W211 E55 viewing.

[SavMan]

Cheers David. I think I'm going to have to get used to std spec for the moment. I seriously haven't accelerated that quickly ever! Just kept pulling and pulling past 100 ( I wasn't driving).

Now I have a car that fits the bill I will try to get to some of the meetings. Unfortunately Im at a wedding on the 20th, but there will be others.

They only just start pulling at 100+

 

[AMGeed]

They only just start pulling at 100+

Nearly a brown trouser moment on my part I wasn't prepared for the brutality of that acceleration.

 

[Cyclone1]

Firstly congrats on the purchase.

Did you ask if it was standard? When I was on the hunt for an E55 a few years back I drove two that were definitely modified but neither owner admitted it. Not necessarily a problem and may be a bonus....

Jules

 

[SavMan]

Firstly congrats on the purchase.

Did you ask if it was standard? When I was on the hunt for an E55 a few years back I drove two that were definitely modified but neither owner admitted it. Not necessarily a problem and may be a bonus....

Jules

That was my thought, I remember when I bought mine it felt slightly stronger than the last 2 I had looked at. Found out later it was remapped.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Congratulations on your purchase, once you've owned a car with serious kick, it's hard to go back...

 

[mr tibbs]

Firstly congrats on the purchase.

Did you ask if it was standard? When I was on the hunt for an E55 a few years back I drove two that were definitely modified but neither owner admitted it. Not necessarily a problem and may be a bonus....

Jules

You may want to check that out, because in the event of an accident, your insurers will certainly find it to be a problem and may not pay out.....
Wonderful car though, well done

Keith

 

[AMGeed]

Firstly congrats on the purchase.

Did you ask if it was standard? When I was on the hunt for an E55 a few years back I drove two that were definitely modified but neither owner admitted it. Not necessarily a problem and may be a bonus....

Jules

That was my thought, I remember when I bought mine it felt slightly stronger than the last 2 I had looked at. Found out later it was remapped.

Apart from a rolling road printout, would STAR show whether the engine had/has been remapped?
The owner did say that his mechanic thought the car had a stronger performance than standard. If it has been remapped, the owner (until I relieve him of it tomorrow) has not done any engine upgrades himself.

As the previous post states, I do need to find this out as an accident and subsequent investigation revealing an undeclared remap wouldn't be too good for me at all.

 

[DSB SL AMG]

I doubt very much that any insurer would be able to uncover remapping...this debate has ran before, UK spec W211 E55k stock is 476hp, many left the factory nearer 500hp as there was a degree of variation...so because you have not driven one before, it may well be stock...I would check through all the bills and receipts to see if there are any mods/tuning invoices to be sure...

When I was looking at E55's I test drove a tuned Eurocharged car (receipted map/crankshaft)...there was a significant difference over stock car, however when I finally did buy mine which was stock I knew what a EC car felt like, hence why mine is now Eurocharged...

If the crankshaft / SC pulley / exhaust system has been modified, this could be viewed and detected by your local indie, if they are familiar with these mods...

The other thing is to come down on the 20th July to MSL, EC tuning day, Acid (MSL) I think would be able to quickly determine stock or tuned...

 

[AMGeed]

^ Is that too big a risk to chance?
I will run this past my indi when I take it for a check over in the next 2 weeks.

Did I mention I start 2 weeks holiday this Saturday?:bannana:

Thanks for your input David. I would guess my indy could tell if the engine is non standard just by driving it himself. I would imagine they get to drive plenty of 55k cars at MBS in Southampton.

Also, another E55 owner may well be able to tell.

 

[AMGeed]

The change of insurance has raised its ugly head!
Just rang my insurance and the cheapest they can give me is paying an additional £1230 which will take me up to Feb when my current E280 expires

A quick check on insurance comparison websites finds a new 12 month policy for £387 with protected NCB, legal cover, courtesy car, European cover, windscreen cover and audio equipment. Oh that also covers the other half driving too.
Company name is One Call Insurance with UK call centres and website. Never heard of them and not sure whether to take this yet. More digging needed.

 

[SavMan]

^ Is that too big a risk to chance?
I will run this past my indi when I take it for a check over in the next 2 weeks.

Did I mention I start 2 weeks holiday this Saturday?:bannana:

Thanks for your input David. I would guess my indy could tell if the engine is non standard just by driving it himself. I would imagine they get to drive plenty of 55k cars at MBS in Southampton.

Also, another E55 owner may well be able to tell.

If your Indie see's enough 55K's then the should be able to see the difference on any modifications made altenatively PCS in Horndean have more 55K powered cars at there workshop than most and are experienced to see the obvious changes.

Exhaust work is easy from inspection, most likely changes are either primary or secondary decat. Some also change the cats to sports cats but again easy to spot if they know what the are looking for. Check center box is still there a common one to remove for additional noise and reduced back pressure.

Headers is just as easy the stock one is a log style one.

Heat Exchanger and charge pump visual inspection will tell if they are upgraded.

Supercharger pulley, the majority of performance ones are made of alloy stock is steel. Stock diameter measured from the pulley belt v's is 90mm performance ones will be smaller typically 84mm.

Crank Pulley measure diameter in the same way as the supercharger pulley stock from memory is 155mm, performance ones come in 168, 172, 175, 180, 190 & 200. Most common are 168, 172 & 180.

The are lots of other possible mods but the above will cover 90+% of the modified cars in the UK.

Finally remap I have not found anyway to tell that a car has been remapped in STAR but thats not to say it cant be found. Driving them is also difficult to feel the difference many standard 55's can have small niggly issues that result in a huge variance in speed and feel. Poor circulation of coolant through the supercharger, boost leaks, plugs and leads the list goes on. Some are just prodcuing bigger numbers from the factory easily as much as 50hp (about the same you would expect from a remapped car) can be found from one stock car to another.

If you want to ensure your car is not running a remap you can always book the car into a MB dealer and have the ECU flashed with your original stock settings. I dont think its that expensive either I think I was quoted £50 by one dealer.

 

[AMGeed]

Very useful info Savman. Many thanks.

Regarding an ECU reflash at a main dealer..... if the car has benefitted from a remap, it would be a shame to put it back to std don't you think?

 

[SamW]

Very useful info Savman. Many thanks.

Regarding an ECU reflash at a main dealer..... if the car has benefitted from a remap, it would be a shame to put it back to std don't you think?

I was thinking the same thing worth diagnosing the mods but then declaring them of course. I bought a Octavia vRS from a dealer years ago and didn't realise how fast the thing was till had a courtesy car nearly a year later. Turns out it was remapped but with what or by whom was a mystery.

 

[DSB SL AMG]

Try Adrian flux....get a quote, if higher I know they price match!

High Performance Car Insurance from Adrian Flux

The change of insurance has raised its ugly head!
Just rang my insurance and the cheapest they can give me is paying an additional £1230 which will take me up to Feb when my current E280 expires

A quick check on insurance comparison websites finds a new 12 month policy for £387 with protected NCB, legal cover, courtesy car, European cover, windscreen cover and audio equipment. Oh that also covers the other half driving too.
Company name is One Call Insurance with UK call centres and website. Never heard of them and not sure whether to take this yet. More digging needed.

 

[AMGeed]

^ Filled in the online quote form yesterday evening and advised a quote would be sent to my email address. Still waiting

I've bitten the bullet and gone with One Call for £387 after an OK recommendation on the "other side" I hate insurance at the best of times, although necessary and hope I never need to use it.

Looked into a warranty with Warranty Direct and being quoted £935 for one year. It's tempting but pushing my costs up by well over £1k with insurance.
Thinking this one over.

 

[AMGeed]

I've bitten the bullet and gone with One Call for £387 after an OK recommendation on the "other side" I hate insurance at the best of times, although necessary and hope I never need to use it.

My first mistake and seems I should have gone with my gut feeling.

Damn it! Too late now the payment has gone through.

https://www.moneysupermarket.com/c/c...t/reviews/141/

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...rance-Shambles
One Call Insurance - MoneySavingExpert.com Forums

 

[SavMan]

My first mistake and seems I should have gone with my gut feeling.

Damn it! Too late now the payment has gone through.

https://www.moneysupermarket.com/c/c...t/reviews/141/

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...rance-Shambles
One Call Insurance - MoneySavingExpert.com Forums

Wow - I dont recall seeing such consistently bad reviews for a single company before

 

[TDE1]

You'll have a cooling off period, so won't get stung if you cancel..

Congrats, btw!

 

[b1g1an]

Have you tried MB's own, it's proper insurance and many people have been surprised by the decent quotes. If you ring you can get a much bigger discount than online.

 

[AMGeed]

Have you tried MB's own, it's proper insurance and many people have been surprised by the decent quotes. If you ring you can get a much bigger discount than online.

Got a quote from them. £935 is too much.