Untertürkheim

So, as it turns out I may be spending much more time in Germany and I may be buying myself another car. I want a 6MT diesel, and the best choice as far as I can see is an E270CDI because:

1. The OM648 (3,2 I6) E280 was auto-only and 5 speed at that, otherwise that would have been my first choice with a 6 MT since it can be tuned to have a LOT of power.
2. The OM642 E280 (the 3,0 V6) is thirstier with no real power advantage.

The drawback is that the E270CDI was never offered with a DPF (diesel particle filter) from the factory, and so it is emissions level EU-3, which means higher taxes and eventually may lead to prohibition from certain city centres.

From what I have read, people have found aftermarket DPFs and installed them, earning them EU4. I am interested if any techs here, or anyone with access to the EPC knows if there is an OEM DPF, or is MB offers or has any plans to offer an EU4 kit for the E270.

Lastly, if there is no OEM option, what does anyone know about the different aftermarket companies, which are best, etc?

Diesel Benz

I could have looked at EPC but I'm sure there is no MB factory option for this engine if it did not come from the factory as an option in the first place.

The additional fuel consumption on the V6 would come from the DPF and EU4 emissions requirements, remember that you cannot keep the 270CDI efficiency and gain the EU4 performance.

Are you serious about the manual transmission? I could understand that if you are after fuel efficiency but look at the factory acceleration figures for an E270CDI, the auto tranny car would be faster and this is mainly because the engine torque has been limited to a lower level on the MT6 car.

I believe they do the same with later models but only for the first (few) gears, just look at the performance figures. A MT could be made stronger but MB has seen the market too limited and instead offers the auto tranny for cars with a lot of torque.

I'm not familiar with the rules but I'm assuming an after market DPF would need a lot of servicing. The factory options are regenerated under the control of the engine ECU, this happens pretty frequently. But there are different filters, those which have partial pass-through and which are less efficient, would those fulfil EU4?

Untertürkheim

I am not so sure that the additional fuel consumption of the V6 comes from the DPF, keep in mind that the E300 Bluetec is more efficient than the E320 CDI, and the former has much more advanced emissions systems.

Also, in the case of the 270, the power output was the same for both manual and auto. You are correct in the case of the V6 280CDI, where manual and automatic are both offered, the auto has 10% more torque.

Additionally, from everything I read, the I5 engine is much more efficient than the V6.

Also, I love the manual E-class, especially with a diesel. I have driven my family's E220CDI quite a lot, and the idea of the same car with more power is very appealing. I do like the new 7g transmission, and if I get a newer model I would probably opt for that due to the quieter highway driving, but I would still opt for the 6MT over the 5AT.

Diesel Benz

I have not looked at the fuel consumption figures but there are several things that reduce the fuel consumption on the later models while the only thing increasing fuel consumption that comes to my mind, is the DPF. What else is there?

At a quick look I only found this web page covering figures for old models, here W210 E270 CDI data:
W210 E 270 CDI
Antall sylindre 5 (rekke) Antall ventiler 20 Boring/slaglengde 88,0 / 88,3 mm Slagvolum 2685 cm3 Kompresjon 18,0 Effekt 170 HK ved 4200 o./min. Dreiemoment manuelt gir: 370 Nm ved 1600-2800 o./min.
automatgir: 400 Nm ved 1800-2600 o./min.
I did not remember this but you are right bout the E280CDI, here W211 figures:
W211 E 280 CDI Antall sylindre 6 (V) Antall ventiler 24 Slagvolum 2987 cm3 Kompresjon 17,7 Effekt 190 HK ved 4000 o./min. Dreiemoment 400 Nm ved 1400-3200 o./min. med manuelt git
440 Nm ved 1400-2800 o/min. med automatgir
Clearly both have a torque disadvantage with the manual box.

Untertürkheim

I do not think the situation is that clear-cut. From what I understand, the 3,0 V6 320CDI derives its high-speed fuel economy advantage (although the I6 still is rated higher officially) over the 3,2 I6 from the newer 7G rather than a more efficient engine design, which we all know cannot be the case, since an inline arrangement is preferable to the V-form (in this case, both have DPF). Although the reduction in displacement and the far better 7G more than offset the design losses. On the other hand, comparing the 3,0 V6 280CDI to the 2,7 270CDI both with the 6MT, I believe the 270 to be much more efficient even when both are equipped with the 6MT.

Untertürkheim

Also, a simple chip will fix any torque disadvantage.

Diesel Benz

A chip will fix the lack of torque from the engine but does not make the tranny stronger to handle the torque.

The E270CDI certainly is more fuel efficient than the I6 E320 CDI. But so is the E220CDI more efficient that the E270CDI. This is pretty simple, the smaller the engine, the better the efficiency (going to the extreme, the engine could steadily run above the best efficiency load but this engine would be have less than one cylinder, calculated from the E220 power ).

The V6 versus I6 is not much of efficiency, the V6 usually would be better from less friction on the crankshaft. The I6 is ideal for engine vibrations, assuming no balancers etc. were used but that is a different thing, equally to the space issue and safety issues.

Untertürkheim

2004 E320CDI (5AT, DPF)
City (l/100km) 9,4
Highway (l/100km) 5,4
Combined (l/100km) 6,9

2004 E270CDI (6MT, cannot find 5AT info)
9,1
5,1
6,5

2004 E280CDI 5AT, DPF
9,9
5,9
7,3

2009 E220 CDI [6MT, (5AT)]
8,2 --8,7 (9,1 -- 9,6)
4,9-- 5,2 (5,4 -- 5,6)
6,1 -- 6,4 (6,7 -- 7,1)

2009 E280CDI [6MT, (7G)]
9,5-- 9,7 (10,1 -- 10,4)
5,4-- 5,6 (5,6 -- 5,9)
6,9-- 7,1 (7,2 -- 7,5)

2009 E300 Bluetec (7G)
-- (9,9 --10,1)
-- (5,6 -- 5,9)
-- (7,2 -- 7,5)

2009 E320CDI (7G)
-- (10,3 --10,6)
-- (5,6 -- 6,0)
-- (7,3 -- 7,6)

Untertürkheim

Just to keep everyone abreast, I have been told by my service center that MB makes a DPF for the E270CDI, and it will achieve EU4.

Diesel Benz

Is this actually the same passive filter that was used for the I6 E280CDI?

I assume this filter does not appear in EPC for E270CDI, do you know the actual part number?

The E320CDI 2004 fuel consumption figures look good with DPF, like they were better than my E320CDI without DPF. Is this filter actually comparable with the current feedback system based with regeneration capabilities? I assume the performance is different and the fuel consumption influence then too. The original question was about making the E270CDI EU4 capable, this would still work even if the filters were different but I would just like to understand the fuel consumption figures because I don't see anything in the I6 that would otherwise improve efficiency compared to the V6 (with piezo nozzles, higher injection pressure etc.).

Untertürkheim

It would make sense that it could be the same passive filter from the I6 E280CDI, but I do not know, I was told that it is an OEM part, although it may have been developed post-production.

From what I know, not all DPF are regeneration systems. I thought the early I6 and I4 dpf were passive systems. The E280CDI is a mystery, I cannot understand its purpose since both the 320CDI and 3.2I6 280CDI had DPF available, but the 280 used considerably more fuel than the same engine with higher output.

I also agree with you that the newer 3,0 V6 should be more efficient than the 3,2 with all the technical advances, but also the basic reduction in displacement and higher geared 7G tronic should give it a significant advantage.

Cass270

hi can any one tell me what a sign of emission means when it comes up on the dash
i drive e270 only had it for a few days now it says emmision check !
is it something serious? will it cos me alot to fix?
thanks

DanG2

Cass: This is just a guess; you didn't really give us a whole lot of information. Assuming your e270 is a W211 of the proper vintage, go to http://www.mercedestechstore.com/pdf...2008-16-02.pdf. Follow the instructions for Accessing Service Information and navigate to SPECIAL WORK in the Service Menu Screen on Page 18. That will take you to the Special Work Screen on Page 22. Navigate to EXH.-GAS ANALYSIS. That will bring up the NEXT DUE DATE. If the Next Due Date is the date that your Emissions message began to appear, the answer to your question should be obvious.

If you are in a location where periodic emission checks are required, change the date to whatever applies in your case. If periodic checks are not required, set the date to all zeros and it shouldn't bother you again.

If this isn't the answer to your question I expect as a minimum you'll need to find someone with an Onboard Diagnostic code reader and a lot of experience, or take it to a Mercedes shop or dealer and let them diagnose it. Hard to predict what the ultimate cost would be in that case, too many variables.