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how good is benz?

1K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  jdc1244 
#1 ·
ok 'nuff said about mercedes, is the m103 straight six good? could it be considered a fine motor. better than my 3.0 litre Nissan six (RB30E) I have at the moment? I know the Mercedes is elegant, but do you reckon she kicks down or will I need to mod it to get more newtons, say 200 kw or thereabouts.

I look with eager eyes at a '90 300E, ready to lay down some solid biscuits. tint, sunroof, the works, hmm .. My brother just bought a Subaru sti or something and I have caught the itch. just wondering if I am buying a performance car in the 300e.

also can you drop a big V8 in the 300e the same one as used in the early 500e or is it too big or has to be engineered or can my local mechanic perform this. are these engines hard or easy to get hold of. are they cheap in this day and age
 
#2 ·
There was a W124 based 400E available. There was also a W124 based E420. Those are both factory V8’s. Either of those may be a better choice than performing an engine swap. I can’t say whether the M104 based 3.0 Mercedes-Benz is better than the RB30E because I don’t know what your expectations are. Peak HP numbers are nice, but I'd be more interested in how much power was available within a given rev-range. The W124 E was a nice car. I used to lament the fact that the CE was never offered with a V8. Then Mercedes-Benz released the V8 powered CLK’s. :D

Does anyone know if V8 CE's were available anywhere?
 
#4 · (Edited)
its 16 years old, but that engine is a classic. On the highway it feels Turbine smooth and you can feel the engine thrust when you push the pedal as you going past 50-60 MPH it increases speed, let me put it this way... all you hear is a soft humming noise,
* mounted in-line six ( AS is BMW philosophy) to greatly improve BALANCE.

* the RACK AND PIN steering , is precise at highway speeds I think this was the last of the MB with that style of steering before they started testing out circulating ball steering

I would NOT get the v8....the E-class chassis for the 300E for 1990 had an perfect balance achieved with the I6, that resulted in great performance, not so great v8.....

the one issue I did have was once the value seals started going it became expensive.
 
#5 ·
mbeclass said:
its 16 years old, but that engine is a classic. On the highway it feels Turbine smooth and you can feel the engine thrust when you push the pedal as you going past 50-60 MPH it increases speed, let me put it this way... all you hear is a soft humming noise,
* mounted in-line six ( AS is BMW philosophy) to greatly improve BALANCE.

* the RACK AND PIN steering , is precise at highway speeds I think this was the last of the MB with that style of steering before they started testing out circulating ball steering

I would NOT get the v8....the E-class chassis for the 300E for 1990 had an perfect balance achieved with the I6, that resulted in great performance, not so great v8.....

the one issue I did have was once the value seals started going it became expensive.
c'mon..the E500? Instaclassic
 
#6 ·
mbeclass said:
* the RACK AND PIN steering , is precise at highway speeds I think this was the last of the MB with that style of steering before they started testing out circulating ball steering
You got that backwards.

The W124 was the last e-class with recirculating ball steering.

Rack and pinion steering arrived with the W210.

They're both fine, but most feel rack and pinion superior.
 
#9 ·
asianml said:
Wasn't the 500E built with Porsche?
It was.

And to answer the original question:

Q: how good is benz?

A: THE BEST!!!
 
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