eclapton24

Hey folks,

I've enjoyed reading the forum and wanted to post my experience with my AMG GTS Edition 1. I'm in the Chicago area and have used is as a daily driver through the Fall and Winter. Thus far I've put on about 9k miles on the car. I've drive on winter wheels/tires without any issues. Obviously, I'm not super aggressive through turns on the road with snow outside, but honestly haven't had any issues with traction. Here's some of my likes and dislikes...

Likes:
1. Sounds from the exhaust are amazing
2. Acceleration and the driver-car connection is unbeatable; way better than my prior Audi S5 and Porsche 911 4S
3. Still haven't seen another AMG GTS driving around in the 'burbs of Chicago. Very rare car.
4. Fuel economy is surprisingly great - approximately 20MPG. I drive about 300-500 miles/wk with 20% local roads and 80% highway
5. Trunk space is phenomenal - 2 golf bags fit easily
6. Daily drivability is amazing. I've gotten very used to the dynamic suspension and find it to be totally acceptable and on par with the 911 4S on comfort driving mode. My wife finds it totally fine as well. The comfort's also much better on winter wheels/tires
7. Car is very easy to wash - I have a 3M coating applied by the dealership which essentially helps protect the front but also helps to get road salt/grime off very quickly with a simple wash.
8. Phenomenal winter drivability with Pirelli Sottozero 19" tires. The whole tire/wheel package was actually quite affordable (~$2400 at Discount Tire) which I why I ended up buying them, as I wasn't sure if the car would be drivable in the snow.






p.s. not sure why above 2 pics keep posting upside down even though normal on my screen

Minor gripes:
1. Loud clicking sound when transitioning from semi-steep driveway to street. It's actually gotten a lot better with my winter tires/wheels.
2. I wish I had the high-end Burmester system. I have the standard Burmester audio system that came with the car. It's got great highs, mids, and lows but is very "forward-centric" kind of sound. It's missing any sound behind me. Unfortunately the audio adjustments only have a Left-Right balance, but no way to adjust sound front to back. Has anyone added any types of speakers to the back or found a way to improve this?
3. The sun visors are pretty skimpy. If I forget my sunglasses and am driving into the sun, it can be quite hard to see, especially with the long nose.
4. I wish the MB interface was better with the iPhone in terms of carplay and use of music streaming software.
5. I've noticed a small smell of gasoline in my garage too since I got the car. I've seen the thread on that. My dealer couldn't really find anything wrong. It's hard to localize where it's coming from because it's very subtle, but definitely present.
6. No spare at all! Had to have it towed for a minor flat.

California John

Great synopsis. Thanks!

AMG 17GT

Yes indeed ty for insight.

You've confirmed what I thought while riding on 40s tire and 19 wheel. That bit of rubber takes that harshness out.

The aftermarket should be able to balance that sound out. I'm not sure if Burmeister fits this size car space / speaker room.

emericr

Thanks for the review. I plan to daily drive mine when I get it and happy to see that the car is enjoyable.
I always look aftermarket for better sound. You get more bang for your buck.

joseyu

Thanks for the review! Can you go into more detail about the winter wheels and tires? Is it a square setup? If not, what sizes are you using? I am thinking about putting a set of winter tires on mine for next season, not sure if I should use the OEM wheels since I have a set of HRE wheels coming or buy another set.

eclapton24

Yeah, it's a square setup with 19" Pirelli Sottozero 255/40/19 tires. I was originally going to keep the original wheels but tire options are quite limited. Pirelli had run out of snow tires when I bought them in the OEM size. Additionally, the aftermarket wheels makes the transition super easy and the package was not too expensive. The wheels are fairly inexpensive - DragRacing - that are able to clear the massive GTS brakes and look decent. They are easy to clean in regards to salt and brake dust.

Dr. Graphx

Slowhand Great review thanks for the great feedback especially your input on the tires, I want to look into some all season tires as well thanks for the info. I will not be a winter driver however I trust my Escalade EXT better on our crappy Chicago streets, I agree they are rear in windy city I have yet to see one in the wild and i drive downtown every day. It would be cool to plan a drive about in the spring with Joseyu we can do like "Hangover" but with GTs's a Wolfpack drive to Lake Geneva for a round of Golf at the Grand Geneva!!

joseyu

Definitely up for the drive to Lake Geneva, but there is one problem. I don't golf...

MercAMGgts2016

I daily drive mine and it's a fukn blast! ;-)
My previous was a Porsche c4s with sports exhaust etc, but this car is making me happier

DriveAMG

Hello all. Not my first AMG by any means but super excited to be taking delivery of my GTS tomorrow. It will be my daily driver as well and I'm having a hard time getting some reps up her in Toronto. No one seems to know what offset is needed mostly for the rears.

Any help you could provide Eclapton would be appreciated

Thanks

JB C63S

If you are inquiring about wheel offset, there is a thread on that.

Stock offset is 68. I run 15mm spacers with no issue and it looks good, so 53mm. People say they run 48 and even 45.

cec69

MB has a fix for gripe #1. Had mine done and am very happy.

morjo02

what was the fix ??

cec69

Originally Posted by cec69 View Post
Like many of you, my 2016 had an occasional annoying loud front end pop when making a slow tight turn into my driveway. No more as it was repaired today.
1 190-620-8801 strut
1 190-620-8701 strut
3015 installed spo upper engine compartment diagonal strut on the left and right sides. Remove bolts and clean threads of the lower diagonal struts, applt blue thread lock adhesive and re-install per LI62.30-P-061211.

All is well and very quiet