and people said it was impossible when I stated I
was getting 30+ in my coupe........

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81 Mercedes 300SD 289k.......SOLD
82 Mercedes 300CD 252k......slow ride

82 mercedes 300 SD...mi Unknown
83 Mercedes 300D ????ksniff..gone too
84 Mercedes 300D 148k........SOLD
85 Mercedes 300TD 386k and holding some one elses project

it is very possible to get 30+ MPG in these cars, it just depends on how much of a hurry you are in.

if you notice there are lots of people with the hypermiler.com tags in their sigs. that website has a lot of good advice for getting better gas millage, it also has some super crazy over the top ways also.

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'81 300D - swapped to a 617.951 turbo motor with a 150 amp alt.

Boredom? No WAY! A long drive on a sunny day with almost no traffic? That's relaxation time to me! I hardly EVER get to drive on a freeway with no bumper to bumper action!

I think some of you guys are missing the point. I'm not going to start driving 60 mph all the time. In and around Seattle I'd end up with some rice rocket stuffed in my trunk sooner or later. Not to mention all the hacked off drivers making hand gestures at me one after another.

No, the real point is that, as much as we hated it, the old 55 mph speed limit that was in effect when these cars were new really did save fuel. As others have said, wind resistance rises exponentially as speed increases. Just slowing from 70 to 60 - a 14% decrease in speed - improved mileage by 7+ mpg - over 25%.

At present, there is somewhat of a growing movement to bring back the 55 mph limit. Frankly, I'm not so sure that would be all bad.

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1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown

Every road that I travel on a daily basis around NYC and into CT has a 50 or a 55 mph limit. Doesn't seem to phase anybody.............the slowest vehicles drive 60 mph...........the fastest drive close to 80. The enforcement is so lax that nobody gets a ticket unless they're above 70.

on my texas trip I was able to get 33mpg in the 81 300sd. 55 is the way to go if you don't need to get somewhere fast.

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1981 300SD 512k OM603

My 300SD can see around 30-31mpg if I granny drive and go only about 50-55mph......also, if when I am driving around the city I shift as soon as possible (so I am essentially always plundering along at 1000-1200rpm in 4th) I have seen as high as 27.8mpg with it being ALL city driving! It takes patience and relaxation, but its possible to get some excellent MPG's out of these cars. Today I filled up with about 20% of my miles being granny driving in the city and the rest was at about 75mph freeway.....I got 24.6, not too bad....diesel was also only $4.35, lowest I've paid in ages!

As for the bit about "what your time is worth vs the cost of fuel/driving faster"

Are you saying that your time is worth more than extra damage to the environment and wasted fuel/energy?

If everyone drove super conservative we would have:

1. Backed up freeways
2. Far lower fuel consumption
3. Cleaner air and less pollution

I'm not saying I always go slow, but I do go within 5mph of the speed limit 97% of the time.....what annoys me are the escalades that go by at 90mph on the freeway....insanity. They are literally shoveling money into the tank.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)