SL Boy

Have now completed 1600 miles in my SL55 and the steering seems not to have the same precise feel as when new.

When I took delivery I immediately noticed how direct and positive the steering was. Now it feels slightly vague and road imperfections are readily transmitted through the wheel to the hands. When driving fast and cornering on country roads there is not the same 100% sure feeling there was before. Sometimes there appears to be a slight tendency to tramline.

I was at my dealer this afternoon and drove a used SL55. This had done 1200 miles and felt more precise than mine and didnt readily transmit the same road "feel" through to the hands.

Both cars have standard AMG 5 spoke wheels and Pirelli zero rosso tires. Dealer has checked balance of both my front wheels which is ok.

There appears to be no obvious fault but dealer is concerned to make sure I am totally happy customer and when I mentioned I was a member of this forum was keen for me to post a message and encourage feedback from SL55 owners.

Any comments please especially from drivers who have driven more miles than I have?

vraa

I'm not sure if this will help you but in our SL500 whenever i get to drive it the steering is ultra precise and much MUCH quicker than the Lexus. Unfortunetly i can't compare SL55 so i'm afraid this might not have helped. If it does though I'm glad i tried!

AMGBENZ

Have you changed the tire pressure? I just lowered mine today
and it feels very funny. I am going to put it back up high again like the fuel door sugests.

AMGBENZ
2003 SL55 AMG (1300 Miles)
2000 ML430 (47000 Miles)

JackStraw

[QUOTE]Originally posted by AMGBENZ
[B]Have you changed the tire pressure? I just lowered mine today
and it feels very funny. I am going to put it back up high again like the fuel door sugests.


Why did you change the tire pressure?

White Knight II

I now have close to 3,000 miles on my SL55 and I have not noticed any change in the feel of the steering. (The exhaust sounds a little quieter, but that's another story.)

SL Boy

You raise a very interesting point. When the dealer checked the front wheel balance he adjusted the front tyres to 30 psi cold pressure and said this was correct. It did feel slightly soggy at the lower pressure. I adjusted back to recommended fuel door pressure 35 psi front and 36 psi rear. But it still feels funny as I described in first post.

Thanks all for your useful feedback so far.

Would particularly like to hear from UK drivers, BlueSL, Richard, morebhp, London Lad as you've all had your cars longer than me.

db1

I haven't noticed any deterioration in the steering. I have done around 3000 miles and one track excursion for around 30min. Steering, handling feel very sharp to me and on track handling was superb.

I collected mine in Germany and my tyre pressures were set at the factory and then again at the PDI when in the UK.

BTW: Which dealer are you at (I am also in the UK) as my dealer is useless. Not even a phone call to see how I am getting on...I am considering an SL65 and would like to get to use a dealer that is good with customer service.

DB1

blueSL

I agree MB dealers are pretty useless. I haven't heard from mine since I sent the salesman and his manager a case of wine each for putting me in a car early - perhaps they didn't like my wine dealer's choice within the budget I set... However, I tend not to visit MB dealers, I've long since given up regarding them as a useful source of information compared to, say, this forum.

I think tyres pressures are the thing to check. I run my fronts at 2.7 bar (38 psi) which gives a crisp turn-in for the weight of the car and more feedback. If you lower the pressure, you run the risk of scrubbing the tyre shoulder when cornering which will lead to excessive wear. I'd say 30psi is too low, especially with that lump to support.

Can't remember Paul, do you have tyre pressure monitoring? It's forced me into checking and correcting the pressures more frequently than I have in the past.

davidegai

blueSL, doesn't your car jump around with such a high pressure? Furthermore, how much do you inflate the rear tires? Thank you

blueSL

Currently, I've got the rears at 2.9 bar.

The car is fine but the ride is noticeably firmer than my soggy old SL600 which wallows all over the place but it's nothing compared to the bone-jarring ride of the much lighter F355 which has 2.0 and 2.5 bar.

SL Boy

Thanks for your comments db1. My dealer is Hughes of Beaconsfield and have been with them for nearly 20 years. A number of us in the Company drive Mercedes and although we have experience with other dealers in London and west London they have usually been pretty unsatisfactory.

I have always been very happy with Hughes both on the sales and service side. They also have their own bodyshop which (sadly) I used to visit regularly with a W124 estate which for some strange reason was the most accident prone car we ever owned.

SL Boy

No I dont have pressure monitor but |I have been checking pressures regularly and there has been no air loss. Although the fuel flap recommendation is 35 psi for thr front, I have tried running up to 40 and it makes very little difference.

As the steering was so crisp when new and has gradually become less so over 1500 miles I'm convinced incorrect or inconsistent tyre pressures are not the problem especially with other members reporting no change in steering feel over up to 3000 miles.

Dealer's wheel/suspension man reckons its all part of the running in process but dealer has offered to take the car in and get a specialist from MB UK to look at it. So perhaps thats the best option.

db1

SL Boy(Paul),

Thanks - do you have a specific recommended sales person at Hughes...personal recommendations are always the best.

Could let me know your name (you can email me at: db101us@yahoo.com if you prefer) so I can say you referred me to them.

many thanks

DB1

London Lad

Hi all,

I run standard pressures, 35/36 cold. But I noticed that my TPM over reads by 2 PSI.

(I have a very accurate gauge of the same type used by F1 teams that has recently been calibrated)

I have not noticed any degradation of the tight steering response experienced from new.


Graham.

P.S. My dealer is useless but very polite.

SL Boy

Just returned from my dealer and the "vague" steering problem has been solved. As the SL55 does not have a spare wheel we swapped over my suspect offside front wheel/tyre with one from another SL55 (not from another customers car!) and the problem has gone. There is no obvious visible fault with my wheel or tyre so this remains a mystery.

Car now drives as it did from the start. Thanks to all for your help/suggestions.