Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Owner Seeks Drag Strip Advice
A Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG owner seeks drag racing advice from the community after a disappointing trip to the track.
While the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG is an impressive machine on the drag strip, getting the quickest quarter mile times isn’t as simple as just mashing the pedal. MBWorld member 6ml500 recently learned that after taking his Benz to the track, so he turned to the community for advice on getting better elapsed times.
I have a stock c63 2013 performance package. I went to the track last weekend and could only run a 12.8 at 113 best. I did 4 runs in total, all trapping at 113mph. I felt it was a bit low. Track altitude 600 feet. Horrible 2.2-2.3 60 foot times.
Only mod is charcoal delete and new afe pro dry filters.
I was expecting a higher trap speed even with the bad 60ft times.
After a bit of discussion, the OP revealed that he was running his C63 AMG on all-season tires with the traction control system on. The community was quick to point out that both his tires and his traction control were major contributors to his slower-than-expected quarter mile times.
AMGonFire offered this insight, which is helpful information to everyone looking to get the best track times:
Drag radials and you will be a lot happier with your times 2.2 and 2.3 60s is bad. That’s your time loss there. Also with weather conditions you want to look at your density altitude that also takes into account your elevation. There is a good calculator on Drag Times that you can pull up your track you were at the day and time. It will give you everything you need weather wise for that day. Add in your elevation and hit calculate. Gives you your da and your corrected time if conditions were perfect.
I am Jeff echoed the sentiments of most of those commenting with a nice, short explanation:
The traction control left on plus the all season tires can contribute to lower trap speeds.
The Importance of Good Tires
This discussion brings up an interesting point that many people aren’t familiar with – traction control slows the car down. Modern traction control systems improve grip by reducing power. When power is reduced, the car gets traction, but it also does so with less power and that leads to slower performance times. Unless the vehicle in question has a traction control system designed for drag racing, running with the system on – even in sport modes – will almost always lead to slower quarter mile times.
This is why learning to launch a car like the Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG is so important. Traction control makes it easier to launch, but as is the case with most high performance cars, launching without the electronic helpers will generally lead to better track times. Of course, that requires practice and skill, but as the group has pointed out, adding high performance tires can also unlock a whole new level of performance.
Should the OP get a stickier tire, he will likely find that he doesn’t need traction control to get his Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG away from the starting line. In other words, a good tire out back will allow this C63 to solve both of his issues, as his car was slowed down by the intervention of the traction control system due to the lack of grip from the all-season tires.