What are some good weight reduction options on the SL55?
I have heard that each of the seats weighs 500lbs?

Any ideas on replacement seats?

Any other weight loss ideas?

(yeah yeah i heard the one about the driver ...)

 

You take a 100-thousand-plus luxury grand-tourer, and start ripping out seats and such to turn it into a drag-racer?

Certainly there are many other vehicles out there which could be more easily - and less expensively - modified for the purpose -- and that would produce much better elapsed-times(!)

To each his own; and it is your car....

I am sure that you should be able to rip out all kinds of stuff.

 

a set of Pole Position seats would save a good bit of weight and I feel they are more comfortable than any factory seat. They do not have any rake adjustment but thats the price you pay for that seat. The seats in the SL are very heavy but 500 lbs per seat is just insane. That is not possible. You might save 150 lbs by taking the seats out and putting in a set of racing shells. And thats being generous.

Other than that the next thing would be to weld that top shut and take out all those pumps etc. That saves a lot of weight but there goes the nicest part of the SL... the folding top. Some german tuners have done this to make a sports version of the SL and it made the car a might lighter car. It drove better and it was a bit more solid.

But not many people will want that done since there goes the re-sale value out the window....

Seats and a light weight batt for track days is really as far as you can logically go on a car like the SL.

 

You may be better off at increasing power vs. reducing weight.

Your options are very limited to reduce weight without going completely custom.

Pulley, TM, IC, ECU, Airbox, Headers, Exhaust, TB, LSD, NOS......

 

As an elise owner, I know all about the benefits of mass reduction. Originally my car was around 1,980 and I was able to get it to 1,850. Remember that for every 10lbs you save, you gain 1hp, so the performance will be noticable. What you have to do first is reduce unsprung weight. Remember that for every 1lb of unsprung weight you take out, the difference in performance is equal to reducing the weight by 3-4lbs. It looks to me like you have some "bling" wheels on your car, now that is costing you a lot of performance. If you want to go all out, get BBS forged magnesium wheels (or Neez forged aluminum wheels if you're on a budget). Your current wheels probably weigh at least 25lbs a corner, BBS wheels weigh around 16lbs a corner. This will save you 36lbs of unsprung weight and will 'feel' like a 110lbs weight reduction. Then, you need lightweight aluminum rotors to further reduce unsprung weight (check with evossport). Rotors can save you 5lbs per corner for a total of 20lbs or 60lbs percieved reduction of mass. To sum it up, wheels and rotors will reduce the mass by around 170lbs, you will definitely feel the difference. After reducing unsprung weight to a minimum, you might want to change your seats to Porsche GT3 seats. I am not sure if they fit, but if they do, they are relatively comfy and only weigh 20lbs a piece. Next, change your battery for a racing battery, this will save you 20-30lbs more. Next, take out your audio system and sound insulation. A lighter exhaust can also save you a lot of weight....


P.S. Reducing weight is actually better than increasing power because increasing power will only help in acceleration, while reducing weight will benefit acceleration, handling, braking, and even fuel economy.

 

One does not buy an SL55 AMG to strip it.........but to enjoy it and pump up the power........

If I wanna kick yer "lightweight" car's ****, all I gotta do is Jump on Turbusa.........my power to weight is 1 HP for every 1.67 lbs........and that is with my 210 lb *** on the 550 lb bike..........

Dave

 

I really doubt the seats weigh 500 pounds. Does anyone know for sure how much the seats weigh?

Try adding helium in the tires.

 

How about not eating before race day. That must save a few lbs.

 

That's hilarious. You'd have better luck playing pick up sticks with your butt cheeks than being able to sell an SL55 with the top welded shut and the seats, stereo etc. ripped out. Keep the SL as is and go get a track car. Mine is an NSX. It's not as fast or awesome as Tuskir's Lotus, but it's in the ballpark. The beauty of the SL 55 is that it does a lot of things good. But to make it do just one thing well, ruins the car IMO. The Elise is a dedicated track car that can't be matched by almost anything else.

 

This is all true. However, I would still highly reccomend getting lightweight wheels/rotors (magnesium wheels if you can afford them), this is definitely a no-brainer and will not devalue your car in any way. Lightweight battery and stereo are also very straight forward, you can always put them back if you want. Same thing with the exhaust.

If you want to go more extreme than that, you have to remember that permamently altering your car, will indeed devalue it (unless of course you find a buyer who is just as enthusiastic as you about it). Having said that, AMG themselves are beginning to offer track versions of their cars. One example is an SLK55 Black Series. Besides power, the major modifications to the black series are fixed roof and stripped out interior. I believe it weighs around 300-400lbs less than the regular SLK55. There are also cars like CLK-DTM and the new CLK Black Series. It is only a matter of time before AMG offers SL55 black series. If you are truly serious about changing seats, try to source AMG units from SLK55 black series, CLK-DTM, or CLK63 Black Series (although it is highly unlikely they'll sell them).

 

Personally,
I would not Buy "The Mona Lisa" and have her redone to look like "Britney Spears" even for a few ticks of the clock............

You can buy a brand new Ford GT for 150 or so and put twin-turbos on that sucker for about 65 more and make over 1000 RWHP............that would prolly be cheaper in the long run...........

And that GT would be a Bad-*** Car.

And you would end up seldom driving it because it was so "one-dimensional".

Dave

 

So, by your logic, I guess everyone who improves the performance of their Mercedes is an idiot because you can have a faster GT for less money? Explain to me how is switching to lighter wheels/rotors is making the car more "one-dimensional"? What "Mercedes" qualities (except weight) are lost by doing this? Your argument makes no sense, Mrdredd obviously enjoys his SL55 and is looking for ways to improve its performance further, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Even AMG is constantly improving on their own models through more power and weight reduction. Why don't you write AMG and tell them that making "Black Series" and DTM versions of their cars is stupid?

 

Oops, sorry, Obviously I have touched a nerve...............

Please forgive me, I am just now in my 6th week of Mercedes Ownership and I am unworthy to respond...........

Oh, By The Way, my SL55 had the RennTech Pulley put on night before last and the ECU went out today for the Stage 1 Flash..........

But, then again, I am not a proponent of performance increases, yes???

Why don't YOU write AMG and apologize for thoughts about ripping apart a perfectly good car for very little gain..........and a great amount of loss-of-value............

I feel sure they would be intrigued to hear how you could drastically improve their efforts...........

Bwa Ha Ha, Tuskir, my friend............you have been OWNED,

Dave

 

I have been OWNED? Are you an idiot? Since when is changing wheels and rotors or removing stereo is considered "ripping apart a perfectly good car"? I suggest you reread what I said, its clear that your reading comprehension skills are well below average.... every modification I reccomended is easily reversed back to stock.

 

Yes, you have been OWNED........ya forgot to mention the Porsche GT3 seats you recommended...........

A ridiculous thought...........

My comprehension skills left yours behind decades ago, pal..........

Oh, yes, and I am sure there are just a ton of SL55 owners who want to rip-out the stereo for weight and "easily" reverse it back to stock......

much less the seats..........

I suggest you Consider Your Demographics on the SL55 before you respond further, and get farther and farther away from reality.

(And yes, you can have the last word........cuz frankly, whatever you have to say won't really be worth responding to anyhow.......just like my dear Mother-In-Law.)

Yer

 

Are you the same Doc C from Prime? I am steveny from Prime.

 

I posted about this topic a couple years back when i had my SL55. I thought the SLR seats would be a good choice for weight reduction. Pics are somewhere. I agree with the wheels probably making a huge difference....brake rotors seem like more of a hassle, and the stereo even more of a hassle.

T

 

how about paying big bucks to have the whole body reconstructed with carbon fibre like this Z4

http://www.fast-autos.net/vehicles/T...rbon_Roadster/

 

I wouldn't be surprised if some Sheik from Dubai already did something like this to his SL65

 

This seems to be getting a bit personal. I do think that an SL55 on a diet would be a great idea....however, in bone stock form, I have had no trouble reeling in a GT3 and staying with a Z06 on a road course. That must say something about the car....and the group were all instructors, so the driving should have been fairly good.

As for replacing the seat........wouldn't there be an issue because the seat belts are part of the seats in the stock car? Reducing the unsprung weight with wheels is a great place to start.

 

I agree, and my apologies to the board............and yes,

wheels are a great change, they not only reduce weight, but what many folks do not realize, they reduce centrifigal rolling mass.........hence the added benefits of quicker/more responsive handling and directional changes as well as more effective braking and quicker/roll-on acceleration.

Reducing rotating mass at the 4 corners of a car is probobly the greatest performance mod ya can make with so many positive repercussions, IMO.

I would hope someone makes a Carbon-Fibre wheel for this car.......I currently have Dymag 3-spoke Full Carbon wheels on my Ninja Sport-Bike and the change was phenominal..........Suckers cost 4500 and that was several years ago..........

Of course, carbon wheels on the -55 might cost upwards of 15K......I dunno........but I DO know they would completely change the handling characteristics of that, and any, car, providing the laws of Physics apply to 4 wheels in a similar fashion as to 2 wheels.

Dave

 

I have pulled out the factory passenger seat in my SL65 -- the full luxo-version with power everything, heating and cooling and massage and airbags etc. It weighed about 55 lbs. Putting in a pair of carbon fiber shells would save a total of 80 lbs in the car; whether that is a worthwhile change is up to individual preference. I chose to keep the stock seats.

 

Dave,

I hate to break your bubble, but there is a carbon fiber wheel out there for the mercedes by Kahn design.
www.kahndesign.com


Hehe...maybe its time to get one Dave?

 

Adam,

Any pictures of this wheel? I have talked to Neez wheels about the forged magnesium wheels they offer but at 13k-15k a set w/o tires is a bit high.

 

Get Neez forged aluminum. Magnesium are only lighter by about 3lbs a corner and are much weaker to forged aluminum, not really suitable for street driving. Remember, racing teams usually replace their aluminum wheels after a certain number of hours, so don't expect them to last forever either.