Cross Country Results

[KyleMP012]

Well, I took the 1999 E300D from Yuma, AZ to Poland, ME! 2997 miles and not a single hiccup. I averaged 31.2 mpg which I can't complain, sees how the average speed if the trip was 75-80 mph. With the new KYB shocks I was worried the ride would be too stiff but they work just fine for me. Didn't burn a lick of oil and the coolant level is still right where it was with no oil (see my other threads for those that don't know I just swapped the head) Ran the whole trip on Love's Diesel (it's between BY and B20) and she loved it, super quiet the entire time. Mostly just a little bragging but I put alot of time and effort into getting this car ready for the trip and it all payed off, thanks again to all that helped! Now to enjoy the next 2 weeks here in Maine and then back to AZ!

[R.Diesel]

Good work!

[vwnate1]

Nice to hear it all went well .

I just came home from a week tooling round Nevada .

Q : ? is B20 supposed to be yellow in color ? .

[KyleMP012]

Well I have returned back to AZ. All in all the trip total was 8,064 miles over 18 days. While in Maine, my brother hooked me up with some Nokian Entyre 2.0 tires. Wow what a difference. Strongly recommend and they are relatively cheap (Bang for Buck is great) Very quiet tire and the wet handling is great (didn't hydroplane at 80 mph in a torrential down pour, thanks to Hurricane Florence) The only issue i did have was in Denver, CO. After staying at a hotel, the next morning I noticed a small grapefruit size puddle of coolant under the car. I was unable to locate any evidence of a leak and it hasn't leaked since. Maybe it was the altitude??? Best cross country car I have ever had and the total trip average was 29.2 MPG!

[Mikebear79]

Congrats on the successful trip. It’s nice to see another Benz owner do a long cross country trip in an older Mercedes. Makes me think I’m not so crazy....maybe. I drove from Phoenix to Buffalo NY and back in July in a 1988 560SEL. I spent a few thousand and four months of my time to get it ready for that trip. Had a few electrical gremlins to contend with, not the best mpg, and the seat was horrendously uncomfortable after just a couple hours. But it made it with no major problems.

[KyleMP012]

Originally Posted by Mikebear79

Congrats on the successful trip. It’s nice to see another Benz owner do a long cross country trip in an older Mercedes. Makes me think I’m not so crazy....maybe. I drove from Phoenix to Buffalo NY and back in July in a 1988 560SEL. I spent a few thousand and four months of my time to get it ready for that trip. Had a few electrical gremlins to contend with, not the best mpg, and the seat was horrendously uncomfortable after just a couple hours. But it made it with no major problems.

The seats in the 1999 E300D may have been really comfy back in the day, but mine are compressed and pretty stiff to say the least. That being said, I did the same trip in my 2006 Honda Odyssey and hands down the old seats in the Benz were better. The Odyssey has upright seats like a trucker so long trips are not comfy at all! Mind you, I also had my wife and 2 toddlers with me haha.

Also, in every vehicle i have traveled cross country with, I always have bulbs go bad on me when i get to the North East, must be the humidity. I 1 reverse, 1 plate, and both blinkers go bad!

[Mikebear79]

Mine was the stupid lamp control module. Instead of relaxing after a long day of driving, I was hunched over a bedside table in a hotel in Albuquerque with my soldering gun, reflowing the major solder points on the boards. When I was 19 y/o, my Dad bought my Mom a new silver 1999 E320 for Christmas and I remember the seats being a little bit springy in the front center portion, kind of like the old-style Benzes, but overall they were pretty firm, but comfortable.