Cinque

I was wondering if anyone could give me the performance figures for the R171 SLK 350. I know that with the 7G gearbox it achieves 0 - 100 k's in 5.5 seconds. But does anyone know what it does the quater mile in?

SL BRABUS

No way this car can do 0-100 km/h in 5.5 seconds.. If it lucky it would do 0-100 km'h in about 6.2 seconds and quater mile in about 14.5 seconds at 98 mph.

Silver_Lana

...and on what do you base your figures when multiple reviews and Mercedes Benz have given the exact same numbers?

SL BRABUS

My friend own a C43, that thing got V8 302 hp. His time is 6.2 sec and 1/4 mile 14.5 sec at the track. The weight of the new slk and c43 in the ball park. Think about it V6 275 vs V8 hp 302. Maybe I could be wrong?

jyg e500 maybe

mt gives you much faster acceleration

Cinque

Actually the reason for such a quick acceleration time is the new 7G transmission. Its first gear ratio gives it outstanding take off with the extra top gear giving it excellent top end performance. The person talking about his/her friends c43 has a valid point but isn't taking into account the gear box. This gear box makes a hell of a difference considering it is supposable the same if not very similar to the gear box in the new Mclaren. Plus it has a continuos VVT engine, which if I'm not mistaken (And I maybe) is like the Vtec in the Honda's. Except the difference is that its continuos. Anyone who knows better is welcome to say so. I'm not to clear on what the slk 350 is capable of, thats why I posted the message in the first place.

SL BRABUS

Good point... .. But the new S Class have the 7G transmission and still do the same time as the S Class with 5 speed auto. It could do a faster time because it twin cam and VVT just like my M119 engine... ...
Good Luck with your new car!

akbro93704

The R171 SLK350 can do 0-60 MPH in exactly 5.5 seconds with the 7Gtronic , many tests have proved this, even "SLK55AMG", a member of this forum, tested his loaner SLK350 and got exactly a 5.5 second 0-60 time.

Cinque

Whats the quater mile though?

kimchiFLAVA

so is the manual more slower?

and if so by how much?

SLK55AMG

Yes and it was very easy to do as well!. Unfortunately for me it was too easy as there is little or no skill involved in getting the car to give its best..... just planting your foot to the floor isn't as rewarding as nailing 3 perfect shifts in a manual car (just my opinion!).

Great car though and faster than my S2000 in a straight line.

prodigy1387

the manual is barely slower. it records a time of 5.6 secs. from 0-60 mph on several sites that have tested it.

i can't find any 1/4 mile times yet though.

SLK55AMG

I think the manual SLK350 will be a very good drivers car and its a DAMN shame that the SLK55 AMG doesn't have a manual option as it will rob the driver of a lot of involvement

I'd expect the SLK350 to have a 13.5 - 14.0 1/4 mile time

jyg e500 maybe

Auto is faster than MT. Since slk 350 comes with stick or auto, bet the 5.5 0-60 is for the stick.

prodigy1387

nah, the new 7G auto is actually faster than the 6 spd. manual for the slk 350. 0-60 5.5 sec for 7G auto and 0-60 5.6 sec for 6spd. manual.

Cinque

I've heard a lot of people say how un-involving the new 7G is. From what I understand, the 7G was created primarily for the Mclaren. Apparently the marketing dept. did a lot of research and came to the conclusion that anyone who is prepared to spend $700,000 to $1,000,000 Australian Dollars on a car would be a male over the age of 55. After recognising that this was the target market they came to realise that for the money the customers would like the gears to change by themselves. If you think about it, its not that stupid. Generally an automatic car is more expensive than a manual of coarse. Anyway I've heard this this new 7G transmission is so much better than any manual going around. It is the smoothest most accurate transmission in the world. Its also very versatile. You can drive comfortably at the speed limit with out even feeling the car change gears, or you can put it in sports mode and it will rev the gears out so you can accelerate better. Apparently you can even drive the car as a manual if you like. All you do is feed the gears as you need to and they change at all. Now I have to be honest and say that I haven't actually driven an SLK350 as its not due for release in Australia until the 1st of Spetember. But all the information I have has come for either the sales rep. or car magazines. So if there is anyone out there who knows more about this particular car I would be really interested to hear it. And I'm still yet to know what this car does down the quater mile.

Lirim318

Here's something interesting that I've discovered.....If you get the optional 7G transmission for the SLK350, the left and right buttons/paddles behind the steering wheel both does the upshifting AND the downshifting, which annoyed many car reviewers....However, if you get the SLK55, the 7G transmission which comes standard, has the right paddle doing ONLY the upshifting while the left doing ONLY the downshifting (like that of a F-1 car).

SLK55AMG

I had a 7G SLK350 for 4 days recently....... my full review is here:

https://mbworld.org/forums/slk-class-r171/77060-slk350-4-day-test.html

The 7G auto is VERY good but its not the best...... from my experience the Audi DSG is better if you want totally smooth seemless shifts, however the 7G is the best "normal" auto box I've tried.

It depends on what you want from a car..... some people want smooth seemless acceleration but to me this isn't what a sports car is about..... I want the control and directness of a manual box. As good as the 7G is it simply doesn't have the throttle response of a good manual transmission...... even in manual mode you feel disconnected from the driving experience.

Its a hard thing to explain but heres my shot at it...... the problem with changing gears in the 7G (and almost every other semi auto box with a manula override) is that you press the change up/down button...... your brain expects the gear change but the 7G takes .5 seconds or more to do what its told before the change actually happens. To me this feels like I'm not in total control of the gear changing process in the same way that I am in a manual where brain tells legs and arms to work together..... taking pressure off the clutch tells the brain where the bite point is and when the resulting surge in acceleration is due.

What the hell am I talking about I hear some of you saying??? This disconnection to what the brain expects to happen makes me feel less involved...... look at the driver and passenger in a manual car that is being driven hard, the passengers head will be nodding back and forward with each gear shift BUT the drivers head will remain steady because his body is in control of the car!. In an auto (even in manual mode!) you will find that the drivers head will also be nodding back and forth the same as his passenger because of the disconnect between the brain starting the gear change process and the car following through (the point at which the gear change happens will catch the drivers brain by surprise even though you'd think it is expecting it to happen)........ give it a try for yourselves!. The same sort of processes happen in the brain when you try to tickle yourself..... you can't because the brain knows exactly what you are doing...... but somebody else can tickle you even though you know its going to happen!

Sorry the ramblings of a mad scientist!

I'm not sure I agree with Mercs idea that anyone with money to burn on a supercar wants a car that changes gear for them! I'm sure most would want a manual or semi auto (like the Ferrari Enzo that uses a normal manual box that is changed by a hydralic system when the driver pulls the shift paddle)...... the whole point of a supercar is the total driving experience...... drivers in search of that total driving involvement are usually also the sort who dislike things like stability and traction control (some even hate ABS brakes!). If supercars develop down the route where they do more and more of the drivers job for them we'll all end being passengers in the car with less and less control

For any other S2000 owners (of which there are a few) who are thinking about getting an SLK350 or AMG 55 I urge you to try the 7G box BEFORE buying the car...... if you are anything like me you may not like what you find.

ajoe

I think you'll find that the amg version will shift quicker. At least that's been my experience with an E55. Your "brain" explanation was very well done.

jono_2000

the aerodynamics may help with the slk v the c43 (more relevant over a quarter mile, plus your friends motor may be off its performance settings, (has it been dyno-tested??). i'm sure the gearing makes a hell of a lot of difference as well.

ps - in europe you can get shell optimax or equivalent which has a higher octane rating, in my previous generation slk it definitely made it more torquey and quieter at cruising speed, i wonder if i can do the same with the new SLK350??? and get that 5.5. down to 5.3 or some such.....

jono_2000

oh yeah... and i've got rid of my 911 with 6 speed manual for a slk350 7G 'cos i want a nice car which changes gear for me and doesn't knock my fillings out with its rock solid ride!

should i start wearing nomex overalls and a crash helmet to work, then i'll get a manual!!

dosers

yeah, for what it's worth, the AMG 7G is different than the one that's optinal on the 350.
cheers,
d

Cinque

How do you know. I was told that they were exactly the same.

SLK55AMG

Yes the differences are minimal as far as know..... its the exact same gearbox but its setup to change gear more quickly in the AMG unfortunately that still won't be the driver involvement I'm after.

I've driven a Ferrari 355 F1 on track with a padel shift box and it changes up VERY quickly...... but its still not as much fun as a manual.

Each to their own!

prodigy1387

yeah, i think i'm definitely ready to try out a manual...have some more control of the car, no matter how amazing the new 7G transmission is.

and yeah, the AMG 7G is the same, minus being tuned for AMG performance - the AMG speedshift setting allows for gear shifts that are 35% faster.