Trevz

Cheers guys, fingers crossed for some decent weather this spring, as if lol! Yowser, yeah same place :)

It was a SWB (ADZ 194 dunno if it's still around?) running 1 bar boost, decat, filter, suspension, higher gearbox pressure, lots of mods, was pretty quick at around 13 sec 1/4 mile, think it was around 380 bhp. Gtr is about 11 sec 1/4, but the joy of the thing is round the twisties, the gearbox is undescribably good, and the way the car tries to correct itself without cutting the power makes you laugh :)

Thanks for comments guys, I just remembered how friendly this place is compared to some other forums :) Haven't decided yet whether to do stage 1 mods, earlier cars had around 480 bhp but this one's 550 standard which feels quick enough at the mo, but Litchfields charge just over 1k for stage 1 ( Y pipe/boost/remap) so something to think about when the better weather arrives :)

Yeah the oem Dunlops are made for the car, lots of owners are using MPSS at a grand cheaper. Pics don't show how BIG the car is, makes my old sl55 look small, had it on a four poster lift and the wheels were hanging over the side of the ramp by an inch each side lol.

Here's a couple..

Hi all, I did a mad thing over christmas and bought a GT-R, if anyone's thinking about it - do it! My last Z was quick but this thing is insane, loads of fun to drive, handles like a go cart, gear changes are mental bang bang bang up or down the box no lag at all, and it sticks to the surface like it's been glued. Lots of strange noises and whistles, and some grindy crunches at slow speed. 0-60 is 2.8 sec, bucket loads of torque, very quick even if you don't take it over 3k rpm. Downsides are rip off prices for brakes and especially tyres, the Dunlop runflats are only available through a NissanHPC and the nearsest one in Bristol wants £2200 for a set (285 and 255 20's). Michelin PSS are 1k cheaper but could cause warranty issues. Averaging around 17 mpg so far, same as the Z so not too bad. Had a dusting with an Aston Martin the other day, he was infront and let out a huge roar and took off, normally it's impossible to pass a really quick car because you run out of road so I usually stick behind and ease off a little, but the gtr just left it for dust, did the same to an Evo too, it really is stupid quick :) In R mode you can launch at 4k rpm but it's been damp every day so not tried it yet. It's not the prettiest of cars but it sure is loads of fun :) Cheers

Cheers guys, had some news from Mercedes in Maastricht today, they've opened a case file for me so hopefully will get an answer to what they think the cause was. General opinion from every mechanic that's seen the piston is some sort of manufacture/stress fault. Had the car back for 2 weeks now, done 700 miles and all is well. Someone posted this vid on Pistonheads... http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/mind-my-car from when Clarkson owned it, it still looks the same now but cleaner lol.

Saw an E55 AMG estate in Weston S Mare the other night, very rare, it looks really wierd to see a big estate car take off like a bat out of hell!

I've posted some pics of the piston on Pistonheads, it's actually cracked right through the face which is 9mm thick, and through the top of the gudgeon pin holes. Only the underneath of the holes held it together. I'm amazed that a thick lump of a piston like that can crack in half! http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=96&t=1169920&mid=31636&nmt=Photo%27s+of+my+cracked+piston+SL55+AMG%2C+any+expert+opinions%3F

If Murray was up against Djokovich in the final I don't think he'd have much chance, but against Federer he does stand some chance. He's beat Federer 8 times out of there 15 matches, but lost to him both times when it really mattered in grand slam matches where Federer can up his level. Federer is currently 1.55 and Muray 2.8 on Betfair and I reckon those odds reflect his chance pretty accurately. He'll be under huge pressure on Sunday.

Got the car back yesterday, they've done a very good job as far as I can see and it drives as well as it did before. Have got the old piston too, I'm surprised at how short and stubby it is, and the face looks really thick, but it has a tiny crack right across it - amazing! Paul, do you know the email address of AMG HQ in Affalterbach, I've used this address "marketing-amg@daimler.com" but not sure if it's right? Thanks :)

The auto Z (like any old auto gearbox) is only slow from 0-15mph because of the gearing. After 15mph it's as quick as a manual IMO. My experience with the two Z's I had is that they were very forgiving handling wise, very easy to correct. The MR2 was much more difficult to correct, but didn't break loose so easily. Ryan, I was running 1 bar of boost in both the MR2 and the Z, and the Z was far quicker once you get above 60mph ish, as you would expect really :)

There's some bargains about, I had one last year, decatted and running 1 bar it felt like 5 secs 0-60 yes, but mid range power from 3rd gear onwards feels flatter than say a good Z. Fantastic handling, awesome braking, great fun! kept it for 9 months and it never missed a beat during that time.

The guy I bought my SL55 from thought about an SL63, but ended up buying another SL55 after test driving the old SL63 because he said it felt under powered. But having just googled the new SL63, it sounds awesome! So they've gone back to a 5.5 engine but added twin turbos, great idea I always said they should! Wouldn't mind a spin in an SL65 but have never even seen one! I assume there are some in this country Paul? Have you ever driven an SLS? They look awesome, love the SLR too, and for anyone that's never seen it Google 'SLR Stirling Moss' :)

Thanks for reply, we agreed a price of 4k yesterday including vat and 16 new plugs so I'm happy with that. Have chatted to several other Merc mechanics and they've never heard of a problem like this on the 55 AMG engine before either. Apparently the piston is cracked 90% across the top but not all the way to the edges, a mechanic mate thinks it's possible it could have had a flaw from manufacture but others disagree lol. Will have a look for your SL63 thread :)

Sounds like the valley gutter was overwhelmed with the sheer volume of water, the valley sides might only go 6 inches up the rafters each side with the felt sitting on top of the lead, and the water rising up and getting in under the felt.

Hard luck Jeff, apparently it was a rare super cell thunderstorm. Around here cars were covered in sandy blobs which were deposited with the rain. Nice photo's of the Z's in your unit, impressive set up. "Super cell thunderstorms were common in areas like the plains of the US Midwest but made up just 1% of storms in the UK, according to Paul Knightly, senior forecaster with Meteogroup, the weather arm of the Press Association. They can do "disproportionate damage" by bringing with them large hailstones, tornados, heavy rain and and high winds, he said Three of them had been caused by a "Spanish plume", a warm weather front heading north from Iberia which has risen over cooler Atlantic air as they meet over the British Isles, leading to powerful thunderstorms, he added. "They (the plumes) happen from time to time and we get some massive thunderstorms and large hailstones," he said. "But today had the added factor of high wind-shear (sideways movements). What that does is cause the thunderstorms to become more prolonged, and when that happens they can get more intense. "Today they were rotating; it is called a super cell thunderstorm."

Hi Yew, haha it's been a nightmare sorting this, I've had some good prices from other mercedes garages, I told WSM merc I was pulling the car away and would pay for work to date, but they now want to offer me a lower price tomorrow so we'll see what they come back with. :)

Bad news today - Mercedes WSM have diagnosed a cracked piston. How that can happen I have no idea? They estimate around 7k to replace the piston, but tbh I actually begrudge paying them £132 per hour (around 1k per day) I think that takes the piss lol. So I have 3 choices: 1, Let them do it for 7k possibly more. 2, Take it away and let a local garage who charge £40 per hour do it (plus Mercs charge so far for stripping it down). 3, Sell it as it is. It's in fantastic condition, not a single ding on the bodywork, everything works (apart from the engine haha), FMSH with all invoices. 5k worth of extras including nappa leather and keyless start/go. What d'you think it would fetch on ebay if I sold it as is? I'm thinking that it could be a bargain for someone who could do the work themselves, the parts aren't much- a piston at £300 and a gasket set. What would you do paul? Thanks! :)

Well if we're extending the virtual cheque book, I think this looks awesome... http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2697976.htm

I googled leakdown test, I wonder if they'll do that, or they might just think whatever it shows it'll have to be stripped down anyway? I think my mates theory with the cam lobe is that if the inlet valve doesn't open much then there won't be much air being drawn in to compress, whether it works like that in practice though... The guy I bought the car from bought a newer SL55, and a week after having it it started making a horrible tappet noise. Mercedes WSM fitted new tappets on one bank. I just googled hydraulic followers to try and learn something about them, perhaps my problem will be linked to a faulty tappet? Anyway, thanks for your input, I'll post on Tuesday what they've diagnosed... Gonna have a look in the for sale section now, see if there's any nice Zed's around :)

Ok will do. The guesses from my mates so far are head gasket or valve seat, and a mate who's a mechanic has guessed at cam lobe worn.

Hi Paul, checked it out but everything is standard. Had some bad news today - the car developed a misfire (had just exited a roundabout and accelerated up to 70) and it started running on 7. Took it to Mercedes WSM and after some checks today they said there's only 40 psi compression on cylinder 7 (I think) so they're going to start stripping it down on Monday. They want it for upto 3 weeks! Any guesses as to what the problem will be? He said they used an endoscope and the piston looked ok, so I guess it will be a valve? Just wondered if you've had any similar experiences with SL55's? Also, the guy I bought it from used to poodle about under 3000 rpm, but I drive it upto around 5500 rpm and he reckons that's too high! Surely if that was the case Mercedes would stick a red line or rev limiter at 5000rpm? I can't imagine a car like that can't handle high revs, wondered what your opinion is? If it's true, when I get it back I'll have to think about selling it if it can't handle my driving style lol, I don't want something like this to happen again! Cheers...

You were spot on Paul, I fitted the new pump yesterday and the car feels awesomely alive now, it was quick before but now it's ferocious - more responsive and sounds glorious like it's really happy lol, 200 quid well spent and I've learnt a fair bit about the car too :) I'm wondering now if it's had any mods done because it just seems too quick to be standard, the traction control seems to struggle to keep it under control, flashes on quite alot, could do with launch control ideally. I wonder if Jeremy Clarkson had any mods done in the three years he had it, the second owner who I bought it from just used to bimble about in it and never used the power. Do you know any easy ways to identify mods? I think the crank pulley may have been changed. :)

Interesting post jap slapper, even better when you get to the end and see that RX-7 - is it yours? If I had to be picky I'd get rid of the rear spoiler and fit a low level one, and the lines at the top of the skirts. Looks evil though :)