So I picked up my 2009 SL65 a couple of weeks ago, after all kinds of headaches. Here are the mods:
- Renntech Upgrades:
+ Renntech stage 1 (ECU/TCU): 670HP
+ Renntech SS Exhaust upgrade
+ Renntech Signature 3-piece wheels, with MB caps (20" in front, 21" in rear)
+ Renntech lowering module
- Radar/laser interceptors (installed in rearview mirror)
- Carbon Fiber upgrades:
+ Rear Spoiler
+ Diffuser
+ Front fender
+ steering wheel (thanks DCT)
+ shift knob (thanks DCT)
+ side vents (pending DCT)
+ side mirrors (pending DCT)
- MB media interface (for Pandora, etc.)
- Painted grey front bar black (SL65 only)
- Smoked side marker lights
- Clear bra installed
- Window tint

see some pics:

 

She a beauty!

Enjoy the beast!

 

Looking very sweet J

I say lower it a bit, should be ez with your set up.

How does she sound ?

How are you liking the V12TT compared to your 55 ?? How much Tq are you putting out ?

 

Looking good, how would you compare the transmission to your old 55. Does it shift faster, firmer?

Any plans for a trip to PBIR?

 

Just beautiful! I got to tell you, I think your car is way sweeter looking than the new R231.

 

Wow. That is pretty much perfection.

 

Just beautiful car...........can't wait to see pics after DCT upgrades, especially the side vents.......

Best of luck with it........

 

Gorgeous!

Was this one of the Driving Emotions cars?

 

Thanks for the kind words. I'm loving the ride. Each time I get in it and step on it, it puts a smile on my face.

Benz-O: yes, this was purchased at Driving Emotions. They have some HOT rides. All pretty much mint condition, and typically, very low miles. Got my 2009 with only 4,500 miles. Now at 5,000 miles. I would recommend them.

kustom and 1995: it's hard to compare the two cars (previous 2008 SL55 and current 2009 SL65), but I'll try. Regarding speed... the SL55 was a bit quicker off the line. More responsive. Thanks to the supercharger with Renntech pully. No lag whotsoever. But the SL65, despite the slight lag (as the turbochargers spool) is much faster. Almost scary fast. Covers so much ground so quickly... I really need to be careful. It's also got considerably more horsepower (670HP to 555HP) and considerably more torque. The shifting seems comparable... probably shorter shift times in SL55, but hard to recall. The main difference is the SL55, while being a GREAT performer, let you know it was working at it. The sound, the feel... it was a bit more intense. The SL65 is absolutely effortless. It barely breaks a sweat at 100. (I was cruising at about 80 with friend, and windows up... and he turned to me and asked, "is the car even on?".. it was so quiet and smooth). Was a thing of beauty. Anyways, hope that answers it some.

A few other changes I like... the head unit is much better in the 2009, since I can control iPod on the head unit. But still not great unit. No touch screen, which is a bit lame. I'm flirting with the idea of doing an aftermarket unit... and keeping OEM in case i ever trade/sell. It also can play Pandora, and more. Screen is just nicer... navigation, etc. the older unit looked like Atari 64. Pretty weak for a 2008 $140,000 car.

I also like the upgraded body style on the 2009, in particular the rear diffuser, which I upgraded to Carbon. (See more pics... with her top on). You can see the larger CF rear spoiler I put on too in the pics.

The air scarf is cool. Didn't think I would ever use it... but have been enjoying it... more than the heated/cooled seats. Thanks to south florida Jan weather.

The diamond stitching leather is a nice touch too.

Anyways, check out the pics. More will be posted once the CF side vents and mirrors go on.

 

J

- Try an ECU reset it made a big difference off the line in my car. Read about it here if you like ......

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...set-works.html


- I know what your saying, my car was so quite and smooth SM could not believe it. Its like its an electric car, but I did the muffler delete and now my car sounds like this, its Benz-O 's SL600 ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buqP5Nx6Z-g

read about it here if you like....

https://mbworld.org/forums/m275-v12-...ification.html


- I love that stitching, want to do it to my car so bad !


.

 

Beautiful and tastefully modded.

The pics have got me pondering doing an upgrade.....got that after holiday boredom thing which afflicts me every year...

Enjoy the car!

 

Looks beautiful.

 

Niice car!

 

What are the tire sizes you use?

 

255/30/20 295/25/21 would be my guess

 

That would mean 26" front and almost 27" rear diameters. Just wanted clarification from the OP.

 

WhitePano was correct.

FRONT: NITTO 255/30ZR20
REAR: NITTO 295/25ZR21

 

Since i have Renntech ECU, will the ECU reset work? Will it even have an impact on my car? Will the reset have a permanent effect on the Renntech ECU, like overwrite it? Or 'delete' it?

Also, regarding the muffler delete, I spoke to my technicians and they indicated that the car will produce less power with a muffler bypass. Didn't sound right... any thoughts here? Also, they said that the exhaust will never get too loud b/c the turbos and the V12 and that low RPM typically means low noise. Curious on your thoughts here.

 

^the sneaky reset will work and not affect the RT tune whatsoever. All it really does is reset the adaptive transmission & throttle settings. The systems adapts to your driving style while you drive in normal traffic. When you decide to get on the beast, the adaptive system still tries to give you the softer shifts it had adapted to.

I had an RT tune (ECU) and did the reset many times without issue. I now run a EC dyno-tune.

 

J, where you at, did you try any of the above, if so what happened ?

.

 

Amazing car! Enough said.

Z

 

Hey... so I looked into this. The recommendation I received was to do something similar to what you had done... remove the mufflers, and just end it before the exhaust tips. The tips would still be in place but purely for aesthetics.

This basically what you did?

 

For the V12TT muffler delete here is the recommended mod, my V12TT went from sounding like electric hybrid to a nice little purr, more like it should sound. You can hear what the motor is doing now when driving the car, if you don't want to hear it just turn the radio on and it mostly gone.

An added plus is I lost 22lbs, well more like 20lbs when you add back the weight of the new straight pipes. The guy used pre-done section of 3" mandrel bent pipe it slipped right over the OEM pipe and put the OEM tips back on.

I dont have a sound bite of my car but again your car should sound just like this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buqP5Nx6Z-g







On the below photo, what looks like an added weld on the left side is not, its just where they burnt off a sticker, you can see the same thing on the right of you look close.

 

Sick ride!! Enjoy