Keep in mind you will not have a spare tire to replace the flat. A jack is only to get the weight off of a totally flat tire to make it easier for the AIRMAN ResQ Pro+ inflator to work. There is not enough room in the trunk to put a wheel with tire in and close the lid.

To actually repair a tire with a puncture in the tread, I have used these successfully more than once.




https://a.co/d/dYnz3hQ

 

So, parts are beginning to come in. Here is a shot of new buttons for the driver's side door and the steering wheel:





As you can see from the back, I think we can pop out the driver's side door buttons carefully and slot in the new ones. The steering wheel buttons I don't believe we will be able to pop out without dismantling the steering wheel and airbag. More details to come shortly ....

 

For those 2017 SL 550 owners who wish to know, here are the times as my son and I actually measured them (with Dynamic Select set to Sport+ mode):

0 to 60 mph - 4.1 seconds
0 to 100 kph - 4.27 seconds
0 to 100 mph - 9.5 seconds
0 to 150 mph - 26.3 seconds
1/4 mile - 12.4 seconds ------ Speed at the 1/4 mile mark - 113 mph

(Down the road we will remove the limiter and do some custom tuning and report back. Theoretically, with the stock V8, I would expect a top speed of something like the 188 to 195 mph range.)

 

In some configuration settings, using certain bi-directional scan tools, such as XENTRY or LAUNCH, you can set the speed limit to 240 kph (~150 mph), but I think you will need a tuner to completely remove it.

 

I hope you'll draw the line at the AMG badges; most of us here see that as a poser move. Me, I've debadged all my Benzes.

I'm hoping that's me Stream!

 

165mph stock

https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...ml#post8552160

 

For some reason I've had several people lately ask me how fast I drive my SL and I always tell them that my favorite "fast" driving is doing 50-60mph where I'm supposed to be doing 20-30. It's been decades since I got a rush doing 100+ in a straight line....

 

@Eddie - LOL, ... my son said, "Dad, if we do a bunch of mods and custom tune it, do you think it will be okay if I put the AMG lettering on the back? I mean, in some ways, it will be better than the stock AMGs." .... A smile popped over my face, "Don't you think that some master mechanic at the dealership with 30 years experience working on Benzes is going to be laughing his *** off when he sees your 'AMG SL 67' roll in? Mercs aren't like McLarens where 99.5% of the general public does not know one model from another. Plenty of dudes will be pointing and smiling." ... Immediately that teenage head began to deflate. ... Yep, ... sobering moment

@crconsulting - Our SL 550 was affected by a limiter curve clearly (not y=mx + b but with first derivatives (dy/dx) decreasing in slope at the apex). Our SL 550 reached a top speed of 162 and would not go faster but it became increasingly difficult to gain additional speed after we got to about 143 or so. It took us 26.3 seconds to reach 150 mph but if the limiter is removed, I would guess something more like 18 to 19 seconds to reach that speed.

In case anyone is wondering where we could reach such speeds (fairly) safely in Monterey County, CA, ... the answer is nowhere (at least that I am aware of). One of my friends mentioned Laguna Seca but anyone familiar with that track knows you can only get up to about 120 mph (and that only if you know your s$#!). There are one or two rarely used airstrips but without the length needed. To put the SL 550 right to the redline, we had to go over to San Benito County and Route 25 (Airlines highway) about nine miles north of Pinnacles National Park (a place our family has camped before which is how we even became aware of the spot in the first place) and twelve miles south of Paicines, CA. There are two fairly long perfectly flat and straight strips, ... with the longer near N 36.640263, W -121.231976 at about 3.1 miles in length. Even better is that the road is completely rural with few people on it after 5:30 PM. You have great straight line visibility for the full 3.1 miles or so. A few years back, my good friend's cousin purchased a Lamborghini Revuelto and wanted to see what it could do at the redline but didn't have much high-speed experience. We took the Revuelto over to these straights and did a quad pass (ride down the highway at the speed limit checking for traffic levels, cops hiding behind trees, school buses, farm vehicles near the edge of the road, construction, transiting deer, etc ... going down and back and then repeating it once more) and once I was satisfied the road was clear (and the pavement in good condition), we lit her up. The Revuelto hit 227 at its tops. Not sure what the SL 550 will get to but my guess is perhaps 185 to 195 mph. Our 162 mph run was also a great experience to show my son just how quickly a car can become a coffin. He was holding on to the sides of his seat white knuckled.

The trip also gave us a great opportunity to fully test the ABC suspension. ... Not bad. Not as adaptive as true high-end racers obviously but for its price range (the SL 550 was roughly $108,000 to $123,000 in 2017), I would give it an eight outta ten. It did make a noticeable difference.

 

Going fast is so fifteen minutes ago. The MB SL’s—since 1963 and up through 2020–are at their best as boulevard cruisers—preferably with the top down. Sure, they can go fast, but so can several econoboxes out there, not to mention the electrics. Why go nuts modifying something that is already capable of going way faster & quicker than anyone needs to go on public roads, if you know that most any guy in a better Tesla can blow your doors off? Just doesn’t make sense to me.

 

Go to Bonneville instead of breaking the law on public highways. JMHO

 

It is so fifteen minutes ago, ... if you are our age. ( ... and if you have our wisdom) If you are sixteen and have never been over 100 mph in your life, then it is better in a controlled environment to experience that for the first time with your father (or mother). Growing up, my mother was always big on French culture and would let my sister and me drink small sips of wine or beer from age two and up. We thought alcohol tasted awful back then. Because we were exposed to alcohol early on and it was never seen as a forbidden thing, both of us of never got wasted or vomited in high school or university. My belief (perhaps wrong) is that if you introduce any controversial subject to your kids in measured steps at a young age (drinking, discussion of sex, nudity, drug use, guns, driving Mercedes roadsters too fast, etc ....), you remove the "forbidden" element from it. Once you remove the taboo, ... it does not become something they will likely engage in to rebel.

 

Life is a balance of listening to the old you, when you are young, and the young you, when you get old.

 

Years ago (20+), my son and I would play the Need 4 Speed video game. Here, I had over 30 years driving experience at the time, and he had none, yet he would always beat me in the races. Could never figure that out. He is now a dad of two young boys and drives a Honda CR-V minivan (as I like to tease), while I drive an SL. Not sure there will be personally driven cars by the time he’s my age.

Who won that race now?

 

You missed the point of my post. It had nothing to do with having your son experience speed. I was stating my opinion that it doesn’t make sense to modify an R231 to go faster or quicker. If speed & quickness are the goal, I highly recommend going electric or going Porsche—or even R232. At some point—which I feel is very close to the way your SL550 was delivered from the factory, increasing the power substantially runs you out of suspension, tires & brakes very quickly—not to mention safety and simply obeying traffic laws.

 

Weistec has a Black Friday Sale going on right now. A stage 1 tune bumps the HP to 540 hp and the torque to 715 ft-lbs. More than the HP increase, I would worry that the added torque would be rough on the 9-speed transmission. I could b wrong, though.

 

Those are some nice numbers. SL is a cruiser and is heavy. Try not to get so wrapped up in the 0-60 and top speed thing. I was for years and it’s not worth it. My CL600 has a tune 600bhp and 700lb ft of torque. Today those numbers do not matter. However I enjoy it and that’s what matters. These big MB’s make great cars that eat up the highway miles. They offer comfort and quality that few cars can ever match. That’s why we buy them. A R231 SL is in my list as a CL600 replacement

 

I don’t think I will get a Mercedes any newer than 2017.

 

No worries gents, ... we will be retaining the elegant grand tourer nature of the R231s. If we were only interested in 0 to 60 times, my son would have gotten a Tesla S Plaid (he is not a fan of Elon). I only wish we could fit our boards in the back. Here is my son surfing this morning near Big Sur:



Get some!

 

Is there an easy way to tell if a R231 has had an ECU tune? My 2017 arrived with some upgraded intake air filters, which make me believe some previous owner cared about such things. Low end torque seems excellent compared to my previous R230.

 

I don’t think you can compare an R230 with an R231. Which model did you have? I would not assume aftermarket air filters mean anything other than the previous owner believed they would help. If you have a tune on your SL550, you will be pushing over 500 hp.

I have a tune on my SL400 and LAUNCH Creader cannot recognize the ECU. LAUNCH can read and clear DTCs, but that’s all. If I put the tune back to factory, then the LAUNCH scanner recognizes my ECU. The weird thing is, XENTRY, iCarsoft, Autel, ANCEL, and just about any other scanner has no problem recognizing the ECU. If you have a LAUNCH scanner, does it recognize the ECU?

Lastly, you can find another 2017 SL550 and drive it and see if it feels different.

 

In the process of ordering parts to begin customizing the car and a bit struck by the price difference between OE Mercedes parts and various imitators. Here is an example:



Versus:




Holy yikes Batman! Sure, gouge the retired dentist, .... the mid-career doctor, ... the professor, ... but six times as much? Pretty crazy pricing for a six foot long piece of plastic that weighs less than two pounds.

 

A genuine Mercedes part will fit perfectly. Aftermarket parts are hit and miss, especially body parts.

 

Yep. I like to keep everything OEM.

 

That’s an entirely different part.
One is an original MB replacement part. The other is an aftermarket add on, that bolts on the bottom of the front cover/bumper.

 

For a bumper guard, I don't need an original MB replacement part. Sure, for many parts, ... say, ... a body panel, ... 100% agree. For some things, ... like a bumper guard, ... no need to spend six times the amount.