Posted: 12/4/2007 2:46:18 PM EDT
As usual, when the thread is bumped off page one, everything gets deleted. 
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I did tell you all that I know of a 20 YEAR OLD punk ass KID driving a silver one around the KC metro area. LUCKY SOB. I guess his parents own an insurance agency. The damn thing is 4x more than my home. I could just imagine driving it. It would be like having a handfull of $50 bills and throwing out a $50 at each mile marker on the highway. Makes me sick to think about that. 
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excellent! its been a long time since you posted a report. i have questions about the car warranty, what happens to it if you have a renntech, kleeman, or brabus upgrades done to the car? does it void the warranty? on another board i was reading about how a SLR was getting a pulley and ECU upgrade from kleeman so it makes me wonder how the service techs deal with that. also, can the aerodynamics on a SLR be modified to what the SLR 722 uses so you can use different wheels? how important are the standard SLR fan shaped wheels for the brake cooling? thanks |
3800 lbs IIRC. A bit heavy for being so light if you catch my drift. McLaren built a supercar, and Mercedes made it a Mercedes. A very interesting combination. |
Void the powertrain warranty. From what I have seen, the intercoolers will not handle additional boost. They set fault codes for the charge air temps being too high. The aero stuff could be added I guess. Not real sure about availability and installation. The turbine wheels are standard, but there are other wheels available as options. The ride hieght has to be adjusted 10mm as the turbine wheels "suck" the car lower to the ground at speed, they are designed to pull air out from under the car. Remember the article where the SLR wouldn't hit 200mph? Its because they changed the wheels. Brake cooling is accomplished with ducts. Being that there are other wheels available, they probably aren't real important for cooling, its likely just an added benefit. Nice, but not critical. The 722 brake package with even larger rotors that are cross drilled are now available as factory options. |
I are feeling like dumbass.   I forgot my camera. Oh well, I slapped a set of caster arm bushings in a C class, then set off to work on the SLR. I didn't do anything else today. First order of business, Brake fluid flush. Fucking hardcore.... pressurized brake fluid on a half million dollar car. My nerves were frazzled. Accomplished without incident. Well, except one thing. They beat it in to your head that you ARE NOT allowed to use a battery charger, or jumpstart this car. Problem is you HAVE to hook up a charger in order to do the brake flush (long technical B.S. goes here). So I was just super careful and hooked up a charger anyways. I went in to turbo mode afterwards, reassembled the trunk, reinstalled all the underbody panelling with new bolts, reinstalled the wheels, replaced the tele aid module with an upgraded digital model, and decided against doing the engine air filters. After going through my check list I fired it up and grabbed the dispatcher and went on a test drive. She had a blast. She also had one of those mini digital camcorders. I couldn't stay on it very long, because in the 47 degree ambient temps, the car was squirrely as hell. I tried to launch it out of the dealership, and it went sideways a few times until the traction control took care of things. I never went faster than 120, but put about 24 miles on it really quickly. Verified operation of tire pressure monitoring and made sure everything was cool. I filled it with gas, and dropped it off at detail. Those guys swarmed the car. I left specific instructions, and an hour later they brought me the car. Looks nice and clean now. Meanwhile the boss and I talked, and I decided to not do the alignment, ride height, and corner weight adjustment. The tires are wearing fine, the car drives straight as an arrow, and with 2,000 miles on it, we really can't justify the added expense and pain in the ass factor to the client. I installed the new sway bar bushings, finished off the paperwork, and closed the ticket. Stay tuned, my roadster ought to be in soon for a PDI. Here is a link to the youtube video I put up. This is my first time so I hope it works. Its pretty short.... I edited out all the sitting at stop lights and idle conversation. There are some full throttle bursts and some "launches" but I couldn't stay in it because the car wouldn't hook. Linky Anyways, she is all done, perfect as can be, and fast as ever. I have found that Mercedes tend to get faster with age. Some much more than others. Based upon the other SLR I service, this one might be a freak because its so damn fast. I think this service ran about $4500~ or so. Possibly less. First one was $3900. We quoted $8,000 for this one, and we probably would have been safe even with the alignment and other stuff I didn't do. I replaced a lot more parts this time than last, but there was actually less labor and I got it done rather quickly. |
He is very cool. Both I've dealt with are. I believe the roadster that is coming in next week was sold to a broker, so I'll probably never see it again. One less potential for problems! |
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Love how this car has more torque(around 534rwhp and 489ft lbs) than the LP640, Carrera GT, and even the Enzo. I prefer the looks of the lambo but i'd choose a used SLR over a LP640. Hi res SLR porn (NO THESE ARE NOT RICK ROLLED LINKs) SLR 2006 Mercedes-Benz SLR "722 Edition 2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster |
gheez. What's the hourly shop rate?
No, because that was the most awesome setup for a rickroll there has ever been. I put a lot of thought in to that one.  I think we are around a hundred bucks an hour. A large part of that bill is simply parts. They are expensive for a mercedes, they are exhorbitant for an AMG mercedes, and they are unholy for a McLaren. |
You do know it is the rick roll video..don't you? 
I guess I can't get my head around a virtually brand new car needing that many parts replaced...thank God for beater Chev trucks.. 
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That brand new car is over two years old. Time degrades things just as much as mileage in some cases. Keep in mind that it is much more critical for everything to be perfect on this car, due to the speeds it is capable of obtaining. It is subject to a great deal more stress, and just by the nature of its construction will require more attention. A street legal F1 car with a nice interior is another way of looking at it. If anything were to go wrong, its not just an issue of being exhorbitantly expensive to repair, instead of fixing it early on. Its a matter of the driver and passenger can die very easily. There is a higher liklihood that they will be traveling at high speed in this particular car, and there is no forgiveness at 100+ mph. |
You could say the same about my $18K Crown Victoria Police Interceptor that I drive hundreds of miles a day, and break 100mph daily. But an oil change doesn't cost hundreds of dollars  That is a sweet car, I'm glad to see there are still circles where machines can be works of art and mechanics can be painstakingly passionate about their work instead of just cranking out "yet another warranty claim". |
The Crown Victoria is basically a 1979 LTD with modern changes, or at least it was modern in 1998. They FINALLY added a tachometer for the 2006 model year and it is now fleet-only for the 2008 model year. The Clown Brick has a 4.6L V8 that made anywhere from 190 horsepower up to a max of 250 hp for the 2004-up Police Interceptors ONLY because the 04-up Police cars had a slightly larger MAF and airbox lid (similar to the 03-04 Marauder airbox and MAF). I checked the air transfer function for the 04-up CVPI MAF and compared it with the Marauder MAF and it was a night and day difference. The Crown Vic struggles to maintain 130 mph and the newer CVPIs with factory 3.55s are governed at 120 mph to prevent the driveshaft from failing. Handling at 130 mph is a joke, it's like riding a boat through a storm. Braking? ROFL. The EPA gas mileage rating was 15/23 for 2008 and the 2000 CVPI with factory 3.55s was rated for 16/21. Stock CVPIs run 0-60 in about 8.0 seconds and do the 1/4 mile in high 16s. Best case scenarios, the stock CVPIs can run 0-60 in 7.6-8.0 and the 1/4 in 15.8-16.0 with a trap speed in the mid 80 mph range. Without helicopters/VASCAR/LASER/radar or backup units, anyone with a half-decent car with a good driver will outrun a CVPI. Remember that youtube video of a Lambo running 219 mph in AZ? If a cop had been camping out on the side of the road and used LASER/Ka to read "219" on the display, the Lambo would have been miles away before the Crown Vic ever shifted into 2nd gear. By the time the CVPI ever hit 130 mph, the Lambo would be out of visual range and probably 2 states away. The Charger R/T beats the Crown Vic in every category except cargo capacity. If you really want to haul something, buy a pickup or cargo van. The Crown Vic has a large trunk but it is difficult to manage efficiently. It's too deep so you will hurt your back trying to lift heavy objects. We tried pulling the 18" spare in a Marauder and 3 people couldn't remove it due to its awkward location. On Fifth Gear, Tiff Needell commented that a Ferrari Enzo requires 3000 mile / 6 month service intervals that run nearly 10,000 pounds (~$20k USD). The McLaren F1, on the other hand, requires 3000 mile / 6 month service intervals that run up to 30,000 pounds (~$60k USD)!!! You can buy a new car or several new cars just during the service intervals for these 2 cars. |
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Y'all just wait till that roadster gets here. I am expecting it to show up at any time. I've been harassing the car carriers looking for it. That is going to be the bomb diggity. I'm heartbroken I couldn't get my hands on a 722 edition, but the roadster will be the hotness anyways. The boss has finally claimed dibs on a test ride in that car. Notice I said ride, because my ass will be in the drivers seat. I don't trust anyone to drive it. The brake pedal is hinged to the floor like a real race car, and that might screw with some folks minds a bit. Me when the SLR roadster shows up --->  ETA: I understand the client was pleased, and I am now working on one of his other cars, a CL55 AMG. My tech specialist emailed me back and was happy with how I handled everything. I have to tell him everything I do, and whenever an issue arises, he is my go-to guy. He flew down to help me do the PDI on this car, and may do so again when it comes time to pull the engine. They keep close tabs on these cars and their problems, this way they are fixed properly the first time, and hopefully it reduces the chance of having an exhorbitant warranty claim. |
Condensation behind a clear lens is normal. It went away by itself overnight. Spark plugs are not accessible with the engine in the car. So it has to be removed. |
FYI there is a requirement for lamp housings to clear away condensation withing a certain period of time. They are not watertight or totally sealed. There are vents and other devices to allow the interior to "breathe". It's just that some lamp assemblies allow more moisture to enter than other designs. |