Thericker

Good luck on the issues bro! nice talking to ya

Improviz

Distance at 200 km/h would not be 72'.

Using:
0-100km/h | SL55: 4.6s SL600: 4.6s
0-200km/h | SL55 14.3s SL600: 13.9s

So SL55 got from 100-200 km/h in 9.7 s; SL600 did it in 9.3 s.

200 km/h = 55.56 m/s.
100 km/h = 27.8 m/s.

Average acceleration from 100-200 km/h for the SL55 is (200km/h-100km/h)/9.7s = 27.8 m/s/9.7s = 2.866 m/s^2 For the SL600 it is 2.989 m/s^2.

From Physics, position function given acceleration a and initial velocity v0 under linear acceleration (which this isn't, but it'll be close, and I don't have actual curves to plug into a curve-fit, and I'm too lazy on top of that) is p = p0 + v0 t + ½ a t^2 . Since they're even at t(0) (at 100km/h at 4.6 s), we can set p0 = 0 and figure out how much distance the SL600 will put in the next 9.3s.

So plugging we get p(SL55) at t = 13.9s = 27.8 m/s*9.3s + 0.5*2.866 m/s^2*9.3s^2 = 258.54 m + 123.94 m = 382.48 m.

And p(SL600) = 27.8 m/s*9.3s + 0.5*2.989 m/s^2*9.3s^2 = 258.54 m + 129.26 m = 387.80 m

So, difference is actually more like 5.3 m, 17.3' not 72'. Gap would probably increase w/speed, and data show that SL600 is definitely faster up high, but not buslengths faster to 200 km/h. More like a carlength or so using these figures.

jmf003

Improviz! It's been a while since we traded posts on the physics of acceleration! It's good to have you wade in on this one because I blew it. My math was fine but I used the wrong formula.

If two cars cover a fixed distance (e.g. a 1/4 mile track) with different elapsed times then a simple estimate of the distance between the cars at the finish line is the difference in elapsed times multiplied by the velocity of the faster car.

However Murtaza's data was time to velocity, not time to distance. Your formula is absolutely the right one to use for Murtaza's data.

Out of curiosity more than anything else, I calculated 1/4 mile estimates from that data. It equates to:

• SL55: 13.078 seconds at 116.5 MPH
• SL600: 12.995 seconds at 118.2 MPH

Quite a few sources show a larger ET gap than 0.077 seconds, but that's a different topic.

Improviz

D'oh! I'd actually meant to change that in the title, but spaced! It was indeed the formula, not the math.

Thanks for the affirmation. It's fun to play w/this stuff every once in awhile...

Interesting. It's too bad that there weren't more tests of these cars...I was trying before I got my car to find a test in Road & Track, only to find that they had never tested a CLS55, full stop! And forget about trying to find a test of an 030, anywhere. Grrr...AMGs just don't get enough respect (or perhaps MB just doesn't spend enough advertising dollars in the mags!).

But yeah, I'd expect the V12s to do better, as they typically seem to pull harder at higher speeds. Unfortunately all of the Euro tests I could find only measure up to 125 mph/200 km/h, so above that it's hard to quantify beyond that speed.

Murtaza

I take that back!

jmf003, the best stock SL55 run on dragtimes is 12.5 @ 116.

The only SL600 listing is 11.9 @ 120 and is so called stock although right above it is an SL600 Renntech that trapped 11.8 @ 121.25

I very much doubt the 11.9 run is stock as chipped with 100+hp it only trapped 1.25mph more and only 0.1 second faster. Looks like there are no real stock SL600 times on dragtimes...


I only raced one to 80 and it was pulling away ever so slightly, I'm sure it is a bit faster but significantly, no.

Improviz

Here's all of the road test data I could find for the two cars on Einszweidrei:

SL55 tested in ams, 8/2002:
0 - 80 km/h 3,1 s
0 - 100 km/h 4,4 s
0 - 120 km/h 5,8 s
0 - 140 km/h 7,3 s
0 - 160 km/h 9,4 s
0 - 180 km/h 11,8 s
0 - 200 km/h 14,1 s

SL55 tested in Sport Auto, 4/2002:
0 - 80 km/h 3,1 s
0 - 100 km/h 4,3 s
0 - 120 km/h 5,6 s
0 - 130 km/h - s
0 - 140 km/h 7,1 s
0 - 160 km/h 9,4 s
0 - 180 km/h 11,2 s
0 - 200 km/h 13,8 s

SL55 tested in Sport Auto, 4/2003:
0 - 80 km/h 3,4 s
0 - 100 km/h 4,6 s
0 - 120 km/h 6,0 s
0 - 140 km/h 7,8 s
0 - 160 km/h 9,8 s
0 - 180 km/h 11,9 s
0 - 200 km/h 14,3 s

SL55 tested in sport auto 06/2006:
0 - 80 km/h 3,5 s
0 - 100 km/h 4,7 s
0 - 120 km/h 6,2 s
0 - 130 km/h - s
0 - 140 km/h 8,1 s
0 - 160 km/h 10,3 s
0 - 180 km/h 12,8 s
0 - 200 km/h 15,6 s

SL600 tested in Sport Auto, 4/2003:
0 - 80 km/h 3,5 s
0 - 100 km/h 4,6 s
0 - 120 km/h 5,9 s
0 - 140 km/h 7,6 s
0 - 160 km/h 9,2 s
0 - 180 km/h 11,4 s
0 - 200 km/h 13,9 s

SL600 tested in Autobild, 2003:
0 - 100 km/h 4,6 s
0 - 200 km/h 14,1 s

SL600 tested in ams, 8/2003:
0 - 80 km/h 3,0 s
0 - 100 km/h 4,1 s
0 - 120 km/h 5,4 s
0 - 130 km/h 6,2 s
0 - 140 km/h 6,9 s
0 - 160 km/h 8,9 s
0 - 180 km/h 10,8 s
0 - 200 km/h 13,5 s

With the exception of the last SL55 which must have had traction issues or a weak motor, cars are pretty tight, with the edge going to the SL600s. I'd estimate that the SL600 is probably putting out around 25-30 hp more stock from the numbers I've seen.

Of course, when you start talking potential hp modded, the turbo car always gets the nod! Chip those SL600s and all bets are off!