ENGINE
Not that the
engine here is anything special, but I did clean it up a bit
and applied
some high temp paint to the exhaust manifold. It looks much better now.
Also, not visible is the K&N filter in the stock filter housing. To
increase airflow, the flap from the front air intake was cut off.
Free HP!
Yes, its true, for all the W201 and W124 owners, here is a simple
modification that will yield you better throttle response and more power.
While researching some other options for upgrading the ignition, I came
across some interesting data on the MB service CD. On the Euro spec
MB's ignition, there is a item called a reference resistor or R16/1, it is
a manually adjustable dial that allows you to retard your ignition timing.
On our US spec cars we don't get this wonderful option, but we do have a
fixed ohm resister to set out ignition timing. It is a 750 ohm
resister which gives us a 6 degree retard in timing. This is
standard on all US spec W201's and W124's, its MB answer to the poor, low
octane gasoline we have in the US. Now if you are like me and only
run high octane 92+ in your car, you can pretty much eliminate the 6
degree of retard altogether. My removing the R16/1 resistor, you in
effect end up with no retard. This may be borderline for 92 octane
gas so another option (if you end up experiencing pinging) is to order
from MB a R16/1 resistor in 2.4 kohm. This will give you 2 degrees
of retard.
So far with no R16/1 resister and 92 octane gas, my 190 is running great
with no pinging. The improvement is very noticeable (my seat of the
pants meter). Anyway, if you want to try this on your car I can save
you a bit of a headache and tell you where the R16/1 resister is located.
On my 1992 190E 2.6, it was located by the battery behind the black
plastic panel (which is directly behind the battery and hides your ECU and
OVP). You should be able to spot it rather easy since it is wrapped
in black electrical tape. Once you locate it, just unwrap it and
remove the R16/1 resistor, its a small black plastic plug like item with
two contacts sticking out of it. Once removed, you should tape up
the wire harness and hide it back behind the black panel. Fill your
car up with 92+ octane and enjoy. If you experience pinging or any
other strange behavior, you should put the resistor back and see if MB can
order you the 2.4 kohm R16/1. Also, on the 16 valve 190Es, the R16/1
is connected to a wire harness coming from the firewall toward the #3 and
#4 intake manifold runners, it should be dangling out from the harness and
its also wrapped in black electrical tape. Below is the complete
chart of values (taken from the 1986 16 valve service manual.
No resistor = no retard
2.4Kohm resistor = 2 degree retard
1.3Kohm resistor = 4 degree retard
750 ohm resistor = 6 degree retard (standard in my US car)
470 ohm resistor = 8 degree retard
220 ohm resistor = 10 degree retard
0 ohm resistor = 12 degree retard
Try this at your own risk, I am not responsible for any mishaps or
problems you may experience.
