SL55 R230 vs Carrera S 997 and SLR body kit
 

Hi everyone!¨

Choosing between preowned SL55 R230 and Carrera S 997. Anyone been throught similar kind of tough choice? What was your verdict?

Also, any expert SL-enthusiast views on the SLR body kit from Expression Motorsports (bar the scissor doors, naturally)?

Thank you in advance...

http://www.expression.be/cars/sl-r230/sl-r230-07-hi.jpg

I don't like the SLR body kit from Expression Motorsports. If you want an SLR, then go buy one, but don't convert an SL55 into a want-a-be SLR. The SL55 AMG is a great looking roadster and to add body kits and modify it's looks is just wrong. BTW, scissor doors are for the cars that come with them.
I say go with the SL55 AMG. Good luck with finding your choice! :y

Thanks for your comment, Havoc!

I agree that any "would be" coversion is a flawed idea by the very principle.

However, I just happen to love that sharp "shark nosed" SLR/SLK look.

Nonetheless I have the same reservation hence my question to ther public: testing people's perception.

On a different note: you seem to have modded your engine quite heavily. How does the powertrain and suspension cope with all those extra HPs? Is'nt there a risk of turning SL into a drag strip rocket uncapable of anything else but straight line acceleration?

Is the roof mechanism on the 997S hydraulic or ... oh wait, never mind.

Might be as simple as that, it's one advantage that the SL has over the 997. Unless you go to the 997 cab, which changes the nature of the car. Then it's the SL without reservation.

Ride quality is another advantage to the MB, but if you're often up on 2 wheels the 997 is the answer.

The body kit? I'd take it if the discount on the car was big enough. Otherwise, no way.

You got it Jag! :y

BTW, I like the sharp "shark nosed" SLR/SLK look as well.

My build is in the process of being completed. I haven't driven it yet. VRP offers beefed up trans to handle the additional power. Not sure how the suspension will respond, but it should be fine. The SL is one heavy car and can benefit from the additional power. The question is , how much is too much? I should be adding around 250hp with this build. We'll see how she performs.

My $0.02
 

Since you asked for opinions . . .

Saw one of these kits installed on an SL in Europe, last year.

Didn't care for the look, at all. It reminded me of the sort of thing that kids seem to be doing by adding after-market panels to their cars to make them look as though they are race cars. The side vents located on either side behind the front wheels were rather crudely designed, and did not seem to fit in with the rest of the design.

The idea might have looked different in brochures, but this real world example left me feeling that the owner had not improved the car.

But, in the end, the decision to get one of these kits has to be yours. You want to personalize the car for your own tastes. Make it be something you like, and something you are proud of. If others don't like it, so what?

The important thing has to be that you really enjoy your car!

JDB

I personally don't care for the look of the SLR body kit but if you like it that's the only vote that really matters.

Another option would be to install a modded 55K engine into an SLK. That would be a seriously fast car. If I recall correctly, Sunil at Motorwerks in Houston is doing that exact conversion with a CLK.

Carrera handles ten times better, SL55 will leave it for dead on the hwy. SL is also more luxurious.

Fake SLR kit is a joke.

I couldn't agree more. Plastic surgery gone wrong. :rolf:

Get a stock SL55. :y

Thanks everyone a million for your opinions on the SLR kit! My very special thanks to JDB for sharing you impression from seeing it in flesh: you saved me trip to Belgium as I would have not ordered such a dramatic makeover without seeing it first. The very idea now seem to become redundand.

Saying that SL would have bettered Carrera on the highway do you mean speed or ride quality? Honestly speaking I am fit enough not to care much (or even not to notice for that matter) of the latter, but do appreciate the former. And also love the gadgetry where SL looks a clear winner. So is it speed/pick-up or ride?

Also, anyone here lives in the mountains (meaning narrow and twisty roads)? How is SL faring in that kind of environment? I am sort of Alpine-based at the moment and what I am mostly seeing around are Porshes 4, Audis of all flavours and Imprezzas, not so many SLs. Anyone's driving their SLs in similar kind of places?

I meant speed wise. Straightline the Carrera S would be behind many car lengths on a run from 50-150mph so long as the top was closed

Thanks, Transferred, that matters, :).

Just out of curiosity: based on your ownership experience how would you compare M3 against SL? My girlfriend has been pushing me for the former as she finds SL a bit on the "brash" side (just her own feminine perception of things, do not take it too seriously). To no sucess, though. But would be great to know.

I have an 04 M3 Cab and an 07 SL55 030. The M3 is clearly the more nimble of the 2, even in the cab version, and is a lot less tail happy on quick accelerations, but the SL is my car of choice for longer cruises (so long as I don't need the back seats), and on a straight away at highway speeds, is in a whole different league than the M3.

My pleasure.

The M3s biggest flaw is the young "fast and the furious crowd" that lease them or buy second hand. Apart from the image, they're a great car and the new poster above summed up the comparison well.:y