So I have multiple sites, forums, and even magazines that are giving different answers.....


I haven't tested the limits of the S Class. I did test the two previous and they are accurate. S55 did 155mph and the S430 did 130mph.




What is the top speed of a 2002 S500? please don't quote sources, there different all over the place. I rather ask some of the braver souls that have done it safely somewhere as there is NO place in metro atlatna for me to safely test it.

 

My S600 has a speed limiter that kicks in (softly, not a hard fuel cutoff) at 130MPH. I would expect that the S500 is the same...in the US market...

 

I think that's the catch, it depends on the market. wonder why it would be limited in America and not the UK.

 

130mph.

 

we have speed limits europe doesn't, i here that in montana they don't have spped limits on some roads, but i might be wrong, we'll never know and to try it, we would get a super speeder ticket.

 

I believe the AMG are 155 and non AMG 130 unless you remove the limiters

 

In Europe, fast German cars are generally limited to 250km/h (155 mph). Porsche are the exception.

Nick

 

I've been up to 220 kmh = 136 mph and still pulling in my 2004 S430. On a closed road and unfortunately not enough room to get to 155, which I believe it is limited to. It is a Canadian car, not sure if that makes a difference. Here is a youtube video of another S430 reaching 250 kmh = 155mph. Doesn't say if there are any mods. Mine is just stock, 10 years old and was just under 100,000 miles in it when I did it. Odd an S500 would be limited to 130 - maybe a US thing?

 

I think the tires are too narrow for speeding safely pass 130mph. My 03 S430 has 225 all around, and I'm not sure about the S500 and S600, but I would imagine somewhere in that range. The weight of the car as well; these S-classes are well over 5000 lbs. It must be pretty hard to get up to those speeds with such a tank.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

 

I have 245/45 18" on my S430. It actually handled well and was very stable at high speed. Not quite the SL63 but pretty decent for a 4 door sedan. These cars are built for the autobahn, definitely different than North American vehicles.

 

It is not the width of the tires , it is the speed rating of the tires (hr/vr/zr etc)

S430 and s500 were often fitted with hr tires that gave a 130 max safe speed , so they limited them in the USA to 130. (Some cars had a sport package with better rated tires)

All AMG cars used higher speed rated tires so there was no problems with limiting at 155

 

Good point Tusabes. My tires are rated Y, so up to 186 - I only wish I could use them up to that

Hadn't thought about cars being limited just because of the tires. That would explain vm's original top speed limits on his vehicles.

 

Many cars have factory limits tied to tire speed ratings , most American cars have 112 or 118 mph limiters to match the s/t speed ratings

 

Can I disable the speed limit with the star system ?

 

i don't know if it can be done with star but eurocharge tune will remove the limit and make the car more able to hit a higher speed, and the tune is on sale now, i was thinking of doing it to my s430!

 

I didn't see a 430 tune on the Eurocharged site when I looked. I was considering OE Tuning. HP to 299 and torque to 318 for $395 + 200 for the flash unit. Not sure if this would make a noticeable difference, has anyone done their 430? I love the S but after driving the SL63 all summer I wouldn't mind a bit more power for my winter ride.

 

Interesting, 600 bucks to make a 430 run like a 500. Wonder if it will make a 500 run like a 600.

 

And not even close. I can't justify 600 dollars if you own a 500 series. But, if I had my 430 still back in the day I would do it. Having had both their is a significant engine difference

 

youv'e had an s 55 you know what real power is, and you can use it in atl!

 

I think I'll order it up and have it delivered to m in the US when I'm there over the holidays. Hopefully if there is that much of a difference I'll be able to feel it. I'll post once I've uploaded and tested it .

 

This is what I'm struggling with now. I'm under no illusion the tune will make the car feel THAT much better. I bought the SL63 last spring and is now my summer ride. I still love the 430 but really miss the power of the 63 engine. I'm debating a used S63 but unfortunately 4 wheel drive for Canadian winters, although in Toronto isn't an absolute must, the fews days a year when you need it, it's great to have. In the interim I'll try the tune and see what it's like. Recently test drove the CLA 45 to see if it might be an ok replacement, but sooo far away from the S Class they're in a different hemisphere. Felt very light and cheap for a $60,000 car. A used S63 is not much more.

Sorry VM if I'm taking us off track of your original thread.

 

Nah , your good. I saw the CLA. Only new mercedes models that interest me are of course the new s class, the g wagon, and the cls. All of which are a little high for my pocket book. I was entertaing the idea of a cl or cls 55 mid 2000 models. But jesus, s classes are just so cheap and actually not that difficult to work on when you know how. And, know which ones to stAy away from. As far as the s55, yeah I had one. Paid 110000 for that thing back in my hay day. But , it wasn't supercharged. So it never really impressed me that much more than a regular 500. And call me crazy but I like airmatic more than abc . Both in comfort and pocket book


Don't get me wrong, the non supercharged are still very nice and true amg cars but that can't hold crap to the supercharged ones. Those things are on whole different levels

 

The S600 gets up to that speed rather quickly...about 5 seconds to 60...about another 5 to 100 MPH...and it's not long after that when the limiter kicks in...at 130 MPH. 590 lbft and 500+ HP will do that.

As far as safe? Well, Y-rated tires (245/45R18) that are correctly inflated will easily handle that speed....width has little to do with speed rating...or safety...

 

I have the Z rated tires on my S600 and have had it up over 160 on the I-15 between Baker and Vegas after midnight. The limiter has been deactivated during a tune. It scared the crap out of me and I had to slow it down after just a minute or two. When you are passing cars that are going 80 MPH like they are standing still it gets a bit hairy. I also kept thinking about becoming road pizza if I had a blow out or if I hit some debris at that speed like a chunk of blown truck tires. I still had over 1500 RPM to redline and I am sure it would have gotten to 185+ with no problem.

IF I had the ***** for it that is...

 

How much did you pay to get the speed limiter deactivated