I should have kept my 12.8 sec. mouth shut!
First running of the Benzes took place at Englishtown, NJ Raceway on a 38 degree Saturday. Due to circumstances beyond his control, Noah couldn't attend. About 175 cars attended the event, three of them were Benzes! I missed the autoX, but Michael, his E500 and new tires had a blast. I was there with my slow reaction time and fast E55. Michael and his awesome E500 had the best times of the day. Agron80 (whose real name escapes me at the moment) was the other brave soul who ventured out with his really nice E300. Since there was a 40 minute wait between runs and my allocated fun time was limited, I only got to run 3 times. My best time was 14.2 with ESP on, manual shifting. So, Michael and this E500 (in the 13's)have bragging rights for now. Besides running the cars, it was great to see the faces and talk to the people that go along with the posts. We had fun.
Bartender, another Tequila over here please...
Gary
(12.8's in his dreams)

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http://clubs.snap.com/mercedesbenze55registry/index.lhtml
00 AMG E55
96 DCM Impala SS
94 ZR-1
81 Corvette Cpe

Yeah, i'm really embarrassed that i couldn't make it. You know you work and plan for success but when it comes your just not ready. It always takes more time and is harded than i think. Damn.

I was expecting BIG numbers from you guys given the air temp vs the track temp.

I'm hoping to autocross soon and get to the drag strip as soon as i can. When i due i'll post my results.

(I just read an article about the fastest 1/4 mile 911 turbo that uses that strip and gets his front wheels 12 inches off the ground!)

Sorry i couldn't make it.


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Noah
1999 C43
http://4Noah.homepage.com

Hi Guys,
Its that time of year here in NE Wisconsin. Getting ready for drag racing at the end of April. Anybody close to Milwaukee or Green Bay? I live about 3 miles from the local strip at WIR(Wisconsin International Raceway). Every Saturday night we have races...its real lonely being the only Mercedes there. I wish I could have made the trip. Its just with those darned lakes in the way(Lake Michigan and Lake Erie) it makes for a real long drive.
Randy D.

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W.R.Durrance
ASE Master Tech
Mercedes Tech 20 Years
68 250SE
68 SAAB 96 Ice Racer
69 300SEL 6.3
70 300SEL 3.5
81 300TDT

Randy,
Though I was born in the area I'm not up that way very much anymore. Wish I could join you up there though. I know exactly what you mean by being the only benz there. Down south here in ATL when you go to the Commerce drag strip in a Benz you get more than a few unpleasant looks/gestures. (though the last time might of had something to do with the 500E making more than a few trigger-burgers out of the local mustang club) I would like to extend the same invite to anyone in the GA or ATL area to come to the Commerce dragstrip for Fri. "Grudgematch" events. I know they resurfaced the track over the winter. I know its done and the track should be open again anyday. Anyone that wants to do a "Team MercedesShop" running up there just drop me an email... ( lee@peachparts.com ) If not, we'll just have to wait till the next (and hopefully more centralized) Running of the Benzes II.

Gary,
Don't feel too bad. You'll get another shot at the 500E's "title"...j/k Next time you run try to stay off ESP as much as possible. As I've said before...the harder you hit the traction control the harder/longer it grabs you. It also seems to ramp back up to full power somewhat gradually. By the time all that jazz is said and done you are better off bogging the engine a small bit on launch and keeping the electronic tire police out of the picture. Plus, as flat a torque curve as that E55 has I doubt you have to brake torque at all. You might want to buy a G-tech and do some personal testing. That $140 bit of hardware will give you great empirical data on what really is the fastest method. Heck, I was clocking off 14.2's my first trip to the dragstrip in the 500E at 95+ degrees F and typical southern humidity. (before G-tech days/nights of testing) So that E55 should have at least half a second "more" in it for the 1/4 mile. I want to say R/T was getting 13.6 or so. The recent test in C/D the E55 seemed a bit off and only ran 13.9's. The great thing is that "practicing" is so much fun... Next time bring the wife AND the ZR-1. (though it isn't a benz I'd love to see that bad boy run)

Lee

[This message has been edited by Lee Scheeler (edited 03-22-2000).]

Having dragged my 500E before, at least I knew what to expect...although my first run with an R/T of .497 got me a red-light so I may have been a bit paranoid...all of my subsequent runs were low .6s as far as R/T goes.

Another advantage I had was that I was able to turn the ignition on and cycle my coolant...by my last run I was at an indicated 65 degrees on coolant temp!! However, I still have a small ignition burble in there (at 1,400-1,700 RPM it feels like it's missing) so I might be capable of better than the 13.8/102.1 run (.625 R/T) I clocked against Gary once I get that straightened out (although I'm not complaining...I think a sedan in the 13s is quite adequate).

Had a great time, guys...if you weren't there you should have been!



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Best regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE