AMGB

I really like MB's 5 Speed Auto on the E55. I like the fact you can press half throttle and power your way out of almost anything and the fact by the time you are at about 4500 to 5000 rpm you can let go and see everybody way way way behind you. I really don't know if I would like the 7 speed knowing that it is constantly shifting through the gears. I had a passenger in the car today and she said wow, it didn't even shift or jerk before we had left everybody behind. The fact that the E55 can downshift to 2nd gear and hold it for almost all types of passes really pleases me. But supose it had to shift at 65 and then again at 85, it might not be as smooth of a delivery as staying in 2nd the whole time. Am I just a freak or does anybody share this opinion.

That is why I love the 65 series. More power, more torque, and the same 5 speed. I mean it would stay in 2nd gear too, but just gets to 80+ mph that much faster and with probably less throttle.

Just my 2 cents.

amgB

BoBcanada

Yeah agree with you, what i also like about our cars is the torque at 2300 you can pass anything and not go more then 4500 rpms... its just awesome!!

2000BEAST

The 5 speed in the E55 is okay, but I wish that it could be made to shift more quickly. On my 2000 E55, there is a real "lag" between when you "ask" it to shift, and when it actually does make the shift.

Wonder if anything can be done to speed that up ??

AMGB

BoBcanada,

That is exactly what I mean. Hit the throttle a bit, and before the exhast is too loud, you have already past everybody by about 6 car lengths and the E55 seems like its just running like normal. A true sleeper.

I am glad I am not the only one on this.

amgB

Bilal

AMGB, the fact that you can pass everone without downshfting, is due to the rich low end torque of the motor, the V12's play this game even better. Not only is the 7G Tronic smoother than the 5 speed box, it aids acceleration and gives you better fuel economy. There have been varying report, but some say its very intuitive as well. You'll only know the real potential of the box in AMG guise if you test drive an SLK55....



In the mid ranges, the SLK55 with 7G and from 80-180km/hr will murder the CLS55 and beat the M5....hows that for response>? Now, the same gearbox in a 500+bhp motor and well ah....

AMGB

Bilal,

Thanks for your comments. I am sure the v12TT offer more low end torque. That is why I keep dreaming of getting a CLS65.(if it comes out)

The 7 speed does offer advantages. Smoother and better fuel economy.
Also, the ability to skip gears when down shifting.
But what I do enjoy with the 5 speed is the fact the tranmission is not always shifting through gears. Therefore, the rpm/engine does not have to race very much to blow people away. Its almost like effortless to pass everyone without having to raise the engine speed past 4K. So that is what I really like. Am I excited about the N/A 6.3 with 7 speed, I don't know until I try it. Sometimes better performance needs to be compared to how power is delivered. Like its been mentioned many times, I am really not looking for a car that readlines at 7-8K rpm and I have to get up to 3.5K to get the power.

Thanks for your comments. Your posts are always so informative... especially about the new cars coming out. So, it is always exciting to read what you write about.

Bilal

No, thank YOU for your kind words

I know completely what you mean. But trust me, a a high revving, frenetic engine is not AMG's philosophy. Even if they do manage to make one, (gearbox limitations aside) you can be assured it will probably not have less than 5.5/6.0L of displacement and huge reserves of low end torque....MB engineers all their engines that way, to produce 80% of max torque down low in the rev range. Coupled to a responsive transmission, the power certainly won't be lacking, but there will be continous gear shifting...which can be annoying as you say. Due to the advanatages of the gearbox, it can be fairly easy to overlook ths continous shifting issue.

Whats even more interesting is, although still rumours, people have said this new V8 will be turbocharged. Hows that for low end torque?

AMGB

Here is my guess and it is just a guess.

6.3 liters V8- NA - 525-550 hp - E63 will get 525HP and CLS, CL, SL, S will get 550hp. Of course the marketing thing might be on paper only again and everybody gets the same engine. MB will say 0-60 in 4.3 seconds and magazines will get 4.1-4.3 seconds.

6.3 liters V8 - TT - 600-650HP = E65, S65, SL65, CL65, CLS65
MB will say 0-60 in 4.0. Magazines will get 3.8-4.2 seconds

With the 6.3 TT then they would change the highest series to
6.0 liters V12 - TT - S69, SL69, CL69, CLS69 will have 700HP
MB will say 0-60 (CLS69) in 3.8 seconds. Magazines will get 3.6-4.2 seconds.

This is all my theory and there is no valid proof that I have of this. But, that is how I personally think its going to come out in the next few years

I do think the 65 series will be around until the 69 series.

amgB

Bilal

AMGB, I hate to disappoint you, but the 69 cars were an April fool's joke According to Ronald, head of AMG owners club anyway. But he could just be diffusing rumours so as to keep the element of surprise intact? No-one knows....

Agreed about the acceleration times. But don't forget the 65 cars CAN produce 700bhp+ and 1200NM. The gearbox was the only limitation....hence the detuning...

SO, if they have found a capable gearbox to handle this torque... They can sell the 65's with 700bhp. Then there is no reason why the 55K replacement cars> 6.3NA or TT'ed can't exceed 550hp or reach even 600bhp? That way, the 65's will still be at the top, while the 55K replacements will set a new level, hopefully above the M5. The E AMG will obviously have to be detuned...on paper.

Then we could possible have a new updated 5.5-6.0L NA engine with circa 420hp+/- as a replacement to the C/CLK/SLK55 cars....

AMGB

Bilal,

I agree with your comments. In my post, I wrote that I think the V12 will stay at 6.0liters because I am sure they can get it out of the existing v12. However, will they change the name for marketing purpose or keep the 65 series name. I never understood the 65 series name since it is 6.0 liters. I think they are going to get the gear box they were co-developing with the other company(I think the company begins with the letter "R"). This was the gearbox that was going to go into the Chrysler supercar concept with the AMG engine.

I also agree about the C/CLK/SLK. I ran out of time yesterday when I was writing. I think it will be around 400-450 hp.

I wonder, once we get to about 3.5 sec 0-60 and whatever that is in the quarter mile, will MB try to keep those stats and then try to raise the mpg to 16-20. That would be amazing to go low 11 seconds and still get 18-20mpg on city driving. Because, 0-60 you can only get to 3 seconds before it becomes absolutely pointless due to traction. I know, there isn't anybody at 3 seconds right now, but even at 3.8 seconds with the 65 series, it is like you have to add 100hp to gain .1 seconds. But, I am not complaining.....I can always use more torque....

amgB

Bilal

The name could possibly be changed. I have no idea at all.

For the gearbox, do you mean Ricardo? Yeah, they're a pretty good company making LeMan cars' gearboxes but the ME412 had a sequential type gearbox, like SMG. Knowing Mercedes makes its own autoboxes, I don't know where exactly Ricardo could help....

The biggest issue will be traction. What the car needs is more HP, preferably without the addition of more torque, perhaps a more sustained a prolonged torque curve could give us this, 700NM is enough, provided it is sustained well into 7000rpms, with an uprated gearbox, it would be the ideal engine. Better MPG would only occur with 7G Tronic, I hear that 7th and mostly 6th gear are largely overdrive... very helpful with a 500bhp+ engine! LSD and lighter weight could also help. Who knows what AMG will do... All I wish is that they set a new performance standard, above the M5 and F430....

IdriveFast

I think the 7-speed gearbox is much better than the 5-speed for the following reasons.

(the following is based on my SLK55 test drive vs. my C32 5-speed Amg speedshift)

1. More logical shifting. It seems to be in the right gear more often. for example, when you are going 60mph and slow down to turn, at the end of the turn, the car wont still be in 3rd gear.

2. Faster, more responsive manual up/down shifting when in manual and sport mode. When down/up shifting on the 5 speed, there is a good 1 second of delay before the gearbox actually changes gears upon request.

3. Automatically shifts to 1st gear upon a complete stop when in maunal mode. the 5 speed requires you to shift to 1st gear yourself.

4. The thought of 7 gears is greats especially since you can see gears 1-6 THEN D on the intrument cluster. I think its lame that on the 5-speed, you can only read 1-4, then D. Much sportier!

5. Its faster. and supposedly better fuel economy.

The 7 speedgear box was all of the above while still maintaining smoothness.