Happy 2006 Everybody!

Just had to post this. Traveled from Nashville to Memphis for holidays. My E430 got 27.5 mpg on the return trip and averaged about 27 overall. Best mileage ever in over 5 years since it was new. This was averaging 70-75 mph. Traveled 470 miles before I had to fill tank and still had a couple of gallons left. Not bad for a 3700 pound, 300 hp (almost) V8. All I have is K & N filter, PowerChip, Mobil 1 0w-40, lightweight wheels and tires. 45K miles. Generally gets 21 in town and around 26 on highway. WOW!

 

Yeah, I had that happen twice last summer. I even took a picture of my odo. Although I didn't drain the tank, I estimated 500 miles on that tankful if I did run it to empty.

Lately though, my mileage has been really crappy. Not sure why.

 

have you found the powerchip to make much difference in the performance of your car?

 

Sounds about right...last weekend, went car shopping with my friend and drove my E430 4Matic from Joplin, MO to Cape Girardeau, MO via I-44 to I-270 and then I-55. Trip is around 390 miles. I filled up in Joplin and when I arrived to Cape Girardeau, I still had a smidge over 1/4 tank. My avg MPG was at around 23.8, but I was going around 80 to 85 most of the time.

These cars are made for highway cruising...the friend looking into buying a new midsized car (tired of the Camaro) and I highly recommended him a car like mine (Black/Tan 2001 E430 4Matic). It was either a Black/Black 2002 E430 4Matic with 42K for $28K (not including Starmark or trade-in), or a 2006 BMW 325i. I told him that he can get a steal of a deal with the Benz, but the Bimmer at $39K...hmmm...not too sure.

 

I too was amazed recently when my E430 got an average of 25.5 MPG on trip throughout east Texas. This is only a few MPG shy of what I was getting with my 124 diesel. In the hills or with a headwind I would get as low as 27 MPG and up to 32 MPG with a good tail wind and flat highway ! But what a difference in performance,,, you got to love the MB V8 !!!

 

My wife recently made a round trip from ****inson, Tx to Palestine, Tx (around 200 miles each way) and averaged 27.4mpg. These cars are AMAZING!

 

So basically the next vehicle if we have a diesel is a V8 E-Class :-)

 

As a owner of MB diesels over the past 20 years, I have to ask myself if the extra hassels and expense of diesel ownership is worth the few extra MPG. Don't get me wrong, I still have a '89 190D, and plan to keep it... but it only gets around 29 - 30 MPG on the highway. The MB gas V8s will out perform the diesel regardless if it is a 6 or 8.

 

Its the chip,I have the 93 Gold Chip for the V6,and got an immediate boost in mileage on extended highway jaunts,same speed range and same results,with 5 people in the car.

 

Yeah, I think the chip is mostly responsible. As for performance, I can feel a bit more difference as far as running up through the gears, a bit more torque, smoother, more linear power delivery.

 

I was getting really lousy mileage lately, and I attributed it to the god damn "oxygenated" gas they force on us during the winter.

When I switched into my winter tires, the gas consumption jumped back to normal. Turns out, the summer tires were at less than 20psi. I'll admit to being lazy about checking pressure, but those tires didn't even bulge at all.

32 psi on the Michelins is bone rattling though. They don't give at all.