speedriven | billet-wheel turbos

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LOOKS SPINNY TO ME

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It's been a November here at Speedriven, and we've been pushing forward with our first batch of "production-ready" turbo upgrades (shown, above).

As you can see, the Speedriven Mercedes turbos feature all-new billet wheels, as well as re-machined housings and manifolds, which are then ceramic-coated to further improve the upgraded turbos' thermal efficiency. Every moving part is new or re-worked, and every static part is machined, honed, or coated to deliver the best possible response without heat-soaking after long runs.

Speedriven's billet-wheel turbo upgrades are also listed on the products page over at Speedriven.com, and are now available for all 2003+ biturbo V12 Mercedes, AMG, and Maybach cars, starting at 5990 USD for the turbos + tune.

speedriven | polished coolers

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OOH SHINY

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This is the first (processed) picture of Speedriven's polished intercoolers for the biturbo V12 Mercedes and AMG cars. During several flat-out runs on a 95+ degree day in Goliad, Texas, intake temps never got above 120. That's good.

The top-mounted intercooler upgrades shown here are also listed on the products page over at Speedriven.com, and are now available in polished (shown), brushed, and wrinkle-black (my fav). Those pics should be ready later in the week ...

... in the meantime, we'll be gunning for someone's records. Stay tuned!

mad photo skillz

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Ever since Neff at Autoblog called me out for photoshopping his Bentley Flying Spur pics, I've started to take the whole "take your own photos" thing more seriously. Since then, of course, things have gotten way out of hand, with Dennis and I having spent ridiculous sums of money on cameras, light-boxes, lenses, etc. (well into the thousands) to be able to call ourselves "photographers" ...

... or, at least, "prosumers".

ANYWAY, Neff has encouraged this insanity and law-abiding by actually publishing some of my/our photos - and you, dear reader, must now suffer through my delusions of photographic grandeur until I either break the camera, lose the camera, or otherwise get over it.

Until then: I thought this pic of RENNTECH's 20" satin-ceramic wheels on a lowered PKG3 CL65 was just freakin' awesome.

just freakin' gorgeous

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I admit it: I am an absolutely Jaded little monkey. With Bentleys, McLarens, Ferraris, etc. filling 50-odd hours of my week, this is probably to be expected. I mean, seriously, you can't trip over half-million-dollar exotic cars for too many days in a row before you end up with a very Very skewed idea of what makes a "nice" car.

Ferrari 430? Porsche Carerra? Shelby Mustang? Nah. They're all slower than the go-kart I'll be driving again Tuesday, and quite a bit slower in a straight line than this weekend's photo-subject, a lowered 2008 CL65 AMG fitted with RENNTECH's lightweight aluminum wheels, rear decklid spoiler, and performance PKG2 ... I knew what to expect when I got into the car: effortless, insane power. Nimble-for-its-size, etc.

I did NOT expect, however, to totally fall for this car as (real Photographer buddy) Dave and I snapped away with our cameras.

Wow.

I know, I know - "wow" is the literary equivalent of nails on a chalkboard, but hey! I'm not a writer ... or much of a photographer, really ... but Dave's pics are awesome (and will be published in next month's "Privilege" magazine profile on RENNTECH) and this car is so slikk it makes even my hamfisted photography look good. And that's the beauty of the CL, really - at this level of 11 sec 1/4 mile times and 200+ mph top speeds, the Big CL actually makes sense. It's an understated, $240,000 performance car.

People don't look at it. They don't stare. They don't gawk. Their jaws don't hit the floor when you pull up to the hotel ... but do they ever drop when you pull away from a stoplight and leave whatever Posherrariette ZR640F supercharged bi-turbo-whatsit swirling in your wake.

What a blast. CLICK HERE for the Flickr set. I'll post Dave's pics as soon as they're available.

renntech cl65 . war not over

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The last few years have seen a flood of 500 horsepower sedans almost pouring out of Germany from BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz. Earlier this month, however, representatives from Mercedes and AMG announced that the "horsepower wars" were over, saying that outright power would no longer be the "main focus" for future sports sedans.

Apparently, no-one sent that "war over" memo to RENNTECH.

This morning, RENNTECH announced a new "stage 3" tune for the 2008 65 series AMG models, which makes use of what RENNTECH calls "next-generation ECU software" to get 695 hp and 890 lb-ft of torque from the AMG's twin-turbo V12.

"Power will always be important to many customers, especially torque." explains Hartmut Feyhl, RENNTECH's president and ex technical director of AMG North America. "Our cars have always been able to make considerable torque, and have been praised in magazines for their drivability. Still, we are constantly trying to improve our product."

Commitment to constant improvement is one reason RENNTECH has become known as one of the world's premier tuning firms, and America's foremost authority on Mercedes-Benz. RENNTECH believes their new software will further cement that knowledge in the public mind. "We now have two in-house engineers that are doing software full-time, and others that work with the software on a part-time or contract basis. We are always looking for improvements. The latest software takes advantage of the increased power of the new engine computers, and offers a number of small improvements that add up to a big 'overall' improvement," Feyhl explains. "It really is that 'next-generation' sort of product that is much more advanced than what we were capable of offering before. Compared to earlier versions, our new software gives customers more power and better drivability in a way that is more reliable, smoother power curve, and even improves emissions and gas mileage."

In addition to the software upgrades, RENNTECH adds a larger intercooler pump and secondary heat exchanger, as well as a pair of carbon fiber airboxes to improve the flow of cool air into the big AMG's V12. The intercooler system upgrades reduce air intake temperatures by more than 20 degrees, delivering more consistent power compared to stock and allowing RENNTECH to more safely increase boost throughout the rpm range.

RENNTECH's stainless steel sport mufflers (also part of the new package) produce a deep, distinctive growl that is suitably aggressive for a high-end luxury car. Feyhl suggests that his mufflers "let the car sound the way it is supposed to sound."

With almost 900 lb-ft of torque available from the engine, RENNTECH's upgrades deliver a real, noticeable improvement in terms power and acceleration compared to the already impressive performance of the stock 65 series AMG cars. MSRP for RENNTECH's new performance "PKG3" for 65 series AMG is $18,990 (plus installation). PKG365 is available for S65, CL65, and SL65 AMG. Contact RENNTECH for more.