/week or they do not know what they are doing. This should be a 60-90 day project max assuming they have to send the motor to a machine shop. If it has really taken them a year even working half time that is over 1000 hours. Any shop that works on these cars is charging at least 100 bucks an hour. I hope this is not coming off negative, I just do not understand what could possibly take this long to complete, especially if they are a competent shop with a Mercedes mechanic doing this work. I would assume this work is not costing more than the value of the car which at this point is probably 30-40K or so? Hopefully it is done soon though, this just seems crazy that it has taken this long.
I am confused on the timeline of this one. Did they tell you this project would take over a year? It seems like they are either working on this project a hour or two per day/week or they do not know what they are doing. This should be a 60-90 day project max assuming they have to send the motor to a machine shop. If it has really taken them a year even working half time that is over 1000 hours. Any shop that works on these cars is charging at least 100 bucks an hour. I hope this is not coming off negative, I just do not understand what could possibly take this long to complete, especially if they are a competent shop with a Mercedes mechanic doing this work. I would assume this work is not costing more than the value of the car which at this point is probably 30-40K or so? Hopefully it is done soon though, this just seems crazy that it has taken this long.
ANYTHING custom is not ever subject to more than a wild-assed guess for a timeline. Rest assured the shop doing this one isn't getting rich doing it; regardless of the size of bill. The shop gets to do 'paying work' to keep the lights on (defined as work that is a quick turn). This manner of work may well have all the best laid plans that will change based on how things work. The shop isn't able to predict an issue in the transmission.... Nor are they able to easily predict how it goes tuning bigger turbos for more boost. The Elephant gets eaten a bit at a time.
The only date we worked out, was a shipping date for me to get them the car. You had to pay half up front. I sent them considerably more. The long block alone was around $37k. Its on there website. Originally it was supposed to take around three months. However with the shops many other builds, they got backed up from our original plan. Plus I didn't want someone else's parts as my core. I wanted them to use my original engine and transmission for my build. I wanted to keep my parts with my car, so that took time also. Plus ordering parts they needed and having one off parts made for this build extended the time out further. Also some things went smooth, and other things did not. So there is a learning curve. Sleeving a block takes time and has to be very precise. I trust the shop and they will stand behind there creation. The car is very special. This was the last car my dad bought my mom. Dad is no longer with us, as he died in 2024. Mom is still here and I take her for rides on the weekends and in this car. Sometimes we like kicking a little butt when we go for our cruises. Dad told me to build a car and pick out something nice for her. So this car is the creation of what I built. Mom has always had an S class. Before dad died we were discussing this type of build. I had already done all the mods I could do from home. The next step was a big build as to what is happening now. I told them I just want everything done now, so we can enjoy the car. So we are doing everything but meth injection. I just didn't want the car butchered up to run the lines, electrical and the tank. There will be multiple fuel tunes. The shop has also said they have some surprises for me, with this build. They know the car is special and they know not many people modify an S class. They have considered it a one off. Perfection takes time. I am very patient and know the car will be amazing. I cant wait to see it, hear it, drive it, and even smell the car. Plus taking it to car events will be amazing and showing off the dyno sheets. I am sure people will be in shock. Even my dealer knows of the build and my service writer wants me to stop by with it as soon as possible. She is great and takes care of the car and me. They know the car when it comes in for service. Even the techs come out and talk. Lol. I know this will be worth it. I am very excited for the final outcome. The build was kind of an open check book. I only wish I had a coupon.
ANYTHING custom is not ever subject to more than a wild-assed guess for a timeline. Rest assured the shop doing this one isn't getting rich doing it; regardless of the size of bill. The shop gets to do 'paying work' to keep the lights on (defined as work that is a quick turn). This manner of work may well have all the best laid plans that will change based on how things work. The shop isn't able to predict an issue in the transmission.... Nor are they able to easily predict how it goes tuning bigger turbos for more boost. The Elephant gets eaten a bit at a time.
I just hope the juice proves worth the squeeze.
John, can you help me understand something? Barry's previous post says they replaced his wet clutch. I thought only the 18-20 S63's had a wet clutch, but I'm obviously wrong. How is the clutch situation in the 14-17 different from the 18-20 mechanically? Or is the OP upgrading his clutch to work like the newer S63s?
John, can you help me understand something? Barry's previous post says they replaced his wet clutch. I thought only the 18-20 S63's had a wet clutch, but I'm obviously wrong. How is the clutch situation in the 14-17 different from the 18-20 mechanically? Or is the OP upgrading his clutch to work like the newer S63s?
2016 will have seven speed. I believe the 222 S-63 got the wet clutch and all wheels driven. I know that all S-65s got a torque converter with a lock up clutch (as has been the case with torque converter equipped automatics for a long time). 2018 the nine speed got introduced. All with wet clutch and torque limited to 660lb/ft to keep it from blowing up. Current Maybachs with the 279 make 621HP but are limited to 660lb/ft. Front drive components look undersized. Yes; the V-12 now has all wheel drive.
My understanding is that the S-65 got the torque converter due to it being smoother and being to better able handle big torque. I’ve not blown mine up yet. Not for a lack of trying. She is traction limited in first through third.
Last edited by JohnLane; Jan 13, 2026 at 10:56 PM.
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