Hows the BiTurbo 12???
 

They are getting cheaper....


http://sacramento.craigslist.org/car/632275067.html


^^My dad showed me that....



Anyone got any experience with owning one, and have any problems??? Ted???

You'd have less money invested possibly than blowing that 103!

Maintenance and repairs would be intimidating to me. Just remember everything will cost the same as two sixes, more or less.

Tom W

I like the idea of having one, but I'm with Tom. It's too intimidating to me. Eight cylinders is plenty for me to have to keep up with.

One heckuva car.

Understatement IMO, ;)

I think its the sedan to have, I wasn't to gidigy about them until I drove one recently, that much power with the comfort is mesmorizing.

Yeah get it and you can pretend you're the guy from the transporter. Did you see that movie? :) He drives a BMW though. Ted could be that guy, he's got both a 740 and a 600.

Yeah, Jason Strathem was pretty cool in the (and a lot of other) movie. If I had not already admired the looks of the Seven Series BMWs, I would have after that.

Of course, in the movies you don't have to worry about things like the price of gas and how much it costs to keep one of those beasts on the road.

Heck if you're charging $10,000 a delivery...

you add a surcharge for gas. :)

I guess you can say that Ted's got it going on, I forgot about the 740 when you have both cars in the garage..you got it going on.

I drove a 7 Series, and pretended I was the Transporter..... Until I got pulled over.




In the original movie, the transporter drove an S-Class and a 7 Series...

We got an SL600 and a G500, so thats not really an issue.

x2. I drove one, and it blew my mind the amount of power in a car sooo damn large.

You guys own some Exxon stock?:eek:

They are so nice, Hatty wants! How could a bi turbo V12 not be fun to drive!:D:cool:

That example is kind of beat though.

Me want. :D Thats my dream car right there. However, I'd never want to spend what it took to keep it on the road. The purchase price is the smallest of the $$ you'll spend on one of those. ;)

My S600 is at the stealer. I brought it in Friday for the A service. ~$300, as I expected.

I told them about a whining noise coming from the engine. Hoped that it wasn't a damn turbo. Turns out the pulleys are making the racket, so all will be replaced to the tune of $1100. They have to pull one of the heads!!

So, if you buy one be prepared to drop big bucks. The M120 is probably cheap compared to this beast.

While searching the pulley issue, I discovered the motor has to be pulled in order to replace the ps pump. Nice... The ABC pump is connected in tandem to the power steering pump and you have to buy the whole package.

To keep costs down, I'll drive the diesel more or ride my bike. :)

Still cheaper than a Ferrari!:D

...and faster (in some cases). :D

While they're at it tell them to pull the other one and send them out for port and polish.

I imagin more than one F car owner has been surprised by them.:D

Although their are some fast cars out their, like the video on youtube of an S65 racing a Porsche Carrera GT, the 65 is way out classed.

Or better yet send them to Brabus for a work over...

Thats VRAlexanders car, no?



His CGT is really modded..... I think its on laughing gas.... Or forced induction..

Yah but in the 65 you can be drinking a, uh, coke, and adjusting your rear reclining seat at the same time.

I saw that video. Obviously the S65 would get spanked, but not that bad -- so the mods make sense. Sick-fast.

Considering the weight difference the S65 does well.

Heres the CGT that was in the race...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Fully-modified-Carrera-GT-80-000-in-upgrades_W0QQitemZ160190586330QQihZ006QQcategoryZ6058QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem #AM_Features



Its modded.... Nicely too.

Excuse me? :huh2:

I'm sure the bi-turbo is a wonderful car..

But man, where can you really USE it? And what fun is it with a 130 mph limiter?

I have trouble keeping below triple digits in diesels, let alone a bi-turbo V12!:D

Here is a video of one doing mid 10's in the 1/4 mile. I don't know of many F cars quick enough to hang with this:
http://www.dragtimes.com/2003-Mercedes-Benz-S600-Videos-11883.html

The 2003 and later twin-turbo 600's do have some serously expensive issues. The Ignition coils tend to fail. You have to do an entire side if one starts to go bad. They are about $3,000/side. The idler pulley will fail and it costs around $780 for what should be a $10 plastic and metal pulley. Intercooler pumps fail and cost around $250 for an aftermarket one and $900 for the Mercedes unit.

The biggest issue surrounding the 600's is the ABC suspension. You have a pump fail and they cost around $2,800 to replace. Once the system gets contaminated from the pump failing you have all other issues from the tiny metal particles. Unless the dealership flushes, reflushes, and reflushes again, you will wipe out more pumps and have issues at hydraulci control blocks around the car. The ABC is the best and worst thing about the 600.

If you can live with the issues, the tt 600 engine is awesome. It has tremendous off the line torque and the power seems to be never ending. Not to mention, do the Renntech ECU/TCU and you can run and or beat most supercars. The best way to describe the engine's characteristics is to try and imagine driving a 500 hp sewing machine. It's just super smooth with a flat power band.

The most comparable Ferrari would be th 456GT. 0-60 in 5 secs, 1/4 mile 13.4 secs

S600: 0-60 in 4.5 secs, 1/4 mile at 11.9 (stock, but with slicks)

HP is underrated by Mercedes, more like 560hp at the crank. :) Not 493.

http://forums.mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=34021

Comparing driving experience? We know who wins that! :D

.

Hey, there he is!

Do you still have the 12'er?

I was thinking about dumping the 600 and picking up an E63. Buying a new car is nuts however, maybe wait a year or so. :confused:

Yeah tell me about it, MB engines always feel a lot stronger than they should according to the published numbers.

I think MB sand bags everything.

I sold the 600. I'd wait for a year or two before getting an E63. After driving a force fed Mercedes, I don't think the 63 could do it for me. The 7 speed tranny is nice in the E63 but it is not as mod friendly nor is it nearly as strong as the 5 speed.

Then S65 it is!!!



.

Hell ya! That's a great choice for a sedan.

I find the 7spd to be kind of busy, and not needed at all with the larger engines.

With the 6 or even a 4 the 7 gears would be nice, but with a V8 its just not needed.

When I was driving the CLK550 last summer I found myself starting it in 3rd more often than not.

Yeah, it is just for bragging rights I think, though it does allow a short 1st gear for good acceleration and a nice high top gear for good economy and quietness.

The tranny will actually let you start it in 3rd? My Accord with its 4 speed auto can be manually started in 2nd gear but it feels rather abusive on that little engine.. I think it's for slipper conditions really. Probably not a sweat for the MB though :)

Yeah I just hit the buttons on the back of the wheel and it let me shift. Decent manual mode, it will pretty much obey your commands, but it was kind of lame. Its not really flappy padel gear box, you just get Nintendo buttons on the back of the wheel. 3rd gear starts were nothing for that engine, like I said above with a 4 banger the 7 gears would probably be nice.

I really don't like the 7spd, the gears are very short so even in manual mode you need to always shift. With a damn near 400hp V8 that puts out about that in torque right off idle, it's a poor combo. With an E63 it must be even more pointless.

If thats the future I miss the old 5spd 722.6. I can't imagin the Lexus 8 speed, that would just drive me up the wall. I bet it feels like a really crappy CVT. Hopefully this pissing contest with Lexus ends before we have to suffer with any more gears.

Buy a CLK63..... Black Series. On Command Paddles. Or an E55.

I haven't driven anything with a 7-spd tranny, but I can only imagine how busy it must be and that probably shortens the lifespan too. I say 6 gears should be the limit. I don't see why anyone would want more than that. If so, I say go with a CVT. It does seem like a pissing match, doesn't it. I remember when the 7-spd tranny was coming out it was on posters all over the local MB dealership and on TV commercials.

I don't want any of that crap period, its a luxury car.:D

Any sports car worth its salt in my book comes with a clutch pedal.

I wouldn't get a CLK63, for the same money I'd get a 911 GT3, and strip it further, add a roll cage with some slicks, remove the exhuast, tweak the suspension, and track it.:D I saw a so not street legal 911 turbo the other day. Roll cage, slicks, looked like plastic windows, all black except for bright red Brembo calipers, sounded sick.

I want a sports car to be a scary fast uncomfortable beast thats just waiting to stick a knife in your back if you screw up.:D:cool:

There was a funny thread on F-Chat about a man with his hot date in a F355 that got tore up by a AMG S, apparently the kids were laughing waving bye bye in the back window of the Mercedes.

E55/63 wagon with 3rd row rear facing seats, for maximum embarrisment from kid waving.:D

The 600 is back, so life is good. No more surpintine belt/pulley whine.

They only needed 2 pulleys (instead of 3) so that saved me $300. What a bargain.

Isn't the air suspension on the W220 series very problematic? I once thought about "upgrading" to a W220 (one of the V8's) until I read about the air suspension and how expensive it is to fix. I think sacrificing reliability for temporary comfort is always a bad call.

The 00-02's are supposedly more problematic than the later years of that series. I haven't had any issues...

How is the comfort then, compared to a standard MB suspension? Is it a big difference?

The only Merc I can compare to is my 29 year old 300TD wagon.

Pitch and bodyroll are nearly absent in hard cornering, almost on par with my 740i Sport.

Some S430s didnt have airmatic, and had a conventional suspension.