BENZGal

I have been up all night tossing and turning after getting a call from the dealer that my new baby will be at the dealership this afternoon. I am picking up my new 0655 tonight and can't wait to do the upgrades.

What is a good break in mileage before I upgrade? I have heard 500 miles - 5000 miles.

Also,
I was set on going with Evo until a friend of mine told me about Renntech. He said that they are the most reliable. Any thoughts between EVO, Kleemann and Renntech. I am more concerned about reliablilty than cost. I know guys with full EVO & Kleemann systems. Are there any 21155's with Renntech?

I will try and post some pics for you this weekend. I have a feeling that I will be taking the car on a few trips to Vegas to break it in quicker. Hehe

Vic55

I actually waited almost a year (9k miles)- not because that was what I was told but because thats when I felt the need for more power. I really couldnt tell you exactly when the best time for a new car would be but probably 2500-5000 miles maybe???

As for your question on tuning, you know where I have my loyalty at. It wasnt for cost but also I like to have the actual tuner do the work- in this case Evo was the closest at 50 miles.

BenzoBoi

Personally I would say go with Kleemann...but that is just me. Kleemann and Renntech have been workin on our benz' forever and I would trust them more then Evosport. ( Not flaming them at all...Vic has all their stuff and his car funs very well.) If you were going to do EVERYTHING on the car, I would say go with Kleemann because I have yet to hear a complain about them. My 2 cents...

BENZGal

Haha were you ears burning Vic? You are the full EVO system I was talking about. I am about 99% sure I will go with EVO, just getting some outside opinions. I never even considered Renntech until it was brought up last week. I also like the fact that EVO is somewhat close by and my few dealings with EVO and Simon have been good. I know there was a huge post last month about them, but they have always given me great customer service and they have a good product.

James is a full supporter of Kleemann and they seem to put out a good product as well, but I am too damn busy to be shipping the car off for repairs or upgrades.

Does anyone know what would happen if I upgraded the car before the engine was ready? You see guys like Derrek on the track with his new M5. What is the worst thing that could happen?

BENZGal

Sun,
Thank you for replying. Have you used Kleenman?

vrus

With the E55, I would say that you should drive the car around for a couple thousand miles (2,000miles at least) first before you make any modifications.

1) It allows the engine to break in and you get a feel for how your car performs from the factory. Do a baseline run after the breakin miles.

2) You can push the car hard for those 2,000miles and test to make sure everything is strong and reliable before upping the power. If you are low on power or if the car develops any problems you wont have to take off all the modified parts before taking the car in for service and asking for warranty replacements. This could be costly if you had to remove everything and put stock parts back on.

3) You will get a greater appreciation for the modifications once you've driven and experienced the car in stock form and then after the mods are done.

As for tuner, I would say that all the names you mentioned were good at what they do. I would pick the tuner that is closest to you and buy everything from them and let them do all the install work. Service is most important because should you have a problem you dont want to be dealing with car carriers and out-of-state vendors.

I dont have this luxury because all the tuners are in the U.S., but if I were in your shoes, this is what I would do.

This is my $0.02 anyways...

BENZGal

VRUS,

Thank you for the write up. Good info!

Question on the driving hard during the 2k miles. Many people have told me to not drive hard during the break in. Why the difference of opinion?

vrus

You're welcome.

As for the hard driving.. This is something that has been debated here many times. There are 2 crowds with different views on this topic. I myself belong to the crowd of drive the car aggressively.

All in my opinion:

The engine should be exposed to full throttle acceleration runs periodically and then cooldown periods. Giving the engine exposure to full throttle runs gives the rings & seals an opportunity to seat properly. Heat cycling the engine (hard acceleration runs followed by cooldown) is the technique I've used on all the cars I've owned to-date. I've never had a lemon and all of my cars seemed to perform near the top of their category.

Also, make sure you vary your driving speed. Try to spend equal amounts of time puttering around in traffic as you do on the highway at higher speeds. Vary the RPM.. Spend time in overdrive at 2,500rpm on the highway. Spend time revving at 4,000RPM in 4th gear on the highway.

Being aggressive with the car during "break-in" miles is not harmful as long as you give the engine an opportunity to cool itself down to normal temps.

Now, the other crowd will throw their arms up at this and say the car should be babied because it will hurt the engine & transmission to do what I said.. Unfortunately, you have to decide which crowd you want to believe.

Remember, this is all in my opinion.

Good luck and enjoy that new beast !!

P.S-> Dont forget to post pics!

Oh... almost forgot.. If you do follow this technique you should do the following also:

1) Change oil & filter at 500miles. This will get rid of any metal particles that get trapped in the oil during break-in.

2) Change oil & filter at 1,000miles.

3) Change oil & filter at 2,000miles.

4) Change oil & filter every 5,000 - 10,000miles depending on your driving style.. I change at 5,000miles.

04E55 AMG

I waited about 12 months before getting crazy. I researched all three mentioned and narrowed to Evo & Kleemann and went with Kleemann. You will love the way the beast is transformed

I just need to get some MT and tires so I can use all that power and get into the 11.5 range next time at the strip

BENZGal

Thank you 0455AMG for the recommendation. Kleenman is just too far away. Sounds like you have a great set up. Good luck on your next run.

Victor,

Interesting and informational write up. I knew about the oil changes and how often it needed to get changed. I will try revving it in overdrive and 4th on the FWY. I was hoping to get my mods by January, but I think it's going to take me a bit longer. I only put 8k miles on my 21055 in the last fifteen months. I had planned on taking a few trips in the new car in hopes of putting on some quick miles. It sounds like from your post that I need a good amount of full throttle and cool down periods. Not just a couple of Vegas trips. That sucks!

I noticed that you both have 19's. How much do your wheels weigh?

What is Evans Coolant?

My ride just showed up to get the car. I am soooooo excited. I will post some pics this weekend.

Thank you all for your help.

lisamcgu

Congrats!! Let the mods begin!

Tinting first, of course. Told someone about that being done right now, after the na na na na na, and it worked - he is sooo jealous! Can't wait to see your new baby and I'll hold the camera while you pose with it.

BENZGal

Thank you girl. I am so glad you are in Ventura now. Yeah, I just called them back and was able to switch it to Limo before they started. It will be all darked out with black HRE's. A little ghetto-gangster, but it will look hot. I am going back to O.C. next week for the wheels and lowering software. This thing is so much faster than I expected. Tell Brad that is handles much better than our 210's. I can only imagine how sick fast this thing will be with the mods. Tell him he better start warming up that HPS now. I will give him a charity head start. J/K

I also think I am going to keep the 210 at the house for those trips to the mall and crowded parking lots. I already had some idiot open his door on it at dinner last night. The strips stopped the ding. I though Hugh was going to drop him in the parking lot.

Let's get together this weekend! Tell Brad I will let him pet it if he is really good.

Fast55

Been busy so I didn't see any of this until now. PET IT???!!! A pair of jokers. You may be the one who wants a head start, let's line'em up and see. Not even a tank of gas and already the tinting and now a new set or HRE's!!!!???? I need another job.

JamE55

Congrats Angela! Damn right i'm a full Kleemann follower! No need to look somewhere else. You've seen how Derek's E55 hit the hi 10's with the kleemann K2 with LSD kit. Why look some where else? In any case i'd suggest driving it first then once you get bored with the power then get the kleemann kit. If you're too busy to ship it have Evosport work on it.

Childish///AMG

Congrats, and I am sure that whatever "Mods" you decide on, they will be sweet