charles pearson

I embarrassed myself yesterday at the drag strip. Two things that could be wrong here, either I do not know how to push my car to the limit or the SL55 is just far too heavy of a car along with the inappropriate wheels that I have mounted to run at the drag strip. Here are my results before I packed up and left for home pissed off at myself.

1st Run on full automatic mode:

R/T- .940
60'- 1.922
330- 5.466
1/8- 8.391
MPH- 83.05
1000-11.038
1/4- 13.22
MPH- 104.67

2ND RUN STANDARD MODE:

R/T- -.155
60'- 2.553
330- 6.211
1/8- 9.140
MPH- 84.09
1000- 11.796
1/4- 13.998
MPH- 102.86

3RD RUN STANDARD MODE:

R/T- .336
60'- 2.012
330- 5.504
1/8- 8.455
MPH- 80.49
1000-11.068
1/4- 13.239
MPH- 104.24


I think that our cars are not designed to run at the drag strip for such a short distance reason being, when I run her on the interstate the car moves out and pretty much smokes most of the hot rods out there. Another thing that bothers me the most is that my car is tuned, it should be producing better numbers than this. Any advice from someone smarter than me? I'm am seriously considering on selling her now and buying me a stock SL65 and calling it the day.

jturkel

weird. what were the conditions like? temperature? DA? you on 93 octane? how big/heavy are your rims?

with the mods in your sig (ECU, TCU, pulley) i would expect a lot more, being that the slowest SL55 AMG i can find on dragtimes traps 109 or something last time i checked.

charles pearson

Bro, I don't really know what to tell you other than it was very hot about 97 degrees and dry. I don't really know how heavy the wheels are, but they are not made to race, it's cosmetic as far as I am concerned. Also I have 20's 18's or 19's would be far more ideal to use when running this car on the drag strip. One thing I have to still research is that with my tune, when I made my first pass on automatic, my opponent who happened to be driving a 5.7 litter camaro got the jump on me. I was sleeping at the wheel while counting the damn tree lights from yellow to green. Anyway, he was only about a car length in front of me as I was starting to catch up to him when my car stalled for a long two seconds and than regained power. Now that I think about it, I might have an IC pump issue, those two seconds mean a hell of a lot when racing. I am really upset about this though, I feel like a real piece of crap right about now. The sad thing is, I talked so much trash about AMG's and I failed to uphold the standard. I suck!

By the way, I use 93 octane and my tank was full too. I just cleaned her up after returning from the track and parked her in the garage, I don't even want to drive her at this moment.

jturkel

LS1 camaros arent slow, especially when modded. Not sure what the guy had on that you were racing, but LS1 camaros with catback, headers, tune, lid, and tb can trap in 112-115. definitely.

sounds like the heat hurt.

I didnt want to mention it because i don't know a lot about the SL55s, but now that you mentioned it, i will agree. I think it might be the IC pump. This is an extremely common problem on the C32s. All of ours have gone bad at some point and that just kills the power and the heat turns off the s/c......i dont know if its a problem on the 55, but that might definitely be something to look in to.

IngenereAMG

Charles:

Don't feel bad. If this was your first time out, there could be many reasons for not doing as well as you would have liked, and keep in mind that unless you were racing for money or pinks.... it's all for fun.

I suspect that those big heavy wheels, the heat and maybe he IC pump are contributing factors.

charles pearson

Yes I agree, I think before I commit to buying a SL65, that I will ship my car to Veloce in Arizona, they are the ones that tuned the car and maybe if they drive it, they just might be able to fix my issue. I'm pretty much done here messing with her plus I don't have the resources around me for the help that I need. It's all about hot rods here in the country and everytime I ask somebody about the SL, they look at me as if I have a ***** growing out of my forehead.

charles pearson

True, I want to ship her to you Dino, would you be able to trouble shoot her for me?

AMGTTV8

LMAO!!

Keep up the efforts, you'll nail it sooner than later...we all know what these puppies are capable of as it is!

No need to get down on yourself man, you have a 55 in your garage - let's keep things in perspective...

charles pearson

Yeah you have a point there, thanks. I think that I will take advantage of the AMG challenge next summer. From what I hear it is a great experience to attend the course.

FLSL55

Charles,

I know what is wrong with your SL! You need to replace the IC pump. Get a Johnson CM30.

Your car will pick up at least 10mph and drop to the mid to low 12's. A stock SL55 will run from 111 to 114mph in the 1/4. You should be running at least 117mph.

If you need help ordering the pump PM me. I just replaced mine yesterday and it was EASY!

charles pearson

I just PM'd you, it's an 03 SL55, thanks for your help.

jmf003

+1. Your symptoms are consistent with a pump failure.

It's especially likely if you still have the original 2003 pump. The pump on my 2003 failed a couple of years ago.

lauer87

Sure sound like a IC pump to me, like others have said you should be trapping at least 10 mph higher.

Havoc

Charles, I think your biggest problem is that you're keeping the ESP on!
Here are a few other things you may want to consider that will help lower your times:

1- Practice
2- Don't fill your gas tank, keep it at 1/4
3- Turn your ESP off and put ABC on comfort
4- Put your ECU in Dyno mode
5- Get 18" lightweight wheels with drag tires
6- Even more practice!

Most of all, enjoy yourself and have some fun!

FLSL55

Anyone do back to back runs with and without dyno mode on?

IngenereAMG

Of course!

150shot

CHarles- I just had my IC pump replaced. I knew mine was going bad as after a few spirited runs car would bog. ALTHOUGH- it felt fine and strong when I just floored it from time to time...

Until I had a few close races with a souped up mustand, SRT Charger, and a few others I usually walk VERY easily. I knew something was weird.

My buddy who is an MB Tech, said the pump was in VERY bad condition, and would shut on and off supposedly or work half-***. I got the car back and feels soooo much stronger, back to that violent pull....even in 97 degree heat you should be able to pull off one good run as long as its not back to back and so on...

I know its also not too much to replace so hurry and do it and....

keep the faith and back up the AMG still!

charles pearson

K, Thanks for your advice, I appreciate that.

charles pearson

K, thanks HAVOC, long time no hear from you Brother. Good sound advice here, but I have to question the ESP. Remember not too long ago I lost control at the Tree lights when I floored it and lost control of the SL with the ESP on off and this is what happened next

Havoc

What's up dude!

Yeah, I remember!

You need to turn off your ESP and practice throttle control. Don't just floor it.

stevebez

Your lacking about 10-15mph in my opinion with those mods... thats alot.

Something is not right... the let off in power mid way down is very strange, especially since it picked up and started running again.

Check intercooler water pump... Seems like the most likely culprit, and it was a pretty hot day.

I would have guessed this kind of lack of performance would have been noticed on the road though?

Dont give up, takes a little time to get these things, and you , dialed into the track.

I drove my E55 today and I have to say it felt fast but a little "aneamic" compared to the SL65 I drove the other day. Also noticed much more tyre noise and harsher ride (stock suspension), and more body roll (expected with no ABC in the E). The SL feels so planted.

The 65 power delivery seems to have no end, the 55k power seems to peak v early and drop off harder... typical of S/C v turbo configuration I guess.

I could easily break the rears loose in the 65 in second gear on good tarmac, no chance of doing that in the E today in cooler conditions, and it did not feel as if the E was getting the power down better either. The only thing putting me off the SL65 is the 2120kg weight... it is certainly not a nimble Pcar thats for sure.

IngenereAMG

I forgot about that event! It might be best to do the AMG Challenge and take to the road courses!

320 dreamer

johnson cm30 pump at apeusa for 149$ shipped. needs to be faster. my slk32 with a s/c 6 cylinder can pull low 13's at 112 mph!!!!

MJ50

my 1st time at the drag strip wasn't impressive at all either...
i had cracked rim and no cooling mod...
hope to do better on the next event...

charles pearson

Just to keep all of you fine professionals updated, I have ordered the Johnson CM30 12V pump last night, lol. I should get it in a few day's and once I install it, I will head out this Friday to the track and let you all know what the deal is. I want to mention to all of you just how honored I am to be a member here, you all really provide me with a security blanket by sharing your knowledge with others and displaying a genuine interest in helping people like me out. You can not find that at any Mercedes Benz dealership, not at the same magnitude in which you all thoroughly explain yourselves to support your ideas in your technical expertise. If you all were under my command, I would award you a Bronz Star with a V- Device, lol "You All Rock"! Good Looking out for me with my issues.