WIldcat465

For everyday driving, comfort and power the clear choice is the E55. In my opinion the C is a boy racer that's small, uncomfortable, and noisy; however, with that said, for $69,000, I like the idea of getting new Vette or a C5 if you don't need a back seat. It's not as stealthy as the E55, but they're certainly cool and fun if you can get past the *****kicker's dreamcar image.

ProjectC55

Again My Vote: E55

Kerr

i didnt read all the replys, but here are my $.02

If you want a faster car install a blower on yours $6900 will get you 455 crank hp

if you want abigger car look for a used S class. You can get those with all the same AMG stuff as the E55. Or better yet find a used 03 up S600 turbo. $4k in upgraded from renntech has you in the 11's in the 1/4 mile.

I for one never buy a newmb... the world is full of very wealthy people that trade cause they can. Keep your eyes open and search e bay, autotrader, and cars.com... there are always grate buys on there. Not to mention your deealer will probably try to kill you on trade in.

derrick_lui

couldnt really understand all your sayings (typos)...
but where can i get a blower for 6900????????

Kerr

yea im bad at typing lol..

www.myhps.com

rguy

kleemann blower puts out around 560 hp for ~13k

rguy

renntech blower puts out ~450 hp for ~18k

CynCarvin32

Eric may be fast but there is NO way any E55 (regardless of what mods) will ever keep up with a GT3 or 996 Turob -- or even a 997 S. None...

You need to realize not everyone at the track is driving at 10/10ths. I have passed many 996 TT's in a track ready C32 but does that mean the C32 a faster car? No... the 996 was not being pushed as hard. Plain and simple.

4100 lbs is not something you can hide in an LSD, Pulley kit, and some big wheels.

CynCarvin32

Rguy-

The E55 is not what I had hoped for but the reality is that tires helped fix many of the cars shortcomings. The 05 E55 has faster steering and I am looking into changing the rack and steering bushings to the 05 spec. If my car turned in a bit more quickly I would have a ton more respect for her. The brakes are a joke and I will agree completely. I have no clue why my SL55 has ok brake feel while the E55 has the worst brake pedal ever seen in a motor vehicle.

The W203 is far from a performance car and the reality is that a C55 is just as understeer prone as an E55. I had a C32 and it did nothing but wear the letters off the sidewall because the car refused to change direction at speed. That car was lowered, had forged racing wheels, and had upwards of 2 degrees of negative camber. The C55 is slightly better than a stock C32 but its not chassis king.

CynCarvin32

adios warranty and kaboom goes the tranny and diff

I really dont think Kleemann's 600 hp C55 will last long. Something about 11:1 compression with positive manifold pressure sounds risky.


THere is a reason why RENNtech wont go pat 450 hp unless you have a built bottom end with low compression pistons. Block needs to be strengthened as well!

rguy

I hope you don't think I am trying to sell for Kleemann. Never have, and never will. My point remains that, for me, brakes and the feel of a mechanical suspension are chiefly important. I feel floaty in air suspensions ranging from old airbagged cars to the "best" nuclear powered, heat-seeking, artificial intelligence controlled instantly tunable air suspensions on some of today's cars.

But, just to correct your information, Cyn, kleemann offers a supplementary warranty for between 1-7 years. It covers the ENTIRE list of affected and/or associated parts (MB and Kleemann parts that is). I have never had a problem with RENNtech per se, but I do feel the price vs. quality issue does need to be examined more closely by their in-house people. This is somewhat true of all high-end mercedes tuners, but particularly this seems to resonate with RENNtech's price structure. And, as you know, I think price/quality use to match up better there.

I agree with you that the SL's brakes strangely feel better than the E55's and cannot provide a good explanation as to why, but the variable boost on the SL55 feels worse to me than on the other cars, so there is some trade off there. Maybe the sl55's I have driven were just screwed up and flukes?

I don't want to leave you with the impression that I think the C55 is the best car in the world. I haven't claimed that here. I have only stated that I think, for my purposes, on the whole, the C55 is a better car. Obviously I put my money where my mouth is and ponied up, but I also definitely will state that I was waiting for an E55 before I actually cancelled. I got to drive one extensively and immediately had an "oh crap" moment where I didn't know what the heck I was going to do for a car. Then I drove the C55. It just feels tighter in every respect to me. The car does have major understeer, but that I can fix, just like I suspect it can be softened on the E55, which you seem to confirm. That still leaves me with a big, heavy car, with crappy brakes. If for nothing else than the brakes, I would have turned away from the car.

To close up, I don't mean to offend any E55 owners, that is why I have used the proverbial different strokes, different folks analogy. Some people want to take people places and be a drag king. It doesn't matter to them about the brakes or suspension, or modability or lack thereof of those parts. Some people could care less if there was room for four, which there really isn't in the C, would rather have a lot of choices with wide variation of tunability, a brake pedal they can count on, and a smaller car with lighter weight, and more maneuverability.

In conclusion, try not to take what I say to the extreme of what I didn't say, not that you did this it is just a general statement to all, I won't **** in your gas tank if I see an E55 in the parking lot, I would probably tear apart someone I saw pissing in your gas tank though, as long as you buy me a drink afterward! Anyway, cheers to all, and to all a good night.

rguy

By the way, cyn, I think you might be under the impression I was moaning about RENNtech. Please don't misunderstand, I just put the two other blowers, their performance, and prices for general information. Truth be told, if I was going to own a car for longer than the warranty period, I would go with a RENNtech blower, even if it is stupidly expensive. But, I know I can get a Kleemann blower for less money, and since I am not going to put 100k miles on the car, I don't have to worry. I will be backed up by their supplementary warranty. But, i digress here.

Point being, I was more interested in providing alternatives (plural) to the HPS system than I was about boosting my like of one system over the other. I have never felt good after getting off the phone with HPS, so I can't personally endorse their product. I can endorse Kleemann's and RENNtech's though.

Kerr

with the Kleeman your paying $6k more for an extra 105hp... that works out to $123.81 dollars per hp. im sure a C55 would be a blast with "only" 455hp.

AMG PWR

i think you got that the wrong way around. You mean your paying 6-7K LESS and getting 105 HP MORE with the KLEEMAN. And if I'm not mistaken I beleive theres a warrenty you can buy to add to the package to cover all Kleeman parts....

Air Marshall Eldritch

I was just looking over a new C55 today in the showroom. IIRC, it said around 350hp on the sticker.
What year did the E55 get the 469hp engine? I could have sworn the '03 was still on the 349hp engine.

CynCarvin32

Not sure what you eat in that van down by the river but the 03 E55 is the 489 hp W211 kompressor car.

If it were still the old 350 hp version there would be no debate.. C55 would win hands down.

Its power vs. a better feeling chassis. Both will do the same thing but the C55 feels better doing it I think.