450SEL @ Freeway Speeds

[Mercules]

Having only putted around the streets and a short squirt up the M2, I have never really driven my W116 for any extended period at high speed (over 110 kph) It may not really be that fast but with 50kph zones everywhere in Sydney it is a big difference.

Drove from Sydney to the Central Coast up the F3 today and the 450 just sings along the whole way - it is revving way too high for a V8 (damn these 1976 gear ratios suck!) but barely required any throttle to blast up all of the hills & dippers - left all the Falcons & Commodores for dead. Fuel economy was good too - used 1/4 tank and covered 160kms at a healty pace...

...14.06 L/100km is by far the best fuel economy I have ever seen in this thing - usually it is around 24 L/100km! If I could get 14 L/100km all the time I would keep the bloody thing!

The car also felt very smooth - you barely feel the bumps - seems to get smoother the faster you go! The seat cushions seems to work in tune with the vehicle suspension to ensure maximum comfort. Steering response was good but body roll was to be expected.

Maybe not the world's most exciting story but these are my thoughts for the day.


Cameron

 

[s class]

The car also felt very smooth - you barely feel the bumps - seems to get smoother the faster you go! The seat cushions seems to work in tune with the vehicle suspension to ensure maximum comfort. Steering response was good but body roll was to be expected.

I understand completely what you are saying. My 280SE has always seemed to get better the faster one goes. It does back roads at 150 plus no problem, potholes and all.

Keep the car - you know you want to!

 

[-bb-]

Fuel economy was good too - used 1/4 tank and covered 160kms at a healty pace...

I dont feel so bad now about the economy my 6.9 got on Saturday.

Filled it up ($140 to bloody fill it) and went cruising in Newcastle; used about 1/4 tank for about 130km of driving with...ahem... very generous amounts of throttle used whenever I could.

I had almost forgotten how much fun it is to bury the pedal, get pushed back into the seat and and listen to the V8 song.

 

[Styria]

...is the best I've seen in this thing - no name yet for the old girl ? Judging by your experience, it looks as though the big 4.5 litre for the weekends and shank's pony at other times...not a bad arrangement !

If you were to compare, say 15l/100 to 10l/100, that's a difference moneywise of about $12.00 extra for your journey for two people. Therefore, if motoring in an old car with old technologies is of no real concern to you, then the 'big 4.5 litre" is not a bad way of going, especially if one considers the purchase price and the money the car owes you.That, then, becomes fairly cheap motoring.

There is no doubt that Mercedes are built for the highway. You always feel that the cars are undergeared, yet a longish trip will convince you that the ratios are ideal - in fact, the faster you go, the better they like it. Perhaps better fuel economy could be achieved by the fitting of a 2.42:1 ratio diff. from a 500, and that could be worth an experiment but until you do, there is no way of telling if economy would be improved. Regards Styria

 

[John S]

Any numerically lower diff ratio would help with fuel economy, and there should be plenty of 126 diffs available from the 380, 420, 500 and 560 models which bolt straight in (without the traction control).

 

[BAR]

Hi Mercules

Welcome to the intercity experience for which this car was designed. Eating up miles in relative comfort and speed.

Back when this car was on the drawing boards water was free and petrol cost just a little bit more.

Adding an overdrive came along with the W126, saving fuel and cutting a few hundred revs off the engine speed, also providing a reduction in interior noise levels.

I use my Big Brown Bitch [450SE Milan Brown] to commute nearly every weekend to the Central Coast [220Kms round trip in my case] and realy love the effortless cruising. If only my cruise control would work properly, then my let leg could relax.

My only complaint, if you could call it such, is that due to the older [inferior] areodynamics, there is a lot of wind noise in the W116, that isn't present with a modern cheap car, even a Mazda or Toyota. That said, the chassis and tyre combination plus the superior build quality reduces road / tyre noise, even the modern cheapies howl when driven on anyhting other than smooth bitumen roads.

So for me, life's great, especially when I turn up the volume on the stereo.

By the way, keeping to the legal limit or just below provides a 5-7% improvement in economy for me versus running at 120 - 125Kmh. Once the engine goes over 3,000 rpm she really enjoys the refreshing taste of fossil fuel.

 

[Michel]

Hi Mercules

Welcome to the intercity experience for which this car was designed. Eating up miles in relative comfort and speed.

My only complaint, if you could call it such, is that due to the older [inferior] areodynamics, there is a lot of wind noise in the W116, that isn't present with a modern cheap car, even a Mazda or Toyota.

I concur on the wind noise.
The difference between driving my 116s and the 126s is soooooo noticeable.

The 126 slices through the air without wind resistance and thus quietly.
The 116 would whistle as you hit 110 and above