From: owner-diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net (diesel-benz-digest) To: diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net Subject: diesel-benz-digest V1 #688 Reply-To: diesel-benz-at-digest.net Sender: owner-diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net Errors-To: owner-diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net Precedence: bulk diesel-benz-digest Friday, December 21 2001 Volume 01 : Number 688 Forum for Discussion of Diesel Mercedes Benz Automobiles Derick Amburgey Digest Coordinator Contents: Re: crosswind susceptibility Re: crosswind susceptibility Re: crosswind susceptibility re: cross-wind susceptibility alloy wheels More on batteries please! RE: More on batteries please! Re: alloy wheels the TD version of the WJ Re: alloy wheels Diesel Benz Digest Home Page: http://www.digest.net/diesel-benz/ Send submissions to diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net Send administrative requests to diesel-benz-digest-request-at-digest.net To unsubscribe, include the word unsubscribe by itself in the body of the message, unless you are sending the request from a different address than the one that appears on the list. Include the word help in a message to stag-digest-request to get a list of other majordomo commands. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2001 02:37:58 -0600 From: Jon Filina Subject: Re: crosswind susceptibility Alec grabbed the wheel and composed the following: > OK. Is it just me, or is everybody's W124/W124c quite noticeably affected > by crosswinds? > > I love my 89 300CE, but I fear that the definite push from crosswinds is > simply a result of the steering/suspension geometry that I otherwise am so > fond of. Or do I again need to start budgeting for major suspension rubber > replacment (had an 85 300D before this, and we all know what happens to > their front end over time). Does your W124 have "speed sensitive" steering (less power input at higher speeds)? My '90 Jetta had this type of power steering. At parking speeds I could spin the steering wheel with my little pinkie. At highway speeds, it was like I had manual steering. My '81 240D is not speed sensitive. Strong cross winds do pose a problem. If your's is not speed sensitive, I wouldn't worry about it. If not, you've got some suspension repairs coming up. Jon '81 240D 292,500 mi. "Mathilde" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2001 7:24:40 -0800 From: "Dan Jacobs" Subject: Re: crosswind susceptibility Clearly the best way to remedy the problem is thus: 1. Get a 3 liter engine. 2. Fill the trunk with a bunch of junk, like me. 3. Drive faster than the wind so it can't catch you. 4. Ignore the colored lights on the large american car behind you. He's just mad that your in front and are driving too fast to change lanes. Disregard this egomaniac. The above steps should remedy your problem. Drive safely. > My '81 240D is not speed sensitive. Strong cross winds do pose a > problem. If your's is not speed sensitive, I wouldn't worry about it. > If not, you've got some suspension repairs coming up. > > > Jon > '81 240D 292,500 mi. "Mathilde" Diesel Dan http://DieselDan.net Interviewer (paraphrased): "Well, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, isn't it?" Tom Clancy: "Yes, one of the hardest things about writing is keeping ahead of the perversity of real life." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2001 10:59:32 -0800 From: Guy Carpenter Subject: Re: crosswind susceptibility Recently I was driving my W123 across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge with a high crosswind. It took a lot of force on the wheel to keep her straight, and you could really feel the wind shadows created by each of the two big towers -- lurch. At 08:05 PM 12/19/2001 -0600, Alec Cordova wrote: >OK. Is it just me, or is everybody's W124/W124c quite noticeably affected >by crosswinds? > >I love my 89 300CE, but I fear that the definite push from crosswinds is >simply a result of the steering/suspension geometry that I otherwise am so >fond of. Or do I again need to start budgeting for major suspension rubber >replacment (had an 85 300D before this, and we all know what happens to >their front end over time). > >Been kind of windy lately, and I'm just wondering. > >Regards, >Alec Cordova >Taylor, Texas >95 C280 89 300CE ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2001 09:02:44 +1300 From: Euan Kennedy Subject: re: cross-wind susceptibility Yep, here on the Canterbury Plains, we get big nor'westers (hot blustery winds) which really push my 300TD around. But even in cross-winds of lower velocity, the wagon is quite twitchy. I've asked other 300TD owners how they fare. Some have said that they've beaten the problem with revised wheel alignments (problem is, I can't remember what they said they adjusted). Cheers Euan _______________________________ Euan S Kennedy Christchurch New Zealand E-mail: gonebush-at-paradise.net.nz 1985 300 TD 5-spd manual 163K miles ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2001 13:25:53 -0800 From: Guy Carpenter Subject: alloy wheels I saw a W123 the other day with magnificent polished alloy wheels. They looked to me like the original wheels, but instead of the typical dull grey they glowed like chrome. Anyone care to guess if were after-market replacements, or is it really possible to clean up the stock wheels like that? Guy. '83 W123 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2001 23:38:20 +0200 From: "Matthew and Kristl Kirk" Subject: More on batteries please! I looked up the 'cold start charge' and you all call it CCA 'cold crank amps' in the US. What CCA should there be for my '89 model (4cyl diesel)? Also what is the correct ampage, I currently have 88 amps which is good through the year but in freezing cold it looses its kick? Thanks Matt 89 MB 100 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2001 16:55:04 -0500 From: "Menefee, Dennis" Subject: RE: More on batteries please! The more CCA the better. I have an MB replacement that's only marked "100 amps" and an interstate marked "850 CCA". Both are more than adequate. Dennis M. 78 240D 92 300D 2.5 Turbo - -----Original Message----- From: Matthew and Kristl Kirk To: diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net Sent: 12/20/2001 4:38 PM Subject: More on batteries please! I looked up the 'cold start charge' and you all call it CCA 'cold crank amps' in the US. What CCA should there be for my '89 model (4cyl diesel)? Also what is the correct ampage, I currently have 88 amps which is good through the year but in freezing cold it looses its kick? Thanks Matt 89 MB 100 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2001 21:59:43 From: "Mike Mehringer" Subject: Re: alloy wheels You can buy rims that look identical to the stock rims but with the chrome finish. They are more $$$ of course. You can get them from Performance Products, Rusty who's on this list, or www.thebenzbin.com I think. Your stock rims can look like that only if you get them professionally stripped and chromed. I'd imagine that would be more expensive than just to buy chrome rims. :) Mike M. 1983 300SD W126 >From: Guy Carpenter >To: >Subject: alloy wheels >Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2001 13:25:53 -0800 > >I saw a W123 the other day with magnificent polished >alloy wheels. They looked to me like the original wheels, >but instead of the typical dull grey they glowed like chrome. > >Anyone care to guess if were after-market replacements, >or is it really possible to clean up the stock wheels like that? > >Guy. > >'83 W123 > _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2001 21:58:54 -0800 From: john Subject: the TD version of the WJ reading through richard's article on the TD in the WJ, found this section that talked about performance and economy. The mileage seems low, my 4.7L V8 gets over 19mpg cruising at 75mph... My Diesels have all been in the high twenty's at interstate speed... sometimes in the low thirties... My '85 XJ got 32mpg, my '83 300SD did 28mpg or so... What is impressive is the 0 to 60 mph, 13 SECONDS! My '81 Wagoneer with a 360 V8 did it in 15 seconds, and that was with a 4v carb and free flowing exhaust... my '83 300SD only did it in about 15 seconds... so this is FAST for a Diesel... Wish they'd bring it stateside... :( http://www.jjournal.net/jeep/features/TurboDieselWJ/Update2/ The Grand Cherokee's high-speed performance came as a pleasant surprise. Prior to making the arrangements to secure the Grand Cherokee for the trip, I had read a number of turbodiesel road tests in European publications and all complained about the racket coming from under the hood. Admittedly the 5-cylinder 3.1-liter VM turbodiesel is not as quiet as even the 4.0-liter six, but once up to speed, it really settled into a barely noticed drone and had no problem running at over 180 kph or settling in at right around 100 mph, fast enough to stay out of the way of all but the fastest traffic, well above the average speed of traffic. European magazines report that 0-100 kph times fall into the 13-second range which if offered in the US, would prove satisfactory for domestic drivers. Steering felt a bit tighter than domestic Grand Cherokees but this may have been a function of the tires selected. On-center feel was great and our Grand Cherokee felt safe and poised at triple digit velocities. The real test would come the first time we were required to fill up the tank. Currently in Germany, a liter of gasoline runs about 1.95 DM while diesel is 1.50 DM, about 25% less. We went 480 KM on our first tank of diesel which required 65 liters to top off the tank. After doing the conversion math, that comes out to about 18 mpg, a respectable figure considering that more than half of our travel was above 100 mph. This compares favorably with the numbers turned in by either of the domestically offered powerplants, neither of which typically turns in numbers much above 15 mpg in real-world driving. After factoring in the fact that in Germany at least, diesel fuel is 25% cheaper; the turbodiesel is a viable alternative to both currently available gasoline power plants, acceptable performance with lower overall fuel costs. Now a bit of speculation on my part. The current generation Grand Cherokee was designed well before the DaimlerChrysler merger, thus the selection of the VM turbodiesel. Mercedes offers a 2.7-liter CDI engine in the M-Class SUV outside North America and I suspect that if a diesel option were ultimately offered in the Grand Cherokee domestically, this would be a logical choice. With gasoline prices currently on an upward spiral towards $2.00 per gallon, an economical diesel is certainly a viable option that Jeep must be considering at some point. Look for a diesel option no earlier than 2002 model year when it is expected that the current Grand Cherokee will receive an update. - --------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- john-at-wagoneers.com http://wagoneers.com '99 Grand Cherokee Ltd (WJ) - http://wagoneers.com/WJ '83 J10 stepside (SJ) - http://wagoneers.com/SuperDawg '77 Cherokee (SJ) - http://wagoneers.com/FSJ/rigs/johns-77-cherokee (son's collection: '67 J-3000, 67 Fairlane, 68 Montego) trailers: '74 datsun longbed, building '75 J10, selling '54 Chev stepside bed... http://wagoneers.com/johns-vehicles.html Snohomish, WA, where Jeeps don't rust, they mold... ----------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2001 10:08:15 -0800 From: Robert Crawford Subject: Re: alloy wheels I would recommend going to a big truck stop. There are often guys there who polish rims, they are independent contractors and typically charged (at least when I was driving, about 10 years ago) about $50 per wheel. That price was for the wheels on big trucks, so the price for cars, considering inflation in 10 years, would probably be about that. Another approach would be to ask at a auto parts store. At 09:59 PM 12/20/01 +0000, Mike Mehringer wrote: > You can buy rims that look identical to the stock rims but with the > chrome finish. They are more $$$ of course. You can get them from > Performance Products, Rusty who's on this list, or www.thebenzbin.com I > think. Your stock rims can look like that only if you get them > professionally stripped and chromed. I'd imagine that would be more > expensive than just to buy chrome rims. :) > >Mike M. >1983 300SD W126 > > >>From: Guy Carpenter >>To: >>Subject: alloy wheels >>Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2001 13:25:53 -0800 >> >>I saw a W123 the other day with magnificent polished >>alloy wheels. They looked to me like the original wheels, >>but instead of the typical dull grey they glowed like chrome. >> >>Anyone care to guess if were after-market replacements, >>or is it really possible to clean up the stock wheels like that? >> >>Guy. >> >>'83 W123 > > > > >_________________________________________________________________ >Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com ------------------------------ End of diesel-benz-digest V1 #688 *********************************