I just bought my first mercedes. I love it. Even being 15 years old it still rides smooth and everything works I am complety in love. I just want to know what I can do to make it faster Any help would be greatly apperciated.

Well first I want to welcome you to the wonderful world of Mercedes Benz

A good place to start would be to give your car a good maintenance overhaul as needed, if you have not already done so. As far as mods, you have a large selection of wheels & tires you could put on, sport exhaust, sport suspension, etc., while this won't directly affect your cars speed, it will allow it to handle better for the most part. Also for direct styling upgrades, a lot of people go with European headlights, as they have a much better beam coverege and tend to be quite a bit brighter than the stock lights. There's a ton more i'm sure i'm leaving out, but I hope I helped to get you thinking. Also searching through previous threads (specifically the one were people posted pictures of the w124s), is a great way for you to get ideas as to what you want to do with your car.

I apperciate you response. I have already done alot of maintence just to mke sure, like the change the oil tranny fluid, new plugs and wires, new distributor etc etc. I never thougt about look at pics on here. Where can I fond a set of the eura Headlights? Do they make tailight too? Thanks again for your help.

There's a lot of places to find European headlights, some people get theirs from http://www.bekkers.com/ ($600+) however, a lot of people get them on ebay, as you can pick up a nice set for around $250-300 or so (well worth it) if you do some looking for a few days.

There are a few different brands of them, TYC, Depo, Bosch, Hella. TYC & Depo are cheaper and the ones most commonly found on ebay ($200 or so), a lot of people get them and are pleased, however, Bosch & Hella are better quality. There is a noticable weight difference between the TYC/Depo version, as compared to the much heavier Bosch or Hella lights. Most people would recommend buying Hella or Bosch if possible.

While you can find a plethora of the TYC or Depo lights on ebay, the Bosch or Hella ones are harder to come by, but if you browse ebay for a few days i'm sure a set or two will pop up. And if you see a set, and the seller does not say which kind, it's a good idea to assume they are tyc or depo.

For tail lights i'm sure there is a true european version out there, I just haven't really noticed any of those floating around. There are a few different tail lights available (on ebay), but i'm not sure if you are looking to change the color of your tail lights or not.

firstly, you have to realize that these cars are designed for the autobahn, which can cruise at their designed top speeds (130+mph) all day long. I'm not sure you want to go faster than that. These cars were not designed for stoplight shootouts, and are a bit sluggish in city driving - it's on the highway that they come into their element.

i would instead invest in add-ons that make the journey safer. A set of good tires provides the best return on investment. Since you are from Texas, you can get a set of good dedicated summer tires (the Michelin XGT H4 comes to mind).

a set of European headlamps greatly improves headlamp performance, and if you drive at night a lot, these will make you a convert. And these give the car a more modern look. You can then invest in one of those +50% H4 bulbs from Osram or Philips if you want to further boost your illumination.

400e brakes will give you better braking.

for better handling, there's the Sportline suspension. It's a bit of an investment, but it is said to transform the car. And I believe that you can do this in "stages".

with regard to the engine, there's little that can be done to significantly improve performance, without spending so much money.

you can also invest in some aftermarket products that force your car to start in first gear, for better acceleration off the line (I assume it's an automatic).

I don't know how the headlights are set up on US models, but on europe models there are 2 different basic types! Custom with headlights (full beam and low beam) and foglights, and 500E lamps with headlights (full beam and low beam) and extra full beam lights!

If you plan to buy european headlights, I would recommend the 500E lamps! (not E 500, different lamps! 91-93 would fit) Just because of the extra full beam! And it looks cooler!
You might get a little extra work setting up a set of new relays to the extra full beam, but its worth it! Trust me! Driven both versions! Huge difference
500E lamps are only avaible from Hella here in Norway! Don't know the market i other corners of the world!


ES
90-300TE

the inner lamps of a 500E/E500 are driving lamps. These project a beam narrower than that of a normal lowbeam, and as such are used for driving at high speed.

if you need (wide-angle) foglamps (and there are reasons why you need them), then you will have to install a separate set. Looking at the front of a 124, the only way to install these without ruining its look is to install a custom airdam with built-in foglamps. That's why the 500E/E500 has an airdam with built-in foglamps - I believe however, that these cannot be used on a normal 124 as they are wider, being designed for the 500E/E500 frontend.

On european models they are lit at full beam! I have them myself, great light! (and the bulbs are 100W each! (65x2 + 100x2 = 330W at full beam! )


ES

Best bang for the buck is to upgrade from your 3.07 to a 3.27 diff. Top speed will ONLY be 130 MPH, but your acceleration would be incredible.

I have a 3.27 diff, sealed and ready to go for $150.

:-) neil

Neil,

Does that 3.27 have limited-slip?

__________________
Mike
-W126C 560SEC 040 Black
*6.0L AMG M117 32v Hammer
-W163 ML320 Brilliant Silver
-W124 300E Pearl Black

Sorry, it does not have LSD.

I sold my 3.27 LSD to OmegaBenz.

:-) neil

Yeah, I was inspecting it about 2 hours ago. Nice peice. Thought that price was too damn good for lsd!! Oh well.

__________________
Mike
-W126C 560SEC 040 Black
*6.0L AMG M117 32v Hammer
-W163 ML320 Brilliant Silver
-W124 300E Pearl Black

Eurocoupe, so it is nice. I havent had a chance to see it yet. I went down last night, but to just pick up my mom. Ill check it out this weekend. Probably going to the Barrett Jackson show with your cousin, Edis.

__________________
Current Stable:
1994 S500 v140, 210k miles, white with grey.

Former Mercedes in the Stable:
1983 300CD Turbo diesel 515k mi sold (rumor has it, that it has 750k miles on it now)
1984 300CD Turbo Diesel 150 k mi sold
1982 300D Turbo Diesel 225 sold
1987 300D Turbo Diesel 255k mi sold
1988 300 CE AMG Hammer 15k mi sold
1986 "300E" Amg Hammer 88k mi sold (it was really a 200, not even an E (124.020)
1992 500E 156k mi sold
etc.

If someone doesn't mind looking that up, I would be curious as to what the rear diff ratio on a 1989 300SE is (US Spec).
Thanks much,
Ben

__________________
currently just 1989 300SE 185k miles