hooleyboy

Its been on my mind for a long time. I'm a power hungry fool as some of you know and are too. I'm very happy with my with my current setup. Renntech has proven to me to be amazing to me. I am going to want more power soon as cars are coming out with gobs of HP like the G8 GXP, M3, IS-f and even the 335i's and 135i's. As a true MB fan that will be the day I let any of these car beat me in the HP war. It wont be long though before i get smoked by a SC G8 gxp, and then i will be opening up the wallet. Should i just avoid the embarrassment and buy a renntech Supercharger now? My only thing is right now I dont have an LSD and we can all guess what will happen with 450+ish whp and no LSD. That would = C55 spun out in a ditch. BTW off topic I just laid waste to a Lexus IS-F from a dead stop.

Anyway the only thing stopping me is I want to wait for cold air to see what this beast will run in the 1/4.

.

TemjinX2

uhmm...bang for you buck when it comes to hp is Force induction, nitrous or trading it in for a faster car.

You can upgrade the cams, springs, valves, move to high compression pistons, stroke it to 5.7L and the hp will probably net you the same as running 12psi on a supercharger.

Unless your doing all the engine work yourself, the cost will probably be 50% more then a just running a supercharger.

FrankW

trade it for a E55/63 while your C55 is still worth something. the extra $$ for a E55 will probably be the same for the supercharger you will be paying for the C55.

hooleyboy

I was thinking the same thing. thats whats holding me back

bumpnzx3

trading it for an E makes the most financial sense. however- i like to tinker with things. you buy the E- sure it will be the speed you are looking for, but then you are out of money to tinker. i, would rather take something cheaper/slower and make it as fast as something more expensive- even if i do spend the same amount of cash.

calimax

Hey! was it the same IS-F that was at the bar that one night after the track?

racetested

I wrestle with the same problem. I love modifying and doing my own thing but now being in the Mercedes family it's a much harder decision to justify as there are plenty of faster and nicer models to move into.

If "performance" mods were kept to a certain budget I can see but with hooleyboy looking at a very expensive modification like the s/c it seems to make more sense to move up to an E-class AMG.

bumpnzx3

for the money i've got in my ford focus- i could have went out and bought the mustang gt or camaro z28 i was aiming at running with. but- i wanted cheap insurance, 30mpg, and to be the "underdog" of sorts. that car was a blast. hi 13's-low 14's. something about hearing the lope of a ford focus that had aftermarket cams was pretty sweet.

that car has since been turned into my daily driver- still purring like a kitten at 150k miles- and still on the stock clutch.....even after letting the clutch fly from 3k rpm's on drag radials more times than i can count

that's just me though- i would always rather have a slightly lower model car and mod it- big or small mods.

Biscuit

I have to admit I've never been fond of the "Sell it and buy a whole different car" answer. My first car was a non-turbo 300zx and the answer to every single question for performance mods was "Sell it, buy a turbo". It was infuriating, heh.

I think there's more to consider than just the engine when looking at moving from the C55 to the E55. Sure, you get more power. You also get a larger car that's packing quite a few additional pounds. They're also more expensive than a comparable C class AMG. And whatever money you've already put into your C55 would be a total wash.

Me personally? I think 450whp would be much more fun in the C55 than in the E55. Plus, even though it's an AMG, people won't be expecting that out of a C.

In the end do what you want. It's never just as simple as "Sell it, buy a faster car" though that's for sure.

Good luck,
Rich

Quicktwinturbo

Heres ur answer..

C 63 AMG > the rest...

wawy

Well, you've recently put a lot of coin into your ride and if you sell it for something else you obviously won't get that back. If you go the forced induction route you will certainly have a rare C55. With the mods you already have, a supercharger and an lsd I'm sure you will be faster than a C63. You might miss how nimble your C55 is if you get an E55. I would test drive an E55 and an C63 and see how it compares with what you have..

FrankW

At $70k large C63 right now makes absolutely no sense if he's basing the decision on financial instinct. E55 is now less than $40k and even for 2006 M5 you can find a fair 30k mile for mid-high $50k. The only thing the C63 has over the E55/63 and M5 is being a little more nimble and the suspension is not some air-filled crap, but honestly the higher class of the E and 5-series far out weights the disadvantage.

c32used

I say stay with your C55 cause you seem to love the feel and balance and SC it but study the SC before going that route. E55 is an absolute Beast but it will start you eventually wanting more as the C55 has. If you care about value then E55 is the way to go or SC it and once prices come down on C63 then trade but better to sell outright...The Stealership will eat you up if you trade with them. Keep your car if you really like it and SC it but get a new and reputale SC! AMSSC has had his ups and down with SC his C55 with a used kit thru a Stealership here in Chicagoland. GL

wawy

Not to sway you in any one direction but:

This from Car and Driver:

"We'll be honest. When Kleemann USA's director, Brandon Grantham, delivered his company's pewter-colored 55S8, we figured it might knock a few 10ths off the stocker's already impressive times, possibly putting it in the speedy company of, say, an Aston Martin DB9 or Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. Then we saw the claimed power numbers of 570 horses and 580 pound-feet of torque. Oops.

Starting with the C55's hand-built, naturally aspirated 5.4-liter V-8, Kleemann bolted on an Autorotor Lysholm supercharger with a water-to-air intercooler good for 7.3 psi of boost ($11,000) and its "Super Sound" exhaust system ($7900), which includes larger stainless-steel tubular headers with bigger down pipes, freer-flowing catalysts, and straight-through mufflers and resonators. Sticking with the stock AMG Speedshift five-speed automatic, Kleemann then added a recalibrated engine computer ($1000) to ensure the proper air-to-fuel ratio. The 55S8 was suddenly a supercar-eating beast. No, seriously.

At the test track, the 55S8 thundered to 60 in just 3.8 seconds and through the quarter-mile in only 12.2 at 117. To put the 55S8 in the same league as the DB9 and 612 would be an insult—to which one we're not really sure. The 55S8's numbers devour the Ferrari Challenge Stradale's (4.0, 12.4) and Porsche 911 GT3's (4.0, 12.3). They eat up the Dodge Viper's to 60 (3.9) and the Lamborghini Murciélago's in the quarter (12.6).

Then there's the Kleemann's 5-to-60 street-start time of 3.9, which is lower than all of those cars', not to mention the Saleen S7's (5.1). Heck, it's just 0.2 second behind the 605-hp Porsche Carrera GT's."

Here is the complete article: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...specialty_file

MRAMG1

Neat car, but did you see the Kleeman price

Yes its true money can do almost ANYTHING for a car, but come on $90,000+ for a C55.

See yeah

c32used

Yes the price is steep but he don't need to buy both...he can look around for a better priced blower by itself...or just add nitrous as C55asleep? did and be in the low 12s or now maybe high 11s just by adding his mods with nitrous. LET sells pretty much all he needs without buying a SC and installed for much less then a new or used SC. Hooleyboy talk to Roly(C55asleep?) and ask him the route he took I bet without spending as much as a new or used SC you will be amongs the elite in power and time.....last I heard C55asleep? was at 400+ at the wheel with all his mods and juice

c32used

Here ya go hooleyboy its C55asleeps? Dyno run and graph.

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...04#post3001004

dorikin_86

It's hard to keep up with EVERYTHING coming out these days....no need to be embarassed to be slower in a straight-line. Imagine if one of those turbo civics smoked a Ferrari...ouch!

The fastest car around the block is probably a Mustang with a 7L V8 + blower pushing 1000hp

Just my 2 cents

c32AMG-DTM

Agree w/ some others... personally, I wouldn't drop $20k in performance mods into a $30k C55 - for $50k, you could have a monster of an E55 ($40k for a nice one, and $10k to "play with").

If you need to be faster... maybe cams and/or nitrous, and call it a day.

Just my $0.02.

wawy

So have you decided anything one way or another hooleyboy???

hooleyboy

I really dont know what i want to do at this point. a big part of me want to wait until cooler weather here in AZ, so i can see if i can get into the 12's with my currant set up. I also want the carbon fiber driveshaft when that comes out from evosport. I was thinking about some cams but too. However i can only imagine what the install cost would be on that mod. I Defiantly want to do a full duel exhaust. Part of me was even thinking about switching from Renntech to Kleemann. as Kleemanns SC is half the price even with having to get new software. I'm also in need of some rims too. I was thinking about getting some cheep replica wheels too for the back and using slicks on them for the drags.getting an LSD has been on my mind for some time. although i'm putting more power to the road with the new tires i got.

If i went with a SC and didnt have an LSD i would think the car would be unable to use the power well. So at this point i need something to fall in my hands more or less a impulse buy on short notice. My old lady is very much against me dropping more loot on my car. IF she pops the hood and sees a supercharger im on the couch for a long time. But she would never notice some cams and carbon fiber driveshaft, also she wont ever know how much good rims go for so i think i can sneak that by too. All I know is I'm going to want more power soon. I must have spend all day today looking at stuff for my car.

TemjinX2

haha i have the same urge.

wawy

I can certainly indentify with the "My old lady is very much against me dropping more loot on my car" part!

Gramma_Benz

Throw an E55 engine in there 'a la Sunil'!!

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/pts/823219435.html
2005 MERCEDES BENZ E55 ENGINE - $8500 (burlingame)
Reply to: sale-823219435@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2008-09-02, 12:19AM PDT

I HAVE A 2005 MERCEDES BENZ E55 ENGINE WITH 45000 MILES COMPLETE WITH KOMPRESSOR AND WIRING HARNESS, PERFECT FOR REPLACEMENT OR TO UPGRADE FROM NORMALLY ASPIRATED TO KOMPRESSOR, WILL FIT IN TO 2005 E 55, CL55, S55, ML55, GL55 OR CAN ALSO BE INSTALLED IN TO NORMALLY ASPIRATED E CLASS BOTH W210 OR W211, AS WELL AS NORMALLY ASPIRATED CL W215 AND NORMALLY ASPIRATED S CLASS W220, INSTALLATION ALSO AVAILABLE CALL (650) 346 7507