Diesel Power?

[sethkestenbaum]

When I start from a full stop, if I "floor" my W116, it moves at about the same pace as if I slowly depress the gas pedal.  At speed, I find that the car is more responsive.  I was curious as to how much power I should be expecting from a full stop and if what I am experiencing is "typical".  If it isn't typical, what could be the possible causes of the "slow to roll" response.

[daantjie]

Kent @ mercedessource is a huge Benz Dieselhead.  You will do well to study all his vids on diesel performance.  He can drone on a bit and be very repetitive, but overall his diesel knowledge is pretty bang on IMHO.  He has a channel on youtube with tons of vids.

Of course I hope you're not expecting 6.9 performance off the line   These diesels are mostly in their element on the open road and you're not going to win any red line drags with a 300SD...

Also reach out to member "Squiggle Dog", I am sure he will respond too.  He is a big diesel fan as well

[Squiggle Dog]

If I floor my 300SD from a stop, it will spin the tires and throw me back in my seat, so a well-tuned 300SD will give decent performance. I removed the ALDA on the injection pump and the vacuum tubing going from the intake manifold so it can no longer clog up and hinder the performance. Having the valves correctly adjusted, injectors in good shape, fuel filters and fuel system clean, and driving the car frequently and hard will help keep factory performance.

I have found, however, that with the air conditioning running, even with a modern Sanden compressor, that it turns my car from a rocketship into "accelerates just fast enough to keep people behind me happy". It's surprising how much horsepower that Sanden compressor robs when it's engaged, and it even causes exhaust smoke when I'm not running biodiesel. I can only imagine that the stock Delco R4 compressor would have hurt acceleration even more.

Also, the 300SD has a relay behind the vertical carpeted kick panel on the passenger side that puts the transmission into 1st gear when the car is stopped, so it starts off in first and then shortly shifts into second gear. If your car is starting out in second gear, that will affect acceleration. The relay is supposed to make a click when you are slowing down to a stop.

[sethkestenbaum]

Thanks.  I'll start my trouble shooting with Squiggle Dog's checklist. In looking up what an ALDA is, I came across this link: http://www.dieselgiant.com/mercedesaldaboostsystemservi.htm.  I've got to imagine that on my car the banjo bolt has never been cleaned out.  I also wouldn't be shocked if the car was starting in second gear.  I'll check the relay when I can if the cleaning of the bolt doesn't significantly improve performance.

Seth