DigitalKnight

Is there anyway of testing the boost? Any sort of gauge built into the dash diagnostics? Anyone adding a boost gauge to there SL55's?

B R

Scangauge or similar will give you actual info. Or you can just press the gas pedal & see what happens.

cal1

Nothing built in that i am aware of. A heat soaked non-engaging SC is painfully obvious. I know some people are fans of the PLX Kiwi. It plugs in to the OBDII and then talks to I-phone or android through WIFI or bluetooth.

DigitalKnight

So this gadget along with my Droid 2 or iPad would tell me?

http://plxdevices.com/product_info.php?id=GSSTBLUETOOTH

Now cal when you say heat soaked.... do you mean take the car for a long hard spin around the block and pop open the hood and see if there is massive amounts of heat coming from the top of the engine?

When I first took delivery of the SL55 it just seemed to fly when I got on the gas... like it would start to break loose and then the Traction control would kick in. Now even with tractin control off it is like I have to work at getting the back end to break loose... or maybe I am just used to the power now and it is all in my head... lol ;-)

cal1

^That is the unit many of E55/E63 guys that run lots of mods like to use. Activate blue tooth on your droid or ipad and you are good to go.

I probably should not have used the word heat soaked since I don't fully understand it myself. I hear the term often and think it is basically when the heat of compression from the SC and engine heat finally overwhelms the cooling system (heat exchangers, ic pump). the intake air temperatures (IATs) rise above a certain level (not sure what the temp is) and the ECU shuts down the SC for safety. The SL becomes a slug when that happens. As soon as the IATs, drop, the SC is back online ready to give you the power we all love.

You might have the classic dead or low producing intercooler pump that causes high IATs. If you pick up a Kiwi, you can data log your IATs and it will tell you what is going on. I could help you get the data interpreted or someone on this forum just might help out as well.

I can tell you that I can barely crack the throttle without breaking tires loose with traction control off from a stop. I do have a fair amount of mods, but it seems to me, even when stock, the car would readily lose traction.

DigitalKnight

Thanks Cal. I will order it from Amazon as it is a couple dollars cheaper there and free shipping.

Your description of barely cracking the throttle and having the tires break loose is how mine was the day I got her... now even with traction control off if I put my foot to the floor I will get a little chirp from the tires but nothing massive.

VividRacing

Yep, that's what heat soak is.

Knight, how have you been driving the car lately? Most cars will "learn" your driving habits and adjust the tune to suit you. If you've been driving like an old lady, your car will slowly tune itself to "old lady spec". Although, it sounds like you might have a bigger issue. Log your IATs and I bet you'll see that your engine is sucking in a lot of hot air. Also, as the ambient temps heat up your IATs go up even if the car is in top shape.

cal1

I think you will be back to smoking tires real soon. Vivid raises a good point. Check this out: https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...set-works.html

Next you will be asking why your rear tires wear out twice as fast the front. Don't ask me, I haven't figured that one out yet.

DigitalKnight

Well now that you mention it... I did let my 17 year daughter drive it around the school parking lot for a while, teaching her to drive.

But I did just take the SL out for a spin with the ESP off and I was able to smoke the tires so perhaps I just am getting used to the car or perhaps once the car heats up it is loosing some of the pep? I just placed the order for the PLX so I will wait for it to arrive and then check out some of the IATs (will google that one.... )

I take it I should never drive the car "like an old lady"???

DigitalKnight

I tried the ecu reset but perhaps I did not wait the 2 minutes... would be nice to get some sort of confirmation on the rest from the dash!

As for smoked tires... yea... look at the last burn out I did in the driveway with BRAND NEW TIRES ON!!!

DigitalKnight

Oh and the crack in the driveway has since been repaired so please ignore the crack in the picture..... thank you...

kustom2k1

I bought a dashdaq with wideband from innovative. Money well spent.

BobLibSL55

Are those empty kegs of beer at the top of the driveway, under the bb hoop?

DigitalKnight

Ahhh... look closer my friend.... they are the original AMG rims from my SL55! I would not give them to my worst enemy! They have been previously welded, they are bent, one has a new crack... they are going to the scrap metal place soon for a few bucks back in my pocket.... thanks for reminding me... must check the price of aluminum....

VividRacing

That wouldn't do it. It takes quite a bit of driving. Sounds like a heat soak issue to me. Next time you drive the car in the early AM see if it will spin the tires and behave like it should. Then try it again after your commute. The performance difference you'll probably see is from heat soak.

cal1

NICE! I would say the SC was doing its job on those.

BobLibSL55

Got it. It was hard to tell since I was contorting my neck because of the sideways pic. Thats the best guess I could come up with. Maybe it me and my mind is in the gutter?

I was going to invite myself over for a drink , but never mind.

DigitalKnight

Yea, not sure why that one picture is sideways ? On my iPad it is correct but on my iMac in my web browser it is sideways but the actual picture on Dropbox is correct and it was shot correct? As far as the drink, the most you will find here is some red wine... So if you like red wine then come on over!

While I am waiting for my PLX to arrive, what would a 0-60 time be with ESP on with my SC working correctly? No reason I can't do some comparisons of others SL55's...

DigitalKnight

Took it out for a spin this am and it was very fast. Don't really do commutes as i have a company car so it sits in the garage and collects dust most of the time... But nice spring like days like today is just the occasion to drop the top and drop the peddle! I will take it for a longer spin and see how it feels thus afternoon when it is warmer out.