Originally Posted by eddietr

As a car fan, I was very disappointed when Mercedes suddenly changed their tune on this. And I'm sure many a head shook in the engineering group over this. I was particularly disappointed in the 90 degree V! What is the excuse for that, other than cost savings?

There is something unmistakeable about the sound and feel of an I6. Particularly when they get older and still maintain that sound and feel.

Originally Posted by loubapache

Well, I will offer a counter opinion.

I have both M104 (I6) and M112 (V6) powered cars. Personally I prefer the I6. They both have nagetives and positives.

1) The I6 has only one real problem, i.e., oil leak. Most of the time it is only the upper timing cover (not the head gasket). Even if it is the head gasket, most of the time it is an external leak. Rarely there will be oil in coolant on this engine. So if someone can tolerate a bit of a leak, these engines will last for a long time. The bottom end is bullet proof.

2) The wiring harness on the W210 E class is a non-issue for the M104 engines. They were problems for the W124 (94 and 95 model years).

3) I am actaully seeing better mileage with my I6 than the V6. That might be due to the fact that the I6 is in a sedan and the V6 is in a 4Matic wagon.

4) I found that the I6 warms up to operating temperature much faster than the V6. On my 97 E320, the coolant will rach 87 deg C after a 3 mile drive on a 40 - 50 deg F day. The 03 E320 4Matic wagon will only reach about 60 deg C under the same conditons. So I am seeing lower city mileage on the V6. On highway, my 97 E320 gets 27- 29 MPG and the 03 E320 wagon gets about 23 MPG.

5. Maint is much easier on the I6. Only 6 easy plugs to change and the V6 has 12 and they are more difficult.

6. The V6 is showing many signs of engine mechanical problems. First sign is oil consumption and eventually it leads to damages in piston, ring, and walls, etc.

There might be something that is not optimum on my V6 but these were my observations.

Originally Posted by zam2000

I guess it's really cut cut cost, that's why the M112/113 engine & its derivatives go into

The W210 & early W211 E55
The S/SL/CL 55
The SLR

The 3 valve per cyclinder, SOHC engine is nothing sort of engineering marvel, due to it amazing balance, torque, realiablility, ability to handle extra power, easy to tune & mod (by AMG).

You're quoting a harmonic balancing as the flaw of the engine design, wonder if you know that it's not really part of the engine, it's a pully wheel atach outside the engine to drive belt. Yes, there's flaw in early part, but it was fixed after the second years. The M104 really have flaw in engine design, due to problem w/ engine head being warp, and nightmare wiring harhness.

As for the S class still use the I6 for its 98/99 model, while other model going to V6, it's not because of the I6 superior, but because it was in its last year & slow selling (not much wooow factor in the 6 cylinder S class anyway, so Mercedes decided not to spend too much time & money to fit the V6 into it). Have you check the 98/99 S320 ? not only it uses the I6, it also use the previous gen radio, transmission (772.5), and A/C system. Smartkey ? Nope either.

My friend, who's a master tech at House of Import, told me that the S320 is known internally as a pig on wheels, nightmare to both owner and shop. It's as sucessful as the W220 S350: irelevant to the brand.

Even when the new engine generation came out (E/CL/S/ML 550), Mercedes still use the previous gen engine for the AMG version. I guess to ...cut cost ?

So that you know, the M112/M113 engine was voted as one of the best engine ever came out of Germany, won most number of engineering award so far. To cut cost ????

Btw, BMW stop making I6 as well, all latest 6 cylinder model now use the new V6 3.5 engine. Long cam shaft is never a good thing to go. Volvo simply use whatever POS Ford force on them.

As the matter of fact, I can't recall a single manufacture out there that still use I6.

Originally Posted by zam2000

Btw, BMW stop making I6 as well, all latest 6 cylinder model now use the new V6 3.5 engine.

Originally Posted by Nate

I believe the e320 was an inline 6 from 1996-1997, and v6 from 1998 on. The V6 has more horsepower than an inline 6 (I don't know about the torque). But I would assume that the torque on the v6 is more seeing that the 1998+ models go 0-60 faster than the 96-97. However, I have heard that the inline 6 is more mod friendly than the v6. The v6 is supposed to be more smooth.

Originally Posted by Figuero

Don't confuse more torque with the ability to accelerate faster. Power moves objects not force. Torque is a force, horsepower is well.....power.
If you have any doubts, consider that a 200lb man with a 24" long wrench can exert 400ftlbs of torque to the crankshaft of a W210. But I doubt he has the power to out accelerate the I6.