Rafal

They just published the July issue of Wheels with a comprehensive road test of the new E60 M5. Apart from the usual journo's sycophantic platitudes and superlatives on this "Bavarian bullet" of a car, it is interesting to note some of the performance results on Conti 2 tires:
0-80 kph (0-50mph) 3.4 sec
0-100 kph (0-62mph) 4.4 sec (better than 4.7 sec factory claim)
0-160 kph (0-100mph) 9.4 sec
0-200 kph (0-125mph) 14.1 sec
0-400 m (1/4 mile) 12.5 sec @ 188 kph/ 117mph

Well, many of us have easily bettered these numbers with our stock cars
(4.4 sec 0-62mph and 12.35 1/4 mile here), not to mention sub 12's and low 11's cars modified to various degrees. Plus our cars are much better looking!
Tonight I sleep easy...zzzzzzzzz

enzom

Thanks, Rafal. Still waiting patiently for the car to be released here in North America to see how it does at the strip. Only fair way to compare performance. It may be a while.

BMWEATR

12.5 IN THE 1/4??? THATS IT???? JEEZ WHAT A WASTE OF EVERYONES ENERGY. I hope its faster than that. once we start spanking them at the strips and stop lights i'm gonna run outa people to play with.

M&M

That's all fair & well, but I still can't believe that grown educated men cannot understand the concept that you cannot compare times done on MArs to times done on Uranus. Besides the surface which is the most important, the test equipment & technoque may also vary. Some mags test with full tank of gas & passenger to handle the testing equipment.

Anyway, to compare apples to apples here's the same mags test of the E55 at the same test venue, with the same driver, same fuel, same technique, same equipment:



As you can see they got the E55 at 12.9 @ 182 km/h (113.75mph).
M5 is almost a second faster to 100mph, 0.4 faster on the 1/4 & traps almost 4mph higher.

That difference is in line with what the Euro mags are getting as well.

E55 RUSS

Oh...Once again ...Why is so hard to admit???

Here is the TEST by the owner who has BOTH:

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=54853

He quotes:

"From standstill flooring the cars together the E55 had the jump but later on the M5 gain more speed and pass it easily and still keep going.. i couldnt push the car beyond 220 Km/h.. beacause i havent passed the 5000 Km period"..


New M5 is faster then stock E55K - Not much faster but FASTER...Deal with IT...

E63 will be faster then M5...then BMW will do something again and the FIGHT will never END!!!

Rafal

"Grown, educated men...?" It's been a while since I was chastised by my M3 driving mother! We are all big kids here, with even bigger toys, so don't patronise the esteemed members of this forum!
As to the tests, the M5 was driven at sea level in Melbourne and I drove my car at sea level in Sydney in the same kind of weather.
We are still on the same planet, Boetjie!
Interestingly, the rolling/overtaking acceleration 80-120kph of the E55 is shown as 2.8 sec. M5 managed 3.0 sec. KOMPRESSOR rules!
All I was saying is that in different conditions, with or without mods, our cars are as quick as anything out there. These magazine road tests are not always very reliable and can be improved upon. When I did my drag times a month ago, I ran into the sub-editor of the magazine who did the E55 test in Australia. His test figures are still used as the benchmark here.
His results: 12.94 1/4, mine 12.35 (no passenger, my weight 95kg/210lbs)
His 0-100kph 4.81, mine 4.40 sec. (myself PLUS my 85kg son).
Don't believe everything you read.

Mardeth

Then why did you believe the M5 figures? You cant have it both ways. Either you use the numbers from the magazine or the numbers people will get when they start to run on the tracks, not airports that I presume the magazine used.

Rafal

Oh, I do believe the figures, just not the average reader's assumption that they define any car's potential 100%.
Yes you are right, most of the Melbourne tests are done at Avalon Airport.

enzom

Meanwhile, we are all still waiting for the car to unveil itself here in the US. So that it can be tested. Probably without launch control, by the way. Then a drag strip run or two would be nice.

If they could just keep production running smoothly, we may see those cars here before Christmas.

Question I have is - if the M5 proves to be no quicker (or even slower) at the strip, will the usual "M5 owns all" defenders just stop with the magazine comparisons, or will they keep clinging to printed test reports of press fleet cars?

I know that if the M5 is noticeably faster than our own E's at the strip, and by faster I mean 12.0's or better at 119 mph, I will be the first to thank people for the proof I've been waiting for.

04E55 AMG

When everything is said and done, MB produced a car 4 years ago (W211 E55) that will keep up with the yet to be released M5. That in its own right makes it the clear winner in my part of the world.

They will both be great cars, but one has been rolling on the road 4 years.

OzE55

It should be pointed out that the E55 and M5 acceleration tests were not at the same time (and therefore not under the same conditions) and so are not, validly, comparable. The M5 was tested at Calder Park Raceway - an optimum surface. I dont know about the E55.

For me the important part of the review was - "SMG struggles day to day" and "tight rear legroom". That might not be important to some but on my daily commute I enjoy the luxury car feel and the kids/friends aren't complaining in the back. On the weekend it will tear the ***** off most things on the road.

I'm happy

M&M

Oz, the tests were done at the same place, But you are right. It's hard to compare tests done on different days.

Don't mean to start a flame war, but how can someone read a mag test on another continent & say 'HA, I beat that time at my local strip!". I can think if a few things wrong with that argument besides that it wasn't done on the same day.

reggid

the new E class will be faster but not by that much, given that the e55 is not slow how fast did you actually think the m5 would be. All cars obey the laws of physics.

btw, who says it can or can't keep up? its intersting that no magazine (none that i have seen anyway) has yet done a head to head comparsion between the m5 and e55 with real performance stats, which i believe is the fairest way to compare performance (others have different opinions or methods on what they think is fair but thats their opinion).

Rafal, correct me if i'm wrong did you use a g-tech for your 0-100 times? Have you checked its accuracy at the track, i'd be interseted to know.

Jakpro1

............BAwwwww.....hah haaaaaaaah.......

W210

That's an interesting point. And judging by the issues with the new M5, I don't think the car really is ready yet.

Didn't the UK car magazine, Clarkson's M5 transmission just exploded leaving him stuck with a rental? And I hope that M5 breakdown at the ring is not due to reliability issues. Even within the handful of lucky Europeans taking delivery, one already report serious transmission/engine problem.

Hopefully the car will go through more beta-testing before they appear in North America.

However, personally, I'm sick and tired of waiting for this thing, why bother trading in my E55 which is just as fast, if not faster below throw-me-to-jail-speed, easier to launch, much more user-friendly, gives a better ride, superior ergonomics and luxury, and heck it even looks better inside and out.

Now if I were into this sports car handling game, the 997TT or even the Boxster S would be on my radar screen.

04E55 AMG

Having owned a Boxster S and 996TT I have to say that the Boxster S was much easier to drive on the track then the TT. That S was a great handling car with the mid-engine design

W210

Thanks for the feedback, perhaps a Boxster S with DSG will be a nice choice next year..

enzom

There is nothing wrong with saying that you beat a magazine time at the strip. Believing that the two are the same thing is the problem. Having said that, if you are running 12.0's or 12.1's at the strip, you are not going to have much luck against a car that runs 11.0's in the magazine tests. By the same token, a car that magazines consistently test at 14 seconds is not going to run 12's at the strip. All magazine tests tell you is that you can be in the same ballpark as another car.

When the M5 comes out here, and the car is raced at the strip from a dig, we'll all see what it really can do. As a measurement of speed, pulling away from other cars in rolling races that start at 100 mph is of much lesser importance to North Americans than how a car gets away from a stop light. Call it "unsophisticated" or whatever, but that's the way things generally are around here. Remember, I am talking about speed in a straight line.

As a side note, I am amazed at the number of well-publicized SERIOUS problems the M5 is having. The M5 taxi, Jeremy Clarkson's M5, the reports on M5 boards. All new cars have teething problems, but what is being reported on the M5 is just scary. Maybe it just seems that way because everytime an M5 engineer farts, there is a report on the internet about it. But if I were on the waiting list for an M5, I'd certainly give up my spot to get an 07.

ima55r2

What's still the big deal with the M5? The car mags have been touting the M6 as the new standard bearer. It's faster, handles better, and it even looks better than the M5....which isn't too hard to do.

wolverine

I have to agree with whoever said:

"The M5 is faster than the E55, just deal with it."

I don't see what the big deal is. If the M5 didn't raise the stakes, then Mercedes wouldn't be as motivated to beat it with their next car. The M5 is lighter, has a more efficient transmission, better gearing, and more horsepower and is three years newer. Of course it's faster.

From a stoplight drag, with this much horsepower, it will always be a driver's race. But after that, unless you're a heavily modded E55, or an SL65, the M5 will just walk away. Look at the 100 - 200 kph times for the M5 - they are comparable to the SL65, not the E55. If you want to just pick out magazine times, there are M5 tests that are better than the SL65. That doesn't mean I think the M5 is faster, I don't.

The next version out from Mercedes will probably be faster than the M5. We should all be glad. It's a great time to be an auto enthusiast!

Mardeth

Exactly. The faster the M5 is, the faster the next E55 will be.

W210

I already gave up my spot, by the time it gets here and having everything sorted out for my comfort, I would be looking at the 997TT or heck perhaps the E63 ^^

M5KILLR

does heavily modified mean 7k or a 7% price increase for 80hp???

Jon200

agreed bro

Don't forget the E55 has ~ 35hp less horse power

H50

I do disagree with you here, the M5-RUS quoted my post on M5board.com..
I do own both cars M5 and E55.. the rolling start from 80-270 KM/H the E55 cant keep keep up with M5.. Flooring at the same time the M5 passes the E55 and keeps going and going 4-5 car lengths what the difference was.. and u feel it keep going on.. the gap does not get narrower

And from standstill i was first not surprised by the m5 preformance.. I found that the contis SC2 grip is not very good. i need to change them when the PS2 Mch is going to be ready..

My conclusion that the M5 is much faster than the E55 its really keep it behind not talking about 1 car length, by maybe 4-5 cars length..

The M5 is just very very fast car..

Thanks