Earlier in the week I posted a review of an SLK55 out accelerating an E63. I’ve been baffled and confused ever since. The E63 I’ve ordered is in and I’ve been holding the dealer off as I deliberate whether or not I should trade my SLK55 for the much anticipated E63. I previously owned a 05 E55 and loved the power but hated the breaks and transmission. The E63’s transmission and breaks seem to be a huge improvement over the E55’s.

Today I went my dealer in Germantown, MD and drove the actual E63 that I ordered. I met up with a friend of mine who took out a new E550 4-Matic. We met up on Rt. 118 in Germantown for some experimentation. At 3 red lights the E550 just simply jumped out in front of the E63. Keep in mind that this was a completely different E63 than the one I tested against the SLK55 last week. The E63 experienced some wheel spin but none-the-less it just seems to be lacking the low-end grunt of the E550. The E550 jumped off the line (I know all-wheel drive) whereas the E63 seemed to need some time to find it's stride. It’s almost like the E63 suffers from a major case of turbo-lag (Minus the turbo). We then took the 2 cars onto Rt. 270 where the E550 felt incredible. As speeds exceeded 100 MHP the E63 was able to over take the E550 but the E550 certainly put up a good fight. Rt. 270 is a hot spot for Maryland State Troopers so we had to choose our bursts of speed with great caution and keep them brief, well within a straight-line field of vision.

I’m really torn about what to do with the E63 that I ordered. I think 07 E63 is going to have a similar fate to the 2002 and 2003 S55’s that were naturally aspirated. They were great cars that received a major boost in HP in 2004 with the addition of the Kompressor. The 02 and 03 S55’s were very expensive and after only 2 model years they were made obsolete by the 5.5 Kompressor. Could you imagine spending $120,000 on a 2003 S55 with 350 HP and about a year later the car gets a 100+ HP boost at a minimal price increase. I really feel that AMG is going to introduce a high-capacity twin turbo system to the 6.3 in the 2008/2009 time frame that produces over 600 HP.

I’m feeling like the E63 is simply not worth the $30,000 to $40,000 premium over the E550.

 

how many miles did 63 have on the odo?

 

The E63 will probably not get turbo until the debut of the next E-class chassis. If the 63 engine is getting turbo charged, it will probably appear in the CL, SL, and S before the CLS and E will get it.

 

Starting to feel sick to my stomach.

This all just doesn't seem real.

If this is all true, (obviously seems like the case), this is basically "life as we know it" until late 2008 at the earliest (2009 W212 rollout)

I hate to say it, but perhaps it's time to make a statement of our dislike of this new setup. Breaks my heart to say, but perhaps if sales plummet, some meetings....FIRINGS, and changes will be rushed ahead.

Still kinda holding out hope for the 9/15 meeting. If we get some nice 12 sec numbers, I will feel a lot better.

 

ok but how about the guy who claims that he beat the e55 of the line and kept 2-3 cars ahead???!?! Who to belive!?

 

i think some assumed that his e55 had the reflash done thus the reason for the loss.

 

Ya, got your timeline a bit off there. The supercharged AMG motor for the 211 E55 and 220 S55 came out in 2003 and not 2004. FYI, 2003 is also when the 600 got twin-turbos.

 

so the e63 was only able to pass the e550 at speeds over 100? that's sad. looking at the specs of the e550, it does 0-60 in 5.4 secs. that means the 0-60 times for the e63 is nowhere close to what amg is stating. that's like 1 sec off which is a big difference!

perhaps there's bugs in the first batch of cars or maybe they installed wrong parts, etc. i can't see why there can be such a big difference between the manufacturer times and real life. i know it's not broken in yet but come on now, will a broken-in 63 make that much of a difference to shave .5 to 1s? the e550 was broken in either!

it seems like amg is going back and forth here. first they make a car with great acceleration but poor handling. now they have a car w/ not so great acceleration but good handling. can't we just get one that does both at the same time? it's like you have to pick which one is most important to you, acceleration or handling.

 

Thanks for the clarification.

 

Thanks for the clarification.

 

No problem!

 

I think you should ask yourself if you want a 4 door family car or a 2 seater. Ignore the hype and motors. What do you really need?

My guess is that you should keep the SLK and your money and bide your time.

Rob Allen said that a turbo for the E won't happen, it will definitely be a twin turbo. I'm waiting.

 

E63 seems to be the story of a transmission as opposed to the story of an engine. I think the 6.3 is a great engine and if the engine were allowed to operate at its full potential it would scream but AMG seems to have given the 6.3 a healthy dose of Ritalin in an attempt to de-tune it in order to make it play nice which it’s new 7-speed sibling. Why not unleash the beast in the 6.3 and mate it to the 5 speed until the 7 speed grows up and gets strong enough to hold its own? To me the E63 is like Mike Tyson on anti-depressants. He may behave better in public but his performance in the ring suffers.

 

If you want to trade the 2 seater for a 4 door sedan, maybe just get the E550 4-matic and use some of the cost savings (compared to the E63) for aftermarket engine upgrade and a nice body kit ? You can add nice HP & TQ to the 550 engine without breaking the bank, and it won't stress the transmission. Or you could look for a bargain on a 2006 E55.

By the way AWD isn't such a bad thing to have in MD/DC/VA area, I grew up and went to med school there. Extra traction is nice with freezing rain and snow, and of course it helps on the launch too.

I always thought that the AMG 55 series cars were well worth the extra coin over the MB 500 cars. But I'm not sure if this is the case any longer with the 63 over the 550. MB really upped the ante with the 500>550 engine, and AMG seems to be making a side step going from the 55K / 5sp combo to the 63 / 7sp combo. When I first read about the 550 and 63 cars arriving in 2007, I thought to myself that AMG would lose a lot of sales to the MB versions.

 

If I were to speculate, I would say that MB has included a load limit in the ECU for the break-in period. I believe BMW did some similar antics with the M5. Didn't the Bimmer need something like 1200 miles before you could really romp on it?

If there is a load limit, I don't think it's there for the transmission. The 7-speed has enough beans for the E63's output and is an excellent match for it. It's big torque down low that breaks driveline parts, not big HP. The E63 makes it torque up high, so there should not be a transmission concern.

 

This is all very interesting. I have been contemplating getting a new E550 and this pushes me even more in that direction. With that said I may elect to either sell my 2000 E430 or possibly my 2006 E55. If I do sell the 55 I am not sure what I could get for it. It has 9000 miles on it and all options except trunk closer, park tronic and pano roof. Any ideas? My guess is that I would take a total bath and it probably wouldn't be a wise move.

 

i thought about that too.... now only if someone knows someone from amg to confirm this. i'm sure they would be concerned that their amg engine is not performing to spec.

 

i have a friend that wants a white '05 or '06 e55 but wanted the pano roof. he may possibly still be interested if you're serious and can work out a price.

i bring this up because we're all local to the chandler area and it could be an easy deal. i will of course be expecting a brokerage fee.

 

This is all very interesting.

 

this has been my thoughts since hearing of derek's results. at least i hope this is what's going on. it only makes sense with the hype and numbers all the rags are throwing around. i certainly can't imagine amg putting out such a slow vehicle...but then again i can't imagine mb detuning e55's but they did that too.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grumpy666

If I were to speculate, I would say that MB has included a load limit in the ECU for the break-in period. I believe BMW did some similar antics with the M5. Didn't the Bimmer need something like 1200 miles before you could really romp on it?

.......you know, I think you maybe on to somethig here. Maybe the specifics are different, but as I read these E63 stories I haveeen thinking to myself tht this sounds like the new M5.

Ted

 

In the rest of the world AMG cars are quite rare. Since the USA is the largest market for AMG / Benz cars then its no surprise there are so many octane V8 and V12 there.

You should be thinking diesel and looking at the V8 diesel.

Overall I dont see what the point of drag racing. You don't really prove anything by pulling so hard ?

 

I was thinking the same thing. I am waiting on reply from service on Monday.

 

Trading in your E55 AMG for a E550. Did I just read that correctly?!?!?!

 

It is running to spec - it's just that everyone with an AMG car wants to blackout every time the light turns green and then wake up at home without knowing how they got there, only to hear the sonic boom of their arrival several minutes after going inside the house.

There is a culture of guiltless car thrashing on car forums as if to say life is somehow better if you destroy tires.