Have only heard the SL55 bellow on TV, described as a Spitfire in a vertical dive.

Speaking of bellowing, I need a haven of peace & quiet in my motoring these days, which leads nicely to...

SWMBO? - "She who must be obeyed"

I think its a very tongue-in-cheek English acronym - made popular by a TV programme about an old and English QC (Queen's Council err... top lawyer), but can't recall the name. Now in very popular usage throughout England to give am impression of craven submission, while secretly holding all the power....

 

But normally, Mustard, we spell "who" with a "W", not an "H"....

She Hoo Must Be Obeyed...

I heard a CL55 AMG running on Saturday, exhaust note is much more restrained compared to the SL55.

 

Oh that one blueSL, no no that was

"She Hates Motoring - Benz's Out!"

or

"She Hates Mercedes-Benz Often"

Either applies - sometimes or often.

(A bottle of wine or two probably preceeded the earlier mistake - wondered why Ted couldn't work it out....)

 

Well Mustard, if my partner looked like Andrea Corr, I'd forgive her that slight lapse of judgment...

 

That claim was probably post two bottles as well...

 

Well, I have to admit that I'm completly lost at this point. But never mind.

What do you guys put in your wine, anyway?

 

I'm afraid this is what 700+ messages on this forum does to you - addles the mind. Have to say I'm impressed with the rate you're piling on the miles, as you say, the noise cannot be too objectionable unless you are some kind of masochist...

At some point, someone on this forum will buy an SL600 and declare it blows the SL55 into the weeds. It will not be me because the SL55 is all I need/want/can garage/can afford but I'll certainly be interested to hear how it is.

 

Well, I drove the Aston-Martin today. My recollection that it was almost as fast as the SL55 was comletely dispelled - it's not even close. And the A-M suspension is much too soft and imprecise. Any thoughts I had of keeping it are now past history.

Astons are very beautiful cars, with Rolls quality finish, but I think they are aimed at a kind of country-club set of which I'm not a member. (I guess now I'll get flamed by everyone who plays golf, but so be it.) They are very enjoyable when driven down the boulevard, but they just don't respond well to being driven in what some refer to as a "spirited" fashion.

Last week while driving the SL55 in Palm Springs, I wound up alongside an older fellow driving a very beatiful light green Aston convertible. He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely and didn't seem to notice the blue SL55 right next to him. I think he was much older than me. At least he looked older than me. Yeah, I'm sure of it.

 

Very perceptive, Ted, very funny....

 

JBrady-

My dealer put my SL55 up on a lift yesterday so that we could compare my exhaust system with that on a CL55. Since the CL55 has a much more muted sound with the same engine, we had a hope that the resonator/muffler from the CL55 might fit the SL55, and Voila! - end of objectionable noise.

Here's what we found:

1. The two exhaust systems are quite different.

2. The resonator on the CL is quite a bit larger than that on the SL55, which undoubtedly contributes to the reduced noise with a different tone that the CL55 exhibits.

3. Installation of an X-pipe on an SL55 is not likely to have any effect - the SL55 exhaust system already has two cross-connections between the right and left exhaust lines. The first is a tube which runs across the car and connects the exhaust manifold on each side to the other at the bottom of the riser, i.e., underneath the car just in front of the transmission, and the second is a cross tube at the rear end of the exhaust system near the differential. Both cross tubes are the same metal and the same diameter as the main exhaust pipes.

4. The dual exhaust tips on each side of the rear bumper are mostly for show. They mate into one pipe almost as soon as they enter the body (going forward), and that single pipe goes into the resonator/rear muffler. The total distance from the forward end of the chrome dual exhaust tips to the muffler/resonater is only about 6 inches. This is quite different from the CL55 (and a Ferrari 550), where the two exhaust tips go directly into the muffler/resonator. I doubt that the difference between dual and single exhaust tips is very meaningful, but, put another way, the difference in appearence of the exhaust tips between an SL55 and an SL500 is only that - a difference of appearance.

5. Oh, and one last thing - the SL55 transmission has a nifty heat sink grating screwed onto it which I doubt that the SL500 has. But we didn't look at an SL500, so I can't be sure.

 

I have ordered a full option SL55 2 weeks ago at the Motor show in Geneva for delivery in June 2003 (3 months dely - not bad i think) with ''exclusiv black designo interior leather'' and grey stitching which will especially stop on the lower dash for fear of reflecting in the windscreen - my idea. Exterior colour Chalcedony blue which is not in the SL55 catalogue but the designo rep said ''no problem, we will make it up for you''.

To Bluesl - Hi ! i lived (was born) in Scarborough Yorkshire and was always able to drive freely without encumbrance from the fuzz as long as i kept that escort 2000 pointed the right way - slowly!

To London Lad - come on down to Geneva ! and get away from the bane of your life - 7mph average speed in London. I lived and worked there for 22 years and know all about 4 hour daily commutes when it is raining.

Here, living in Switzerland driving is something else entirely compared to my home country....

First, Let me describe Geneva - small village of 450,000 and the locals say that ''the people that are millionaires outnumber the poorer people''. I can quite believe it !. When the King of Saudi turns up with his 1000 strong entourage for his 2 month break at his palace on the lakeside in Geneva he hires 600 mercs from Germany for constant call up for any one or several member of his family or entourage. I have never seen so many mercs parked up at 3 am when the wives and friends are shopping (early) in the best department store in town.

Anyway that is life here. As to actually driving cars here goes :-

Driving is fraught with problems here cos they are AFTER YOU FOR MONEY! Personally speaking I have had 3 minor speeding offences in 14 months in Switzerland with no points on licence - cameras crop up everywhere. Mobile-vehicle radars too. Police Helicopters checking motorway speeders. The worst for me personally was their 4th attempt at bankrupting me = i was camera flashed doing 90 in a 50 in my Lexus SC430 = 1200 dollars.

It was ok in the end as a friend from Florida was driving at the time as you can imagine ;-)

In any event you can mess up here very easily cos they keep turning the machines around. if you get caught with a radar snooper here even in the glove compartment, instant jail and huge fine. Bluesl and Londonlad ! forget the ''means test'' here it is 30pct of salary to make an example out of you. 150,000 quid ? no thank you - therefore you lie about who was driving at double the speed limit or get ******.

Driving here ? get onto long and quiet country roads and mountain passes without cops. Its heaven.

To get to the point finally - Why did I choose the SL55 Amg?

I have friends with all the following cars:-

Diablo
Vanquish
Modena
575 M
Arnage T
Hummer
RS6
Marinello - the guy got one month jail for 280 in a 60 zone and the swiss judge was so over/underimpressed that he asked for a drive when the guy came out of jug the next month!

My purchase of the SL55 was simply decided after testing everything that my friends had.......and i tested them on proper roads no less than the ones i have described above - no cars to bother you here in europe. simply said i wacked it....

All i can say is that there is no car that is compared to the SL55 - for me. it ***** everything in sight off.....

nothing beats it on anything i have tested/driven for all sorts of reasons too many to go into here. Ok bring me your ZO6 and Vanquish which will take you into a brick wall before you have time to say 575

I am 1.95 metres and an outwards-growing 46 y/0 !

i CAN get into the SL

I CANNOT get into the Vanquish without having knee surgery from the key being so close and pinioning me to the middle-right console.

the ferraris ? forget about it. i am imprisoned within a beautiful car and cannot rock and roll like my smaller friends. fast and furious i am certain but not for life.........

Here are my salient points for the newbies to this forum wanting to buy a SL55 AMG. Please note they are not in any specific order.

1) the head turning ability of this car is stupendous. I had a Lexus SC430 when it first came out. Beautiful / Ugly stares ? I could never work it out ! The SL (in Europe at least) is a real looker.

2) that noise ! wowwwwwwwww ! it is unbelievable in a tunnel with the top down. Sorry Bilal but you must be a bit careful with your comments about it being a ''kiddies car''. No woman i have taken in this car has not raised her eyes heavenwards and yiped when i have wacked it in a tunnel (i am talking about the accelator) The age range was between 8 and 76 ! what fun they had...... guys dont have anything to say other than ; bhp, cv, ps, tyre size, how much ?

3) the toyssssss! wonderful - no other car has got all this except the Maybach.....

4) the ability in making it into something else through Brabus addons, Mae tuning, Fab Design doors..... it quite easily ends up being a Diablo look alike if you have a 50 grand wedge to spare on top and then you are finished for the day...

5) lastly the unbelievable ability to overcome all emergency driving situations and make the best of a bad (driving) job and bring you out of a predicament. Bilal - would you be so kind as to describe your recent ''near-death experience'' ?

no more words from me - nuff said - what an experience !

the car is tops for me.

 

White Knight II-

How are you enjoying the SL55 since the resonator was changed? Was it an expensive opeation? Do you notice a significant reduction in the interior noise level? Any change in power?

 

The resonator in the CL 55 is quite different from, and quite a bit larger than, that in the SL55. As a result, there is no chance of swapping them, even with major modifications to the car. It took less than 20 seconds of comparison to conclude that it was a lost cause.

And a note to Swismick:

The SL55 is a superb car, but it does not compare (not even close) to the performance of a Ferrari 575. The Ferrari weights 400 pounds less, among other things. I have a Ferrari 550 and the difference is pronounced, even with the smaller engine. Perhaps you prefer the looks of an SL55, its snazzy top, its creature comforts or something else, but I don't believe you can prefer the cornering, stopping power or even the acceleration of an SL55 over a Ferrari 575.

 

WKII: I love you. Err, I mean, I love your garage. I love the sL55, and snoop around here a little bit, but my tie to AMG is my dad has a C43. I enjoy a nice Cannondale Mtn Bike. All I can say, is: Nothing beat 24'' rims!

The guy in Switz.: Can you post some pics of your friends cars? Those sound TOO hott! You need to all get together and photograph the cars all with each other on some high-alititude lake!

WKII: Can you also post pics of your garage? I am ambitious and dream of being rich someday (yes, I am still young) and the biggest motivation is the shot of a garage full of beaut's!

Take care everyone!

And to whomever said : SL55 AMG SL600. Amen to you!

 

WKII-

Have you given up hope on trying to quiet down your SL55? I wonder if AMG would have any thoughts.

 

AMG Engineer Thoughts: Now why the heck does he want his SL55 quiet?!

 

Response to Jack Straw-

Yeah, I gave up. I'm thinking about selling the car. At this point I'm not sure how serious I am, but I am thinking about it.

Response to AMG engineer:

Because high-end Mercedes are supposed to be elegant. And whatever you call that noise coming out of the back of my car, you can't call it elegant. If I wanted a Firebird, i would have bought one. In yellow.

 

WK II-

Are you considering selling the car solely because of the exhaust noise, or are thee other factors? Does the noise intrude into the cabin when the top is up?

 

The SL55 has spearheaded the drive by Mercedes to extend the brand beyond its traditional heartland and take on the likes of Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin and appeal to a younger market. Even so, for every SL sold, there are dozens or worthy-but-oh-so-dull C and E class cars sold and that's before you include the A class runt which you guys in the US do not have and do not need unless there is renewed enthusiasm anytime soon for improving average gas mileages.

With the SL55, I still come across people who think a Mercedes is an old man's car, though at 47 going on 48, some would put me in that category. The car WKII should have is the SL600, that is a more refined car in the more traditional mould/mold. The SL55 is unashamedly slightly less refined and I love it!

 

Jack S. -

The noise issue is not one of intrusion, but rather (to me) one of image. Unless you really put the hammer down, it's not even noticeable. And with the top and windows up, the noise is not particularly intrusive. I used to have a Ferrari 550 with a Tubi exhaust, and at 2200 RPM, the resonance in the cabin was such that my wife and I couldn't talk, whether or not the car was accelerating. The SL55 is nothing like that.

I came pretty close when I referred to a yellow Firebird, in the sense that when I floor the SL55, I feel the same as if I were driving a bright yellow Mercedes. Clearly, this is a matter of personal predeliction, and I wouldn't suggest that anyone should avoid the car if the sound doesn't bother them.

Blue SL is right - I probably should have ordered an SL600.

 

WKII: Can you please post a picture of your garage? Not that I don't believe you - that's the least of my worries. Rather, I love the Barchetta, and I think it's safe to say your garage is quite drool and dream worthy! Thanks.

 

OK, as they used to say on TV, "You asked for it...."

Here's the Barchetta

 

Here's the Aston-Martin

 

Here's the SL55

 

And finally, here's a shot of the Barchetta in action.

I have to say that this was as much fun as I (or possibly anyone else) will ever have in a sports car. 475 horsepower at full song through a Tubi exhaust in an open Ferrari - it doesn't get any better than that, as several people in the stands who saw (and heard) the car go by told me afterwards.

And I had the luck and good fortune to have a good friend who is a professional automotive photographer in the stands when it all happened. (Or did you think this was a casual snapshot? Really, now....)