jimbo01 0 Report post Posted August 17, 2007 (edited) Our other "toy" is my wifes red SLK230. This is so different from the BMW 740 but is heaps of fun to drive. As we have 2 young kids we don't often get to enjoy this together, and it is the middle of winter. I'm a big guy - 182cm and I can easily fit in this - unlike the Honda S2000 which I was looking at. With the seat in lowest postion I even have head room. My mate was trying to get me to buy his 2000 Prelude VTIR - but it had less room, less torque, and in the end of the day a sunroof does not match a folding metal roof. Since the transformers movie has come out the folding "transformer" metal roof is great entertainment value for the kids. When the compressor starts doing it's job it realy can get up and boggy. It's not quiet as fast as the 740 but is is way lighter so it is very responive. It has 270kg/m torque above 2500rpm across a wide rev band which makes passing very easy. To drop it down a gear from 5th to 4th you just push the gear lever to the left (like putting a steptronic into sports mode). You can then pull back 1 to drop into 3rd, or back 2 to drop it into 2nd. It's not a steptronic but works well. Arround town we just leave it in 3rd - which has the compressor producing plenty of torque at 50kmph - instant response when you hit the go pedal. The only problems we have had was the drivers window in ours wasn't closing properly when i bought it, and there was a nasty rattle in the back parcel tray. We had it serviced at Wellington Star and the fixed the window and rattle without breaking the bank. The car is now "like new" apart from the few areas where the soft grey surface on the plastic comes away. The stereo puts the stereo in the 740 to shame (ours only has the 8 door speakers). It has 6 speakers, including 2 small oval sub woofers behind the seats. It is a factory Bose system. Even with the roof down, and cruising at 109kph it sounds good - although the volumn has to be wound up a bit. The only mod we are thinking of is 18 inch wheels, although as it has near new 16/235/50 Michalen sports pilots I will wear them out 1st. Apparently the belts needs replacing soon, and it could be an oportunitiy to get a bigger main pully to overdrive the compressor - apparently this unleashes another 40hp or so - although I'm not sure that would make the car any more fun. Edited August 24, 2007 by jimbo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cainchapman 0 Report post Posted August 18, 2007 Nice, I'd price the 18" tyres before you get bigger wheels and you can never have too much horsepower. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimbo01 0 Report post Posted August 18, 2007 Nice, I'd price the 18" tyres before you get bigger wheels and you can never have too much horsepower. Good point on tyres - the price of decent tyres for my 20" rims on the 740 woould be 18" rims and tyres for most cars! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimbo01 0 Report post Posted August 21, 2007 (edited) Nice, I'd price the 18" tyres before you get bigger wheels and you can never have too much horsepower. Attahced are the photos of the wheels I'm looking at - both replica wheels. The are 18x8.5 pcd5x112 with an offset of 35. The correct front offset for the Merc is 37, and rear, 30 - the guy selling the wheels says it will be fine but I'm unsure. Tyres will be 225/40/18 all round (Is 225 on 8.5" too small?) or 225/40/18 front and 245/35/18 rear. Tonys tyre service are recommending Dunlop SP Sport Maxx or Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 - it will be about 1000 for the 4 tyres Edited August 21, 2007 by jimbo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 35 Report post Posted August 21, 2007 Go the second ones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimbo01 0 Report post Posted August 22, 2007 Go the second ones. Thanks. They are the ones my wife wants - they should look good. Only $899 new on trademe currently - they seem very cheap! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cainchapman 0 Report post Posted August 22, 2007 2nd ones for me too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ED1RTY 2 Report post Posted August 22, 2007 (edited) 3rd'd Edit: nice car BTW Always wanted a drop top merc for cruising in the summer Edited August 22, 2007 by Jake The Muss Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimbo01 0 Report post Posted August 24, 2007 3rd'd Edit: nice car BTW Always wanted a drop top merc for cruising in the summer I't nice in winter too, just dropped my duaghter off to her school disco (500 meters away), put the top down and took the 12km way back home. Very nice. The heated seats, heater etc keep you really warm even if it's only 5 degrees outside. I imagine it will be very nice in summer though! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
