switch position?

[shovel]

this is probably a really dumb question but please humour me!!
what position is the gearbox switch supposed to be in for E or S ? ie switch exposes letter S does that mean it's in E mode?

 

[fuzzer]

put your finger on the lever you want and slide down and when the letter you want is exposed thats what its in.




(Edited by fuzzer at 11:54 pm on July 30, 2002)

 

[DougE280]

When "S" is exposed you are in "Standard" mode - not "Sport" according to my handbook!
You should be able to tell when you are in "E" or "Economy" as the gears will change up much sooner and the 'box will not kick-down unless you bury the throttle to the floor - when the kick-down button under the pedel overrides the "E" setting and gives maximum acceleration.
I personally leave it in "S" all the time, as I prefer the more responsive drive, it still changes up quickly (for economy) if you're "light" with the throttle.
Hope this helps!
 

 

[Aletank]

On my C200 Sport Auto, It has a "S" and a "W" The "S" is Standard and the "W" is Winter.
When it's in Winter"W" it starts of in Second gear thus giving more traction in icy conditions.

 

[shovel]

Thanks everyone, i hadn't noticed any difference but at least now i know what to look for.

 

[Matt Crooke]

Aletank.

Its funny, as the earlier hydraulic gearboxes that have the E/S switch start in second gear all the time anyway, which is a bit irritating to say the least!. Although 1st is so high geared you are out of it within seconds anyway!

 

[john]

According to handbook for 190, s is standard, e is economy.
In e, box only uses gears 2,3,4. Also changes up earlier. Depending on road and gradient conditions this does not necessarily mean improved economy.
PS. If I want to pull away in 1ST, I have to be in s, shift gearlever to as far back as it will go and back to D.
When I pull away, mucho rapido for a heavy car!!!

 

[BenH]

How do you mean, John? How do you force it to use 1st? Would be useful for round-about getaways!

I leave my switch in 'S' / Standard mode, but hadn't thought about which gear it's using. Sometimes it can be really sluggish pulling away though.

To force 1st, are you sitting at the junction (say), then pull the shift lever right back to 2, and then forward to D again, before accelerating away? Is that what you meant?

 

[Matt Crooke]

HI ben,

Yeah thats what he means. There are 2 ways of getting your car to engage a 1st gear pullaway.

1) Put the car into drive, floor the throttle and the car will kick down into 1st and off you go.

2) Whilst stationary with the car in Drive, pull the stick back to 2, then push forward to D again. This time even with light throttle it will pullaway in 1st. Beware though 1st gear is very low geared, so with a very light throttle you will be in 2nd before you have had a chance to blink!

 

[Matt Crooke]

ps, the E/S switch in my 190 dosent seem to have any effect on the gear changes at all...very irritating.