kmz

Loved them on the current sedan, now the new one looks smooth like a seal and less aggressive. Why is merc doing this to us??

-=Hot|Ice=-

Get an M3/M4. Huge fender flares. That's the car for you. For the rest of us, fender flares do not a car make.

Tjdehya

Or get the W204. The W205 does not have fender flares and the car has been revealed for almost a year now.
Have you been complaining about the lack of fender flares for a whole year and suddenly felt the need to reiterate your feelings today?

AV1

Or if you can afford it wait till the Black Series is released and get one of those, it'll surely be an awesome looking vehicle with the mandatory large fenders

Quarks

Fender flares are over-rated.

AMGFTMFW

Personally, I love it when super-saloon's like the C63S are designed to be beautiful AND understated.

Never understood people with the need for LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! details.

nonsns3

From personal experience, it is not just for looks though. Take the W204. Standard rear tire width was 255. The car was much more capable than what those tires could handle - this resulted in wheel spin and traction control kicking in even with modest acceleration. The widest you can go was 275. Any wider would result in tire sticking out past the fender. Even at 275, it was still slipping everywhere.

With a lot more torque, I'm guessing the W205 will have the same issues.

zibby43

Sometimes we make the mistake of assuming that wider rear tires automatically = more grip in straight-line acceleration scenarios. That's not the case. One of the most important variables in the grip equation is the tire compound being used.

Wider rear tires automatically help with traction during cornering but if you ran 255-section rear drag radials on a W204 C63, you would have quite a bit more grip because of the compound. Drag radials and cup tires also have less channeling cut into the rubber (resulting in a greater contact patch).

Moral of the story = you can greatly increase traction if you run more focused tires; the tires don't necessarily to be wider.

nonsns3

Pretty sure we are talking about the same tire compound and only comparing width differences.

Not comparing same width and different compound.

zibby43

And?

My point was that you can get better grip without going wider. You can buy a tire in the same width with a more aggressive compound.

And the other point was that going wider with the same model tire does not always equate to better grip (with respect to straight-line acceleration). Evidence shows that with most street tires, going wider doesn't really help with straight-line grip at all. Again, it may help cornering grip because of the wider profile.

In terms of straight-line acceleration, the contact patch doesn't really widen if you simply slap wider tires (e.g., moving from 255s to 275s) on the rear, particularly if you stick with OEM 18" wheels.

Now, if you slap wider tires on the rear and you jump up to a 19" wheel, you may improve the contact patch for straight-line acceleration scenarios.

nonsns3

Given same compound, pretty sure that 375mm tire provides more straight-line acceleration grip than 175mm. It's just an example comparing extremes. Now compare 255 vs 275, there should be a difference. Much smaller of course.

AV1

Interesting I read some very good literature years ago on this topic when I was building and running my quarter mile drag car and indeed it was the case that a similar/same type of wider tyre did not necessarily improve traction.


There are some good articles out there on this if people want to find out more.


From my own experience having spent years on the quarter mile drag circuit, the best results for improved traction for straight line acceleration besides tyre type and or no tread pattern came from adjusting the tyre pressure, very low pressure resulted in much improved traction.


Back on topic re. the fenders I think most people just want them for the added look and appeal they offer to a performance orientated vehicle, certainly they offer the vehicle a far better looking stance and with the wider track regardless of tyre width it normally does result in better lateral handling as well.


It also offers the opportunity to use a deeper dish or more concavity for the rear wheel rims which looks awesome, something BMW and Audi take full advantage of with their cars, would be nice if MB/AMG offered the same across more of their performance models and not just leave it for the very limited Black Series variants only.

nonsns3

Not to drag this on but you guys got me curious. Check out this article: http://www.performancesimulations.co...tire-pressure/

It supports some of your points but also has a different opinion on others.

dremorg

The M4 receives some.

http://www.worldcarfans.com/11411248...ir-bmw-m4-gtrs

AV1

Way OTT


Stock M3/M4 fenders are just fine as they are

BenX9

Fender flares/wider stance is a must for both performance and design's sake.

I feel that there is basically very little differentiation between a standard C 300amg package, and a AMG C 63.

Hope AMG Germany does something about this when facelift time comes around cause I am considering getting an F80 instead.

Mike3

a wide and aggressive rear of a car is pretty dam cool. I think AMG nailed the engine, but the design is what lacks IMO. where the M3 the engine is what lacks, and the desgin is good.

give me the BMW M3 looks, AMG engine, with a 6 speed manual.

-=Hot|Ice=-

The design isn't going to change for another seven years. Save yourself the time and get the F80.

-=Hot|Ice=-

EXACTLY! I don't want to attract any kind of attention. I don't mind blending in with others, any attention is bad attention.

elijah

The w204 & w205 sections of this forum are full of haters unlike the other sub forums of mbworld where you find more mature crowds. It's the closest thing to a BMW forum.

Please continue the

pdjafari

whats wrong w/ criticizing something you like? I loved my W204 but I always wished it had larger rear fender flares to accommodate wider wheels, and also to look slightly more aggressive than your average C300. Hot|Ice, if I recall you've apparently put 'deposits' on E92 M3s, C63s, S4s (and went back and forth from each and every one) but I've yet to see you actually own any one of them.... You've been called on it before by another member in another thread, which I can't recall but there's no need to get sensitive about criticism. And if you do get upset, it might help if you actually owned that which was being criticized....

BenX9

Design will change at half cycle (marginally) they did it on the 2011 vs 2012 and beyond. Some performance upgrades were done as well.

Ingenieur

Only cosmetic bolt on stuff as far as the body
They will never change the main frame/shell stampings mid-cycle
The rear qtrs are part of that
They did NOT want flares in the rear
It's poser crap

If one doesn't like the car AMG built vote with your wallet
That is your right
When in your fendered flared m4 and you get smoked by a c63 you'll know why the put the $$$ into motor > fenders lol

-=Hot|Ice=-

No, it won't. The mid-cycle refresh may have changes to the bumpers and lights, and maybe interior tidbits. That's where it stops. The won't change the frame design of the car, it would cost too much.

BenX9

I clearly posted (marginal changes) I can post the definition for you Hot/Ice.

Now on a more productive note, Mercedes will always try to find a balance of AGRESSIVENESS/ELEGANCE with their AMG line up. The small details of the C 63 amg vs. a standard C 300 is what makes the C 63 so special (devils in the details) I personally feel that they went to soft on the changes. Just get the C 300 and spend the extra 40 grand on something else.