I cannot find in the manual anywhere and just wanted to see if there is a better source for this info. If not, I'd just like to get inputs from everyone. I'm not asking what the different drive modes do, I am asking what the settings within the Individual drive mode do.

So here is what I notice on the facelift C43:

Drive:
- Reduced - engine power is actually reduced. Transmission shifts as soon as it can and also remains in the highest gear for as long as it possibly can, even pushing Boost to 100% at times before it's willing to downshift. Transmission also feels smoother between shifts. Maybe throttle mapping is less sensitive? I can't really tell.
- Moderate - regular engine sound, throttle mapping feels normal and transmission shifts as soon as it can and still hesitates to downshift unless enough throttle input is provided. Transmission also shifts smoothly between gears. Power output seems normal.
- Sport - engine sounds a bit louder than moderate (not quite sure). Throttle mapping feels the same as Moderate and transmission holds gear a bit longer than in Moderate. Transmission is willing to downshift more readily. Transmission also shifts a bit harder between gears. Power output seems the same as Moderate.
- Dynamic - engine actually sounds louder, throttle mapping feels more sensitive and transmission will hold gear at higher rpm. Transmission is ready to downshift a lot more easily. Transmission also shifts a lot harder between gears, I can see and feel the car shake a bit between each shifts. Power output seems the same as Moderate. Allows the performance exhaust, if set to Powerful, to actually crack and pop when upshifting at above 4,500 rpm.

Suspension:
- Comfort - somewhat soft ride, a bit of body roll around corners and light steering feel.
- Sport - somewhat stiffer ride, less body roll around corners and heavier steering feel.
- Sport+ - stiff ride, body roll feels the same as in Sport mode and steering definitely feels heaviest in this setting.

ESP:
- On - cuts power the moment the tires lose grip.
- Sport - still cuts power the moment the tires lose grip. I don't notice much of a difference between this and On. Will still not let you brake boost.
- Off - rear end feels like it's about to come loose but never actually does. I can brake boost and launch with ESP Off without the car cutting power.

So overall, the Drive settings change: engine power (only in Reduced mode), transmission shift point, transmission feel between shifts, throttle sensitivity, engine sound (is noticeably loud in Dynamic mode), allows exhaust to crack and pop when upshifting above 4,500 rpm (if Performance Exhaust is set to Powerful). Suspension settings change: ride quality, body roll, steering feel. ESP settings change: when the nanny steps in to cut power.

I fully realize that some of my experiences may be imagination since it's difficult to try to feel all these things since some are not very noticeable and not easily measured by just how I feel. Feel free to add if you also notice other behaviors or correct me if anything I've said is incorrect. I just want to understand the car and all its settings end of the day.

 

Overall yes, that's kinda it. In some more specific terms and a bit more technical:

Drive: Changes the throttle map and shift program and in case of Reduced actually changes the torque and power output of the engine to make it easier to start on slippery surfaces. The different modes directly correspond to the drive modes. Reduced is associated with the Slippery mode, Moderate with Comfort, Sport with Sport and Dynamic with Sport+. The throttle map basically controls how far the throttle body opens in response to a certain throttle input. In Reduced and Comfort its more relaxed and feathered, so more throttle input is needed to trigger a corresponding response. In Sport and Sport+, the map is more responsive and smaller throttle inputs are required for the same response, The map also controls how fast the throttle body opens in response to quick stabs of the throttle, which basically controls how responsive or delayed the throttle is. In Sport+, the idle rpm is also increased in order to reduce turbo lag. The shfit programs control when the transmission decides to up and downshift as well as the shift quality. Pretty much as you described. The sportier the mode, the more aggressive it downshifts to keep the engine in the power band, and the shift quality changes to more direct and crisp, but less comfortable.

Suspension: Essentially changes pitch and roll. Pitch is what happens during braking and acceleration, nose up or tail up. Roll happens during cornering and in general during weight transfer. Ride comfort is a direct result of how much it reduces pitch and roll. In order to reduce pitch and roll, the dampers have to stiffen during cornering, acceleration and braking, which then directly makes the ride less comfortable. Ride comfort and reducing pitch and roll always stand in conflict with each other, so the three different modes allow the driver to specify if the algorithms should prioritize ride comfort over handling or handling over ride comfort with Sport sort of being the balanced middle ground. It also has an indirect effect on steering as you noticed, because normally the suspension absorbs some of the initial forces when you attempt to change direction, so if the dampers are stiffer, less of the forces are absorbed by the suspension, and the car will turn in more willingly and you will get different amounts of feedback. It should also be said that the three modes are not three static modes. AMG Ride Control continuously evaluates sensor inputs to read the road and the driver's intention multiple times a second and individually adjusts the compression and rebound stages in each damper in response to the various inputs. So this is a very dynamic affair and adapts continuously. The selected mode is simply an overall guidance to the system to let it know if you prefer a more comfortable or more sporty ride overall.

ESP: This perhaps takes a bit more elaboration. ESP encompasses two main systems. Yaw control and traction control. The former is what's commonly referred to as stability control. Yaw control is about making sure the car goes where you point the steering, so it continuously monitors the steering angle and compares it to the car's yaw. Yaw is the rotation around the car's axle. If the two don't match within a certain threshold, it applies individual brakes to correct the yaw rate of the car and make sure it goes where you point it. The different ESP modes change how much the car's yaw rate is allowed to deviate from the steering angle, in essence it controls the slip or drift angle. With ESP on, it pretty much intervenes almost immediately if it notices the car isn't following your direction. In ESP Sport it allows a larger deviation, so you can drift the car a bit up to a certain drift angle before it intervenes. Generally, it also monitors your countersteering, so as long as you maintain control and stay within the allowed drift angle it won't intervene. With the C43 being a fixed ratio AWD system, maintaining a drift angle or even drifting in the first place on high friction surfaces is almost impossible, so you generally will only notice a difference between ESP On and Sport if you drive on a low friction surface such as in the wet or on snow/ice. The difference between On and Sport is many times more apparent in something like the RWD C63. Traction control I think doesn't need much explanation, but again due to being AWD, a lot of the traction comes simply from all 4 wheels being driven, so TC is less important and less noticeable in an AWD vehicle unless again you are driving on a slippery surface where even AWD has trouble maintaining traction, but in ESP Sport, TC allows more wheel spin before it intervenes via the brakes and/or reduce engine output in order to regain traction. Again, this is also much more noticeable in an RWD car, especially in the 2019+ C63S, or the GT R, Pro and Black Series where TC can be adjusted in 9 stages when ESP is off to dial in various amounts of allowed wheel spin.

With ESP off, both yaw control and traction control are fully turned off, so you are on your own, unless you step on the brakes. In case of AMG, yaw control reactivates the moment you step on the brakes to help you get the car back under control. This is kinda nice as you can be a hooligan w/o the nannies interfering, but if you lose control you can step on the brakes and the nannies will help you get control back.

 

Well said. I actually did not know this last bit so that is very interesting.