emoving

Does a C55 pull as hard as a E55? I know the engines are similar but was wondering. It would seem a C is lighter therefore faster. Any input would be great.

CWW

That style C55 was the n/a AMG block, same as in the CLK55. I have driven a C55 and a CLK55, and there is a major difference between them and an E55.

The C55/CLK55 may be a smidge faster right off the line, just because of the weight difference, but after that it's all over and an E55 would blow by it in no time.

BenzoBoi

What kind of C55 is this? The E55 has something that the C55 doesn't...a supercharger. The C may be lighter then the E, but it is NOWHERE near the E55 as far as performance is concerned...

E55_GT3wheels

The C55 and E55 do NOT have the same engine. The E55 has a kompressor on top and the C55 does not. The C55 uses the W210 E55 engine basically (no where near 500 HP - around 362HP I believe). So the E55 would pull on the C55 with no problem at all.

Fr33kn63

back a few years ago i owned a C55. Was pretty much stock. Lined up with a CLS 55 and took him til about 80 mph and he slowly krept past me to about 1.5 car lengths by the 1/4 mile'ISH'
They are light and fast. Wish the c55 was supercharged! Would of had him all the way.

emoving

My fault,,, I thought the C55 was supercharged as well. So it is just a normaly aspirated engine. Makes sense now.

Point2Point

CLS 55 probably had IC pump problems.

Akademiks

I second that notion. Through the 1/4 mile, there's almost a second difference, or more depending how good the E55 launches. The C55 wouldn't stand a chance, stock to stock anyways.

Now, add a blower the C55 as well and, well... you've got yourself one pissed off little C-Class

Karlson

with all the money to install a blower, a tune and etc, it will cost the same as 55k car

Zod

most likely he mashed it and was fighting with esp

Akademiks

BUT the C-Class is lighter ergo faster.

Skeeter

Folks, these cars aren't in the same class. The C55 is a slug compared to the rampaging E55. The motor differential is WAY to large to make the weight difference a factor. Maybe in a ultra-tight autocross setting the weight would make the C faster, but in the real world it is E55 fodder. Come on folks... 360 HP for the C55 and let's not even talk about the torque difference. Unfair fight, comparing a smaller NA mildly fast car to the E.

Case closed.

Skeeter

MRAMG1

+1000

When I went looking for my new toy it was an E55 or S600. The C55 was NOT on my radar

Really out gunned by the E or S.

See yeah

PS: They are NOT that much lighter to make ANY real world difference that the lovely low end torque wouldn't crush

Akademiks

Ok, but if a C55 is making your E55/S600 look like you left your parking brake on, just listen for the supercharger whine.

I think you'd be surprised how fast those things get. Stock to stock, yes I would agree-- I don't even know why this thread was started, BUT a blown C55 will kill a stock E55.

MRAMG1

Okay, but the cost of that blower for the C55, put into mods for the E55, and the E55 would KILL the C55 again

I am just saying why start the battle with a handicap my friend. Besides the E55 is a MUCH nicer ride to begin with.

Oh well, to each his own. Good luck with whatever car/supercharger combination you choose.

See yeah

PS: I'll stay with my V12

CWW

Ya well, nobody can argue with that one, for sure.

A simple boxed tune on a V12tt is worth an extra 100hp. And that's before you even touch anything else.

Akademiks

I'll stay with the V12 too

If you start the issue with money, I need only point out the C55s are cheaper so therefor you'd actually be saving money instead of buying an E55. Even with the blower a C55 might still come out cheaper then an E55.

Whichever you choose, you can't go wrong with any combination. All push out a decent amount of power, smoke your neighbors F360 and still get the groceries

PC Valkyrie

Can't disagree with you at all. In any type of straight line only contest, the E55 will and should smoke the C55.

However, the E55 can become C55 "fodder" (as you put it) when any turns come into play (not just autocross, but on a high speed road circuit). The lighter weight and stiffer suspension setup of the more nimble C55 really makes a difference in such a situation. This is from observations made on lapping days at a track (ie real world average drivers situation).

This is not that surprising, as the C55 is more like the E46 M3 when it comes to direct competitors. Any Benz with a supercharged 5.4L V8 or the newer 6.2L V8 kills these cars in staright line acceleration.

itsmeek

Cousin has a c55- there is no contest w/the e55. Now I had a pretty well modified c32 in the past and that was a contest for a stock e55. The c55 is a great n/a car- but the c32 imo is the better of the two. E55K is in another league.

Point2Point

C55 is a better handling car than the E55, but it would still be far down my list of track or autocross cars. Considering only 4-door sedans, I'd put the Evo, STI, E36 M3, 335i and 330i ZHP all ahead in the handling department.

PC Valkyrie

Sure, the Evo X and STi are more popular as track cars given their price and the market they cater to.

But the beauty of the C55 is that it has handling grip and laptimes that are very close to the E46 M3 coupe. That's what sold me on the C55.....I get the benefit of a 4 door sedan to take the family with a ride which isn't as harsh, yet can keep up with the E46 M3 on a twisty track back in 2004/2005 when the C55 was introduced. The only negative is it doesn't have the superior driving "feel" of the M3. Basically, I viewed it as a very all-rounded multipurpose 4 door sedan that I could take to the track occasionally.

The newer generation 135i/335i are very decent too, which basically offers the performance of the previous E46 M3 at a lower cost.

Magazine tests and laptimes are all consistent in showing similar on-track performance between the C55 and E46 M3, but I've already proven to myself on lapping days what the C55 is capable of against cars like the E46 M3, E36 M3's, STi's, and even E55's .

As for autocross, I haven't tried it with the C55, although I suspect it's performance will not be as good as its track performance against it's rivals. Having said that, some C32/C55 members also autocross their cars, with decent success.

Anyways, we're getting off topic here. The original poster was referring simply to straight line acceleration between the E55 and C55. There is no dispute there which one is faster if the straight is long enough.

Max.H

i hate it when that happens.

AKnight55

Man what would happen if someone posted this thread now

You used to help people out on this forum.. Not sure what happened

moosejaw

Is there nothing on TV tonight folks?

AKnight55

Everyone has posted something stupid.. Just trying to show Marcus has too.