2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

I have been doing a great deal of reading behind the scenes and am ready to share my hopeful venture here. I will also likely have a progress page on the benz forum but as you have encountered and I have read this is where the break throughs and swap interest is primarily.

I have a prefacelift 2000 slk230 with an automatic. I actually bought the car for my wife turns out she hated how long the hood was (just learning to drive, more in that later :) ) and I fell in love with it. But I am use to much more power and a stick shift. I also have (had now) a twin turbo acura legend that made 350+ whp. We decided for me to keep the slk and her car and our suv I had to sell the legend, I agreed since I also want a rear wheel drive car. So long story short here I am and here is my goal.

6 spd manual from a 2004 crossfirer
Updated crossfire Dash bezel
E55 AMG engine, ecu and ignition key

And later I will upgrade the suspension and breaks. Not to sure about the extent of weight reduction for these cars since there are light. Hopefully as I learn and build some cool aftermatket products will come from this I like to design parts. Here is what is on the way and the E55 should be soon to follow.

6 SPEED TRANS,
CONSOLE,
DASH BEZEL,
FLYWHEEL,
CLUTCH/BRAKE PEDALS AND THE SLAVE CYLINDER FOR THE CLUTCH

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

-upgrade brakes sooner than later,
-Don't worry about weight reduction because the power has a hard time getting to the ground anyways.

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

You make an excellent point, this is a light car as it is and there's not much need to shave weight which helps me also not feel so bad about how heavy the hood of the slk is. As for brakes another good point I can actually do this while I am waiting for my learning curve to level out a bit. Lol right now its a bit steep. There's a lot of great info here but it seems that a lot of the detailed how to part is happening off forum. Once I learn as much as I can from reading I will start to reach out to the pioneers of this area I have already made one connection that I would not feel good about moving forward without. If anyone else wants to lend their expertise and make a friend feel free to chime in any time.

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

Just that with a V-8 and the 6 speed manual I'd want something like a 2.50 rear axle.

Even with a 3.2 1st-2nd is down in the 25-30 range and can either shift real slow or have the TC go bananas. It is best to think of it as a five speed with a granny gear. It only has one OD gear.

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

You'll be looking for a new trans soon after the swap. There's a reason AMG doesn't mate a manual transmission to their cars...can't handle the torque. And get a tune for that motor if you're searching for power. The E55 had the lowest output for that motor, SL55 had the highest. Same motor, different ratings because of ECU programming.

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

thank you for sharing the info about the power output. I don't recall the comparison between the two but I will also see if the differences can be found in compression ratios, valve size differences, manifold design and cam differences in addition to the tuning. I don't doubt that there are mapping differences in the ecu but there could be much more that leads to the varying power output.

You do pose a legitimate curiosity that someone here may know is the Crossfire trans weak? I know it will need an aftermatket clutch real fast but the trans itself how much torque and who is of proven for? I honestly think I am along way from needing to do dyno mapping or dyno tuning for power (if that's even a possibility with the benz ecu. I know they can be unlocked but I have not yet read where people have successfully done anything specific with the fuel or ignition maps other than copy one models mapping over another's by re-chipping it have the they? If I have not got that far yet I am very interested in reading about this as well and please direct me to that thread.

Please don't take my response the wrong way, I am very new to this and know very little about the SLk or the Crossfire but I have built a high hp car that the aftermatket missed so I do have a little experience from a generalized perspective.

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

The motors are identical. The differences were in the intake and exhaust, but the power shortage was strictly tuning. Eurocharged has had a lot of success tuning those motors, and a 55K swapped SRT-6 is running 10.6 @ 127 MPH (highly modded though). They do remote tuning and remote dyno tuning also.

As far as the trans is concerned, it's not that it's a Crossfire specific unit. The MB manuals just can't handle the torque like AMG would want. You can mate it to a 6-speed, but the tuning involved isn't cheap. Guess it all depends on how bad you want that third pedal. All I know is I don't miss shifts in my AutoStick and can still select gears on the go.

And relax, I took no offense to anything! Have fun here, do some research, see what has worked for those that have done it before. Good luck with the build.

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

Thank you I really appreciate it and all the great advice. This really does seem like a nice community. The 6 speed is on the way so no turning back on that now but I do miss it it helps me feel connected behind the wheel. Very excited to hear remote tuning can be done that is something that is unheard of in the legend world. And the crossfire running 10's yeah that's crazy I have read up on it and watched a few videos he too is a member here if I recall? Well I will post up more as I figure out more. I might ask questions here and there to serve as a reminder of what I need to find out and a chance for someone who knows to answer if they desire.

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

Have not posted here in a few but the engine, trans, ecu, the key, and ignition have arrived. I also picked up a couple of electrical 12" slim fans.

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

chuk,,,,,,,10.65 @ 130,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, not really modded that much,,the motor has NEVER been opened,. mods are below.
Your car is about 600 lbs over a crossfire. my car with me in it is 3475. I am running 600+ hp with 5 mods they are intake, exhaust, tune, killer chiller, pulley,,, those are the only hp mods i have
I also have more cooling, bigger brakes, 8300 cfm fan on all the time the motor is running+ a heater core from a 1968 amx behind the fog light with a 7" fan on it,,also on all the time.
just a note of encouragement my SL55 was installed in 2010 i now have over 300 runs down the 1/4 mile plus over 4000 wot to over 120 mph, as test. replaced the transmission once and the tcu i got from is what made the tranny go bad. the first thing to do is get a dashpac from needswings so you can monitor your AFR's,,, never go over 12 .4 these engines don't like all that heat on the piston . jim

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

Now that gentlemen is encouragement!

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

Or a 11.701 with no mods on the engine, no extra cooling, and a bad rookie driver!!!

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

What happened to sk8erjosh09 ?
He fall off the face of the earth ?
His 5.0 V8 6 speed take him through a black hole or something ?
Overcharged flux capacitor ?

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

I was wondering that myself. I was about to reachout to him with a few questions about the 6 speed and if he had looked at other options.

I wont be looking to mod it till I get it in and running well then I will look into the real power.

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

The oil pan looks to be the right one because it is a front sump. Please excuse how dirty it looks I will clean it up before it goes in.
Attachment 40181

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

:Dlooking forward to your progress

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

Thanks. It will be a slow build for a while. Has anyone fabbed custom flanges/headers for their swapped v8?

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

only me. if u are not going to run it on the track you don't need them,,
yes the stock V6 and V8 use a exhaust manifold that has a 1 1/4 opening coming from the head,,, i opened mine to 1 1/2 in to a 3" log type header then 3" all the way back no cats no resonator but i am going through the srt 6 muffler. jim

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

I plan progressively and likely will track it. I just wanted to see if any has done the tabbing and designing of the flanges to make a custom set vs buying the clk430 set only to do a custom set later. I made a set for the legend so I figured I can do the same for this. The real question is is there room for a set of equal length headers like the ones I made. Amx do you have any pics of the fitment.

Legend Turbo headers I cut them and had a friend weld them.
Attachment 40180

Re: 2000 SLK230 auto to 6 speed V8
 

sorry no pic