Tires do make a difference on a W201 2.3. I bought many tire sets for my car and every time I tried a different kind. The best by far were the Michelin Pilot. Even though the owner's manual says top speed is 197km/h, I had the car buried past the 220km/h mark with one passenger and full tank of gas.

*Edit - Forgot to mention the tires were 205 55 VR15 as opposed to the 185 65 HR15 stock.

The original 175/70SR-14 Michelin MXLs definitely limited the '84 2.3s maximum grip. At about 10-15K miles or so (mid-'85) I replaced them with a set of 195/60HR-14 Phoenix Stahlflex 3011s, which were probably the best street tire you could buy back then. They were commonly used in showroom stock racing and autocross, and I also ran them in size 205/60H(and V)R-13 on my Cosworth Vega. I had one set that was worn that I used for track events and another set mounted on another set of OE wheels for street driving. Once I worn out the track set I'd use the "broken in" set for track events and buy a new set for the street.

The Phoenix dramatically improved the 2.3's maximum grip. Its limits were about the same as the CV, but without the bone jarring ride. The Phoenix were just about worn out when I sold the car at about 50K miles in 1988, so I installed a new set of 195/65HR-14 Continential CH51s just before I sold it. The 195/60s were a little short and increased speedo error, but the 195/65 size had about the same revs per mile spec as the 175/70s.

I still have a set of Phoenix for the CV that never saw the track, but usually just keep the Toyo Proxes RA-1 DOT legal racing tires installed that I finally switched to in the mid-nineties when my supply of Phoenix dried up, and at that point the DOT legal racing tires had pushed grip well beyond what the Phoenix could supply, but their steel reinforced sidewalls make the CV ride like it has wooden wheels on anything less than fairly smooth pavement. That's the price you pay to have roller skate handling on a car with much less torsional stiffness and a much less sophisticated suspension.

Duke

Sold!
 

It sold for $6600 - looks like the reserve was about $6000

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6328&item=4544355405&rd=1

Duke

I think that's a decent price if the car is in advertised condition.....

I always get suspect, however, when the winning bidder has 0 or 1 feedback.... could be anyone...even a friend of the seller if you know what I mean

You guys get to buy your used cars cheaply. $6000 here in Australia will only get you into an early 190E, and probably only a 2 litre at that. The 2.3 is rare here so they sell at similar money to the 2.6 at around $9k upwards. A late (update) 2.6 or Sportline is usually around $12k or more here. Even our basic 180E (190E-1.8) which are all '91 or newer still sell at around $8k-11k. The damaged (big hit in rear) 2.6 manual I posted the link to in my earlier post sold at auction yesterday for $1250. Admittedly our dollar is only around US$0.78, but it gives an intersting comparison.

I was going to mention the fact that the Aussie buck is actually worth something, nowadays, relative to the Yankee Greenback. Then I saw your last sentence.

The USA is drowning in cars. The prevailing mentality is to drive the hell out of them with minimum maintenance and trade at the first sign of trouble. As a result, we have a glut of both new and used cars, so prices are fairly cheap.

To most Americans cars have become throwaway appliances.

Duke

I was looking for this pic for a long time and finally found it! Here is the Sportline/Limited Edition interior from a 1993 190e 2.6:

http://img185.echo.cx/img185/5735/93...edition5ig.jpg

Actually, we're probably in second place, to the Japanese, but for different reasons. The Japanese have very strict maintenance requirements, including bodywork, so there are virtually no "beaters" there . . . and as a result, Japan's junkyards overflow with cars that their owners can't afford to cosmetically repair or maintain. Those cut in half cars make their way thru the supply chain and end up around Asia, where Nissan and Toyota turbocharged engines are ending up in some interesting cars, like Mercedes and front engined Porsches.