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i would say it depends on how your going to drive it. owned an sl55 and currently a sl65. i wish i had kept my 55 in all honesty. the 65 is ok if all your looking for is straight line acceleration. the 55 is much more nimble and better suited for track/group drives. upgrades for the 65 are rather limited as well but even a fully upgraded 55 still gets out powered by a tuned 65. I do like the leather interior of the 65 better but not enough to justify the price differences. Also i feel that the maintenance costs of the 55 were more manageable. If i had to do it over again i would have kept the 55 or possibly moved in to a 63.
i would say it depends on how your going to drive it.
For me...
I do like the fact that when I need a sedan I can jump in the S55 and maintenance costs wise the cross over parts help for me to have an SL55 and an S55 it make my cars more manageable. If i had to do it over again i would do the same again... and I had to do it over again during the last hurricane "Harvey" I lost 3 cars.
the reason it was dropped was because of new fuel emissions and efficiency standards be the Obama administration. Also Went from 5 to 7 speeds and turbos
As you can see/read in post #28 beside my SL55 I drove a 2006 S55. In 2019 the S55 was sold and replaced with a 2007 S65, I also do all the maintenance work on my friends 2008 SL65 and I can tell you from personable experience that my stock SL55 with the P30 option (factory larger injectors - 195MpH speed limiter and Nuremberg ring tuned suspension) keeps the "Emperors V-12" on a straight away in check at any time, the P30 - 20% < factory suspension and less weight up front does make the difference in the corners. I'm now adding a 2017 AMG GTS and may be after I get some drivers seat time in it either the "King" or "Emperor" may have to leave the palace.
So far the the "King and Emperor" are both addictive to drive, will the GTS take over for one of them or become the 3rd addiction time will tell.
Happy motoring to all - Emperors, Kings and Queens!
Last edited by Hendrik Koster; Feb 22, 2021 at 07:54 AM.
This is an impossible thread with all of us as winners. King or Emperor (or Queen), the only reason for debate is because most of us can only justify owning one and not both. I'll give the 55 has a slight slalom advantage, but to talk like the 65 can't turn is absurd. Any advantage between one or the other would be highly dependent on what track you are on. I would love to also have a wonderful P30 SL55 (or that GTS) but until then, I'll have to settle for the rich baritone of ZWOLF cylinders producing a bunch more hp & torque.
Hendrik, I do like your listed trio of owned Mercedes.
With "zwolf" meaning "twelve" in German, I wasn't able to get that exact spelling for my state plate, but I did get "ZWULF" which is close enough & of course leaves people wondering what the hell I'm trying to communicate.
For those in the know V12 is all the communication you need.
BTW; I'm replacing a complete V12 engine and TM in an 2006 S65 for a friend of mine, take of the maintenance of my own 07 S65, another friends 08 SL65 and his CL65 with Renntech stage 2 installed (750hp) so there is a good amount of V12 work experience going on in my garage.
Do you have the upgraded (of the M278 engine) intercooler reservoir installed on yours?
The only non stock item on my SL65 is a Renntech base tune. If you're referring to the intercooler expansion tank, I've read about it, but have not acted on it yet. I read some issues on the SL with the transmission fill tube either needing to be modified or pushed out of the way. I may get to that at some point.
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