Car
Car: Mercedes E55 AMG W210 (2001) – Christophe
Engine: 5.5 24V (V8) (M113E55)
Manufacturer data: 354 PS (349 hp) @ 5500 rpm – 530 Nm (391 lb.ft) @ 3000 rpm
ECU: Bosch ME 2.8
Mapping: Stock
Configuration: Stock
Fuel: UL 98
PerfectPower Weighing
Date: Saturday, May 10, 2025
Place: France (36)
Result: 1774 kg (3911 lb) with half a tank ==> 1800 kg (3968 lb) with full tank (70 L)
PerfectPower Results
Date: Saturday, May 10, 2025
Place: France (36)
Software: PerfectPower Androïd 7.1.3
Hardware: Sony XZ2 Premium + RaceBox Mini 25 Hz driven by PerfectPower
Session plan:
- I) Power
- II) Accelerations
Report I: Two power measurements performed:
- In mode 2 (GPS only)
- In Power Setup DIN / Losses calculation on parameters
- With 2 people on board (Christophe & David) and with half a tank (35 L) and 57 kg of PerfectPower scale in the trunk
- In 2nd gear then in 3rd gear (official) in manual mode from 2000 to 6300 rpm (rev limiter)
- With the WIXGEAR universal magnetic windshield mount even if it doesn’t matter in mode 2
- In both directions of the road then averaging of these two measurements according to the strict recommendation of PerfectPower in order to eliminate the effects of road slope and wind
Report II: Two acceleration measurements performed:
- In mode 2 (GPS only)
- In Accelerations Setup “Automatic stop at 100 km/h” for the first measurement and “Normal” for the second (stop when the user slows down)
- With 2 people on board (Christophe & David) and with half a tank (35 L) and 57 kg of PerfectPower scale in the trunk
- 15 s of acceleration to be sure of completing a 400 m standing start (reference acceleration) for the second measurement
- With the WIXGEAR universal magnetic windshield mount even if it doesn’t matter in mode 2
- In one direction of the road, but this one is almost flat and no wind was blowing that day, which makes the times valid
I) Power
1) Power in 2nd gear
Comparison of the two measurements
Official Result = Average of the two measurements
Comparison of results with manufacturer data for this engine (M113E55):
- Max Power: – 27.4 PS / hp or – 7.7 %
- Max Torque: – 64.1 Nm or – 12.1 %
These results obtained in 2nd gear seem abnormally low since engine results are certified with a tolerance margin of +- 5% (even if in practice this margin is sometimes exceeded…), but they are not because the engine control unit clearly limits performance in the first two gears, and it was therefore also necessary to perform measurements in 3rd gear to obtain the true results of this engine (see below)…
For information, this phenomenon is very common with very powerful front-wheel drive (but not only: a 130 hp Peugeot 2008 1.2 turbo falls into this category!), but it also happens with some rear-wheel drive: the proof! It must be said that this 2001 Mercedes AMG still delivers 354 hp…
2) Power in 3rd gear (official)
Comparison of the two measurements
Official Result = Average of the two measurements
Comparison of results with manufacturer data for this engine (M113E55):
- Max Power: – 2.4 PS / hp or – 0.7 %
- Max Torque: – 43.3 Nm or – 8.2 %
The results are now perfectly correct (and even excellent!) with a maximum power measured at less than 1% of that claimed! A small surprise, however, with the maximum torque measured, which is 8% lower than the one claimed, and yet the engine works perfectly well at all revs (the exceptionally flat torque curve from 2000 to 5000 rpm shows this very well!) and it has also been recently revised with the change of the flow meter which was tired and the lambda sensors… but perhaps the maximun torque claimed by Mercedes AMG is slightly optimistic…
Note 1: In reality, the action of the torque converter on these old automatic gearboxes inevitably tends to slightly “inflate” the torque at the start of acceleration up to around 2500 rpm in both 2nd and 3rd (we can see this clearly on the curves), and a precise analysis of the curves in 2nd and 3rd clearly shows that the real max torque rev is indeed at 3000 rpm as Mercedes claims, even if its incredible constancy from 2000 to 5000 rpm as well as the effect of the torque converter before 2500 rpm can give a max torque rev “wandering” over this very wide range of revs from one measurement to another… but it is an illusion!
Note 2: What a shame to limit the potential of such a good engine by giving it such a long gearbox: 187 km/h in 3rd gear is completely crazy! Even with 354 hp!
3) Comparison 2nd gear / 3rd gear
Comparison of results in 3rd gear / 2nd gear:
- Max Power: + 25.0 PS / hp or + 7.7 %
- Max Torque: + 20.8 Nm or + 4.5 %
We have a perfect illustration of the performance limitation achieved by the ECU in 2nd gear compared to 3rd gear with an almost completely identical curves shape between the two gears, but those in 2nd gear being simply shifted downwards…
II) Accelerations
Measure 1 (0 – 100 km/h) – Valid but unofficial result because only one measurement
Measure 2 (400 m SS) – Valid but unofficial result because only one measurement
Note 1: Two extremely close measurements (the only tiny difference is the slightly better start on the first one!), both giving a 0 to 100 km/h around 6 s, with this 6 s mark even symbolically crossed during the first measurement (5.98 s), and also extremely close to the official announcement of Mercedes of 5.9 s for this Wagon version (heavier than the Sedan)!
Note 2: A special mention for the exceptional start of acceleration, with 0.79 s on the 0 to 20 km/h on the first measurement, and a push that instantly glues you to the seat, unlike this C43 AMG that we tuned at the PerfectPower Lab three days after the measurements of this E55 AMG!
Video of the measure 2 (400 m SS)