I just bought it this week, looking to go ahead and try to locate some basic upgrades, intake, exhaust, suspension, etc. Nothing too crazy 'yet'

Drop me a line if you have anything.

 

Nothing out there in your garages laying around?

 

The basic upgrade is new intercooler pump, new heat exchanger and ECU tune, this is what everyone usually does first

After that from what I've seen with people on 55s they usually do headers and upgrade the pulley on the supercharger

But literally you can do a lot of things such as:

Limited Slip Differential
Toe Links
65 AMG Brake Upgrade
Supercharger Upgrade
Downpipes
Camshaft
Trunk tank
Intakes/Upgraded Air Box

But for a stock SL55 I know IC Pump, HE and ECU/TCU Tune is usually the first thing people always do

 

Having purchased a '03 SL55 about 6 months ago, and driven it for about 3 months before 'storage season', I'll chime in with things to be SURE are or have recently been done, almost regardless of mileage (after 11 years original fluids are no longer acceptable, many in less years than that. Yes, I know MB says some of these are lifetime, but to me that means the lifetime of the component is gonna' be significantly shorter than if the fluid maintenance is done). If they haven't been done in the time frame I note, I'd suggest getting it done ASAP. These, of course, are not 'mods', but are very important to the longevity and reliability of this complicated machine.

Brake Fluid 2-3 yrs
Transmission Fluid - ~5 yrs
Differential Fluid ~10 yrs
Coolant ~3 yrs
ABC hydraulic fluid 4-5 yrs
Engine oil 1 yr
Supercharger oil ~5 yrs

I have done all these over the past 2 months, and enjoyed the 'learning' process with a new to me car. IF you are mechanically oriented and have tools/lift, these are easily done by you. IF not, find a KNOWLEDGEABLE independent, or a GOOD dealer. All these components use specialized fluids, and you can find the names of the producers via searching the internet (or Forums like this). You can also buy them from MB of course, with their significant markup over the producers price. Write-ups for these maintenance procedures are also readily available on these forums or with a Google search.

Regarding actual 'mods', I've installed a 'belt wrap kit' for the supercharger, along with new idler pulleys and the smaller diameter supercharger pulley (do a search for Shardul to learn more - he retails these). As routine service for an 11 year old car with 45K miles, and a car I'm planning on driving/enjoying for several years, I also installed a new Gates serpentine belt (based on experiences of many of us in the Porsche 928 community, I highly recommend either MB or Gates, but not Contitech belts). I will do a 'tune' this spring after the car leaves my hobby garage.

Welcome to the the Club!

Gary Knox-

 

I suggest checking out Eurocharged, Kleemann and Renntech. You will find Eurocharged to be the best value, then Kleemann and then Renntech.

As far as the first round of mods, a pulley and tune really wakes up the 55K. In the old days, most of us, me included ran over sized counter pulleys. Now, people like Eurocharged and I think someone mentioned Shardul who is awesome, have smaller SC pulleys that add boost. IMO, smaller SC pulleys are the way to go. The larger counter pulley adds rotational mass and some designs have actually spun off which damages the crankshaft. A potential nightmare.

The older 55ks had issues with the intercooler pumps, so if your SL has a stock pump, it might be toast or at best producing low flow rates. If you have noticed intermittent loss of power and then the power coming back after a few minutes, it is undoubtedly an IC pump issue. The newer MB stock pump resolves this problem, plus there are a number of aftermarket solutions. Regarding adding an additional heat exchanger, our superchargers which sit between the cylinder banks get heat soaked easily. Adding additional cooling will help to deliver consistent power and reduce heat soak. Do keep in mind that any mod that adds boost is not really taken advantage or without a tune. The Eurocharged guys decided that it was BS for someone to have to pay for a new tune after every mode, so they work with you to tune the car properly after any new mods you might add later. I think they still do this which makes them a top choice if you plan to do a number of modes at different times.

Regarding suspension modes on the SL. Our ABC hydraulic system leaves us a bit limited. There are a number of lowering solutions including a Star diagnostics (SDS) lowering, mechanical lowering links, or my favorite, the electronic lowering module (ELM) which allows tons of flexibility in terms of lowering height.

A final note. We share the 55k motor with the E55 guys (W211). They are by far the biggest bunch of modders on MBW. Any engine mod you might read about in the W211 community applies to our motors as well.

 

You want to make your SL55 quick, find yourself an 82mm tb, 180 pulley, headers along with a meth kit. Tune it on a dyno. You should have a 500hp 580tq monster on your hands.

 

true, but don't you think discussion on bigger injectors and a fuel rail are in order?

 

very informative post, thinks for this info.

 

^^^Excellent cal1, thank you.