BENZGal

I thought you guys would enjoy seeing some of my RENNTech engine build pictures. Only one name came to mind after my engine blew and that was Hartmut Fehyl. I had the privilege of speaking to him a few months earlier when he donated an ELM for our MB Make A Wish fundraiser. A quick phone call to him sent my head swirling with the option of a SLR short block or a very expensive TT project. Knowing how much I already had into the car he suggested the SLR short block.

I received outstanding customer service during the build out and was excited that my car was a stable mate to his world famous SLR 722 GT project and Steven Tyler from Aerosmith’s mod project. During my project I decided to take a trip to visit my baby and see the damage and rebuild first hand. The facility is first class and quite a sight to see. I walked into a showroom featuring RT custom wheels and other mods. I was greeted by his stunning wife Sharon the office manager. She introduced me to Hartmut who greeted me with a huge smile. He introduced me to the staff and gave me a tour of his large facility. The engine bay was HUGE and had a nice dyno built into the ground next to the software and development area. My favorite was the fabrication area with a few CNC machines that were busy making parts. I felt like a kid in a candy store and knew at that moment I was going to end up with a great car. The tour ended in his master mechanic Steve’s build out section. I felt like I was spying on Dr. Jekyll himself. LOL
Steve had prepared my old block and new one for my inspection. Rubbing my hands inside those scorched and gouged eight walls was tragic, but was quickly put at ease with the site of my new SLR pistons and rods. Oh….Yummy! We ended the tour and headed off to have lunch with his customer the owner of Timeslips.

After lunch he invited me to come to Moroso and watch him and his teenage daughter race their Go-karts. I found out that Hartmut is also successful in the Go-kart modification business. I followed Hartmut and his family to the track in my rental and was surprised when we stopped for fuel and he came over and started pumping my gas. What a first class gentlemen!!! I saw many customers come in the door that day for parts and inquires and they were all treated the same regardless of how much they were spending. I had so much fun watching him and his daughter take several spirited runs in their modified RT Karts. The future racing world better look out for that one, she was right on Dads tail. LOL We spent the rest of the evening watching the ¼ mile races. I was excited to see Jeff his software specialist there watching the races. I am very happy with my tune and speed shift program and have Jeff to thank for that.

I left that day with the comfort in knowing that my baby was going to come back one healthy beast. I met a classy gentleman that is dedication to his passion, family, customers, employees and charity. I have spent the last two years enjoying this true masterpiece of innovation without sacrificing safety or reliability. We didn’t build the car to be the fastest around; it was built to be unique. I have pushed this car so hard and have yet to have a problem.

People complain about the cost of RT. I can tell you that I paid less for my RT mods with my newer short block then I did with my previous tuner. It was actually was more expensive not going with RT the first time. How many of you on this board have tried tuner after tuner and had to fight to get your money back when you were unhappy? How many of you have been promised projects that were never finished? He has outlived many tuners over the years and just celebrated 20 years in business. He also won the 2008 SEMA tuner shootout. He is in the process of a build out project for MB right now. I would encourage you guys to check out his website and contact your local dealer for pricing. Why not save yourself the cost of doing it right the first time? A very expensive lesson I learned. I will not be answering any questions related to the blown engine so don't ask. Thank you to the whole RT team for the car of a girls dream. I am sorry it has taken so long for this write up and thank you to those who took the time to read this long write up. Enjoy the pics!
SLR forged pistons
SLR forged and lighter connecting rods
RENNtech Crankshaft pulley with dampener
RENNtech ECU programming
RENNtech Speed shift programming
RENNtech 82 mm throttle body with Carbon Fiber air box
Transmission upgrade for additional torque loads
RENNTEch Slotted/Drilled Big Brake kit
Car already had Headers and upgraded Intercooler pump system.-Upgrades to both of those.
The final tuning was done on RENNtech's dyno.
Quaife
HRE C21's/19
Various Heat coated engine parts
CF engine cover
Custom RT engine badge
Spaco racing parts
Various cosmetic parts
Custom exhaust that sounds pretty sick
Similar items are available for all 55 Kompressor cars.
55 Kompressor kits for 230, 220, 215, 211, 219, 463.
RAT device is also available. It allows you to switch your tune to a track tune.


LINK TO PICTURES
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amgprincess/

msheredy

Need a microscope for these

Vic55

So having these two items listed:

SLR forged pistons
SLR forged and lighter connecting rods


does this make it an SLR engine as the thread is titled?


Impressive stuff how about some real world numbers to go with the build?

BENZGal

Well hello darling. I can use that title because it's me.

Sorry about small pics guys. I will try and fix that later.

AMGfan

Droooolllll

BenzoBoi

I are not worthy!

Bellevue_E55

Awesome stuff. So when they did the final tune what numbers did you post ?

Lucky you! Bet if I walked in there I would have been kicked in the *** vs gotten my gas pumped. Bet you get off speeding tickets too

Congrats on some nice mods and a hot car.

hooleyboy

You have one heck of a car thats for sure. I think after this race season I'm ripping the motor out in my car and following in your footsteps. Thats if someone can talk me out of building a Chevy with a Warhawk motor.

Yacht Master

Impressive, Benzgal went the distance.
Thanks for all the great information BENZgal!!
Renn Tech has so much more than they advertise.

MB_Forever

Now we're talking

At MIR, I'm positive this car would be one of the quickest/fastest 55s out there

Angela.... now stop giving away all the secrets.... especially for the one coming up

jmf003

Simply awesome!

You might try uploading your photos to a service such as Photobucket or Flickr then posting the links here.

JAY55

Bad *** Angela, congrats.

nick 55

Benzgal, you are a perfect example of what can happen when you are on the leading edge of tuning a vehicle. I agree that RENNtech is not the cheapest source for mods and parts, but they have a level of quality that I feel is far superior to several lesser companies in the MB tuning industry. If this teaches us as a forum anything, please don't buy parts or tunes simply because they are cheap. The large tuning companies are superpowers because they have the money for research and development, often times, they even receive vehicles from MB to do development on. The premium paid for the parts is a small price for the amount of time and money put into the development. The cars we love are very expensive, well engineered pieces of machinery. Leave the budget pieces to Neons and Cobalts.

Just my $.02

Nick

aleksandar1099

Awesome build!! I should have done the same thing when my engine went! It probably would have been cheaper too! Beautiful car and amazing mods!!

jangy

LOL!! Me too, hehe!!

Nice writeup!! The tour sounds amazing. You've sold me on forged pistons.

Rock

I am so so gullible....when I read the title, I actually thought you had an SLR engine shoehorned into your E.

Regardless of the bait and switch........ that is one hell of a mod list. Please post some real world numbers that we can all be envious of.

Congrats on the upgrade!!

BENZGal

Thank you for all the compliments guys. I call it my SLR engine even though it's a forged short block. My title sounds much better.

As for the dyno numbers, it left Florida around 500whp with no miles on the new tune. They changed the tune the day before it got loaded on the transport. I am guessing I picked up quite a bit after the tune adjusted. I took the car to Famoso after the tune kicked in and it ran 11.4 with a high DA. Since then it ran 11.07 with a high DA. Both of those were run without the airbox and the ice resv. I still haven't installed the cooling upgrade. It's in the mid 500's and given a decent DA the car would run 10's. I need to stress that the car wasn't build to break records even though it has turned out to be quite the monster. I wanted a fast car that would last a while. I haven't even had one check engine light related to the mods. I hit a pothole hard and blew out both fuel pumps and got one. LOL The car has run flawless for two years. They even got it running flawless right off the bat. Hartmut personally drove the car for a few weeks to make sure it wasn't going to have any problems. I bet he was having fun.

BENZGal

Jangy,
Geez I didn't see that one coming.
Nick,
I agree. RT has so many projects going on for customers and MB that never get talked about on these forums. I wish I would have had the money for the TT build. I know us mod junkies don't understand why things are so expensive, but knowledge and skill come at a cost. I have been a Bank V.P. for 20 years and my skill comes at a cost to my employers. Many of you are in professional fields or are business owners and know how expensive it is to cover the cost of a business and fight to stay in business. Like I said it cost me less for the newer short block, build, teardown, repairs, and new mods than I paid my previous tuner.

Mo,
Don't you worry my friend I left a few things off my list. I wanted to keep my mods secret but RT really does deserve credit for this one.

Bellevue,
Thank gosh I get out of the tickets now. Must be the hot car!

jangy

HAHA!! You set yourself up too well that I just had to. If it wasn't clear, it was simply a joke. I was very impressed with your car and the consistent power that it made. No doubt that sending an MB to RT is a great way to mod.

MB_Forever

Just a small correction.... the car ran two 11.30s in the highest DA of the day vs other cars who were able to run in a little bit cooler weather and lower DA on that day. Trust me.... I know..... I was stalking your car

Angela, your car is one of a kind

BenzoBoi

I'm itchin to get back on the track sometime soon and run with Angela and the others again!

Strangely enough, my best time of the day came when the DA was at or around the highest on the same day too...

BENZGal

Thank you Mo. I was rounding up. LOL I don't even care if it's the fastest, I am just happy that when I turn the key it starts and it's damn fast. My favorite part is when I beat other cars and they roll up and see that it's a chick driving that car. hehe

MB_Forever

That's because they decided to prep the track at 3:00 p.m. instead of at 4 as originally planned.

No worries, I am trying to finalize our November date at Famoso

MB_Forever

Your car was the quickest/fastest right behind Mikey's car. Had there been enough time or energy to swap wheels/tires one more time, I think your car would've done it.

Are you still planning on attending MIR or will you wait till Famoso?

BenzoBoi