frogstaple

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTsN2eK0MQs

harkgar

Did you hit 130 mph when the limiter cuts in? If so MB must have re-calibrated it lower in the USA. I think it should be higher.

Anyway 130 mph is way more than enough.

frogstaple

We are limited to 130 MPH in the States. I think it can hit 150 without the limiter.

Alan Smithee

The HR rated tires are only good for 130mph, hence the limiter.

frogstaple

This run was on HR rated snow tires. My summer tires are good to 150.

Green E-300 DT

150 MPH, or approximately 4400 rpm is too far past the maximum torque curve.

saffrontiger

I hit 132mph in a controlled secure testing area...

harkgar

The fastest for me is 90 mph. There are too many nosy tax collectors with radar guns on my secure testing place, the Highway 404.

My car has only 7,000 km so I am taking it easy.

DslBnz

That's the right kind of acceleration for the output of the CDI.

I admire the 0.27 drag coefficient of the W211. I bet at 120 mph, the CDI would probably get better than 20 mpg, too.

Its unfortunate that we can't travel at 100 + mph speeds all day long, isn't it? Its where our diesels are happiest.

Green E-300 DT

It is my understanding that the famous three in Texas averaged better
than 18 mpg for 100,000 miles at an average speed of over 139 mph.

harkgar

Mr Green:

The Canadian MB brochure indicated a top speed of 250 km (155 mph) for the 2007 Bluetec, exactly the same as the E550 and E350 and all with the 7 speed transmission.

The quoted 0-60 mph is 6.8 seconds.

harkgar

Someone posted on this board that the best mileage for his 2005 E320 CDi was achieved at 60-65 mph starting to drop off over 70 mph. Any comments?

My CDi has 8,000 km (4,900 miles) gets 25.38 mpg (Imperial Gallons) around town which is close to 29 mpg US Gallons. Great for a medium size sedan close to 4,000 lbs.

DslBnz

The Imperial gallon is larger than the American gallon. 1/0.83 ratio. If your mileage is 25.38 mpg, it is actually ~21 mpg, though. Did you mean 35 mpg?

I'd prefer the inline six, myself. It looks so much friendlier underhood.

Here's what I mean:

V6


Inline 6


OM617 300D Turbodiesel


Yikes!!

Green E-300 DT

So the 2007 E-320 Bluetecs as delivered up there come with V rated tires?

If you can check, I think you'll find that the 2007 E-320 Bluetecs will have "H"
rated tires, and if they do, they will be electronically limited to only 130 mph.

Check your factory tires out and I will bet that they are H rated also,
hence you will be electronically limited by your computer to 130 mph.

155 MPH would be slightly over 4000 rpm.
Do either car have enough torque at that rpm to overcome the C/D to go that fast?
Seems to me that I read that those three E-320 Bluetecs in Texas were not able to go that fast.

And another thing . . .
When you start fooling around with larger/wider tires on oversize rims that have tires that
are not of the low rolling resistance type, your top end and fuel economy will suffer.

harkgar

Mr Green:

check out this link http://www.mercedes-benz.ca/index.cfm?id=6174

the tires are R rated not H.

Alan Smithee

'R' is not a speed rating; I believe it just means 'radial'. Regardless, look at the tire sidewall...as Green E-300 DT implied, I'd be very surprised if cars for the Canadian market are rolling on anything different than the US-spec cars, which are HR rated and therefore the cars are limited to 130mph.

Don't believe everything you read...

Green E-300 DT

Thanks Alan.

Look on the sidewall of one of your original tires (OEM) if you still have 'em.

USDs to doughnuts, you'll find 225/55[I]HR]16.

If someone has not modified your computer, your top speed will be limited to 130 mph.
That is not to say that if you have your computer reprogrammed, your car will not go faster.

It will!

Should anyone desire some inside information on tires, the TireRack is a good place to start:

http://www.tirerack.com/

For late model diesels, we find that there are two brands listed as OEM:

Continental ContiTouringContact CH95 225/55HR16 $99.

Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus Grand Touring 225/55HR16 $147.

(Note the difference in prices listed for each tire)

"H" is the speed rating; "R" simply means radial.

With one of the hotter MBZs such as the S-65, the computer will limit the top speed for whatever
tire rating is standard equipment (OEM) supplied for that particular vehicle.

harkgar

Mr Green:

You are right about my tires. The owner's manual does say H rated (my tires are in plastic bags in the garage). Please remember my car is a CDi not a Bluetec.

Top speed is really not important for me. I have never gone 130 mph. When I was young and foolish I went 110 mph on the highway in a Fiat 124 coupe with a miserly 1,756 cc four banger and single downdraught Weber carburettor. If I had a blowout I would not be chatting to you guys now.

Green E-300 DT

"H" rated tires are safe all day long at speeds up to 130 mph if they are inflated properly.
Use nitrogen only! No need to worry at any speed up to 130 mph.

What I have said applies to all late model MBZ diesels, 2005 through 2007,
whether they be a E-320 CDI or a Bluetec.

As far as you being history if you had had a blowout in that older (1974?) 124 Coupe, I don't think so.
They were really well built cars, and unless you reacted improperly,
there would be no problem at that relatively low speed.

I once lost the left front tire on a Continental Trailways Eagle while running at top speed above 80 mph. (Forty years ago this coming summer)

It was a little rough to hold it at first. Those buses had no power steering!
It took me over a quarter of a mile to bring that bus which weighed in excess of 15 tons empty safely to a halt. There was nothing useable left of the tire or wheel.

harkgar

Mr Green:

Yes, my car was a 1974 Coupe, UK specs, with steel wheels and around 110 bhp which was a lot in those days (a BMW 2002 of same vintage had 120 or so) for a light body. No emission trash. I put on contactless electronic ignition and headers which banged against the body every time I revved the engine. Eventually it was sold when water mysteriously appeared inside the car. The carpet was always wet.

These cars are very unpredictable, like some volatile Italian ladies I know.

H-townbenzoboy

Wow, never knew those old Eagle coaches could go so fast. I know some bus drivers who drive relatively new Van Hools and bury the speedometer regularly. What would you say the fastest you've driven a loaded coach is?

Green E-300 DT

Do you know what the favorite underwear is for the crowd in Palm Springs?

" Depends "

Ask 'em what the top speed is for a good running Van Hools. Also, who makes their motor?
And what is their tranny? How many ratios?

If you had a good one, those old Eagles would just top 80 mph.
It all depended on how the governor was set.
If it was set up a trifle high, say 2150 rpms, that's when
you might see 83-84 mph if the filters were clean etc.

Also, on some long downgrades, it was possible to go much
faster if you allowed gravity to overdrive the governor.
That's one of the reasons why Trailways switched over from Cummins to Detroit Diesels.
We still had some really old Eagles that still had the Cummins
sixes that had not been changed over to the Detroits yet.

The Detroits could stand all sorts of abuse the Cummins would not tolerate. (i e lugging, over revving)

Compared to motors available today, those Eagles that had a relatively mild tune would be no match for the Van Hools that probably have somewheres near double the power and torque of the older Jimmy 2 strokes.

Before you get to the five-mile 6 percent stretch of the Grapevine,
there is a long uphill part that is about 1/2 of one percent.
The old Cummins had so much more torque and were also geared lower, they topped out at 65 mph,
but they would go right past the Detroits on that section because they could run high gear, but
the Detroits had to go back to third because they didn't have enough torque to run fourth.

It always used to **** the Greyhound guys off that we were considerably faster than they were.
They simply couldn't understand why.
They knew we had the same "Jimmy" (Detriot 8V 71s) and transmissions and were heavier.
The secret was in the taller gearing of the Eagles' rear-end.

If we could run the governor in any gear, we would go faster, even on the grades such as the
infamous grapevine or that 17 mile killer known as the Baker grade in the California desert.

Those were the days! Yeh, right. $ 07.87 per mile. Only stayed there for six months.
Simply couldn't live on that low pay in 1967. Greyhound drivers got $ 0.14 per mile.

Untertürkheim

I was actually asking a similar question in another post, I wanted to know if anyone knew the top speed of the new Bluetec without the limiter. The new 7g-tronic should improve that quite a bit (lower the top gear engine speed). I would find 150 mph extremely disappointing for a 320 engine, considering a E220 CDI can do just the same (I knnow from experience, the listed 215 km/h is wrong). Top speed is extremely important to me, I just don't want to be disappointed with my purchase, which is why I ask. Also, does anyone know if you can change the speed limiter on US models from within the diagnostic menu like on the Euro models?

DslBnz

155 mph is the maximum speed an AMG model can reach (on both sides of the Atlantic shore), without a flash upgrade. The difference between 130 mph and 155 mph is very small. Its really is such a minuscule difference, and power requirements do go up with the square of the speed (meaning extremely poor fuel economy, and poor tire wear).

FWIW, the E220 CDI only produces about 150 - 170 hp in stock trim. There is no possible way it can get to a genuine 150 mph unless environmental conditions were extremely favorable: Downhill, with little air resistance (tail wind) for example. Speedometer accuracy must be verified through GPS. But it will come close thanks to the 211's low drag coefficient. About 140 mph is all they're good for, if aero drag dimensions and hp ratings are correct.

The Bluetec, with its 7 hp advantage to the I6, should not fare much better than the I6. The Bluetec, with 208 hp should top out at 145 mph with a frontal area of 25 sq ft and a drag coefficient of 0.27. The unrestricted 221 hp V6 CDI should see a TRUE 150 mph.

So between an unrestricted V6 CDI and a lowly E220 CDI sporting 170 hp, there is a 10 mph difference. About a quick jogging pace faster, and a LOAD more fuel for the 320 CDI to burn compared to the 220.

I know which engine I'd want to use if I lived overseas.