Which way to go
 

So I think I have my heart set on buying a 100k km 2005 SL55, pending inspection.

So I was thinking about mods, and I'm not sure what is the best way to go and maybe some folks can chime in.

I'm torn between going to the 3L Twin screw from weistec, or just doing full bolt ons (headers, intake, pulley, flash tune, injectors) I've been looking at eurocharged for that.

The supercharger is a bit more expensive up front, but probably gives me more room to grow.

I'm not looking for a crazy high hp car, just something that'll light up the tires (so I should just get some cheap china rubber instead right?)

I'd rather not duplicate work, so I'd hate to waste money on pulley/tune, only to have to upgrade it shortly afterwards.

Whats that saying? Go big or go home? =/

These things light up tires in stock form. I would go with longtubes/ tune first then decide what you want to do later on with adding boost, etc.

If you want fast and easy to upgrade for big power, go with the 600/65.

Well a SL65 wasn't in the cards at over 20k more, yet somehow I had 10k to blow on mods.

I picked up what may have been a cocaine dealers car in a previous life. American car, 63k miles, TINTED windows, black on black on black colour scheme, and a broken center console latch.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/iyd3yer19j...8.01.jpg?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6dfjt60zvk...8.23.jpg?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/f5t2i9z4xc...4.16.jpg?raw=1

So I do believe tomorrow I'm ordering a 83mm pulley, eurotech headers, 82mm throttle body, injectors, new heat exchanger, and a upgraded IC pump. I'm hoping this batch of mods keeps me happy for a bit.

Also, is it possible to program keys with a MaxiDAS ds708 ?
How about reprogramming my cluster to be entirely in KPH instead of MPH.

You prob need STAR for the keys,I have both computers but honestly never bothered to look at Ds708 to see

Why don't you buy the car and drive it for a while and see how you like it.... as is.

+1 these things are awesome stock! Besides you could do all that work just to end up with a tuning issue due to mod compatibility...

Ive had mine stock for a decade. When i do mod it it will be:

Cwa50 pump (installed)
Wiestec trunk tank (purchased)
Zzp heat exchanger (todo)
77mm pulley/tune belt wrap injectors (purchased)
Girodisc brakes (todo)
Mbh headers (todo)
Kleemann cams (todo)
Quaife diff (todo)

Done.

I absolutely adore the car as is. I get a huge grin on my face every time I jump in it and I wait for my top to come down... I almost salivate with anticipation of hitting the open road.

HOWEVER, that being said there is room for improvement on any dream car.

I would love to hear that V8 make just a wee bit more noise. Usually deleting the primary cats provides the perfect amount of noise, and performance.

I've ordered all my mods from the same shop. So I don't foresee any tuning difficulties, and I'm not doing anything too wild.

So on Sunday I was out for a cruise with the top down, car starts pulling to the right, so I pull off somewhere safe and discover I've got a flat tire!

Check the trunk, The spare is there but there is no wrench or air pump.

First tow truck that showed up didn't have air. Second truck had a canister of air that had just enough to fill the silly spare.

Go to my favourite indy shop on monday to get the flat wheel repaired. Turns out there's a crack in my rim! Went to a local rim repair shop, and the owner just starts cursing as he's inspecting the wheel. I guess the shoulder had been machined a bunch and they took a lot of material out and repaired the crack using the wrong rod.

So the rim repair guy basically says due to safety he really doesn't recommend putting this rim back into service, but it's a niche wheel, so go see my buddy down the street who happens to sell niche.

Go see buddy, Rims been discontinued. None in the Niche warehouse. Great. Look at another set of 20's, as at this point I'd only need four rims and a tire to get the car going again.

Discover I cannot get a tire that matches in that size ( 20" ) locally.
Check tirerack, they don't even carry the tire anymore.

Other supplier has a few aftermarket rim suggestions in 18" but they all looked hideous.

So I end up at the Mercedes dealership, and ordered the factory 18" rims it came with. Then hit up tire rack and ordered a set of michelin pilot super sports in factory sizes.

What a stupid day.

- and expensive day....

-and expensive day...

I have stock 19" in my 65 with Michelin Super Sports. The tire performs well on the road, but it is not a track tire. It lacks a little grip when I open up but I suppose it adds a little to the fun factor.

so hooray, my front rims arrived (which means I can drive the car again without the spare on, I'll just have mismatched rims until the rears arrive) My Michelin pilot super sports should be arriving anytime on monday. Thanks Tirerack/UPS! 4 business days to get me my tires is pretty quick.

I ordered a gold ceramic coated needswings intake, and replaced the fuel filter.

I ordered a mercedes SDS/XENTRY/EPC laptop from ebay to mess around with modules on the car. I want to see if I can switch my cluster between mph and kph, or if I order a new cluster, port over the kms.

My AMG embossed floor mats also arrived, along with my replacement decals for the plastidipped ones the PO did.

Considering getting my AMG rims plastidipped matte black or something. It'd be neat to have the AMG Style III rims in black, with the rest of the car being blacked out.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ovlqy1crsr...2.36.jpg?raw=1

I AM SO ASHAMED OF MY LAWN. My guy needs to step up his game. OH! also check out my horribly mismatched rims (lol). I'm still debating having the AMG rims plastidipped something dark probably. Noticed today the PO (poorly) spraypainted the front/rear calipers.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fx6biscjcl...3.46.jpg?raw=1

Also these are my replacement floor mats. I think they look wonderful. They definitely finish the look of the interior.

Did my first ABC Rodeo today as well. Got out the fluid that was black as sin. I don't think it'd been changed yet in its 60k mile lifetime. Got 7L of nice green CHF11S in it. We (my mechanic and I) managed to follow the Howto and got everything done without incident, except when the ABC system drained back into itself after we were just about finished (was cleaning up, car off, just had to reattach return line) and yeah the fluid started flowing back, out the return hose, and made a mess everywhere. Oh well thats why they invented rags and brake kleen.

Love this car so much. Its so fun. I can't wait to make it go just a little bit faster ;)

Got my center console fixed today, the other mechanic who's good with body panel stuff had a piece laying around that fixed it, at least temporarily. Which is great because a replacement center console is $800 just for the bottom part which we think includes the latch assembly.

Also got the A pillar part where a tweeter would go, on the passenger side repaired. It was rattling at speed earlier.

My rear rims finally came in. Got them mounted today.

Attachment 443354

Discovered that the PO was using spacers on the rears.

Installed the new rears without the spacers, only to find out the aftermarket lug bolts are too long, and now scrape on the brake backing plate, which makes a horrific noise when you are driving.

Ordered up 10 new lugnuts from the dealership.

Eurocharged should have some parts arriving tomorrow for me. Hopefully I can get the tune and the pulley installed in time for the weekend :D

your latch dysfunction may be different than what I've seen, but in my experience, this problem is solved by replacing the "insert" (part of console that floats between top and bottom that the phone kit normally is normally mounted to) . It can be found for under $100 new

http://www.mbdirectparts.com/mercede...rt_name=insert

hope that helps
Chris

Sooooooooo we (and by we, I mean my mechanic, with me cheering from the sidelines) got the supercharger out today. Discovered someone had been in there before us. the charge air cooler gasket was missing and they used silicone instead? Also one of the bolts on the intake manifold was partially rounded.

This is my car, a mouse made a nest in the valley for a while.
Attachment 443345

Supercharger out and on the bench, less one charge air cooler.

Attachment 443346

Does anyone know a good thread about installing the upgraded radiator?

Thanks Chris!

I will see if I can look up that part # and get a picture of it to see if its correct.

My latch issues are on the receiver side, not the male side that I think your part is?

Check your parts source.
 

Check your parts source.
 

[Ulook in to oediscountparts
com.
[/U]

I AGREE ! as I've often mentioned, since oediscountparts.com has free shipping on most orders over $50, they are usually the price to beat (on orders between $50 and $200). Add to that, Tracy is not not only very knowledgeable, but also very helpful and easy to work with. :y

Cheers,
Chris

while you have the SC off, have your mechanic inspect the the harness (that passes into the valley next to the throttlebody, connects to the knock sensors and then heads up to the front of the motor) for abrasions, etc. I had an intermittent short in my ignition coil circuit (blew fuse 2 times 10k plus miles apart) that left me stranded and required I pull the SC to repair it. Better to look now while it's off. My short was where the harness enters the valley at the rear near the TB (top of block rubbed through harness wrap and wire insulation).

Cheers,
Chris

There is no charge air cooler gasket, that's what the factory sealant looks like. There is a couple of threads in w211 about S/C bearings and oil refilling, you should grease the bearings while you are in there. (special grease)

You should be able to tighten the I/C a little at a time to flatten the silicone evenly. The end bolts got tightened first on that one, and held it at an angle. You'll see what I mean.

Thank you Chris, We will look into this tomorrow. I had been eyeballing the harness myself and it seemed intact despite a mouse nest being made near it.




Yeah after we did some research, we discovered there was no gasket ;)

My guy is good and has a nice steady hand for applying silicone, and thanks for the tips!

Hopefully we have the correct kind of grease kicking around. I googled the procedure and have some idea of what to do. Thank you :)

Today my headers arrived from EuroCharged. I also have my tune file from Jerry for all my mods. Can't wait to enjoy the car :D

Attachment 443338