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So I picked up my 2004 E55 this morning. What a car! Still can't believe it's mine. Only problems so far are a slight ticking at idle (may be idler pulley) and the brake pedal randomly vibrates while braking at low speeds... Not sure if it's SBC related or just pads/rotors.
Anyways, I live in Detroit an the car was in Seattle. I flew out yesterday, and have currently made it to Spokane. Next stop: Billings, Montana.
I'll continue to post replies to this thread on my journey. Here's some photos from the trip so far. To everyone who lives near mountain ranges (like those I drove through today in Washington) - I'm envious!
Crossing Montana in an e55 is just.. fantastic. but I 90 can get dull. my nav map told me that MT200 would shave 50 miles off the trip. It takes you north to Great Falls, then east to Glendive. That stretch between those towns is... epic. Biblical. Fast car Nirvana. If the car feels healthy and your tires are in decent shape (because you will be in several hundred miles of absolute solitude), I cannot recommend this road enough; but only if you like gorgeous scenery, canyon carving sweepers, zero traffic, and 10 mile long straights without so much as a gravel driveway for intersections.... mmmm
"Only problems so far are a slight ticking at idle (may be idler pulley) and the brake pedal randomly vibrates while braking at low speeds... Not sure if it's SBC related or just pads/rotors."
The brake system is "brake-by-wire". The pedal has no connection to the SBC unit except via wires. The pedal's only connections to the hydraulic system are through two valves that open when electrical function (and thus SBC) fails. If those two valves open due to system failure, it is an "Oh, crap!" situation as the emergency braking system is not boosted.
Congrats on the car, enjoy the drive, and PM me your email address if you would like a little bit of info on the car.
What an awesome trip. I also feel vibration occasionally through the brake pedal, usually once every couple of minutes. I presume this is the sbc pump and the other vibrations is airmatic pump but this is seldom.
Thanks a lot for the feedback, guys. It's been fantastic so far! What a car.
I took the advice of s.i.f.i., and wow, it was worth it. MT-200 through Montana is what this car was built for. If you can, drive it sometime. Just amazing. Thanks s.i.f.i.!
I'm currently in Germantown, Wisconsin, which is just North of Milwaukee. I'll be home in Detroit tomorrow. Many more pictures will be posted here in the comments once I get home.
Thanks again for all the positive comments. I can't wait to get the E55 home and start driving it as my daily!
Crossing Montana in an e55 is just.. fantastic. but I 90 can get dull. my nav map told me that MT200 would shave 50 miles off the trip. It takes you north to Great Falls, then east to Glendive. That stretch between those towns is... epic. Biblical. Fast car Nirvana. If the car feels healthy and your tires are in decent shape (because you will be in several hundred miles of absolute solitude), I cannot recommend this road enough; but only if you like gorgeous scenery, canyon carving sweepers, zero traffic, and 10 mile long straights without so much as a gravel driveway for intersections.... mmmm
That picture...if the speedo says anything under triple digits, you're doing it wrong!
I sold my 05 E55 6 months ago...regret it daily. I'm looking now, enjoy your car! Also, my car had the "slight the tick" you might be describing. These cars have a relatively noisy valve-train in my opinion.
[QUOTE=270win;7230412]That picture...if the speedo says anything under triple digits, you're doing it wrong!
Well, let's just say I didn't do very much of tbis road wrong. I found out on this ribbon of tarmac that whatever Brabus did to the speed limiter was still in effect...
Well, let's just say I didn't do very much of tbis road wrong. I found out on this ribbon of tarmac that whatever Brabus did to the speed limiter was still in effect...
"Only problems so far are a slight ticking at idle (may be idler pulley) and the brake pedal randomly vibrates while braking at low speeds... Not sure if it's SBC related or just pads/rotors."
The brake system is "brake-by-wire". The pedal has no connection to the SBC unit except via wires. The pedal's only connections to the hydraulic system are through two valves that open when electrical function (and thus SBC) fails. If those two valves open due to system failure, it is an "Oh, crap!" situation as the emergency braking system is not boosted.
Congrats on the car, enjoy the drive, and PM me your email address if you would like a little bit of info on the car.
I need to add a caveat to the above; thinking about it got me to re-reading the material I located.
The brake pedal will "pulse" and it can be felt through the pedal under the following circumstance:
-If the brakes are being used enough to significantly raise the temperature of the brake fluid in the front calipers then...
-front brake pressure sensors detect an increase in pressure (due to the temperature rise) then...
-SBC will "pulse" the two emergency braking valves (y1 and y2) to release the extra pressure from the front calipers...
-these two valves, when open, provide a direct hydraulic link from the front calipers to the master cylinder...
-this pulsing of the two emergency valves can be felt in the brake pedal under application.
So...I was incorrect in my first explanation. Hope this revised explanation helps. Plus...I learned more about the system!
I just picked up an E55 here in Australia which like yours was on the other side oif the country. Mine however is riding on a train as i type rather than being driven home. Reading your posts makes me wonder if that was the right decision... can't wait till it gets here.
very nice! i'm totally loving mine, like seriously what a car! my friend and i just went to six flags with it, i enjoyed (probably more than i should) being able to sit on Kingda Ka after the ride was over and say "ya know, this isn't even the fastest we've went today" lol
it's really almost not good how the car makes 50 and 150 feel almost the same, especially after the pull when you're coasting back down to a slightly more fuel efficient speed... you've slowed down enough where it's like, ok i'll resume cruise control, but you look down and you're still going over 100! super awesome car... VERY few other vehicles cram this much awesomeness into a package smaller than a camry
I just picked up an E55 here in Australia which like yours was on the other side oif the country. Mine however is riding on a train as i type rather than being driven home. Reading your posts makes me wonder if that was the right decision... can't wait till it gets here.
Congratulations. Probably best to stick it on a train, you don't want to get stuck behind a road train or hit a roo!
Congratulations. Probably best to stick it on a train, you don't want to get stuck behind a road train or hit a roo!
Cheers. It's in a holding yard in Adelaide now. Took three days to get there from Perth on the train. Next it'll be loaded onto a truck and taken to Wagga, then they'll drop it here. Oddly enough the truck will pass through here on its way to Wagga... longest 2 weeks of my life since i pulled the trigger
I checked out that MT200 road on googlemaps last night. that would be a bit of fun.
Cheers. It's in a holding yard in Adelaide now. Took three days to get there from Perth on the train. Next it'll be loaded onto a truck and taken to Wagga, then they'll drop it here. Oddly enough the truck will pass through here on its way to Wagga... longest 2 weeks of my life since i pulled the trigger
I checked out that MT200 road on googlemaps last night. that would be a bit of fun.
I know what your going through, I bought my e63 and a week later left the state for four months. Missed it the whole time. Enjoy
I know this is an old thread but I thought I’d chime in in case other e55 owners see this. The brake vibration is totally normal. I presume the sbc pump, happens every few minutes at low speed. The m113k has kind of a noisy valvetrain in general so unless the tick is super pronounced it’s probably fine and could be normal operation. Love the car, I hope your still enjoying it!! Tectite grey is my favorite e55 color, I have iridium silver but still wish I could find a grey one. I drive mine across the state twice a month still, perfect road trip car.