2020 MERCEDES-BENZ SL ROADSTER sport mode

!
Avoid
spinning thedriven wheels foran
extended periodwithESP®
deactivated. You
could otherwise damagethedrivetrain.
Deac <0057004C005900440057004C0051004A0012004400460057004C005900440057
004C0051004A> ESP® X
To activate SPORThandling mode:briefly
press button 0043.
The 0074 SPORT handling modewarning
lamp inthe instrument clusterlightsup.The
SPORT Handling Mode SPORT
Handling Modemessage appearsin
the multifunction display.
X To
deactivate SPORThandling mode:
briefly pressbutton 0043.
The 0074 SPORT handling modewarning
lamp inthe instrument clustergoesout.
X To deactivate ESP®
:press button 0043until
the 00BB ESP®
OFF warning lamplights up
in the instrument cluster.
The 00E5 OFF OFF
message appearsinthe multi-
function display.
X To activate ESP®
:briefly pressbutton 0043.
The 00BB ESP®
OFF warning lampinthe
instrument clustergoesout.The00E5 ESP®
ON ON
message appearsinthe multifunction
displa y.
Characteristics ofactivated SPORThan-
dling mode
If SPORT handling modeisactivated andone
or more wheels starttospin, the00E5 ESP®
warning lampinthe instrument clusterflashes.
ESP ®
only stabilizes thevehicle toalimited
degree.
When SPORT handling modeisactivated:
R ESP ®
only improves drivingstability toa
limited degree
R traction controlisstill activated R
engine torqueisno longer limited andthe
drive wheels areable tospin
R ESP ®
still provides supportwhenyoubrake
firmly
Characteristics whenESP®
is deactiva-
ted
If ESP ®
is deactivated andone ormore wheels
start tospin, the00E5 ESP®
warning lampin
the instrument clusterflashes. Insuch situa-
tions, ESP®
will notstabilize thevehicle.
If you deactivate ESP®
:
R ESP ®
no longer improves drivingstability
R engine torqueisno longer limited andthe
drive wheels areable tospin
R traction controlisstill activated
R Act ive Brake Assist isno longer available;
nor isitactivated ifyou brake firmlywith
assistance fromESP®
R PRE-SAF E®
is no longer available, norisit
activated ifyou brake firmlyandESP®
inter-
venes
R Act ive Brake Assist withcross-t rafficfunc-
tion isno longer available; norisitactivated
if you brake firmlywithassistance from
ESP ®
R ESP ®
still provides supportwhenyoubrake
firmly EBD
(electronic brakeforcedistribu-
tion)
General information EBD
monitors andcont rolsthebrake pressure
on the rear wheels toimprove drivingstability
while braking.
Importa ntsafety notes i
Observe
the"Important safetynotes" sec-
tion fordriving safetysystems (Ypage 60). G
WARNING
If EBD ismalfunctioning, therear wheels can
lock, e.g.under fullbraking. Thisincreases
the risk ofskidding andanaccident.
You should therefore adaptyour driving
style tothe different handling characteris- Driving
safetysystems
69Safety
Z

inf
ormat ionabout startingthe engin e
(Y page 127). X
Press DYNAMICSE LECT butt on0043 asmany
tim esasnec essary untilthe desire ddrive
progr amisselec ted.
The selec teddrive programappears inthe
multif unction display. After ashor tperiod of
tim e,the display goesoutand thesymbol
for the selec teddrive programappears.
In addition ,the curr entdrive programset-
tin gs are displayed brieflyin the multim edia
syst emdisplay.
i In
afew coun tries, theECO start/sto p
func tion isdeact ivatedat the factorydue to
the available fuelgrade. Inthis case, the
ECO start/sto pfunc tion isnot available in
any drive program,regar dless ofthe display
in the multim ediasystemdisplay.
Availa bledrive progra ms: C
Comfo rt Comfo
rtable andecon omi-
cal drivin gchar acterist ics S
Spor t Spor
tydrivin gchar acteris-
tic s S+
Spor tPlus Part
icularly sportydrivin g
char acterist ics I
Ind ividual Ind
ividual settings E
Ec ono my
(vehic leswith
adjust able
dampin g) Part
icularly economical
drivin gchar acterist ics CV
CURVE
(vehic leswith
Ac tiveBody
Cont rol) Part
icularly economical
drivin gchar acterist icswith
cor ner ing func tion Addit
ional informat ionfordrive programs
(Y page 139). DYNAMIC
SELECTcontroller
(Mer cedes-AM Gvehicles) Gener
alinfor mation
Selec tthe drive programusing theDYN AMIC
SE LECT con troller.
Availa bledrive progra ms: I
Ind ividual Ind
ividual settings C
Comfo rt Comfo
rt-or ient ed,opti-
mum- economyengin eand
tr ansm ission settings S
Spor t Spor
tyengin eand trans-
missio nset tings S+
Spor tPlus Part
icularly sportytrans-
missio nset tings Ra
ce Maxim
umsport inessand
engin eand transm ission
set tings suitable forthe
racet rack Depe
ndingon the drive programselec tedthe
followin gvehic lechar acterist icswill chan ge:
R the drive (enginemanag ement)
R the transm ission manag ement
R ES P®
R the suspen sion
R the steerin g
R the availability ofthe ECO start/sto pfunc -
tion
R the drive rassist ancesyst ems
R the availability ofgliding mode
Furt herinformat ionforautom aticdrive pro-
gram characterist ics(Ypage 139).
Addit ionally, indrive programIyou can config-
ure therespe ctive vehic lechar acterist ics
using themultim ediasystem. You canfind
inf ormat ionabout thisinthe Digit alOperat or's
Manual.
Eac htim eyou startthe engin ewith theSmar t-
Key orthe Start/ Stop butt on,drive programC
is act ivate d.For further informat ionabout
star tingthe engin e,see (Ypage 127). 134
DYNAMIC
SELECTcontroller(Merced es-AMGvehicles)Driving andparking

kine
ticene rgy and cons umesless fuel
(co asting mod e).
R ESP ®
pro vides the optimu mcomp romise
be twe entractio nand stability. Fur ther infor-
ma tionab ou tESP ®
(Y page 66).
Me rce des -AMG vehic les RAC
Edriv eprog ram
i The
RAC Edri ve pro gramma ynot beused
on norm alroa ds. RAC Emu stonl ybe acti va-
ted and used on dedicate dra ce circui ts, not
on public roa ds.
The RAC Edri ve pro gramischa racteri zedby
the followi ng:
R the vehicleexh ibits driving characteri stics
su ita ble for the racetra ck.
R allveh iclesy stem sar eset formaximu m
spo rtine ss.
R the gearshi ftreco mme ndationgives you
info rma tionfor slow lywa rmi ngup the drive
as sem bliesand foradop ting afu el-eff icient
dri ving style(Y page 142) .Yo ucan follow
the gearshi ftreco mme ndations atalltime s
and shiftge ar acco rdingl yus ing the stee ring
wh eelpa dd leshi fter s.On the basis of the
ge arshi ftreco mme ndation,using the stee r-
ing wheelpa dd leshi fter s,yo ucan optimi ze
the drive trainand engineopera ting mod eat
any time .
R ifyo uha ve selecte dage ar ma nua lly, thi s
wi llbe mainta inedunti lthe vehiclespe ed
incr eases ordecrea sesdramatica lly.
R the vehiclepu lls aw ay infirst gear.
R the automa tictransmi ssion shifts uplater.
The fuel cons umption possi blybe ing highe r
as ares ultof the later automa tictransmi s-
si on shiftpo ints .
R the suspe nsion exh ibits partic ular ly firm
da mpi ngsetti ngs.
R glid ing mod eis not availabl e.
R the ECO start/sto pfu nctio nis not availabl e.
R ESP ®
sw itch estoSPOR Tha ndl ing mod e.
The 0074 SPORTha ndl ing mod ewa rning
la mp inthe instrument cluster lights up.The
SPO RTHandli ngMode SPO
RTHandli ngModemes sage appe arsin
the multifu nctio ndispl ay.Obs ervethe
imp orta ntsafety note sfor the SPOR Tha n-
dl ing mod e(Y page 68).
R ESP ®
onl yimp rovesdriving stability to a
li mite dde gre e.The engine'storq ueisonl y res
tric ted toalimite dde gre eand thedrive
wh eelscan spin.Fur ther informa tionab ou t
ESP ®
(Y page 68) .
Dri veprog ramS+(Sport Plus)
Driv epro gramS+ ischa racteri zedbythe fol-
lo wi ng:
R the vehicleexh ibits partic ular ly spo rtydriv-
ing characteri stics.
R the vehiclepu lls aw ay infirst gear.
R the automa tictransmi ssion shifts uplater.
The fuel cons umption possi blybe ing highe r
as ares ultof the later automa tictransmi s-
si on shiftpo ints .
R the suspe nsion exh ibits partic ular ly firm
da mpi ngsetti ngs.
R glid ing mod eis not availa bl e.
R the ECO start/sto pfu nctio nis not availa bl e.
R ESP ®
pro vides the optimu mcomp romise
be twe entractio nand stability. Fur ther infor-
ma tionab ou tESP ®
(Y page 66) .
Dri veprog ramS(S port)
Driv epro gramSis cha racteri zedbythe follow-
ing :
R the vehicleexh ibits spo rtydriving character-
is tics .
R the vehiclepu lls aw ay infirst gear.
R the automa tictransmi ssion shifts uplater.
The fuel cons umption possi blybe ing highe r
as ares ultof the later automa tictransmi s-
si on shiftpo ints .
R the suspe nsion exh ibits partic ular ly firm
da mpi ngsetti ngs.
R glid ing mod eis not availa bl e.
R the ECO start/sto pfu nctio nis not availa bl e.
R ESP ®
pro vides the optimu mcomp romise
be twe entractio nand stability. Fur ther infor-
ma tionab ou tESP ®
(Y page 66).
Dri veprog ramC(C omfo rt)
Driv epro gramCis cha racteri zedbythe follow-
ing :
R the vehiclede liver scomf ortable, eco nomi cal
ha ndl ing characteri stics.
R the vehiclepu lls aw ay mor ege ntly in
forw ardand revers ege ars, unl ess theacce l-
era tor pedalis de pre sse dfu lly.
R the vehicleha simp roveddriving stability,
for exa mpl eon slip pe ry roa dsu rfa ces . Au
tomati ctrans mission
141Dr ivi ng andparki ng Z

The
ECO display consistsof three section s,
with aninner andouter area.Thesection scor-
respond tothe following threecategories: 0043
Acce
leration (evaluation ofall
acceleration processes):
R the outer areafillsupand the
inner arealights upgreen: moder-
ate acceleration ,especially at
higher speeds
R the outer areaempties andthe
inner areaisgray: sporty acceler-
ation 0044
Coasting
(evaluation ofall deceler-
ation processes):
R the outer areafillsupand the
inner arealights upgreen: antici-
patory driving, keeping yourdis-
tanc eand early release ofthe
accelerator. Thevehicle can
coast without useofthe brakes.
R the outer areaempties andthe
inner areaisgray: frequent heavy
braking 0087
Constant
(continuous evaluation
over theentir ejourney):
R the outer areafillsupand the
inner arealights upgreen: con-
stant speed andavoidance of
unnec essary acceleration and
deceleration
R the outer areaempties andthe
inner areaisgray: fluctuations in
speed The
three innerareas display thecurrent driv-
ing style andlight upgreen asaresult ofapar-
ticularly economicaldriving style.Dependin g
on the driving situation, uptotwo areas may
light upsimultaneously.
At the beginning ofthe journey, thethree
outer areas areempty andfillup asaresult of
econom icaldriving. Ahigher levelindicates a
more econom icaldriving style.Ifthe three
outer areas arecompletely filledatthe same
time, thedriver hasadopted themost eco-
nomical drivingstyleforthe selected settings
and prevailing conditions.TheECO display
border lightsup.
The ECO display doesnotindicate theactual
fuel consumpt ion.Theadditionally achieved range
display edunder Bonus fr.start Bonus
fr.start does
not indicate afixed consumpt ionreduction .
In addition todriving style,theactual con-
sumption isaffect edbyother factors,such as:
R load
R tire pressure
R cold start
R choice ofroute
R active electric alconsumer s
These factorsare not included inthe ECO dis-
play.
An econom icaldriving stylespecially requires
driving atmoderate enginespeeds.
Achievin gahigher valueinthe categories
"Accelerat ion"and"Constant ":
R observe thegearshift recommendations .
R drive thevehicle indrive program Cor E.
In urban trafficand stop- start traffic,drive pro-
gram Cis recomm ended.
On long journeys ataconst antspeed, e.g.on
the highway, onlytheouter areafor"const ant"
will change.
The ECO display summarizes thedriving style
from thestart ofthe journey toits completion .
Therefore, therearemore marked changes in
the outer areas atthe start ofajourney. On
longer journeys, therearefewer changes. For
more marked changes, performamanual rest
(Y page 196).
Further informationonthe ECO display
(Y page 195). Br
aking
Import antsafety notes G
WARNIN
G
If you shift down onaslippery roadsurface
in an attempt toincrease theengine's brak-
ing effect ,the drive wheels couldlosetheir
grip. There isan increased dangerofskid-
ding andaccident s.
Do not shift down foradditional enginebrak-
ing onaslippery roadsurface. 152
Driving
tipsDriving andparking

The
damping istuned individually toeach
wheel anddepends on:
R your driving style,e.g.sporty
R the road surface conditions
R the selected driveprogram (Ypage 133).
Selecting theComfort orEcono my
dr ive program s In
the Comfort andEcono mydrive programs,
the driving charact eristics ofyour vehicle are
more comfor table.Select oneofthese drive
programs ifyou favor amore comfor tabledriv-
ing style. Alsoselect thesedriveprograms
when driving fastonstraight roads,e.g.on
straight stretches ofhighway.
In urban trafficand stop- start traffic,drive pro-
gram Cis recomm ended.
X Press DYNAMICSELECT button 0043repeat-
edly until theComfort orEcono mydrive
program isselected.
Selecting Sportmode The
firmer settingofthe suspension tuningin
the Sport driveprogram ensuresevenbetter
cont actwith theroad. Select thisdrive pro-
gram when employing asporty driving style,
e.g. onwinding countryroads.
X Press DYNAMICSELECT button 0043asmany
times asnecessary untiltheSport drive
program isselected.
Selecting SportPlusmode The
firmer suspension settings inthe Sport
Plus drive program ensureevenbetter contact
with theroad. Select thismode whenemploy-
ing asporty driving style,e.g.onwinding coun- try
roads or,ideally ,when driving onclosed
race circuits.
X Press DYNAMICSELECT button 0043repeat-
edly until theSport Plusdrive program is
selected.
Activating thedriving dynam icsdis-
play Using
thedriving dynamics displayinthe mul-
timedia systemdisplay,you can seethedrive
program youselected aswell asadditional
inform ationonthe vehicle's operating state.
X Switch onthe multimedia system.Further
inform ationcanbefound inthe Digital Oper-
ator's Manual.
X Press button 0043.
The driving dynamics displayappears inthe
multimedia systemdisplay.
The following informationonthe vehicle's
operating statusisdisplay edinthe driving
dynamics display:
R Drive program selected (Ypage 133)
R Acc elerator pedalposition shownin%
R Brake pedalposition shownin%
R Steer ingangle
R Damping settingselected
R G-FORCE crossdisplay inglongitudinal and
lateral acceleration (onlyavailabl ein Sport
or Sport Plusdrive programs) Driving
systems
169Drivingandparking Z

Acti
veBod yCont rolABC (excep t
Mer cedes -AMGveh icles)
Set ting theveh icle level Gene
ralnot es
The vehiclelev elcan beset usin gth e
DY NA MIC SELECT but ton(Y page 133)or the
lev elbut ton. The setting always correspo nds
to thelast selected fun ction .
In ord erto red uce fuel consumpt ionand
impr ovethedri vin gdyn amic s,theveh icleis
lower edasits spee dinc reas es.IntheSp ort
and Sport Plusdri ve pro gram s,itis lower ed
by up to0.5in (13 mm)co mp ared totheno r-
mal vehicle level.In theComf ortand CURV E
driv eprog rams,itis lower edbyup to0.2in
(5 mm) compared totheno rm alveh icle level.
As thespee dis reduc ed,theveh icle israise d
up totheset vehicle heigh t.
Sel ect theno rm alleve lfor norm alroad surfa-
ces and theraise dleve lfor driv ingwith snow
ch ains oron part icular lypoor roadsurfaces .
Imp ortant safety notes G
WAR
NING
The vehicle islower edsligh tlyinthefoll ow-
ing situatio ns:
R theSPO RTsuspe nsion settingis selec ted
at theno rm alveh icle level
R theeng ineisswit ched off
Pers onsin thevic init yof thewheel archor
th eunde rbodymay thus bec ome trapped.
Ther eis arisk ofinjury.
Mak esure that nobody isin thevic init yof
th ewheel archor theunde rbodywhen you
swit choff theeng ine. Set
tingra ised level X
Mak esure that theeng ineisrun ningor that
it has been switched off bytheECO start /
st op fun ction .
X Mak esure that aspee dof 75 mph
(12 0km /h) isno texc eeded .
X Ifind icat orlam p0044 0044
isnot lit:pres sbut-
to n0043.
If th eeng inehas been switched off bythe
ECO start /stopfun ction ,it is no wres tarted.
In dicat orlamp 0044light sup. The vehicle is
raise dby 1.2in (31 mm).
Set tingth enor mallevel
X Mak esure that theeng ineisrun ningor that
it has been switched off bytheECO start /
st op fun ction .
X Ifind icat orlam p0044 0044
islit:pres sbutt on0043.
In dicat orlamp 0044goes out.The vehicle is
adjus tedto norm alleve l
The "Raised level"set tingis can celed ifyou:
R are drivingfast erthan appro ximately
75 mph (120km/ h).
R drive forapproximat elythree minut esata
speed over50mph (80km/ h).
R or switch tothe drive program whilethe
vehicle isin motion .
Suspension tuning General
notes
The elect ro-hydraulically controlled suspension
features improved drivingdynamics, driving
safety andride comf ort.You canalso choose
between asport y,apartic ularly sporty,acom-
fort able andacomf ortable modewithcurve
tilt ing func tion (CURVE). 170
Driving
systemsDriving andparking

The
suspension iscont inuously tunedtoeach
wheel individually anddepends on:
R the road surface condition,e.g. bumps
R the vehicle load
R the drive program selected
Each timeyoustart theengine withtheSmart -
Key orthe Start /Stopbutton ,the Comfort
drive program isactivated. Furtherinformation
about startingthe engine (Ypage 127).
Selecting Comfortmode In
the Comfort driveprogram, thedriving
charact eristics ofyour vehicle aremore com-
fort able. Select thismode ifyou favor amore
comfor tabledriving style.
X Press DYNAMICSELECT button 0043asmany
times asnecessary untiltheComfort drive
program isselected.
Selecting Sportmode
The firmer settingofthe suspension tuningin
the Sport driveprogram ensuresevenbetter
cont actwith theroad. Select thismode ifyou
favor afirmer suspension setting.
X Press DYNAMICSELECT button 0043asmany
times asnecessary untiltheSport drive
program isselected.
Selecting SportPlusmode
The firmer settingofthe suspension tuningin
the Sport Plusdrive program ensureseven
better contactwith theroad. Select thismode
if you favor afirmer suspension setting.
X Press DYNAMICSELECT button 0043asmany
times asnecessary untiltheSport Plus
drive program isselected. Selecting
theCURVE setting
In the CURVE driveprogram, thecurve tilting
funct ionisactivated. Thevehicle tiltsbyup to
2.65 degrees intobends. Thetiltfunct ionand
the comfor tsuspension tuningincrease driving
comfor tin corn ers.CURVE isavailab lein the
speed rangebetween 9mph (15km/ h)and
112 mph (180 km/h).Sel ect this mod eon
wi ndi ng roa dsinpa rticu lar. Ou tsid ethis speed
rang e,the CURVE drive pro gramisthe same
as the Comfort drive pro gram.
The curv etil ting functi onmoni torstheroadin
front ofyour veh icleby mea nsofacame ra
atta ched atthe top ofthe windsh ield .Thi s
functi onisau toma tically acti veifyo usel ect
the CURVE drive pro gram.The system is
ope rationa lat spe eds ofup to112 mph
(180 km/h ).
X Pre ssDYNAM ICSELECT button 0043asmany
time sas neces sary unti lthe CURVE drive
pro gramissel ected .
The system isdea ctiva tedifyo usel ect adi ffer -
ent drive pro gram.
The system maybeimp aired ormay notfunc-
tion if:
R youare driving more slowlythan 9mph
(15 km/h )or fas ter than 112mph
(180 km/h ).
R the vehicleis ful lyladen.
R youdri ve with very highlatera lacce lerati on.
Ac tivati ngthe drivi ngdynami csdis -
play Usi
ngthe driving dynami csdispl ayinthe mul-
time diasy stem displ ay,yo ucan seethedrive
pro gramyousel ected aswellas additiona l
info rma tion onthe vehicle's ope ratingstate . Dri
ving sys tems
171Dri ving and parkin g Z

Setting
thenormal level X
Make surethattheengine isrunning orthat
it has been switched offbythe ECO start/
stop funct ion.
X Ifsymbol 0044 0044
isshown: press0059
or 0065 onthe steering wheeltoselect the
DriveAssist DriveAssist
menu.
X Press the0063 or0064 button toselect
Vehicle level Vehicle
level.
X Press the0076 button.
The following messageappears:0043Vehi‐ Vehi‐
cle level Press'OK'toLower cle
level Press'OK'toLower.
X Press the0076 button.
Icon 0044isfaded out.Thevehicle isadjusted
to normal level
The "Raised level" settingis canceled ifyou:
R are driving fasterthanapproximately
75 mph (120 km/h).
R drive forapproximately threeminutes ata
speed over50mph (80km/h).
R or switch tothe drive program whilethe
vehicle isin motion.
Suspension tuning General
notes
The electro- hydraulicallycontrolled suspension
features improved drivingdynamics, driving
safety andride comfort .You canalso choose
between aparticularly sportyoracomfort able
tuning.
The suspension iscont inuously tunedtoeach
wheel individual lyand depends on:
R the road surface condition ,e.g. bumps
R the vehicle load
R the drive program selected
Your selection remainssavedevenifyou
remove thekey from theignition lock. Each
timeyoustart theengine withtheSmart-
Key orthe Start /Stopbutton, thecomfort able
settin gis activated. Forfurther information
about startin gthe engine, see(Ypage 127).
Selec tingsports tuning The
firmer settingof the suspension tuningin
sports modeensures evenbetter contactwith
the road. Select thismode ifyou favor afirmer
suspension setting.
X Make surethattheengine isrunning orthat
it has been switched offbythe ECO start/
stop funct ion.
X Ifindicator lamp0044 0044
isnot lit:press but-
ton 0043.
Indicator lamp0044lights up.Sports suspen-
sion tuning isselected.
The AMG Suspension SystemSPORT AMG
Suspension SystemSPORTmes-
sage appears inthe multifunct iondisplay .
Selec tingcomfort tuning In
comfort mode,thedriving characterist icsof
your vehicle aremore comfort able.Select this
mode ifyou favor amore comfort abledriving
style. Driving
systems
173Drivingandparking Z