Red Bull (5541)

[Tony66_au]

Nice hoonage pedigree there Motec!

 

[motec 6.9]

Hi Tony i have allways maintained that i was born a bogan now i just have more cash to be a bigger bogan i entered every Summernats upto 2001 when i moved to SA ie Woomera .

 

[Tony66_au]

LOL Sounds like it, My hoonage days are on hold unless I do my Cobra replica and then its anybodies guess lol.

Im happy cruising.

 

[motec 6.9]

Hi Tony yes i think i must be doing that swear word Maturing . As i have sold my Hyabusa which was like holding the hand of god every time you moved your wrist . To buying my Harley Davidson it is factory moddified with big cube motor and vance & hines exhaust but now i enjoy the scenery.

 

[Tony66_au]

Its all about the scenery Mo, and being able to armourall or beeswax polish your seat mate.

Instead of wondering if you can hang on at 2.5 g acceleration and if you are going to bounce a red roo at 200.

Anyway, its not maturing.... Its developing a taste for scenery.

 

[Oversize]

Well Styria I have been quite slack, but the missus has been crook for the last few weeks. In fact I took two weeks leave and didn't do much on Red Bull apart from buy some new wheels & tyres (which I've yet to pick up). I've almost done my list of repairs and just have to get right under and check out the centre of the car. Some oil leaks make me think I may be removing the engine and trans soon!

The struts are bad as you know and in the absence of being able to find seal kits to repair them, I may be calling on you to rebuild them. All the ball joints will need to be replaced along with the rear boots and front bump stops. On the bump stops I'm hoping we can find a suitable progressive (orange colured) replacement from a much newer vehicle. As Tony suggested, I may try Pedders in Ferntree Gully (?) when I have them out.

I also have to replace at least two doors as they're rusted and not worth fixing. And winter's about to hit along with an end to day-light savings.... damn it!!

 

[Tony66_au]

Daylight savings be damned, I just drag out the 500 watt halogens and fix them in place again!

Lotsa light AND warmth, just use quality halogens and clean the lenses and yer sweet!

 

[Tony66_au]

BTW hope the missus is feeling better, Id suggest chocolate and Butterscotch Schnapps or Advocaat Mark.

 

[Oversize]

I now have da rims mate!!! I bought 2 sets of genuine AMGs (not including the tyres)! Four 8x18" ET30. Two 8.5x18" ET 30, Two 9.5x18" ET33. I believe the wheels come from an W230 SL and maybe a CL?? So out of these I'll make a set of 8s and 8.5s and another of 8s and 9.5s.

The 9.5s will be interesting, as clearance is minimal without spacers and I want the wheels to be protected by slightly wider tyres.... I'll check it all before buying tyres and in the worst case I'll sell the 9.5s and keep two 8s as spares. I can say for certain that the 295 rear tyres will not fit with this wheel offset!!!

They do have gutter rash and need a good clean. In the short term those Rimskins might come in handy, until I can afford to have them refinished. I intend to have the rims polished and the centres painted a mix of gunmetal with maybe a gold metallic flake. More pix to follow during the cleaning process...

 

[Styria]

Mark, those tyres are humongous - just remember - they would be ideal for aquaplaning in the wet. Do you think that there is a chance of Red Bull being overtyred ? I see that there has been contact with the front wheel arch - quite a common problem. I also read your remarks regarding struts, boots and bump stop rubbers on the front struts. If you can, at sometime, give me a phone call on 0428-50-1800. Struts are no problems, but mounts I will have to get re-done - both fronts and backs - also, the replacement concertina rubbers - I don't use genuine, but a BMW alternative. Regards Styria

 

[Michel]

Woaw....

Those rims and tyres look serious Mark!

30 series.... mmmmm

I'll stop whingeing about mine LOL

 

[Oversize]

The wheels had tyres fitted to them while I was checking fitment, but I didn't buy the tyres as they weren't suitable. Some had load ratings that weren't sufficient and the 295s were just too wide to fit without rubbing. So despite the pics, I just bought bare wheels and some new tyres will come later. Overtyred? Yes, I'm currently looking at 235/45R18 on the fronts. On the 8.5" rear wheels I'm looking at 255/40R18. On the 9.5" rear wheels I'm considering 265/40R18s.

Althought the 295s will rub on the inner guards, that's due to the ET33 offset of the 9.5s. Slightly bigger than the ET30 Bundts. And technically no good as they decrease the track by 6mm (3mm ea side). Spacers would fix these problems, but they're not legal either. $%#&@*^!! If you could find wheels with a lower offset and a tyre that had an OD no more than 658mm (215/70R14) + 15mm (VSB14) = 673mm, I'm sure you could fit a wider wheel and tyre (that didn't rub) if you really wanted!!! Probably overkill and quite expensive but there's something to be said for looking tough and of course the bragging rights!!!

Styria the guards were damaged prior to me taking delivery and I'd say it happened when it was being transported. At the time I just thought it was the chrome mouldings, but after there were recently removed I've found the guards are bent too. I never had the time to check it thoroughly when I took delivery, as she went straight into storage for quite a few months. I should've asked the PO if they were damaged and followed it up with the transport company... I don't think it was ever mentioned as existing damage when I was looking to buy the car and I didn't notice it in any pictures. At the end of the day a couple of (slightly) bent guards are the least of my worries!

 

[Tony66_au]

You guys do know that width has nothing to do with aquaplaning...............

Hell my 65 Volkswagon used to skate everywhere in the wet!

Modern wide tyres are usually designed to pump masses of water out the back and sides of the tyre particularly directional tread tyres.

Buy a quality tyre and this isn't an issue.

 

[Oversize]

Yes I think modern directional tyres reduce the possibility of aquaplaning. However there must be a point where the Ib/in2 is so low that it's almost inevitable. I've no idea how to work that out and maybe this should be discussed in a new thread?

 

[Tony66_au]

I had a look for a good source of info on this and theres plenty of blurb on tyres but nothing specific on tread probably because its a secret.

it has to do with the pressure on the road surface and the amount of water and the speed of evacuation from the tyres tread.

Up around here it is a real issue with washovers where water flows diagonally over the road often up to 3 inched deep and muddy, usually on a corner and blind.

So I just drive to the conditions, I have found however that the S class is far more stable on the road than I remember any other car being with the exception of my old Range Rover which is a delight in the howling wet.

 

[Oversize]

I guess there's so many variables that it'd be hard to determine. In any case where you exceed the tyre's ability to get rid of the water, she'll do a Layne Beachley and off into the scrub you'll go!!!

There's a formula in this thread, but I haven't digested it yet and worked out it's application...

http://www.topklasse.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3429

 

[Styria]

I revert back about twenty five years (perhaps early '70s) when the English magazine Motor Sport would cover the various championship rallyes with the Lancia Stratos being the dominant force in those days - just as an aside, there was one at Auto Italia when we went a few years ago. Anyway, getting back to the Stratos. As a rule, particularly on tarmac, nice, fat tyres were the menu, obviously for roadholding. However, once the rallye would reach snow stages, those cars ran very, skinny tyres - presumably, they gripped better by way of self cleaning action - similar situation with muddy stages. Anyone care to comment on my observations ? Regards Styria

 

[BenzBoy]

Narrower tyres cut through the mud and snow to a harder surface underneath. Fat is good on dry - only to a point. You may recall my formula elsewhere? There is a point beyond which fatter gives diminishing returns. That is the gain is an inverse geometric curve rather than a positive arithmetic relationship.
Self-cleaning is possibly another matter altogether?
Regards,
Brian

 

[Oversize]

Maybe studded tyres were only available in narrow widths?

So the million dollar question is, taking into account the 1935kg kerb weight of a 6.9 (max 2420kg - 1245kg front, 1175kg rear), what's the widest tyres that theoretically could be fitted before traction begins to suffer?? ie. where's the peak in the curve? I should've been a scientist dammit! PS this should be in another thread me thinks....

BTW you may be wondering what happened to the Pentas? I think eventually I'll have them refinished in gunmetal grey (with polished rims) and fit them to Silver Arrow in homage to the silver AMG that was sold in the USA recently. I just loved that combo....

 

[Tony66_au]

There is no one answer to your question Mark but they once again make Yokohama A008's which is a nice compromise.

Personally id run 225's all round