SL55/63/65/R230 AMG: First 250 Miles in an SL55....
10-16-2002, 11:29 PM
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sl55 2002
First 250 Miles in an SL55....
Pant Pant Pant
Collected the car about 4:00pm this afternoon....spent 30 mins getting used to the controls and trying to get the seat/controls in the right position (more on this later).
Drove around town for about an hour and a half, 17 miles @ 9.8 mpg. Once I started to feel comfortable I let her loose (well as loose as you can in town) a couple of times...the power is awesome and comes so easily! Even accelerating away gently from the lights leaves most things in your mirror.
Had to go to a dinner meeting that finished around 10:00pm...thought I want to loosen her up a bit and scuff the tyres to get better grip. Decided that she needed to see the sea, so off to Brighton (the long way round).
Drove through Central London and then through South London down to the M23. Dropped the roof, turned up the heaters and cranked up the radio. Drove down the M23 at a pretty constant 70 for about 45 miles @ 23.4mpg. Opened her up twice and acceleration even at the top end is just effortless.
Got to Brighton and frankly felt tired, realised that the seat position control layout is not easy to get right. I'm 6' 1" and quite stocky, after playing around for about an hour (driving for 5 mins after each reset) got it almost there. The problem is that the top of the door ledge is too high for you to rest your elbow/arm and still be able to position the steering wheel so driving's comfortable. I ended up dropping the seat to the bottom level and dropping the steering wheel, then rested my arm on the shelf in the door...have to be honest though still didn't feel totally right.
Drove back with the roof up for comparison, sound works great with the roof up or down. No real wind noise with the roof up.
Basically the car is awesome, every expectation I had for power response all the way though the range was surpassed. The balance of the car felt great (but this car has NOT been driven hard and won't be till I've got at least 1000m of familiarity with it).
To anyone thinking of buying one I would recommend it (and this is not someone who having just spent $135k needs to justify it to myself). I've never driven Ferrari's so can't compare but will leave you with this observation...in the course of 2 hours driving in town I was complimented on 6 occasions for such a nice car....and they didn't even have the pleasure of driving it!!
If you can afford it buy one...if you can't afford it sell your children to get the money.
Paul
Collected the car about 4:00pm this afternoon....spent 30 mins getting used to the controls and trying to get the seat/controls in the right position (more on this later).
Drove around town for about an hour and a half, 17 miles @ 9.8 mpg. Once I started to feel comfortable I let her loose (well as loose as you can in town) a couple of times...the power is awesome and comes so easily! Even accelerating away gently from the lights leaves most things in your mirror.
Had to go to a dinner meeting that finished around 10:00pm...thought I want to loosen her up a bit and scuff the tyres to get better grip. Decided that she needed to see the sea, so off to Brighton (the long way round).
Drove through Central London and then through South London down to the M23. Dropped the roof, turned up the heaters and cranked up the radio. Drove down the M23 at a pretty constant 70 for about 45 miles @ 23.4mpg. Opened her up twice and acceleration even at the top end is just effortless.
Got to Brighton and frankly felt tired, realised that the seat position control layout is not easy to get right. I'm 6' 1" and quite stocky, after playing around for about an hour (driving for 5 mins after each reset) got it almost there. The problem is that the top of the door ledge is too high for you to rest your elbow/arm and still be able to position the steering wheel so driving's comfortable. I ended up dropping the seat to the bottom level and dropping the steering wheel, then rested my arm on the shelf in the door...have to be honest though still didn't feel totally right.
Drove back with the roof up for comparison, sound works great with the roof up or down. No real wind noise with the roof up.
Basically the car is awesome, every expectation I had for power response all the way though the range was surpassed. The balance of the car felt great (but this car has NOT been driven hard and won't be till I've got at least 1000m of familiarity with it).
To anyone thinking of buying one I would recommend it (and this is not someone who having just spent $135k needs to justify it to myself). I've never driven Ferrari's so can't compare but will leave you with this observation...in the course of 2 hours driving in town I was complimented on 6 occasions for such a nice car....and they didn't even have the pleasure of driving it!!
If you can afford it buy one...if you can't afford it sell your children to get the money.
Paul
10-17-2002, 03:55 AM
#3
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Judging by the time you posted Paul, you must have been tired. I think if you come back to the seat adjustment fresh, you'll find it's fine.
I'm 5 11 but short legged (inside leg 29) and I find with a tall body I have to have the seat near the bottom and the steering wheel at the top so it doesn't block the instruments. Once adjusted so that the steering wheel is not too far away and the seat not too far reclined, the driving position is the best I've ever experienced.
The car is a tighter fit for tall people, a friend, 6 4 tried it for size and he looked rather cramped in there.
It's a beautiful autumn day here in Gloucestershire, so you've put me in the mood. Work can wait!!
I'm 5 11 but short legged (inside leg 29) and I find with a tall body I have to have the seat near the bottom and the steering wheel at the top so it doesn't block the instruments. Once adjusted so that the steering wheel is not too far away and the seat not too far reclined, the driving position is the best I've ever experienced.
The car is a tighter fit for tall people, a friend, 6 4 tried it for size and he looked rather cramped in there.
It's a beautiful autumn day here in Gloucestershire, so you've put me in the mood. Work can wait!!
10-17-2002, 01:23 PM
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2003 S500 4-matic, 2003 SL55
hey pauld, congrats, try and attach some picture. Your description of the car is fantastic, how is the stereo , what color did u get with what options , please give us more, more, more , I need the fix.
10-17-2002, 11:48 PM
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2006 SL55 with 030 Performance Package
I bet you are still smiling! Congrats! Its one of those cars that make you laugh and smile everytime you drive it and nobody would understand why unless they take an SL55 for ride!
Enjoy
AMGBENZ
Enjoy
AMGBENZ
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10-18-2002, 01:59 PM
#12
Hey Paul,
Car looks beautiful. Congratulations! I noticed in your post that you went through Brighton. I actually studied in that area for a few months (University of Sussex). Rock beaches and Fat boy slim having a huge concert are my fondest memories. Anyways....enjoy the car there, its beautiful.
Car looks beautiful. Congratulations! I noticed in your post that you went through Brighton. I actually studied in that area for a few months (University of Sussex). Rock beaches and Fat boy slim having a huge concert are my fondest memories. Anyways....enjoy the car there, its beautiful.
10-18-2002, 02:21 PM
#14
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Paul
Hah, LOL! That's throwing down a challenge to every pretender in a hot hatch, no chance.
Lovely car, the SL really does look good in virtually all colors. You're going to enjoying keeping this one clean! Interesting to see the AMG 5 spokes, I will certainly get a set once I tire of cleaning the multi-spokes.
Did you sort out your seating position, looks to me like you have the backrest angle set really far back. How are you off for headroom with the roof up?
Hah, LOL! That's throwing down a challenge to every pretender in a hot hatch, no chance.
Lovely car, the SL really does look good in virtually all colors. You're going to enjoying keeping this one clean! Interesting to see the AMG 5 spokes, I will certainly get a set once I tire of cleaning the multi-spokes.
Did you sort out your seating position, looks to me like you have the backrest angle set really far back. How are you off for headroom with the roof up?
Last edited by blueSL; 10-18-2002 at 02:24 PM.
10-18-2002, 02:28 PM
#17
MBWorld Fanatic!
Paul what colour are the front grill slats, are they the same as the side and bonnet slats? The reason I ask is because on a brilliant silver car, they're in effect body coloured but I was wondering whether they are always silver coloured, irrespective of the body colour.
10-18-2002, 02:32 PM
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sl55 2002
I took the photo's in a Tesco car park.....4 people pulled up to ask if it was publicity shots for a new car or if I owned it (I was wearing scruffy jeans and a leather flying jacket)
Pauld
Pauld
10-18-2002, 02:36 PM
#20
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And, presumably, long arms to match, so that's why you need the seat set far back. I'm 5 11 , 29 inch legs and with that combination, I have the wheel as far up and as far in as possible, but you would need the seat 4 inches further back that I do and that's close to the limit, is my guess.
I went to a Jaguar clinic a couple of months back; they paid each of £150 to comment on what will be the XK8 replacement. They measured me and told me I was at one limit of the people they plan for, tall body, short legs. I'm not sure they got value from me because one of the cars we were comparing it was an SL500, so I was hardly unbiased.
I went to a Jaguar clinic a couple of months back; they paid each of £150 to comment on what will be the XK8 replacement. They measured me and told me I was at one limit of the people they plan for, tall body, short legs. I'm not sure they got value from me because one of the cars we were comparing it was an SL500, so I was hardly unbiased.
10-18-2002, 03:20 PM
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these pics look just awesome - there is no other word to describe it. The front grill slats in the picture look black. I saw a black SL55 today and the slats were black too.
10-18-2002, 11:44 PM
#24
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The good news is the Road Angel works fine in the car. The manual warns that some modern Mercedes windscreens shield the signal but it works better than my Geodesy, much quicker in acquiring the satellite signal.
I wanted the display in line-of-sight and there are not too many options. Because I have exclusive leather, I did not want to use the blue rubber mat because the RA will fly around on cornering and the mat will leach out chemicals, staining the leather. London Lad has it in mind to separate the display from the main unit so that the display can be more conveniently mounted but you still have the problem of where to put the rest of it which has to have a clear view of the sky.
I've used the black bracket and the rubber suckers to attach it to the windscreen, need to get the vertical position correct so that the steering wheel does not obscure the display. It does cover part of the screen vent and I'm hoping it will not affect screen demisting. The rear of the bracket does need some support to stop it bouncing around and I don't have an answer for that yet.
The problem is the power cable; it's not very flexible and looks terrible snaking across the dash to the cigarette lighter which is also close to the shift lever in park. So I'm planning to hard wire it in - run the cable along the back edge of the screen vent to the side held in with a narrow strip of double sided tape, then down in front of the A pillar and into the area underneath the instrument cluster, above the driver's knees, to connect.
The problem is where and how to connect it to the car's electrical system. As covered elsewhere, P344 of the manual refers to a "wiring harness connection point", marked with an asterisk which sounds like some sort of wiring loom accessory you buy to connect to the car's electrical system instead of using Scotch connectors to splice into the cables. The manual also says I can find out more information at "any Mercedes Benz Service Station". Fat chance.
After calls to two MB dealers, DC in the UK and the customer helpline in Germany, I am none the wiser. They don't know anything about it. One technician told me that I did not need a "radar detector" because Distronic does it for me. One, it isn't a radar detector, two I don't have Distronic and three, it doesn't anyway. Apart from that, he was close.
The DC UK response from their technical department sounded like plod-eese ("I was proceeding along the road in a northerly direction when I observed the accused enjoying driving his Mercedes SL55, contrary to the We'll-take-all-the-fun-out-of-driving Acts 1990-2002 (inclusive)) but basically said I shouldn't connect it.
I've also sent emails to Richard and Felix to see if they know or can find out anything about it. Richard is away but said he would look into it. Given the amount of time he spent camped in his dealers service department, maybe he has a contact, as might Felix.
If all else fails, the fuse box which supplies the cigarette lighter is just in front of the driver, so I could connect to the safe side of the fuse through a low rating fuse (3A) and find an earthing point. However, if there's a preferred way to do it, I'd like to take that approach and I think this is a job to do myself rather than entrust it to a Mercedes technician which requires a little creative thinking instead of following a pre-defined service procedure.
The best solution of course would be for the navigation system to incorporate the Road Angel's functionality and it's a pity the COMMAND is not user programmable. When I arrive home, it could connect to the web-site via my wireless LAN and update itself each night. Sorry, I'm blue-skying.
Apologies for the long post and to those in the US for whom Road Angel means nothing.
I wanted the display in line-of-sight and there are not too many options. Because I have exclusive leather, I did not want to use the blue rubber mat because the RA will fly around on cornering and the mat will leach out chemicals, staining the leather. London Lad has it in mind to separate the display from the main unit so that the display can be more conveniently mounted but you still have the problem of where to put the rest of it which has to have a clear view of the sky.
I've used the black bracket and the rubber suckers to attach it to the windscreen, need to get the vertical position correct so that the steering wheel does not obscure the display. It does cover part of the screen vent and I'm hoping it will not affect screen demisting. The rear of the bracket does need some support to stop it bouncing around and I don't have an answer for that yet.
The problem is the power cable; it's not very flexible and looks terrible snaking across the dash to the cigarette lighter which is also close to the shift lever in park. So I'm planning to hard wire it in - run the cable along the back edge of the screen vent to the side held in with a narrow strip of double sided tape, then down in front of the A pillar and into the area underneath the instrument cluster, above the driver's knees, to connect.
The problem is where and how to connect it to the car's electrical system. As covered elsewhere, P344 of the manual refers to a "wiring harness connection point", marked with an asterisk which sounds like some sort of wiring loom accessory you buy to connect to the car's electrical system instead of using Scotch connectors to splice into the cables. The manual also says I can find out more information at "any Mercedes Benz Service Station". Fat chance.
After calls to two MB dealers, DC in the UK and the customer helpline in Germany, I am none the wiser. They don't know anything about it. One technician told me that I did not need a "radar detector" because Distronic does it for me. One, it isn't a radar detector, two I don't have Distronic and three, it doesn't anyway. Apart from that, he was close.
The DC UK response from their technical department sounded like plod-eese ("I was proceeding along the road in a northerly direction when I observed the accused enjoying driving his Mercedes SL55, contrary to the We'll-take-all-the-fun-out-of-driving Acts 1990-2002 (inclusive)) but basically said I shouldn't connect it.
I've also sent emails to Richard and Felix to see if they know or can find out anything about it. Richard is away but said he would look into it. Given the amount of time he spent camped in his dealers service department, maybe he has a contact, as might Felix.
If all else fails, the fuse box which supplies the cigarette lighter is just in front of the driver, so I could connect to the safe side of the fuse through a low rating fuse (3A) and find an earthing point. However, if there's a preferred way to do it, I'd like to take that approach and I think this is a job to do myself rather than entrust it to a Mercedes technician which requires a little creative thinking instead of following a pre-defined service procedure.
The best solution of course would be for the navigation system to incorporate the Road Angel's functionality and it's a pity the COMMAND is not user programmable. When I arrive home, it could connect to the web-site via my wireless LAN and update itself each night. Sorry, I'm blue-skying.
Apologies for the long post and to those in the US for whom Road Angel means nothing.
10-27-2002, 05:00 PM
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sl55 2002
Well I've now done 1000 miles and it just gets better and better....
Positives:-
Power just keeps pulling, even on the motorway at speed limit there's loads of pull to pass anything quickly.
Tight cornering, not the same as a 911 turbo I'm sure but frankly much tighter then my old 500SL (R129).
I've had so many compliments from people that I've lost count.
The audio control system from the steering wheel controls is excellent...once you've got used to it you can control the audio system without your hands ever leaving the wheel.
All those of you looking to upgrade the power for 0-60 forget it...you'll never get the power down on the road. I've mildly fishtailed twice on dry roads off the lights at full acceleration and instinctively both times have eased off the accelerator.
Loads of storage space and cubby holes.
The folding hardtop is absolutely silent and I've dropped and raised the roof at quick sequence lights without any problems.
The panoramic roof just makes driving seem light all the time..and I've noticed I get less tired driving with the extra light in the cab.
Negatives:-
The COMAND system is rubbish. No MP3..no DAB digital radio..NAV system is slow (I own a Garmin Streetpilot III as well) and doesn't give you easy ability to set waypoints so you can take a specific route and finally you can't take the COMAND system out by the looks of it because the hole left is non standard size.
-----------------------------------------
Petrol consumption round town is about 10mpg and about 23mpg on the motorway...so if you need to think about the cost of petrol don't buy this car (for American readers remember that gas is $5 per gallon here).
Final recommendation is buy one....I raced a 911 turbo about 4 nights ago on a private road a shocked the life out of him.
Have fun.
Paul
Positives:-
Power just keeps pulling, even on the motorway at speed limit there's loads of pull to pass anything quickly.
Tight cornering, not the same as a 911 turbo I'm sure but frankly much tighter then my old 500SL (R129).
I've had so many compliments from people that I've lost count.
The audio control system from the steering wheel controls is excellent...once you've got used to it you can control the audio system without your hands ever leaving the wheel.
All those of you looking to upgrade the power for 0-60 forget it...you'll never get the power down on the road. I've mildly fishtailed twice on dry roads off the lights at full acceleration and instinctively both times have eased off the accelerator.
Loads of storage space and cubby holes.
The folding hardtop is absolutely silent and I've dropped and raised the roof at quick sequence lights without any problems.
The panoramic roof just makes driving seem light all the time..and I've noticed I get less tired driving with the extra light in the cab.
Negatives:-
The COMAND system is rubbish. No MP3..no DAB digital radio..NAV system is slow (I own a Garmin Streetpilot III as well) and doesn't give you easy ability to set waypoints so you can take a specific route and finally you can't take the COMAND system out by the looks of it because the hole left is non standard size.
-----------------------------------------
Petrol consumption round town is about 10mpg and about 23mpg on the motorway...so if you need to think about the cost of petrol don't buy this car (for American readers remember that gas is $5 per gallon here).
Final recommendation is buy one....I raced a 911 turbo about 4 nights ago on a private road a shocked the life out of him.
Have fun.
Paul
