E-Class (W124) 1984-1995: E 260, E 300, E 320, E 420, E 500 (Includes CE, T, TD models)

Dragstrip this weekend

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Old Jun 1, 2011 | 09:28 PM
  #1  
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e400
Dragstrip this weekend

May be going to the dragstrip this weekend, Friday June 3rd is the street racing night so basically anyone can race.
$20 for a couple of runs. Anyone in the Houston area going to show up to this maybe?

http://www.houstonmotorsportspark.com/

Only problem is the track is 1/8 mile not the 1/4 mile. A 300e 2.8l isn't exactly the fastest car off the line up to any speed under 75. After that it moves pretty well, but I won't even get 70 in the 1/8 mile.

If I run on a low tank of gas, maybe 100 octane and stripped (rubber mats, rear seat, tire and tools, etc) what time should i expect in the 1/8 mile?
I'm expecting mid 10s @ 67-70 mph. Starts at 7PM temp. will probably be around 70 fahrenheit.

I've got the 93' 2.8l 4 speed auto. 2.65 axle differential.
2nd gear holds all the way to 72mph so it would only shift 1st to 2nd gear, I won't even need 3rd.
1 gear change should be an advantage against 5 or 6 speeds that would have to shift 2 times.

Anyways, I just got a Go Pro HD Hero today so if the track lets you mount them on the outside i definately will. Probably keep it facing the front so you guys can see that car that is beating me.

EDIT:
Actually I should do better than 10.5 @70, a while ago I did 0-70 in 10s flat on 3/4 tank of gas, although the engine was running at about 70-75 celcius compared to the typical 85 celcius.
Stripped with 1/4 tank of gas I should be able to do much better if i can get to the start line with my engine around 60-70 celcius.
I'm mainly doing this for fun, but id also like to post the best times I can.

Would low 10s @ 72ish be reasonable for a 300e 2.8l? Seems a little bit too quick but I guess i'll figure out this friday

Last edited by zach1328; Jun 1, 2011 at 09:48 PM.
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Old Jun 2, 2011 | 12:07 PM
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Depends on the day
The only real weight loss that would be worth removing is the spare tire and your fuel. The rear seat and the tools really don't weigh much at all. By keeping everything in there, you'll be able to get a more "real world" figure for your car.


Best of luck to ya!
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Old Jun 2, 2011 | 04:52 PM
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Ok thanks!
Well the tools are so easy to take out I might as well, but idk if I want to waste my time removing the back seat and all.
I think the way my car sits with a full tank of gas and no driver it weighs around 3440 lbs. Stock is 3460, but my aftermarket headunit is lighter, the 6 disc changer is out, and my rims are about 2-3 pounds less on each corner.

I won't get into the details but my rims are about 10 pounds lighter overall which translates to about 70 pounds of actual vehicle mass. In addition my rims/tires combo has a slightly smaller diameter than the stock ones.
My current rims/tires with almost full treads is the same diameter as the stock 15" rims and completely bald tires.

But anyways stock is probably 3440 pounds, so with low gas, and stipped of all the easy to take out parts it should be just over 3250.
And yes, I would like to know the "real world" figures for my car, but I also want to go and have fun and try to get the best times I can.

Last edited by zach1328; Jun 2, 2011 at 04:55 PM.
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Old Jun 2, 2011 | 05:08 PM
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2006 C55 AMG 6 speed
Swap it to manual; it'll improve. :P
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Old Jun 2, 2011 | 05:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Shoomakan
Swap it to manual; it'll improve. :P
I realllllllly want a manual tranny.

My brother has a 6 speed Rx-8 and my friend has an 03 5 speed mustang gt, and I love driving them both. Although, I do think overall my 300e is a more fun driving experience. Even with the auto tranny I feel like I'm doing to driving as compared to being driven.
Nissan GTR would be a good example of being driven.

Regardless, I think the few things missing from the, in my opinion, "perfect" W124 are:
1) Manual Transmission (preferably 6 spd)
2) Stiffer Suspension
3) Lower stance
4) Nicer rims

I think im going to save my money for the manual transmission until the day I get my 500e.
I'd probably just do a 5 spd tranny though, its all about how quick a car feels and from my experience a 5 spd feels much quicker than an 6 or 7 spd.

My friends 5 spd mustang feels like it pulls way harder than a 2010 Lexus ISF I rode in. Even though my friends mustang is probably 5.5s 0-60 compared to an ISF's 4.5 or better. If the car is fast enough it still feels fast with 6 gears though. My friends dad has a 6 spd 04' Cobra, and that thing pulls pretty hard.
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Old Jun 2, 2011 | 11:03 PM
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Don't waste the money on 100octane. Doesn't make sense in a stock 300E, as your car will not be pulling timing.
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Old Jun 3, 2011 | 12:55 AM
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Originally Posted by rivcal4life
Don't waste the money on 100octane. Doesn't make sense in a stock 300E, as your car will not be pulling timing.
Just going to use it for the fun. And i'm just going to use a little bit of the octance booster than you add to the tank from a small little bottle.

Like $3 for a little bottle of octane booster, not a big deal.

I don't expect to be pulling a great time, but all of the small things add up.
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Old Jun 3, 2011 | 01:28 AM
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300E W124, 300E W124 3.4 AMG, Audi S3 2002
just to clear things, by "pulling timing" i think rivcal4life meant the ignition timing, (advance or retard) which affects the car performance. And not the timing of your runs

Some cars adjust their timing depending on the mixture of fuel/air and some dont. the w124 2.8 M104 doesnt.

but still a better fuel quality would help a bit
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Old Jun 5, 2011 | 11:39 AM
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Originally Posted by chlippo
just to clear things, by "pulling timing" i think rivcal4life meant the ignition timing, (advance or retard) which affects the car performance. And not the timing of your runs

Some cars adjust their timing depending on the mixture of fuel/air and some dont. the w124 2.8 M104 doesnt.

but still a better fuel quality would help a bit
Yes, that is what I meant.

And the reason I said it is lies in the reason one would even use higher octane fuels. These cars are constantly adjusting timing to get as much advance as possible without pinging (to a point). When the knock sensors detect knock, the car retards timing. If you're not adding any power, and it's not 90+ degrees outside, you usually don't have to worry about timing retard slowing you down. Running nitrous, I want to use as high an octane as possible to prevent detonation.
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Old Jun 5, 2011 | 10:11 PM
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88 W124 300CE
Gotta Love These Forums

Originally Posted by rivcal4life
Yes, that is what I meant.

And the reason I said it is lies in the reason one would even use higher octane fuels. These cars are constantly adjusting timing to get as much advance as possible without pinging (to a point). When the knock sensors detect knock, the car retards timing. If you're not adding any power, and it's not 90+ degrees outside, you usually don't have to worry about timing retard slowing you down. Running nitrous, I want to use as high an octane as possible to prevent detonation.
And the above is the very reason I love this forum. The collective knowledge of some of the subscriber's is worth mega-dollars. IF ONLY they still made classic W124's you guys would be making a fortune in consulting fees !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Old Jun 6, 2011 | 03:31 AM
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Front seats are heavy! Can you take one out?
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Old Jun 6, 2011 | 08:15 AM
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Zach, usually the more gears implies better performance due to a better powerband. Less of an RPM dip between each gear sets you smack in the powerband every time, whereas the 5 speed's longer gears don't do that as well. Assuming both don't have an overdrive.

Assuming they do, the 6 speed is even better since you have an extra gear before you hit overdrive, which means the gears are shorter which again means you have more power at any given time.

It is my opinion that with high powered road cars, it matter less simply because if you're making 400 bhp anyway that extra 500 rpms that it dips aren't really killing you like they would in a 180 bhp car.

More importantly, the 5 speed swap on your car would mean about 5% more power to the wheels. Effectively, this makes it as fast as a 3.0 M104. It is a nice improvement, alongside all the benefits of a manual including but not limited to better fuel economy and more driving fun.
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Old Jun 6, 2011 | 11:34 PM
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Depends on the day
Originally Posted by zach1328
Regardless, I think the few things missing from the, in my opinion, "perfect" W124 are:
1) Manual Transmission (preferably 6 spd)
2) Stiffer Suspension
3) Lower stance
4) Nicer rims

.

without the wheels, sure sounds like you described my car
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Old Jun 7, 2011 | 02:46 AM
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Hey, without the drop, sure sounds like he described my car too. :P
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