Best smoker barges 1-5 large [vol11]

[olly755]

Not a regulat motorway user but I've noticed that overall speeds seem to be lower these days. Cornwall trip last weekend in the LS, cruise set at 90 or so (so a true 85?) and we were pretty much the fastest thing on the road. Other users making faster progress could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Anyway, tidy X300 alert.





http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/1997-Jaguar-Soverei...

[Lowtimer]

My perception is that mainstream UK motorway outside lane speeds slowed down significantly around the time of the 2007 fuel price highs, then never really recovered. I think it's to do with there now being whole generations of drivers for whom widespread robotic speed enforcement is all they have ever known, leading to a robotic appraoch to observing speed limits (regardless of conditions).

[Eski1991]

JF87 said:

josh00mac said:

Some great bargain merc s on eBay at present:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252646143307
Very near me - would surely be worth two or three times the price as an estate?

That does look good. *awkward cough* What are you waiting for?

Is that still floating about? I've not found a suitable estate yet and I really do like it.

[SpeckledJim]

jenapex said:

Ah! I was wondering before I posted a photo of my new project barge.. not the best on this thread by any means but I'm absolutely smitten by it

I have a habit of buying cars that are older than me..

Excellent. That's lovely.

[JF87]

Eski1991 said:

Is that still floating about? I've not found a suitable estate yet and I really do like it.

Yes, it floats on. My in-listing undersell about its niche appeal was evidently bang on the money.

[ian316]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Anyway, tidy X300 alert.

Enough to make me question my W124 fetish (well, almost) and makes rusty, rotten 911s for £100,000 look utterly preposterous.

I did this saw a great xj8 at a bargain price and got rid of the w124, it was a great drive and the comfort was great too, strangely just over a year later I was back in a w124 there really is just something about them

[ALawson]

Mega Milage C250 Cdi 242k miles 2010.

Would be interesting to see what has been changed on that.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

[anonymous-user]

olly755 said:

Not a regulat motorway user but I've noticed that overall speeds seem to be lower these days. Cornwall trip last weekend in the LS, cruise set at 90 or so (so a true 85?) and we were pretty much the fastest thing on the road. Other users making faster progress could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Anyway, tidy X300 alert.





http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/1997-Jaguar-Soverei...

Looks lovely but a 3.2 really rules it out for me. The 4.0 is lovely and torquey, with the sort of effortlessness you seek from a car like this, but the 3.2 rand has to work a bit too hard to be dignified and also has a higher rear axle ratio so is busier on the motorway. Always amazes me that someone would spend £40k ish on a car in 1996 and then buy the meek one for the sake of a couple of grand. The 3.2 wasn't even sold in the US, which says it all really.

[TheLordJohn]

dme123 said:

The 3.2 wasn't even sold in the US, which says it all really.

Whilst I agree, the 4.0 is much preferred over the 3.2, I am absolutely certain that the fact it wasn't sold in the US shouldn't be a marker as to how good it is/isn't.
Because what they know about cars, and the influence they should have over what we export to them, should fit on the back of a stamp. They wouldn't know a good car if it smacked them in the face.
The 3.2 is still a lovely motor in its' own right.
When you're looking at 20+ year old motors, condition and provenance would prevail (personally) over a particular engine size.
If like for like, then of course, go for the bigger engine

I owned an E38 735i; would've much preferred the 740i, but mine still saw 140+ and had power aplenty.

Edited by TheLordJohn on Thursday 1st December 18:12

[olly755]

Bulletproof reliability aside, the 3.2 isn't quite a gem. It's ever so slightly coarse, a bit torqueless low down, and hardly a sonorous thing to listen to for a six banger. However, it loves a drop of revs and really wakes up at around 4000 rpm. Not quite ideal for a barge, but fun anyway.

Lower gearing makes things a little busier on the motorway although its hardly intrusive. The upshot is a lovely little slug of torque at around 85mph as the motor is sitting right on the cam. I've never driven a car that's happier at that speed- the car just hunkers down and settles quietly into a cruise. It's a far busier experience from the helm at 60. Strange.

Edited by olly755 on Thursday 1st December 18:25

[r129sl]

olly755 said:

Bulletproof reliability aside, the 3.2 isn't quite a gem. It's ever so slightly coarse, a bit torqueless low down, and hardly a sonorous thing to listen to for a six banger. However, it loves a drop of revs and really wakes up at around 4000 rpm. Not quite ideal for a barge, but fun anyway.

Lower gearing makes things a little busier on the motorway although its hardly intrusive. The upshot is a lovely little slug of torque at around 85mph as the motor is sitting right on the cam. I've never driven a car that's happier at that speed- the car just hunkers down and settles quietly into a cruise. It's a far busier experience from the helm at 60. Strange.

Edited by olly755 on Thursday 1st December 18:25

I quite like an engine that cruises at high revs. I remember reading a Rpad & Track review of a w123 280 E which warned its readers that the car was designed to run for hours on end at engine speeds that would see Yankee iron fall apart. My diesel 124 sits at 4,000rpm at about 90 and feels so much happier there than at 60.

[Krikkit]

Sometimes I think it's because the 3rd and 4th order harmonics of the engine have all dissolved into the road vibration, everything seems smoother and more settled. That, and you're usually right into the cam profile which makes the performance feel much more effortless.

[anonymous-user]

TheLordJohn said:

Whilst I agree, the 4.0 is much preferred over the 3.2, I am absolutely certain that the fact it wasn't sold in the US shouldn't be a marker as to how good it is/isn't.
Because what they know about cars, and the influence they should have over what we export to them, should fit on the back of a stamp. They wouldn't know a good car if it smacked them in the face.
The 3.2 is still a lovely motor in its' own right.
When you're looking at 20+ year old motors, condition and provenance would prevail (personally) over a particular engine size.
If like for like, then of course, go for the bigger engine

I owned an E38 735i; would've much preferred the 740i, but mine still saw 140+ and had power aplenty.

Edited by TheLordJohn on Thursday 1st December 18:12

Whilst in general terms I agree about the automotive ineptitude and poor taste of our six toed friends across the Atlantic it is often a sign that an engine is an economy minded model (and thus undesirable to gentlemen of taste such as ourselves) if they didn't bother offering it there. See, for example, the lack of 520i or 728i there, or the under endowed Merc equivalents. Engines which nobody in the UK picked for any reason other than miserly ones.

[TheLordJohn]

dme123 said:

Whilst in general terms I agree about the automotive ineptitude and poor taste of our six toed friends across the Atlantic it is often a sign that an engine is an economy minded model (and thus undesirable to gentlemen of taste such as ourselves) if they didn't bother offering it there. See, for example, the lack of 520i or 728i there, or the under endowed Merc equivalents. Engines which nobody in the UK picked for any reason other than miserly ones.

Well at least I have some support

[cornershop]

Parisien said:

cornershop said:

Maybe of interest to some in the current (geddit) climate, I bought this 'intelligent' charger from Costco for £35 inc - looks remarkably similar to the higher power ctek, even the instructions looks similar.

Available on amazon for a bit more :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Automotive-Intelligent-Ba...

So the Ring version is made by same people who made the Ctek one? Costo has a website, none local to me?

P

Can't state that for certain but dimensions look similar and instruction layout and device function look similar.

If you're local to me in North London I can pick one up for you to collect from me, no issues with that

[amstrange1]

JF87 said:

josh00mac said:

Some great bargain merc s on eBay at present:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252646143307
Very near me - would surely be worth two or three times the price as an estate?

That does look good. *awkward cough* What are you waiting for?

Is there any way of retrofitting ISOFIX to the W210? I think the W211 had it as standard.

[Parisien]

cornershop said:

Can't state that for certain but dimensions look similar and instruction layout and device function look similar.

If you're local to me in North London I can pick one up for you to collect from me, no issues with that

Thank you for your kind offer Cornershop, am in NI, have a mate in Brum, will get him to chase it up if they still have them, none showing on their website, cheers!


P

[SpeckledJim]

amstrange1 said:

JF87 said:

josh00mac said:

Some great bargain merc s on eBay at present:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252646143307
Very near me - would surely be worth two or three times the price as an estate?

That does look good. *awkward cough* What are you waiting for?

Is there any way of retrofitting ISOFIX to the W210? I think the W211 had it as standard.

Neither of my W211 had it. 53 plate and 55 plate.

[r129sl]

SpeckledJim said:

amstrange1 said:

JF87 said:

josh00mac said:

Some great bargain merc s on eBay at present:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252646143307
Very near me - would surely be worth two or three times the price as an estate?

That does look good. *awkward cough* What are you waiting for?

Is there any way of retrofitting ISOFIX to the W210? I think the W211 had it as standard.

Neither of my W211 had it. 53 plate and 55 plate.

I think it is only viable if there is a bespoke kit and there usually only is a bespoke kit if the car was available from the factory with it. I don't think the w210 ever did. http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=137...

I don't think ISOFIX was available on the w210. And I also think Merc welds in the brackets rather than bolts them in.

A much easier and more attractive retrofit is the Integrated Child Seat option: you just need a replacement seat base. I fitted this to a friend's w210. He was sceptical when I told him about it but was a complete convert when we did it.

[MJK 24]

r129sl said:

olly755 said:

Bulletproof reliability aside, the 3.2 isn't quite a gem. It's ever so slightly coarse, a bit torqueless low down, and hardly a sonorous thing to listen to for a six banger. However, it loves a drop of revs and really wakes up at around 4000 rpm. Not quite ideal for a barge, but fun anyway.

Lower gearing makes things a little busier on the motorway although its hardly intrusive. The upshot is a lovely little slug of torque at around 85mph as the motor is sitting right on the cam. I've never driven a car that's happier at that speed- the car just hunkers down and settles quietly into a cruise. It's a far busier experience from the helm at 60. Strange.

Edited by olly755 on Thursday 1st December 18:25

I quite like an engine that cruises at high revs. I remember reading a Rpad & Track review of a w123 280 E which warned its readers that the car was designed to run for hours on end at engine speeds that would see Yankee iron fall apart. My diesel 124 sits at 4,000rpm at about 90 and feels so much happier there than at 60.

My W124 230E is very low geared. Just 20mph per 1,000rpm in 4th. I know why they've done it, to make is reasonably lively on the back of 136bhp.

My motorway experience mirrors your own. It feels swamped at 60mph with not a great deal of performance on offer. Sit it at 75mph and things improve. I'm guessing the 3,750rpm is very close to peak torque. Put the pedal on the floor at 90mph / 4,500rpm and it really motors forward. I'm guessing we're now halfway between peak torque and peak power.

I've read that the top speed of the 230E is 130mph. I'm unconvinced as that would be 6,500rpm which is 1) a lot for an 8v engine and 2) deep into the red zone on the tachometer. It's sat at 120mph before now but we're both happier at 110 / 5,500 where it'll sit until the cows come home.

Fuel consumption is interesting. It'll do 33/34mpg at 60mph or 29/30mpg at 90mph. 50% faster for 10% more fuel. Brilliant.