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[Alan Burlinson]

I hope this is the right place to post this question!
Is the auto gearbox on my CL203 C 220 CDI Diesel intuitive? so what I mean is if I gently accelerate is the box not very responsive, but if you push the peddle down more aggressive does it select a more aggressive acceleration.. I am not talking about the obvious here either, like the more peddle the faster you go!! lol.. I hope I have explained myself adequately.

 

[LostKiwi]

The word you're looking for is adaptive.
The easiest way to check is to drive aggressively and monitor the gearbox behaviour, then calm right down and see if the changes are any different. At that age is suspect the programming will be pretty basic.

 

[Alan Burlinson]

The word you're looking for is adaptive.
The easiest way to check is to drive aggressively and monitor the gearbox behaviour, then calm right down and see if the changes are any different. At that age is suspect the programming will be pretty basic.

Thank I will do that.. The reason I ask is because I am driving quite calmly and there seems to be a bit of a delay in acceleration.. but if I'm a bit more aggressive it is quite responsive

 

[Wighty]

Thank I will do that.. The reason I ask is because I am driving quite calmly and there seems to be a bit of a delay in acceleration.. but if I'm a bit more aggressive it is quite responsive

When you say more aggressive I take it you are not talking about " kick down " which will get things going as fast as it can .
Also do you have a C and S setting for comfort and sport ? If you drive in C mode the car will not use 1st gear when you get moving (better winter mode?) . If you use Sport mode you will start in 1st but also the revs will be held higher before changing up .
My diesel also has a bit of a delay when you press the go pedal , and then everything kicks in suddenly ( not to be used on greasy roundabouts )

 

[Alan Burlinson]

When you say more aggressive I take it you are not talking about " kick down " which will get things going as fast as it can .
Also do you have a C and S setting for comfort and sport ? If you drive in C mode the car will not use 1st gear when you get moving (better winter mode?) . If you use Sport mode you will start in 1st but also the revs will be held higher before changing up .
My diesel also has a bit of a delay when you press the go pedal , and then everything kicks in suddenly ( not to be used on greasy roundabouts )

Yes I am driving in comfort mode so that is exactly what you're describing I think,

I didn't mean kick down.. but perhaps I'm being too light on the peddle.. Lol.. I'm considering having a remap done so that should give me that that little extra I'm seeking.​

 

[daibevan]

Try it in S. I only use C when icy or ferrying old codgers. ( Should really be older codgers, I'm not exactly a spring chicken)

 

[Srdl]

I

Thank I will do that.. The reason I ask is because I am driving quite calmly and there seems to be a bit of a delay in acceleration.. but if I'm a bit more aggressive it is quite responsive

I think that sounds entirely normal. The gearbox should respond to your right foot. If you want it to perform better, press harder

 

[Wighty]

Yes I am driving in comfort mode so that is exactly what you're describing I think,

I didn't mean kick down.. but perhaps I'm being too light on the peddle.. Lol.. I'm considering having a remap done so that should give me that that little extra I'm seeking.​

I think that a good remap may smooth out the gearbox slightly as well ? Two good remap companies on this site are MSL Brimingham and GAD Essex and north of England (somewhere) . Both a fair way from you but I'm sure someone should recommend a local company

 

[Alan Burlinson]

I think that a good remap may smooth out the gearbox slightly as well ? Two good remap companies on this site are MSL Brimingham and GAD Essex and north of England (somewhere) . Both a fair way from you but I'm sure someone should recommend a local company

That would be great if someone can recommend a company nearer to me.. Thanks for your replies everyone.

 

[GordonTarling]

That would be great if someone can recommend a company nearer to me.. Thanks for your replies everyone.

We'd be able to do that if we knew where you were.

 

[Alan Burlinson]

We'd be able to do that if we knew where you were.

I'm in Kingston Surrey, so a little way from you

 

[Alan Burlinson]

I'm in Kingston Surrey, so a little way from you

Thought I would post an update on this subject....
I spent a day driving on the Sport option and then I went back to the comfort option and it is a lot more responsive.. I recon that the car learns your driving style and adapts accordingly.. So it didn't suit the way I drive, but now does.. I also realised that the tyre pressures were low so that helped too.

 

[Taffy7hfa]

Sound's more like your basic CDI turbo lag, can be quite disconcerting if your not used to it, being in a lower gear wont make that much difference unless you like the extra noise, been caught out on roundabouts so many times I now put in a written application for power 3 days in advance.

 

[Alan Burlinson]

Sound's more like your basic CDI turbo lag, can be quite disconcerting if your not used to it, being in a lower gear wont make that much difference unless you like the extra noise, been caught out on roundabouts so many times I now put in a written application for power 3 days in advance.

Yeah.. it does take a moment to get going.. a bit like me in the mornings

 

[Alan Burlinson]

Yeah.. it does take a moment to get going.. a bit like me in the mornings

But there definitely was a difference between how it was driving after I drove with the sport mode and then went back to comfort mode.

 

[Botus]

Thought I would post an update on this subject....
I spent a day driving on the Sport option and then I went back to the comfort option and it is a lot more responsive.. I recon that the car learns your driving style and adapts accordingly.. So it didn't suit the way I drive, but now does.. I also realised that the tyre pressures were low so that helped too.

the adaptive gearbox software that's in most auto's (and has been for 20 years) is a stupid idea. 95% of the time making it worse than if they left it alone. Expecting the world most incompetent maths and engineers to hope they can improve how the gearbox behaves is absolutely ridiculous. This adaptive technology has no way to know the road in front of the car, the mood or skill of the driver, the weather conditions and indeed the traffic conditions

BWM fitted a sensible idea on their 8 speed autos from 2012. It was developed for RRs and fitted from 2010. Someone worked out a simple cheap way to almost get it 100% right all the time. Stop trying to guess, the Sat Nav knows exactly the vehicle speed, the road in front, hills, bends, motorways, country lanes, speed limits etc. And thus it makes 40% fewer changes than a Mercedes auto does.

If engineers weren't totally incompetent, that information together with info from the ambient temp sensor (35 years), the rain / light sensor (from 18 years back) tyre temp (that's been beamed to the car via TPMS for at least 14 years) and live traffic data (reliably 5 years), could very simply be linked up to make the car far safer and better to drive all the time - adjusting the damping, power output etc.

 

[EmilysDad]

....

If engineers weren't totally incompetent, that information together with info from the ambient temp sensor (35 years), the rain / light sensor (from 18 years back) tyre temp (that's been beamed to the car via TPMS for at least 14 years) and live traffic data (reliably 5 years), could very simply be linked up to make the car far safer and better to drive all the time - adjusting the damping, power output etc.

That sounds like recipe for a car that no one would be able to fix if a sensor somewhere went t1ts up.

 

[Botus]

it would have the same default unadapted base data as a starting point... except if they bothered to understand this, the base could be 90% right and far better than the rubbish they peddle today

for example, ALL german cars (with 100bhp or more) for the last 35 years only have engine characteristics, gearbox and suspension settings designed for a idiot with mild road rage to try and do 115mph on a smooth road, outside this they are pretty hopeless - I guess that's the taxi bit coming out?