A somewhat different E55








How is the seating position of these seats compared to stock. My stock seats feel really high and not sporty. I'd like for them to be a bit lower.
Did you retain any electric functionality? Or are they manual now?
Are the seats stiff and firm or do they flex on acceleration and cornering?
How difficult was it to remove the air suspension?
Did you remove the air suspension buttons and replace them with blanks?
Did you code to tell the computer that you no longer have air suspension?
Thanks!
I've very interested because I think I may do these mods very soon.
I went with fully manually seats, got the manual seat rails of a W211 and fitted them to Recaros. One seat rail was from a w204 actually, and it fits, since the holes are the same distance. I'm pretty sure MB uses the same pattern on most seats, since the w203 and w209 also fitted, from what I tested. I had to code out the seat sidebags, and installed a passenger occupancy emulator. The seats are lower than stock and quite firm. I did some "spirited" driving today and the seats, suspension and brakes were a blast, no comparison to stock.




You should get the MK ultra "SLR" TCU. The gearshifting in the vid sounds stock very lazy but you were not thrashing the car around there either.
You can modify the sway bars front and rear by drilling holes closer to the round bar front and rear. Makes big difference too body roll but depending on spring rate you might be fine with your coilovers? Im on arnott airmatic so it made a big difference. And get the Ultra racing brace that goes from gearbox mounts too front subframe that makes an enormous difference to these cars under braking and general handling.
I like the look of the 8pot caliper more so than the newer caliper but realize the 6 pot performs better. I have a e63 wreck which Iv already sold the calipers and brakes off but would like to use the standard ABS and retrofit that to my e55 if the SBC ever ****s it self.
You should take the car to an ex shop and get them to add 25-35mm of 2.8" tube where it begins to flare out to the outside of the car where the mufflers start.
Yes, the cooling system is split. I use an M157/M278 water reservoir, because I'm a sucker for the oem look.The S55 radiator was a bit of an hassle to install. I screwed the Rad with 4 screws washers and nuts to the AC condenser. Because of the water inlet, I had to remove the plastic intake and had to file a little bit of plastic off the left headlight housing.
Unfortunately I didn't measure the A45 radiator. I only measured the water volume. A45 cooler has 850ml, S55 has 350ml and E63 has 500ml. The E63 cooler is actually smaller than the stock unit, I only used it cause of the fittings on each side. I think I'll get a custom one made in the future, if the intake temps get too high in summer.
The water reservoir looks like it is suposed to be there - nice add-on.
i have considered an addtional coil to be located where you installed the A45 coil. The one I am considering is 17inH x 13inW (432 x 330). Generally, is the A45 coil in that size range? Did you have to modifiy the fender liner to allow the air to pass-thru?
Thanks again.
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
When you did your research did you consider any other coils for the location where you installed the S55 unit? Such as the larger unit from the W212 - part number 197 500 01 03?




It's a lot of testing, since not all measurements are available online. So it includes buying 2nd hand stuff etc. to check
It's a lot of testing, since not all measurements are available online. So it includes buying 2nd hand stuff etc. to check




Last edited by machild; Mar 23, 2022 at 08:23 PM.





I found the wheel well cooler measurements on my phone, if you still need them. If the cooler was any taller, it wouldn't have fit. The top is almost touching the xenon washer nozzle and the bottom is very close to the unstertray

Thanks for the sizing on the wheel well cooler as I had not found those specs, so that is very helpful. And your comments about the fitment is good to know too.








But it's fun as hell
But it's fun as hellhttps://youtu.be/HgUaUFwZ8vg




I'm still looking at possibly using the larger SL55 intercooler. Since several aftermarket radiator sellers provide the same radiator for the SL55 and the E/CLS55, I have some degree of comfort the intercooler can mount directly on the existing radiator. The used market of the SL55 intercooler also includes a mounted steering cooler (mounted directly at the top of the intercooler) so that would remove the existing steering cooler and the issues trying to work around that. Also, the SL55 intercooler is sandwiched between the A/C condenser and the main radiator. That placement would remove the problem of mounting the intercooler in front of the A/C condenser and interferring with the condenser tubing. So, I'm working on chasing down what would be involved with going that route. I wonder if you have already investigated any of this craziness?
Thanks again for all your help.



