rondocap

With so much talk about the newer supercharged AMG's, the little old V8 5.5 engines of old sometimes get forgotten - like your grandpa at the home. Go visit him sometime, he has some good stories.

So I'm going to list some concrete experiences here, and if anyone has any experience with the NA 2001/2002 S55 AMG (With 349hp), or any of the older 5.5 AMG's , and how it has done against other cars, I'd love to know!

First, I lined up with a Golf R32, the newer version. It's a surprisingly quick car, and small. I know that on a track it'd perform better than an S55 due to its lighter body, and being more agile - but on the highway, we lined up a few times, and I pulled on him a decent amount at various speeds - I would put 2 or so car lengths on him by the time it ended.

Next, was an older 540i - these V8's are not too bad either - and likewise, we lined up at higher speeds and I pulled on him as well.

I did line up with some type of Ford pickup truck - some F150 model, I did not get a good look (SVT, or lightning, or anything I am not sure) but it had an extremely loud supercharger whine. I could hear it from a block away, so perhaps it wasn't stock. Well, we lined up at slower speeds, and I had a passenger - but he pulled on me pretty good, I imagine that if I got in on time and without a passenger, I'd stay with him better - but who knows what that truck had!

So small time fish for the N/A S55 - but interesting cars none the less. It's hard to randomly run cars on the road, not everyone wants to play and the conditions for safety don't always allow you to do so. (That's important, I'd never do anything if there is traffic, conditions have to be safe) So a 2001, 140k mile S55 AMG still taking numbers out there, even if it's a grandpa now!

I'd love to line up with some fast cars in the future, like the supercharged AMG's, and stuff like that - I know they are faster, but I'd love to see exactly how much faster and how it looks like in the "real world".

Benz-O-Rama

It's pretty pedestrian by today's standards. There are N/A V6s out there now that will walk away from a N/A S55, and get close to 30MPG doing it.

Deuuuce

I give it a little more credit than that.

My first time at the strip with the SRT-8, I was running 13.3s, my buddies tuned CTS-V 13.4s+ (traction issues, 1-1.5mph quicker than me), an n/a E55 was running 13.6s or so.

Under those conditions, sure Porsches would be there and better. But a 370Z would be right there and the new V6 Mustang would be slower.

There are a not a lot of 13sec n/a 6-cylinders.

rondocap

Yeah, the older clk55 and e55 don't seem too much slower than the srt8s and other 13 second cars. My s55 is at best 13.9, or 14 due to the added weight.

Benz-O-Rama

Maybe "walk-away" is a bit of a stretch. But aren't the new Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Ifiniti G37s and well as the new 300hp V6 Mustand all high 13 second cars?

Either way, these new V6s are at least equal to a N/A S55 in the 1/4 and getting close to 30 mpg.

rondocap

Yeah, certainly those cars do perform equal to or better than the older S55, as does something like a BMW 335i - but price wise they are all a bit more than the S55, and at best equal to it. I'd rather have an old S55 than a Hyundai any day of the week, haha. Also, perhaps the power delivery on the S55 can't exactly be matched by the V6 cars...more torque and everyday low-end power.

Deuuuce

S55 is the wrong comparison anyway - far too big and heavy. E55 is better.

Not many sedans offer that performance either.

emilner

And a new 6 cylinder Mudstain can whup an 80's Corvette. I think it is not really fair to compare to a 10 year old car that was fast at the time. Wasn't the 2001ish E55 the fastest 4 door ever at the time?

rondocap

emilner, I believe so..I know the original CLK55 AMG was the fastest Mercedes had done at the time, so I'm sure the E55 was also the fastest until the BMW M5 came along.

But the issue of weight and real world performance is interesting. It's how a car like the SLK55 with basically the same engine as the NA S55 can be considered fast today, while the S55 is a bit more outdated due to the weight and only 349hp.

Deuuuce

Right. There are no V6 sedans at S-Class size that compare to the S55.

Vic55

Concur, I bought a new one back in 2001 (W210E55) and recently got to relive the memories as a dealer let me borrow one during service; 349hp and 391tq still has its fun...

rondocap

Wow, that's an awesome loaner - much more interesting than a C300. Ha, I want to find a good dealer that gives old AMG as loaners. Doesn't have to be the new ones, but it'd be fun to drive the older AMG's to see what they were like compared to other cars/my S55.

For 2001, 349hp/391tq is not bad. In fact, even the SRT 8 cars, which are heavier and much newer, aren't too much ahead of the W210 E55 in terms of performance.

Deuuuce

That's true. Just one step up. Extra weight being the culprit.

Jons95c36amg

For a big heavy S55 with only 349hp it moves.

rondocap

Heh, sometimes I ponder if I could remove some weight from my S55, if it could get to the W210 E55 performance area.

The S55 weighs 4,030lbs, and the E55 3,768lbs - doesn't seem like that big of a difference, but I guess that means about .6 tenths in the quarter mile which is a few car lengths! Heh, I bet if I really look I can drop the weight down a bit - I know removing the tire, lighter weight battery, etc can help - but that's about as far as I'd want to go.

Vic55

Yeah, I know the owner and they took it in on trade and said I could take it.... so I did. Nice TQ pull still after all these years- I think the car weighed in around 3600 lbs or so. It felt actually pretty damn good and the W210 body is still something that I tend to enjoy with a nice set of wheels and a drop.

Deuuuce you got the actuals on this?? (weight)

rondocap

3,768 is the curb weight that I found online for the w210, does that sound right? I thought it was a little less, too.

slowsky

according to edmunds:

2001 e55 = 3635
2001 clk55 = 3444
2001 s55 = 4186

rondocap

The 3635 to 4186 difference between the E55 and S55 make more sense then the numbers I posted - maybe those were different calculations. So a bit over 550lbs in weight difference.

Havoc

Yeah, when comparing stock performance my 2006 SLK55 with 355hp /3420 lbs. feels just as fast as my 2005 SL55 with 493hp /4235 lbs. But the SL55's 516 ft-lbs. of torque @ 2750 rpm is very noticeable over the 55N/A's 376 ft-lbs. @ 4000 rpm. In real world driving the SLK55's power to weight ratio makes it feel a lot more responsive which makes it more enjoyable to drive.

rondocap

A little update: Recently I drove a few 03+ S55's, which are supercharged compared to my N/A S55.

I noticed a few interesting points - first, of course it is more power - and the speed definitely goes up faster. But, in terms of real world feel, the car's power delivery is so smooth and without drama, that you really don't notice it. I thought it felt not too different from my 01 S55 - definitely faster, but did not feel as fast as it was when you looked at the numbers going up.

That's either good or bad: Good since it is power without a lot of drama and so smooth, but also you don't get the same adrenaline rush since you are a bit more secluded from the outside and the car is so smooth shifting. These big cars with this much power definitely are very cool though!

I am happy with my 2001 S55 - the power is actually not bad as I have come to see from driving other faster cars.


(Smaller cars are different, I was in a 2002 Corvette Z06 recently, which felt really fast - much more physical. But that's the nature of weight/big cars vs smaller/lighter cars so they are not directly comparable)

Das Geld 2

I'd love to line up my S500 against your 55

rondocap

Yeah! You are all the way in Berlin thought right? haha

Das Geld 2

I can Teleport to the Southern State Expressway

MIKESV8

i dream about your cars at night btw...