I took my 2017 C43 AMG to the track last week. I went to Waterford Hills in Michigan. It was a blast. Cars sounds so amazing with the PE exhaust leaving the pit area with the soundwaves bouncing off the grandstand and press area.

It handled very well. I was on a completely stock setup. Stock brakes, stock 18 inch wheels, and even stock Pirelli Run Flat All-season tires. In the videos you can hear the tires whining at me. Im just trying to use them up before I spring for new tires as i feel it is wasteful to just get rid of them right away. Plus I own my car so she will have plenty of tires over her lifetime.

Anyway, the car handled amazing. It was extrememly balanced going into and out of corners, the 4 matic really helps to power on and pull out of the corners. If anything this car has slight understeer which is great. Keep in mind I was on all seasons so that may play a role in how the car handled but I never felt like it was plowing unless i entered the corner incorrectly.

I would say the tires did well for what they are, all seasons, but ill be happy once i burn through them.

Brakes. One word, amazing. These are the big 4 pots up front and they were jsut amazing. The track I was on is called Waterford Hills. Its a very technical course with handling and experience determining who will get around the fastest. Speed and power arent really huge factors on this track. With that said I was still able to get just up to 100 MPH on a few laps on the back stretch. The brakes never failed and never faded. Strong and confident every time. The tires were the weak link. We will see if sticker tires give the brakes a run for their money.

Power. For this track I had way more than enough power. Enough power that going into some corners were thrilling to say the least.

Overall I was very very impressed with how the car handled on the track. It gained a lot of respect with fellow track attendees. I work with a few of them and they though the amg badge was just slapped on this car. Needless to say when I was lapping some of them or gaining seconds, they gave the nod of approval.

A few noteworthy kills. Keep in mind we are not all professional or even experienced drivers which can play a huge role in lap times. But on the same token cars you would meet on a day to day basis if they can only be driven well by professional drivers, then you still have the leg up.

1. Brand New 2017 Camero SS track edition? I gained a few seconds on him. He had all the track options he had to put on. It was not the LT1 as I think that would have given more of a run for my money.
2. Nissan GTR ( this was an inexperienced driver, we all know what would happen if a better driver was behind the wheel, none the less it is satisfying to show that power isnt everything on a track)
3. BMW M3 E46 (maybe same story? It was stock and was lowered to hell, my guess is he was rubbing so not too much fun for him.
4. Fiesta STs 300hp. This guy was surprisingly fast. Cool car I must admit. Still not as match.
5. Focus STs tuned and modded. they maybe tried to keep up but after one lap their brakes were toast.
6. SRT Grand Cherokee. Too top heavy. Easy kill on a circuit.
7. Mini cooper. no match.
8. older mustangs, no match.
9. 2nd and 3rd gen mits eclipse modded. Easily taken out.


I will say I had 2 run for my money.

1. 2014 Mustang GT with autox tires and hawk pads and upgraded 6 pot brembo big brake kit. He was fast. It really goes to show you what good tires and brakes will do on a technical course. Every other mustang was super squirly in and out of corners, this guy was taking them with confidence. We were running around the track together for a while. Keep in mind I had all seasons tires and stock pads. In my opinion I would take him given better track equipment.

2. Miatas of all ages. Just small low cars that can stay in 3rd the whole track and maintain 60mph. Crazy fast track cars on a technical course. Super impressed. They were driven by veteran drivers. They were taking everyone on the track.


Overall a super fun time. Hope you guys enjoy the pictures and video. Next time I will try to get better angles from inside the cabin so you can see more of the road and other cars.

One video is a parade lap to get used to the track and see the layout. The other is a hot lap. You should be able to tell by the tires screeches

 

Amazing . I am moving to the midwest soon. Hopefully, we can meet up and do some laps together. 2 stock C43 sedans on the track

 

Thanks for the write-up. What do you use to record the speed, track and lateral G?

 

thanks guys, and i was using a go pro hero 5 with gps enabled. speed seems pretty accurate. i would say the gs are accurate for the most part except when you see any ready over 1.2. that seems a little high. this car has been proven to do .9 g on skid pad, but maybe going from .9 to one side to .9 to other side will show a momentary higher g force I am not sure. But it seems pretty accurate.

 

This is the cutest thing I've seen all day

 

 

It is great that you took it to the track, and thanks for posting details on how it did.

Not many see track duty, and getting as much data as we can is helpful.

I'm planning on using mine as the "backup" car, mainly if my track days are very wet, which the usual track car isn't well suited for.

Waterford Hills was actually the first track I was ever on, although that was quite a while ago.

Now we just need to get you to mount the GoPro in a location where we can actually see the track...

A minor correction on the Camaro. The 1LE (track package) comes on both the V6 and V8 (which is the LT1 motor). The SS only comes with the LT1 motor, so if it was the SS, it definitely was an LT1 (v8), and may or may not have been a 1LE. If it was a 1LE SS, and you were faster than he was, you were definitely a better driver than he was, as that wasn't car. And the Zl1 is the current king of Camaros, that is a very fast track car (and supercar level in 1LE form).

Thanks again for the write-up!

 

Sweet man thanks for posting ! I live in Royal Oak MI and have the C43 coupe. Never heard of this race track before but will definitely make it up there for a track day now !

 

Thought you had the sedan from the pics.. No?

Edit: Sorry my bad. Had a few too many I guess. Time to sleep. Thought u were the OP.

 

Nice vid, man! Good to see guys out there actually pushing their cars and seeing how they stack up against other cars on a track.

Did you happen to record engine and transmission temp? Thanks in advance.

 

Im not sure which of the run flats you have on there, but the pirelli run flats that come on the C450 are Max Performance Summer.. now, they are crap but they aren't all season. I recently put the Michellin SS 4S on my C450 and will track it at laguna in a couple weeks.

 

Nice track days are a lot of fun...

Just a couple of quick tips, try to relax a little and you will be smoother/faster. Also, instead of the death-grip on the steering wheel, utilize your palms to push on the wheel and steer, it's smoother more effective and less draining especially if you're lapping for over 20 minutes. Use the straightaways to relax, wiggle your fingers and check the gauges.

In-car footage is great for analyzing and refining your inputs and techniques.

Here's my in-car footage a few years back at Monticello, I was getting up close to 150mph on the back straight. This wasn't "racing" is only HPDE, limited passing.

 

yes the go pro will be mounted better next time! I didn't have the extension with me to drop it down to get a view of the road. Sorry!!

So this was NOT the 1LE. It was definitely an SS as I saw the badging and I saw the big v8 engine. Maybe they come with small track stuff as add ons? He told me he had to put on air directors towards calipers and what not. It still had full "comfy" interior. None the less it was fun to drive with him.

 

engine oil got up to 235 F maybe 240 F for brief periods and tranny i saw 230F. The minute I stopped tracking, the engine oil cooled down to 212F almost immediately and the trans cooled down to 220F then down to 190-200F after 10 minutes of easy driving.

keep in mind this is off memory so probably arent 100% but I know they are close.

 

They are definitely Pirelli Cinturato p7 all season run flats. 100% sure. They are ok at best. I have always driven Michelin tires. My favorites are the PSS for performance. Just felt bad getting rid of perfectly good tires.

I already bought the jack kit so now its just a matter of time.

 

good advice! Yes There is always room to improve! I hope to get out a few more times!

 

that is interesting, as tirerack and other sites define the P Cinturato p7 run flat in this profile an Ultra High Performance Summer.

I had the same tires on my C450, but moved to the M PSS 4S, which are amazing compared to this junk that came on the car (and failed with a catastrophic failure to boot)

 

Thanks.

 

yea it is weird. I just double checked and sure enough, P7 run flat All-season written right on them. I have a picture to prove im not crazy. lol. My car is also limited at 130mph so I know it shipped with all seasons.

 

Thanks for sharing! Great post for sure. Can't wait to see what better tires will do.

 

that is odd, and disappointing (speed limited)

what size rims are you running?.. oddly, tirerack (just as a reference point) doesn't even say those tires fit on the 18 or 19 wheel formats that the 2016/2017 c43 come kitted with. I wonder if the dealer put on the wrong tires or the factory?

 

they are the 18 inch black 5 spoke. see attached picture. They say MOE on them so they are original. And also on MSRP form they say all season tires.

 

nice was wondering if the c43 sedan was decent on track.. mine would be for occasional track duty also.. I have a dedicated track car. Those are all seasons with the 18"s

 

Very nice, glad to see you taking this out to the track. Do you still track your car? Maybe I should just run change my brake fluid and use up my run flats as well.

 

not sure who you are asking but the forum member right above you, post was made back in 2017. As for OP, I know OP went to BMW with the 340i.