just a quick question to clarify what a friend told me,

what position should the little button next to the gear shifter be in, for normal driving conditions???, W OR S.

Thanks for helping a newbie..

Whatever you want it to be in. I guess you could consider S to be the normal mode.

S is for first gear start.
W gives you 2nd gear start and lower upshift points.

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Ali Al-Chalabi

2001 CLK55
1999 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel
2002 Harley-Davidson Fatboy
Merlin Extralight w/ Campy Record

thanks Ali,

i guess i'll leave it at the S position.

W also has a taller reverse gear so that you can back up in low traction conditions. W limits shift points compared to S, typically not allowing higher than 4500rpm shifts, as well as upshifting a little earlier on light throttle shifting.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

W also has a "hill-hold" feature preventing backsliding on hills after you have taken your foot off the brake. I didn't know it affected shift points...interesting.

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2012 E350 Bluetech

Thanks to all for your tips, so do you(black mercedes & forp) also use 'S' for your normal/daily driving conditions????

I normally use W. I've heard gas mileage is a little better. I have not actually confirmed this. I assume starting out in 2nd gear and the more conservative shift points mentioned by blackmercedes would yield better mileage.

AND better mileage in reverse

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2012 E350 Bluetech

For most driving, I like the 2nd gear start and use W.

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Ali Al-Chalabi

2001 CLK55
1999 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel
2002 Harley-Davidson Fatboy
Merlin Extralight w/ Campy Record

Ditto on W all the time. I think S is only for if you are younger than 30 or think you are... I think on the newer ones it is no longer W/S (winter/summer) but now N/S (normal/sport) or something like that. I did not find the extra little jolt of 1st gear for 1 second was doing me any good.

Mike

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

then W it will be, since i'm a little above 30 and.....secondly i usually follow majority advice.
thanks to all for your wisdom.

Listen, I need that first-gear start! Maybe yours is a kompressor model, and you get plenty of punch when in W. Mine is the N/A model, and while it is sprightly, I'm dealing down here in The Swamp with tons of out-of-state vehicles. Usually they're pickup trucks with giant ladders sticking out of the back, flying down the road and weaving in and out of traffic. They all try to fit their 15-foot Dodge Rams into 14-foot spaces, usually just ahead of my car.

I need the extra speed to stay ahead of 'em or dodge 'em! When the time comes that I'm driving in snowy or slippery conditions, I'll use W, but right now it's got to be S!

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* *
-- Paul W. (The Benzadmiral)
('03 Buick Park Avenue, charcoal/cream)
Formerly:
'97 C230, smoke silver/parchment; '86 420SEL, anthracite/light grey; '84 280CE (W123), dark blue/palomino