Paculdo

this is my first car with the paddles.. i have owned/driven manual trans cars (350z, RX8, Mitsu Lancer).. in one of my test drives, the sales guy said select the *M (i assume manual), which does the downshifts auto when i'm going to lower speeds (or getting slower), i can then press + to upshift and so on..

my question is, can I do a neutral via the paddles? like in stick, say i'm in 4th gear, then approaching in a curve, i'll place the gear in neutral, i can either go 2nd or go 3rd depending on the speed and then pick up to 3rd (if coming from 2nd) or 4th again (coming from 3rd), etc

i've seen videos of ferrari's where tapping both paddles will result to neutral, is this true with this transmission setup?

or how to truly take advantage of the paddles when driving - say in the track?
maybe i need to attend one of those AMG basic track courses ;-)

*does 2009 have a sports plus option? or i mixed up that option with the evo 10 that i also test drove?

BerBer63

just drive your car and push the up and down paddles...not much too it or worth writing about. GO WILD

drawde

nope.. personally i feel like the paddles are a fraction slower than the shifter.. i rarely use em.

i'm hearing it is money well spent, if you can, do

b16

Funny, I've felt like the paddles are a little slower than the shifter as well.

gthal

I actually find the shifter slower than the paddles. Weird. Maybe because the shifter needs to be very purposefully "shifted". If you push it too lightly, it doesn't take. Also, I absolutely HATE the side to side shifting... it isn't natural. BMW's DCT shifts forward/backward which is MUCH more intuitive and feels more like a manual. The paddles respond better for me.

Anyway, no way to put the car in neutral or "skip" gears. I also never use S or S+ when shifting manually... only ever M mode. I then treat it just like a real manual... downshift as I slow down to take a corner, upshift when I feel like it, etc.

At the track, the paddles do make it easier as the car "heel/toes" for you and you can focus on driving. There is something to be said for a true manual as it is really gratifying to be able to heel/toe downshift yourself and once you get really good at it, it is essentially second nature. On my track car, I heel/toe rev match and no longer even conscientiously think about it... it just happens. Took a while to get there but I don't think a paddle shifted car has much of an advantage on a track compares to a real manual with a skilled driver. There would be some advantage but it wouldn't be much IMO. If you are new at the track, the paddles make it MUCH easier to learn everything else.

Swoody

Coming from an Aston Martin where I only ever used the paddles since auto mode was a clunky not well sorted affair...I have found that the S or S+ in the C63 is worlds better than I would have ever expected and adapts to the style of driving you are doing. It seems to downshift at the right times etc... I do like using the paddles as that is what I was used to, but more and more I just let the "brain" do the work. As far as pulling both paddles for neutral...not in this car. However in the Aston that was the case. I used that feature often while backing down my driveway slope so the clutch would not keep engaging and disengaging each time my foot slightly tapped the brake. Also while using the paddles in the C63, I keep it in M mode.

DuaneC63

Paddle shifters don't make too much difference in upshifts but are great for holding a lower gear in and out of turns.

BD-C63

When upshifting, the speedometer background will turn red when it's time to upshift. This happens very quickly in the lower gears... I find that when I use the paddles to upshift, the exhaust makes a barking/blatting noise which is awesome!!!!

MBfinatic

MBZ paddles dont have that from my knowledge. My c55 did not have a way to pop into neutral. It would have to be on a automated paddle shift car with a clutch (no clutch pedal, is automatically done for you). The ferrari 360 spider (F1 transmission) is a great example. My dad owned one. At a stop or coasting you can simply hit both paddles at the same time to go into neutral.

driftmotion

hummm I don't think I follow ..... why would you ever want to be in neutral entering a corner ... while in neutral, your diff can't engage nor can you fully control your vehicle's behavior properly.

Now onto the logistics of this ... since the car just basically has a beefy automatic transmission and not a sequential gearbox, there is no neutral that can be selected while in "gear"

Paculdo

*i do that once in a while but not in the track.. just driving.. maybe i want to rev it a bit then put it back to a gear.. i don't have any track experience.. only on roads.. and i don't race either.. that's why i'm thinking to do the amg driving to understand how to drive this c63 to its capacity..

farhadahmad

i just pop it into N to rev it around stop lights and what not. when i down shift and rev match it or something like that . my car seems to make a BIG sound for a few sounds like its stuck at its MPH and then its goes ...

marcusx123

I'm glad im not the only one who thinks this way

SonnyakaPig

The paddles are a lot of fun to use. For around-town driving I prefer Sport or Comfort because the revs jump so fast in Manual mode and the engine is pretty loud. Don't get me wrong, I love the sound of the M156, but it's loud. I'm not talking about the exhaust either--the actual engine. haha

I find the paddles shift faster than the gear lever. I tend to hit the rev limiter more often when using the side-to-side gear lever. I know sometimes that's because I am to soft with the shifter and it doesn't take. That never happens with the paddles. But, something tells me the paddles create a faster shift. IMO

When you're in M-mode you can hold down on the left (downshift) paddle and the gears will drop to the lowest available gear for the engine speed. I think that's a pretty cool feature.

I have begun taking advantage of the red shift warning lights. I don't have to focus on the small tach this way. You start to get a feel for the car and you can time some nice shifts this way.

Really, there isn't too much to know with the paddles. Just practice and you get more crisp with them. My car is a 10' so I have the regular auto trans.

Paculdo

so then is there a difference in the 09 and 10 transmission setup? is there a sports plus option in 10-up? or the update was done in 11 up?

i thought there's a certain sequence - like holding the shifter (+)? for a few seconds and then the setting will go back to "S" from "M"? was trying it but it stayed in "M" - maybe this was available in the 2010? not in 09?

Mort

The '09 and '10 should be the same for the most part. If you are using the paddles to shift in C or S and hold the right paddle (+) you will return to the auto shift pattern in C or S mode.

S+ is available with the MCT trans that came out in the '11 model year.

SonnyakaPig

Isn't the MCT in the C63 new for MY12'?

gthal

Correct... MY12 and after only.

Mort

Sorry about the wrong MY for the MCT. I wasn't sure so I checked on Wikipedia and it said '11 MY. So I guess the estimate of availability was wrong on Wiki and my memory is no better.

ZephyrAMG

^^^ in Europe they are a year ahead. So their '11 is our '12.

Mort

Thanks for the explanation.

SonnyakaPig

Yeah, I just learned something too.

tgibrit

if you want to put your car into neutral approaching a corner, i think a driving school would be a good idea.

yazid

hehe all you have to do is have a bit of practice at a controlled environment and listen to revs and the feel of the engine around corners.. going round corners is all about bringing the momentum through.. shifting the body weight to the front whilst accelerating smoothly.. (slow in fast out concept).

lol try to avoid putting your car into neutral around corners.. you lose momentum, grip and control!

bigsl550fan

Funny I feel the auto trans in s+ sometimes feel disconnected from the car and I need to downshift manually to get the car where i need it to be in the rev range.

My fiance keeps it in c which is god awful starting off in 2nd and the rev stay really low when driving. I like to keep the car in M and manually shift when I can.