chichie320

Hey guys I have been lurking the forums for quite some time. I use to drive a 94 E320 with 56k miles until my uncle totaled it. It was an awesome car for its time, but I am looking to get an E55 AMG with in a year. I currently drive a 2001 S4 which I love, but i want an E55 as a cruiser/summer car. What are you overall opinions toward these cars? Overall how would you rate an E55 from 1 to 10? Thanks.

- Nelson

Esh

I would suggest reading the forum a bit, as people's opinions are all over this form, everywhere.

Classic design, a whole ton of torque, and a relative sleeper. Not the best handling car (compared to an M3 or 5) but much more practical with the torque. These cars were built for the Autobahn and are the perfect luxury cruiser. Automatic makes it a simple car to drive and to get the most power out of (just mash the throttle and go). Very reliable, but with any high-end car, repairs come at a cost.

saintz

Should be more reliable than the Audi. Will be faster (more torque) and drive more like a cruiser. The lack of AWD will make it harder to get off the line, though. Sometimes I miss the traction of my WRX. The S4 turbo will also be much easier to mod. The 2003+ E55 with supercharger are easy to mod, the E55 N/A are not.

AMS Performance

Anything on planet earth is more reliable than the B5 S4 . The E55 will be as reliable as a honda civic by comparison. Definitely get the W210 E55, you can't go wrong for the money.

chichie320

I am not worried so much as to making it powerful because I have read up on it and I know it has a ton of torque. I am not really crazy as to how the e46 m3 sounds overall. I have driven an m3 before and personally not my cup of tea, great car but i would before a benz. I have not had the chance to test drive a w210 e55 but I have been wanting one for quite some time. The S4 is a great car but there are just so many stupid things that either break or need replacing. My S4 would be my winter car while the E55 will never see snow or road salt. Also a good chance to go stage 3 in the s4 and have the E55 as a daily while my s4 is under the knife Thanks for your replies

nicobaires

I actually came from a Stage 3 S4 to the E55. The only thing I miss about the S4 was the power, 6 speed and AWD, other than that the E55 takes it for me. But if you can have both, thats the best of both worlds

chichie320

Thats my plan. Keep the S4 as a winter car and the E55 as a summer car and cruiser.

slownrusty

To answer your question...I rate it a 10

saintz

The E55 is the child of a luxury car and a muscle car. It's faster than an M3 in a straight line, and more comfortable. The M3 will easily out handle an E55. But straight line, the power difference is big in favor of the E55. All three cars (S4, M3, E55) are great, they're just different. It really depends on your style and type of driving. If you already have an S4, you probably will be better complimented by an E55 vs. an M3.

AMS Performance

Having been in a stage Pi (3.14+) B5 S4... they are great cars and very fast... but the W210 E55 is still a better car, and fully modded NA they could be almost the same power wise, the W210 E55 is the best NA tuning platform of all the NA AMGs, for some reason it just loves power mods more so than any other NA AMG (exhaust design amongst other things & etc.).

chichie320

If I end up buying an E55 as I plan, I will most likely put on an aftermarket exhaust, summer rims and maybe a few cosmetic mods. In terms or power upgrades I can hold off as I feel as though the car will have enough power and torque to enjoy driving it. Thanks for all the replies.

Esh

I think you'd be better of with headers rather than a traditional "exhaust" upgrade...

AMS Performance

Of course, headers make the most power by itself. However when done in conjunction with high flow 2nd cats, and X-pipe... its a completely different animal.

MBFLO

How much would that complete setup cost? . from low to high?

AMS Performance

Headers = $1250
Cats = Less than $180
X-pipe + mandrel bends = $120
Labor = ??? (Depends, maybe $450 at most)

So for parts alone you are only looking at roughly $1550 for the entire exhaust system, and with labor most likely $2k total which isn't bad considering what it will deliver. Do not touch muffler or primary cats, you will want those in place. You should easily be able to get a peak 30-35HP @ crank alone from all those exhaust mods mentioned. However, "meat under the curve" gains in other parts of the power band could be even higher (especially the 2000-3000 range where the AMS headers make the most difference compared to other designs).

hope that helps.