GAM817

today i got my SLK200K (base model in australia). Tellurite silver with blue interior.

speaking to a friend who has 2 ferrari's, an old fiat and a 2004 x5, he recommended using the tiptronic to run in the car at 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear. Slowly taking it to around 5K - 6K and letting the car "get used to" that kinda revving.

the dealer went even further and said drive it as you think you normally will and the car will just adapt and "learn" to be driven like that.

am i being silly believing this 100%?

i have had a few ppl that you need to run it through the rev range otherwise after the first X thousand kms when you do start to thrash it, the car won't like it.

advice? i've done 85km on it so far dealer had done 10 (and 1 hr according to the computer)

E320Star

I would say take it easy on thi shigh dollar car for the first 1000 miles. Then drive with long term in mind. Don't revv it all the time mate !!

steve-p

OK, but with all due respect, what does he know about Mercedes-Benz engines that the owner's manual doesn't? All engines made by German manufacturers are run on the bench nowadays for several hours before installation, and they are made to much higher tolerances, which is why an early oil change is not necessary any more. You don't want to use the whole rev range on a new engine, nor more than about half throttle initially, gradually building it up over the first 1,000km or so. Sustained running at the same engine speed is a bad idea early on, so the cruise control is off limits. No special reason to use tiptronic though, the gearbox will take care of the gearchanges while you concentrate on not using too much gas, but using more as the weeks pass. The life of an engine is very much influenced by how it is treated when new. Too little gas is also bad, because it doesn't allow the rings to bed in so well, which can lead to higher oil consumption later on.

bigciti

I have always driven my new cars the way I intended to drive them, which is fairly aggressive. Never had any problems in 25 yrs.

WDRiley

Drive it like you stole it...
I drove mine hard from day one and never had any issues. I agree with another poster that the engines are pre tested, and built to tolerate aggressive driving.
I'd give it 500 miles and then put your foot in it if that's your driving style.

GAM817

thanks for all the advice appreciate it.

i took it out for another run at about 3am last night did another 35 or so kms

might take advice of ppl here and not drive it so hard... trip computer says my petrol consumption average is 13.1L/100km at the moment so as you can see, i've been giving it a bit.

picked up an SLK accessorie book from the dealer (first time i saw one) and it has some nice MB products. No pricing though!

anyone here got chrome side mirror casing?

didu

My dealer told me that the new car was supposed to be driven with the engine at all possible speeds
during the initial period. I was under the impression that you cannot actually put the rev into the
red region during the first 1000km/miles because there is some computer setting that prevents
that from happening.

didu

Xenon350

I'm running my SLK350 in now. Done 400km so far. The dealer told me to "drive it hard", because the automatic transmission learns your style. If you drive like a grandma, it will not shift down gears much when you accelerate, and if you drive it hard, it will become more responsive.

I have found this to be true. On Wednesday, on the way home, the automatic just became more responsive when I floored it than before.

Have you got yours yet didu?

You're in Melbourne too right?

Xenon350

didu

Yes, I'm also in Melbourne. No I haven't got mine yet, not for another 3 weeks.
How aggreesively did you drive your 350? Did you put the rev in the red region? How
are you liking the nav system? Have you had any problems with the car?

Did you get a personalised number plate? I wanted to, but all the ones I wanted were
already taken.

Thanks a lot!!

didu

Xenon350

I've got the 7 speed automatic, so I don't think it will let the car get into the red region. It just upshfts instead. Nav system is cool. I got future issue number plates, and got what I wanted.

Let me know when your arrives!

Xenon350

didu

Oh, what's so special about the 7G automatic? Why wouldn't it let the car get into the red
region? Is it because the gear will be shifted before it gets into the red region? Then what
happens when you floor the car at the 7th gear?

Could you actually find your street on the nav system? I actually sat in a 350 at the dealership
and played with the nav system, but I couldn't find my street .

Congrats on the number plate!! I will post pictures of my car as soon as I get it.

didu