W211 AMG Discuss the W211 AMG's such as the E55 and the E63
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E500 more fun to drive than E55? Nah, I don't think so.

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Old 05-31-2004, 12:06 PM
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2009 C63 AMG
I knew the other conjoined twin wasn't far behind.

Again, who cares? Really, if you guys don't like the E55, then let it go.

You've been called out by Dr. Chill because you two claimed the E500 out performs the E55. We all see it, no need to be defensive.

Opinions noted. Let's move on.
Old 05-31-2004, 12:08 PM
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Canyon, so freaking what if AMG is making a profit, last I checked that's what companies try to do, make a profit, I didn't realize that AMG/MB was a non-profit organization.

And if you feel that its over priced, why did you buy it? Did your wife also make you buy it?
Old 05-31-2004, 12:16 PM
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04 E55
Re: E500 more fun to drive than E55? Nah, I don't think so.

Originally posted by Dr Chill
Spent a good part of the day driving my mother-in-law's E500 today to see how it was running after 22 months and 10,000 miles. How anyone can say they prefer to drive it over the E55 is beyond me. Any respect for the credibility of those posters who prefer the E500 was lost immediately when I kept praying for the supercharger to kick in and I couldn't help feeling about 15 years older while behind the wheel.

The $20,000 difference between the two vehicles seems like a pittance when I got behind the wheel of the E55 again. Maybe the 19" rims and lower stance of mine over a stock E55 can account for some of the difference, but the AMG handling seemed vastly superior to the factory MB. Oh, and there's that little thing called exhaust note.

Am I the only one that thinks that someone who owns an E500 and an E55 that enjoys the E500 more should have their head examined or have a chromosomal analysis looking for an extra X in there somewhere?
you can take your comment and shove it up your rear end.

Everyone has right to post what they feel is true. So we are now back at name calling.

1st of all. Power is not everything. Yes E500 feels sluggish and slow as compare to E55. Everyone knows that. E55's power is unmatched.

But there is more to a car than power. Fun to drive is not really related to power unless all you are aiming to do is to drag race everyone.

2. Handling on the E55 is better? I seriously doubt that. All though E55's handling is not that bad, it just does not like to turn as much as E500 is. E500 has softer steering response. But if you had bothered to read my post, the E500's steering response is soft all the way hence much easier for the driver to adapt it.

My griped with E55's handling. well i should say the steering response is non-linear.

I fail to see where your post contradict my post. All you were hooked on is the power of the car and exhaust note.

Power is not everything. Exhaust note is not everything. This is why this forum blows because of it close mind and name calling BS.
Old 05-31-2004, 12:18 PM
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04 E55
Originally posted by norb
I knew the other conjoined twin wasn't far behind.

Again, who cares? Really, if you guys don't like the E55, then let it go.

You've been called out by Dr. Chill because you two claimed the E500 out performs the E55. We all see it, no need to be defensive.

Opinions noted. Let's move on.
there is a fine line from being called out for discussion and name calling.

if no one cares, perhaps dr.chill and you would back off as well.
Old 05-31-2004, 12:27 PM
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04 E55
one thing that i also wanted to say is that. I finally had chance to catch up with another E55 owner in the bay area. While discussing with him, his 2003 does not seem to have as many electronics issues as I have on my early 04.

May be my car is one of the odd ball made by mercedes. I have driven other W211 and none really seems to have none linear brake and steering my early 04.

I should go drive another W211 E55 to see the difference betwee my car and rest of W211 E55. So far my E55 airmatic is still being looked at.

May be all car are not created equal and i simply got a bad apple. who knows, perhaps after I have driven another E55 i would then know there really is something wrong with my car.

I have never understand why that SBC and steering response would be dramatically different between E500 and E55. I would think that the calibration would be similar.
Old 05-31-2004, 12:47 PM
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Originally posted by Signal
good points , but your making assumptions that arent fact yet..

There is no reason to assume the new engine will be a bored 5.5 or 5.0 litre. With AMG's need for quality and durability, simply boring out the existing engine would lessen that which they care about.

I don't see why not. The current 5.5. is bored from the same block as the 430. Boring the engine won't necessarily degrade quality as long as the proper internal components are used.
Old 05-31-2004, 01:39 PM
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"May be my car is one of the odd ball made by mercedes. I have driven other W211 and none really seems to have none linear brake and steering my early 04.

I should go drive another W211 E55 to see the difference betwee my car and rest of W211 E55. So far my E55 airmatic is still being looked at. "

KK, finally, you understand what I've been trying to tell you, but you wouldn't believe. I do think something is wrong with your brakes, as by 2004 (your car) the SBC has been worked out. Most everyone agrees that when it first came out (SL and early 03s) it felt artificial, but they've made remarkable progress in feel. Just ask your dealer for a test drive on a different one.
Old 05-31-2004, 02:38 PM
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04 E55
Originally posted by norb
"May be my car is one of the odd ball made by mercedes. I have driven other W211 and none really seems to have none linear brake and steering my early 04.

I should go drive another W211 E55 to see the difference betwee my car and rest of W211 E55. So far my E55 airmatic is still being looked at. "

KK, finally, you understand what I've been trying to tell you, but you wouldn't believe. I do think something is wrong with your brakes, as by 2004 (your car) the SBC has been worked out. Most everyone agrees that when it first came out (SL and early 03s) it felt artificial, but they've made remarkable progress in feel. Just ask your dealer for a test drive on a different one.
I will stop at the dealer later today to take a test drive on another E55 they had on the lot.

hopefully i can get to bottom of this. I already have a buy back offer from MB due to the intermittent issues with airmatic. So best case i will just do a swap.

I am getting to a point that I seriously feel there is something wrong with my E55. Even though it has come back time after time with comments that the car is operating within spec.
Old 05-31-2004, 03:16 PM
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E55
Re: I am here in peace...

Originally posted by CynCarvin32
but here is a short reason why an E500 IMHO is more fun to drive.

In the E55 (which I just got back from a road trip in), the first thing you notice when asking the car to change direction is that the front end just does not want to go where asked without letting its presence be known. Yes the car does do what you ask but it does so in a manner that is less than "nimble."

4187 vs. 3812 is a big difference in weight. I know the car is not a race car and I know it is not something that most people plan to race around a road course or down their favorite canyon road. But some of us do push our cars and those of us do see a difference between the E500 and the E55.

When a car has over 200 extra pounds shoved up over and in front of the front axle, there is no physical way the car can be as nimble as one without that added mass. Add up the increased weight from the supercharger, intercooler, added motor bracing, increased cooling capacity, increased oil cooling/capacity, and larger (and very heavy) brakes and you have a very good amount of mass in the E55 that does not exist in the E500.

A car like the Honda S2000 (and NO I am NOT trying to compare the two cars as equals here) has a very low slung motor with virtually the entire motor placed behind the front axle (same in the SLR, Quatroporte -- a direct competitor to the E55, RX-8 etc -- all cars regarded to be extremely nimble and neutral when pushed in an aggressive manner. Honda uses the term "moment of transitional yaw" to describe that moment when a driver asks the car to change its course. So when you turn the wheel of an E55 there is more "stuff" up front that must change direction and this yaw leads to the car being less "nimble" than a E500. So those aforementioned cars have less mass up front and this helps them respond more quickly to driver inputs and allows them to not “plow” when pushed hard.

Now I would like to clarify a point here. The E55 is worlds faster than an E500 and as my 2 hr drive just showed, the E55 owns the freeway/interstate in every way. It is very stable, extremely fast, and amazingly comfortable. With 469 hp the car fears few cars and those cars normally cost in excess of 130k. But for me, power means little in how fun a car is to drive. Some like to drag race some like to road race and others enjoy “nimble and fast 4 door cars.” No one category of driver is better than the other.

The E500 is rather softly sprung (does ok in Sport II for there is less mass to haul around and therefore a softer spring rate can be used to make a car respond well -- all that weight requires the E55 to be stiffer to achieve the same level of roll and rebound control). The E500 is nowhere near as fast as the E55. But IMHO, the E500 feels more nimble and therefore I call it more "fun" or "responsive" than the E55.

If I had to pick 1 W211 to own, I might say the E500 but I most likely would keep the E55.

Is the E55 a great car? Yes. Could it be better in some ways? Yes. Am I here to cause anger or a flaming war? No

AMG has said that the current batch of AMG Kompressor V8’s is too heavy and all future cars do not use supercharged motors. The engineers see an issue and they will address it in the near future. Yes the kompressor motor has great upgradeability but it does cost drivers a bit in terms of driver enjoyment. Some may love the current E55 in every way and I hope they continue to fall more and more in love with their cars every mile driven. I like my car but I see an area that could be improved.

As for wheels, tires and suspension setting helping solve this issue, I see that as a futile effort for mass is mass. You can’t mask that fact. Weight distribution and mass location do affect chassis dynamics.

If this post was not civil and done in good taste let me know. I honestly think this is a polite post and I am here to discuss not insult or stir up trouble. We all have our unique viewpoints and I respect what everyone thinks and has to say.


Post away!
I checked an online manual

http://www.mercedes-benz.com/omb/e/c...schedaten.html

The difference in weight as reported htere is only 35Kg.

Am I missing something?
Old 05-31-2004, 03:27 PM
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Re: Re: I am here in peace...

Originally posted by Pbglas
I checked an online manual

http://www.mercedes-benz.com/omb/e/c...schedaten.html

The difference in weight as reported htere is only 35Kg.

Am I missing something?
Looking at the above link for the online manual, I think that you were mistakenly comparing the unladen weight of the E55 (1,835 kg/4,037 lbs)) to that of the E500 4MATIC (1,805 kg/3,971 lbs). Instead, if you compare it to the unladen weight of the standard E500 (1,725 kg/3,795 lbs), the difference is 110 kg/242 lbs.

Last edited by Symbolic; 05-31-2004 at 03:43 PM.
Old 05-31-2004, 03:27 PM
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When I made my initial comments, I didn't actually remember who had said that they prefered the E500. Obviously, from the posts following, we have clearly idendified who did. Anyway, those comments were made sarcastically as are most of my tongue-in-cheek remarks but I see that they were taken very seiously as afronts to one's manhood. To that I appologize, but geez, fellas. Get a life!!! The purpose was to explain how I think the E55 is vastly superior IN EVERY WAY to the E500 and that those that think otherwise are friggin' nuts. Not just by hp, sound, and coolness factor, but by handling as well. The brakes on the E500 (albeit a very early model) were far more non-linear than on my E55 and had a very hard time stopping smoothly from low speeds.


Yes, the E55's heft is a deterrent on the track, but after taking a few hard corners in the E500, I feel the understeer just as much if not more, especially with less lateral support in the seats. I honestly think a wider front patch of rubber makes the most difference regarding understeer, and do notice better turn-in and steering response since switching to 19s.

Eliot (Symbolic), I think you're absolutely correct in trying to reduce unsprung weight and I was vehemently trying to do the same in preparing my car for it's next track event. Unfortunately, OZ decided not to import a 18 x 9 superleggera thus making the 6 month wait I had them on order fruitless. BBS rims were too pricey for me to use one day every 4 months as were other lightweight Fikses. Unfortunately most of our problems with this car are with sprung weight. Some of us also have more problems with sprung weight than others.

By the way CC, your first post in this thread was very eloquent.


There's no problem with this forum, only with oversensitive forum members.

Last edited by Dr Chill; 05-31-2004 at 06:52 PM.
Old 05-31-2004, 04:28 PM
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Interesting thread...I did'nt see this mentioned or discussed in this thread (maybe I missed it) but does the E500 sport offer a different suspension set-up, tires etc vs the non sport, or is it just rims? If so, then it might be a better handling comp. to use it vs the non sport version.
Old 05-31-2004, 04:28 PM
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E55
Re: Re: Re: I am here in peace...

Originally posted by Symbolic
Looking at the above link for the online manual, I think that you were mistakenly comparing the unladen weight of the E55 (1,835 kg/4,037 lbs)) to that of the E500 4MATIC (1,805 kg/3,971 lbs). Instead, if you compare it to the unladen weight of the standard E500 (1,725 kg/3,795 lbs), the difference is 110 kg/242 lbs.
yes, I goofed.
Old 05-31-2004, 05:56 PM
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I had an E500 (w/ 18" staggered AMG wheels) for about a year and a half. got my E55 about a month ago, and to ME, there is no comparison. The big difference for me besides the obvious (speed, torque, etc.) is the solidity of the E55. It feels like it was made by a different company. Now, i'm not saying that the E500 felt like a bucket of bolts. In fact it was the best car I had owned. I was happy every time I got in it. Now, I look for reasons to drive As Eddie said, if I wanted nimble I would have bought a Porsche. With a wife and two young kids, I couldn't buy a Porsche (hell, i'm still in trouble for buying the E55) With the E55 I can get as close to both worlds as any other car I can think of. I just can't figure out why people are surprised that their MB doesn't drive like a BMW. Would I like it to be more nimble, sure. MB CHOOSES to build it's cars the way that they are, just like BMW CHOOSES to build it's cars the way that they are. I don't know why somone would buy a MB and then be disappointed that it didn't drive like a BMW. If the car's not reliable that's another thing. But not the driving characteristics.
Old 05-31-2004, 07:24 PM
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When analyzing the handling characteristics of the W211 chassis, I always come back to the fact that both the E55k and E500 have the same contact patch (245mm) to work with on the front axle. Now think back to the bare W211 chassis again, add the blower and all its ancillary components to the front axle and ask it to turn as well as the other W211 that has non of the weight increasing elements but the same width tyres. My money goes on the chassis w/o the weight penalty. My first impression of the E500 was that it had more body roll than the E55k, but that it held on tenaciously. The E55k has less body roll than the E500 due to the re-valved AIRmatic, but doesn’t have the same level of grip and it understeers.

I think this issue is a wash of confusion. Members are confusing their version of the “fun to drive” factor with someone else’s “fun to drive” factor: i.e. handling. The E55k is hellishly fast and equally as “fun to drive.” Yet, it doesn’t handle better than an E500 which is more “fun to drive” for some. Keep in mind “fun to drive” can mean something entirely different to someone else. Saying someone is flat wrong on the handling issue, but not being able to articulate a convincing argument is useless in a discussion and only alienates members.
Old 05-31-2004, 07:32 PM
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Originally posted by schwarzwagen
When analyzing the handling characteristics of the W211 chassis, I always come back to the fact that both the E55k and E500 have the same contact patch (245mm) to work with on the front axle. Now think back to the bare W211 chassis again, add the blower and all its ancillary components to the front axle and ask it to turn as well as the other W211 that has non of the weight increasing elements but the same width tyres. My money goes on the chassis w/o the weight penalty. My first impression of the E500 was that it had more body roll than the E55k, but that it held on tenaciously. The E55k has less body roll than the E500 due to the re-valved AIRmatic, but doesn’t have the same level of grip and it understeers.

I think this issue is a wash of confusion. Members are confusing their version of the “fun to drive” factor with someone else’s “fun to drive” factor: i.e. handling. The E55k is hellishly fast and equally as “fun to drive.” Yet, it doesn’t handle better than an E500 which is more “fun to drive” for some. Keep in mind “fun to drive” can mean something entirely different to someone else. Saying someone is flat wrong on the handling issue, but not being able to articulate a convincing argument is useless in a discussion and only alienates members.
Which is why you need to increase the front tyre width and lower the car to get it handling
Old 05-31-2004, 08:34 PM
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Originally posted by stephens
Which is why you need to increase the front tyre width and lower the car to get it handling
Which is what I said in the first post! Thanks, Steve. We've now gone full circle. Isn't amazing how sensitive people are thesedays.

I found the E500 completely lacking in the fun to drive category.

Last edited by Dr Chill; 05-31-2004 at 08:36 PM.
Old 05-31-2004, 08:38 PM
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Actually, some of you have convinced me that due to wieght distribution issues, the E500 handles better than the E55. I'm going to sell my E55 and get two E500's. One for the street and one for the track!
Old 05-31-2004, 08:56 PM
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Originally posted by Dr Chill
Actually, some of you have convinced me that due to wieght distribution issues, the E500 handles better than the E55. I'm going to sell my E55 and get two E500's. One for the street and one for the track!
Muhahahah!
Old 05-31-2004, 08:57 PM
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What a waste of cyberspace this thread is.
It's like trying to open the door thats already open.
Old 05-31-2004, 09:37 PM
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The E55k is hellishly fast and equally as “fun to drive.” Yet, it doesn’t handle better than an E500 which is more “fun to drive” for some.


Absolute nonsense......


No one here can for one second say that the E500 handles better then the E55... They can only say that it feels like it does...

how it feels, and the numbers on the track in testing are two different things.. lets not get these subjects mixed up..

the debate here is about feel... not which actually does handle better in a slalom.. Cause that is hands down going to be won by the E55...
Old 05-31-2004, 10:33 PM
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Interesting dialogue going on here. What no one has done is to test both cars at a road course or canyon run back to back with the same driver (you) to determine which car "feels" better in the corners, and which car is "faster" in the corners. Stop watch data will be sufficient with a predetermined starting and ending point. Both cars could take the title in one category, or one car could take both titles. I have driven both cars and have made my mind up. What are your results?
Old 05-31-2004, 10:37 PM
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hi guys,

i checked Car&Driver.com for some road holding stats.
the E500 they tested in 02 held .81g's while the E55 they
tested in 03 held .83g's. i would think with the upgraded
AMG tire package the E500 should be able to match the
roadholding of the E55. i will search for some slalom numbers.
Old 05-31-2004, 10:47 PM
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those numbers seem reasonable to me... the thing is .. you cant start saying that if you do this to the E500 or that it will then be better, cause then its only fair to say that if you do this or that to the E55 it too would be better..

its fairly easy to get some of the weight off the E55.
Old 05-31-2004, 11:18 PM
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the debate here is about feel... not which actually does handle better in a slalom.. Cause that is hands down going to be won by the E55...
Really, well then. The way a car "feels" to each of us can be totally different and is completely subjective. Therefore, there is no point in trying to engage in a meaningful debate if you are going to interject purely subjective opinions and try to base an argument around it.

If you want to go the stats route, didn't the E320 w/o the sport pack just post .85g in one of the mags? Just curious. So, how does the E55k win hands down... I seek enlightenment on this issue.

Last edited by schwarzwagen; 05-31-2004 at 11:20 PM.


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Quick Reply: E500 more fun to drive than E55? Nah, I don't think so.



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