Could Anyone Tell Me What Their Engine Revolutions Are When Driving 70-75 Mph....my Engine Hums And Whines Along At About 3600rpm At Those Speeds. Is This Normal ?

Yes. Mine turns about 3000 rpm at 60 - 65 mph. Don't exceed redline and it'll be OK.

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Regards

Warren

Currently 1965 220Sb, 2002 FORD Crown Vic Police Interceptor

Had 1965 220SEb, 1967 230S, 280SE 4.5, 300SE (W126), 420SEL

ENTER > = (HP RPN)

Not part of the in-crowd since 1952.

I see 3400 rpm at 70mph - same car in this regard.

The 300-SEL has the small motor - same used more or less as the one in many 124 series cars, only now in a much heavier car.

You either need cubic inches or rpms to get a car rolling down the road. Seeing as how MB put a small motor in a heavy body, they had to spin the motor faster.

The 420SEL/560SEL are V-8's. Fewer RPMs at 70mph.

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Mike Murrell
1991 300-SEL - Model 126
M103 - SOHC
"Fräulein"

Just wondering- where do these cars redline? 3600 RPMs at 70-75 seem extreme. I am considering one of these cars and will be driving it on the freeway often. Is it loud at these speeds?

My 90 Lexus only turns about 2000 rpms (maybe 2500 - I will have to check) at 60 mph and I think 3000 rpms are not until about 75-80 mph, if I recall correctly, but it is a V8- guess thats the difference.

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2004 Toyota Sequoia Limited 4wd
1991 Lincoln Town Car Executive
1991 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1988 Mercedes 300SEL
1972 Chevrolet Caprice Kingswood Estate 9-passenger wagon
1973 Pontiac Grand Ville
(Prior MB's: 1974 240D, 1985 380SE, 1984 190D, 1993 400SEL)

Redline on the M103 is 6000rpm. There's no way a 300SE/L can get to or exceed redline in top gear. As to the Lexus reference, a 300SE/L can't keep up with an ES300.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

Thanks Sixto.
My Lexus is a 1990 LS400, with the V8. I noticed you mentioned ES300, which is a 3.0L V6, (same engine as the Camry), so is the 3.0L Mercedes at least as powerful as that? I am sure that the 90 S-Class (even std. wheelbase) is a lot heavier than the smaller Lexus ES300, so it may be about the same power, but the heavier Mercedes may seem slower.

If I get the 90 300SE, I do not mind the lower power. I have never had my LS over 4000 RPMS, as there has never been a need. If I recall- it redlines at 6500.

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2004 Toyota Sequoia Limited 4wd
1991 Lincoln Town Car Executive
1991 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1988 Mercedes 300SEL
1972 Chevrolet Caprice Kingswood Estate 9-passenger wagon
1973 Pontiac Grand Ville
(Prior MB's: 1974 240D, 1985 380SE, 1984 190D, 1993 400SEL)

An ES300 will waste a 300SE/L when it comes to performance and fuel economy. But the ES is a much smaller car. I didn't have the chance to do an extended comparison of my 91 300SE vs an LS but the SE beat the LS at purchase time

Hums and whines? The 300SE/L engine is certainly revving on the freeway. I rather enjoyed the hum since the engine was so smooth. The only whining in my SE came from me wondering why the car wasn't capable of better fuel mileage. I don't think I ever saw 20 mpg even in highway driving. Under the same heavy foot the S420 is capable of 20 mpg on the open road.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

My '88 300sel is red lined at 6200 rpm , and the rev limiter comes on at around 7000 - 7200 .
No trouble cruising this car all day at 4000 , just the law objects

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'72 240D
'76 300D
'88 300sel
'40 Chev pickup , the shop hack.
'73 Monte Carlo Landau, for "Super Chevy Sunday"

I think the German and American use of redline are different. I grew up in Germany and I can tell you that the 300se sold in Germany was expected to run continuously at near full throttle indefinitely on the autobahn. That's why Germans bought fast cars. To drive fast. To buy a 120mph car and only drive it at 70mph was inconceivable.
Redline in American cars is more an indication of where catastrophic failure can occur. I saw more than a few American cars run well below redline at continuous high speed on the autobahn grenade themselves because they weren't designed to operate at near full throttle at 5000rpm even though redline was indicated as 6000rpm.

Jorg

When I bought my first Mercedes (a used '88 260e) the first thing I noticed was the high rpm's on the highway. I was used to my Volvo that ran about 2500 rpm at 65. Now, after driving the car for 4 years, I appreciate the passing power afforded by the high revs and actually feel uncomfortable driving a low revving car.

Noise is not a problem as a previous post mentioned. The engines run very smooth at high speeds and the cars are well soundproofed. The tach is normally the only indicator of what the engine speed it.

I'll have to check again tomarrow but I think my SDL runs up around 3k rpm at 70-75 mph. With the radio on even the SDL is very quite inside.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200