OK. Took delivery of my '05 65 a few months ago.. (about 3 months I think). Much has happened in my life, but the one thing that stood true during the entire time was the 65 and it's massive amount of torque... Well, kinda..

So here's the scoop on my opinions (if anyone cares to know).

1. While the car is outright scary when you first get it (as in kool-aid smile scary), I got used to it after about 2 months. It feels a bit weak now, so I don't know where to turn, but I'm looking for options..

2. The clock in the center console is absolutely unreadable during the day.

3. The car handles like crap in the rain.. (if you touch the accelerator any more than 1/5 the way down even at 60-70 mph on the freeway, you're breaking it loose).

4. It's near impossible to get anyone to race errr. I mean play with me on the freeway. I've only had 3 serious cat and mouse runs the whole time I've had the car, although there are plenty of people that will happily follow me from a distance... *SIGH*

5. The navigation system sucks royally. If they could only fix it or just make it usable and not a complete programming nightmare (not too hard to do with a software update).

6. When the fuel gauge hits 1/4 tank, the low fuel light comes on.. (I actually find it amusing).

Overall, the car is a complete dream to drive. I wouldn't have it any other way, although, I wish it had more torque or just a bit more "oomph".. yes.. I'm spoiled and got used to the power.

So my opinion? I wish I had the brabus upgrades.. lol. Would I have done it differently looking back now? Hell's no. I have no idea what MB's gonna give us to replace this (drop top + power), but I'll be waiting and wishing..

Also, if anyone has any ideas about the clock (on the center of the top of the dash), PLEASE let me know.. haha..

 

Re: #3 - You could always replace the SL65 badge with an SL500 badge. :lol:

 

It's a thought.. haha.. but it just seems like sacrilege... *chuckle*

 

No.6 is really amusing. thats when you realize how much of a gas guzzler the car is when they need to warn you from 1/4 tank

 

Apart from being incredibly quick standard why would you want to increase it.
Especially in the rain

 

Actually, I live in florida and it rains here 15 min. every day, so you really can't get away from it. Even if the road is partially damp, it just has a touch too much torque.

As for increasing it, I'm just used to it. I really miss the throw me in my seat feeling. When you're used to it, you expect it subconsciously and your body just braces for it. So it's not as much fun.

As for wanting "more".. *sigh* it's in my personality.. meh.. I'm a torque junkie.

 

You should live in the UK where it rains all the time.
When I had my CL65 I gave up trying to beat people as the minute you
touched the big pedal the traction light would come on permanently, and by the time you got some grip they were gone.
Did you ever see Top Gear where Clark son criticized the amount of torque, and
organized a tug of war, people against the 65, and the 65 ended up being pulled back wards with tyres spinning.
I never felt the need to have more torque!
Better handling, more exhaust noise yes.

 

haven't seen that one.. any links? I did see the top gear with the brabus 65 though..

 

There is always Kleemann and Renntech to tune your car for extra power. You'll pick up some more horsepower but more torque is gained than hp based on what I've seen. Get a stock dyno baseline and then get your tune done. It will make a difference. Check out dragtimes.com for more information or look at other SL65 threads.

 

Screw the clock and buy a rolex

 

After reading about ECU upgrades and the various testimonies about whether they work or don't by various people on these threads, I've become a touch wary. Between the shuysters and rip-off artists out there, the false or inaccurate claims, the downtime of shipping your ECU out and *hopefully* getting it back (in one piece or if at all), it just worries me.

from what I've read, I've come to a few conclusions:

1. Kleeman can be trusted to return your money and ECU if it doesn't work as promised.

2. The V-Power people (or whatever their name is) have chips that may or may not work and if you're going to deal with them, do it directly and not through a reseller.

3. Others out there claim to have their own "Custom" designed programs that work, because they have the computers and software programmers on staff.

4. Renntech is pricey, but reputable.

etc. etc. et. al.

Basically, I'm cautious as I am familiar with the laws of physics and what is an engine other than all the laws of physics rolled up into an extremely complex mechanism that is controlled by software that has bugs somewhere (all software is buggy and if anyone tells you it's not, they're lying.).

Basically, nothing's free and more performance comes at a cost. The question is what is that cost? Fuel Economy? I can live with that. Engine Reliability? Uhm.. I can't live with that one. Damage to engine componentry and god knows what else in the car? Errr.. no. Mercedes Repairs are expensive enough as it is.

If I wanted something that was unreliable, I would've bought italian (Ferrari, Maserati, etc). I bought a Benz for a reason. Good, Solid, Engineering with a touch of comfort. My point is I know I need to take a risk to get the reward, but it seems like the only way to go is to do a total tear-down and rebuild if I want more power that is reliable. The reality is for me, 40-50 extra horses isn't really going to make enough of a difference to make me go **WOW**. I either need to go Carbon Fiber on the whole body to increase power to weight without compromising structural integrity / safety or just send my baby to Brabus for the "Real Deal" tear down and rebuild...

I've been watching what MB has been churning out for the 2010MY and to be honest, I'm a little disappointed. I love drop-tops and torque. I love comfort and class with an "In your face" growl.. I love the exclusivity of something that is just elegant, sophisticated, yet sexy and dangerous.. Like a woman you'd see in a bond flick. That to me is the epitome of my car; it's my other love.

I've always counted on MB to provide that to me and they have so far.. but I'm always looking at what my next move would be. There has always been a clear upgrade path for me.. until now.. and to be truthful, I'm not sure what's next...

It seems to me there is no clear path now. The current SL65 (2010) doesn't really do much more in performance specs over what I have and well.. I'm just concerned.. *sigh*

It's about the whole package with me.. not just the styling or the performance exclusively.. and I am looking to get more performance with each successive upgrade.. not just a cool new spoiler on the trunk or new wheels.. am I being overly ridiculous?

 

Oh yeah.. Had a rolex.. it kept horrible time.. haha.

 

You don't buy a Rolex for time keeping!!

You can't get anyone to race you now! so why the need to squash your
internal organs even more. Put the top down and just cruise!

 

i find the navigation on 05+ SL's to be much more user friendly than other luxury cars... try the 7 series BMW its absolutely useless.

 

I did a couple tuning steps on mine. Made some progress (790 ft-lbs at the wheels), but based on how I really drive the car it wasn't worth it. Get a track car and get your jollies off there. Makes it a lot easier to just cruise the benz.

Ditto the rolex. They are a lot like my 65, great looking, but not really much for precision driving... : )

 

If you haven't done the quaife LSD yet you may find it the best and safest bang for your buck. Perhaps the 05 SL65 came with one but the 05 SL600 sure didn't. It really made a big difference especially in the rain. The new p zero (not rosso's or nero's) tires also were a huge (really huge) improvement over the pilot sports that came on the car. Aparently the PS2's are basically as good.

 

I just had my S600 tuned and am very pleased with it. I don't think tuning done by a reputable company will harm your 65. Just be wary of your tranny if you start pushing it to far. I would recommend having an expert tune your car so that they don't push it to far.

The problem you are having isn't that it isn't fast enough, its that you are not getting nailed into your seat. I know, coming from a BMW background, I miss that feeling. It doesn't have that sports car feel to it, even though it has the power to wipe almost all sport cars on the road.

I have a similar problem racing at night... not to many people want to race. It slightly irritates me. I am usually going fast enough speeds where I don't think people can read my badges.

Better tires will give you better traction. I have some junkie tires on my car now and really affects how the car feels.

 

I want to do a LSD but almost everyone says it won't make any difference unless you track the car.

 

Someone correct me if I am wrong but as I understand it the MB traction control makes your car feel and behave like it has a posi. As one wheel starts to slip the brake is applied to that wheel causing the slip to stop and power to be applied to both wheels. The key is that when you see that ABS light flashing the brake is being applied at one or both wheels. This slows you down. The difference with the LSD on my SL600 is quite significant. Bear in mind the quaife LSD is a locking diff. On a dry day with tire temperatures up (engine temp too) I can now do full throttle launches with little or no slippage repeatedly. Of course that isn't true with a cool engine on a cool day. I could not do that with the PS tires even after the LSD with a heat soaked engine. The amount of throttle I can give it without slipping in the rain is night and day. I took my MB service manager out (he drove) and he was really impressed at the difference in the car with the LSD.

Im not sugesting that your qtr times will be wholesale different but I expect a tenth or two is not unrealistic. Certainly the ability to romp on it harder and sooner is significant in daily driving. If I remember right it was under $1500 plus install. It drops right into the stock housing.

 

I have read that the 600 V12 numbers in the maybach were more like the numbers one gets with a tuned 600. More like the 65 numbers. So if that is true it stands to reason that a little tuning could yeild good and safe results.

 

What is the difference between the 65 engine and the 600 engine.Do they
both have the same turbo.

 

There is a 1/2 L difference in engine size (6.0 vs 5.5). The turbo housing is the same, but the 65s have a larger compressor wheel. The heat exchanger up front for the intercoolers are 50% larger on the 65s.

Tom

 

#1 if i see ya on the road,lets get on it(im the same way with no one wanting to play, other than some kid in a 6 cylinder mustang with a chrome tail pipe,lol!) #2 dont worry about the time,use the gas gauge as the source! Keep on having fun