If you do a search on 1st gear start you'll find a lot of info. fgsswitch and bergwerks offered kits and there are even some home brew circuits published. But, ALL of them excempt the 5 speed automatic transmission. That is, they claim they only work with the 4 speed auto of the 500 and 600 SL's. I have been quite unable to find any specific info as to why the 5 speed auto cannot be "modified" in a similair manner. ( solenoids, vacuum modulator, mechanical or electrical issues ) My own experience with my 300SL is that if I manually select the first gear start, the gear is so low that the engine revs required are quite high. I don't think it would be good ( wear and tear wise ) for the transmission and engine to continually drive this way. I can't imagine it would improve fuel economy either. I've decided to accept the way the car is designed and select 1st gear start only for those few times when it's actually needed.
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Resistance is Futile.
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