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Been busy the past few days... Really tempted by fallin's E550 but also wanted to stay away from the airmatic suspension. I will be driving mostly in town - small town with a short distance (~2.5 miles) to/from work. So tending to lean towards an E350. You guys are right - not many of the E550's out there, and fallin's is an exceptional example. If I lived in L.A. that's probably the direction I would have went. I saw a platinum certified 2016 E350 with only 14,1xx miles on it and took it for a test drive. Sport package, premium package, keyless go. After a couple days of negotiating with the dealer then pleading with the boss (wife) I bit the bullet and picked it up on Sunday. I have a few questions which I'll post in a new thread, but here she is. Thank you all for your input - I truly appreciate it!!!
Congrats! I thought my 2016 had low miles at 29k when I bought it in December.. wow 14k! Still new. Hope you love it as much as I love mine. And post some more pics!
After reading the tire size/wheel comments I actually double checked the tire sizes... I would have been fine with a square setup but was happy to confirm the staggered setup on those wheels.
Will start another thread to post pics and ask some questions... Already read a bit on the annoying start/stop (ECO?) which I apparently have to disable every time I get in the car. I guess same goes with economy/sport mode - I left the car in sport mode last night and it powered up to economy mode...
Yes, it will default back to economy mode. There is a company that has a product to defeat the ECO start/stop. Mid-City Engineering. Ask poster dbldpr for info.
I left the car in sport mode last night and it powered up to economy mode...
It used to be that sport mode started off in 1st gear and the "C" mode as it was called started off in 2nd. But now either mode starts in 1st gear. I honestly don't know that I've put mine in S mode yet. Is it a huge difference? Car seems plenty powerful just in E mode.
I did - see post #31 where I said it depended on the rims, not the drivetrain, as to whether or not an E350 had a staggered setup. That was before you even chimed into this thread to start with. Yes, Mercedes used to do it differently. That changed. That's what a few of us were trying to get across while a few other people have been trying to insist it has to do with 4Matic.
Anyway, enough of this. Wonder what the OP decided to do?
So you are saying that now you can buy a brand new E-Class 4Matic from MB dealer with staggered setup without voiding any transmission warranties?
So you are saying that now you can buy a brand new E-Class 4Matic from MB dealer with staggered setup without voiding any transmission warranties?
I didn't get that from his quote at all. I was guessing that he meant that 4matic had square set up and now even RWD could be a square setup instead of staggered. Which I guess is a good thing because lots of people didn't like the staggered setup, couldn't rotate and rear tires wore down twice as fast.
I didn't get that from his quote at all. I was guessing that he meant that 4matic had square set up and now even RWD could be a square setup instead of staggered. Which I guess is a good thing because lots of people didn't like the staggered setup, couldn't rotate and rear tires wore down twice as fast.
Yes, you are correct. Some are deliberately obtuse.
Not to belabor this word debate, but see post #51, a common E350 -- non AMG -- with AMG (staggered) wheels. Just sayin'
dude,
the argument here is if MB sells staggered wheels for 4Matic E-Class other than AMG models. My stand is not and LILBENZ say they do. If they now do it is news to me but I have not seen one by MB yet.
RWD can use whatever you want to put under it that fits but 4Matic has been limited to square setup with both Luxury and Sports appearance packages.
Looking at the axle speeds:
On E class 245/40R18 front and 265/35R18 rear has the rear axle speed at 0.98% of the front.
The two AMG models:
E53 has 245/40R19 in front and 275/35R19 in rear making rear axle speed 0.99% of the front.
Similarly AMG E63 has 265/35R20 front and 295/30R20 Rear making rear axle speed 0.99% of the front.
Now, it could be splitting hairs but MB may think that 1% speed difference is ok with AMG models as people buying those probably don't care that much (maybe) if their center differential lock wears out faster than it should. These people may just get a new ride every couple of years...who knows.
But it is obvious that MB considers 2% speed difference to be too much to allow center differential lock wear too fast on family cars that in most cases are kept at the first owner longer when the extended warranty can make it even 7 years. For this MB is protecting itself not allowing staggered setup with the common E-Class that is the back bone of their business, or at least used to be.
The 4Matic in the AMG is not the same as the normal E class, Arrie. It has a higher tolerance for the staggered setup to operate. I will try to dig up the specific information regarding that from MB.
ok, please read about the specific AMG modifications by Tobias Moer and his team when developing the E63 4Matic. In 2014 they decided to offer only AWD in the E63, and realized dropping the current 4Matic unit was not going to work with the torque vectoring requirements. The AMG continues with a 4 Matic that is unique to this day.
It used to be that sport mode started off in 1st gear and the "C" mode as it was called started off in 2nd. But now either mode starts in 1st gear. I honestly don't know that I've put mine in S mode yet. Is it a huge difference? Car seems plenty powerful just in E mode.
Used to be? My 2015's (E400 and GLK350) both start out in second gear in 'C' mode, and both start out in first gear in 'S' mode. I know this to be true, because I use both modes. . . a lot.
I don't have any other recent experience, but my 1988 190-E started out in second gear unless you manually selected first at a stop, too.
I recall that MB program automatics to start on 2nd gear about 35 years ago when W124 had it and the only way to shift to 1st was flooring gas pedal.
Now in W212 different engines have different programs.
Mine E250 Bluetec as well as Sprinter always start on 1st.
Used to be? My 2015's (E400 and GLK350) both start out in second gear in 'C' mode, and both start out in first gear in 'S' mode. I know this to be true, because I use both modes. . . a lot.
I don't have any other recent experience, but my 1988 190-E started out in second gear unless you manually selected first at a stop, too.
Weird - this stuff is very inconsistent. My 2014 C350 and 2016 E350 both started in 1st regardless. It was explained to me that this started with the new transmissions somewhere 2012-2013 but definitely when eco start/stop became standard. If you search around the forums you will find people with 2014-2016 E-classes reporting different things. Some say it's always D1 from a stop regardless of mode. Some swear E starts in D2.
Who knows. Mine definitely starts in D1 and I think this is the norm based on what it has said in the owners manuals since at least 2014.
Read the manual. When with huge HP modern engines deliver you might not notice softer start on 2nd, but I recall reading that W212 with 350 do start on 2nd in C mode and took me some reading to find why my 250 starts on 1st.
Read the manual. When with huge HP modern engines deliver you might not notice softer start on 2nd, but I recall reading that W212 with 350 do start on 2nd in C mode and took me some reading to find why my 250 starts on 1st.
Who should read the manual? My 2016 E350 (as well as all of them I test drove, and DFW as well) start in 1st gear in either E or S mode. That's not a question. It displays D1 at a stop, and shifts 7 times, every time. So it's not us not noticing or whatever, this is how it behaves. Even so, the manual is ambiguous. It states that S involves a 1st gear start, but it doesn't mention a particular gear for E mode. It just says gentle/smooth. So the manual is of limited use.
Perhaps the programming is different on the E400. But the OP's E350 should perform the same.. always 1st gear start. I just think it is strange that this stuff is not universal.
Read the manual. When with huge HP modern engines deliver you might not notice softer start on 2nd, but I recall reading that W212 with 350 do start on 2nd in C mode and took me some reading to find why my 250 starts on 1st.
See my post #70. If my 2016 started in D2 instead of D1, I would notice. I've read the manual, and watched a couple weeks to see if the car starts out in D2 (2nd), just to see. It doesn't and I'm happy to see it.
My 2001 C-Class will start in D2 if it's in "W" mode (Winter, for snow starts). But otherwise, always from 1st. I don't think the W212 has a Winter mode, best I can tell. Just Economy and Sport... D1 in both.
So. . . I guess there is a lot of variability here. It may depend upon the whole drive train and option make-up of each car, or it may be at random. Some find that their cars start in D1, others D2 when in Comfort mode. All start in D1 when in Sport mode.
Any chance it is a dealer-adjustable setup parameter that is somehow dictated by where the car is originally delivered? Both our GLK350 and the E400 were delivered in a suburb of Chicago - an area known for snow and lousy winter driving conditions. Could this be somehow linked to why the cars both start in D2 when in Comfort mode?
This all seems to be too much of a random finding. There must be some logical thought behind it.
You knew good and damn well with those rims he has a staggered setup.
