tonyayo

Hey guys, first off great site here - I love it when people are passionate about cars. This forum has already helped me out by linking me to the 1990 – 2002 yearly updates. I am only 20 years old and both my parents have 500SL’s, a 1991, and a 1992. Right now I am driving a Corvette and I am looking for something a little more luxurious and comfortable. So I decided on having 3 R129 SL’s in my family! I am looking for something around $20,000, preferably a 1995 or a 1996. I have a few questions that hopefully you guys will be able to help me out with.

-Does anyone have any suggestions on what year to go with and what to look for?
-I am planning on putting 19” or 20” rims. Does anyone know of a good site where I can check out rims that will fit the R129? What is the bolt pattern and offset that I should get?
-I might want to put a dual exhaust on the car, 2 mufflers on each side. Is there anyone that does this for a reasonable price?
-Where can I purchase Xeon headlights for the R129? I know the headlights of R129 without Xeons fog up – not very fond of that.
-I might want to slightly lower the car, I know with Corvettes it helps the handling and the speed, but I had a friend with a lowered R129 and it really messed his car up. If I was going to lower it how should I go about it?

Thanks a lot for all your help guys. I hope to be a more active part of this forum very soon.

Tony

HLG600

Tony,

Search through the R129 Forum where there is a ton of info posted. To answer your questions:

1996-1998 are arguably the best years to purchase one. (32V Motor and 5 Speed Auto)

For wheels, check out Tirerack.com...or, just go on eBay and search for SL Wheels. I wouldn't go over 19 inches though. I have 18's right now and am very happy with them. 19's might look a little better, but 20's are too much IMHO.

As for the quad exhaust (car comes with dual), it will be costly because there are not two separate pipes coming from the engine; they combine into one and come out on the right side. I am very interested in the Mariani Exhausts, but much to my dissapointment, they are not available in the US. If you want to spend $1K plus, look into the big names such as Brabus or RennTech. Also, Eisenmann is a serious company and worth a look as well.

The lights: try to purchase one with them already included. They can become very costly and run a couple thousand new. Do a google search (97 SL500 xenon headlights for example). Either an online store or eBay. That, or get ripped off at the local dealer.

I wouldn't really bother with lowering the car. It is already very low and it can cause a lot of potential trouble (take your friend for example). But, if you badly want it...I believe that it has to do with modifying the computer...search the forums on this one.

Aside from that, look into K&N Filters and an ECU (PowerChips or the one off eBay...which some members have and are satisfied with).

Good Luck.

HLG

tonyayo

You know HLD - I am very happy that you responded to me, especially you - I reviewed a lot of the posts on this forum already and you have most of the things done to your car that I want done to mine. Thank you for all your wonderful advice. If your curious, here is a list of the modifications I am going to do to the car:

Pioneer AVIC-N1 Screen
Rear View Camera
Clear Corners
Blacked out taillights
19” Rims
Foglights
Crystal side blinkers

And possibly
Dual Exhaust
Lowering Kit
Xeon Lights
Powder coated black grill
98 CLK Mirrors

Are you happy with your SL600? I know a friend who had a ’95 SL600 that had a lot of problems, such as oil leaks. That’s mainly why I am going to go with the SL500. I heard you could get the SL600’s for cheaper some times too. Is there a lot of performance differences? I am sure it is a bit quicker - but the handling must be awefully nose heavy?

Thanks a lot again! You’ve been a great help!

HLG600

No problem Tony, I'm more than glad to help. I am very happy with the 600. I have never actually driven an SL500, but have driven an S500 with the same motor. Power wise, yes, you can feel it especially on the highway. The V12 pulls alot harder at mid-rpm's. What this means is that from a standstill, it is fairly quick, but its real awe-factor (bear in mind this is a 4500 lb car) is when you floor it while already going about 55-60. Then the car just slams you in your seat, it's great. Don't get me wrong, the V8 also carries a wealth of power, but on the highway, the V12 pulls much harder. The handling, yea, it is fairly nose heavy...but the car can still take some sharp turns. I am currently on the lookout for a direct replacement muffler, hoping one pops up online sometime. As for the lights, I blacked mine out, completely, in the rear. Bought them from this German company off eBay. Just run a search for SL tail lights, that's what I did and found those. Amazing how some basic mods can transform the car entirely. That's a pretty nice list of modifications. Good Luck with the car.

HLG

ChrisB

Tireracks wheel selector for the R129:

http://www.tirerack.com/upgrade_gara...9&autoModClar=

To get there with your selections ... start you menu selections at this page:

http://www.tirerack.com/

ChrisB

This writer / R129 owner promots the 1997 and 1998 as being the best:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/sl/

I may be a little biast ... but I think the model years 1999 to 2002 are the best R129 SL 500. From 1999 on ... same V8 motor (M113, three valve per cylender) carried into the R230 series 2003 to 2006. And the same transmission used till the & speed debued in the 2005 R230. There must be something there for a 7 to 8 year run on the power train!

To quote Bobterry99 from anouther thread ... he wrote:

"The '99 was the first year for the new M113 V-8 engine. It has lower peak torque and peak horsepower but offers noticeably better acceleration from a dead stop.

The '96 was the first year for the 5-speed electronically-controlled automatic transmission. There were flaws that did not get sorted properly for some time. For this reason, I wouldn't pass on a good deal on a '96, but recognize that a '98 or '99 and possibly a '97 are less likely to develop transmission problems while you own the car."

ChrisB

Is this the year to year change / tyoical problem link you refer to?

The Consumer Guide link:

http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/...ex.cfm/id/2462/

Has several pages ... I believe on page lists the typical problems with each model year.

tonyayo

Hey guys, thanks a lot on the year info - the 96 and 97 seem great, especially for my price rang. I couldn’t notice any big differences between the 96 and 97. The 99 and up are a little too much money for me to spend on a used car. Thanks a lot again guys - keep the opinions coming!

Tony