SL320 (R129) - What can I expect?

[AnilS]

I am a new to the brand, and very new to the SL320, which I have owned since Tuesday.

I've always liked them and I think I've got mine at the right price, but the driving experience has been a little disappointing, namely handling and noise.

These two issues may be linked. On my drive back from collecting the car, hte steering had vibrations between 40 - 60 mph, accompanied by a resonating noise.

The following day, I took the car to my "tyre man" and he found all the wheels off balance. Now rebalanced, its better but there is still a slight vibration at the same speeds.

The following day I took the to Andy Gayle (Midlands Indy), as there is still that resonating noise between 40 - 60 mph. After the test drive, he commented that the car was fine but the noise was the tyres.

The tyres are Wanli, a brand (after Googling) that seem to have a poor reputation. I fear that these will need changing, eventhough they have been on on 2k miles

Could these be causing the sloppy handling? I find the lean in corners a bit much and doesn't inspire confidence.

I may be used to my other cars (BMW 530i Sport E39 and Golf GTI DSG) which have taut chassis.

I do however find the SL rides fine. Its just the cornering and noise that concerns me. Or is this cornering normal and its more of a cruiser

Any pointers would be appreciated.

 

[st4]

The SL won't be as taut as your golf or E39, but not sloppy....

Consider this, the tyres are the only things on the car that are in contact with the road. I'd put a half decent set on....

If that doesn't cure it I'd look at checking the state of the anti roll bar, dampers, springs etc.

 

[nickg]

Its a cruiser.
tyre size makes quite a bit of difference. Its much waftier and soft on standard 16s than it is on 18s (though obviously ride comfort is the trade off).
check all suspension bushes. Its a heavy car and will benefit from new ones if the current ones are old and worn.
good luck with the car

 

[MD5]

Don't forget, it's a heavy old car, but you shouldn't have a noisy ride, so maybe the tyres are a contibutory factor. One weak spot on these is the steering damper, which links the steering joints either side, and doesn't have a great life span. About a £40 part and half hour diy, requiring one spanner to undo two bolts.

 

[AnilS]

Guys, thanks

All noted. I've just washed, clayed and re-washed the car and its parked in the garage for a through detail. I'll be removing the wheels and getting them refurbed and I might bin the tyres at the same time. It will give me the opportunity to jack the car up and check these items. Not sure where these bits are, or whether I'm better off borrowing an ramp (my MOT place may help me) to have a good poke around.

Feel a bit like Ed China with Mike Brewer's talent

 

[BTB 500]

What age & mileage is your car?

I would also ditch the tyres. The other thing to bear in mind with a car like the SL is that you can get flat spots on them if the car has been standing unused. This will cause some vibration, but it's usually gone after a decent drive.

 

[BlackC55]

Wanli tyres are pretty awful. Loads of noise and poor wear rate. Turd in the wet and turd in the dry.

 

[AnilS]

What age & mileage is your car?

I would also ditch the tyres. The other thing to bear in mind with a car like the SL is that you can get flat spots on them if the car has been standing unused. This will cause some vibration, but it's usually gone after a decent drive.

V Reg (99) 64k miles.

 

[AnilS]

Wanli tyres are pretty awful. Loads of noise and poor wear rate. Turd in the wet and turd in the dry.

Read up on Pistonheads. They are worse than a slippery turd.

I can get a decent deal on Kuhmo KU31 so am strongly concidering these. However, I want to investigate the anti rool bars, bushes and springs. Seems I'm spoilt by my current car

 

[Will]

Try some Continentals/Michelins/Pirellis/Dunlops etc.

Your car wouldn't have come with Wanli or Kumho tyres from new - if you're going to the effort of replacing a set of near-new budget tyres and are looking for decent performance/handling from your car (and tyres) spend a little extra for something wortwhile IMHO

 

[anonymoose]

Falken FK452 are another very good option regards reasonably priced tyres. Short of needing Cup tyres for a track toy, I see no point in spending more.

 

[Will]

Just to add - I've been very impressed with Michelin tyres on performance cars as well as everyday runabouts. They seem to last quite a bit longer and I feel that some of the extra cost is easily covered by the longer tyre life.

Some lease companies insist on fitting Michelin, and they'd not have any vested interest in tyre performance, purely cost based. Costco do some very good Michelin deals with 20 or 25% discount on a full set of four IIRC (?)

 

[AnilS]

Falken FK452 are another very good option regards reasonably priced tyres. Short of needing Cup tyres for a track toy, I see no point in spending more.

Falken 452s come recommended for BMs too but heard they suffer a little with noise.

Just to add - I've been very impressed with Michelin tyres on performance cars as well as everyday runabouts. They seem to last quite a bit longer and I feel that some of the extra cost is easily covered by the longer tyre life.

Some lease companies insist on fitting Michelin, and they'd not have any vested interest in tyre performance, purely cost based. Costco do some very good Michelin deals with 20 or 25% discount on a full set of four IIRC (?)

The SL was bought as an occasional car (3K miles max annually). I only do 8.5k Miles a year anyway so financing Michelins maybe a waste, as they are working out much more than the Kuhmos.

Will, my BMW didn't come with Goodyear F1s (Contis from new) but I'm glad I changed. My wife's Golf also came with Contis and were soon ditched (too noisy and close to replacing) for Vredestein Sessantas. I would have either of these, but again, Kumhos price (£332 for all fitted on a 245/45/17) is attractive compared to the following (4 fitted);

Michelin PS 2 = £620
Goodyear Efficient Grip = £600 (no F1s in this size)
Vred Sessantas = £390

 

[Will]

Falken 452s come recommended for BMs too but heard they suffer a little with noise.



The SL was bought as an occasional car (3K miles max annually). I only do 8.5k Miles a year anyway so financing Michelins maybe a waste, as they are working out much more than the Kuhmos.

Will, my BMW didn't come with Goodyear F1s (Contis from new) but I'm glad I changed. My wife's Golf also came with Contis and were soon ditched (too noisy and close to replacing) for Vredestein Sessantas. I would have either of these, but again, Kumhos price (£332 for all fitted on a 245/45/17) is attractive compared to the following (4 fitted);

Michelin PS 2 = £620
Goodyear Efficient Grip = £600 (no F1s in this size)
Vred Sessantas = £390

Fair enough

I don't do a great annual mileage in my cars either - and the Michelin PS2s that I bought for the CLK55 maybe even the only set of tyres I buy for it depending on how long I keep it. Having considered all of that I'm still very pleased that I chose the Michelins - precise steering, very little road noise, excellent wet/dry grip etc

I used to be a fan of Goodyear F1s but they are noisy tyres and suffer from tramlining issues. Fantastic grip though, but poor in the snow and the colder temperatures we experience in the UK from late autumn to early spring

MBs are premium cars and I believe they deserve premium tyres. Some of the budget brands are okay for the price, but if you're already unhappy with what's on there I'd consider spending slightly more.

Obviously a personal choice and everyone will naturally suggest their own reasoning. My recommendation would be to shop around and try and get the best possible price for a premium tyre - I paid about £500 fitted for four 'MO' spec PS2s for the CLK55 - would have only been £100-200 less for budgets, about 2/3 tanks of petrol.

Like I say - Costco do some fantastic tyre offers, so worth investigating

Will