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Look what started working the other day for no reason:
The instrument cluster even shows accurate NAV information now
Not sure why it's suddenly picking up satellites now, but I'll take it.
Also, I recently got this dent removed. It was bothering me more than usual after I got the bumpers all squared away.
Been attending a few car meets here in SoCal lately with the SpeedSled. Meeting lots of cool people and seeing lots of cool cars is always fun.
Here's the SpeedSled, hood in 'Service Position' tying to assert its dominance at today's car meet sandwiched between two other pretty cool Mercedes.
Such a great car. Been having lots of fun with it lately.
So true. I can tell you I get so caught up with modding,tuning and racing that I never really go out and have "fun" and that is a bad habit for sure. Half the time I drive it just for tuning and testing only!!
Got to change that this year
This sounds like you are talking about me
I also get caught up in repairing and improving that I almost tend to forget to actually drive the damn car and enjoying every second in it
Loving the thread and post #27 about the mirror gaskets was a good find. Ordered some to do mine! I also have the door handle issue and about to replace mine and good to know if that doesn't fix it to check those wires too but so far the others I've replaced have fixed the issue.
Hi @jspurr glad it's helping.
I lurked here for a while learning from the conversations before starting this thread. If a few people can take away some nuggets of helpful info...then SUSCCESS! At least, that's the hope
MAKE IT STOP!
The amount of dust from the factory Mercedes brake pads was making me crazy. For those of you who know...you know.
Installed a set of Akebono pads front and rear to eliminate the daily murder of all my microfiber towels.
Was a bit of an adventure disabling the SBC using STAR, but once I figured it out, it seems like the SpeedSled understood what I was up to. But I was still VERY careful not to stick my fingers INSIDE the calipers while I had the pads out...just in case.
I also touched up some of the chips and small scratches on the calipers with some Iridium Silver Metallic touch up paint (Color 775 - Mercedes-Benz part number 000-986-23-50-09-9775). I had seen some prior posts from others who mentioned this color was a pretty good match for our silver calipers, and they were correct. Unless you are right on top of the calipers, no way you can tell the chips were ever there.
MAKE IT STOP!
The amount of dust from the factory Mercedes brake pads was making me crazy. For those of you who know...you know.
Installed a set of Akebono pads front and rear to eliminate the daily murder of all my microfiber towels.
Was a bit of an adventure disabling the SBC using STAR, but once I figured it out, it seems like the SpeedSled understood what I was up to. But I was still VERY careful not to stick my fingers INSIDE the calipers while I had the pads out...just in case.
I also touched up some of the chips and small scratches on the calipers with some Iridium Silver Metallic touch up paint (Color 775 - Mercedes-Benz part number 000-986-23-50-09-9775). I had seen some prior posts from others who mentioned this color was a pretty good match for our silver calipers, and they were correct. Unless you are right on top of the calipers, no way you can tell the chips were ever there.
I replaced my brakes a couple years back with the Akibono's. I did notice they didn't grab as hard as the OEM pads. I will try a different low brake dust pad next time.
I use Power Stop Carbon Ceramic Pads on both my E63 and X5M, and I absolutely love them. Very little to no brake dust whatsoever, and what little dust there is, can easily be wiped off.
The initial bite isn't as good as the semi-metallic pads that came on your car originally. But after the pads are bedded in, you'll won't notice the difference.
I personally don't brake hard, but when I have too, these ceramic pads bring the car to a halt very quickly. On my X5M, I've noticed that if there is moisture in the air, and the car has sat for a while, my brake squeak like a stuck pig.
But on the E63, they don't make a sound period. But once the rotors get some heat into them, the squealing goes away very fast, after the first brake application. But other than that, I'm extremely happy with the ceramic pads.
But keep in mind that ceramic pads aren't meant for racing, just everyday street/spirited driving. Now there are many companies that are making Carbon Ceramic pads these days so choose what's best for you.
@Themixr ... I got the side mirror gaskets from Ebay. @tlambert got it right in his post above. Those are the exact ones I used. Holding up really well and look perfect.
After many years of hunting, I’ve located “the one”. Been lurking here for years learning from the conversations and all your discussions have really helped.
Meet the Speed Sled. A two owner 2005 E55 with 149K miles. It’s been in Nevada and California its entire life, and its new home will be in Southern California – south Orange County. Its new role will be a Friday/Weekend car. Plenty of rubber will be embedded on PCH.
It is 100% stock (yay!). The prior owner had all service records since it was new (even the original window sticker). Driving it home after purchasing it was A BLAST! In its stock form (which I plan on retaining) the acceleration is just BONKERS! How in the hell is this thing even legal??? I love it!!!
It has two minor issues which I’m going to be diving right into:
The driver’s side Keyless-Go door handle doesn’t work. Won’t unlock. The options are to get a used one from a wrecked car off of eBay or a new one from mbdirectparts.com. ***FIXED*** See post #12
The passenger seat occupancy sensor thinks someone is in the seat all the time. Have to drive around with the passenger seat belt fastened even when there’s nobody there to keep the seatbelt chime form constantly blaring. ***FIXED*** See post #46 I’ve got these silly little faux buckles for now until I can figure out the seat sensor(s) issue.
The only thing ‘missing’ (that I know of) is the automatic rear sunshade. I’ll get to that at some point, gotta figure out how much of it is there/missing and start parts chasing. ***FIXED*** See post #52
Mechanically, it seems to be solid. For now, I've got to get it smogged (thanks California), re-titled, registered, insured, bla bla, bla. I'll be driving it in a couple of weeks.
Much more to come!
She's a beauty, pal! Nice to see someone buy one and do the things necessary to keep it fresh! You had her about 4 years hey? How many miles she got? No plans to sell? Have you upgraded your pulley since? I know your post here says you were gonna keep it stock but those belts have been known to slip on those pulleys under load.
Hi @xGx THANKS!
Nothing new to share lately except:
COMMAND update - My headunit was suffering from a pretty bad, intermittent, really loud *CHIRP* sound every minute or so. It was kind of a bummer since it was something that started happening recently and not for any particular reason at all. In my goal to keep this car 100% original, I didn't want to go down the rabbit hole of an aftermarket head unit, so I just dealt with it. But after researching a little bit, I discovered that there are software updates available for the COMMAND unit. The trick was finding them. I located part number 211589162200 and ran the update. FIXED! no more loud random *CHIRP*.
Another thing that I'll be doing soon is investigating what I believe is a rear main seal leak. Starting to get a drip or two of oil every 4-5 days. I've got records from the previous owner that show the rear main seal had been replaced under his ownership, but that was back in 2014, so 10 years feels about right I think.
Other than that, it drives like a champ and leaves HUGE burnouts at-will...super fun
Been attending of car meets lately with it and it gets it's fair share of attention. Really fun to meet and chat with other enthusiasts.
