vanable

Thanks to a member on here, I was able to locate and acquire an R63 that was for sale in Toronto, Canada. After settling on an awesome price with the seller, I was all set to fly over there (I'm in northern California), drive it through customs and across the border, leave it at the MB dealer in Buffalo, NY, and have it transported over to CA...but I ended up finding a company that could provide a full door-to-door import and transportation service that would save me a bit of time and money over doing things myself.

To make a long story short, the car made it across the border and into Detroit in just one day (!!), but then ended up sitting at that terminal for almost a month before continuing on the second leg of its journey to the west coast. And so it finally arrived the other day, almost a whole month behind schedule. I just had a chance to have it washed and took a few quick phone pics. It's all stock, so there's nothing you guys haven't seen...except maybe for the 320mph speedometer! (It's the Canadian-spec kmh speedo configured to mph mode.)

I'm just slowly going through the car, and will see what issues need to be taken care of before doing any mods. Hmm, ok that might be a lie... chances are I'll end up fixing the car, while hopefully modding it concurrently.

A couple random thoughts so far:

- Unlike other 6.3 AMG cars, I like the way the R63 feels less like a brutal, handful monster of a car, and more like a freight train. The power is there, but with the car's heft (and maybe to an extent, it's AWD), warp speed builds up in a way that doesn't make you feel like you constantly need to be on your toes.

- The liftgate's closing button is extraordinarily high when the gate is open...my 5'1" wife had to jump up to use it. I'm assuming the gate can also be closed via the door-mounted release button or key fob, but until I confirm that is possible (or rather, even if i confirm that is possible), that button is really high!

- The old factory Harmon Kardon system isn't TOO bad. I've probably read more jeers than cheers about it, but I think it's actually better than most other makes' OEM systems of the same vintage.

xxGenericSNxx

Congrats Van! So glad to see another member with an R63.

Yes the trunk is high when all the way open. You can set the trunk to open to a max height of a lower position but I found that position too low- look for it through the settings within the speedometer cluster. Newer MBs you can custom set exactly how high you want the trunk to go. On the R it's only low or high.

Yes, the trunk can be closed with the button on the driver's door panel or with the key fob.

vanable

Thanks for the heads up.. it reminded me to take a little bit of time to look through the manual, and sure enough, there was the tidbit about adjusting the tailgate height. And you're right, it does feel a bit too low in the lower setting... I suppose the ultimate "solution" would be to just lower the car a couple inches! I do want to just easily swing my legs out from the driver's seat and be able to place my feet flat on the ground...

I went to a friend's housewarming for his new place this weekend, and had a chance to take another couple quick pics of the car. Still a "boring" stock R63 for the most part...but it does look nice against his vineyard!

AMGoneday

Looks great! I bet you have been just like me. Looking for some aftermarket goodies.
I really want to do the second row sun shade and we need a second key fob.
Some HRE's would be sweet but can't afford right now.

xxGenericSNxx

Second row (and third row) sunshades are awesome!

Unfortunately for the key you can only get it at an MB dealer. Keyless-Go is an extra cost. My second key fob cost me about $350.

AMGoneday

How is the R doing?

vanable

Call me weird, but I actually bought wheels for the car before I even had it! I've had them sitting in storage for almost 2+ years when I was thinking of getting an E55/63 wagon, which then eventually transitioned into the R. I'll probably look into getting tires on them so I can do some test fitting semi soon. I really have no idea if/how they'll fit...

I need a second key also, and read somewhere that if you get an "additional" key instead of a replacement key, there's less work-and cost-involved, since the dealership doesn't have to essentially unpair the missing key from the car...? In my case, the second key for my R is on the other side of the continent, so I'm not too worried about it falling into the wrong hands and being used to snag the car. And the previous owner is actually still trying to find it, so I would like to be able to still use it if it does pop up. $350 for a full replacement doesn't seem too bad though...a Land Rover dealer quoted me $900 for a second key fob + coding it to an Evoque! That's insane in the membrane imo

AMGoneday

What wheels?
We want the second key for convenience. Yes 350 is cheap vs 900 that is crazy!

vanable

Whoops, thinking back about the wheels I just remembered that it was another set of wheels that I was going to get for the E wagon had I gotten one. The wheels that I have been hanging on to for the R I got specifically for an R, since I made sure to get a set that wasn't staggered to accommodate the AWD system. They're a set of Volk Racing GT-Force wheels...kinda an obscure, older wheel that's a 20" version of the GT-V. Fitment is 20x9.5", +25mm all around, so we'll see how they fit. Might look into making some lowering links this weekend, too...

xxGenericSNxx

Hate to break it to you but 9.5" wide ET25 is way too aggressive for this car. Even when I ran 9.5" wide ET43 AMG rims they would stick out a little past the fender!

vanable

Do you happen to have pics with the +43mm setup? I figured the +25s would be on the aggressive side, but would still be worth a shot to try on the car, and then work my way down from there. There was/is so little wheel fitment resources available online for the R... I think it would be good if we could maybe start compiling that info to help all the other people who want to modify their Rs... all 3 or 4 of them!

xxGenericSNxx

The first pics of my car on the 19" AMG (first page of my build thread are et43. These stuck out a few millimeters already so at et25 they will stick out another 18mm.

This car (like most MB) use a very conservative offset. I'm flush on spacers right now. Ideal setup for flush look on a 9" wide rim is about et40 rear and et45 front (my current setup).

vanable

Ah, I did not realize those wheels had such a low offset relative to other AMG wheels. Looking back at the pics now, they definitely do appear to be very flush; I actually think the fitment looked pretty good!

One good resource I just remembered for wheel fitment info on an R is actually the Wald one from their web site. It's running a 9"/10" combo at +34mm front and rear...no doubt some fender massaging was performed, but the end result does appear quite optimal

xxGenericSNxx

that fitment looks quite good. Can't imagine what it's like to drive the car that lowered + the low clearance Black Bison front bumper. I already have clearance issues at the stock height and that bumper.

MBZ offsets in general are very conservative. The most aggressive ones are the SL and CLS which allow for quite concave fitments. Even the SLS is like ET58 or 60 (don't remember exactly) stock.

AMGoneday

That black R is sexy!

vanable

The Japanese definitely love to go low, no matter the car. It helps that they do have nice roads, on the whole. But it's also more the mentality of just wanting to go low no matter what it takes and costs. The Black Bison front and rear bumpers do seem to hang a bit lower than the OEM sides though, which looks ok on that black car, but I think is a bit much on that white R500 in socal. Anyways, I wanted to start a wheel fitment thread on the main W251 forum to hopefully reach a broader audience of R folks: https://mbworld.org/forums/r-class-w...formation.html

AMGoneday

Any thoughts on performance upgrades? Headers/throttle body/ tune?

vanable

Good question... my current thoughts are to keep it simple with just intake mods (probably remove carbon filters, and swap in higher-flow air filters), exhaust mods (aftermarket setup from the mid-pipes back), and then an ECU tune. I've been rethinking the exhaust stuff though, as I finally got to hear the car while someone else drove it just yesterday, and it doesn't sound half bad from the outside, and I'm not sure I'd want anything noisier just yet.

I just dropped the car off at a friend's shop though to get the first round of general maintenance stuff taken care of, and will then look into doing a heavier round of maintenance stuff (like going through the tranny) after an upcoming road trip, before I actively look into doing the aftermarket upgrades.

BTW, did your R63 arrive yet?

AMGoneday

Oh no R yet still waiting on the shipping company! not happy at all! We hope to have the R here by the 16th to go on local drive with a bunch of friends. It must be here before the 1st other wise I'm in big trouble!

Looks like Renntech has some neat performance parts for the R not sure who else. I hope all the little problems get worked out for you.

xxGenericSNxx

Weistic supercharger upgrade is the only way to go for a serious gain in performance!

vanable

Oh man, I know what it's like to have to wait on an auto transport that's taking longer than it should! Hopefully your R arrives in time for the drive...

Speaking of the Weistec supercharger, I always wondered if it'd work in the R63...it seems like the part of the cowl that sits over the top of the engine makes for a slightly tighter fit than in other 63 cars. It's also hard to justify spending that much on an R, but I'd love to see someone else do it!

To make this post somewhat relevant to the topic, I just picked up the R after some general maintenance work at my friend's shop. Basically just had him do a once-over on the car, change fluids, and replace the power steering pump, which was an unforeseen repair. The car still needs some small stuff like a lower radiator hose replacement, but that part won't be here till next week, and I wanted to use the car to take the fam to Carmel/Monterey tomorrow. It'll be the first 50+ mile trial for the car, which might be immediately followed by a 500+ mile trial if we do a road trip to socal. Fingers crossed for a trouble-free, and as fuel-efficient-as-possible trip!

xxGenericSNxx

The guys at Weistec told me they've done one R63 before but no pics. So I think there's enough clearance in there to stick the supercharger.

Monterey car week should be fun!

Expect to average ~17mpg on freeway with AC and cruise control on. That's about the max I've done in that car on road trips (with or without a roof box/roof racks).

vanable

So the R performed well on its back-to-back road trips...and has passed all three levels of my 5/50/500 test that I always apply to my used cars (well, I mostly use it to judge how reliable oooooold cars I pick up are, but I suppose a 7 year old car can be classified as oooold with a few less Os!). I had the CEL come up intermittently twice now, so I'll have to look into that...

Although my original thought was that it probably wouldn't be worth putting a supercharger on this car, the more I think about it now, the more I realize maybe it would be kinda cool to go a little crazy with it. Especially when it's a car like mine that isn't super original and "untarnished."

So I'll append my opinion: I don't think it'd be a good idea to put a weistec supercharger on an R63 if you happen to have a super great condition, low mileage, all original, never-been-in-an-accident one; but otherwise, the thought of having a family hauler with way more power than it really should have is quite appealing! Of course, the cost of going the supercharger route still needs to be weighed, and it's definitely not in my immediate scope of plans for this car, but the seed has definitely been planted. I've also been rethinking my eventual exhaust plans, as my son has really taken a liking to the R's "vroom vroom"

AMGoneday

Glad to hear this! How has the MPG been?

I would love to see a stage 3 Weistec on a R63.
You can go first!
If we were get a second R I would SC it, but a lot more would have to be done beside that.

Still waiting on my R, I went with DAS shipping! DO NOT USE!
I should have used Angels (forum sponsor) My R is now somewhere in IL.
Eta of 09/02 only a eta and they will not guarantee anything.

Back on topic glad you love the R!

xxGenericSNxx

Maybe we should do a group buy for the Wesitec supercharger? =D