betrezra

With used C63's W204's dipping into the low 20's entry price is anyone else thinking this platform would be a good choice for a track rat purpose built car?

example of high mlg specimen, prime for sawzall, and part out, and track bits?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-Ben...m=262597237532


BS body kit (aftermarket OK).
Sell off all the excess C63 parts to fund the track build
Run stock brakes at 1st,
Remove all excess wgt, door panels, etc...
** how light can you make a sedan?
Remove all emmissions.
Remove hvac, stereo.
Roll cage
Race Seats
Lexan windows
Long tubes, tune only.
Coil overs,

Would this be a feasible competitive track car for DE's?

I ask because it looks like most BS are show queens, or investment prizes, so we don't get much info on how this platform performs at DE.
And the few who are fortunate enough to track them competitively are on a baller budget ( )..... my race budget is more baller on a budget.
I never see these cars run competitively in my neck of the woods south texas.

I ask this question as I ponder a track build with the following options:
944
911
C5
C6
E30
E36
Does a 100K mile W204 track prep car fall into this same category for fun and performance for a 'similar' budget?

What does a C63 rebuild cost?
How much potential does this platform have if 'purpose built'.... could it hang with a new GT3?

Or should I check this off of my car list.... and move on to the usual suspects.... 911, 944, miata (yuck), E30, E36, C5, C6, etc.. etc.....

Ambystom01

It'd be a cool project if you have the money and the passion. I think there are better track rat platforms though.

betrezra

https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...track-car.html

betrezra

I remember seeing a C55 purpose built track car, all stripped down, susp/BBK/aftermarket blower..... eventually the motor let go.... caught on film on u-tube. It was really sweet to see it running.

betrezra

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...hotoshoot.html

roadkillrob

I love my C63 but would have to say that there are many better choices for a purpose built track car!

betrezra

c55 track car....... oh the sound.

Thrilla

I think it'll be a very cool project, but you better have deep pockets to make it competitive. Lose weight, add widebody, wider wheels, and stickier tires. Plus extra cash for events and when things break down.

What about out an old 190E for a shell? Cheap car, light, and looks great in DTM livery.

Ambystom01

And be prepared for some ******* in a Miata running slicks to beat your lap times.

betrezra

Thrilla - yeah 190E w/ LS swap would be awesome.... at this state of life I don't have the time/shop space for hybrid builds, and you can dump $$$$$ into an engine swap before you even get it road worthy.

Amby - I know a momentum car like vag-iata is the ticket.... but just have to say no.

I'm actually leaning toward a 1st gen NSX now...... just perform normal maintanence, and enjoy the apex.... a momentum car, but a sweet looker, and from what I read a real drivers experience.

The stipped down C63 project would be awesome.... but the price/durability of multiple track sessions/year is an unknown to me..... tracking a tired C63 mill....... who knows how these hold up under road racing conditions. Just not enough data like the other platforms.

Ambystom01

If I was gonna build a track car on a budget now, I'd seriously look at an NC Miata. The engine can make decent power, it can run decent width tires, there's lots of aftermarket support, and it looks less girly than the NA and NB Miatas.

An NSX would be nice. I'd be worried about damaging it though. I'd feel like an *** if I found a good condition car and banged it up in an on-track incident.

BLKROKT

Get a 944 with an LS swap. Met a guy at VIR who put a grand total of $5k into the car, engine, everything. And he wasn't lapping more than a couple seconds behind me on race slicks. Cheap, easy, tons of fun. Can you make a C63 track fast? YES. But it's going to cost you $$$$$. Brakes alone are going to cost you thousands of $ per season. Just doesn't make sense - there are so many better options. I like the idea of a 190 with an LS that'd be fun.

C SEXY 3

Like this?

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLKvRx7h...aken-by=jamg63

C SEXY 3

Alex.currie44

Well they were the basis of the DTM cars even back in 2008.

BLKROKT

A C63 has virtually nothing in common with a DTM car, except both have wheels. You might as well try to turn your car into a spaceship.

Alex.currie44

I beg to differ. The original DTM car was based - not the same - on the CLK which evolved into a car based on the C63.
Of course they were not the same but there is nothing to stop someone from doing things with a C63 as a base to bring to closer to race trim as long as money is no object. I have driven AMG cars on track and they for sure out perform their lesser siblings so there is no reason to dump on the idea of making a weekend racer out of a street legal car.

http://www.supercars.net/blog/2008-m...class-amg-dtm/

http://www.hwaag.com/amg-mercedes-c-class-2008.html

http://www.supercars.net/blog/2008-m...class-amg-dtm/

BLKROKT

Put down the crack pipe.

Plenty of us are "weekend racers" thanks. You're talking about something completely different. DTM cars share absolutely nothing with ours. Just stop with this nonsense, you don't have a DTM car in disguise trust me.

Alex.currie44

Every once and a while on these forums there is one or two people who think abusing others is ok just because they hold a different view and in this case thinking about the OP's question in another context so keep your rude comments to yourself.
I get you point. The problem is there is no room between your ears for another idea around this subject.
Back in the day, NASCAR was built around stock cars. i.e. cars taken from the street and modified to race. That is was the SC in NASCAR is about - stock cars. There are still lots of weekend warriors taking stock cars and modifying them to race them.
For sure you ain't going to build a DTM car out of a 2008 C63 sedan but you can strip it down, change suspension components, do things with the drive train, brakes, wheels etc to use it as a race car as long as you have the skill and money.
That was the point in case you missed it. Nothing more; nothing less. I am off thread. Have a nice day.

Ambystom01

Dude, he's not building a $100,000+ race car. That's what you're suggesting by referencing DTM. It's a completely different beast. I think you missed the point of the question. I think you're being overly sensitive here.

SuperFastYo

As much as I am an anti-BMW guy (my last one kinda was a pain), I would say the m3 is a much better track car. And they're cheap. I would look towards something around those lines. hell, even buying a cheap 15k car and putting another 10k into it you could build an even better car. And if you hit the body, it wont hurt your heart like it would with a Merc

zcct04

Can we go back briefly to the OP's original question?

"Would this be a feasible competitive track car for DE's?"

Maybe I'm missing something here, but I never thought of DE's as a 'competitive event.'

If you just want to have fun, take your street car to a DE and drive the snot out of it. You won't have a roll cage or a fire system or a gas tank bladder, so make sure its an event where there's a good safety crew.

If you want to spend your time wrenching and don't mind competing in a world where the guy with the deepest pockets wins, buy a sleeper and make mad mods.

If you just want to learn how to drive, get a real race car, something where there's a class with a bunch of fairly competitive cars - preferably a spec class like Miata or Spec Racer Ford so that you can spend your time on learning speed and your $ on consumables instead of the latest tech tricks.

betrezra

Thx for all the input.
This is an area that I see little focus for W204's IMHO.
Was thinking now that these cars used are dipping into the low 20's... perhaps some might want to go the race-prep route.

To add a little focus to this W204 ded track question---

Can you make a 2008 C63 perform as well as a GT3 with wgt reduction, BBK, coil-overs, trick alignment, sticky tires..... or is this a futile exercise?

Will the above modified C63 perform dramatically better than stock?

Will a high mlg 6.2 liter and trans and rear last a few seasons?..... or are we talking rebuild,,,,, and uber deep pockets?


Understand DE are not nec competitive.... however, we all know everyone is comparing times... and who the heck wants to be continually lapped.......?

thx for the interest and input all.

The thought of a gutted, purpose built wide body c63 with no emissions, no ac, no radio, roll cage, just makes me giggle.

BLKROKT

No offense here, because I like the idea of making my car more competitive at track events also. But have you ever driven a GT3? Yes you can get a C63 to perform similarly, depending on how you define that. It takes time and money, and it's never going to handle remotely like a GT3 even if you can rip off the same kind of times. You'll be doing ten times the work of the GT3 guy who will be casually pulling the same times because that's exactly what they're made for. To get to GT3 RS kind of performance it would be a stripped out lexan-windowed non-air-conditioned no-radio-having no fun rattly tin can and a total handful to keep on the track. Weight distribution is all wrong with the massive engine in front and any weight savings is just going to upset the balance and make it even more pronounced. Center of gravity is too high, and you'd have to remove the pano roof etc. Track isn't wide enough and you can't get wide enough rubber underneath without body modification. At a bare minimum you have to do 44O cooling, suspension, BBK, big sticky r-comp tires on light forged wheels, and then FBO to be competitive. THEN start reducing weight and chopping it up if you can live with driving a tin can. It's just not a great platform to start from to get the best times, but yes it's a lot of fun.

There are better cars out there to use as a dedicated track toy platform. With all that said, the C63 can be competitive with your typical DE advanced class cars (Z06, GT3, M3, GT4, etc) it's just a matter of how deep your pockets are and what you want to drive and how you want to drive it.

I think I contradicted myself a few times there sorry. I'm torn on this topic myself. In short, it's never going to keep up with a Z06 or GT3 that has also been wrung out for maximum DE performance. But you can get it to the same level as stock or mildly modded ones. And the driver mod and practice can even the field quite a bit.

BLKROKT

Check out user "freefall". Here's his car now (the post is about his GTS but there are updates on his C63): https://mbworld.org/forums/amg-gt-gt...s-raceway.html

That's probably "competitive". Also major major $$$$$$.