I'm still hunting for a good E55 at a reasonable price. In the mean time I continue to gather more information. I hope you all don't mind if I ask some are rather, ahem, "elementary" questions.

DRIVE TRAIN: From what I can discern, getting more ponies out of the motor is not quite as easy as it was with my old TR6. (With those motors all you have to do is improve breathing and beef up the bottom end.) Apparently mods for an E55 are not something a novice should undertake. Who are the tuners with the better reputations?

Any issues with the tranny, drive line, or CV joints?

Lubricants - Some people say use synthetics, which is fine with me. However, many say that if a car ran sustained periods on conventional oil it's not wise to switch to synthetic. What do you all say?

SUSPENSION: Are high performance all season tires feasible for these cars? I live in Missouri which has four seasons. Would it be best to go with summer tires and get separate rims with snows?

What about tire rotation? I've never had a car with different F/R tire sizes. Should the tires be rotated from side to side, or does it even matter?

Also, what about wheel alignment? Some high end cars like BMW and Jag require special tools made of unobtainium that only dealers have. Does this car have similar requirements?

I know this is all boringly practical, but this car would be my daily driver, so I want to know what will be required for long term ownership.

Many thanks in advance!

Jim

PS - I have a 1996 Jag XJ12 (6.0L V12, 93K) for sale for anyone brave enough to buy it.