SL55 or E55? A friend and I were discussing this; the weight is a factor but how about other factors, footprint, aero, chassis, etc... the engines are the same right (so I assume they respond equally well to mods and gain similar numbers with each mod)?

What are the weights for the SL55, E55, and other powerful big benzes (S, CL, CLS etc..)? Just curious...these cars have big power but they also seem to have some serious mass...As for SL's I would think that the SL500 and SL55 weight close to the same but the SL65 may be a bit more due to more engine weight, is that correct?

I had an E55 and it was quicker than my stock SL55 but once I modded the SL the SL was quicker. If I remember correctly the E was about 200 pounds lighte than the SL, The CL about 200 pounds heavier than the SL and the S a little heavier than the CL. The SL65 is approximately 200 pounds heavier than the SL55.

If you look at average trap speeds for stock, E55s are the fastest stock V8 kompressor cars.

-m

Lou are you comparing your modded SL 55 to your stock e55...if the E55 stock is a little quicker with the same engine, and both are modded equally then wouldn't the E55 remain quicker all other things being the same?

Yes

Aren't E55's known to be the fastest 55 model?

Especially the Estate version because of their better weight distribution (i.e. more weight over the rear wheels vs E55 sedan).

as said my e55k was quicker than my sl55 until i got it tuned.

..infact the e55 is a far nicer car to drive...until you get the sl55 lowered.

I had a E55 and a SL55 both stock. The E55 empty was quicker!

interesting...how much does teh E55 weigh and how much does the SL55 weigh? Anyone know...

I considered an E55, drove it and my SL55...the E55 didn't seem that much quicker if any, did a few low speed rolling runs in each and a couple of high speed roll ons... unno:

Another thing was the car itself, being a sedan vs. a hardtop retractable roadster the SL just looked and felt a bit better, the E55 felt like a big fast sedan, great for hauling your buddies around at breakneck speeds

I like 'em both at the end of the day, well I like pretty much all AMG's but I love the fact that an SL can be both a coupe and vert at the push of a switch, I just wish it were lighter as you can really feel the weight of this car...alas engineering and mass production render these tradeoffs as part of the comprimise that brings the SL55 into realization.

You might be surprised to find out how many different answers there are to that question.

What I know for sure is that my 2003 SL55 has an official curb weight of 4,235 lbs and an actual weight of 4,340 lbs with 1/2 tank of gas in it.

wow...I guess the only real way to measure is to actually scale the cars. Short of that what are the manufacturers numbers on the weights of the E55 and the SL55 (offical curb weight or 4235 apparently) , anyone know?

I think once the cars are modified it's anyones gues as to which one is faster...

What I did not like about my E55 was it was nose heavy with a terrible turn in. Also because it was so quick it sometimes felt like it was going to leave the road on very fast long bends.

I wanna drive it!!!

I would imagine that the e55 would be slightly quicker due to the lower weight but does anyone know if there are any engine differences between the two. I am sure that I read that the sl55 had a larger chargecooler than the e55?..........

I'm pretty sure they are almost identical. The SL I believe has something different in the exhaust area though.

200 lbs is .2 in the 1/4...so they should feel almost identical and it would always be a driver's race.

I think from a frwy roll-on the SL55 heavier weight will be negated due to its shorter 2.82 final gear ratio vs E55 2.65 taller less aggressive gear ratio..
Thus making them fairly equal @ frwy speeds IE roll-on 50-130mph.

But as Marcus said, the e55 vs SL55 1/4 mile trap speaks volumes from dig thru 1/4 mile the E55 is capable of 113-118mph where the SL55 gets 111-114 tops in stock form. The extra weight from a dig obviously kills the gearing advantage.....put the SL55 on a diet & you'll have a runner, replace both frnt seats w/racing seats (stock seats weigh 85-90lbs ea. racing seats can weigh 15-30lbs ea.) then replace stock batt (65+lbs) for racing batt 15-20lbs...Weight advantage gone + SL55 still has better 2.82 gears W for SL55..

The SL also has larger air intake tubes on the driver's side to allow for greater air intake. That would make some difference in breathing.

This probably explains why I didn't feel any difference driving each car, in fact from a roll the SL felt slightly faster, I didn't know about the difference in final drive gearing...didn't do any 1/4 mile runs from a dig ...lol imagine asking about that on a series of test drives...

I own both cars. I think it depends on which flavor of engine you're speaking of. My 05 E55 with 463 HP (according to the factory) vs. the 493 HP SL, or the 07 SL55 wit 510 HP. I've owned all three. First the E55 will break traction quicker due to less rear end weight, especially at low speed whereas the SL will just dig in. Straight line the SL "feels" a bit heavier and more sure-footed whereas the E55 feels more "sports-like". Although I have not tried this I would give the hole-shot to my E55 from 0-60+/- and then my stock 07 SL55 overtakes it. Let me add that My E55 has a tuned ECU and my 07 SL55 has the performance package. I'm not sure if this makes them equal. I have nothing to base these statements on just "seat-of-the pants" experience with both cars.

nice observations...I tend to agree in that the E55 felt a little looser and the SL digs in and plants nicely...on a roll the cars were both quick but the SL seemed to pull a bit harder... I test drove a few 493 hp version SL's (not the '07) ...

it's a tough call but with similar motors they feel almost the same but each in it's different way...which is why my friend and I were having this discussion...some of you guys on the forum that have or have had both (lucky!! ) are good advisors on this topic!

when do we modify!!!

Hopefully soon enough my friend, soon enough lol Stll doing some due diligence on all the options out there, pricing, power, etc...