738 lb. ft. Of Torque... 

"hike" (hike15) 03/16/2015 at 12:16 • Filed to: None

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... Is a lot a torque.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > hike 03/16/2015 at 12:18

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Who needs a turbo diesel when you could have a Mercedes V12 and get the same amount of torque?

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > hike 03/16/2015 at 12:20

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This always gets me...

Why isn't there just a hole in the hood, or a ZR1-like transparent window?

If you are going to cover the engine in a glamour cover, and then cover the rest of the engine bay around it...

Why not just have the glamour cover show through the hood, and use the hood AS the rest of the engine bay cover, instead of all of the rest of that plastic UNDER THE HOOD.

the point isn't to admire black plastic... but to SERVICE THE CAR. Having to open the hood, then remove a whole set of panels, in order to perform service, defeats the purpose... for something HARDLY ANYONE EVER WANTS TO LOOK AT!

HammerheadFistpunch > hike 03/16/2015 at 12:48

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Could be more, MUCH more but the transmission would, um, explode.

Axel-Ripper > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. 03/16/2015 at 12:50

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I think the point is actually NVH

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Axel-Ripper 03/16/2015 at 12:56

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I suppose adding mass does dampen noise... but it is still pretty ridiculous... and adds service costs in terms of shop time, not that M-B owners care about spending money at the dealership.

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > HammerheadFistpunch 03/16/2015 at 13:29

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That explains the error code on a colleague's S600.

hike > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. 03/16/2015 at 14:46

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It is so the rich folk who buy it can say they have it. Most will never actually see it.

hike > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 03/16/2015 at 14:47

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Though the v12 sounds a bit better, and has over 600 hp.

Axel-Ripper > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. 03/16/2015 at 14:53

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I don't think its just that. I think most everything has got a layer of deadening foam on the back of it to try to dampen some of the harsh engine noises coming from under hood.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. 03/17/2015 at 01:08

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All of those panels come off in about 30 seconds. They serve an aesthetic purpose as well as an NVH purpose, and more commonly as technology progress they help duct air over critical components for the purpose of cooling. A surprising amount of AMG owners do actually care what the engine bay looks like, know how to open their hood, and where key fluids go; that isn't to say that there aren't plenty of the opposite of course.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura 03/17/2015 at 01:10

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I wouldn't bet on that, do you know what the code is?

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > hike 03/17/2015 at 01:12

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Fact. Hardly drivable on the street. I have a customer who had us tune one, ~750hp/850tq. It's ridiculous, even with nannies on it wants to murder.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 03/17/2015 at 01:35

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Hey, man... come have a look at my new Merc's engine...

Let me pop the hood.

Look at that beauty... sure looks nice. All that cool carbon fiber...

—What kind of engine does it have?

Oh... ahhhhhh.... an AMG engine. It is FAST.

—————————-

Seriously... why not just make the hood to be painted and finished bodywork on the outside, and NVH insulation and air management on the under-side, and it would cover the fluid fill caps anyway.

And if you have to cover the engine so entirely to the point where it is un-identifiable as an engine, just merely to be all smooth to look at... make it a "shaker" so that you can see it through the hole in the middle of the hood, to which the engine cover could fit nearly flush. Maybe then the vents in the engine cover, and the panel gap around it, could actually vent heat from the engine bay, rather than the hood and all those panels retaining it...

You wouldn't need bother opening the hood to have the above conversation, and when you DO need to open the hood, you save at least 25 of those seconds, as the hood rises, and no covers underneath the hood would then be necessary. The hood and the function of those plastic panels would be one hinged panel, with less mass, and more access.

No fasteners or tools would be needed to merely gain access to perform the service intended when opening the hood... if you actually believe that it actually takes only half a minute to STRIP DOWN an engine bay and manage the removed parts, fasteners, and tools; all before even getting to the problem at hand. I have a feeling you are exaggerating to the small side of that timeframe.

As it is, it is a lot of R&D cost, and material cost rolled into the car for a superfluous purpose, and another symptom of added mass throughout the car. If any of the fasteners come loose, it becomes a SOURCE of NVH, not an insulator.

It is no wonder luxury cars weigh 2.5 Tons for merely a sedan, if everything is so redundantly over-implemented.

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 03/17/2015 at 02:06

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This happened a couple of years back - it was fixed but he just sort of disappeared.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura 03/17/2015 at 02:26

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Hmm, ok. Well that works I guess.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. 03/17/2015 at 02:53

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The cooling paths on covers typically work in conjunction with other ducting and flaps from the grill and front underside of the good to direct ambient air to key locations, rather than let the heat just slowly dissipate through vents as in your example.

I'm not saying I agree with having engine covers, just trying to lay out some points. I can think of many for the aesthetics and NVH. It also keeps people who have no business mucking about in an engine bay away from important things. At this price, the car damn well better have a clean and attractive engine bay, and covers are cheaper than tucking wire harnesses and polishing components and still run the risk of having ugly plastic things lying around. Have you heard modern fuel injectors? So loud! They need as many noise dampening panels as possible. Shaker hoods are far too 'murican too be on a car like this, it just wouldn't fit.

No tools are needed. I work on these almost daily, 30 seconds is no exaggeration.

Redundant over-implementation seems to be a keypoint of luxury, doing something because you can and certainly don't need to. Of course these panels ad a little bit of weight, but honestly I would be surprised if all of the covers you see in that picture add more than 5lbs. Meanwhile you could get a lower level stereo system with fewer speakers and save twice as much weight, or get a car that doesn't have hydraulic suspension, or power seats, or twelve cylinders. Fuck it, get a Camry, in beige. This isn't a race car built strictly for speed. It's a tourer built for going very fast in extreme comfort. And showing people how well endowed you and your bank account are.

Is it perfect? Hell no. But it is awesome, in the same way it would be awesome to surf a tidal wave while sitting in a leather barcalounger.

hike > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 03/17/2015 at 09:02

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I can confirm. Anything more than like ten percent throttle will cause wheel spin at reasonable speeds. It's nuts. I've heard it's even worse in the SL65.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > hike 03/17/2015 at 09:26

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Yeah, and it's even worse if it doesn't have a limited slip diff, which most do not.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 03/17/2015 at 11:10

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If you need to keep OWNERS out of the engine bay... then why not just lock the hood release, and only have techs like you able to gain access?

I am not saying that a car needs to be built for speed, but some of this stuff is getting just ridiculous... like surfing in a leather barcalounger, which defeats the purpose of both surfing, and barcaloungers.

But for all the R&D money, why spend it on that, when it could be spent elsewhere that is actually relevant? One might argue that hydraulic suspension, infotainment, and engine performance are relevant, and something actually material to how the car is daily used. Acres of black plastic UNDER a body panel that redundantly conceals mechanical workings, is much less relevant than the features that are daily used. Why not just have the insulation and air management attached to the under-side of the hood? Those panels don't appear to extend very deep.

It seems ridiculous to be implemented how it is, when maybe more R&D money built into the price of the car, could go to... say making the front end of the new Mercs look a little less ridiculous, and a bit more timelessly classy.

Something EVERYBODY sees... rather than something very few people, very infrequently see, and if it weren't seen, wouldn't really be missed.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. 03/17/2015 at 19:57

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Somebody would sue the shit out of them if the hoods were locked closed.

The point of a car like this is kind of ridiculous to begin with, why did it matter if one little thing makes it even more so?

Spend some time around the average Mercedes owner and the reasoning for the panels might be more obvious to you. They don't want to see anything mechanical and maybe dirty, but they may want to be able to show the engine bay off to others.

A lot of people actually like the way the cars look. Personally I think the front ends on most of our new stuff look great, not such a big fan of the melty butt.

This isn't just a Mercedes thing, others have been doing it for far longer. More often than not the manufacturers do things like this because it's whatthe average consumer wants. That is probably the biggest reason for it.

samssun > hike 04/16/2015 at 23:29

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738 lbs-ft is a ton, but here's what sad: the SL65 had that around 2004-2005 . Not only that, but it was artificially limited. Their new 7 speed couldn't handle it so they used the tougher 5 speed, and it was gimped. 10+ years later it has the 7 speed, just 15 horsepower more, and unchanged torque. Imagine what it could be making...