Well it finally happened......

[Chattonmill]

Something happened over the weekend and now, finally I have clicked with the E55.
I have been playing with tyre pressures and now the ride is spot on, the gear box for some reason suddenly changed what it was doing and is smoother and also changes down at the right points(On braking). Also the engine seems to be revving more freely.
It now has 52000 on the clock, perhaps it has just run itself in:bannana:
Has anyone else had this happen to them?

Boy I am happy, what a car

 

[James Rothwell]

Boy I am happy, what a car

I bet you are!!

 

[219]

The rest of us are happy for you , too .

 

[JasM]

That's great to hear.

 

[bpsorrel]

great news!

 

[Mactech]

Good stuff! People seem to constantly underestimate the importance of tyre pressures The manufacturers can only give a guide as the useage and load level will be individual to you. Yours are 19"? What have you settled on?

As will be the gear shifting as the transmission adapts to your driving.

 

[Chattonmill]

Mine are 18's, and quite by mistake I settled on 36 psi all round, I was trying to even up the rears(39 as per the book), but the garage air supply was knackered, so I evened them up on 36 matching the fronts.

 

[Alps]

I think it takes time to click with any new car, the more you drive it the more you`ll love it.... Mine never felt like my car when i first got it (firstly it wasnt clean enough for me!), so after a few bouts of cleaning the interior, protecting the interior, cleaning the stalks (all mucky with 5 years use), changing the steering wheel! its beginning to feel like my car. after ive properly clayed, cut and waxed it on the outside, i`ll be satisfied! just waiting for the weather to warm up (and dry up ) before doing that.

driving wise, i dont get to drive it much at the moment, but everytime i do i scare myself

so i know exactly how you feel enjoy!

 

[Soltan]

Glad to hear it, might try to increase the pressure in my tyres too and see how that affects the handling.

 

[Smiley]

You have taken your foot off the brake havent you?

 

[Chattonmill]

You have taken your foot off the brake havent you?

I haven't found that yet, was it an optional extra

 

[Matt32AMG]

I remember driving back through Spain, we’d stopped just outside Madrid on our way back from Puerto Banus to get some lunch, and on resumption of the trip back to Bilbao, pulling away I’d noticed the slight change in engine note, also the engine response was just right there under your foot, if that makes sense, just unbelievable.

Thinking about it, I had driven from Bilbao to Marbella and back practically none stop, other than lunch and petrol breaks,(obviously there was a few days before the return trip), at average speeds shall we say, some way north of advisable speed limits on the motorway, and that really seemed to loosen the engine up.

The car at the time had covered some 14,000 miles or so, so the added 2500 miles of relatively high speed use, I believe, really did the engine good. Prior to that trip, the car had never been really driven for long periods, and never at the constant speeds I had during that trip.

So yes, I know what you mean.

 

[vibesg]

I remember driving back through Spain, we’d stopped just outside Madrid on our way back from Puerto Banus to get some lunch, and on resumption of the trip back to Bilbao, pulling away I’d noticed the slight change in engine note, also the engine response was just right there under your foot, if that makes sense, just unbelievable.

Well done..Dorset to Puerto Banus. Just returned from Estepona. I really wanted to drive but calculated and came up with 1700 miles one way. I chickened out and we flew with the kids as we were only going for a week. I have driven similar mileage on holiday in the states so I still want to drive to and from Spain.. so perhaps next summer.
I'm interested in your experience though. What was your average mpg at ..ahem northward speeds? Roughly how much did you spend on petrol?

 

[Gareth]

my old (very much cherished) 2002 Renault Clio Sport 172 seemed to have a sweet spot, after approximately 150 miles of motorway driving the torque seemed to become unreal and the throttle response was amazing.

Chattonmill,

I for one am not happy for you, I am totally jealous as you are probably driving around right now in my dream car, you lucky b@st@rd

 

[Chattonmill]

Chattonmill,

I for one am not happy for you, I am totally jealous as you are probably driving around right now in my dream car, you lucky b@st@rd

There are down sides to owning your dream car....You then have to have a new dream car and that opens a whole new can of worms!

A few years ago I bought my 'dream car' a 1978 Aston Martin V8, I drove it home and actually felt quite empty for a while. Sometimes I think it is the dreams that keep us going, the realisation of those dreams leaves a hole in your life.....if that makes sense!

 

[Gridlock]

if that makes sense!

Heh, CM wants a C63 PPP....

 

[Gareth]

There are down sides to owning your dream car....You then have to have a new dream car and that opens a whole new can of worms!

A few years ago I bought my 'dream car' a 1978 Aston Martin V8, I drove it home and actually felt quite empty for a while. Sometimes I think it is the dreams that keep us going, the realisation of those dreams leaves a hole in your life.....if that makes sense!

I know exactly what you mean, the annoying thing for me about the E55 is I can afford to buy one, I just don't know if I could afford to run or repair one. (Hence the happy-medium in having a CDI Sport). If I was a single man with no daughter things would be a whole lot different

I will definitely be driving something from AMG in future though.

 

[renault12ts]

When I was young, I always wanted a 205 GTi. When I could afford it I got something else (BMW) because I could afford that and it was classier (at the time). Wish I'd gone for the Pug now.

 

[Gridlock]

I know exactly what you mean, the annoying thing for me about the E55 is I can afford to buy one, I just don't know if I could afford to run or repair one.

Have you seen any good guides to running costs, here or elsewhere?

Cheers

 

[Matt32AMG]

I remember driving back through Spain, we’d stopped just outside Madrid on our way back from Puerto Banus to get some lunch, and on resumption of the trip back to Bilbao, pulling away I’d noticed the slight change in engine note, also the engine response was just right there under your foot, if that makes sense, just unbelievable.

Well done..Dorset to Puerto Banus. Just returned from Estepona. I really wanted to drive but calculated and came up with 1700 miles one way. I chickened out and we flew with the kids as we were only going for a week. I have driven similar mileage on holiday in the states so I still want to drive to and from Spain.. so perhaps next summer.
I'm interested in your experience though. What was your average mpg at ..ahem northward speeds? Roughly how much did you spend on petrol?

I'll have to go back and look at my credit card bills on line for 2005 to give you an idea on costs. We actually did just shy of 2000 miles in total.
That said, the short answer to your question was that it was a fair amount of money all things considered. We took the Pride of Bilboa ferry from Portsmouth to Bilboa unsurprisingly, (BTW if that is what cruises are like, I’m never going to take one!)

I used something like six full tanks of petrol in all from memory, though remember petrol is much cheaper in Spain than it is in the UK, in fact come to think of it anywhere is cheaper for fuel than in the UK! The trouble is I can remember how much fuel was in Spain back in 2005
The mileage from Bilboa to Puerto Banus via Madrid is 670 odd miles each way, we crashed that out in 8 hours including stops for lunch. Then you add the 100 miles in total from home to Portsmouth and back. So we’re looking at some £1500 miles in total just getting from a-b The rest was just drifting about sightseeing etc. What I'll do is PM you once I've hiooked out the bills.