i am contemplating my next car, and one of the things important to me is the gearing of the top gear of the car, measured in mph/1000rpm. For long-distance driving, i would like a car to be long-legged, not having to rev the engine too high for a decent cruising speed.

can anyone of you 300E owners provide me info on this? For example, in 4th gear at steady state (with torque converter locked up), what is the vehicle speed at 3000rpm?

is the 300e gearing the same as that of the E320? Does the wagon have different gearing?

for comparison, my 5spd 190e2.6 does about 27.5mph/1000rpm in 5th gear, which makes for relaxed cruising.

thanks.

I will check for you Bobby, but if memory serves me correctly 3000rpm in my '89 300E equals about 80 per. I'll repost when I am sure, but I think that is correct.

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Jeff Lawrence
1987 300e
1989 300e
2000 Dodge Grand Caravan SE

BobbyV
I've also got an '89 300E with automatic. My car is running at around 71 mph when the engine (right P.E.??) is turning 3000 rpm.

I too would rather have it running a bit "taller" and turning around 2500-2600 rpm but I'm still really happy with the car.




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Jay Yambrovich
1989 300 E
1992 190-E 2.3

Tire size might be a factor also. I am running 215/65/r15's on the '89. This is taller than stock, so I might be getting a bit more in the speed per revs department.

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Jeff Lawrence
1987 300e
1989 300e
2000 Dodge Grand Caravan SE

The factory numbers for cars equipped with 195/65VR15 tires are as follows:
300E auto - 37.8 km/h (23.5 mph)@1000rpm in fourth gear;
260E, 300TE auto - 35.5 km/h (22.1 mph) @1000rpm in fourth gear;
300E five speed - 47.3 km/h (29.4 mph)@1000rpm in fifth, same as the 300E auto in fourth.
The early euro version of the five speed 300E (190 hp, no catalytic converter) reaches its max speed of 232km/h(144mph) in fourth gear. 300E w/automatic and catalytic converter should be good for 221km/h(137mph)
Alex Kouliy
Calgary
87 260E
75 FIAT 124 Spider

this means that the 4th gear of my 190e has the same gearing as that of the 4th gear of the auto 300e (and also the auto 190e2.6). Somehow i cannot accept losing a gear ...

the 400e/e420's 3rd gear has approximately the same 23.5mph@1000rpm rating, but the 4th gear is a tall 30+mph@1000rpm, according to some car magazines ... hmmm ...

thanks guys for the info ...

Bobby, checked the speed at 3000 rpm. Works out to be 76 mph. Probably due to taller tires.

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Jeff Lawrence
1987 300e
1989 300e
2000 Dodge Grand Caravan SE

THE GEARING RATIO IS TALL AT 2.65 ON
THE 320'S.
The ratio's are stamped on the differential of your 300E as to make a true comparision.

One thing to consider is that the car is not travelling faster because of bigger tires according to the speedometer. The car is actually moving faster, but it would not read faster. Less revolutions in the wheel to go the same speed. It would make for a faster top speed on radar but not on the speedo. As far as the speed/rpm relationship between cars, it is always going to be somewhat difference. Let's face it no two tachometers or speedometers are going to be dead accurate.
My 2 cents.

quote:

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Originally posted by Steve190E 2.3:
One thing to consider is that the car is not travelling faster because of bigger tires according to the speedometer. The car is actually moving faster, but it would not read faster. Less revolutions in the wheel to go the same speed. It would make for a faster top speed on radar but not on the speedo. As far as the speed/rpm relationship between cars, it is always going to be somewhat difference. Let's face it no two tachometers or speedometers are going to be dead accurate.
My 2 cents.

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True enough .
I can remember in the old days we used the "Snow tires, Your Honor" excuse when we were summoned for speeding.