Lil Reds Replacement!!

Some of you may remember a post I made awhile ago about some nut with a cell phone 'murdering' my Lil Red...a 1986 300ZX that I had just finished restoring:cry. Here's that link http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=85773 Anyhow, after that I decided I need a larger, safer car and settled on this 1994 S500. http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e396/xdrpa/Mercedes/DSCF2622.jpghttp://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e396/xdrpa/Mercedes/DSCF2623.jpghttp://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e396/xdrpa/Mercedes/DSCF2624.jpghttp://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e396/xdrpa/Mercedes/DSCF2626.jpghttp://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e396/xdrpa/Mercedes/DSCF2631.jpghttp://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e396/xdrpa/Mercedes/DSCF2628.jpg

When I bought her, she had only 75,000 miles...she now has 94,000. I figured that's less than 10,000 miles a year.

BTW, that German license plate is the one that came with the car in 1994 when the previous owner bought her in Aachen, Germany in 1994. He drove it over there for 5 years and then had her shipped to the States in 1999 and then gave it to his son, which is who I bought it from.

 

Sweet ride! The S class is a nice car. That one looks nice and clean. And being a '94 model, you have most likely bypassed a lot of the computerized stuff in the newer models.

And those things are built like a tank as far as a crash goes.

Enjoy! :-D

 

The only drawback, so far is the price of gas! When I bought her gas prices were fairly reasonable and since all she uses is premium, filling that 30 gallon tank wasn't too costly. Now, however with gas through the roof, that 5.0 litre V-8 is about ready to send me to the poor house:cry I calculated the mileage last week and she gets 17 mpg city and 23 mpg highway, which I guess isn't too bad for a car with a GVW of a little less than 3 tons!!! You're right Fred_G, the thing IS a tank!!!:-D

 

They run on the regular gas as well. I have no afiliation with MB, just reporting what I have done and seen in the past. Use that as you wish. :cool

 

You're 100% correct, they can run on regular gas without the valves 'pinging,' or any other adverse affects. The reasoning behind that, I learned on the Mercedes forum, is because the ECU has a 'chip' inside that senses the octane rating and adjusts, I believe the timing, to prevent any ill effects. But I guess I'm just a creature of habit, as alot of us are. However, if gas goes any higher, this creature of habit will have to become a creature of change and start using regular I was taught that premium gas is 'better' for the engine and that you get better gas mileage. Now I don't know just how true that statement is but, like I said, if gas goes any higher, I'm going to find out!!!

 

What happens if you use a lower octane is the sensor sniffs it out and retards the ignition system,that's all good but the downside is that it burns the valve seats so that over time the motor does not perform as well as it should.

My father had the same car for many years (12) and never had an inclination to change it, whe he died it had 197000 miles on it and it still ran like new.

If you have a problem with gas you could always change to some thing smaller.
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/9523/111gocart2950104nf1.jpg

 

roflmaoroflmao That was GREAT!!! Thanks Billmcc66 for claifying that for me. I knew the sensor did something and I thought it was to retard the timing. Hey, I've been wrong before So there ARE ill effects to using regular in the long run in these cars. I guess the German engineers knew what they were doing when they designed these cars and put that warning about using premium only all over the place! Well, I may have to spend more at the pump now,:cry but it sure beats having to have a valve job later on....especially since The MB dealer here charges $98.00 an hour labor!! Again, thanks for the info, it was much appreicated!!

 

That's low mileage I owned two. The first I bought new a 220 did 485000 kilometers (301365 miles) when I sold her. The second a 280e I bought second hand only 10000 kilometers on the clock , she had done just on 7500000 (466028) when I sold her. Enjoy they are great cars.