Benz-O-Rama

Eurocharged/L.E.T. stopped by DC today for a group dyno/tune day. I stopped by to say hi to the guys, since Wayne tuned my E500 in March, and to do a base line dyno on my SL600. I really didn't want to mess with it too much. Well, when I got there, the dyno was free so I line jumped in front of Ahmad for what I thought was gonna be 2-3 pulls.

Lets talk for a minute about my baseline pull and the dyno it was done on. The dyno was a Dyno Dynamics, which everyone knows has the nickname of heartbreaker, due to it's low numbers that it returns. Some say up to 15% less than Dynojet numbers. I really didn't even know what to expect, to be honest. What we got was kinda baffling to me. I don't know if my car is a factory freak or if MB really rates these cars low, so they don't kill AMG sales. Here's what we got:

432 rwhp and 530 rwtq. Those numbers seemed high to me, especially on this dyno. Maybe my car had a tune already? Who knows. But my math tells me:

432rwhp /.85 = 526rwhp (Dynojet) /.82 (drivetrain loss) = 619 crank hp.
530rwtq/.85 = 623rwtq (Dynojet)/.82 (drivetrain loss) = 760 crank tq

Now, that's a ways off from MB's stated 469/590 at the crank.


So, now to the good stuff. I got an off the shelf tune. One flash, no custom tweaking. The first pull, we saw 480rwhp/ and off the chart torque. No lie, the torque line went off the chart. We had to rescale the graph and do another pull. It jumped up to 600lb-ft of torque but then she started pulling timing due to heat and the hp kinda flat lined around 440 or so. So, we iced down the intercoolers for a little while and tried again. 4 pulls in a row, the wheels broke loose on the dyno. No bull fellas. The tires starting chirping the friggin dyno. We were finally able to get a good pull:

482 rwhp/610 rwtq.

482rwhp /.85 = 567rwhp (Dynojet) /.82 (drivetrain loss) = 691 crank hp.
610rwtq/.85 = 717rwtq (Dynojet)/.82 (drivetrain loss) = 875 crank tq

That's a gain of 50hp and 80tq at the wheels. Who knows if this car was stock or not, but the gains are there.

From a dig, the car is very strong. From 50mph, I stomped it and she spun the wheels. I didn't do an ESP off full launch, but the low end grunt is very noticeable. It feels like it takes 1 second to get from 50 to 80!

Another great result from Wayne and Jerry.

Can't wait to get her down the 1/4.

98aggie

Need a couple buddies to sit in the trunk when doing a pull. The extra sprung weight helps keep the tires from breaking loose.

E55AMGFan

Great numbers although putting out a set figure to convert to dynojet isn't really needed. 50-80mph in 1 second is nuts, can't wait to hear what you do at the strip. Looks like for sure the car you picked up is running more than strong.

Benz-O-Rama

Oh yeah, I agree. A lot of people only dyno on Dynojets, so I like to convert for comparison. Plus it looks cool to see the inflated numbers.

JAYCL600

forget all that conversion mumbo jumbo, what it will make on dynojet and vice versa.....50whp and 80wtq is the hard numbers, im sure it puts a smile on your face....I still think its on the low side for tq but id be more interested in your trap speed. Lets do lunch this week and chat, id like to drive it also if possible.

blackbenzz

It was funny seeing a stock looking SL spinning tires on the dyno. Congrats on the gains! I'm sure you're lovin it!

Benz-O-Rama

Numbers are my life, so that's just the way I'm wired.

So Jay, what do you make of my baseline numbers? Seem high for a stock car on a Dyno Dynamics, no?

Let's look at late next week for lunch. I think it's supposed to rain early in the week.

Exotic-metal55

Strong numbers! Great to see so many 600 V-12`s taking the plunge now and cranking out huge numbers! The torque you V-12`s put out is sick!!

c32AMG-DTM

+1

I've seen a few (not the majority, however) who've put down lower numbers on a DJ than on a DD... go figure. str8ridin's one that comes to mind, as I think his #s are in his sig.

Point being, BOR, you can't really say what you'd put down on a DJ's rollers unless you strap up on one... but regardless, your numbers look great for any type of dyno, and it's a beast of a highway cruiser I'm sure.

ZAHANMA

Just curious. Who did the tune? Were Wayne and Jerry both out in the DC area?

Oxygen

Mercedes advertises 493/590 at the crank, not 469.

blackbenzz

Only Wayne came out

Tech-Tune

Incredible numbers B-O-R. Makes me wanna go out and pick up a V12 SL.

Benz-O-Rama

I thought the 2005's were rated at 469, same as the 55K cars and the 2006's got the bump in HP.

Could be wrong, but I don't feel like researching it.


I will say that throttle tip-in feels much different now. Before, the car felt like a V6 at tip-in...very subdued. Now, it feels more perky, not spastic or jumpy, but definitely perkier.

Very happy with the results. Took it out to get some beer for the Skins game this brisk morning and she was barking the tires anytime I flexed my right calf. Until you've driven one of these, having the tires break loose at 50mph can be a bit unnerving. As I said to a few of the guys at the dyno day, if you take ESP off, you better be awake.

Benz-O-Rama

Looked it up. Yep, you're right.

Oxygen

493/590 from 2003 - http://www.edmunds.com/used/2005/mer...071/specs.html

JAYCL600

if you do please keep the R129, your SL is a one-of-a-kind man
read below
You bring up an interesting point. As much I try not to get into many "dyno debates", I dont think I have ever seen a dyno have more inconsistent figures from dyno to dyno then a DD. I have seen my fair share of "high reading" DD's and Mustang Dynos over the last couple of years.


V12TT+cold morning air= WOW The car wakes up big time in that cold air...I bet the cold adds over 40hp to the wheels.

You are used to driving a naturally aspirated car where throttle tip in creates instant TQ, the turbo car actually works the same way but you have that milisecond of turbo lag where the car has to build some rpms to spool the turbos. Sometimes that tiny bit of hesitation makes the car feel "unresponsive" With time you will learn how to modulate the turbos with the throttle with instant results. Wait til I show you how to do a rolling burnout

MB_Forever

I've actually seen some Dyno Dynamics dyno graphs vary significantly from one another as well (and same goes for Mustang Dynos).

Great numbers either way

V12Godspeed

Very nice gains. Best dyno is track time. I am sure your car will lay down the smack down. Looking forward to your results.

MRAMG1

No lie hear my friend

When I drive mine to work, aka 5:30AM, it is absolutely SICK

That cold air has to be worth 40-50 RWHP.

I am trying to get to the track this week to find out, and will post results guys.

blackbenzz

What track and day? I might join you

bassn_07

Nice numbers Benz-O-Rama!!! I'm curious to see how your beast performs at the track with your numbers.

I've been trying to get to track but Sacramento is still in the triple digits this week...damn. It might cool down towards the 90 this Friday and might try my luck then. I'm just not getting the weather needed to try and make a 10 second pass.

ZAHANMA

If you go to Cecil County Dragway sat night I may have to drive the few hours down from NJ to join...

Marcus Frost

I am beginning to hate dynos as well, and have been growing more and more fed up over the years to the inconsistency of dyno to dyno from one operator to another. I started on DJs and Mustangs and saw a lot of variations from one point to another and now I'm starting to see it more and more on DDs as well.

With that said, I think Jay is right in not trying to convert from DD to DJ and then to crank... that's just silly. Talking with a few local guys I think the problem with DD is that it offers that torque reading from the rear wheels instead of from an actual RPM signal (I know it's not the only dyno that does that)... and especially with these TQ happy cars I honestly think it throws off the readings a lot (it usually inflates them). I've been using the signal off the fuel injector which is pretty reliable but once you start to get to high injector duty cycles it seems to adversely affect the signal, so what we are going to try next is to build a little pigtail off the actual coilpack that we can use for dyno purposes. We'll see how well the signal works off there. I should try doing two pulls, one with fuel injector RPM signal and one with rear wheel measurement to see the differences between them.

-m

MRAMG1

You do realize that you are simply adding another issue/inconsistency with ANY dyno do you not

I agree 100% that dyno numbers are just that, AKA NUMBERS. The real meat and potatoes are earned at the track where HP/Torque rule.

With that being said Marcus, just what will your new trigging system prove or corect. It will simply be another change in parameters that will have to be manipulated my friend by any and all that agree with you.

Bottom line is dyno's are for seeing if your mods are going in a positive or negative direction. The numbers they generate DO NOT MEAN A THING IN THE REAL WORLD. Sorry, I just had to do that in caps as I really dislike DYNO queens/bragging rights. I have not, nor ever will agree that they are reproduceable from dyno to dyno. I might add nor do I care.

On a final note, this is why I seldom Dyno ANY of my toys IMHO. Show me a time slip ANYDAY over a computer snap shot