SLK 170 removable hardtop?

[Liquid Knight]

I have recently become the owner of a really rather nice SLK200





I'm thinking about using my SLK for this season of charity track days. Obviously a major chunk of ballast is the roof, hydraulics and other stuff.
There are plenty of GRP panels available, wings, bonnet, rear quarters and even doors but is there a removable hardtop to replace the fold up one?

[Ari]

Liquid Knight said:

There are plenty of GRP panels available, wings, bonnet, rear quarters and even doors but is there a removable hardtop to replace the fold up one?

A hard top for a hard top car that allows you to replace one that folds easily into the boot with one that you have to unbolt and leave behind if you want the roof down..?

I'm not an expert, but it seems like a very niche market.

[niva441]

Was there not a thread on here a few months back for a race series for these, possibly in the Netherlands. I'm sure they did something like that with the roof.

[GTRene]

Yep, some specialist in the Netherlands preps those cars for such car specific races, seems big fun on a 'smal-ish' budget.



here at Biesheuvel

https://www.biesheuvel.nl/en/catalogsearch/result/...

and here that cup, but Dutch tekst only

https://www.slkcup.nl/

[0a]

Without meaning to be insulting (I have an SLK55, have driven my Dad’s old r170 320 a lot) do you not think the SLK is rather unsuited to a track day? Especially if you have a nice one. Accept it for what it is - a good road car!

[DickyC]

Weld the roof in place and dispose of the mechanism and the hewn-from-solid pump.

Black Series R170.

First kid on the block.

[Liquid Knight]

The car isn't best suited for track days which one of the reasons I thought it would be fun. The brakes are awesome, despite ye olde steering box the car handles well and gives plenty of feedback. Smaller pulley and a bit of map work could potentially increase the 163hp to nearer the 200-ish mark.

I've always fancied building a supercharged MX5 but; by the time you find one that isn't a pile of crap, BMW MINI blower, hardware kit, RX8 injectors and sympathetic ECU it can be as much as five grand. The you have to upgrade the wheels, tyres, suspension, brakes and other things to suit.

The last build of its kind I followed they barely made 160-180bhp anyway.

So for a fraction of the cost I have factory supercharged, two seat, front engine, rear wheel drive sports car with potential.

The idea of replacing the roof with a roof maybe a contradiction. While a GRP or carbon fibre bonnet can save twelve kilogrammes or more compared to the factory lead one a GRP hardtop could save a similar amount.
Weight saving above the centre of mass so the car would have less roll and corner quicker (in theory).

Thank you for the replies I'll look into the links when I get time later.

[Ian-27xza]

There's another thread on Track Days about weight saving.

The general consensus was that a total interior strip down, lighter seats and so on would save about 120kgs tops but that the exponential rise in discomfort wasn't really worth the hassle!

I've owned a 2003 320 SLK for the past 6 years and have put 25k miles on it (now 108k).

If you want to improve the handling try these easy fixes:

1. 320 sway /anti-roll bars
2. 17 inch staggered wheels (225 up front, 245 on the rear)
3. Decent tyres - Michelin Pilot Sport 4, others are available..
4. Replace the steering damper - these always fail at about 80k and are only about £80. They improve the steering feel no end, it takes a LOT of the inherent 'vagueness' out.

All of the above I'd recommend, regardless of a track day and especially before hacking out any roof mechanisms....

Sounds like a potentially whole load of fun - good luck!

[Liquid Knight]

Ian-27xza said:

The general consensus was that a total interior strip down, lighter seats and so on would save about 120kgs tops but that the exponential rise in discomfort wasn't really worth the hassle!

I've driven a few track day daily's and I agree about the lack of comfort but it's not exclusive to the seats. Firmer suspension, better brakes and every single boy/girl/hp racer who sees a prepared car on the road drive like idiots when you're trying to get to work or the shops.

So the day before the track day I'd adjust the suspension and replace the interior with a bucket. This worked for a while. This time I'd like to develop the SLK over the season. Starting with a basically standard car, then modified road/track car and a full on finale.

As well as being the cheapest local SLK to me I chose the 200 because I could use the parts bin to upgrade. The more purposeful anti-roll bar sounds like a shrewd move and I wholeheartedly agree with 17's. They are plentiful and tyre choices make life a lot easier. My car has perfectly good road tyre Falkens on the back, a tired Toyo and Hunsunwunfun Fastditch up front that makes my brain itch.

Last time I had a "drift spec' like innit" MX5 that by the end of the season was twenty eight seconds a lap quicker than it's first outing...



[Picture credit; thanks to KRF photography]

...I don't have as high expectations for the SLK. If the car makes it at all. MOT is in a month, there's an oil leak, broken fog light and the clutch pedal is so long I think the slave cylinder could pop out. If I get a matching pair of Falkens for the front I could sell the 16's to partly fund the 17's but we'll see how it goes.

Edited by Liquid Knight on Thursday 10th February 23:17

[Liquid Knight]

Phew! That's a relief. I thought the oil leak was something serious. Magnetic cam' sensormebob. 😉

[Liquid Knight]

https://www.celtictuning.co.uk/component/ctvc/merc...

Interesting.

Supercharged MX5's I have seen have been around the 160-180bhp mark. With the smaller pulley, pressure valve adjustment, exhaust, filter, injectors and sympathetic ECU 200bhp could be possible.

With a question mark over the clutch would it be worthwhile getting a heavier duty one or replace it with a standard one and hope for the best?

[paulwirral]

Try a company called “speers chip tuning “ in Germany . They sell a larger slip over bottom pulley that has the same effect as the smaller supercharger pulley .
I fitted one to an old 230 and it made a noticeable difference, I also got his map . It’s relatively cheap and I know it’s still on the car and proving reliable after six years .
Its easy to fit with basic tools in about an hour .
The guy is called sacha and speaks excellent English .

[Liquid Knight]

So here's a predictable outcome.

I gave my friend a lift home. His wife fell in love with the car and instead of a track day project "Silky" will be MOT'd, serviced and a surprise birthday gift.

I'm not going to rip off a mate so I told him exactly how much the car owes me and that was his offer.
Overall Silky will cost me a couple of tanks of petrol, changing my insurance over to whatever is next (already looking at 230 and W171's) and a month of VED.

Definitely getting another one. 🙂

Thank you all for you tips and advice. I'm sure I'll be putting it all to good use in the future.

[DickyC]

Liquid Knight said:

So here's a predictable outcome.

I gave my friend a lift home. His wife fell in love with the car and instead of a track day project "Silky" will be MOT'd, serviced and a surprise birthday gift.

I'm not going to rip off a mate so I told him exactly how much the car owes me and that was his offer.
Overall Silky will cost me a couple of tanks of petrol, changing my insurance over to whatever is next (already looking at 230 and W171's) and a month of VED.

Definitely getting another one. ??

Thank you all for you tips and advice. I'm sure I'll be putting it all to good use in the future.

Consider an SLK32 - the R170 Surprise.

Not as cheap, but cheap for what they are.