mercedes slk

[scattman57]

Can anybody tell me what the letters slk stand for in both
english and german
I know that the lette S is for sport in english and L is for light in english but i am lost with letter k

[grasscarp]

Kompressor - I have 2 of them.

[vodkancoke]

Wiki says it stands for Sportlich Leicht Kurz. I have had one and I always thought it stood for Kompressor too lol

[vodkancoke]

Sorry, forgot link:

http://en.wikipedia.o...rcedes-Benz_SLK-Class

[grasscarp]

Well I never. Been driving one since 199 and had it wrong!

[grasscarp]

1998- was mercedes demonstrator model.

[Zacs-Master]

So is that Kurs as in F1 Kers ( or am I being daft, as usual?)

[grasscarp]

It means short or compact

[Zacs-Master]

Ah. Thanks grassy. So which models have you got?

[grasscarp]

A 230 auto/sports gearbox and a manual 320.

[Zacs-Master]

Nice, especially the 320. But you can't beat a BMW straight six 3.0. Beautiful soundtrack.

[tonyav]

Yes you can Zac, anything with a V8.

[Zacs-Master]

Not many Saab V8 s tony. He he. But you are, of course, correct.

[ChuckFickens]

Straight 6 (and multiples of) are the only inherently balanced engines with perfect mechanical balance in the first and second plane.... any other engine is a compromise.

V8's have a built in inefficiently with the exhaust savaging cycle, which is what gives them the distinctive sound (unless they are flat crank V8's)

[Zacs-Master]

What on earth is 'the first and second plane'?

[tonyav]

Can't beat that V8 burble though, Chuck.

[ChuckFickens]

Fist plane balance is because the front and rear 3 cylinders are directly opposed to each other so cancel out longitudinal vibration.

Second plane is because the crankshaft is also balanced along it's axis so cancels out sideways vibration.

[grasscarp]

I used to be an Alfa Romeo person until someone let me put the roof up and down in an SLK and I was hooked. They have both been so reliable and will probably outlast me at this rate. The 230 actually drives better than the 320. If I ever got a large amount of money I really would like a Ferrari.

[Zacs-Master]

Thanks chuck. Still....bloody lovely sound, especially in the power band 3500 to 6000 rpm.

[ChuckFickens]

The V8 burble is due to a inefficient exhaust though, that's why race cars run a flat crank on V8 engines (which basically it act like 2 x 4 cylinder engines joined on the exhaust cycle)

[ChuckFickens]

P.S I drive a E46 325CI (straight 6)

P.P.S I've previously worked for a GT1 team, which is why I know this stuff about engines.... I loved the sound of the DBR9 we used to run :)