Hi guys, first post here, I ve been searching and cant find anything, so I needed to create an acct to ask:

IS there anything I can do to my car, 04 E55, to firm up the steering feel? It's just is too light for me lately..because of a certain test drive... I enjoy the ease of it, but I drove a friend's e60 m5 and just fell in love with the steering weight an precision... I am aware mercedes deliberately made the steering as it is, and appreciate that, but are there any mods that anyone knows of that could alter the feel to be a little more connected?

note: the steering feel has not changed since I owned it in the last 2 years, nor does it differ from any other e55's I have driven, it is functioning properly.
Thanks in advance.

I miss the feedback and the clutch pedal from my m5 anytime I get a chance to have a spirited run through a few turns...unfortunately there are some things the benz does better- and one or two the bimmer can do well. Supposedly there was a change in the steering box from 04-05 to "tighten" things up a bit, but a friend's 04 on 19" HREs seems much more responsive and tight than my 05 on OEM wheels/tires... .02

My E63 is too firm for me, same like on my 997 turbo. I think it too firm for a luxury car.

Lower your car! Mine firmed up quite a bit after star lowering it.

Thank you Peter, I have never driven the 63, but I imagine, is it firmer than the 55?

Funny thing is I used to own a 70 6.3... haha, that thing was a true money pit

Swap in a CLS rack

It is firmer. Mine got even firmer when i put on 19's and NT05 tires, but it's sacrificed a lot of ride quality. The sidewalls have about 0 give...LOL Mine's a 27 year newer money pit

Get a CLS rack or buy a BMW.

Being someone who has driven both E55 and CLS55, More so the CLS55. There isn't a whole lot of feel in a CLS55. Granted I'm comparing steering feel to the My old C55 that was very stiff/tight.

lower it.. wider fronts will help.. but it will be too soft compared to the M5

my C32 has way better weight feel to it.. than my E55.

But I would not spend the money on upgrading the steering column..

It is what it is. The E63 steering has a tighter feel, and the W212 more so, but none of them are like BMWs. They were never meant to be real sports sedans. But they are definitely comfortable on the autobahn/freeway.

Ironically, the new F10 BMW has been softened up a bit (and a lighter steering feel when optioned with active steering.)

It's always a fine line between road comfort and handling.

One thing I notice (with the E63) is that it handles better than it feels. Take it into the canyons and really try to toss it around. It doesn't give you that feeling of confidence but it actually sticks to the road pretty well (with good quality rubber.) I've kept up fine with other cars on the twisties (the superior brakes going in and that torque to pull out make it competitive.)

Thats exactly what I did on my 2004 E55... a better steering experience to say the least.

It's a faster rack (2.2 turns lock to lock compared to 2.8 on the E55) but that does have one issue, Traction control will now intervene sooner when you start turning

Swap in an '06 E55 rack and get the ECU flashed (if needed). You will have no issues and it is the same rack as the CLS55.

There is also a TSB for adding a plate UNDER the rack to support it all. All you need to say is that yur rack creaks and they will install the plate and that makes it tighter too.

Last thing you can do is undersize your steering pulley. The car already does a nice job (IMO) of adjusting assist but the pulley can make it tighter or easier to turn.