Dokus

I just testdrove a w211 e63 from 2007. To my suprise i thought it was pretty good in manual mode and shift fast enough. At least for the type of driving i did on the testrun. I wonder, is the 2006 55 cars just as fast when shifting in manual mode or are they slower?

Yuille36

Dokus,

Their are major differences between the two transmissions, the 722.6 transmission in the E55 is much slower than the 722.9 transmission in the E63.
The major differences between the two are:

1. The Mercedes-Benz 5G-Tronic (also called 722.6) is an electronically shifted 5-speed overdrive automatic transmission with torque converter lockup (typically in gears 3, 4 and 5) and 2-speed for reverse.722.6 is a 5 speed transmission, used in all the AMG's during that time, as it can handle more torque from the E55's 5.5 liter V8 Due to its high torque capacity (up to 1000 Nm) and lower cost, it was still retained for turbocharged V12 engines, four-cylinder applications and commercial vehicles for many years. It was replaced by the Mercedes Benz 7G-Tronic 722.9 transmission introduced in 2003.
2. The 7G-Tronic 722.9 is a 7 speed transmission, offered faster shifting and has a better overdrive gear for added fuel mileage. This fifth-generation transmission was the first seven-speed automatic transmission ever used on a production passenger vehicle. It initially debuted in Autumn 2003 on five different eight-cylinder models: the E500, S 430, S 500, CL 500, and SL 500. It also soon became available on many six-cylinder models. Turbocharged V12 engines, four cylinder applications while commercial vehicles continued to use the older Mercedes-Benz 5G-Tronic transmission for many years. The company claims that the 7G-Tronic is more fuel efficient and has shorter acceleration times and quicker intermediate sprints than the outgoing 5-speed automatic transmission.[1] It has two reverse gear ratios. The winter mode, also recently named 'comfort' mode, starts out in 2nd forward and 2nd reverse. The transmission can skip gears when downshifting. It also has a lockup torque converter on all seven gears, allowing better transmission of torque for improved acceleration. The transmission's case is made of magnesium, a first for the industry, to save weight. The 7G-Tronic transmission is built at the Mercedes-Benz Stuttgart-Untertuerkheim plant in Germany, the site of Daimler-Benz's original production facility.

Dokus

Thank you for the response. I know the other stuff, i was just hoping that the 55 5g tronic would work just as good. I've had both in non amg and can't notice much diffrence.

So the 63 is the way to go if i want faster shifting. Is the shifting in 55 really that slow? I need to test one.

How common where the headbolt issue on the 63?

Yuille36

Shifts on the E55 aren't lightning quick, but the tranny can handle a lot of HP and Torque, so much so they used it with the V12 engines,
The E63 shifts aren't as fast compared to today's standards, but pretty quick for the era. I suggest that you drive a E55 and compare for yourself.

Dokus

Will do. Thanks for the help. I really want to like the 55 since its so robust.

SICAMG

It is not the transmission that is slow....It is the electronic's that make it that way.

Dokus

Does the tcu tune improve it alot?

SICAMG

Yes it does but never to my liking. Even after rebuilding my transmission and closing up all the clutch drum/pack specs to the minimum not any different than before rebuild.

Agent-A01

Shifting isn't as slow as people make it out to be.

What is really slow is the time it takes the electronics to respond on manual shifts.

Strigoi

It's an issue, but not as common as you'd think. I've only seen a handful of cases of failure on E-Class cars here. You also have to think, if it was that common of an issue Mercedes would have put out a recall or at least extended the warranty on the head bolts. They do offer updated head bolts that aren't that expensive. It's the labor to replace them that gets you. It can be done by someone that's very competent with DIY stuff. You will need some special tools.

The large majority of the people that say every M156 is going to grenade from this issue have never even owned one.

That's why I rarely drive mine in manual mode. Hit paddle, wait, wait, wait and it shifts.

Dokus

I need to drive a 55 to see if its something i can liv with. What got med thiking was that people claim that the 7g is pretty slow as well but i think that it fitted my needs just fine and was hoping the 55 would as well.

I think i would manage the headwork on the 63 if i have som good instructions from say epc. Otherwise i would be pretty lost. How much does mercedes charges for doing headbolts, lifters etc?

tw2

The 55 shifts slow. I believe it is a combination of hardware and software. If you like manually shifting at all, it is absolutely terrible, it refuses to upshift frequently within what I would call perfectly acceptable load/rpm parameters, it has a huge lag sometimes 1000rpm when accelerating between clicking and it actually shifting, downshifts are usually reasonably fast. Automatic mode is fine but it occasionally seems to have a mind of its own and often won't drop down more than one gear unless you completely floor it and activate the switch at the bottom of the pedal. I think the 7g is quite good even by todays standards comparing with other torque converter transmissions. Of course the torque/power curves couldn't be much different between the cars.

The headbolt issue is not as bad as it is made out to be but if you are one of the unlucky ones to hydrolock your engine then... of course if you really like the car it is not impossible to preventatively change them.

Dokus

I must try both but right now my heart lean much towards the 63 due to more shifting control but i have to weight shifting against problem.

One could see it as paying for shifting when doing preventive work with headbolts and such. More fun that way

Dokus

Does anyone have amg3.2 DIY headbolt guide? He's link is dead and he have not been online since 2018.

tw2

These are the only ones I am aware of:
https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...swap-m156.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/w219/6292...-part-2-a.html
Doing them one at a time is not the correct way but much easier, cheaper and seems to work well. Removing the heads is much more work.

Dokus

Thanks. Seen those, lots of info. One bolt at a time is the way i would do it.

Im thinking about the diy mentioned in the first post here:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...adventure.html

You had to pay for it but the link is now dead and the user does not seem to be active anymore. It would be interesting to see how detailed the guide where.