A few street runs took place a few days back. I'll give you the details and the results. You tell me what you thoughts are.

My buddy has a fairly stock W211 E55. Performance-wise, he car was dyno-tuned, upgraded heat exchanger, and has a custom exhaust. Other than that, nothing.

(Background - for comparison purposes)

I ran my buddy months ago. From a complete stop, our cars were head to head till about 110 then we let off. I think his dyno-tune improved his car's power a lot. Fuel to air ratio is on point.


(Story #1)

Temperature outside was roughly 65 degrees. I was riding in my buddy's car, just us two. We were coming up to a red light on a street that had relatively long distances between each of the stop lights. We spotted a 2010 E63 (naturally aspirated W212) with cheap looking chrome rims. It was an old guy with his windows rolled halfway down and smoking a cigarette. He just had one of those "I'm a badass ****" type of look. You know...

My buddy intentionally gets next to him an revs it once. The light turns green and they both go. We hit 40 then the guy slows down cause some car pulls out in front of him from a plaza driveway. Next stop light, they both floor it. Side by side, the E63 pulls about half a car ahead and stays there till about 90 and they both let off. The 3rd run, they start at around 35 and gun it from there. My buddy was in 2nd gear using manual mode. The E63 was still able to get at least half a car ahead and stay there. Both cars kept pulling till about 115 but my buddy's E55 couldn't pass him. I was kind of surprised. Finally, at the next light, I roll down my window and ask the guy what he has in his car. He said... "It's stock. It's fast as-is. I don't need anything."


So in my mind, I kept thinking... I know the naturally aspirated E63's have more HP but we have a bit more torque. Weight of the cars are fairly similar. AND... my buddy's car was dyno-tuned. Therefore, based on his dyno results, he should have had a bit more power than the E63... HP and TQ.

- no problems with his IC pump
- no leaks
- no issues
- no traction issues (neither cars lost traction. rolled off the line)

Because my car is very similar in power with my buddy's car. I began to think... "Damn... is my car that slow?" Like many of us on here, my buddy maintains his car well. Couldn't really figure out if his car is the issue or if that E63 is just naturally that fast.

I've heard both sides. Some say... "Dude, the E63 should have been in your rear view mirror". While others say... "Yeah man, the 63's non-turbo's are still pretty quick."

Thoughts?





(Story #2)

My bro drives a W209 CLK55. It's the edition with the 6-POT AMG calipers, quad exhaust, etc. Performance-wise, he has an OE Tune and a resonator delete.

I decided to borrower his car for the day cause I absolutely love driving it. It's like the perfect all around car. Has more than enough power in the streets. Isn't as powerful as our W211 E55's but can definitely hang with the higher horsepower crowd. And the best thing about it... it's so much lighter than our W211's.

My buddy and I were on the freeway headed home. We were headed in the same direction. I got him to follow me to exit the freeway. He didn't know why. I led him into certain open streets. Then he knew what I wanted to do. LoL.

We're at a red light. When the light turned green, we slightly rolled then punched it. I get the jump only because of the CLK's power to weight ratio. My buddy doesn't pull past me till about 60-ish and leaves me in the dust.

We did the same run two more times and the results were exactly the same.

I guess I'm just a bit confused cause I've seen my buddy smoke a Corvette Z06 (previous body style) from a dig. I was impressed. When we ran, I was expecting him to smoke me immediately. But it didn't happen till about 60-ish.

My buddy wasn't trying to go easy on me either. I made sure he went all out.
Maybe I'm thinking that our W211's are "way faster" than they really are. I don't know.

Thoughts?

 

I say heat soak. Also, 5G tronic vs. MCT.

 

You should have pulled on that E63....
Maybe since you were two guys??

 

E63 has a superior transmission, and 7 speeds as well.

 

The 7 speed is amazing and no heat soak for the 63 either. Without a proper cool down drive you can't really back to back race a 55 you will lose a lot of power. Ive had some spirited runs with my buddies 6.2L 63s and its the same story every time. I pull them off the line or from a roll pretty bad. Up to 125-130 mph Then he starts to real me in and if we keep going he will be ahead until we shut down. Both stock.

Both cars are still very quick for heavy sedans.

55 = 0-130 mph beast
63 = triple digit beast

 

I think that this is the answer but previously, I thought the same as you, that a stock 55 would beat a NA63 but the difference lies in the modded ones! There is very little to do to a NA63 without spending $10k plus and I mean PLUS! At least the 55s, while not cheap to mod, still go much faster for like $5k...pulley, headers, tune, heat x. To make the 63 go as fast as the 55 would 'NOW' be it would take like $15k if I am not mistaken! I am not a great writer but this should make it easy...put, let's say, $6k into each car and the 55 will mush the 63!

 

Not sure why I'm having a brain fart right now, but what are some solutions to preventing heat soak? (...if any).

I hope the only solution isn't an ice tank. Cause i don't have that ...yet. I'm planning to get a trunk tank.


LoL. that's what I kept thinking too. Creating excuses in my head.
I'm 178lbs, my buddy is 180lbs.
With two guys in the car, do you think it'd create that much difference in performance?

I understand that every pound counts when truly running hard, but the results of the three runs were very consistent.


Interesting little fact I wasn't aware of.

What up Max?
Is your car really stock? Cause if so, you were able to pull off the line and/or during a roll. My buddy couldn't pull away for the life of the car. Gas pedal all the way down to the floor.


Agreed. Totally on the same page as you.
Back then before I bought my 55, I was close to buying a W211 E63. I consulted one more set of friends (my Benz guys). They explained the same concept. $5k on a 55 will get you a lot more power than spending $5k on a 63 (which will get you nothing).

 

Note that that is on 91 octane. Total cost (sans) labor is under $10k.

 

Whats up! Yes, Drag times doesn't lie haha. :-P

Maybe your car isn't that strong. Who knows.

 

Fresh IC pump and heat exchanger will help you from heat soak

 

Are you planning to stay stock?

 

Yeah... that's actually not that bad if you think about it.


+1 on the drag times.
Yeah man... that's what I'm afraid of. ...that my car isn't strong (from factory).

(Sarcastically says...) I think the results would have been different if I bought your car back then.

But really though... Good thing you held on to it and didn't sell it to me.
I'll definitely PM you the next time i plan to head down to San Diego.


I'm a bit weary on my IC pump. It went out on me more than a year ago. Then my buddy had a "really good condition" OEM one from a rear ended E55 and put it on my car.

I have an Eurocharged H/E.

No. Not at all. I'm actually the exact opposite. I spend too much money on my car. The only reason I don't have certain mods, is because I temporarily moved from what was 6 miles to work now to 57 miles to work (in-laws). So my daily round trip is between 114 - 135 miles. Therefore, long story short, I ended up spending money on a beater, then i started spending money on it to bring it back to really good reliable condition. All the money I spent on the stupid beater could have went to 100+ HP / TQ of mods. Argh!!

 

The best way to find out how your car performs, is by taking it to the track. No other way around it. You can not sit down and be speculating. At least, if you know what you are trapping with those mods, folks we be able to let you know whether something is wrong with your car or not. Sometime ago, I had a 84mm pulley, HE, New pump, and a tune. Car felt faster. Went to the track and was trapping 110mph. Just a hint!

 

Gsxr- off topic, but killer job on your wheels. She's looking good

 

Understandable. I was supposed to track it the last time around there was an event, but something came up and ended up not going.


Thank you sir!