zcct04

Went to the track with a friend and his 2012 C63 last weekend. Great car and an awesome experience - for about 10 minutes. Oil temp kept climbing and once it hit 278F there was a sharp power loss. We pitted to let it cool the first couple times but eventually figured out that you could let it breath for half a lap and the power would return once oil temp fell under 278. We're looking for potential solutions, ranked by cost and likelihood of solving the problem. The things I recall having seen here seem to be:
1. different oil
2. something that controls airflow better over the existing coolers
3. The very expensive BS oil cooler system.

Any feedback on other people's experience with these?
Any solutions I've overlooked?
Anyone got any support at all from their dealer?

We also had two instances of the traction control symbol showing up along with a bright red warning that said something like "System Inoperative" right after a quick wheelspin when exiting a slow corner. Power reduction was dramatic and it cleared only after pitting and turning the car off and back on again. Any insight into what this might be and how to avoid it?

EDIT: On further reading, I'm not sure my description was quite correct. I don't think the car was going into LIMP MODE when the oil got hot, because it still had SOME power and would still shift. I sounds like the timing was getting pulled.

izzy63

3. Mobil 1 was killing my engine after 2 laps on big willow, motul seems to be better but still overheats very quick getting the oil cooler seems like the only way to maintain the oil levels so u don't go limp mode every two laps

BLKROKT

I'm following some of the tips in this thread: https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...your-cool.html

Just finished my block-off panel the other day, but it's way too cold to put it on. Should help with the temps.

MBtech1098

There is a factory offered kit from AMG that was just released for vehicles driven on the track to remedy this.

Basically it consists of the same oil cooling package that was developed for the F1 medical car (C63 T model). Dealers are able to order and install these components, but parts must first be released by AMG. Parts are somewhere around 2500usd.

rediesel

Here is the official cooling package info

austintipton

I've seen a few threads about this, but my 2011 has run just fine. It has done numerous twenty minutes sessions in Austin and I've never hit 240. Am I just lucky, or is the overheating issue mainly a face lift problem?

Perhaps a track issue? I'm generally only getting up to 100-110 twice per 1:40 second lap.

Thrilla

It's only a facelift problem. It's a mystery since the aerodynamics and engine didn't change too much between the years.

m a x i m u s

...meaning only the facelift versions overheat?

alpha26

I think best solution will be to get a bigger oil cooler but there is aftermarket options ?

zibby43

What about the MCT? In the LCI cars, it replaced the automatic transmission.

chrisridebike8

This is not true. PFL cars suffer from high oil temps on the track. MCT cars just add the extra factor of the transmission going into C mode due to high heat as well. I can tell you that my PFL car does not tolerate track days at all. If I want to track my car again, I need the bigger oil coolers.

zibby43

A better way to say it would be that some of the facelift/LCI cars are susceptible to overheating. Can't speak for the non-LCI cars.

The weather has always been mild when I've lapped my car and I've never come close to overheating (fortunately; knock on wood).

In the summer, this is what my temperatures look like after 30-45 minutes of spirited driving (which is a far cry from track driving, of course):

solekeeper

is there a certain oil temp where the engine goes into limp mode?

zibby43

When you get to the absurdly high 290-degree Fahrenheit range. It can vary slightly though, from car-to-car. It's time to get concerned when the temperature starts moving through the 270 - 280-degree F range.

With the engine at its normal operating temperature, I usually see oil temperatures of between 210-221 degrees F.

solekeeper

It would be interesting to take note of what mine does. I'll drive normal, and check it out.

Then go ***** out, and see what I'm at.

Thrilla

I stand corrected. I've only read it happening to FL cars and just assumed it was isolated to FL models.
I remember reading a post in the private lounge where they offered a flash in the ecu to increase the oil temp limit. But again, it didn't fix the issue.

chrisridebike8

Yeah. I don't like that solution. It just means the car can run even hotter when I just want it to run cooler...

odonnks

Has anyone tried the suggested block-off panel? The idea of redirecting airflow does make sense.

zcct04

The ECU may have made more subtle cuts at lower temps that we just didn't notice, but on this car it was at an oil temp of exactly 278F where we saw the big changes happen. Cooling down below this by even a degree was enough to make the problem disappear. YMMV

Going ***** out on the street won't tell you much of anything - it's not nearly enough to get the car to overheat enough to start dropping advance. It took us 10+ minutes of non-stop, full-throttle, continuously recurring 30-100 mph runs on a closed track road course to get his temps into the range where bad things started to happen.

kimeran

Yeah not true
My pre facelift went into limp mode every time after 2 laps or so.
1 cool down lap and it was fine...damn frustrating!

Case1906

Limp mode (yes, pre and post FL) is the most frustrating thing in world at a track day. Absent a successful cooler upgrade, here are some tips to try to drive around the problem and hopefully increase the chances of a clear session:

1. Pick tracks days early or late in the season, try to avoid 80+ F degree days
2. Try not to follow cars closely, stay in clean air
3. Use the brakes to slow the car, no engine braking
4. Lower revs on straights, run higher gear or two than you normally would
5. Lift earlier when you are going to have follow slower cars (see 2)
6. Upshift earlier than you normally would (stay away from red line)
7. Do not run full traction control

All of these things suck (except for 7), but may help to get you through a session or at least more laps.

abcut973

If you track your car regularly investing in the cooling package would be your best choice. Although that package is not available for the Pre-FL you can still do a retrofit. It was done by a member on its 09 black series conversion.
GL

solekeeper

sucks for those who track, lol.

so basically, when this particular car gets to a point where it overheats (or is about to) it will go into limp mode.. does that mean anything is wrong/damaged? or does the car simply need time to cool down, and you'd be fine?

zcct04

There's no mechanical damage when this happens and driving a little easier through the next couple turns was usually enough to drop the oil temp back below the threshold and give you back full power. . . for a while.

While I'm confident that there's no immediate mechanical damage, I'm unsure about what 278F does to the long-term effectiveness of your engine oil. It's certainly approaching a range that makes me uncomfortable.

I've seen some ASTM lubricant testing (D7320) that's designed for runs at 150C (~300F) for 100 hours, which I presume the engineers consider to be pretty punishing conditions.
http://www.swri.org/3pubs/brochure/a...ceIIIGTest.pdf

Any lubricant experts on here with experience with synthetics at high temps?

abcut973

Limp mode = Safe mode.
Basically the ECU shuts everything down in order to prevent any damages until the car cools down. So I would say you don;t have to worry about mechanical issues. Either way these cars are built to pushed hard.