SL55/63/65/R230 AMG: Nobody else takes their SL to the track
01-18-2015, 09:36 PM
#3
MBWorld Fanatic!
I used to hit the track frequently when I lived in Indianapolis. I would go to what is now Lucas Oil Raceway park in Indianapolis and Muncie dragway in the middle of the Indiana corn fields near Muncie IN. This was 6 or 7 years ago when breaking into the 11s was damned respectable. My PB is 11.86 with a 1.76 60 and a trap speed 121.3 on street tires. I think my SL has a mid 11 in her if i ran drag radials.
When I was at the Muncie track, I was the only non-American iron car out there. The raceway announcer loved to give me grief. I remember hearing him say "why would anyone drag a Mercedes" and that he hoped Mercedes roadside service would come to the track. I happen to know the track owner. He was in the control tower during one of my runs. After a run, he told me the guys controlling the clock said "there is no way that Mercedes just ran a high 11. There must be something wrong with the clock."
After that, some ricer guys from Fort Wayne were willing to hang out with me, but the American car guys had no love.
When I was at the Muncie track, I was the only non-American iron car out there. The raceway announcer loved to give me grief. I remember hearing him say "why would anyone drag a Mercedes" and that he hoped Mercedes roadside service would come to the track. I happen to know the track owner. He was in the control tower during one of my runs. After a run, he told me the guys controlling the clock said "there is no way that Mercedes just ran a high 11. There must be something wrong with the clock."
After that, some ricer guys from Fort Wayne were willing to hang out with me, but the American car guys had no love.
01-19-2015, 08:06 AM
#4
Senior Member
Yes, I've driven my SL55 on the track. My 'time' was about 2 minutes and 25 seconds. The 'track' was Watkins Glen road race track in NY state, the original Grand Prix track in the US. I'd driven a couple of Porsche 928's on that track for 4-6 days a year for about a dozen years before I decided to retire from this sport. So, I sold my '89 928 S4 that had been a dedicated; to, from, and on track car.
'The Glen' was my favorite track out of the ~dozen US and Canada tracks I'd driven over those years, so after driving the SL55 home from Provo Utah, I just HAD to take it to the Glen for a couple of days of fun with about 120 Porsches! It was GREAT. My lap time with this car using about 1/2 as much throttle most of the time was the same as with the 928 S4 using full throttle as often as I could. The ABC suspension made handling superb on this 3.5 mile uphill/downhill track with 12 corners/turns. I'm confident that with more driving time in this car, I could have knocked at least 10+ seconds off my lap times at the Glen.
This is 'real' driving with lots of accelerating, braking, cornering, and speeds in the 135-150+ range on the longest straights - not just 'accelerating'!! Usually about 30 minutes of driving at a time, for 10-12 laps. The real fun is not the speed, but the judgement in braking smoothly, minimally yet sufficiently to take the next corner with all four tires squealing, then passing the car ahead of you on the next straight (no corner passing in these events - in ~15,000 miles of on track driving, I never saw any paint exchanged between cars!).
Give it a try some time/place, you'll have the biggest smile on your face you've ever had! AND, you are literally never to old to start - did my first road race track event in my mid 60's. And, the 'coaching' you get in learning the sport makes you a much safer highway driver.
'The Glen' was my favorite track out of the ~dozen US and Canada tracks I'd driven over those years, so after driving the SL55 home from Provo Utah, I just HAD to take it to the Glen for a couple of days of fun with about 120 Porsches! It was GREAT. My lap time with this car using about 1/2 as much throttle most of the time was the same as with the 928 S4 using full throttle as often as I could. The ABC suspension made handling superb on this 3.5 mile uphill/downhill track with 12 corners/turns. I'm confident that with more driving time in this car, I could have knocked at least 10+ seconds off my lap times at the Glen.
This is 'real' driving with lots of accelerating, braking, cornering, and speeds in the 135-150+ range on the longest straights - not just 'accelerating'!! Usually about 30 minutes of driving at a time, for 10-12 laps. The real fun is not the speed, but the judgement in braking smoothly, minimally yet sufficiently to take the next corner with all four tires squealing, then passing the car ahead of you on the next straight (no corner passing in these events - in ~15,000 miles of on track driving, I never saw any paint exchanged between cars!).
Give it a try some time/place, you'll have the biggest smile on your face you've ever had! AND, you are literally never to old to start - did my first road race track event in my mid 60's. And, the 'coaching' you get in learning the sport makes you a much safer highway driver.
Last edited by kittyandgary; 01-25-2015 at 03:22 PM.
01-19-2015, 10:29 AM
#5
MBWorld Fanatic!
Yes, I've driven my SL55 on the track. My 'time' was about 2 minutes and 25 seconds.
The 'track' was Watkins Glen road race track in NY state, the original Grand Prix track in the US. I'd driven a couple of Porsche 928's on that track for 4-6 days a year for about a dozen years before I decided to retire from 'gentleman's racing' on this and about a dozen other great road racing tracks throughout the eastern US and Canada and sold my '89 928 S4. It had been a dedicated; to, from, and on track car.
'The Glen' was my favorite track, and after driving the SL55 home from Provo Utah, I just HAD to take it to the Glen for a couple of days of fun with about 120 Porsches! It was GREAT. My lap time with this car using about 1/2 as much throttle most of the time was the same as with the 928 S4 using full throttle as often as I could. The ABC suspension made handling superb on this 3.5 mile uphill/downhill track with 12 corners/turns. I'm confident that with more driving time in this car, I could have knocked at least 10+ seconds off my lap times at the Glen.
This is 'real' driving with lots of accelerating, braking, cornering, and speeds in the 135-150+ range on the longest straights - not just 'accelerating'!! Usually about 30 minutes of driving at a time, for 10-12 laps. The real fun is not the speed, but the judgement in braking smoothly and sufficiently to take the next corner with all four tires squealing, then passing the car ahead of you on the next straight (no corner passing in these events - in ~15,000 miles of on track driving, I never saw any paint exchanged between cars!).
Give it a try some time/place, you'll have the biggest smile on your face you've ever had! AND, you are literally never to old to start - did my first road race track event in my mid 60's. And, the 'coaching' you get in learning the sport makes you a much safer highway driver.
The 'track' was Watkins Glen road race track in NY state, the original Grand Prix track in the US. I'd driven a couple of Porsche 928's on that track for 4-6 days a year for about a dozen years before I decided to retire from 'gentleman's racing' on this and about a dozen other great road racing tracks throughout the eastern US and Canada and sold my '89 928 S4. It had been a dedicated; to, from, and on track car.
'The Glen' was my favorite track, and after driving the SL55 home from Provo Utah, I just HAD to take it to the Glen for a couple of days of fun with about 120 Porsches! It was GREAT. My lap time with this car using about 1/2 as much throttle most of the time was the same as with the 928 S4 using full throttle as often as I could. The ABC suspension made handling superb on this 3.5 mile uphill/downhill track with 12 corners/turns. I'm confident that with more driving time in this car, I could have knocked at least 10+ seconds off my lap times at the Glen.
This is 'real' driving with lots of accelerating, braking, cornering, and speeds in the 135-150+ range on the longest straights - not just 'accelerating'!! Usually about 30 minutes of driving at a time, for 10-12 laps. The real fun is not the speed, but the judgement in braking smoothly and sufficiently to take the next corner with all four tires squealing, then passing the car ahead of you on the next straight (no corner passing in these events - in ~15,000 miles of on track driving, I never saw any paint exchanged between cars!).
Give it a try some time/place, you'll have the biggest smile on your face you've ever had! AND, you are literally never to old to start - did my first road race track event in my mid 60's. And, the 'coaching' you get in learning the sport makes you a much safer highway driver.
01-21-2015, 08:03 AM
#6
Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 139
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
1999 E55, 2005 SL65
Yes, I've driven my SL55 on the track. My 'time' was about 2 minutes and 25 seconds. The 'track' was Watkins Glen road race track in NY state, the original Grand Prix track in the US. I'd driven a couple of Porsche 928's on that track for 4-6 days a year for about a dozen years before I decided to retire from this sport. So, I sold my '89 928 S4 that had been a dedicated; to, from, and on track car.
'The Glen' was my favorite track, and after driving the SL55 home from Provo Utah, I just HAD to take it to the Glen for a couple of days of fun with about 120 Porsches! It was GREAT. My lap time with this car using about 1/2 as much throttle most of the time was the same as with the 928 S4 using full throttle as often as I could. The ABC suspension made handling superb on this 3.5 mile uphill/downhill track with 12 corners/turns. I'm confident that with more driving time in this car, I could have knocked at least 10+ seconds off my lap times at the Glen.
This is 'real' driving with lots of accelerating, braking, cornering, and speeds in the 135-150+ range on the longest straights - not just 'accelerating'!! Usually about 30 minutes of driving at a time, for 10-12 laps. The real fun is not the speed, but the judgement in braking smoothly, minimally yet sufficiently to take the next corner with all four tires squealing, then passing the car ahead of you on the next straight (no corner passing in these events - in ~15,000 miles of on track driving, I never saw any paint exchanged between cars!).
Give it a try some time/place, you'll have the biggest smile on your face you've ever had! AND, you are literally never to old to start - did my first road race track event in my mid 60's. And, the 'coaching' you get in learning the sport makes you a much safer highway driver.
'The Glen' was my favorite track, and after driving the SL55 home from Provo Utah, I just HAD to take it to the Glen for a couple of days of fun with about 120 Porsches! It was GREAT. My lap time with this car using about 1/2 as much throttle most of the time was the same as with the 928 S4 using full throttle as often as I could. The ABC suspension made handling superb on this 3.5 mile uphill/downhill track with 12 corners/turns. I'm confident that with more driving time in this car, I could have knocked at least 10+ seconds off my lap times at the Glen.
This is 'real' driving with lots of accelerating, braking, cornering, and speeds in the 135-150+ range on the longest straights - not just 'accelerating'!! Usually about 30 minutes of driving at a time, for 10-12 laps. The real fun is not the speed, but the judgement in braking smoothly, minimally yet sufficiently to take the next corner with all four tires squealing, then passing the car ahead of you on the next straight (no corner passing in these events - in ~15,000 miles of on track driving, I never saw any paint exchanged between cars!).
Give it a try some time/place, you'll have the biggest smile on your face you've ever had! AND, you are literally never to old to start - did my first road race track event in my mid 60's. And, the 'coaching' you get in learning the sport makes you a much safer highway driver.
I'd love to run the quarter someday...in the meantime, I recommend to all they take a turn (pun intended) on a circuit. You won't regret it.
Trending Topics
01-21-2015, 10:15 AM
#8
Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 139
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
1999 E55, 2005 SL65
My AMGs are a gas at the track whether straight-line or curcuit or a pleasure jus cruisin. I do agree Sound8, my preference is also to drive mine; I hate being a passenger.
01-21-2015, 10:27 AM
#9
MBWorld Fanatic!
I 2nd K&G. I've run Lime Rock in CT (Basic) and Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in TX (Advanced) AMG Academies and have had an absolute ball! After these, I took my SL65 to the old Lotus proving grounds in Garysburg, NC (outside Roanoke Rapids) - now owned by the North Carolina Center for Automotive Research (aka NCCAR). It's a 2-mile track, very flat with numerous curves, that allows you to push the limits of your car - at a very reasonable price ($99 for the day). These times on the track have made me a way better road-driver. The AMG Academies purposefully have you push the AMGs to the limits (mainly, your limits...not the cars!) and get a feel for what the AMGs can do and can endure! Running full-out for hours in ~95 degree temps at COTA really stresses the cars (and drivers). Running at NCCAR gave me a better feel for the limits of my car.
I'd love to run the quarter someday...in the meantime, I recommend to all they take a turn (pun intended) on a circuit. You won't regret it.
I'd love to run the quarter someday...in the meantime, I recommend to all they take a turn (pun intended) on a circuit. You won't regret it.
I do feel I am a better defensive driver for having taken the course.
01-23-2015, 11:30 AM
#11
MBWorld Fanatic!
01-23-2015, 11:41 AM
#12
Super Member
The sl is not light but is close to a 50/50 weight distribution with the ABC helping the lean makes it a decent handling car. The main issue is the under steer that is built in from the factory. Mainly due to the skinny tires up front. I am installing a wide body kit so I can run 305mm front tires up front and 325mm at the back. The Camaro z28 has had good success with the 305mm at the front. Also I will add a little more camber to the front for better turn inn.
