W140 s500

[mancub]

Silly question but what does "S" and "W" mean on the gear box
I heard "S" is Summer and "W" is Winter
I find W more economical than S so should I just leave it in W?
On my previous E300 "S" was sport and "E" Economy

 

[John]

S is usually Sport mode and W is Winter.

Winter means it starts in second and possibly changes up quicker to keep the revs low.

W should be more economical once you are moving but I doubt you would see much difference in real life!

 

[mancub]

Thanks JohnEboy

 

[nullogik]

Also has an effect on reverse which has two gears (722.6 gearbox). Can't remember which way round but I think W makes it reverse slower and S faster. Try it out, select reverse and you can feel it creep at different speeds between settings.

 

[Borys]

W - winter
S - standard
Winter mode it pulls from 3rd
Standard from 2nd
I think it varies too if w140 is 4 speed (pre facelift) or 5 speed (facelift)
Too pull from first lever need to go to 1
As far as I remember correctly

 

[yojay]

Wonder no more... I had the manual on my desk today. This is from a 5 speed late model.