I think I "baby" the 126 too much! The car occasionally sees 3000rpm MAX once in a while. Although it is running smoothly and idles perfectly then does that mean everything is ok and I dont need to worry about the engine being clogged? I do an "italian tune up" once a week by taking it to the redline through the gears until there is no more signs of carbon pouring out from the back......which usually takes 2 tries.

Other than that, I drive it very smoothly through the gears mostly to keep the fuel mileage down and less wear and tear.

What do you all think?

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99 C43
98 S420
99 C230K
01 C240

With that kind of mileage you must be doing something right.

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Jason Priest
1999 E430
1995 E420 - retired
1986 420SEL - retired

I think a lot of the "Italian tune-up" stuff are old wives tales, back in the days before fuel injection management systems.

When carbs simply dumped raw fuel into the combustion chambers as opposed to metered fuel, the risk of excess carbon buildup from "easy" driving was probably a real concern with engines designed for prolonged high-speed driving. Factor in updates like electronic ignition as opposed to vacuum or centrifugal advance distributors and variable cam timing.

These technological improvements allowed engines to oerate efficiently on all power ranges, not just the upper end.

Even as old as your car may be, much of this technology was in place by then.

"Babying" your ride is okay...letting it sit in storage for months (even years) is NOT!

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

The term "Italian tune up" comes from older 12 cylinder Ferrari's which had no valve seals, they are metal on metal. Carbon would build up around the valve's and cause smoking because of poor valve seating. So after city driving you needed to open it up to blow the carbon out.

However I still think every engine needs it's legs stretched at least weekly, just for the sake of doing it.

I try to "baby" my car most of the time, but that's just because of the poor mileage it gets. Occasionaly some fool wants to play, or I see a cool ferrari, so I let the car "stretch it's legs", but I find that this is costly in gas and tickets (2 so far, but no points)

there are instances when "babying" the car is bad:

1. for those of you with manual gearboxes - lugging the engine (i.e., with rpm too low and/or too high a gear) is bad for the engine, because the loads on the journal bearings are high, but the oil pressure is relatively low.

2. running it only for short trips, especially in cold weather, without letting the engine reach normal operating temperature, can accelerate corrosion inside the engine and exhaust system.

Well, the car sees the highway everyday so I think shes ok but when I am in the city areas with stoplights I dont go really slow its just, I never drive with the economy gauge maxed to the red when accelerating.

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99 C43
98 S420
99 C230K
01 C240

I redline my engine all the time. Take it up to 100mph (very briefly, on safe road) at least twice a week. The redline is there painted on there for a reason. I may be wearing out the car a tad faster (I'm not going to drive it forever) than if I babied it, but I paid good money for it. I want to enjoy it to its fullest potential. My plan is to drive this automobile until the wheels fall off. Don't be scared to have some (safe) fun with your car.
Mike
PS - I have 240K on the SE

I've always thought the italian tune-up invovled being able to have the throttle open all the way for an extended period of time. To do this with my 300-D I'd take it up to the mountains and drive through the hills with the throttle wide open on the uphills.

That method was recommended a few years back by a reputable person on another discussion group I used to belong to. (I think it was the one moderated by Stu Ritter.)

on the other hand, I was given my car from my parents, so it's still in their name, instead of paying for it, I take care of it. Perhaps when I do get my own car, I'll drive it like crazy.

to me.....driving the car to its fullest potential doesnt mean to abuse it. My car was handed down from my dad and I also take care of it really well. When I do buy my own I will take care of it EVEN MORE because I paid for it.

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99 C43
98 S420
99 C230K
01 C240

My impression has always been that these cars were engineered to be driven as hard as one wanted to. Just not "stupid" hard.

although they do make a sweet sound at the redline!

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99 C43
98 S420
99 C230K
01 C240