blacksage

Dont get mad but I was not impressed. I come from a bimmer M3 so I was comparing the cars to my current car. I have been deciding between the C55 and the 335i. I test drove the 335i and it felt like it had a lot more power thn the C55 I drove. Also when I was coming to a stop from the freeway the brake pedal had a pretty obvious vibration. The 335i I drove was auto and my M3 is 6 speed. Why doesmy stock M3 feel faster than both ofhese cars? I at least thought the C55 would have more low end power.

Maybe there was an issue with the car I test drove. Even with bth cars being auto the C55 should be a bit fater than the 335i right? I mean it has about 60 more horses...

Other than the power and the rake pedal I lovd the car! Beautiful in person. Very subtle styling and doesnt have the please race me look of the M3. I liked the button for the rear head rest, the spilt folding seats, and the auto down feature on all windows. Garage opener on mirror, heated seats, the list goes on...

what gives? I think I will test drive another one...

PC Valkyrie

Maybe something was wrong with the brakes (I presume this is a second hand car). Maybe the previous owner abused the brakes and had some uneven brake pad deposits on the rotors. After some track days in the C55, I have experienced "brake judder" too, but it eventually goes away as the uneven brake pad deposits eventually go away.

With regards to acceleration, the C55 should be a bit faster than both the E46 M3 and 335i (if all are stock). But it's not a night and day difference, although the C55 should continuously pull away slowly.

In fact, I'm surprised about your "feeling" that the C55 wasn't as fast as the other cars. I own a 135i too, and the C55 clearly has more of a "push in back in the seat" type of acceleration than the 135i. Maybe something wrong with the car??, or maybe it's because the C55 is more deceptive in its speed when you're driving.

rockjock

The C55 pushes you into your seat, yes, but it doesnt force you into it (when the boost hits) like a 335i/135i-I liked my turbos too when I had them-but the continuous push of the 55's are great when you own one.
The M3 is lighter then the AMG as well-you can feel the weight of the AMG's vs the M's when driving them back to back (same thing with the new Evo's that are out)-def a sleeper car (which is good and bad in some respects)-brakes are a wear item-
tires could be chopped, ect ect-those are things that I would (1) ask the dealer to find and repair or better yet (2)-upgrade those babies
Depending on where you are at-I'm sure a local member here would let you ride with/may be drive their C55 if its convienant for you-
GL on the hunt!

c32used

Nothing personal but if you test drove a C55 and a 335i both auto felt faster maybe its the drive line feeling is alot more subtle vs the 335i thus the feeling felt worse power wise...I don't know. Eitherway I seen many 335i mostly manual slower then even a C32 stock. If you are concerned about power then honestly the 335i is way cheaper to mod then a V8 naturally aspirated. I say re test them again and have a friend test drive the 335i and run them against eachother...but honestly the M3 I presume you have the E46 is a different animal compared to the 335i so why downgrade imo? Its "M" suspension vs regular BMW suspension. Also you can mod the E46 to be a monster also.

blacksage

The M suspension is killer but I am finding out that I am a straight line kind of guy so it is a waste on me. In addition, the cost to play is just way too much with the M3. I like the performace upgrades on the 335i. I hate the $2000 mufflers for the M3 that make my car sound funny AND make me lose power. The $1500 inspections (more if something is actually wrong) is just not how I want to spend my money right now. I HATE going to the dealership getting a quote and then the service advisor says "oh its an M3?, well double the price!"

rory breaker

The C55 is without a doubt faster than a 335, and leaps & bounds faster than an E46 M3 - I sold my E46 M3 for this car and can say without a doubt its faster in every way. There must have been something wrong with the car you drove.

pointman

If you are moving to an AMG cause repair costs on an M3 were high... maybe you need to rethink this move.

blacksage

Since I am in the same situa were in, I would love to hear more from you. however, I have to question your post. How can you say a car with 30 more HP, more weight, and an auto transmission is "leaps and bounds" faster than an E46 M3? My acura rsx is leaps and bounds slower than my M3IMO

I heard the maintenance on the C55 is not bad at all. Your inspections are a lot cheaper. how much do brake jobs go for?

i_am_amused

i'm one month in to owning an AMG, coming from a Honda

every day I ask myself "what have I gotten myself into?!?!"

every day I answer that question with my right foot.

moosejaw

I have always done my own brakes
new pads and rotors are about $350 per axle with Porterfields RS-4 pads and stock rotors

I upgraded to the rear SLK rotors which look better

rory breaker

First of all youre not counting torque and just looking at HP numbers. Second, I am basing my statement on the fact that if you drive a stock E46 M3, then a stock C55 back to back, and you dont notice the C55 is BLATANTLY a faster car, then something is wrong with the C55 you drove. Replace "leaps and bounds" with "unequivocally". Better?

I enjoyed the M3 but the simple fact is the ONLY thing it did better than the C55 was deliver the "feel" of the road. BMW just has that nailed. There is no barrier between the driver and the road in an M3, its a great car to drive.

However...

Straight line speed - C55
Handling - negligible since both perform WAY more than I need on the street and both are super tight (the C55 really surprised me here because I had owned 2 M3's and was always a BMW guy)
Luxury features - C55
Electronics - C55 (better stereo, much better nav, etc)
Comfort - C55 (heated seats quicker, seats are AWESOME, 4 doors, backseat with room)
Driveability/Throttle response - hands down C55, long gone are the days of mashing the throttle to pass someone because you have no torque...just blip the accelerator and off you go
Build Quality - negligible, I did like how the M3's doors shut vacuum tight. The paint on the C55 is much better than the M3 by the way (I keep my cars pristine)
Dealer experience - hands down, Mercedes over BMW as experienced by multiple dealers - no question here

What other areas are you considering in your selection?

c55asleep?

I have a hard time understanding why lots of people are so concerned about "hp".... If you are a strait line type of guy then maybe you outo look at trq numbers. I have a big 8000 pound truck running 12's with just 500rwhp. Loo at the torque numbers from a c55 to a M3..... That will explain why it "leaps and bounds". Btw raced many M3 in stock and modded trim and haven't seen one pass me.

madC55

+1

RW C55

I've been driving my cousin's 325 a few times, and to be honest it does "feel" faster than my C55. I think it's because BMW's (or at least the 325 i'v been driving) has lighter gas pedal. I guess it's kinda like adding a sprint booster onto our cars, it doesnt really add any hp or torque but it makes the car "respond better"

RLx02

You know, to give a frank and honest opinion, if you want cheap power go for the 335i. My good friend has a 335i automatic and i drive his car all the time. They're pretty much comparable except that the c55 has a bigger kick in the *** when you downshift. With 250 extra pounds in my car the 335i and my c55 were dead even up until 100mph when i started to slowly pull away from it. So I would say im about .3-.5 seconds quicker than him with no passengers. However, all he needs to do is spend $500 on an ecu tune and he has an extra 40hp. Spend some more money on an exhaust system and he's gonna smoke me.

I know i'm about to bash on e46 m3's right now but when I got my car dynoed (This was at a BMWCCA dyno meet...), a e46 m3 with every dinan part except for the supercharger only dynoed at 305hp. About 30more hp over stock for say around, what, 10k? With basic mods like intake, custom exhaust, headers and a tune you can easily hit the 400+hp club with the c55. Its a helluva a lot easier to pull hp from our untuned truck motors than it is from the highly tuned straight 6 that the e46 has.

As for brakes, the drilled rotors we have are awesome and I have never experienced that jutter or vibration you are talking about even though I'm down to 15% pad left upfront (and have done a 120-0 stop).

My ONLY TWO complaints i have about the c55 is it has a sluggish, unresponsive 5speed auto and no mechanical LSD. Aside from those two, I always get a huge grin on my face when I stomp on the gas and hit the twisties (which is something it actually does quite well).

So the cliff notes are...

cheap (relatively) overall good performance = 335i
a little more expensive performance coupled with the sound of a gnarly v8? = c55.

RLx02

Furthermore, I'm not sure about where you live but in the greater seattle/bellevue area in washington, e46 m3's are a dime a dozen now, since the e92 body style came out. I see a different m3 every day where I live but I've only seen a total of 2 other C55's and 1 C32. Also, especially on the east side microsoft land, EVERYONE has a 335i.

If I could have afforded it, a white 335i coupe with red leather interior would have been HOT.

RW C55

I guess there'll be one more C55 in Seattle, since im moving down there in about a few weeks

RLx02

hm are those tsw bremmas in your sig too?

If yours is tinted we might have identical twins

E55AMGFan

I have respect for both cars the 335i and the C55, both are fast cars out the factory.

If you're into straight line speed, just give a call to VF Engineering, Active Autowerke or the king of E46 M3 Tuning, HPF/HorsePowerFreaks. Their turbo E46s hit 630rwhp+ on their high power settings, that should be enough straight line fun for you. It will be less to mod your M3 to be fast then to buy another car that will only be a bit faster than it (335i/C55). If you don't need the other car and just want to have straight line speed, you're better off with modding the M3.

VF now makes a street kit that runs 330rwhp or so for $6k and that's upgradeable to their 450-500rwhp SC system.

As far as exhaust I know what you mean about the M3, most exhausts actually lose power as HPF tested the M3 stock exhaust and it beated a few aftermarket ones when it came to flowing enough air to make good numbers for their turbo kit. The oem M3 exhaust flows good for a forced induction setup, only drawback is the weight. The Milltek and El Diablo Race are a set of FI friendly exhausts for the E46 M3.

If you still want another car to be quite fast with easy to mod, the 335i takes the cake over the C55. A $800 Juicebox tuner and voila you're already at 350rwhp+ with ease, 100 octane 335i/135i with the N54 motors have already did over 400rwhp on high boost and race gas just with Terry's chip. Add in some downpipes, intake and exhaust and you'll easily flow 350-380rwhp on pump gas everyday. 2-3k in a 335i and you're already in a mid 12 second car and even lower as some cars did 11s already.


Check out:
http://www.burgertuning.com/results.html

If you're worried about the dealer finding a code that the car is modded don't worry, their is something called Bavarian Technic Scanner and Software which helps you go into your car's ECU find all visible AND INVISBLE codes and delete them, before the dealer sees them if they ever decide to look at your ECU for service as BMW has been cracking down on modded 335is, they added a parameter I believe that shows in the invisible section of the ECU that will let them know if the car was chipped or not. With that product you can delete that code and all other codes before they even get the car. All you'll need is the product and a laptop.:

http://www.burgertuning.com/scanner.html

blacksage

Wow. I must say you guys might be more friendly and willing to help than the e46 guys. I really appreciate your posts.

As far as looking at HP numbers (whoever said that) you are right. I dont just look at HP numbers. However, you just look at TQ either. It all works together as a system. i think the main factors in a vehicles acceleration would be the TQ curve, HP, gearing, and weight.

The C55 is a lot more rare than the E46 M3.

I think I will stick with my car for now though, but when I can afford to maintan the last E55 (I can already afford to buy one) I will definitely pick one up and smack around the first M3 I can find!

E55AMGFan

I'm a member of E46 fanatics and I'm a car enthusiast all around, from single turbo Supras, to E46 M3s, to AMG Mercs. I love them all and give them their respect! Great choice on the E55K, one heck of a car and a car I've always gave tons of respect too. The package with it is amazing, acceleration, violent noise and luxury; what a great combo. Enjoying kicking around other sports cars with it but be aware of HPF M3s, they are very nasty. I'm sure you'll love the feeling of eating sports cars who thought you're in a "4 door luxo E-Class that's supposed to be slow".

The 335 is a very torquey car due to its two turbos and has good power under the curve, the E55 though is another league above it. Insta-torque= E55 + Pulley + ECU Tune (with heat exhanger and johnson cm30 pump for consistent power on tap).

I don't blame you for what you said aboutthe C55 bro, it is far rarer than an E46 M3 and I never seen any in my life. I saw 1 E55 AMG, 1 S600 and 2 S65s (W221 and W220), 1 SL65, and 1 CL600. All of those cars are on a list that I regarded very highly as automotive brillance, the M3 is also on it but much easier to find than the ones above.

I think you're making the best decision, makes no sense to get a 335i since you're used to M level of quality, driving dynamics and feel. Keep the standard high bro, AMG or M. Can't go wrong with neither. The E55 AMG is in another league over any M3, C55 and easily a 335i. Your wait will definitely be worth it when you get the car. It's a rare blend of thrust and luxury, two things I like a lot. If you want sleeper factor in the game, get an S600 or CL600 2003+. Those make power so easy with just an ECU/TCU mod.

rory breaker

To your point about people here being helpful, one thing I can tell you for sure, the Mercedes "community" is certainly a whole lot friendlier than the BMW community.

I went from turbo hondas to M3's to this C55 and the honda community was great - very friendly, everyone very open to helping each other ,really cool (aside from the thieves). Nearly every BMW enthusiast I met during my time with the M3's was snobby, cracking jokes about other cars, stuck up, had little to no technical understanding other than what they regurgitated from some mystery poster with 'respect' on a messageboard...they were lame. When I was younger I was into the "crowds" and going to meets and learning all about the cars I drove...the BMW community really really turned me off.

Im more laid back now, dont want to work on cars, dont really care about custom camshaft profiles, turbo sizing, going for a helical or clutch lsd or anything else Im glad I dont worry about anymore Thats why I drive the car I drive, in my opinion. Dont need to do a thing to these AMG's, just turn the key and go. But thats just me.

E55AMGFan

Good post, it's something isn't it seeing different levels of enthusiasts and owner, don't let the mod bug bite you again.

FrankW

I had a e46 328. regularly drives a e92 M3 and of course my cars.

from experience because of the seating position in the Bimmers it gives the illusion of "feeling" faster.

335i may seem like it's easy to mod, but the reliability issue with the fuel pump remain un-addressed by BMW except that they extended the warranty on the parts. Now, 3 people I know already had BMW NA buy back their 335i (07 & 08) including the friend who now has the e92 M3 and the fourth Rareamg/Fred is parting out his 335i for the same reason.

honestly unless you need a 4-door or if you are just tired of the manual. I don't see any reason to get rid of your E46 M3 if it's properly maintained and problems free.

as said above, if you just want more straight line speed there's always the VF, AA, etc supercharger kit or turbo kit. although personally for the NA M motors I'm more in favor of keeping them NA. The CSL intake would give you gains AND makes a glorious sound.

advans

the 335i has roughly the same acceleration specs as a e60 535, since the 535 has a WAY lighter frame, the car is only a hundred pounds more or so.

well anyways, the story is. I have a C55 AND the e60 535. I love driving both cars, the C55 gives it a really hard "throwing into seat" feel, and the I-6 TT has a quick "2nd gear" acceleration kinda thing.

I can tell you that The C55 is probably the fastest out of a e46 M3 and the I-6 TT. The I-6 TT feels quicker than a E46 M3, but I'm not sure which one is really "the faster one".

I can tell you the fact that yes, the BMWs feel quicker, and it's a fun car to drive. it IS driver inspired.

Your E46 M3 is a coupe based "sport" model, and the C55 is a sedan based car, so its kinda...different.

But no hard feelings. I still love the E46 m3s!