Car (or bike) Chat!

[Pigmy Pony]

The pic you used for my avatar is rather out of date Marco, I have a goatee these days as I was finding shaving a real ball ache.

[Alex_UK]

The pic you used for my avatar is rather out of date Marco, I have a goatee these days as I was finding shaving a real ball ache.

I thought it was Paul McCartney!

[InThe Sticks]

So, my exhaust was due to arrive today and i tracked the delivery online which gave a time of between 7-8pm.
And low and behold, the driver couldn’t be arsed working later than 6:30pm.
I got the usual bullshit blurb from Parcel Force..

“your parcel has been returned to our depot following an attempted delivery or a problem finding the address. Our driver will have left a card explaining what to do next where delivery has been attempted”

Yeah right, there was no attempted delivery and certainly no card left.
W@nkers!

[Marco]

Indeed, mate. I've had the same pish before... I deal with it by giving hell to whatever fucktard actually delivers it, telling them in no uncertain terms what I think of the 'explanation card' they (or one of their fellow fucktards) didn't leave!!

Don't care if it wasn't them, as chances are they'll have been guilty of the same thing themselves on another occasion... I don't believe in just putting up with shit. Moan enough times about it, and the message will hopefully penetrate!

Marco.

[InThe Sticks]

I sent a reasonable email to Parcelforce and they seemed to take it seriously and asked if i wanted them to speak to the driver involved.
Ermm, yes fcuking please. They should do that automatically!

Anyway, i went to the depot at 8am and asked if i could collect before they tried to redeliver and the lady on the counter was brilliant. She personally removed my huge parcel from the van and wheeled it over to me in a cage.
And best of all, my boss let me fit it in work time!

Some pretty good weight saving here..



And fitted..



Also the map was done today and has yielded a decent result (although pitiful compared to the cars i work on) so all in all a good day was had.

[Marco]

Nice one, Jon. Looking good! And yes, it seems like you've achieved a significant weight saving.

How's it sounding now, and what figures did you get with the remap?

The weight loss was primarily why I sold my Brabus SS quad exhaust system, as it had one of those bulky back-boxes too, and replaced it with a 'straight through' SS quad system, from Longlife, see here: https://www.longlife.co.uk/performance

I did that in conjunction with a bespoke remap (the chap I mentioned who's done work for NASCAR - his maps are legendary) and a DPS/EGR delete. Plus I had the turbo and injectors professionally cleaned and fully reconditioned, the cumulative effect of which was MASSIVE!

It was like driving a new (much faster and more responsive) car. The kick you get now, and how you're also thrown back into your seat, when accelerating hard, plus the satisfyingly deep 'roar', from the pipes at the back, is rather grin-inducing... Then not long afterwards I had the engine 'Terracleaned': https://www.terraclean.co.uk/ which I'd thoroughly recommend, and haven't looked back since!

I may have bigger injectors fitted, and there's a couple of improvements that can be done to the turbo too, so we'll see. The weight-loss factor is significant though, as you can gain in performance just as much, if not more sometimes, by shedding weight, as by increasing power [you'll know this all too well yourself], subsequently increasing the car's handling and agility.

Aside from looks, that's one of the reasons why I sold the Brabus wheels, and replaced them with Rotary Forged alloys, from Mandrus, which are super-light. Honestly, with no tyre on one, you can lift it up with your pinky, and mine are 19" rims! Not sure if you've heard of Rotary Forging, but the advantages are explained here (in reference to Porsches):https://www.victorequipmentwheels.co...che-wheels.php

This is the company I got my Mercedes wheels from: https://www.mandruswheels.com/merced...heels_rims.php

Also, a couple of good videos explaining the benefits of Rotary Forging, and in subsequently reducing rotational mass:



Marco.

[InThe Sticks]

Exhaust is sounding good, not too loud as to be intrusive, but gives the unique 5 cylinder burble reminiscent of the Quattro rally cars of that era and crackles like a bastard upon gear change.
The figures are fairly tame at 275 bhp & 325 ft-lb torque, but thats more than enough for a car used for going shopping once a week. If i want fast i’ll hop on my bike.
Your wheels look great, They really do make “the” difference.
I recall i had Performance friction floating discs and was testing EBC bluestuff pads (all free for feedback) at the time of the pic i posted and along with the magnesium wheels it made quite a difference. It was all lighter the OE.
Unsprung weight is the holy grail!

[Marco]

Nice one, Glad your exhaust is sounding good - thought it might! Those are still pretty respectable figures for a car of that size - should be nippy enough....

Cheers, my wheels are the 'Rotec' in matt black, shown here: https://www.mandruswheels.com/rotec-mercedes-wheels.php

I think they look quite cool on the car:



And the car, exactly as I bought it from the dealership, fitted with its original Brabus wheels:



I use EBC Yellowstuff pads and their GD drilled and grooved Sport rotors, shown via link below [fitted after above pics were taken], which again are lighter than the norm, and most importantly stop the car very quickly when necessary!

https://ebcbrakes.com/product/3gd-sport-rotors/

I'm also now rolling on Michelin Pilot Sport 4S: https://www.carthrottle.com/post/mic...he-tyre-world/

Good review video:



Best tyres I've ever used - just superb grip in all conditions, very quiet and last pretty long, which is just as well as they're not cheap in 255/30/R19!

Marco.

[Marco]

Managed to find some pics of the Michelins...





Lovely low-profile - perfect for speed bumps and potholes, combined with a lowered sports suspension!

Some sexy pipes, from Longlife:





The ones shown above were the original Brabus ones, which I though stuck out a bit too much from bumper.

Illustrated best here:



You can see the difference with the Longlife pipes.

Marco.

[Audio Al]

I see you still have the Bra Bus