Mclaren SLR Service Information
 

I've been given a piece of literature meant for the service reps for this car by someone. I cannot share the actual item, so don't ask(I will not risk someones job).

That being said I want to share some information I found from it:

Important points:
The car must not be jumped, since the carbon fiber conducts electricity.

Use of air tools on the car is strictly forbidden as it is easy to damage the carbon.

To gain access to the cars innards, 132 bolts and 4 panels must be removed from the underbody.

For alignmnet, slrs require weight scales to set ride height before alignment.

Technicians from each dealership were sent to rancho cucamongo ca for training and specialists dispatched to each dealership.

A total of 700 cars will ship to america over the next 7 years.

Only road side assistance available is delivery of gas.

There is no spare tire, just a pump and sealant. For towing it must be harnessed by the wheels.

For collisions it must be sent away to a specialized repare site.

To start it.. first put key in ignition and turn it. Then foot on the brake and press the starter button on the gearshift.

0-100-0 in 10 secs.

Successor to the 300slr w 196s sports racing car that completed mille miglia in 10 hrs 7 mins 48 secs.. a record that still stands.

I know none of this is earth shattering.. but perhaps some of it is new to some people..

"To gain access to the cars innards, 132 bolts and 4 panels must be removed from the underbody."

There goes any hope of a quick service :)

awsome, i will rember all these pointesr when servicing my SLR,

very intresting about the road side assistance, they can only give u fuel!

Better not forget to turn off your head-lights...:P

:lol:

I'm sure they turn off automatically, even my car does that.

Beave ... don't bother ... that's what your chauffer Jeeves is there for ... Let him take care of it....

Pretty thorough list of maintenance hazards.

I imagine it's never going to be a fast service time with this car, but then again, if you're able to afford the car, it's doubtful you don't have the change for a backup car.... or chauffeur :)

And no air tools? Crap, the last time I tried changing out anything signifigant in my car without air tools... well, I never changed the parts out :P

isnt this place from teh movie Friday after Next?

interesting

I asked a few different teachers of mine today and they all said that it wouldn't matter what the car was made of that if the Battery is mounted/ground properly that you can jump it because nothing is touching the body except the rubber around the cables so there would be no harm to anything else. One of them, My electrical teacher said he is going to contact MB to find out about this, since the guy incharge of the largest MB dealer in probably 3 states was trained at my School and he hires guys from here all the time. BTW the dealership if you care is Knauz. Basically they said if you can't jump a car because of the material the car is made of then you can't start it either and just to let you know steel body panels conduct electricity better than Carbon Fiber most likely.

If I had to produce a theory it would be along 3 lines...
the inherint risk that someone could accidentally incorrectly ground the car.
Second.. and pottentially more problematic would be the fear of blowing some fuses.
My final guess would have to do with the car being entirely carbon fibre.. rather then just pieces being metal. As such having electricity flowing through random pieces of the car might adversely effect electronics. Similar to what you saw in top gear when hamonds car was hit by electricity.. Remember.. part of the grounding of the electrical system runs through the frame on your typical car. That being said, I would think the voltage regulators of the regulated circuit would keep this number at normal levels.

Either way, it isnt because your going to shock yourself to death(the typical battery, baring a hybrid, doesnt carry enough amps to hurt you).

Then again I have no electrical background beyond electro physics.. so dont take my word as gospel.

Very few modern day cars have steel body panels all the way around by the way.

well improper grounding will cause other problems firstly, blowing a fuse isn't a bad thing you just replace them, and if you are connecting battery to battery without touching anything else there would be no problem it would be the same as connecting a battery to the car which has already been done. It makes no sense at all., if a battery is properly installed there should be no problem, we charge batteries on metal work benches at school and they don't shock the shit out of you if you touch them. A fuse is there to prevent electronics from being fried so blowing them would be a good thing if you think about it. and your typical electrical system in a car can kill you if you take your hands get them wet and grab the battery cables your fucked, or even better try it with the alternator. Like I said though if you fry the electronics from jumping a battery or connecting a second battery technically it should NOT fuck up the car but I will find out what the MB head guy says and get back to you on that.

I just said that...

Yes but thats only good if the electricity is entering the circuit through the fuse. If electricity pumps through the body to randomized points around the circuit.. it can very well cause problems. And in fact does. Realizing that even with shielding a wire is subject to noise.. and some wires arent shielded..
The only question becomes.. how can it be running more then normal as per typically voltage regulated systems/ reach an area that it doesnt normally through its own grounding.


ERNNN..WRONG..
They dont crank enough amps to kill you.. Thats part of the big debate over hybrids.. they do. And thats why people are worried about it. I can tell you from personal experience that grabing both sides of a car battery wont kill you. I wont be responsible for it hurting you or burning the shit out of you.. but it shouldnt kill you. thats a mild hit. The resistivity of the body is simply that high.. good example.. found on the net.. guy appears to be a nut, but damn near proves the point: http://www.dansdata.com/gz013.htm

its a difference between I think average car battery is 12 volts.. while the hybrids are pushing 45.

Well judging by the fact that this came from mercedes US and is there bulletin for the service reps. I dont have much reason to doubt it.

I believe the place you are talking about is Rancho Cucamonga. It is where the mercedes training facility is for UTI. This is where I am currently training! We are one of 3 certified mercedes training facilities in the country ( for factory technition training programs). Neat to know that they trained people for the Mcl.Merc. here. 8)

Haha I know someone who went to UTI and said it was a waste of time now he goes to my school.

Hahahah what school do you go to?
UTI is kind of a waste of time, if you dont go to a manufactering program. :roll:

I am wondering what type of carbon fiber McLaren is using? If it's carbon-carbon material, then I can maybe see why they say not to jump start a car. Am going to do a little research on this and see if I can find anything worthwhile . Seeing that probably McLaren is using aerospace quality carbon fiber, there are different grades of it, basically each type has it's own strengths and weaknesses.
A little quote from Fibersource.
Carbon fiber may also be engineered for strength. Carbon fiber variants differ in flexibility, electrical conductivity, thermal and chemical resistance. Altering the production method allows carbon fiber to be made with the stiffness and high strength needed for reinforcement of plastic composites, or the softness and flexibility necessary for conversion into textile materials.

Well he went to the chicago school I'm not sure which program but I go to a Community College but that doesn't mean it sucks since we are opening a $3.5 million USD garage next month. We turn out some big time people like the midwest rep for Porsche and Audi. We get support from Audi and GM. And the cost is alot less than what you pay. We have alot of people go and work for companies like MB, Porsche, Audi, ZF, GM, Ford, etc...

The american prez. for MB and Porsche are from UTI in pheonix. If you dont go into a manufacturing program though, its not any better than a reg. college. So people that go here and dont take it seriously enough to get into a program i just laugh at. :roll: