Top speed of w110 diesel?

[Travis_k]

I want to get another car older than my w126 in a couple of years, and I was curious how fast the 190 or 200ds, can go, or more importantly, can they stand being driven 65-70 mph for hours at a time (assuming the car is in reasonably good shape)?

[JimFreeh]

Originally Posted by Travis_k

I want to get another car older than my w126 in a couple of years, and I was curious how fast the 190 or 200ds, can go, or more importantly, can they stand being driven 65-70 mph for hours at a time (assuming the car is in reasonably good shape)?

While I never owned a W110 200D, I've driven W115 220Ds and W123 240Ds extensively for years.

I consider the W115 220D a marginal car for the freeway. Sure, you can hit 75 if you like to rev the engine waaaaay up there, but even minor grades will challenge the car's top speed.

Next, the W123 chassis, with it's slightly larger engine, the 240D. Very similar wrt to size, weight, suspension, etc., but the lower differential gear ratio, and the extra 200ccs of displacement transformed the car into a competent freeway cruiser. Not a fast cruiser mind you, but no longer relegated to the slow lane.

I'd suspect that the W115 chassis, with it's extra 200ccs of displacement would have a similar effect on performance vs the W110.

In conclusion, my experience leads me to conclude that if 220D was on the threshold of being adequate, the diminished performance of the W110 200D would result in a car that I would not be comfortable with on the freeway.

Now, an enterprising person might try to stuff a 240D engine in a W110.
But you'd still have that pesky swing axle with at least 4.09:1 gears. Redline, here we come!

Jim

[meltedpanda]

they can but they will have to work hard.

top speed of an old diesel , had to laugh , those words are not usually in the same sentence

[diametricalbenz]

You'll need a set of earplugs too. That OM615 is very loud, almost like a 4 cylinder gasser with 2 foot straight pipe exhaust. The first time I heard it I asked "When were the valves adjusted?" and he said "Just now!".

[Palangi]

Years ago, my daily commute was 100 miles round trip in a 200D. It did just fine on the highway at 70 mph, but that was about its limit. Where it was marginal was off the line in city traffic. Impatient people would be running up your butt all the time, especially during the shift into second gear.

[meltedpanda]

0-70 takes about a minute or so , if its not uphill

[KCM]

Top speed right at 80 mph. 0-60 right around 30 seconds. Maximum HP at around 5000 rpm. They will run 55-65 fine, though the engine is not exactly quiet. Interstates at 75 mph is working the engine pretty hard though. Also, the faster you go, the higher the engine temperature goes. If you drive in the summer heat for extended periods, 75 mph will cause the temps to rise to near unacceptable levels.

If the car has air conditioning, you may also have overheating issues as the radiators are big enough for the engine but not much more.

[Squiggle Dog]

I had no problem cruising mine at 75 MPH for hours on end. It would do 80 if needed. 83 is where it topped out. I felt that the acceleration was adequate. I had no problem merging into freeway traffic and staying in the fast lane. If they are in good mechanical condition and you know how to drive them, they really aren't slow at all.

[JimFreeh]

Originally Posted by Squiggle Dog

I had no problem cruising mine at 75 MPH for hours on end. It would do 80 if needed. 83 is where it topped out. I felt that the acceleration was adequate. I had no problem merging into freeway traffic and staying in the fast lane. If they are in good mechanical condition and you know how to drive them, they really aren't slow at all.

Dog..... You really need to drive a nice vergasser and change your perspective if you think think a 200D has "adequate" acceleration!

I've driven 200Ds that my cousins owned many years ago. The slash 8 220D was a revelation to drive compared to the 200D. Don't get me wrong here, I loved my 3 220D W115 cars I drove for many thousands of miles and many years. But.... In these days, when even minivans have sub ten second zero to sixty times, the 220D is dangerously slow. The 240D W123 was better, but still not very fast. It wasn't until we bought a 1987 300TD with the OM603 6 cylinder engine for Linda that we had a diesel that was capable of hangin' with the vergassers. Loved that car for 13 years, and still kinda miss it. When I replaced my last W123 240D with a W123 300D turbo, I finally had another diesel that was fast enough to not be a liability.

The old non turbo diesels are nice vintage cars, and quite usable under certain conditions, but they are borderline dangerous with today's freeway speeds. Sure, you may be able to wind her out and hold a 70-75mph pace (at least on the flats), but you've got nothing in reserve if there is an emergency. And with today's drivers even more distracted than they used to be, this inability to actively avoid an accident concerns me. My 3 daughters trained on a W126 turbodiesel, not my 240D because I felt the car too dangerous for an inexperienced driver.

I own 2 vehicles from the mid fifties (54 Chev pickup, 55 Ford convert), and while they are in good mechanical condition, they are not comfortable in today's traffic. When I drive them, it is with extreme concentration and planning, always looking to counter someone else's negligence. Not a very relaxing way to travel. For these, it's brakes and handling. I'd imagine the similar stress from lack of acceleration....

Everybody has a car they love and enjoy. Technology however, has marched on. I love my old cars, but I can't rationalize them into being adequate for today's driving.

Jim

[Squiggle Dog]

Originally Posted by JimFreeh

Dog..... You really need to drive a nice vergasser and change your perspective if you think think a 200D has "adequate" acceleration!

I've driven 200Ds that my cousins owned many years ago. The slash 8 220D was a revelation to drive compared to the 200D. Don't get me wrong here, I loved my 3 220D W115 cars I drove for many thousands of miles and many years. But.... In these days, when even minivans have sub ten second zero to sixty times, the 220D is dangerously slow. The 240D W123 was better, but still not very fast. It wasn't until we bought a 1987 300TD with the OM603 6 cylinder engine for Linda that we had a diesel that was capable of hangin' with the vergassers. Loved that car for 13 years, and still kinda miss it. When I replaced my last W123 240D with a W123 300D turbo, I finally had another diesel that was fast enough to not be a liability.

The old non turbo diesels are nice vintage cars, and quite usable under certain conditions, but they are borderline dangerous with today's freeway speeds. Sure, you may be able to wind her out and hold a 70-75mph pace (at least on the flats), but you've got nothing in reserve if there is an emergency. And with today's drivers even more distracted than they used to be, this inability to actively avoid an accident concerns me. My 3 daughters trained on a W126 turbodiesel, not my 240D because I felt the car too dangerous for an inexperienced driver.

I own 2 vehicles from the mid fifties (54 Chev pickup, 55 Ford convert), and while they are in good mechanical condition, they are not comfortable in today's traffic. When I drive them, it is with extreme concentration and planning, always looking to counter someone else's negligence. Not a very relaxing way to travel. For these, it's brakes and handling. I'd imagine the similar stress from lack of acceleration....

Everybody has a car they love and enjoy. Technology however, has marched on. I love my old cars, but I can't rationalize them into being adequate for today's driving.

Jim

Well, maybe people drive differently around here. I was almost always tailgating the car ahead of me when merging onto the freeway and it seemed I was always passing people. My 200D had a lot more power than my roommate's 1992 Mercury Capri that I used to borrow. I've driven many slower cars (like a 1994 Ford Aerostar Van).

Going up a steep hill from a stop can be tricky. Going up a 6% grade I could usually only hold about 40 MPH. But at moderate grades I cold hold 80 MPH no problem. Maybe there was just something special about mine that made it faster than everyone else's. I did run it on B99, which has a higher cetane rating than regular diesel. Since I've been running regular diesel in my 300SD, I've noticed a drop in performance.

[Squiggle Dog]

I also drove mine from Washington, up and down the steep passes through Oregon, through Idaho, then down into Utah. What a blast! The seats were very comfortable, the steering nice and tight, and the car was very exciting to drive. I did 75-80 MPH for about 8 non-stop hours of driving at a time.

[Will_w202]

My 83 300d turbo would run 100 but not a penny over, and I felt uncomfortable in that car until the boost hit (after a delay).

I second the minivan and distracted driver comment........20, 30, 40 years ago, there werent cell phones in cars, and corollas werent the size of 190ds back then.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

First, with these old diesels, condition is everything and I'd avoid the automatics.

Most of my diesel experience has been with 240Ds.
My first was a tired rustbucket with an automatic. After rescuing it from the PO's teenagers, I was able to make a decent driver out of it. It will run at 65-70 but it's very noisy and unpleasent at that speed. It's fine for local errands & yard sales though.

My second 240D, was even rustier. But in better shape mechanicaly, with a four-speed stick. So much nicer to drive and acceptable on the highway.

My third 240D is also a stickshift, with a solid body and a factory replacement engine. It's the nicest driving of the bunch. When revved, this diesel actually sounds more like a gasser, with less of that typical diesel racket my first two had.
I'm keeping this car in Virginia Beach now and regularly drive it, including some highway miles. I'm pleased with it's performance, though with few hills to test it there.And it's not my sole Virginia Beach transport. When I'm there, I have other vehicles availible for rush-hour or really crappy weather.

FWIW, a W110 diesel has about 10 fewer horsepower, but also weighs about 300-400 pounds less than a W123 240D. Late 190Ds and all 200Ds had dual circuit braking with front discs - much better than the four-wheel drums on earlier fintails. The slightly larger 200D engine with a five bearing crank may have a slight edge over the three-bearing 190D unit. Original top speed on a 200D fintail was around 80.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[Tomguy]

Travis, I think a better question is: Will a 110 diesel meet your needs for it?

If you want an older MB, you like the 110 body style, and you can live with never venturing out on a short interstate on-ramp, and also live in an area where you would never need to get up to 45+ MPH in a hurry (as in under 15 seconds), then the 110 will meet or exceed these stylishly.

If you want an older MB but you do not live in an area with routes alternate to high-speed freeways or interstates, you do not live in an area where on-ramps are more than 1/4 mile long, or you live in an area with a fair amount of hills, I would be remiss if I did not suggesting looking for an alternate powerplant.

I love power. The lowest-powered vehicle I drive has about 200 horsepower and great torquey grunt, and none of my vehicles have any issue making it to 60 in under 10 seconds, which is more than adequate for my area. However, the excessive use of short (less than 0.1 mi) on-ramps and abundance of hills would rule out any vehicle shy of 80 horsepower for my needs and rule out any vehicle shy of 150 horsepower for my own personal desires to have a fairly quick vehicle. Also, expect to be lucky on 20 MPG at 65 mph, when you eventually get there. But if I lived in, say, rural Nebraska or some other low-pop flat area with miles of room to get up to speed, I admit I would probably enjoy the racket of an old diesel chugging along.

[Skippy]

Originally Posted by Squiggle Dog

Well, maybe people drive differently around here. I was almost always tailgating the car ahead of me when merging onto the freeway and it seemed I was always passing people.

Yes they do. I've been to Tacoma a few times and it seems like about 99% of the drivers don't know what that skinny pedal on the right is for. The first time I was there I had some POS rental and I kept thinking how it would be an ideal environment for my 240D.

I drove a W123 240D as a daily driver for about three years. This included taking it down to San Diego to work out of state for several months, a couple days driving in LA, and one trip from Nevada to Georgia and back. I did spend a lot of time with my foot on the floor, and there were sometimes some concerns about getting rear ended, but I planned my merging and passing carefully and never had a problem. Yes, the typical car today has about three times the power of an old non-turbo, but most drivers never use it, so as long as you're willing to flog the car like it was meant to be, you won't be that far out of place on the roads.