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Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedans
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Comments
M
Do you think that an E500 is stable on U.S. interstate highways at 180 mph?
Thats 264 feet per second.
As far as a 7-speed automatic being quicker than a 5 or 6 speed, I seriously doubt it - perhaps just the opposite. Most cars make it 0-60 in 2nd gear requiring only one shift. No matter how quick the shifts are, adding a second shift would likely produce a slower time. And staqndard Mercedes automatics are not quick shifting, in my opinion. After test driving a AMG C32, my friend's E430 seemed quite slow shifting by comparison.
The 7-speed seems particularly curious for Mercedes, considering they are pumping torque in their high performing cars. In my Honda S2000, all 6 gears are necessry to get maximum performance and the 150 mph top speed out of the 9,000 rpm low torque engine. Linking a 7-speed to a low rpm, high torque engine seems almost counerproductive to performance. If the engine is lugging along at 65 mph in 7th gear on the highway, how many gears will it need to drop to have some punch?
Kudo's to the marketing guys for making something out of nothing.
P.S. There is a parallel in wheels and tires. I have yet to drive a car under $70k that handles better than my S2000, equiped with 16" wheels and 50 series tires. Putting 18-19"+ wheels and 35-40 series tires on cars that are less capably designed from the gound up may look impressive on the showroom floor or in sales brochures, but doesn't necessarily translate to better performance where it counts.
http://www.germancarfans.com/news.cfm/newsid/2030515.001
M
If Lexus hasn't yet 'improved' upon it then they don't want to hear of it.
Sour grapes.
Does anyone have any information on projected introduction dates.
The article seems to suggest that the entire redesign - not just 2 more gears - will lead to improved fuel efficiency and performance. I just hope the new "driver adaptive shifting" or whatever it's called works better than on my friends E430. I have gone on record giving AMG credit for perhaps the best automatics I have driven (C32, E55), but I had been unimpressed with the standard Mercedes automatic when pressed beyond casual acceleration / highway cruising.
So I am willing to stand corrected, notwithstanding that the article looks like it was written by Mercedes for reprint in "GermanCarFans". I will look forward to seeing actual road tests of the new transmission to see how well it delivers on its promises.
However gradually introducing new powertrain advancements are usually the Mercedes norm. They rarely come out with a new car/engine and new
transmission all in one swoop. This way the new gearboxes will have been proven before the new engines arrive.
M
I know this might sound Incendiary but it's not 'personal'.
What does 'proven' mean? How long does it take MB (or other car companies that operate this way) to prove that their 'new' eleventy-nine speed gizmos really work?
Is that the marketing word that MB uses for 'beta' quality components in their cars.
What a wild idea it might be for them to 'prove' something through significant testing before selling it to customers or maybe even, what other marques, do which is racing?
How long does one wait for new MB technology to be 'proven'?
M
The top speed has everything to do with gearing, hp, drag, chassis design/aerodynamics, etc. I am curious to know how the E sedan would do when coupled with a 7speed - 180 is merely my guess. Do not take this statement to the bank!
M
The new E55 with it's significant power increase will capture the "gotta have more" buyer attention for a few months. But, in reality, the former E55 offered more power than 97% of the buyers could handle. The problem with the C32 and E55 in particular are that, after the power infatuation wears off, they are not as dynamically balanced or fun to drive as their BMW M3 and M5 6-speed counterparts. That's my opinion, having owned both, but it also seems to be supported by resale values.
If you happen to be someone who would buy a 2003 E55 to hold on to for 10 years and 150k miles, then pay whatever you want. But I suspect that MSRP or below will be possible shortly. My neighbor got his SL55 for exactly MSRP.
px260, et al: 180 mph for an E500?!? Be honest - you skipped physics classes?
Forgetting lift and stability issues which would make the E-class a suicide car to drive at over 150 mph, just based upon air drag, wheel friction and other forces, 180 mph would require roughly 57% more power to achieve and maintain than 150 mph. The current 302 hp E500 is drag limited (not gearing limited) to about 155 mph. So it would take about 474 horsepower to achieve 180 mph. Factoring in lift which goes up exponentially with speed, you'd likely be airborne after about 175.
If you have driven the autobahn, you will notice that the E-class is not usually in the faast lane. The S-class has better high speed stability as does the BMW 5 & 7 series, Audi S8 and a few others.
I am taking as much advantage of being able to drive on speedlimit-free autobahn in Germany. I have driven the previous gen. E320 up to 125 mph or so, and did not feel much lift at all, same with BMW 530i. I did have a chance to test drive an M5 and gone up to 165 mph indicated (accounting for speedo error, more like 154 or so) and I could feel the front end getting lighter ever so slightly. This is the reason some of the German tuners will recommend aerodynamic and suspension pkg with the Vmax module.
I agree with epn2's analysis too.
There's an article by John McCormick in today's Detroit News comparing the new Porsche Carrera to the Ferrari Enzo. The effort to get to real high speeds takes a special design.
The Porsche has a V10 with 612 hp and a 6 speed transmission and is supposed to reach 205 mph. It's an incredible vehicle with a carbon fiber body designed from the ground up for very high speeds and incredible handling. These are areas that both Porsche and BMW have had as forté's for a long time.
I don't think that an E Class will come anywhere close to 180 mph. That's not what it was designed for, nor will a 7 speed transmission make much a difference in its top speed.
M
The new E55 has 17% more horsepower than a M5. All else being equal (aerodynmaics, lift, etc), that would suggest a top speed of perhaps 6-7% higher than the 170+/- mph the M5 is capable of - or roughly 178-182 mph. From my experience and what I have read, however, the E55 - even the new one - is not as aerodynamically stable at high speeds as the M5. My guess is that I would have a greater likelihood of throwing a baseball faster than Randy Johnson as the E55 would be of hitting 200 mph (and the driver living to tell about it).
As for the "clocking" of the SL55 at 208 mph, that sounds more like an urban legend than reality. Granted the SL55 has a few more horsepower than the E55 and is better designed for high speed, but, based upon my back of the envelope calculations, a 400hp Ferrari 360 with a top speed of 180 would need another 170 to 200 horsepower (i.e. 570 to 600 total) to achieve 208. And it's three quarters of a ton lighter and considerably more aerodynamic than the 493 hp SL55.
By the way, in it's latest crop of engines, AMG has prioritized low end torque at least as much or more than maximum horsepower. That does produce some pretty impressive acceleration numbers. But 2800 rpm torque has no relationship to top speed at the top of the rev band. Many slightly modified muscle cars of the 60's and 70's could achieve quicker 1/4 mile times (under 11 seconds) than the best of the current AMG, BMW, Ferrari and even Porsche offerings thanks to 500-600+ ft. lbs of torque. But very few of them had a top speed that could match the 153 ft. lb Honda S2000 (150 mph).
I'm no physics professor, but I attended enough classes to be highly skeptical of the projections or claims of 180, 200, or 208 mph for E and SL class Mercedes.
"It seems most European customers (and a small number of Americans) have the restrictor removed. Unrestrained, Mercedes reports the SL55 AMG can run to an intoxicating 208 mph—on the Papenburg proving ground, of course. The problem is tires. No road tires exist for these speeds in a 4400-pound car, so even the "unlimited" SL55 is constrained to 186 mph..."
Car and Driver took their long-term E320 a few years back to Brabus and tried to break 212 with it but they kept running into a variety of speed limiters on the car, I believe the last one they ran into was around 190. The car had a ground effects kit and they commented that the car never had any problem maintaining 180+ with the aircon on and CD player playing. However, there were significant mods on that car structurally.
According to either Top Gear or CAR, the current C32 is able to reach 178 unlimited and the previous E320 (with 224 horsepower) was able to reach 147.
I didn't say the car would be stable at that speed, I just said that the E55 could probably reach that speed since the SL55 has done it with more weight. Mercedes' have always been able to reach relatively high top speeds with less hp than you might think. The W124 300E could do 137 mph with only 177hp, and that was back in 1986. Anyway it really isn't that serious to get into applying all the calculations and what not, as they don't always give you the correct outcome. My comment about the E55 was just speculation, the SL55 was not as it has been proven.
M
"It's the fastest processor in this class" said Flip Slick, in an article in IntelIntel, their monthly marketing magazine.
Intel performed the test at their California headquarters in a special laboratory housing which included a debris shield.
A 100 amp power supply, 1 terahertz NIST clock, and liquid hydrogen cooling bath rounded out the set up.
No-op de Loop, a reporter from the monthly enthusiast testblog, "Toast and Crash", was on hand to witness the event. "Dis vas grate. You coult see the packedge shaking wilolently yust before it wexploded".
Mr. Slick pointed out that this package was very, very similar to the ones that you could buy at Compusa. "In fact they are so similar, this package uses the same kind of energy as the commercial P4s, electricity" he said tongue-in-cheekly.
Is the softest setting on the E55 comparable to any setting on the E 500 ? I have an intermittent bad back and would like to have an E 55 if I can get it to sometimes ride more comfortably that the past model did without the adjustable suspension.
Also - Just replaced the orig. contis on my 2000 E-430 with Turanza's - MAJOR improvement - like a new car- price was excellent- $193 incl. bal. and new valves. (Firestone Co. Store !!!)
I suggest you try to find one you can drive yourself. I also have occassional lower back pain and stiffness. The M5 has never bothered me, but the BMW M5 seats fit me better and offer more support than the Mercedes "multi-contour" or AMG sport seats.
I am purchasing a E320 (2002 model) from Boston
and need to ship to California (San Jose).
Any recommendations on moving agents will be most
welcome. Is this a safe thing to do ? Do these
companies offer any insurance, and if so, should
I avail of it ?
thanx
-john
Thanks
If your light continues to appear, take it in and have the system interragated.
For the rest of this forum with cars approaching the end of their warrantee, let me share my experiences. Since the 49,000 mile mark I have had a window regulator, cd changer, and an oxygen sensor fail. All were replace under warrantee.
I asked the service manager if this was an indication of higher costs after the warrantee expires. Their most frequent problems are cup-holders that have been victims of sticky spills, rear window regulators that have not been used regularly (they have never replaced the drivers regulator), air-mass sensors, and oxygen sensors.
All of these repairs are the same cost, if not lower, than domestic repairs. To illustrate how MB prices can be kept down, look at the brakes. The soft pads dust like crazy but protect the rotors. My front brake pad replacement at 42,000 miles was $165.
I think you have 7 weeks, 5 days, 18 hours and 5 minutes and your car will totally self-destruct. LOL! Just kidding.
I really like the style of the 2003 E but my 2000 E430 sport is running perfectly and I just can't imagine trading it until I have problems. Mine will go out of warranty in October. Currently I have 21,500 miles.
I've had only a few items under warranty that have been done besides the regular maintenance. Both vanity mirrors/sunvisors replaced (both vanity covers broke), an oxygen sensor and a malfunctioning fog light assembly.
The one thing I like most about my E is that the air conditioner is the coldest and strongest I've had on any car. My 2002 ML500 is almost as good. I have noticed that the brakes on the ML sqeel like your E does. My E is quiet.
Just my .02 worth, Mark156
I got into the 2003 E320 thinking that it would blow me away. I got out of it with a greater appreciation for the 2000 E320.
As an aside, my Bridgestone Turanza LS-H tires are quieter, better handling, and smoother than the new MXV4 XSE on the 2003.
Before I jump to the 211 series, I would have to try the new transmission, the air suspension, and an upgrade in engine to the 350 or the new direct-injection technology.
Don't take this as a MB bashing. I just think that the base E320 is not improved all that much in 211 form.
Other than the above observation, the overall character of the steering has not changed with the newly designed rack and power boosting.
How do I get the console apart to reconnect the linkage?
Seems like a simple enough repair if I could just get access. Fortunately, this happened in my driveway after doing 4 hours of errands all over the Washington DC metro area!
This is the 2nd time taking my wife's 02 E320 AWD in for this problem, & the noise has returned after 3 months. (and it's more severe this time)
Any suggestions on how to make this the last time getting this item repaired?
Otherwise, the car has performed well.
This was the first major failure in 42 K miles and nearly 5 years for this car.
I too am considering an '04, but so far I'm not getting any warm and fuzzy feelings from this site...
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
In all other respects this E-320 is a great car so far. I,too, had reservations reading this board beforehand, but went ahead and so far have had good luck. For what it is worth in 2002 The Subaru boards were very concerning, but I finally went ahead there also and bought my wife a new Outback. So far that car has been outstanding.
I read these boards carefully for heads up info and quiz service advisors about them. About all you can say is cars are cars and problems do develop. My previous Acura 3.5 was a great car, but it had rattles in the sunroof the dealer never could stop and they worked hard several times to fix it. Best of luck, I think the MB 320 is a good car.
new tranny at 45k (3 visits to get in right
new pulley and oil pan at 55k (3 visits)
abs/esp/yadayadayada light show on and off for
first two years (2 visits)
clunky tranny always
new dash lights twice
esp activation on gentle ramp exiting
2 radio
etc
"Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how'd you like the play?"
Am occ. considering a new E500 or S500 but can't seem to overcome the concerns about more electrical/tranny problems and general unreliability (and am tired of Dodge neon loaners). Anyone else have similar concerns RE: 2004 models (4matic) coming in fall? With warranty and maintenance covered for 4yrs/50k, my dealer is overloaded with cars in for service-I just doubt MB reliability.
Maybe a Cayenne TT??