I have often been asked by my love whats the meaning of the initials on the auto-tranny panel.

"S & E" or "S & W"?

I thought S = standard, E = economy.

And S = Summer, W = Winter?

:)

S= Standard (starts car in 1st gear as usual)

W= Winter/Wet (starts car in 2nd gear unless in kickdown, also starts car in 2nd special reverse gear if in reverse.)

I have never seen the S/E switch? If there is one, then I'm sure it stands for Sport (higher revs in each gear) & Economy.

Tranny Panel initials
 

The 92' W-140 300SEL model on my tranny shift panel have a S/E option and S set the car to start in first gear. E set the car to start off in 2nd gear unless kickdown. But I don't knoe about the 2nd reverse gear shift! Do we have one?Best Regards.

Why would we want to start off in the 2nd gear?? And how come its not written in the manual??

Tranny Shift options
 

Well I guess if one is not pushing the car and trying to conserve fuel than 'E' econmy will be the option. But I can tell you its no fun driving in 'E' cause the whole car feels like its under power unless you kickdown pretty hard to get it inot first. So for me the only way to drive this baby is always in 'S' mode period. Moreover conserving fuel on a car like this is ironic in a broad sense. Have fun and enjoy driving in 'S' mode.

Starting off in 2nd gear decreases the amount of torque applied to the wheels. This helps on low traction surfaces such as ice and snow. Traction is a funky combination of the friction coefficient, vehicle weight, and size of tire imprint. If you have more torque than traction the tires will break free. This is considered undesirable because it can cause optimum vehicle dynamics to be compromised.

Kuan

Now when I see the S, E & W, I will think of you'll.

With thanks, I suddenly became very wise indeed. :)