Stiller

Newbie to this forum, but i've been trolling for a while. I was driving by my local MB dealer and decided to take a look at the C63. Smart salesman put me behind the wheel and gave me the keys. As you can imagine I was blown away. I've got an S4 that I use as a daily driver. Love the power and the fact that it's a year round driver. I've had my share of fun, powerful cars, including a great 993 C4S and an E430 (BMW 530 excluded). I actually chose the S4 over the RS4 based on my perception that the extra power of the RS4 was unnecessary other than to boost my ego.

Given that I'm afflicted with this obsession (you know what I mean), I can't get the C63 out of my head. The only detraction in my mind is the lack of a stick. But then I think back to my decision when I bought the S4 and I have to wonder if I'm just punch drunk over the power of the C63 (and the amazing sound of that exhaust). I know from reading posts here that many people think the comparison between the S4 and the C63 is apples to oranges and I don't necessarily disagree. But again I have to wonder how often that extra power will really come into play. How much is enough-or is it never enough?

tc1728

too much is never enough for some, but for a DD, I would think that a 300hp V6 with 25+mpg is enough for me. TC

HIRO63

Always not enough. You just get used to it and want more power so you tune it or buy more powerful car.

DTMCLK

if power is not enough, have more woman... to give you that extra power after hour..

shchow

When I was a kid, 300hp was supercar territory.
As I got older, I felt that 400-500hp was probably the limit of usable power for a DD.
But with the increased safety requirements and added weight, I'm starting to feel 500-600hp is probably a fair number. Anything more, you're just burning rubber.
I'm sure my feelings will continue to evolve...

Dads C63

I have to say that more power is always good but you reach a point to where your desire to race/go fast now overcomes your common sense for a daily driver. My C63 has been my DD ever since I got it nearly two years ago and 24,000 miles ago. Many scurmishes with the competition from time to time but nothing dangerous or stupid until last month. I got into a scurmish with a 996TT and it was on. We were in 5:00 traffic and both of us lost our senses. We exceeded the limits many times and both of us ended up getting stopped by an unmarked car. Fortunately for us both the cop had pitty on us because we were both older and "should" have known better. Paid the fine and took the traffic school on line and bought a 2005 Diesel Excursion with over 100,000 miles on it for my DD. You can reach a point to where too much power every day is NOT good for your mind and senses. I know I never thought I would say that but its true. Too large of a temptation for every day driving. Now she only gets out occassionally and the weekends.

Quadcammer

If you don't have the self control not to street race, you shouldn't be driving any car.

Dads C63

Who said anything about street racing. We were just trying to keep up with each other at different times.

Sincity

You guys got lucky. So how fast were you guys going and what speed did you get written up for?

C63RAT

I can never get enough. I hear what you are saying.
I seem to buy a faster more powerful car every time I buy a new ride. You cant go wrong with a C63.

Peter_02AMG

+1 I'm not going to racing every cars that pull up next to my Porsche and rev their engine. In my mind I already won, why show off.

SebringSilver

Our perceptions are skewed because we spend time on forums like MBWorld, where lots of people have fast, powerful cars. That's why it seems like 451 bhp isn't enough.

Out in the real world, you have to remember these cars are in the 99th percentile of all cars when it comes to power and speed.

tgoss

Well said

Still though, I can't get enough. When you start to get comfortable with a power level it's always nice to add something else to remap the butt dyno

Stiller

I think part of it is just evolution. My 1996 Porsche had around 280 horsepower, as did my 99 E430. Both were quick and fun to drive (although obviously in completely different ways). Now an E350 is 270 and the 550 is 380, and a 997 C4S has 385 hp. I thought I'd reached nirvana with my S4 (340 hp), which was noticeably quicker than my old Porsche. But the C63 was--wow! So I guess I'm being pulled along with the ever-increasing horsepower trend (happily!). Great time to be a car enthusiast.

jvanbrecht

As Tim from "Home Improvement" would say.... "More Power ... *and a bunch of grunts*"

I will say, having only had my c63 for about 2 months now... I feel the need for more power.... or maybe I just need to reset the stupid adaptive throttle control...

I have had an odd selection of cars since 96.. started with a 94 Cavalier Z24, Dodge Daytona Shelby, 96 Ford Probe GT, 01 Jetta 1.8t to 07 Camry hybrid.... To the C63

I have been happy with most of those cars at some point (except for the Camry.. I blame my wife for that..) regardless of the power of said vehicle.. That say.. none of them, or for that matter, any car I have rented or driven, comes close to the power of the C63... and I find that tame sometimes.. mostly because I drive in cruise mode in rush hour traffic...

wuyichao

i prefer weigh loss instead of gaining power.

to me, handling > raw power

chief63

+1. I was lapping last Sunday on a rainy day and a short twisty track. I realized I was using about 30% of my power and 100% of tire and handling. When I can drive the car without traction control at 100% on a track (mostly losing traction accelerating out of turns) I'll add more power.. so after the LSD and tire upgrade!

wuyichao

you gotta love how our cars feel when you exit a turn.

We had to roll down front windows for some safety reasons, and drivers in cars that I passed by told me that our cars sounded insane! After a few track events, I like my car even more. It's low profile outside but it's a beast within!

blindfold

Power: too much is just enough.

C63newdude

It is not all about the power. Unfortunately one of the huge list of downside that the C63 AMG has is the power/weight ratio. The engineer did a good job on the suspension, seats, brakes, power and all that but they never took the car weight serious enough thus it really doesn't matter how much power the C63 AMG has since the weight is the other 50% factor.

My 286hp EvoIX was already trapping higher speeds than my C63 AMG with just a 3" exhaust, tune and boost controller (power estimated of 350hp with those mods).

Botton line, don't just look at the power, look at other things like weight and traction. My .2c

Hans Delbruck

from Wikipedia:
The following quote has been attributed to (Mark) Donohue: "If you can make black marks on a straight from the time you turn out of a corner until the braking point of the next turn, then you have enough horsepower."

SebringSilver

And that's coming from a guy who drove the 1,200 hp 917-30 Can Am.

MikeS54

for a RWD car you can have as much as hp as possible as long as you don't get over 500ft/lb of torque. For a awd though the more of everything the better!

soldier2304

I remember when I test drove the C63 for the first time. It actually scared the **** outta me when the salesman told me to step on the gas and I thought to myself "I'm going to kill myself in this". Almost 2 years later people that sit in my car get scared if I even punch it a little bit and I'm like nothing cuz I've gotten so used to the power I dont even feel it anymore. Power is addicting....It's like a drug!

x838nwy

Say, about 10-20whp more than the guy next to you at the lights.