IAA-C63

I received the notice yesterday for my complimentary seat in the AMG Driving Academy. I'm looking at attending the basic training in June at Lime Rock Park. Any thoughts? Have any of you attended this? Opinions and tips would be appreciated.

black-clk500

Just completed this training yesterday.
I was absolutely blown away by the whole event.
All of the instructors and modules were great.
The SLS is a complete beast and by far the best track car there, including the CLKBS (which they retired and only allow hot laps with an instructor driving.)
Tommy Kendall was one of the instructors I went with, awesome dude and what a blast to sit shogun with a pro in a great car.

IMO everyone on this site needs to do this as car guys.
They let you thrash these cars all day long, no waiting around and the instructors are all good dudes and want you to have fun.
At the end of the day, we were all tired and worn out, but in a good way.
I even lost the SLS in a tight turn at the end of the day and I spun out in the grass pretty far, it was awesome.
I'm a very aggressive driver and not scared of pushing a car, so by the end of the day you're really pushing these cars hard and to your limit as a driver.
My two instructors and other car in my group were all laughing about my spin out and you could tell the instructors liked that I was pushing the car.

If you want more info pm me any questions.
I said a few times throughout the day it was some of the best money I've ever spent and I will do it again in a heart beat.
The food for breakfast and lunch was quality and the set up was very professional and 5 star.
All of the workers were full smiles and very curtious.
Go all day long, you will have a blast

black-clk500

BTW after driving the other cars, especially the SLS our little Cs seem like cheap plastic toys--hahaha.
All of the cars were fully optioned with carbon ceramic brakes, carbon fiber everything, even the E63 were fully optioned with CF, all C63 were P31

Just awesome, go register right now

mthis

what color group were you in.

mthis

You will love this program, i had a smile on from ear to ear,
all you have to do is follow the line and you will master it all,
once my video is up ill post it,

black-clk500

I was in the Black group, Jeff Rodrigues was my instructor.
It was awesome wasn't it?

I was pleasantly surprised with the little AutoX in the SLK 55, I always thought that was a chicks car, but those little suckers could move

mthis

I was in yellow. Sry we took the win lol.
I was the one the got 2nd place in auto x
D's u have fun?

black-clk500

nice job, so you got the Meguiars bucket of goodies, right.
Sorry I didn't know who you were I would have said hello.

Pretty nice gift bag at the end of the day too.

Yeah it was awesome, what did you think of the SLS?
Even the new E63 w/ alcantara headliner, leather dash and CF trim looked great--our C63 looked so cheap inside after being in those cars

black-clk500

BTW, this is proof you should have been the driver for us in the Forum War debacle from past

I hit a cone so I got a 2 sec penalty and lost some time, sucks because I would have had a good time, otherwise, oh well I guess when the pressure is on I folded like a cheap suit

mthis

The SLS was amazing I love that car (who don't)
Yea I got a nice gift but it will take 4-6months to get lol by winter time.
Yes sir does E classes are amazing inside Out car looked like civics inside lol. (not really)

Next time I'll do.
The who thing on the auto x is no sliding or spinning. I would have gotten 1st place but I saw what I could do and got a lil fancy.

Jonathan G.

I was there yesterday also.
I was in the blue group and a red SLS also spun out following me in a gorgeous black or dark gray with a tobacco brown/ black carbon fiber SLS.
I embarrassingly showed up in my red Audi S4 because my CLS55 had a flat.
The whole course was first rate , from the food to the instruction.
Great camaraderie between all the grown up men and 2 women there- like kids in a candy store taking off a day from work!
I enjoyed speaking with the AMG brand managers there from MBUSA.
Highly recommended!

This was my first time really pushing a C63 and I was very impressed with it.
It was probably my second favorite ride after the SLS at limerock. I came away feeling that the C63 could have performed even better but was limited by it's relatively small rear tire size. IMHO, MB should have flared the rear fenders a little to allow fatter rubber! An adaptive suspension like my CLS55 has and the C63 competitors, current S4 & M3, offer would also be a great addition to the C63 in allowing comfortable family transporting and firm track adjustability.

IAA-C63

Thanks for all the responses on this. I've signed up for June 16 at Lime Rock and am really looking forward to it. Will anyone else from this forum be there?

I'm considering driving up there from Maryland, since the total trip time wouldn't be much longer than flying. As an alternative to I-95, does anyone know of a more scenic route?

cbcharlie

i'll be there june 15th! can't wait

Jon2007E63P30

At advanced training at Laguna Seca. Jeff is on the left. Yeah, don't miss this if you have the chance.

I guess the CLK63BS was retired after a student driving one rear ended an instructor at Laguna Seca.

BK63amg

Man I am so jealous! I attended the AMG Performance Tour in Monticello, NY a couple weeks back and had a blast! I'm patiently waiting for my chance to attend the Driving Academy!

jeshie7

Im actually signed up to go tomorrow june 14th and I'm sitting at the Interlaken inn. I'm curious to see how it is now after reading about the great reviews. Should be a great experience, I will keep you guys posted if your interested.

jesh

IAA-C63

I just finished the AMG Driving Academy Basic Training at Lime Rock. Everyone else's praise is right on the money. It was a great experience in every way, and I strongly recommend the course to anyone who's into driving but has never taken a course like this in the past. There's much to learn, and this course is a great way to do it. I definitely plan to take more performance driving courses.

Here are some things that really stood out in my mind:

- ESP is vital tool. Don't turn it off unless you really know what you're doing (not just think you know).

- The C63 holds its own against the other AMGs. It does feel a bit "cheaper" than some of the others, especially the E63 and SLS, but it's nimble and quite controllable. I agree with others that it probably needs wider tires.

- The SLS is nice, but not as nice as I expected for the price.

- The E63 handled better than I expected. Doesn't roll or float around as much as I feared.

- Power is a real asset on the track. In fact, on the track, all of these cars feel underpowered compared to the power I'd like to have.

ZephyrAMG

Post some pics. We all know you took your camera and took a ton of pics. Don't be shy. Let's see you looking all goofy wearing your AMG helmet...

Waiting for the pics.

IAA-C63

One more thing. When I arrived at the Interlaken Inn parking lot, I counted four S63s, three E63s, four GL450s, and one SL63. My car was the only C63. It was a similar mix of cars at the Lime Rock parking lot, and I also saw an SLS there.

Shows the demographic of the people attending these events (though there were a lot of industry people there too, which I don't really count).

It was an odd experience to think that I came in the "cheap" car. Almost everywhere else, I'm driving the expensive car.

ZephyrAMG

So post your pics already

IAA-C63

I didn't actually take any pics or videos (just wanted to be in the moment), but MB took a lot of them, and they should be online within a few days.

IAA-C63

A few more thoughts from my experience at Lime Rock:

- When I drive the C63 as my daily driver, it feels a bit heavy, but on the track it feels fairly light, especially in comparison with the E63 and maybe also the SLS. Too bad they didn't have any S63s there.

- The sound of the different cars is noticeably different. Compared to the C63, the E63 has a lower, deeper, and smoother sound. The SLS is even lower and deeper, but more raw, like a true muscle car (I like it!).

- When you're trying to push these cars towards the limit on the track, your focus really shifts compared to driving on the road. You don't really even notice things like the comfort of the seats, texture of the steering wheel, etc. Instead, your attention shifts almost entirely toward the feel of brakes, traction of the tires, engine revs, etc.

- Overall, as someone else said, it was the funnest single day of my life. Every car/driving enthusiast must have an experience like this at least once.

Jim's500E

I was there on the 13th...how did you get a 'complimentary' seat??? You be lucky !

My 5th time doing the Academy at LRP...it never gets old. My favorite car was the SL63 this time around, don't ask me why but it felt the best on the track...the SLS while cool is not worth 200 large IMO. Especially with all the C-class parts on it (no offense to C-Class owners ) I expected more from it.

The SLK55s are a nice little performance package...agreed !!

cbcharlie

screw waiting for them to update there website, found it myself hah...

http://www.amgacademyvideos.com/inde...&video_id=1613

my video from June 15th.

Videos from the 14th...
http://www.amgacademyvideos.com/inde...217&Itemid=137
Videos from the 15th...
http://www.amgacademyvideos.com/inde...218&Itemid=137

IAA-C63

If you figure out where to find the June 16 videos, please let me know. I tried putting in a 219 instead of 218 in the url, but it didn't work.

Nice driving, btw. Fast enough to get some tire squeal.