Well after almost 7 years Im back with another AMG- this time the AMG GT63.

Life has been good with AMG and myself having owned:

2001 E55
2004 E55
2005 CL65
2010 E63
2012 CLS63
2012 E63 Estate
2012 C63BS
2013 SL63
2016 AMG GTS
2017 C63S
2018 E63S

Some quick thoughts via this initial post but Im open to any questions of course and comparisons to what I have now or had.

Speed: Good overall linear in feel and power up into the triple digit range. Im used to a more aggressive throttle but that was alleviated with a heavy foot LOL. The 577hp does bear its teeth at higher speeds where I can tell the trap speeds are lower than other cars that I have had or currently have now. But that’s not a big deal to me. The launches are strong and brutal with the hot V roaring away.

Suspension/Handling/Steering: Comfort is probably the max I can go even on good roads. The compression and rebound is very good but its also very very taut. Im ok with that as I really love the lack of roll into and out of corners. The dampers and the springs work well to soak up the bumps and keep the car sorted. As good as my 992 GTS? No but it’s a 4300 lb beast and its not trying to be that car. I definitely have enough street confidence in this car and while the weight is there- a lot of the excess is mitigated with tech in the ride control and rws. Of course physics still cant be 100 percent overcome; but for my personal needs, the car and heft is just fine. I can definitely push the rear thru the turns with no issues and the PS5S’s are pretty damn good. I like the steering too- not Porsche level or even what I feel with my C8Z06 but those cars are front end light. Its got about the right resistance but I do wish just a slight but more feel from the road. But its very good for Benz.

Sound: I love the M177/178 engine as I have had 3 prior. The growl of the 4.0 is still as prevalent today as it was with my AMG GTS Edition One in 2015. The back fires, cracks and pops, are all wanted but not over the top. As a huge exhaust fan I do think I want more of the same tonal effect. Im not sure whats out there or what I can do to mod it without causing a CEL though. Time will tell but demand is not big for mods on this car as Ive already found out.

Interior/Tech- I like it--- I know the Ipad screen is not for all. I don’t care, I need large fonts and optically pleasing things LOL. The seats (non Performance) are great and have great support yet very supple too. Some quirks are the controls on the steering wheel. I like buttons but not sensory style buttons. I often swipe wrong when changing the speedo view or the HUD. Also why isnt there just a “prior” and “next” track set up on the wheel. Instead one has to scroll with the touch buttons to operate the audio or actually go to the Ipad screen. Small issues that don’t bother me all too much though.

Looks- this thing is beautiful- from the 21 inch wheels in black to the strong front and rear lines. I like. I think the Aero Pack could have been great but this was the car I found with the deal (over 55k off all in) so this beggar cant be too sad.

Overall- it’s a great GT car and worth the money only in discounted form (not mine but probably even around 30 to 40k off). I don’t see this car being worth 195k or so and there are some over 200k. Im into modding (not heavy) via lowering, exhaust, tune, spacers- and its not been super easy to source stuff. I did get the Brabus springs local in the OC and 15mm H&R spacers. Ill add a piggy back tune to raise the detune boost back up and maybe some tint. More Pics to come.



Question(s) (probably need to read the manual better):

Can I start the car in “I” mode or Sport Plus/Race or is it always in C? I know I can turn on the accessory settng, move it to I and then start but will the car remember instead?
Is there a valve controller to open the valves fully with the exhaust or are they already wide open in the Powerful setting?

Any way to show the TPMS actual pressures on the main speedo screen while not being in the service mode or whatever its called?

Anyone have exhaust ideas? I havent got the car on the rack but Im sure I could do DP’s but that’s a CEL and Ill pass. Renntech has a rear section that could work too.

I find that using “I” mode with Race or Sport Plus is not the same in regards to engine aggression if I use the actual setting itself. Maybe a placebo thing but Ive been testing it.

Ill get some interior shots too.

 

Congrats again, great spec, enjoy in good health : )

 

May the fleas of 1000 camels infest your groin....I hate you, officially.

 

1. Yes, if you have a tuner such as BenzNinja code it in. There is an odd OBD port dongle thing I have seen. I would not trust it.

2. Dunno

3. No, not that I have ever seen – I have asked for it in the past. Even possibly showing it on the AMG display with the engine metrics. Everyone I have asked has said no.

4. Not for the car, someone will know.

5. I mode I have fiddled with. I have found, for me….well, someone at the factory got things good enough for me with the factory settings. In the one E I have the AMG button setup to go to S and suspension on its lowest setting – and change the dash to the temp mode.

 

Amazing spec, looks so good in silver. Could you please share where you found your spacers? I’ve been searching for the past month but can’t find anything!

 

Forgot the rear and interior

 

Love the seat color - congrats on the car and enjoy in good health

 

Gorgeous!

 

Is it a 24 or 25?

 

2024

only way to get the 55k off (15k trunk cash)

I had 24k off a 2025 (200k msrp) but the model year has zero material changes and I was good with what was on the car.

 

makes sense

 

Great spec! Love the exterior/interior colors! Perfect! Enjoy!

 

Congrats. Engine mapping is the same whether you use Dynamic (Sport+) or Race mapping in I* or the actual Sport+ and Race mode, but there are other settings specifically AMG DYNAMICS that influence things as well. You wanna set that to Pro or Master in your I* configuration. Keep in mind, though, Master is only available if you put ESP in Sport mode or Off, otherwise even in Race mode it reverts back to Pro.

As far as engine response goes, I guess you don't care about break-in, but for the first 1000 miles, the engine won't operate at its final level. You are supposed to break it in and stay in C for now. Race Start for example is also disabled until you are past the break-in period. There should be a sticker in the windshield detailing how to break it in.

 

Appreciate. It was all in my head.

So for my personal break in habits- I always have done a hard break in for all my AMG's or all other cars (over 50) that Ive had. But I always warm the transmission fluids to snuff and engine oil. I dont lug the gears or keep the rpms set for long... just something Ive always done but respect those who also follow the guidelines.

Anyways I do understand the settings and how they work including the Dynamics subsection. When warmed up I am either running Sport Plus (default setting with ESP to Sport and Pro) or Indiv with Dynamic (which I assume is Sport Plus), Pro, and ESP to Sport. I think thats what it is but have to go to the car.

Edit- so when the clock hits 1k Race/Sport Plus goes into a more aggressive effect?

 

So I did some more testing on with the "I" vs the sport plus.

I setup: Race for engine, Sport for Suspension, Pro for sub set

vs

Sport Plus default setup and Sport for subset

Just drove on a road in I and then turned the steering wheel adjuster one click over to Sport Plus (I set it up that way to skip Race with one move)

The rpms went up from "I" to the Default Sport Plus setting while my pedal remained static. I wonder why that happened but I was able to recreate that effect over and over.

Is this due to the pre 1k mile situation and Race mode?

 

More likely due to the transmission adaptation. The transmission learns how you drive in each mode and continuously adjusts its shift strategy. This takes some time and miles to adapt to your driving. What I will advise is to not use any of the Sport modes if you are just doodling around town, otherwise the transmission will start learning your lazy driving style in S+ etc. and will become less aggressive. FWIW, I drive 90+% in manual mode. Only way to properly drive these things IMO. I only use automatic mode for casual driving in C and long highway journeys. All my spirited driving is done in M. My I mode automatically puts the transmission in M.

 

Im definitely keeping the rpms in a non fixated process ... I hate lugging

Ok that makes sense here as my M's dont really adapt- they just rip

I also am not used to the throttle requiring so much emphasis vs the likes of M CS's, GTS, or Z06.

I love learning and asking questions and getting better with these new iterations of Benz- its been a while so gratitude.

 

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, AMG's need to be broken in. Remember the engine is handbuilt. AMG doesn't run in the engines. They don't even hot test them, except they occasionally randomly pull one out of production and do a full cycle testing including dyno runs to make sure they still perform as expected, but most of the engines only get cold tested. They get hooked up to a rig that spins it up to 3000 rpm and then does a series of tests to make sure the electronics and all the sensors work, but it's never fired up. It's completely up to the customer to properly run it in.

I've been at the factory and talked in length with them about it. It's one of the few brands that still need proper run in of the engine for maximum performance. My 2019 C63S Coupe didn't really wake up until about 10k miles. I was initially a bit disappointed, because it just didn't seem to pull and be as aggressive as I would have expected, but that all changed around the 10k mark. It now runs beautifully. I've driven many performance cars and regularly attend AMG driving events where I drive the latest models. Key is they are always broken in properly at those events. I've made similar experiences with other performance cars in the past. They need to loosen up and it takes more than just the break-in period mentioned in the owner's manual. Even after 1000 miles they are not loosened up enough. On top of that you have the adaptations as mentioned, so it all takes time for it to fall in place and get in tune with how one drives.

 

35 percent ceramic installed









Some of the best OEM wheels Ive ever owned:

 

Man this place is like crickets LOLOL

Some questions for owners or anyone

The auto present door handle thing- can I turn it off?

I read that the exhaust valves dont fully open unless at a certain RPM (much like my 992 GTS)... if so is there way to keep them open all the time like Ive done with my M cars and the GTS?

Any way to advance or replay songs from the steering wheel controls with one press left or right (I do think I can use the haptics but it requires some work)? Or is everything via controlled from the MBux?

 

Haha...I don't think there are many of these out there. It's a slow seller. The price point for what it is, is just way too high, even with the discounts that can be had. Once the CLE 63 is out with the flat plane crank V8, I think the GT will take a further nose dive, but we'll have to wait and see how much money AMG wants for the CLE 63.

I'll try to answer some of the questions.

Door handles - turn it off in what sense? They have to auto present, otherwise you can't open the door. They are stupid I know. Just way overcomplicating a simple thing that worked for decades. Don't need auto retracting door handles. There are other ways to make them flush. To stop them from popping out every time you walk past the car, don't carry the fob on you, or if you do, then turn off keyless go. That used to be accomplished by double clicking the lock button on the fob, but now I think you have to double click the Mercedes Star or a combination of buttons. It's explained in the owners manual in the key fob section.

Correct, the exhaust valves are only partially open at lower rpm. To fully open them, you need a third-party module. Renntech sells one.

There are no skip forward/backward controls from the steering wheel. There weren't in older models, either.

 

Thanks, I figured the auto present is what it is- I guess I dont like the passenger side opening. But its just a quirk.

Im going to see about the RT module as they emailed me but RT tax is excessive LOL.

Am I the only one with fat fingers that hates Haptics?

I appreciate your replies as always. Tomorrow Ill be installing spacers and the Brabus fixed springs- Pics to come.

 

In regards to the music track control. There is a way to control it from the steering wheel. If you configure the drivers display to show current media/track playing you can then use the buttons on the right of the steering wheel to move between them. You can also just say next track and the assistant will do it for you.

Also for the door handles, I believe they extend to the specific side the key fob is near. Also the car doesn't unlock until you place your hand in the handle and the fob is present. I don't think someone can open the door without the fob even when the handles are extended.

 

Wait how? I swear Im a manual hater.

Edit: I figured it out--- but the display I use does not show music

 

Not ideal but say hey Mercedes next track.