Rev Limiter
 

Hello list, good day ! A quick question for everyone. I have a W202 5 speed which I really take good care of, usually shifts at around 3500-4000. Was trying to check the max speed of each gear at an open road yesterday amd hit the rev limiter, as I felt the fuel cutoff. I know that this is an engine protection feature, but I'm still worried whether this will or have caused any damage to the engine. By the way, this is the first time it happened and I don't intend to do it again. What do you guys think ? Anything to worry about ? Thanks in advance !

It would be nice if we had some more details of your car! But no, you won't have done any damage to it, that's what the limiter prevents.

later!

Russ

Russ,

Thanks for the info, what a relief ! BTW, the car is a 96 C200, 134 hp, 5 speed manual with 55,000 miles. I doubt that this engine exists in the US, but is very common in Europe due to the high cost of gasoline. I live in Rome and a liter cost over $4 (over $4.5 per imperial gallon). Ever heard of C180 ? lots of them as well.

When I hit the rev limiter, I was doing 150 km/hr (94 mph) on 3rd gear. The power of the engine is acceptable in low gears, but is quite good on high gears. On a trip to Germany, at 210 km/hr (131 mph) on 5th with the A/C on and 4 people, the car felt it still has some more to give, but I chickened out.

Willy

Check out my 'location' - I'm in England.. the C180 is very common here, as is the E200, BMW 316i etc. it's those damn fuel prices!

The latest W203 C180 is 2.0, while the C200 is supercharged (163hp) .. but these are being replaced soon with a range of new direct injection 1.8 petrol engines with and without superchargers.

I can't manage as much as 131 mph.. guess my aerodynamics aren't so good!

later

Russ

Pento, ive never had my 190 up to flat out, what do you reckon they are good for?

Hey.
I've done 120 with room to spare (though not a lot).. maybe 125 if you're really trying, and a little more on a downhill. Can't do so well now since I got wider wheels + rubber (more drag + more friction!) from the 16v.

By the way this is a worthwhile upgrade - the classic 15 hole MB alloys look good, especially as I had mine repainted + lacquered, and the ride *improved* noticeably (less unsprung weight, bigger footprint, not too low profile tyres 205/55 R15), and there's huge amounts of grip on any turn, at any speed (but can still unsettle rear in the wet!)


later

Russ

Talking of valves, i never hear much chat of the 2.0 8v models like yours and mine in the states, were they not available out there?

Rus,

How do you like your 190 ? Used to have one as well, but traded that one for the C200 when the a/c failed. Missed the car, but had no choice since it was running leaded fuel, and the Italian law has lots of restrictions regarding driving leaded fuel vehicles in the city center. Right now I have a VW Passat, but am seriously thinking of trading it in for a late model 190E (with side panels) as this car has tons of electrical problem.

Willy

Willy,
They've banned Leaded fuel in England, but for most cars a little adjustment will mean they run fine on unleaded - most German cars have run on unleaded since the (early?) '80s anyway, so it shouldn't be a problem.. if it was me, I'd definitely get a late model 190E, or if I could afford to run it, a 300E and perhaps even a W126 380-500SE.

The 2.0 was never available in the US, likewise the C180/200, E200 etc. .. with fuel so cheap, it does make a little less sense. Emissions regs would strangle the engines a lot, too - their 2.3 (not available here) only had 130 bhp.. an 8 bhp gain.

later

Russ

Beware of rev limiters in classic cars
 

One of the higher priorities in the period 25-30 years ago was to design a rev limiter to work with electronic ignition and fuel injection so that it would be done more "softly," and prevent any harm to the motor, but if you happen to have an opportunity to drive an older Porsche or BMW which still has the centrifugal distributor rotor type of rev limiter, beware of gratuitously using the rev limiter as an "upshift" signal, because on those cars it can cause enough jerkiness in the motor to slap and snap the timing chain, or at least jam the chain tensioners. Of course, many of the people who bought such cars discarded the rev limiter at their first tune-up after the warranty expired in order to turn another 600 rpm when they felt like it anyway.

We in Canada/US didn't get the 2.0L M111 engine, but we did get the 2.2 and 2.3 versions. 147/148/150hp depending on what you read...

They're not found in the 190E (alas).. but I didn't realise those were the same engine block (M111) - is todays 2.3 Kompressor based on the M111 too?

Oh there's a 1.8 190E too - is that the M111? It only came along in later years, and was more modern than the 2.0, which continued nevertheless.

later

Russ