190E vs. Toyota Camry
 

I was wondering if someone could answer a question that I've been thinking about for awhile. I've been driving a 1992 2.3 190E for about two years. I know someone who drives a 1995 Toyota Camry, and when I drove it I noticed that it has much better acceleration than my 190E. Why is this? I checked the specs for both cars and came up with the following:

190E
130 horsepower
in-line four cylinder
2995 pounds
SOHC

Camry
125 horsepower
in-line four cylinder
3080 pounds
DOHC

Since the power-to-weight ratio for the two vehicles is very similar, why is there such a big difference in acceleration? Is it becuase my 190E has a SOHC while the Camry has a DOHC? That's the only real difference that I could find. Does anyone else know why this is?

Note: Even though my 190E doesn't have as much acceleration, I greatly prefer it over the Camry.:)

Second gear start in the 190E?

Less drivetrain mass in the Camry?

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

Good question...
 

My initial thought was that the Toyota was making more torque but in reality, the two engines are very close on paper. The 190E 2.3 should start in 1st gear so that's not it either.

The only thing left is gearing. The Toyota is probably geared to provide better acceleration in "normal" U.S. style driving situations. Try driving both cars on the freeway...make some acceleration runs from 60 to 80 or so and see which car feels stronger. I think you might be surprised :)

It has to be the way the cars are geared. The M-B is still a much better car than the Camry.

I have a 1995 Toyota Celica GT. I think it has the same engine as the Camry. The 2.2L I-4 16Valve 5SFE motor.

It's a pretty peppy motor but it sounds horrible above 4000rpm - sounds like it's about to explode. Idles kind of rough too.

105k mi. and still running.

It's true regarding its highway performance. Pull above 60mph is not that great. The engine is also quite loud at highway speeds (80mph). Might just be the Celica's muffler though (kind of racey)

Fuel economy also suffers because I have to keep up with these crazy Boston drivers in stop and go traffic ;)

Gearing, my Camry is a 93 same engine. It is done at 90mph. I would imagine your benz would keep right on going. I think my cars top speed is 105mph. I've only got mine up to 97, I stoped because I thought I was going to kill it.:D Holson thats strange mine is very quiet on the highway. It was a sweet spot right below 80 like 77, 78. Maybe they used more sound proofing on the Camry. It does sound like the engine is about to explode above 4k doesn't it. I'm averageing about 19 mpg mixed city highway. At this rate I might aswell buy a 560SEL at least the gas money would be going to a good cause.

Do you guys know for sure that it isn't a 2nd gear start in the 190E? MB has flip-flopped over this through the years, but my 1986 190E 2.3 definitely had a second gear start. And a defective kickdown switch meant flooring the accelerator did nothing. But manually shifting the transmission would make the acceleration quite good.

Even thought the Camry we had was a POS, it did have the V6. It had more than enough power and could reach speeds above 120 MPH. I tried to see what was the fastest that it could go on a trip to Montana years ago at the time when they didn' t have a speed limit on the highway. The fastest that I was able to get it up to was just over 120 MPH and it seemed like it would have went faster but it was shaking and vibrating so bad at that point I was afraid to make it go faster. I don't wan't to turn myself and the car into a combination of road kill and scrap metal.

I've had the Camry that I mentioned up to 90mph and it seemed like it could go a little faster. I've had my Mercedes up to 100mph and it was still accelerating but I ran out of road. (I didn't take the Camry over 90mph because I wanted my first time in the 100mph+ range to be in a Mercedes.:cool: :cool: :cool: )

1st gear.
 

At a stop go from D to 1st and back to D. Now you should
start in 1st without flooring the gas.

Maybe you mean D to 2?

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

sixto is right.
 

Yes D-2-D. I have a 91 190e 2.6 I am not sure if the 2.3
shifts the same. The 2.6 has plenty of power for me but I don't
speed or race.

I'll give it a try. Thanks.

By the way, why do some of the Mercedes start in second gear? What purpose does it serve?

I honestly wish my M-B would. It would eliminate most of the wheel spin I get in slick conditions and give better traction.