neanderthal

so i just came back from a trip to colorado. decided to go see some friends i know from a granturismo forum. spur of the moment kinda thing. airline tickets werent cheap at 400 each way last minute. but i can drive right?

google maps puts the distance as 1060 miles. drove there, hung out with internet geeks, drove back a week later. did both legs in one sitting with only a 1/2 hour stop besides stopping for gas. 100 plus at night on long deserted stretches of road somewhere in southern utah. car just sang the whole way. didnt have any problems. and all i did pretrip was add water to the coolant system and top up the oil, which it consumes anyway.

25 mpg avg. amazing for a car rated 23 hwy, especially in light of many 6000rp, 3rd gear ascents up some pretty steep roads in colorado. and my little 2.6 liter engine certainly was breathless in those higher altitudes, but it soldiered on. and i was maintaining about 5- 10 over the limit the whole way here. time on the road worked out to be just over 15 hours. but since i spent the fist 40 minutes being lost in parker, colorado and at least 30 minutes in vegas traffic, i avgd 75 the whole way back. 25 mpg at 75mph? ill take it any day and all day. fantastic

i cannot recommend a better long distance hauler than a W124. the panzer is a beast. i only wish i had an overdrive fifth gear

ok, so maybe that ones a lie. i wish i had the M104 2.8 liter, (same power as the 103 3.0 liter but same fuel economy as the 2.6) the rear end ratio of the 1995s (slightly longer, better fuel economy, lower revs no real perfomance loss) and the 5 speed overdrive (the problematic 722.5) from the 6 cylinder W140s and R129s. yeah, call me a sadist.

all very very possible with ebay. im sure with that combo id be able to get 30mpg on long trips.




ps southern utah and colorado are amazingly beautiful. postcard pretty in fact im definitely going back, and this time with a mind to appreciate it and take some pics.

Makahveli

You could of told me that you were coming by.

YNVDIZW124

I know how you feel, I was surprised at the gas milage i got when i drove my car all over so cal. I spent $20 at $3.19 which is 6.29 gallons and i drove 180 miles so that's around 28mpg hwy but i drove between 60-65mph without no hard accelerations.

There was a study in autoweek that said if you change your driving style and drive more like conservative you can save 20% more fuel.

Saijin_Naib

yeap my w124 has that kinda useless economy gague, and If i keep i below the red I get a huge boost in range, but its no fun to drive that conservatively

YNVDIZW124

I drive like that because i don't want to be the a$$hole speeding and crash in the back of someones car .. I drive with the flow of traffic, so what i mean by speeding is not going over the speed limit. I'm talking about the car on the fwy changing lanes and going way faster than everyone else..


I have major ROAD RAGE after the accident i had because the a$$hole speeding had the nerve to runaway like a little B!tch!!

Saijin_Naib

Oh... I dont speed, I just accelerate, brake, and turn hard to keep the legal speed limit an interesting and fascinating affair. I always drive safe, but when its just me on a corner Ill let the car out a bit to have some fun.

YNVDIZW124

Yeah i do that too, I don't put others in danger but if i'm alone on an empty fwy well there's nothing wrong with having alittle fun.

Saijin_Naib

Exactly for some reason, these cars are just mad fun to toss around. I cant wait to bring baby to Watkins glen for a race with my dad and his 500e.

lkchris

Felt that way about our 300E, too, and got similar mileage.

Just for perspective, however, it's 38 mpg at 75mph in our E320CDI with MORE power reserve and using fuel normally cheaper than regular let alone the premium required in a gasoline W124. This engine runs about 2200 rpm at 75.

neanderthal

im leery of pretty much all the benzes whose development happened after the arrival of lexus. so while i love the W211 E320CDI, im not sure id ever own one in the near future (of course i cant afford one anyway) until its complete dependability was proven. there have been too many electrical glitches with the brand since about 1995. quality has nosedived since benz used to headline the JDPower reports.

but i looooove that car. its certainly the car id buy if i was buying a new car. (un) fortunately, i dont believe in buying cars new and taking that massive depreciation hit, but if and when i start a business and end up needing to offset income you better believe i will be buying a new oil burner.

neanderthal

I recently added to the fleet, a 94 E320. Black over grey with a black leather interior. I like it.

Anyway, just got back from a rugby game against San Luis Obispo yesterday. I drove, of course, but carpooled with 3 of my teammates. Between us we weigh probably 900lbs, easy. All of us are rugby forwards. We all had our kit bags, I had forgotten my toolbox in the trunk, and I also keep a case of water in the trunk. Thats another 150lbs there, easily.

Suffice it to say it was an easy journey for both legs, 70- 75 MPH the whole way there and back. 447 miles, one tank of fuel, 18.XX gallons. Figured it out to 24.XX MPG for that trip.

Bloody incredible if you ask me.

Long live the Panzer!!!!!

rayhennig

Hearing about your fuel prices over there is enough to make us Brits wish we'd never "given you" your independence!!!

But, yes, I agree, these old 124s (mine's a '91 300CE-24 Sportline) are great for those 500+ mile trips. I can JUST get from my place in France to my brother's in SE England on 1 tank. It does cost close to 100 Euro ($US 110?), though. Oh well, it's more civilised than a diesel Peugeot.

All the best.

RayH

Bigpete123

IMO, I love the 124 and it's definitely made for high speed, long range trips. However, for that kind of driving, I actually prefer my dad's old '86 300sdl. It's very slow to accelerate but it loves the highway. It sits on the road, painlessly maintains its speed with all of its diesel torque, and accelerates much better once it is at speed.

And it gets much better mileage that a gasser 124. That's not to say the 124 isn't very good as well. But my dad's old diesel takes the cake IMO!

neanderthal

"The man" took my E320 the day I left for South Africa for the World Cup.

I'm driving the 2.6 again. It is a world of difference. Used to pushing the pedal and getting acceleration.

Now I need a new car again. I'm done with the Benz's though.

Might do the S2000 or an Acura TL. But not the new big schnozz ones.

Maybe I will stick with ol dependable and my bicycle.

rivcal4life

The last generation TL's are absolutely beautiful. Sure they will never be as easy to toss around as an s2k, but they can sure be bloody fast. I remember when I first got my 500e and it was in the shop. I was driving my 300e and someone in a TL with a bunch of mods was pacing me on the freeway. We got off at the same stop and from the light he absolutely destroyed my car. I know the 300e was slow, but man he dusted me.

I would love to run into that guy again with the 500 for comparison.

ksing44

Even though I now commute almost an hour each way everyday, I'm longing for a trip in my new VW Golf TDI. It rides great, handles great, has all kinds of modern amenities, and it gets spectacular mileage, especially cruising down the highway. I would love to recreate the cross-country trip I took 15-years-ago camping in National Parks from coast to coast. I really do love my new VW Golf TDI, although emotionally it took a while to finally let go of my W124.

neanderthal

I wonder how he would have done at 120+ for an hour or two.....

Pretty sure that the W124 could handle that easily and still feel like it is doing 80. I've been in many fast cars, many at high speeds.

Only the German ones felt "planted" at speed. Heck even my lil BMW 2002 at ~105, at the limit of its capabilities (the aerodynamics of a Mack Truck!!!!) it felt planted.
Camry at 90 is floating. Galant, same thing. Lincoln Navigator, just scary. You are constantly aware that you're piloting 6000 odd pounds or high centered unwieldy steel. Dodge Caravan, felt like playing chicken. Pontiac Bonneville. Supercharged. Floaty, disconnected. Buick Century. Uninvolved, pillowy.

I've limited my high speed driving the last few years to strictly German cars as a result (Gator aside.)

ksing44

My little German VW TDI feels planted at 100 mph. I didn't try faster yet, only because there is traffic and well also because I don't want to get a ticket. I can effortlessly zip up to 100 mph in any open space, but I don't know when the car might start to feel less planted beyond 100 mph. My W124 was planted at 110 mph, but there was definitely floating at 120 mph and beyond. I didn't like the feeling after 110 mph in my W124, even when it was new. I also didn't think the lowering with a stiffer suspension made it better at 120 mph.

RBYCC

If your W124 doesn't feel "planted" at 110MPH then you've modified your suspension in such a way to cause it not to feel stable...

ksing44

You are a smart guy and know more about cars than I do, but when my car was only a year old, virtually brand spankin new, it didn't feel planted at 120 mph. It was fine to 110, but there was a noticable change at 120 mph. I think to dismiss that difference is not really being honest about the feel of the car. It is true that maybe a more experienced driver wouldn't perceive the difference as a concern, but it bothered me. I was very secure at 110 mph, but not feeling nearly so much confidence at 120 mph and beyond to about 135 mph.

After the car was lowered, in some ways I felt a little less secure. Part of it was about the confidence in the new parts and part of it was the increased road feel from the firmer suspension. The increased road feel seemed to add some drama to the ride at high speeds that was less noticeable with the stock suspension.

So I am sorry, but I think you are wrong about what I was feeling in my almost new vehicle. I definitely did feel the difference and my car was virtually brand new and in prime working condition. It was a fact!

RBYCC

True...I can't tell what you are feeling and at my age I sometimes don't remember how I'm feeling.

Sometimes one mods and if not done correctly you hamper performance...
Like lemmings..slam the car,race shocks, camber adjusters and the end result is diminished performance...

I've owned my 300CE since I took it off the showroom floor in May of 1988..
Felt planted at high speed from day one..
It's even more planted with double the power and compatible suspension mods...

I have seen no "drama" at high speeds on the street or on a track with any Merc I've ever owned...G55K excluded, mostly due to the tires...

If a Merc chassis is set up correctly they will lock in and hunker down as you go faster....
To drive at speed everything must be in synch...even something as basic as tire pressure...
Pressures different or too low wheel to wheel and you're going to see it the faster you go...

Most forget that wheels/tires are the first element in the suspension.
Improper balance, pressure, irregular tread wear and nothing works correctly in the rest of the suspension....

neanderthal

I mentioned 110 because in my experience, at 130+ the solid feeling is there, but only in a straight line.
E320 just hunkered down and went.
300E 2.6 was struggling with aero drag

Don't ask me why I was taking bends at 130, but the confidence wasn't there.

Mighta been the tires...

Oh, and the brakes, left a little to be desired at that speed.