Thanks for the support guys. That said, I don't intend "disrespect" towards the new models. Some things have changed in the whole lineup and they have been changing for years. Look at the paint on a new W220, a late W140, an early W140, and a W126 that is in top original condition. I will not comment on what you'll see as I'm confident enough that your own eyes will give you the info you need. Having owned several MB's in different vintages I'm noticing a trend of the newer cars having more problems. No matter what your opinion on quality of either materials or build one thing that is without question is that the engineering behind those materials and workmanship is as good if not better than its ever been.

As for "will tires give some of the older cars a big gain"? In my opinion yes. Both from experience and simple logic. Take the 400E for example...you have 300lb-ft of torque, 275HP, and a curb weight of over 3700lbs on tires the same size as a Honda Accord. (195/65/15) Cars with similar power, brakes, weight, etc (say an E34 or E39 540i, GS400, W210 E420/430) all have more aggressive rubber standard. Same goes for the 500E...a cars with similar power/brakes/etc all have more aggressive rubber without exception. (E55, E34 M5, E39 M5, XJR, etc) The last iteration of the 500E came with 245/45/17's as OEM so even the factory saw reason to upsize. That is the logical reasoning....then there are dragstrip times. Though not intending to slight or unduely praise one vehicle over another Michael Curcio's 92 500E with 245/45/17 rubber was simply faster than Gary's E55. Michael got a bit better launch but from there the 500E kept opening the gap. At that time, under those conditions it was faster. Re-run it at 95 degrees F, with the 500E on 225/55/16 touring rubber, and the E55 with a few more miles on the motor and things might change. When they do run again we will see.

As far as the top speed behavior...yes, a good deal of it is power curve. (aside from the aforementioned power/aero drag vs power/weight) Since both the W202 AMG's and the 500E have a .32 CD it defers to power. The C36 power curve is a bit more full from off idle to 3500rpm but seems to get a bit weak from 5000rpm on. The M119's pull pretty well off idle but seem to have a bit of a flatspot in power in the 1500rpm to 3000rpm range but pull damn hard right up to 6000rpm redline. (or 6300rpm in some cases) I have some literature that shows the dyno curves for the M119's, M104's, and M120 but I don't know of any electronic versions. If I had a scanner I'd post it...

The electronic limiters are an agreement by MB and a few other german marques to limit top speed to 155mph. "chipping" them isn't possible anymore but a dealership theoretically could remove yours but they are almost certainly not allowed to do it. The new brainboxes have to be programmed so either you take it someplace to have it programmed or ship the brainbox off. BTW, I'll wager good money that the MB electronic control systems are deliberately more complex (tamper resistant) than their BMW counterparts. Anyone else remember Mr Fehyl's headaches trying to get the V12's to go faster?

To keep on topic....the hood flap seems rather odd. If you are sure your car has never been hit or had any bodywork done then check the aero underpan and maybe latches. Beyond that, I'll defer to the wisdom of Benzmac and the other techs in Tech Help.

Lee