Ender8472

Car: 1989 560 SEL (Benz)

I need help on where to start on weight reduction..Its running about 7 sec 0-60 but i need to be a lot better than that, at should be better than that on a freaking 5.6L v8.....it weighs so damn much and I'm putting in subs soon which will add a little more...I was wondering if anyone could tell me where to start/ what to pull out, etc. Thanks alot.

Chin

what?

Chin

dude, if you are going to try and post this here atleast say that you want to reduce weight reduction so you can autoX better not to imporve your 0-60 times.....

PseudoRealityX

your car doesn't *really* need doors, or glass, or most of the sheetmetal attached.

Loren

I think a really good place to start would be to not put in the subs. If you're talking about cutting weight, that involves making compromises. If you're not willing to make that one, you might as well just give it up right now.

If you're serious about weight reduction, common things include removing AC (yeah, it's extreme), converting to manual steering (yeah, steering effort will go up), removing whatever is behind your bumper covers (yeah, you'll incur more damage in an accident), removing the padding under your carpet... and/or removing the carpet (yeah, it will make the interior noisier and less comfortable and ugly), removing the spare and jack (yeah, it's inconvenient if you lose a tire in the middle of nowhere), replacing heavy OE seats with lighter racing seats, replacing heavy OE wheels with lighter aftermarket wheels, replacing steel body parts with fiberglass, etc.

There are many more things you can do, but those are some of the most simple things.

I'd suggest you do some power to weight comparisons before you start. On a car that weighs 3600+ lbs and makes decent power, trimming 200 lbs (which is more than you're likely to trim without spending a bunch of money or compromising streetability) isn't likely to make enough difference to be worth it.

JonNoH

nice to know people still have the same immediate reactions on things as me

This is the best advice you could take.

krekavhts

Yeah here's the deal. The weight of that car is not in things that are easily removed. The mercedes SL series has and will always be a touring car, not a sports car. As such it has an incredibly heavy chassis/suspension. I used to drive a 560 sl. The engine is very torquey but doesn't have enough of a power band to make up for its very tall 4sp gear box. About the only way to fix that is a new rear end, save your money, or really low profile tires, bad ride. You also probably know by now about the mercedes speed button. Its is a button behind the gas pedal that causes the tranny to shift a little faster and hold on all the way to redline. It also causes lowest gear downshifts when traveling at speed. Might help a little, but if i remember correctly that car really isn't fast near redline. That car will require an incredible amount of money and engine work to be fast. Loosing weight when you are talking about a 4000 pound car is a good idea, however not when there isn't much to remove. You could honestly get the biggest improvment by getting lighter wheels, lower pro grippy tires, and loving the fact that you have a great looking rag top that the ladies love. The 560 is a classic as all the Merc SL's have been since the original 180sl.

JonNoH

I didnt even notice we were discussing a benz. You dont jenny craig (as you put it) a benz. Throw on some rims, install a soundsystem and whatever else your heart desires and redo the interior to try and make that 89 luxurious again. jeez

oilleak

It's not an SL, it's an SEL - big full size sedan. From an autocross standpoint, give up now. Even if you can reduce weight substantially you still have one hell of a long wheelbase to deal with. Bottom line, it'll never be a good autocross car. You can make them pretty quick in a straight line - I'd add weight in the form of a Blower. By the way, I have a 90 560SEL for sale for a measly $3500. You can have a party in the backseat.

mofugga

if you want something light & handles well? get rid of your benzboat & buy pretty much any other car you'd be a fool to try and make it lighter...

i'd pimp that benz out with a discoball, wetbar & anything else you can think of in the backseat