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Finally got around to swapping out my broken fog lamp with a replacement one, bought used so it would "match" my other fog light... straightforward install.
Gave her a spring cleaning detail, looks pretty good for an 04 with 147k miles!
Have something a little special in the sound department coming soon....
This has been in the works for a bit. I have done some research into exhaust modifications that would have been more popular when these cars first came out - I am talking the high dollar high end exhausts, aside from headers etc.
Nowadays since the cars have gotten a lot cheaper, ~$10k, people aren't going out and spending $10k on a high end full header back exhaust system - maybe they spend a few thousand on good headers, tune, mods, etc and just do straight pipes, borlas, or the more popular use of other AMG cars - CLS55, E63, and c63 has gotten more popular as well. The thing is, to find a nice set of these OEM mufflers only, you are spending at least $500-700, and that is before doing the work to make them fit the E55 perfectly, let's say around $1k said and done. I think it's nice to use an OEM part, but I also like to be a little different, and like to go with a "period correct" approach.
Long story short, that brings us to the high-end exhausts that were at one point plentiful on these cars. Eisenmann, SuperSprint, Meisterschaft, etc. Back in the day E55 owners would spend the money for the high-end exhaust, and i think these sound great and have a better tone than, say, a c63 muffler on an E55, or a muffler delete, or straight piping.... those sound "good" if you're building a drag racer, but that is not what I am going for...
I thought to myself, if the c63 mufflers "work" for the E55, with just minor pipe re-angling and hanger adjustments, why not look at high-end used exhausts from the c63, since those are also starting to drop in value but still new enough that guys are spending high dollars for things like axle-back only exhausts. So, all I had to do was scope out a used C63 exhaust/mufflers from one of the high end brands.
Some info on the C63 stock exhaust. The exhaust is actually "quiet" from the factory, and the mufflers are more of an amplifying muffler, versus the E55 where the muffler does a ton of Muffling. This is why when you swap tot he C63 mufflers, it gets much louder. The problem with the C63 and their full header-back exhausts, once you open up the front part of the exhaust, the 63 absolutely screams. So, many aftermarket mufflers that are made to go with full header-back exhausts, the mufflers are actually quieter than the stock C63 mufflers..... so, I thought this might be perfect, because the c63 mufflers are a little bit too loud/muscle to me, while the stock 55 is too quiet. something in the middle makes perfect sense.
I found a set of SuperSprint mufflers, mid pipe, and cat delete pipe for a c63, all for less than the price of buying only the x pipe and cat delete pipes new. I sold the x pipe and cat delete pipes to a c63 owner, and kept the mufflers. I emailed and spoke with Supersprint, who confirmed the above re: stock C63 muffler being "too loud" with aftermarket headers etc, and that their mufflers actually quieter than stock C63 mufflers, and also, that the actual cans/mufflers used for the E55 and c63 SuperSprint axle back are in fact the same exact can, just with different style tips, and different angled piping. So, I basically had bought the E55-specific SuperSprint mufflers... now all I had to do was fit them to my E55.
4' and a 180 of T304 Vibrant piping later, I fit the SuperSprint Mufflers made for a c63, to my E55 - to basically have the "same thing" I would have gotten if I ordered the E55-specific SuperSprint axle back. However, I ended up spending less than half the cost of just buying the E55-specific SuperSprint axle back, plus, it cost me just about the same as going with the CLS55/c63 mufflers that a lot of guys go with. Plus, I did not need to wait 6 months for SuperSprint to build them to order....
So, from a budget perspective, right on the money for a sound-only mod without touching the headers, cats, midpipe/resonators, etc. Some may say it is more worth it to just go with headers, etc. bc that will change the car sound to be better, but just to buy and install the headers is more than 2x what I paid for this, and much more involved...
TL;DR -
I got SuperSprint mufflers for my E55 for the same price as going with c63 mufflers or a custom muffler setup....
Pics and videos to follow, still need to line everything up perfectly. First impressions - louder than OEM, adds a good amount of bass and rumble down low, but not too much to call it too much "drone" - I think adds to it's low speed "presence" sort of like how the newer AMG have a rumble around town.....at WOT, it is opened up a bit, but not too crazy. The tips look OEM from a distance until you see the 'SuperSprint' stamp on them.
I am pretty happy so far.....
Last edited by jbaker1121; 05-19-2020 at 04:16 PM.
Need to take a better video from directly behind - otherwise my iPhone pics up engine noise! Added a few pics above. Need to finalize the alignment of the pipes so they aren't 100% yet, and polish up all the stainless and chrome so it looks presentable!
Here’s a video I took today - having trouble picking up the exhaust note well with my iPhone. the exhaust tone is similar to
stock but the volume is turned up, and there is a lot more bass and rumble to it.
This gives a good idea at least of the fact that it’s stock-ish sounding, with a little more bass, and the pops/crackles are a lot more noticeable especially if you rev out the gears in manual mode and let it decel/engine brake.
The iPhone mic also pics up the kompressor wine pretty well with the help of the Weistec dry filters .
Also today, took the car on a 4.5 hour round trip drive through some country and mountain roads up in Sterling Forest/ Harriman State Park / Bear Mountain area. Was driving with my friend (tuned Golf R). Say what you will about the E55’s lack of grace when it comes to tight turns, but with these Michelin and a tight grip on the wheel, and the help of manual shifting and engine braking, this boat kept up just fine with the peppy hatch. Just worried that now one of my rear airbags appears to have a slow leak... I kept thinking to myself, this 17 year old car with 148k is doing pretty well!
Also this week, threw on the G-Paddle UK E-Paddles. Definitely came in handy on the twisty mountain roads today!
Last edited by jbaker1121; 05-22-2020 at 09:44 AM.
i’m still fully stock but one day I’ll splurge on some mbh headers
I like it, it's similar to stock but louder, with same tone, plus some more bass down low. The crackles of course are not stock, but really only apparent if you rev out the gear and let it decal/engine brake a bit and can then tap the throttle to make it crackle and pop.
In normal auto driving around town, little more bass note than stock, but not enough to say too much drone. My wife says she thought a little bit louder but not a huge difference with windows up, etc.
Plus the tips look stock-ish aside from sticking out a little more and the SuperSprint logos.
The mufflers kind of give it that "presence" on the road that newer AMGs have, and AMGs like the G55/63 have had - you can hear the power as it drives by.....
Mine is also pretty much stock aside from the mufflers and RaceIQ tune. I plan to throw on an AMG 63 style spoiler, perhaps a black abs diffuser too look like OEM c63 diffuser, that's it for exterior. I really want to go for an OEM look.
Otherwise, I am considering maybe a TCU tune, but for power/engine not jumping to do much more right now, the car is already fast enough and doesnt really have the handling to match....so:
My next thing I am thinking of tackling is making the handling a bit better. Need to dig through old forum threads. The easy answer is to go coil overs but I am trying to keep the factory air for now, plus, the good coil overs are a few thousand which is more than I am looking to spend on that right now. I am thinking maybe a strut tower brace for now, see how I feel.
Unfortunately I think one of my rear struts is on the way out (fronts were replaced with arnott, the rears I left alone) and the cost to replace just the rears is making me consider just throwing coil overs on. After only having the car for 9 months, and having all the air struts go, it is tempting to make the switch - but I am thinking if I replace them they'll at least last a while..
Last edited by jbaker1121; 05-28-2020 at 04:22 PM.
Some updates
- Got the new mufflers and tips lined up to as close to perfect the adjustments would allow. The angle is still slightly different than stock from a side view but otherwise they are similar placement, just sticking out an extra 1.5" to accommodate the diffuser I plan in the future. I think it looks great, and not "too modified" despite them sticking out from bumper, and the fact there’s a horse and “SuperSprint” stamped on them lol.
Once the diffuser on it will tie it all together, looking to do a black ABS diffuser for a semi-oem look vs carbon.
other updates:
- New clear third brake light came in, but need to figure out if I can use the old gasket or if I can buy/make a new one as it didn't come with one.
- Still need to address the headlight lens... that's a bigger project than I've had time for.
- The OEM E63 style trunk lip came in, found a cheap ABS one for $57 shipped, just need paint. It actually fits very well to my surprise as it was the cheapest one on eBay.
- Considering lowering the car with STAR about .5", found a local guy who can do the coding. Not sure about that yet as I think one of my rear struts has a small leak...
Last edited by jbaker1121; 06-07-2020 at 10:59 AM.
End of summer, and marks 1 year of E55 ownership. I put 17,000 miles on the car since I bought it in August 2019 - now at 155k.
Last week we took a trip up to Maine and the E55 performed flawlessly for the ~8 hour drive each way and plenty of driving in between, including some out-of element driving on back country logging roads... and climbing Mt Washington.... came back and gave it an end-of-summer detail.
This is a cool thread. I just read the whole thing. I was really following closely when you described the way you view this car. It's cool when these cars move onto their third, fourth, fifth or even sixth (I think in my case, believe it or not) owners who may be enthusiasts. I know I could never afford a car like this except after vast depreciation (well, maybe I could afford payments, but I don't do car payments, ever). Also my journey to this car has been kind of interesting so it was cool to read yours. Kind of makes me want to make my own thread - maybe it will resonate with someone else.
This is a cool thread. I just read the whole thing. I was really following closely when you described the way you view this car. It's cool when these cars move onto their third, fourth, fifth or even sixth (I think in my case, believe it or not) owners who may be enthusiasts. I know I could never afford a car like this except after vast depreciation (well, maybe I could afford payments, but I don't do car payments, ever). Also my journey to this car has been kind of interesting so it was cool to read yours. Kind of makes me want to make my own thread - maybe it will resonate with someone else.
Thanks for following along! That's why I post these threads - both to keep track for my own use, and to help others who want to know about ownership of the cars...
so after a long road trip and a summer of virtually no real issues, began to have this weird starting issue. When I put the key in and turn all the way right to start the car, nothing happens. All the other electronics etc come on fine, but the car does not even attempt to start. This would happen intermittently, and a second try would start it right up. Tried both keys and does not seem to be key issue.
Initially, I thought it was the crankshaft position sensor. Had that replaced, but while at the mechanic, the issue was still happening and then he said the starter went. So, a new starter went in.
After the new CPS and Starter, we thought it would be fixed but it still did it 2 times out of approx 20 starts in the last week. Once after sitting overnight, another after sitting for 3 hours at a cars & coffee.
The mechanic planned to pin out the ignition and check if it was an issue with the ignition signals, but after dropping carback off over weekend, he said after 15 starts, it didnot present the issue......
looks like it's working fine now, just every 10 starts or so it does the weird ignition thing where I'll have to try to start it twice...
Now that the temp dropped, I am getting an intermitten P0410 code which I clear and it goes away for a bit, then comes back..... secondary air pump. It's always something!
159K and going!
finally installed e63 oem style trunk lip.
Made it through the snowy winter just fine on the Michelin Alpin - summer Michelin going back on in the next few weeks!
Since last update, I think the maintenance I've done is the Secondary Air Pump & switch as well as a New Radiator - otherwise haven't really had any issues.
Next project is figuring out weak key remote signal & SAT signal..
Since last update, I think the maintenance I've done is the Secondary Air Pump & switch as well as a New Radiator - otherwise haven't really had any issues.
Next project is figuring out weak key remote signal & SAT signal..
My key fob was not working (Only IR port), was thinking key is dead, made 3 keys, still no result.
Ended up being antenna fuse.
04-30-2020, 08:24 PM
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