LCat

After long and hard thinking I picked up my new E55 tonight. It's 2001 silver in a MINTEST condition I've EVER seen in used car )))))))). Person who owned it was definitely **** - retentive . Has all the options - parktronic, vented sits, designeo, phone etc. Also came with best aftermarket warranty I've seen until 100K miles.
Also person did not drive car hard at all. It shows average MPG as 25.8 for a last 27K miles. Then I test drove car I thought it was broken - Iit was pulling very lazy and shifting very soft. Then I reset ECU and car tuned in to beast ))))))))))).
Quality of build and interior seems to be much nicer then W211's and love styling of the car. Integrated IPod via AUX and Phone via Motorola V60 Bluetooth puck - works real well. Even GPS is not as bad as I anticipated and if I need really good GPS for driving long distances I could always use my TomTom

Now - on to the things I do not like about this car. Sound system is horrible - one of the worst once I've heard. I've never been fan of BOSE but this time they outdone themself big time. In the same time I really do not want to loose Command head unit so some research needs to be done.

Moving on to performance of the car - I would like to improve pickup just a little bit especially at lower RPMs. Nothing major but I was hitting some power holes and car did not downshifted in time. It typically happened between 2900-3500 RPM and then plenty of power arrived at 4K. So I'm thinking what extracting more HP and especially torque will greatly improve drivability of the car to the point were I would not feel bad about not getting W211. I really do not need all that power so I'm not going to do anything too radical such as SC.

Right now I'm planning following performance mods. E55 Kompressor Airbox with K&N filter. "Underdrive" pulley. Headers, and ECU reprograming. I'm thinking of getting them all from VRP Tuning. Vadim thinks what I should get about 35-40rwh or close to the 400 on the engine. I do know him as more conservative guy and his stuff typically does not hurt car. What do you guys think of his pulley vs other available pulleys. What about VRP headers vs LET headers. Who else does god ECU programming. Basically i'm trying to understand what kind of performance I could get by getting "budget" best of the bread instead of trying to source it all in one place. Now - with my previous experiences with Vadim on my SHO I know he delivers what he promises, does it conservatively and reliably.

Am I missing some other mods I should be doing. What do you guys think of X-Pipe. I know it "improves" sound a great deal - but to me it's actually rather negative then positive. I like my car as stealthy as possible and even plan to rebadge it with E320 or at least debadge it and take all tell a tale sings off )))). So does it add some real HP/torque? Anything else - as long as it's not uber expencive?

Now let's move on my next negative point about this car. I really was not fond of suspension. To me car feels too mushy and jumpy in the same time. Front shocks on the car were recently replaced under warranty so I know it's not suspension getting old. To me it feels what car needs shocks with more dampenng but not too stiff. I'm planning to go with Kony FJS. What else can I do to improve handling without sacrificing ride quality too much. Please remember I'm going to be driving my infant baby in this car and do not want him to feel every pothole. I'm potentially considering EBach progressive ratio springs as they behave quite civilized during normal ride but quickly stiffen then needed. How much do you guys feel I would mess up ride quality and how much better handling would get? Anything else I should do?

And final question about tires and rims - right now car has Kumho mounted on it. Which tires should i put on it to improve handling, traction? No megaexpencive tires pease/ SizeWise - do I stay with 245/40s on front and 275/35s on back? Also how heavy stock rim's are?

Thanks a lot to the wonderfull group of E55 enthusiasts

maxwerks

Hello and Congrats on your new purchase, post us some pictures soon, she sounds lovely. Nothing of what you described sounds worrysome, actually she sounds like she has been well taken care of. Tire wise your best bet on a budget but yet great tires will be Nittos NT555, I am using the Bridgestones RE050A PP, but they are pricer, specially in my 19 size. I feel that the tires make a huge difference, specially with spirited driving, but it also depends on where you are and the climate...look at the X pipe Mod posts and links on this forum, most of us who did that love it, step 2, loose the resonator, if you like it a bit louder and 40lbs lighter. I dont know enough about the KONIs, some of the members here like them but most of us had gone with the Bilsteins sports, with either H&Rs or Eibach, read the posts regarding changing the spring pads, that makes a difference in height .....there is so much, all depends on $, but it sure sounds like youre off to a great start! Best regards & welcome to our group.
Max

thebenzbar

Welcome LCat... hope you enjoy (and take care) of your "new" w210 E55 - one of the most subtle but still powerful AMGs...

armaniE55

Nice!!! I was also debating on purchasing the newer E55 myself until I came across this well kept Beast (Special thanks to Jimmythegreek for making all this possible Skata Na Fass) As the prior member stated doesn't sound anything to complex. I for one would definitely change pulley, (OEM is heavy) shocks & springs, Filters . hell everything below my sig

Congrats again! and Welcome to the C L U B !

Pics Please...