I was scheduled to pick up the 63 at the factory on 10/2 (European Delivery). I was concerned, however, about what I have been reading about the differences between the personalities of the 63 vs. the 55 engines. The consensus seems to be that the 63 is more refined and has more progressive and linear acceleration. Beats the 55 at the high end of the tach and speedo and is therefore faster if you can wind it out. Better lungs than the 55 after 5000 rpm. (MB evidently has decided it must mimic the personality of BMW’s M cars.) Most seem to also agree, however, that the 55 is more explosive and unruly off the line. The grunt is much more accessible off track than in the 63. In other words, it is a lot more fun if you are just blasting around town.

So, to find out for myself, I drove an E63. It really is different from the 55’s I have driven. Very very nice car. But to experience the way in which it outperforms the 55, you have to drive it like you just stole it. And hope like hell your radar detector is working. And take anger management classes because there always seems to be a Chevy Lumina doing 47 in a 55 zone in front of you.

Well, guess what? I don’t have the luxury of spending time on the track. Whether I like it or not, most of my life is spent under 80 mph with very few, if any, opportunities to tap into the strengths of the 63. I want to feel the speed and brutality of the 55 when I drive it, as I must, in the real world. I can get my fill of refinement in other ways.

So I cancelled the 63, even though, engine aside, it is clearly superior to the 55 in many ways. Just picked up a new 55. Got a big discount off sticker but the 63 was still a much better deal financially since European Delivery is 7% off MSRP (and considering the 55 has already depreciated by a year). But what the hell. The 55 is the right car for me.

Just wish the break-in period were over.

 

Wise choice... I was waiting to see what the E63 was all about... I just closed the deal on an E55.... What I read about these cars, mirror what you describe.. The supercharger gives these cars torque, that cant be duplicated through natural aspiration. enjoy the CLS,,

 

Go kleemann stage 2 now!!

 

right decision

 

Great choice Bill, did you catch them in time for the Ipod Fix?
Post some pics when you have time.

 

Congrats, you definitely made the RIGHT CHOICE!

 

Great choice, that's why I have the "E" and "CLS" both in the 55 engine.

 

Finally a logical and well written post as to why someone chose the 55 over the 63, not the usual the 63's are junk BS. Congrats and thanks for the well balanced view.

M

 

Screw the break-in period. Drive that thing like you're Michael Schumacher. Search some posts on this forum and you'll see that the general consensus is that driving the car hard out of the box seals in the piston rings and puts the engine in the groove for hard driving. One of the (if not THE) highest baseline dynos we've seen on an E55 came from a guy who used this exact technique. By all means read up so you feel comfortable, but I suggest you drive that beast like its meant to be driven.

 

COngrats!!! Get it kleeeemannized NOW! I am dropping mine of tommorow!!! K4 all the way baby!!!

 

i don't think i would make any 55 over 63 decisions until after sept 15th when they have dragstrip day with these specific cars racing eachother......

 

but it does seem like as the power of the 63 mirrors the m5, so does the gas consumption. i'm not sure how i feel about that..... hmmmmm.

 

Kevin: They did put in the ipod kit but it took them to 9:30 at night to finish it; waited for the car for over 3 hours. But it was worth it; kit works great. Only problem is they charged me $900 for it. I was shocked because the MB web site says $300 something. Did not tell me $900 until after it was done. They blamed it on the amount of labor.

BTW, volume is fine which is a good thing because there is no way I could pull off what you did.

 

I have a 2002 clk55 (black on black with command), and have a cls63 on order for november (black on cashmere with hi gloss laurel, P02, parktronic, electronic trunk closer, and 030 package).

I have found most of my performance driving is between 65 and 130 on major highways. Love I95 between Stuart and Daytona or Fl Tunpike to Orlando. Or I95 North of Boston to the New Hampshire border. Most interstates in Maine, N.H. and Vermont. The Interstate south out of Harrisburg, Pa. Southeast out of Columbia S.C.
And, of course almost anything west of the Mississippi except for the West Coast. The early mornings between four and seven are the best for me since I love the mornings.

I also do some country back roads between 35 and 70 in 2nd and third gear for shorter runs. These are hard to find and frequently are too short and you have to run them back and forth. I tend to do these mid morning or mid afternoon when school is in session, and won't play anywhere there is even moderate population density. (Try the Kangamangas at 5am spring or fall!!)

I seldom ever tromp it off the line. With in-town (I live in Boston and South Florida) conditions I tend to have the a/c on and let the automatic transmission figure it out. Yeah there is a big thrill when you hit it and an adrenaline rush if you start to push it out of control, but it is so brief. I guess I need the longer hit!

I drove the cls55 and compared the specs on the 63 to my driving experience and went with the new engine. Probably having a clk55 already had something to do with it. I probably would have had to consider the clk63 if it came in a coupe now.

By the way, I cancelled an M6 after driving one. The gearbox is awesome for performance driving but I thought kind of rough for "regular" driving which we all do some of.

 

do you USA guys actually get told by the dealer about a "break in period"? Im curious becoz my dealer told me straight out that i didnt have to run the car in at all! Im wondering where the "i have to wait for the break in period" has come from? is it just assumed from back in the day when we "had" to run our new cars in?

 

Very true. Check my stock dyno results. Driving it hard out of the gate also trains the ECU to be more aggressive from the get go. The car does adapt to how it is driven to some degree in addition to whatever might be programmed into the ECU from Kleemann / Renntech ect.

 

Watching this side by side with the M5, who would want to be anything like the M5. With ESP on the M5 didnt have a chance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaZ7W...elated&search=

 

Whether a break-in period is needed or not is a controversial subject. The manual for my CLS55, like the manual for every other car I have owned, says clearly that you should baby the car for the first 1,000 miles. Yet everyone has a story about some salesman or mechanic who insists there is no need to treat the car differently when it is new. I have put this question to a million guys who claim to have knowledge of these things and I get a different answer every time. This time the MB salesman said just keep it under 4500 rpms and go easy on the brakes.

I have no clue what the truth is. But, being protective of things I care about, I will continue being somewhat conservative with the car until I hit 1000 miles. That said, I have on a few occasions indulged myself by hitting the throttle hard, both from a stop and at speed. The engine hasn't fallen out of the car just yet.

 

What exactly is this iPod kit and can it be retrofitted on a '04 E55?

 

It allows you to attach your ipod to a cable in the glove box and operate it using the controls on the Command unit and the steering wheel. You don't have as much functionality as you do using the ipod itself but it still works really well. It makes having a CD changer completely pointless.

Your dealer can tell you whether it can be installed in your car.

 

Glad to hear the sound is good, not cool about a $900 install, I've learned to always get a final price up front from dealers. My dealer started at $1200, then I had them call another dealer that does it in 3 1/2 hours. So I paid $350, you shouldn't have to pay for their training on your car, I'm sure it was their first one since it took them 9 hours.

And yes they make the Kit for the E55, check ebay for the kit.

 

what does the ipod kit do? i just bought the wire for $4 at radio shack and plugged it in....

 

You can control the Ipod with the steering wheel controls.
The name of the song is then shown on the dash computer.

 

Bill Q: I did the same thing. I had a 03' W211 Kompressor for three years and had an 07' E63 on order for when my lease expired. After mulling this over (and selling my 03') I cancelled my E63 order and I got another W211, a 06' E55. I am very happy with my decision!

 

Talk to the engineers who tune design and build these cars and all will say the fastest car will always be the one that is run in as the factory asks.

In fact a well known tuner who I wont mention here works extensively on cars in the middle east and he takes every car he turns for the oil guru's and puts 1200 miles on them before giving it to the owner. In all the races these guys do in the middle east the cars that he tunes and breaks in always win.

So I would stay the course and just wait the 1200 miles. Its not that hard.