Road Runner
Free Member
3) Sell the thing and buy something that does the speed you want to travel at !
Yes and we have seen you Japanese DRIFTING a Smart car around
Don't think that was the original ideas of them
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3) Sell the thing and buy something that does the speed you want to travel at !
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We find 50 mph (on satnav) a comfortable cruising speed on normal roads with anything between 50 and 70 on the motorway easily achievable without being unbearable on our 410 with auto box.
Sounds like it just needs a good service and maybe a good long run, acceleration isn't special as it's a big hulk.
You say recently fitted new tyres.....Maybe that's your problem as you don't say what size tyres are fitted. Because of tyre price its just a longshot but has the previous owner fitted smaller tyres. Check the suitable tyre sizes for the rims and you could have a cheap fix. Just whilst in the UK go to secondhand tyre dealer and fit taller tyres on the rear and try it.
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If it was me I would go for either a 205 R 14 or a 215 R 14. As I said earlier try a secondhand tyre dealer and explain your problem. Just maybe you can try the 215 R 14 on the rear first and if its then too high geared go down to the 205s.
Just going up one size made a huge difference to my VW LT. A sympathetic secondhand tyre dealer should do you a deal taking the smaller tyres off you as a part ex.
The width of the tyre will make negligible difference to the rolling circumference. And if I'm not mistaken, the aspect ratio of most - if not all - van tyres will be in the region of 70% anyway, so not really any way round that. You would need to source 15" or 16" rims to get tyres with a larger rolling circumference.
I thought Mercs ran 15" rims anyway.............!
Have you considered that you may have bought the wrong van for you? Just a thought.....
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We are not talking width with 205/215 we are talking circumference ie, height.
I also was of the opinion that older Mercs were on 15" wheels.
The width of the tyre will make negligible difference to the rolling circumference. And if I'm not mistaken, the aspect ratio of most - if not all - van tyres will be in the region of 70% anyway, so not really any way round that. You would need to source 15" or 16" rims to get tyres with a larger rolling circumference.
I thought Mercs ran 15" rims anyway.............!
Have you considered that you may have bought the wrong van for you? Just a thought.....[/QUOTE]
That is a very good question, we have just sat and debated that for a while.
It came down to budget and which compromise to make.
For the next 5 years we have to work although we do work in both the UK and France and have a little flexibility. Oportunities to spend more than a week away wont occurr very often, so MH use for short trips 5 or 6 times each year are the best we can expect. To double our budget is not an option and would be a waste even if possible.
The compromise is only that we don't have the speed of more modern MH's, not to use it but rather it is there to be used if required.
This Hymer is not achieving comfortable speeds, but mainly not even speeds that others with similar vehicles can achieve, and apparently with ease too, this is the nub of the matter.
That's not to ignore the fact that we were always aware that these older MH do not travel as modern vehicles, it was taken into account.
In respect of all other aspects of the Hymer we have bought we are delighted, and that's probably an understatement, we already love it.
Have double checked on a German Hymer club website that 14" rims are correct for this model, and in about a week I'll have an original handbook too.
If as you both think that 15" rims were common on other/later models then that may be a simple route to create easier cruising, going up on tyre size/width is a last option due to space within the body for twin wheels with wider/taller tyres.
If any Hymer S class owners here have 15" wheel rims I would love to know, but there is still the mystery of the speedo reading error.
Thanks to you both as it has made us think hard about what to do, and providing we can arrive with reasonable cost at what others have we will be very happy.
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Hate to disagree, but 205 or 215 is width
40/50/60 etc etc is aspect ratio, and therefore height.
So a static 205/60/15 is a taller tyre than a 205/40/15, therefore has a larger rolling circumference.
See here .....
Link Removed
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_code
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After all the generous input here, a couple of days consideration of the journey to here in France, and a few simple checks around the vehicle, I now have an idea on how to solve some if not all of the problems.
It's a Hymer 570 1992 on a Merc 410D base. 42,000 miles. Gearbox has 4th & 5th gear transposed which made for a miserable journey. MH hasn't travelled very far each year, possibly since new. Can't ask any practical questions of seller as it's an estate sale.
The gearbox selection problem looks to have an answer, but it does appear to have the original? gear ratios, they just appeared in the wrong order.
I'm going to look for the standard ratio for 4th and 5th and check them out.
Now know that the highest speed diff ratio is fitted (1 : 4.111) giving a tested top speed with this MH model of 66 mph and 68 mph when used with a van.
I know at the moment the MH can't get close to that but there was a small improvement in top speed after driving the 550 miles to here (quote above spot on). Also acceleration uphill was markedly better.
The MH looks well cared for with all the obvious signs of maintainance, but lack of use can be a disaster as we all know.
We want to cruise at about 55mph but with the option of getting to 65 mph if neccessary, this plainly isn't possible at the moment.
It's obvious from others with a similar set-up that our MH is at least 10 mph slower than theirs.
So the next trip back to France and if weather is permitting I'll check all the filters, alter the gear selector, use a Forte injection cleaner and see where that puts the perfomance.
In the mean time as per Snowbird and pappajohn, I'll check though a contact the possibilty of getting taller tyres and rims to fit within the MH body, plus the advantage it will create.
Two things still puzzle though. A 15% over reading on the speedo, this is a Mercedes for goodness sake. Even if the engine could produce more power it has to rev higher to go faster, to my ear the revs were high enough for that engine. It may be a good idea to borrow a clip on rev counter ( is that possible on diesel? ) to check at what rpm it sounds too much to me.
The tyres all round are as new, that's as new this year not new as in no mileage but fitted for years. They are all M+ S tyres. Would these have a lower side wall height and what is the reason for fitting them as a year round tyre, is it moving on grass, price?
Sorry this is so long, but I'm determined to get to the bottom of this and go about it the right way.
This is motorhome FUN but the help here for MH problems is superb, but I must have a sense of humour, my favourite actor is Chevy Chase
Have just been out to the shed and fished out a 185 R 14 C and a 205 R 14 C.
There is no mention on either of them of 60 or 70. The 205 is a good 2.5"taller than the 185. Neither is on a rim so that's a strange phenomenon.
Maybe light truck tyres are measured differently than car tyres. I agree that we normally see 185/75 15 or something similar but neither of these has the /75 on them.
Just read the info..
Darrell has a slightly later Merc and his speedo is out the same amount.. But we know why
Several years ago, before his ownership, it was converted from an auto to manual box
Apparently the speedo was out after that mod but was never worried about..
From G4GMO I'm with the suggestion that it may be a worn linkage problem and you'll obviously be checking that out first. As for top speed, I haven't quite :Blush: wound it up to the limit but I'm 99% certain we have managed the UK motorway speed limit easily and held it, not unbearably, for a while if my satnav speedo function is to be believed. So a little surprised at your reckoning of 65 mph max. The engine does sound like it's running at quite high revs anyway which I believe is a combination of it being a 5 cylinder and the fact that it is virtually in the cab. I'm assuming yours has the 2.9L 5 cylinder and not the 2.4L 4 cylinder.
Standard rim size for this vehicle is 14" and I'm not sure of the consequences of using non standard size wheels/tyres, you may need to check with your insurance. I see little advantage and some risks.
Having a turbo would be an advantage but I have no wish to spend the money on having one professionally fitted. My only concern on having one fitted is what stresses would it put on the engine, especially an engine like mine that already has 140000 km under it's belt. I prefer the known reliability of the normally aspirated engine over the unknown reliability after retro fitting a turbo. However I have read of many cases where it has been done with much improved performance.
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As a proud and pleased owner of a 1987 Hymer 660 with the 5 cylinder engine and auto box I can't really get my head around this quest for more speed...
We did a 2000 kms trip to Marjal and back... never more than 80 kms (50mph) and never experienced a need to go faster...
We are all heading to certain death... why speed up?
JJ :Cool:
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Quote by veevee The gearbox has the wrong oil, an EP80 is in there and should be Dexron II. This will make the gearbox faster in used and less drag.
EP80 is a manual gearbox oil Dexron II is a automatic transmission fluid
A while ago somebody had the same problem with the 4/5 gears crossed I took photos of my selectors to show him will have a look back and see if I an find them
Opps it was yourself :Blush::Blush:
Read my lips!
...bit strong hey?
Do you mean as in...
"Read my lips... I did not have sex with that women..."
Please forgive me for not studying every word in a seven page thread titled "what to do if your camper is too slow..."
Stupidly I thought you wanted to make it go faster... I will try to pay more attention next time...
Sorry...
JJ :Cool:
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Yes you are right about most of it, except ATF Dexron II is also used for some manual gearboxes, really.
Just check any oil chart for Mercedes 410D 1992 manual gearbox, it's ATF.
The 4th and 5th gear transposed was me until last week. The connecting rod between the gear lever base and the selector arm for 4/5 was the wrong one for the model. There are two rod types, wrong one fitted for reasons unknown. Mercedes also have the wrong parts diagrams matched to the right part No's for this gearbox too which didn't help.