I took my 2002 C32 and 2011 M3 Convertible up to Thunderhill Raceway yesterday for a track day. I ran 9 sessions (both intermediate and beginner groups) throughout the day and was pretty impressed with the C32. I did drive the M3 in a few of the sessions as my wife was the primary driver on that. The M3 Vert felt very heavy and I actually preferred driving the C32.

I suppose I was worried that taking a 10 year old car with about 70k miles might not have been a good idea. The car didn't let me down one bit and my friends and other folks I met at the track were very impressed with the car. The engine ran strong and given the relatively cool temperature there weren't any heat related issues. My brakes (ebc yellow pads/zimmermann rotors) held up well and didn't notice any fade even as I started to be harder on them in the afternoon sessions. I did notice some slight modulation sensation on my brake pedal when I jam on them at high speeds. It made me worry about it at the beginning but it didn't appear to affect braking performance. I have the stock wheel/tire setup with Renntech springs and Eibach swaybars. I am sure if I was a better driver I could get more out of the car but I felt I could use more rubber. Just bought the SL55 rims so going to slap on some 235/255 18s for the next track session and see if that helps.

This is the 4th time I've driven at a track and first time taking my own cars. I gotta say I wish I would have done this years ago. I was very tired by the end of the day but boy it was fun.

Going again to Thunderhill on 1/22 and would love to see other fellow C32/C55 owners out there as I think I was literally the only Mercedes out of the 60+ cars that were there. I saw M3s, Vetts, Porsche 911/cayman/boxter, and lots of S2000/350zs.

 

About how much does it run you?

 

It was just $150 so $300 for both my wife and I. I was suppose to only run 7 sessions but I also ran some of my wife's sessions. I think it's going to be the same price again on 1/22. I'll send you the info if you are interested.

 

I love Thunderhill (although Buttonwillow is my favorite)! It was one of my regular tracks when I had my Mustangs. Sounds like you had a nice day!

 

Sad to say, thats how it is here on the east coast too.

 

Awesome dude, i want to take mine so bad....

 

I live in the bay area and would LOVE to go to t-hill with you! Send me a PM! My roommate also has a DB9 and a Ferrari 360 hes been itching to take to the track

 

Do you pre order tickets or you buy them when you there, I'm want to go I live in city too.

 

I'll pm you guys who are interested in going in the next few days with the details. It's pretty cheap, $150 per car and you get 7 20-minute runs.

 

Registered!!! See you in a few days!

 

let's caravan up to Thunderhill. I'll coordinate

 

Do you plan to go up the day before?

 

Also -- my last track day I was the only Benz at Lime Rock Park. There was an M3 that I compared times with -- he was significantly faster, though I chalked that up mostly to me being new and him a much more experienced driver. Going to have to try really hard to not be too upset when you destroy my times in a C32 =P

 

registered, cya guys there, let me know if u going to caravan.

 

Went with arekux today at thunderhill. We got monsoon'd on so the track was at its worst conditions really. The skidpad, however, was prime time

* The C55 as always was a champ on the track. I felt like I got a fairly good feel for the track and got more aggressive as the day went on (despite the GIANT puddles/lakes on the track). A good handful of people went off into the mud and had to be towed out, I managed to keep it on the track though. I think arekux might have another story here

* I did a few laps of the track as a passenger in a 1996 911. God it feels so completely different in every way from our cars. And... don't kill me... but I think, even as a passenger, I felt more 'connected' to the rode in the 911 than I do in the C55. It just felt so completely different. The driver I was with was much much more experienced than me, so perhaps its just when driving closer to the limit (like he was) and that gives you more feedback.

Turns out, also, our cars *suck* at doing 'real' drifting. Sure, we can spin a donut like nobodys business, but doing proper drifting was a real pain. I had a Pro-AM guy take the wheel of my C55 and it wasn't until we put it in dyno mode that he could really do anything with it. And even then the ESD was pretty unhappy and threw a fit now and then. This is not really the cars fault though, mercedes puts in a lot of really good traction control technologies

Especially in the wet you feel the INCREDIBLE amount of torque the C55 has. The pro guy spent a few minutes teaching me to get the car to powerslide properly in dyno-mode. I got the hang of it after a few tries, but boy oh boy do you need to be careful with your right foot. A milimeter too much throttle and I'd overdo it and spin!

All in all it was a fantastic day (despite the rain) and continues to remind me of how much I love love love this car. That said though, if I really want to skill up on the track or in drifting I probably should get a proper track toy that I can beat on and not worry about offroad excusrsions (a miata?).

 

It was my first time, but i had tons of fun, learning to drive in rain isn't easy you have to be very precise with ur pedals, also stiff suspension doesn't work well in rain, car tends to snap at you, softest stiffness works better in rain, i learned this hard way. Anyways here is some pics from the track.

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Ditch the stock rims, go wide and with the right driver, the C55 will hang with the 996 GT3's.

 

Emphasis on the right driver bit -- which definitely isn't me (yet ). I like the C55 too much to push it to the limit and risk going offtrack and causing real damage. I look forward to learning and getting more comfortable at the limit and going back after a bit more experience and really gunning the C55 for all shes got I got this constant feeling that there was so much more to explore, that I could break so much later, turn in a bit harder, engage and manage oversteer, if only I could conquer the fear of ruining the car =P