Frank Wiesmann

Hi everyone!

I read on a German forum that several W211 drivers, primarily of Diesel models, supposedly increased the top speed of their car by 5 to 10 miles per hour by holding the acceleration position of the crusie control stalk up permanently? Has anyone tried this? Can anyone confirm? Would this deactivate/override the 130 mph speed limiter on US models?

Sceptical greetings.

Have a good weekend!

jim256

Why don't you try and let us know?

Frank Wiesmann

Supposedly it only works on the 2003s. Mercedes changed the software after that.

Davel

Is this a permanent fix? or are you saying that if your at max top speed (130) and you hold the cruise that it will exceed 130 by 10 to 15 mph?:p

DWP

An "override" top speed of 140-145 mph sounds like it could be the real top speed of a six-cylinder W211 without an electronic limiter, taking into account engine power and wind resistance. That, in turn, raises the question of whether my '03 E500 would gain more than 10-15 mph in top speed if the cruise-control "override" really works. The '03 E500's theoretical top speed at redline is about 150 mph in 4th gear and 180 mph in 5th gear, although the latter is highly unlikely even without a speed limiter. Not that I'll ever find out. I don't drive US 93 in northern Nevada more than every few years, and when I do, someone who really, really dislikes triple digits is riding shotgun. Anyway, the cruise-control "override" business has the smell of an urban legend. Are Euro-spec W211s even limited to 130 mph (210 kph) or is that just a US-market thing? Maybe if somebody in the German forum could post a picture of their speedo reading 230 kph...

FJPM

Euro spec E 500 can easily overpass 210 kph to reach the 250 kph electonic limit.
If you modify the CPU you can overpass it.
The questin in Europe is to find an highway not overcrowed and if possible in Germany.
A least in France, such exercise is to comit suicide for your driving licence.

glojo

UK E320CDI saloon has a top speed of 151mph
E500 saloon electronically limited to 155mph

Regards,
John
Very hot and sunny
Torquay

rbordel

According to the manual, the CDI's top speed is limited to 130 mph because of the H-rated tires which come as standard equipment. That being said, I'd doubt you would have much luck getting MB to remove or raise the limit if you were to put on V, W, Y or Z-rated rubber...

Frank Wiesmann

The posts that I read stated that drivers of "unlimited" Euro Spec cars from 2003 were achieving a higher top speed than simply flooring it with this so called cruise control trick. That made me wonder if this could possibly also override the 130 mph limit on US cars, since it is obviously an elcetronic glitch, if it should exist. Euro Spec cars are not governed at 130, but do have some sort of rev limiter or governer at the speed they are rated at so that less powerful cars do not end up passing a more powerful one under certain circumstances. Apparently holding the cruise control on accel. permanently or continually increasing the crusie control speed in increments overrides these limitations.

BoSoxFan

I don't know where I saw it but I once read that Mercedes used speed limiters because Americans preferred all season tires and they were not available at Z-ratings hence the limiter. You can certainly get Z-rated all season tires now. I suspect that the real reason is that they are afraid that some idiot will replace his Z-rated tires with H or less when they wear out, run it up over 130 mph while underinflated, and then sue Daimler-Benz when he blows his tires and rolls his car.

EPower

I'll try tomorrow and let you know!!!

redlands40

last night i had a nice lonley stretch of road, and i thought i would see if i could get the limiter to cut in, i had approx 2 miles and i gunned it,i felt a slight hesitation about 135, but it continued to just under 140mph before i had to slow down,so not sure were the limit is but it was not 130.

before i get comments about the tires blowing, they are rated to 149mph, car was 2003 e500.

glojo

I certainly cannot condone driving at extreme speeds, but through past experience car speedometers are not renowned for their accuracy.

140mph on the speedometer is fast, on an empty quiet road it only needs a wild animal, or dog, to absolutely spoil your day.

Good luck with your experiment

Regards,
John

redlands40

No its not something i do on a regular basis, and i will not be trying again, and yes there are plenty of wild life that could have made it nasty, but fortunatly i got away with it, like you say there is no way of telling for sure if the speed was accurate, unless you hook up some sophisticated gadgets, but there again when is it you want to drive at that speed, just a reckless experiment with a small risk, i can tell that it felt solid at that speed.

glojo

Hi Redlands
Thanks for taking my message in the context it was meant.

Here in the UK most Police Traffic departments will have a 'designated' one mile calibration distance marked out on a dual carriageway. This is usually a black and white pole cemented into the ground and another pole situated exactly one mile distance. Then you simply drive at a set speed and time yourself over the measured mile. They have a chart with all the different times and speeds, so it is quite an easy test.

As I said in my previous post most vehicles speedometers are inaccurate, but always on the high side. I have never known a speedometer to read say 25mph when the vehicle is travelling faster.

I am glad to hear your vehicle was stable at those high speeds.

Regards,
John

DWP

Redlands -

When you did your high-speed run (into the Everglades, or whatever) did you do the cruise-control thing, or just keep your foot on the loud pedal? At speeds like that I would want both hands firmly on the wheel.

I have to wonder if the tach is a more accurate, although indirect, measure of velocity than the speedo. On an '03 E500, the ratio of RPM to velocity is about 25mph/1000 RPM in 4th and and 30mph/1000 RPM in 5th:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/...es500_data.pdf

But then, of course, deriving velocity from RPMs would require you to study the W211's smallish tach at speed instead of the road, not a good idea. Too bad the display doesn't let you call up RPMs in large digits like it does MPH.

Double Eagle

I've found the easiest way to check your speedometer is to use the green mile post markers along all of the US Interstates. You can use cruise control to set your desired speed and then measure the seconds it takes to go one mile. Divide the number of seconds into 3600 and you will get the exact average speed for that mile. If you want greater accuracy, go two miles and divide the seconds it takes into 7200.

I've found that my MB E-500 speedometer is accurate from 40 to 85 mph over a two mile measurement. The milepost markers are required on all interstates today.

redlands40

i did think about trying the cruise control, but the road was not very smooth, and fooling around with the cruise control may be asking for trouble at those speeds, i do have another road in mind that may suit the experiment, so i may try it, will post if i do it.

BoSoxFan

In Virginia, getting caught at more than 20mph over the limit will get you a Reckless Driving citation which has a BIG impact on insurance not to mention the fine and points. I've been told that getting caught at 100mph or more involves a trip to the cooler to get booked. For that reason, I limit my very high speed driving to Germany. I have to admit that one of the great thrills of my life was driving my then-new Boxster at 155mph (250kmph) on the autobahn. It was rock solid. From the way I've seen MBs blow by me on the autobahn, I would bet that they are too. I understand that there are a lot of tracks that have open driving days (for a fee) if you want to see what your car will do. I know that Summit Point here in Virginia does it but I've never tried it.

04E500

134 indicated on the speedo, the car is solid, no worries. The cruise would not go above this limit.