I have often been asked by my love whats the meaning of the initials on the auto-tranny panel.

"S & E" or "S & W"?

I thought S = standard, E = economy.

And S = Summer, W = Winter?

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... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

S= Standard (starts car in 1st gear as usual)

W= Winter/Wet (starts car in 2nd gear unless in kickdown, also starts car in 2nd special reverse gear if in reverse.)

I have never seen the S/E switch? If there is one, then I'm sure it stands for Sport (higher revs in each gear) & Economy.

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2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

The 92' W-140 300SEL model on my tranny shift panel have a S/E option and S set the car to start in first gear. E set the car to start off in 2nd gear unless kickdown. But I don't knoe about the 2nd reverse gear shift! Do we have one?Best Regards.

Why would we want to start off in the 2nd gear?? And how come its not written in the manual??

__________________
... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

Well I guess if one is not pushing the car and trying to conserve fuel than 'E' econmy will be the option. But I can tell you its no fun driving in 'E' cause the whole car feels like its under power unless you kickdown pretty hard to get it inot first. So for me the only way to drive this baby is always in 'S' mode period. Moreover conserving fuel on a car like this is ironic in a broad sense. Have fun and enjoy driving in 'S' mode.

Starting off in 2nd gear decreases the amount of torque applied to the wheels. This helps on low traction surfaces such as ice and snow. Traction is a funky combination of the friction coefficient, vehicle weight, and size of tire imprint. If you have more torque than traction the tires will break free. This is considered undesirable because it can cause optimum vehicle dynamics to be compromised.

Kuan

Now when I see the S, E & W, I will think of you'll.

With thanks, I suddenly became very wise indeed.

__________________
... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.