Hi Guys,
Just wanted to start this little build thread I've been doing for the last several months. Please note, I do not want anyone to think I'm advertising anything here. Yes I run a repair shop that works on certain euro vehicles, if anything here in this thread is breaking those rules, please let me know and I'll edit that content. I know what it's like to be a sponsor of the forum, so it would be unfair to them. I will however give shoutouts to companies that supplied parts, especially Speedriven since they're a sponsor here.

I got this 2005 SL65 AMG with 73k miles from Cats Exotics (a local used Lamborghini dealership). While test driving, I couldn't believe how slow it was, probably couldn't even keep up with my old and beat 04 s600 (11.8 at 118mph) and my 04 sl600. I've sold my 2004 SL600 to my friend, as the goal has been to eventually upgrade to an SL65 AMG, the king of torque.

I've decided to buy the car anyways, as I was pretty experience with working on these V12 TT motors, so shouldn't be an issue to get it back to running healthy. There were only 2 for sale locally, and the other one was silver. I don't like silver or black. This one was priced lowered as well, so that helped.

I knew I can't stand the factory height of the SL, so I bought the Programa V2 lowering module, before even going to see the car. That way I didn't have to suffer much at 4x4 status.

Pictures of the day I bought it and drove it to the shop:

 

First thing I did on the car was to install the lowering module, carbon fiber front lip and rear diffuser.

 

Then I couldn't stand the rear muffler tips being too far in. So I had a fab shop down the street that my friends run, install me some new tips.














Video of the lowering module at work:

 

Then I started to focus on the reason why it was so slow.
The car came with a clean carfax, and tons of service records. Right before it was listed for sale, the previous owner took it to Mercedes Benz of Seattle for some warranty work. They replaced a bunch of gaskets/oil cooler seal/etc. The entire engine was removed during this process.
I noticed the rear main seal leaked as well, after their tech replaced it.
On the dyno it put down an embarrassing 380whp. I then built a boost pressure tester and decided to check the system to find out why it's so weak.
Boost pressure leak showed that one of the y-pipe throttle body clamps was overtightened and stripped, almost all of the rubber connectors for the solid plastic lines were not holding at all. The rear intake manifold cap was leaking really bad. The dealership does not even have a part number listed or sell the replacement cap for the intake manifold. So I just bought a silicone cap, and sealed off the entire assembly. I replaced every rubber connector and the white nylon line of the vacuum system. Replaced all y-pipe clamps. Replaced intercooler charger pipe o-rings and coupler clamps with t-bolts.
The boost pressure test now passed with flying colors, where before I couldn't keep more than 7psi in the system with the compressor pumping into it non-stop.

Back on the dyno, and it still wouldn't break 400whp. Boost was high on one pull at 22psi, and then low the next pull at 7psi, without showing any codes. I decided to look at the boost solenoid. The tech that worked on this, hooked up the wastegates to the bleeder port of the valve, so the boost controller was freaking out and could not control boost at all. We fixed that plumbing for the wastegates, boost was stable at 13.5psi throughout the midrange and tapered down to 7psi.
I thought it was still low, but the car made decent numbers, around 450-460whp, which is pretty good for a stock sl65 amg on a very low reading dyno dynamics dyno. The same dyno an E63 AMG and an E60 M5 make between 380-390WHP.

While fixing the boost leaks, I also wrapped the charge pipe and intercoolers in heat reflective shield.



I also could hear the larger vacuum hoses with the check valves let some air through the check valve when doing the boost pressure testing. Not wanting to take any risks of boost leaks, I bought 2 more check valves and added them inline. Now whatever if any boost makes it through the stock check valves, the 2nd check valve will stop it completely without any negative effects.






We then packed the car up and took it to Spokane for the Norhtwest Street Car Challenge. A dig 1/4 and roll racing 1/3 mile event. I go to every event this group holds, which is usually 2 per year. This was the first on the street for the car.
Ended up running 12.0 at 119mph on a bone stock lower Sl65, with 295/30/20 Pilot Super Sports.

Here's a video from the event.

Stock dyno run: Only mods is the aftermarket heat exchanger and CM30 pump. Unknown TCU tune and Unknown tune that just removed the speed limiter only. You can use this video to compare the before and after Speedriven catless downpipes.

 

After the event, I put in an order with Speedriven for some Catless Downpipes and their Billet Blow Off Valves. They made me a great deal, and I'm happy with products and fitment.
As well as an order for a custom ice trunk tank from chiseled performance with a built in rule 2000 pump. I measured out the open trunk space I had, and ended up with a monster 13.7 gallon tank, an overkill of a tank. 40lbs of ice fits in too easily. I won't be running more than half of capacity at the track, but on the street more ice will last me 3-4 pulls without needing a refill.

After the parts arrived, I pulled the transmission to replace the rear main seal and make it super easy to run the coolant lines to the rear.
I also then dyno tuned the ECU after I figured out how to get that boost to go up and adjust it. Maxed out the turbos, I believe I can push much more boost if I were to tighten the wastegate or replace them with stronger units. I think mine are too weak, and the backpressure is forcing them to open at higher RPM.
Enjoy the pictures:

Downpipes and Ice Tank install:














































Dyno graphs of stock ECU vs Tuned ECU after playing with the ECU boost on the dyno for a day.
My dyno reads about 12% LOWER than a dynojet around the block. That would equal to about 533WHP on a stock setup, and 617WHP on the tuned setup.
My stock vs tuned boost map is shown at the end of one of the videos.



I then removed brand new OEM air filters out of the factory air box to check if they're restricting anything. They did restrict power up top.




First start up after install Speedriven Catless Downpipes:

Video of the ice trunk tank doing work after just installing it:

Dyno pull while tuning the car after the tank/downpipes/bovs were installed:

Another pull from a different angle

 

Up next, was to install the Billet BOVs from Speedriven.
Space is very tight on the drives side, we took a 5mm allen and modified it to tighten some of the bolts.
Fitment otherwise is perfect, and you can actually hear these BOVs when you build up boost and let off the throttle. The sound is a nice soft air release, nothing loud or crazy.

I also decided it was time to get rid of the factory airboxes, and build some new airboxes in the front grill. All while keeping the engine bay looking completely stock with the carbon cover if I were to open the hood for someone.
















Airboxes were built from aluminum sheets that I cut up, and tig welded. I then went around the edge with a rubber seal to prevent any dirt from getting around the box, and everything has to go through the new K&N air filter. I also reused the factory mesh inside the new intake, just incase filter or any debris were to get around the airbox.

























Was driving by a place that has a scale always on to see what the car weighs in it's current form. 4580 LBS, what a heavy pig. This is with about a quarter tank of gas and nobody inside the car. That means it's at 4800lbs with just me in it, and around 5000lbs with a passenger. Insane.

 

Another Street Car Challenge event was coming up. I was going to bring more power and more traction this time. So it was time to upgrade the traction bit. So I bought some cheap wheels as a track setup.
Niche M117
18x9.5 Rear
19x8.5 Front
Mickey Thompson SS - 285/40/18, perfect clearance and no rubbing anywhere. Could probably even fit a slightly wider tire, but these should handle some hard launches on a well prepped surface anyways.

The front wheels literally have just a hair of clearance between the caliper and inside of the barrel.
Rear clearance was perfect, almost 1/2" of clearance from wheel to caliper.









Front Wheel is very tight clearance, but never touched the wheels. Even after going 150mph at the event and hard braking/bumps.












Back into the trailer and heading to the event. I also trailered my friends heavily modded E55 AMG, that made 520whp on my dyno. He gets me by about 1 car length from a dig or a 40 roll, it's nice to have 500lbs less weight and a better power band.

 

Reserved for future updates.

 

I like the intake setup. Is that just a 2.25-3" 90* hose with an aluminum connector? Also, how is the flow with those custom boxes? Do you have a second set available?

 

I really enjoy these build threads from the original purchase of the car. There are a couple running here and they really help us keep on top of the cars as pieces are pulled off etc. I wish I had the knowledge many of the members on this forum have. This is why I pay attention. Good luck at the strip. Can't wait to see the results

Be safe!

Cheers!

Shaun

 

Fantastic!

 

I built the airboxes out of cardboard first, then transfered it onto aluminum plates. Put it back together on the car, fine tune it and then weld them up. It took me all day to build them, not looking to building another set.
I used a 2.25" 45 degree right off the turbo, then a 2.25" to 3" 90 degree elbow. The aluminum pipe is just a 3" , it fits perfectly into the stock airpipe and the elbow, no need for clamps there. I was trying to find a plastic 3" pipe to use instead, but nothing was available at a reasonable cost. So I just used some left over pipe I had.
You'll have to trim and cut the coupler to get the angles and length/heights properly. Nothing too hard.

 

My 2007 consistently hits 24-25 PSI under hard acceleration. At least that is what the car thinks its doing.

 

Looks good so far, where did you get that screen for the intake pipes?

 

I was logging boost on the dyno with both obd2 readout in KPA and tapped into the map sensor hose to read it with a dyno map sensor.
Could not get more than 20psi, and it fell to 13psi by redline.

We tightened up the wastegate rods much tighter today, now it can hold a little bit more back pressure before forcing the gates open. I attached a pressure gauge and compressor at low pressure, and also adjust the wastegate to open evenly/same time.

I also bought Turbosmart Eboost2, going to get rid of the factory solenoid and control boost from inside the car. This way I can control it on the fly, and even setup boost by gear, low/high boost. Should help out when on street tires in lower gears.

After all the test and tunes are done for this year in Octrober, engine is coming out. Turbos are going to be sent out for billet wheels/larger inlets and maybe clip exhaust wheels. Turbosmart 14psi wastegate actutators will also go on, to fight the back pressure even more on higher RPM. Hoping to run 22-25psi all the way till redline.

 

They came out of the factory airbox.

 

Good stuff! Subscribed!

 

What are you using for tuning?

 

Nice! Thanks for sharing.

Keep us posted what you are gaining with the billet wheels, when you install them.

Good Luck!

 

You got me worrying that I've got leaks......

 

I have Dimsport New Genius flash tool and Dimsport Race tuning software.
I also use winols for tuning, as dimsport race did not have enough boost maps to tune boost properly. Lots of manual work and finding all the tables I needed in the .bin files to be able to tune it.

 

Get a pair of 2.25" silicone coupler, and 2.25" plastic/aluminum caps. Remove the intakes, install the caps and pressurize the system. Use soapy water wherever you can hear leaks. I've had 4 boost leaks after I bought my car, which just came out of MB of Seattle. Couldn't hold 7psi, now it holds 25psi no problem. So the turbos are not overworking.

 

Last week I installed the SmartTop module, took a simple 20 minutes. Easy to install, and easy to use.
Love putting the top down, and control windows from the remote now.


Yesterday we adjusted the wastegate rods. One was starting to open at 7psi to the actuator, the other was at 9psi. After adjustment, they both start to crack open at exact same pressure now, which is now at 10.5psi before they move at all. Fully open at 13psi.

Boost controller/gauge should arrive today/tomorrow, so I'll throw that in and put it back on the dyno to see if we can get more boost/power out of it.

 

Maybe a dumb question but how would I pressurize the system?

Are you here in Seattle?

 

Simple to build or you can buy them.