lomita

Went to the Lexus dealer and was admiring the ISF lines this afternoon. Looks great, however, upon reviewing several of the C63AMG vs ISF vs M3, YouTube videos, etc., couldn't help but notice the huge roll rates of the Lexus ISF. Suspension looks way too soft, especially in the corners. Upon takeoffs, the entire back end of the car was bouncing up and down. That was the final acid test in making the decision to buy a C63 AMG with sport and performance AMG package options.

There seem to be several opinions on how bad the ride quality is with the PP. Couldn't be any rougher than the wife's sport tuned suspension on her 05Infiniti G35.

Can't imagine why MB wouldn't put a LSD in every car with this amount of HP.

Test drove the C63AMG last week without the PP, felt real good, very nice turning radius, turns on a dime. Am very curious how the ride will be with the stiffer chassis. Anyone have some experience with driving the car with PP and without?

paulGT3

I came out of a GT3 to a PP car without the stiffer PP springs.
You have got the right car Remember Lexus designs cars for 85 year old grandmas who love their LS430's. So when the Lexus engineers sat down to come up with a sportier car they asked who is their target market. MUCH Younger, say 65 that have come out of Cadillacs and want to move to a foriegn sporty car.
Anyway the answer is I think the ride is stiff enough without the PP springs.
However you really need to test drive both so you can taylor your own tastes.
What if I tell you its a lot softer after I was in a Porsche GT3 which I drove with PASM (stiff) on all the time. My view is tainted. I think you will be very happy either way. But my view is the car is stiff enough for my purposes (including trackwork) without the PP springs.
hope this helps

Stangar

Until you drive each car, and on the same day, you are just guessing.

Go take a test drive but if you are like me I think the standard suspension on the C63 is very nice and the IS F borders on abusive (especially the rear).

I can't imagine wanting stiffer springs/struts/shocks on the C63 unless you live where the roads are very, very smooth.

Strafe1

I haven't driven the full PP, just mine with the PP lite (LSD only). Unless you will be on the track frequently, I can't imagine the full PP for daily use, because the standard suspension is plenty stiff.
90 degree turns (at speed) and quick s turns reveal only slight body roll. Compared to my previous C55, it is 50% stiffer, yet more pliable on highway imperfections. For everday driving, I can see where the track suspension can be too much for most people. Just an opinion!

lomita

The dilemma is the dealerships are far and few between that have the PP on a C63 AMG in their inventory and their tendency to not let the car be test driven! Fine, I won't be buying a vehicle which I can't test drive............

Stangar

With the economy in shambles, go ask for a test drive a couple of days before the election. The C63 is starting to pile up on dealer lots. All new C63's and the number of them that each M-B dealer has, with a description, can be found on www.autotrader.com. Search for your new car and know what they have when you arrive. Some dealers have 9 or 10 of 'em and if you are serious will allow test drives. In SoCal, they are not selling as fast as everyone on this site believes.

dlbello

What you should do is give your dealer a large deposit (2K + which would be refundable unless you sign something saying different) before the test drive so that he understands you're a serious buyer. (I would recommend the the Full PP package, I test driven both and have the Full PP now... its simply GREAT!) For the small price difference vs parts added would be senseless Not to get the PP... Its a sports car so you want as many PP options available for this car, its awesome

dlbello

BTW... Don't listen to people saying that the lots are filled with C63 cause they are full of it... You may see some left overs from people rejecting the botched PP packages but thats it! I travel alot and have been to many city's across the U.S. visiting mulitable MB dealers and most of what you might see are already spoken for or are on a long back order list depending on dealer, options needed. In my case CF was back ordered and took a while.

lomita

What constitutes a botched PP package?

blazinginder

^ assume he meant not the "full" PP

paulGT3

I got a botched PP, Its simply the car without the PP but WITH the LSD and the
delimited top speed. Sorta of a PP lite.
no springs or Steering wheel or brakes.
The springs are easily replaceable. The steeting wheel is the thing I miss.

dlbello

Exactly Not a Full PP...

***Just the LSD and I think the de-limiter.

***NO Alcantara steering wheel, PP brakes 2 piece rotors, PP suspension

lomita

I could live with the LSD without PP suspension, however, want to make sure before I drive the stake in. Too bad the LSD isn't offered as a stand alone option.

paulGT3

Lomita
if you are willing to take the LSD only and you live in SoCal then look for one with the PP lite and Make them DEAL!!!
if you can find one you should be able to get some off MSRP.
and being in SoCal that helps but hurts too.
You should be able to find one but the demand is so
high (they arent piling up on the lots-there are USED ones however)
it might be hard to get a GREAT deal

beemaze

I recently picked up the C63 with full PP package. I also drove a non PP C63 a few months back. So not exactly a back to back comparison. I'm coming off a C55. IMHO, the C63 with full PP is definitely stiffer over the harsh, bumpy road surfaces than either the non PP C63 or C55. That being said, it's not that bad. I would say it's more akin to a Porsche Carrera S I drove with the PASM on sport mode, but not bad at all. The C63 with full PP is very smooth over well paved roads and corners flatter than the C55. I'm very pleased, and knew what I was getting into when I ordered it back in July. There will always be some tradeoffs with a track-tuned type of set up.

Regards.

Deeroff

Drove them back-to-back on the same day on the same crappy roads in New York City. Got the Full PP - slighter more stiff, but a bit more controlled too.

And driving it over the last short while in NYC with full PP has confirmed I made the right choice (for me)

ashva

Not sure what cities you visit but there are at least 12 of them between 3 MB dealers in this area (DC). Not sure about turnover at all these dealers but I work near one of them and the same car has been in the showroom for at least 2 months now.

lomita

Have the feelers out with several agencies now for a test drive with the PP package option.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback.

We are pretty sure we'll be going with performance suspension.

Stangar

There must be a lot of transplants from Missouri in NYC. The OP lives in SoCal somewhere and within 50 miles of Beverly Hills there are 49 (forty nine) 2009 C63's presently available. Checkout the link: http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/search...nerid=47002480

dlbello

+10 You got it right Did the same test driven both several times in the course of my travel's... If you have the chance and time, you'd be fool not to Just my 2 cents

dlbello

I see the posts from the guys in LA and DC area,,, Those are 2 city's I had not been in, in a while. Also the break down of banks, stock market and the economy has taken a toll in past several weeks. Since I got my car, its now been close to 4 weeks from my last visit to these dealers... But I'm still willing to bet that some of those cars were ordered with the full PP and were Botched (lite PP) and rejected by the buyer... I've seen it here in NY and they are also sitting in show rooms. The PP package is well spent money for what your getting as a Full C63 sport package.

passcheco

Besides over 50% of all AMG comes here (USA), the irony is that here we have the darn speed limit, also California refunds your deposit no question asked a dealer can manipulate inventory and get more cars in and sale cars at MSRP all day long, so what if one here or there gets sold at below MSRP changes are they make up on finance charges or trade.

Childish///AMG

I really want to get a "New" car