Kickdown

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jimmy

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 8, 2002
Messages
2,316
Location
Northamptonshire
Car
Discovery 3 TDV6, Discovery 300TDi - Plaything!
Alright you can call me dumb now if you want:p

I always thought kickdown was when you pressed the accelerator and the gearbox changed down a gear, if the car thought you wanted to go quicker it would think about it and change down again.:D

In the chat room the other night we were talking about the speedlimiter and I mentioned that you can't override mine by using the accelerator, Fuzzer explained that you must be able to by 'flooring' the pedal.

Well, I tried it yesterday, set the limiter for 30mph and pressed and pressed the pedal nothing happened.............then I found what feels like a switch under the pedal.................bloody hell, how long has that been their??:crazy:

Now, I was driving at 30 then all of a sudden the rear tyres squealed a little and the ASR light flashed, I did'nt know it could do that:D Since I have discoverd this I am well pleased, been doing it all the time, now I wonder if I really need that chip.:p
 
Kick down ;) yep used to use it alot, but hardly ever now ;)
 
oh dear, you didn't know about that little button? :p
 
Originally posted by Koolvin
Kick down ;) yep used to use it alot, but hardly ever now ;)

I used to use it a lot on previous MBs too, but I'm running in this machine of mine so I am not allowed.
Anyway I've got enough acceleration without it, god knows what it will be like when I can use it.

Should be OK for GTG, and test runs for friends.;) :cool:
 
Originally posted by jimmy
..............bloody hell, how long has that been their?? :crazy:

Now, I was driving at 30 then all of a sudden the rear tyres squealed a little and the ASR light flashed, I did'nt know it could do that:D Since I have discoverd this I am well pleased, been doing it all the time, now I wonder if I really need that chip.:p

Welcome to the world of kick-down :D :p

:bannana:

S.
 
Originally posted by jimmy


Now, I was driving at 30 then all of a sudden the rear tyres squealed a little and the ASR light flashed, I did'nt know it could do that:D Since I have discoverd this I am well pleased, been doing it all the time, now I wonder if I really need that chip.:p


:eek:

I don't believe that happened to you and I don't believe you just admited it! LOL

I have always said the best go faster mod, is to make sure you are using all the power you already have. - ie drive it, not expect everything to happen half throttle.
 
Kick down?

Or you mean shift down :p

/Goes off to stroke Manual gearbox :D

And yes i know gearbox choice is all down to preference - but i've never driven an auto MB so im yet to experience what my life is lacking :bannana:
 
when i want to go fast , i use the ball of my foot on the top of the pedal and stick it right down......

When i want to limit my speed , i use my toe on the bottom of the pedal making it hard to push .... it really does work:d


Originally posted by jimmy


In the chat room the other night we were talking about the speedlimiter and I mentioned that you can't override mine by using the accelerator, Fuzzer explained that you must be able to by 'flooring' the pedal.

Well, I tried it yesterday, set the limiter for 30mph and pressed and pressed the pedal nothing happened.............then I found what feels like a switch under the pedal.................bloody hell, how long has that been their??:crazy:

Now, I was driving at 30 then all of a sudden the rear tyres squealed a little and the ASR light flashed, I did'nt know it could do that:D Since I have discoverd this I am well pleased, been doing it all the time, now I wonder if I really need that chip.:p
 
Re: Re: Kickdown

Originally posted by GrahamC230K
:eek:

I don't believe that happened to you and I don't believe you just admited it! LOL

I have always said the best go faster mod, is to make sure you are using all the power you already have. - ie drive it, not expect everything to happen half throttle.

OK, so the tyres did'nt exactly squeal and spin with smoke everywhere:p. But there was more of a chirp then the ASR light started flashing.

As I said I always thought kickdown was when you pressed the pedal and it changed down a gear, I never realised you could get an instant double kickdown like that.

I still dont have a handbook so thats one of the reasons why I find this forum is so usefull and interesting. Don't take the p@ss.:confused:
 
Re: Re: Re: Kickdown

Originally posted by jimmy
OK, so the tyres did'nt exactly squeal and spin with smoke everywhere:p. But there was more of a chirp then the ASR light started flashing.

As I said I always thought kickdown was when you pressed the pedal and it changed down a gear, I never realised you could get an instant double kickdown like that.

I still dont have a handbook so thats one of the reasons why I find this forum is so usefull and interesting. Don't take the p@ss.:confused:


Don't worry Jimmy, not taking the p1ss nastily. This IS the whole idea of the forum, ask, tell, advise, swap ideas. I am a firm believer in "no such thing as a stupid question", as it's the only way I can get by!

I don't even own a auto, so could not really talk, but I've heard Shude talk of this double kick down switch.

Your post made me remember a friend of my brother, who was always modding or talking of modding his car for more power. Fine. But on none of the occasions I ever went in his car, did he even floor it past 4000rpm. Was a big in joke. Not really the same scenario though, perhaps I should have kept my chuckle to myself.

As for the Owners manual. I am missing the Interior section. A shame as my old C200 had one, but I let it go with the car. The dealer told me I was on a list and if a re-print ever occurs, I 'll be notified. I have no faith in that though. If you do attempt to source one and have any luck, please let me know.
 
This thread made me laugh! How long have you had the car for Jimmy?

Driving it without the kickdown switch makes for much more relaxed driving in mine, and with the low down torque of the diesel it isn't really needed. Still handy sometimes when you want to accelerate hard.
 
Originally posted by RichardM

Driving it without the kickdown switch makes for much more relaxed driving in mine, and with the low down torque of the diesel it isn't really needed. Still handy sometimes when you want to accelerate hard.

Don't forget Richard yours is fly-by-wire accelerator and brake. so as such you won't have a kick down "switch" just a clever computer M8.:cool:
 
Originally posted by RichardM
This thread made me laugh! How long have you had the car for Jimmy?

Driving it without the kickdown switch makes for much more relaxed driving in mine, and with the low down torque of the diesel it isn't really needed. Still handy sometimes when you want to accelerate hard.

I've only had it since May;)

Don't need the 'double kick down' after today.:bannana: :bannana:
 
Are you sure the 320 CDi doesn't have a kickdown switch, my 300TD definately does and it is definately fly by wire.

Funily enough I adjusted the accelerator cable last night to bring full power in just before kickdown occurs because I find the car is slower to accelerate due to the delay in changing down and the power backing off while it thinks what it's doing. Also kickdown takes the car above peak torque so acceleration is no quicker, just noisier.

Not driven it yet. I'll let you know if there are any advantages / disadvantages.
 
I use kickdown in my 200T. It certainly does improve acceleration (200T is an acronim for slow I am told). The only drawback I find is that my tool box keeps hitting the tail gate and I seem to visit my local petrol station more often than I would like.
 
Originally posted by Dieselman
Are you sure the 320 CDi doesn't have a kickdown switch, my 300TD definately does and it is definately fly by wire.

Funily enough I adjusted the accelerator cable last night to bring full power in just before kickdown occurs because I find the car is slower to accelerate due to the delay in changing down and the power backing off while it thinks what it's doing. Also kickdown takes the car above peak torque so acceleration is no quicker, just noisier.

Not driven it yet. I'll let you know if there are any advantages / disadvantages.

On the new E320 CDI there is NO Accelerator cable, all done by computer. Same for the brakes.:cool: :D :cool:
 
Originally posted by Brian WH
On the new E320 CDI there is NO Accelerator cable, all done by computer. Same for the brakes.:cool: :D :cool:


Well , thats not quite true......

There is a backup cable for both ;)

Even mercedes arent that dumb to leave everything down to electronics :D
 
I was reading AutoExpress the other week and there was a reader complaining that the brakes on his W211 had failed three times, seems the backup didn't work either and he had to slow down using the parking brake. Mercedes couldn't find a problem with the car! That was a bit worrying. They were asking if any other W211 owners had experienced a problem.

Dieselman, the W211 does still have the kick down click.
 
Last edited:
Originally posted by RichardM
Dieselman, the W211 does still have the kick down click.
Good! That kickdown switch design survived 2 world wars or something, it wouldn't be fair to replace it now, it's part of the heritage :D
 
Originally posted by RichardM
I was reading AutoExpress the other week and there was a reader complaining that the brakes on his W211 had failed three times, seems the backup didn't work either and he had to slow down using the parking brake. Mercedes couldn't find a problem with the car! That was a bit worrying. They were asking if any other W211 owners had experienced a problem.

Dieselman, the W211 does still have the kick down click.

Thanks Richard. I thought the detent would still be there, I'm not sure if this is a switch or just a warning detent?

Don't read everything you read in the press. The brakes on W211 are fully backed up with a conventional Hydraulic system. In fact the electric bit is only the pressure pump used instead of a servo unit to create additional force and then the ABS pump to divert the flow and keep pressure on.

If the "electric" part of your brakes fails you will still have the brakes but with no "servo" assistance. i.e. Bloody hard but still there.
 

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