I ran my recently acquired 84' 300d to 90mph today before I got a little nervous and backed off to about 80mph! This little joker kept on a pullin! What is the top speed on this car? I felt like I could easily(but not wisely) do a 100! I hope I did not hurt anything! HaHa!

Joe

I guess I'm a little more "nuts than you are! I had my '82 300TDT up to 180 km/h (a little under 110 mph) before I backed off. Pretty amazing for a 18 year old car with 330,000 km on it! I was impressed with how well behaved it was at those speeds.



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Dale
'82 300 TDT 330,000 km

Top speed according to MB is 165kph, 102mph. Pretty fast in a diesel!

I did several top speed runs several years ago in my '83 300SD TD. With 2 people in the car i could get to 97mph. With 5 people in the car i could get to 107mph. (gauge indicated of course)

I'm not sure if the extra weight lowered the car to cut the air or what. I should have taken a photo. I drove flat out several times for about a mile each time. The car just loved it.



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Noah
1999 C43
4Noah

I ran to Atlanta today (about 80 miles)with the cruise on 85mph/3800rpm. The car ran like a charm with little smoke and a few ammused followers staring at my TurboDiesel badge on the decklid. While I was down there I visited my friend in Ansley Park who has a 83' 240d that is in a little better shape than mine(his a/c works)and he became jealous of the power while going to lunch. I drove his afterwards and could not believe how slow these cars are! I looked under the hood and noticed the simplicity of the engine. There are fewer hoses and wires! I have learned the 240 are cheaper and easier to maintain but could not live with the weak power.

I ran 90mph back home!

Joe

Oooh, I love these diesel Autobahn threads!

I live outside of Cleveland, Ohio but work in Cincinnati. I have a place in Cinci that I stay at during the week but on the weekends I head home to get some work done on my own cars. My '80 300SD Turbo has managed 209 miles in 2:11!!!! Yes, it was buried almost the entire time I was storming up I-71! I have no problems with running her at the 4,750 max for prolonged periods of time. No overheating and no complaints. I have done this for many years and she still runs excellent. I just make sure to change the oil (Castrol GTX 10W-40) and filter (Mann OE) every 3,000 miles and keep up with regular maintenance. One night up in Cleveland, I was Bahnstorming with a buddy who was running his BMW Bavaria and when I hit the floor with the gas, I called him on the cellular phone and asked what his speedo was indicating as mine topps out at 85mph, he gave me a solid 110mph flat out run, which I again checked with a much newer car riding next to me. Yeah, people get a bang out of seeing these old MBs hit the road with such grunt but we love it!


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Rgds,
Aaron Greenberg
MB technician
Mercedes-Benz of Cincinnati
'67 250SE Cabriolet
'77 450SL
'80 300SD
'85 380SE
'86 420SEL
'89 420SEL
'93 300E 2.8
'74 Jensen Interceptor Mk.III
'81 DeLorean DMC12
'84 BMW 745i Turbo

Hey Aaron, I am glad to see others maxing theirs out on the freeway. It makes me feel better about hammering it down. I get to Cinci a couple of times a year to visit in-laws. They live in Glendale just north of Cinci. As you cross the bridge there at the Sharon road exit look down across from Princeton High and you will see a little white house that nearly shares the exit ramp to head back south. That is where we all gather for the holidays and what have you. I will probably get the 300d up there this trip so I would like to see your shop! I need to get the timing chain done before I come. It has 197k on it and I am a little nervous about running that far. Let me know where your shop is! Thanks! Joe

Joe,

The best way for you to get over to the shop is from I-71. Take 71 south to the Montgomery Road exit. Go left at end of the ramp and follow Montgomery for about 2 miles. You'll see Mercedes-Benz of Cincinnati on your left. Stop on in and ask for me. It'll be good to meet some members on this board! Hey, perhaps I can do the chain for you while you're in town? Ok, let me know!


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Rgds,
Aaron Greenberg
MB technician
Mercedes-Benz of Cincinnati
'67 250SE Cabriolet
'77 450SL
'80 300SD
'85 380SE
'86 420SEL
'89 420SEL
'93 300E 2.8
'74 Jensen Interceptor Mk.III
'81 DeLorean DMC12
'84 BMW 745i Turbo

My '84 300D turbo (200k miles) has no problem getting to 110 mph (indicated), and I'm sure the motor would be happy there all day long. I think it's best to drive these cars hard to stop soot from accummulating.

I generally rev mine to 4,000-4,500rpm in both 2nd and 3rd gears to blow out all the crud.

I also have an 83 240D with 235k miles. I follow the same practice with that, revving it to 55-60 mph in third virtually every day. The 240D is definitely slower but is probably the most robust long term reliable car model ever built. These are ideal commuter cars.

Both cars run better than ever! I use Mobil One synthetic oil (15w/50) which I change at 5000 miles.

Dominic Godfrey
Morgan Hill, California

I don't know about the 300D, but my 300D Turbo was about 105 mph and she'll do it for well over an hour.
With 265,000 miles on it, it seems to love long highspeed adventures and will generally still get nearly 20 to 21 mpg at wide open (103 to 106 mph) whereas it normally gets 28 or better at more typical speeds of 75 or so.


[Edited by dwight hinton on 12-27-2000 at 12:39 PM]

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dwight