Mercedes 500E

[mickyveloce]

Can't find the 500E you want? Try the baby brother. Compact, just as quick and, at the moment, cheaper to buy and run.

[mickyveloce]

Can't find the 500E you want? Try the baby brother. Compact, just as quick and, at the moment, cheaper to buy and run.

[ras62]

anissut said:

ras62 said:

Nice car and incredible build quality. Shame they were not made with the later 5 speed gearbox though. I can't see why the E500 would be considerably faster than a SL500?

It probably isn't faster to be fair. Not that it really matters. The 4 speed auto is a bit frustrating as you need to kick it down more than you want to but where the car excels is from around 40-50mph onwards. It really is very impressive from then onwards.

The V8 is very quick at any speed really. The later box changes gear quickly using the stick but it also learns when you are driving fast so that it changes down sooner and without needing to reach the kickdown switch and it also holds the lower gear longer. When cruising it also reacts to the speed the accelerator pedal is pressed, again kicking down instantly without the need to reach the kickdown point. 5th drops the revs by about 20% so makes a significant difference to mpg and touring range.

[V12 AMG]

anissut said:

ras62 said:

Nice car and incredible build quality. Shame they were not made with the later 5 speed gearbox though. I can't see why the E500 would be considerably faster than a SL500?

It probably isn't faster to be fair. Not that it really matters. The 4 speed auto is a bit frustrating as you need to kick it down more than you want to but where the car excels is from around 40-50mph onwards. It really is very impressive from then onwards.

I thought the final drive ratio was shorter in the 500E compared with the 500SL, thus increasing the acceleration. It may have been the S500 actually that had the longer ratio now I think about it..

[Lowtimer]

The main reason for the 500E being quicker than the R129 with same engine and 4-speed transmission is that the 500E is significantly lighter (as you would expect given that closed cars are vastly more structurally efficient than open cars).

[V12 AMG]

V12 AMG said:

I thought the final drive ratio was shorter in the 500E compared with the 500SL, thus increasing the acceleration. It may have been the S500 actually that had the longer ratio now I think about it..

I was correct. 500E has 2.82 ratio and 500SL has 2.65 ratio.

At all speeds apart from well above 100mph, the 500e will perform much better.

[ras62]

I doubt the weight would be much different with the SL hard top removed but the final drive was very slightly shorter in the 500E (2.82 v 2.65) which would account for a little extra acceleration.

[V12 AMG]

500E is 1710kg
500SL is 1890kg

[Lowtimer]

Exactly. Weight difference is more than 10%, which is about 1.5 secs to 100.

[ras62]

http://www.hemmings.com/hsx/stories/2012/08/01/hmn...

Above puts the weight of the 500E at 3935 lbs but I have also seen figures of over 4100 for the SL. I do know the pano roof on my car weighs about 200 lbs and blunts acceleration when fitted. Mind you the cabin is a lovely place to be when it is installed.
Just ran some figures for the speed in gears between the two diffs... 1st 44/46 2nd 72/76 3rd 112/119 4th 157/167

Edited by ras62 on Tuesday 4th August 22:43

[anissut]

Just thought I'd update the thread.

The sound from the stereo was pretty pants which is not surprising considering the age of the car. I bought a fairly boring looking Sony head unit with bluetooth iPod etc. I then took the car to Enigma Audio in Perivale to sort the speakers out. These guys were brilliant. They have put a sub in behind the passenger footwell and fabricated their own bracket to do it. You don't even know it's there. They then replaced the front speakers and rear speakers with JBL speakers. Everything looks totally standard (apart from the head until obviously).

I was shocked by the sound quality. Sounds brilliant. It's leagues ahead of my 997 Turbo S with Bose. Bit annoying really as don't want to drive the 997 anymore. I still have the standard head unit as well just in case I sell in the future.

Next job is to get the wheels refurbished and restored. In all fairness they are pretty damn good but my OCD won't allow me to let the car be anything less than mint. So hopefully will sort that out in the next 2 weeks.

Car is still running faultlessly and is proving to be the prefect daily driver.

Will post some pics of the stereo install later when I get a minute.

Edited by anissut on Tuesday 18th August 21:48

[truck71]

ras62 said:

http://www.hemmings.com/hsx/stories/2012/08/01/hmn...

Above puts the weight of the 500E at 3935 lbs but I have also seen figures of over 4100 for the SL. I do know the pano roof on my car weighs about 200 lbs and blunts acceleration when fitted. Mind you the cabin is a lovely place to be when it is installed.
Just ran some figures for the speed in gears between the two diffs... 1st 44/46 2nd 72/76 3rd 112/119 4th 157/167

Edited by ras62 on Tuesday 4th August 22:43

You're right about the pano roof, weighs about the same as a motorbike! It's surprising how much more the car rolls with it on.

[MRPULLHARD]

can you tell us how you went about importing from japan ? use a buying agent ?

[anissut]

MRPULLHARD said:

can you tell us how you went about importing from japan ? use a buying agent ?

I have a very close friend who used to export high end stuff from the UK to the Far East. He then moved over to the Far East and now also does it the other way, ie: sourcing classic/high end stuff coming back to the UK. I trust him as I've known him a long time. Not sure if I'd even try and buy a car from there without this contact as I'd be scared that I'd get done.

[ba65]

Nice update. I also sorted the sounds on mine, made a massive difference.

Off to Dubai now for work, my 500E will be mothballed for the next 6 months at the minimum...

[alpinab3]

anissut said:

It probably isn't faster to be fair. Not that it really matters. The 4 speed auto is a bit frustrating as you need to kick it down more than you want to but where the car excels is from around 40-50mph onwards. It really is very impressive from then onwards.

They really to drop hammer at higher speeds. And this is in a r129. A w124 is quite a bit lighter.

[ras62]

Detailed performance of both E500 and SL500 can be found on the website below. It shows the saloon generally a few tenths faster e.g 0-60 5.8/6sec 50-90 12.2/12.8secs. Lose the hardtop from the SL and there will be no difference.

http://www.automobile-catalog.com/auta_perf1.php

[SSL]

ras62 said:

Detailed performance of both E500 and SL500 can be found on the website below. It shows the saloon generally a few tenths faster e.g 0-60 5.8/6sec 50-90 12.2/12.8secs. Lose the hardtop from the SL and there will be no difference.

http://www.automobile-catalog.com/auta_perf1.php

There is however a marked difference in favour of the 500E500 in relation to steering feedback and the brakes. The SL's steering is lighter, slower and less informative and the brakes while extremely effective have a much longer pedal travel compared to that of the saloon.

[ras62]

The recirculating ball system is never going to be the last word in steering feel so its a mute point imo. I cant comment on the brake system, I do know the Emergency Brake Assist offered on the later SL's is hugely effective, but probably the single biggest difference comes from the later SL having the electronic 5 speed gearbox. Response and fuel economy are markedly improved over the 4 speed version fitted in the 500E.
Off subject here but I had the slack taken out of my steering by adjusting the rack, it made a big difference to the steering, now much more direct with little to no play at centre.

[r129sl]

Having the steering box refurbished always does wonders for a high mileage car, too. But the first step to improve the steering on these cars is to replace the idler arm bush and the anti-roll bar bushes, less than £75 fitted; you could follow that with the track rods and centre link; and if you want it good as new, then replace the control arm bushes (it's easier and not much more expensive to replace the whole control arm).