Planning to Autocross my C63 w/ P30 - Recommended Settings?
 

So I did a lot of autox'ing with the 997.2S (which I sold before getting my C63).

The whole appeal of the C63 was its real performance cred along with the practicality... if the weather behaves I'm going to try to make an autocross on Sunday.

Question (especially for any members who've actually autocrossed a C63) is regarding -- what settings will usually give the fastest autox time?

1. Transmission options

- Comfort (ha, ha j/k)
- Sport
- Manual: Shift into 2nd gear on the first straight, then keep it there [this is what a lot of autox'ers who drive 6spd's do]

2. ESP options

- Regular
- ESP Sport
- ESP Off [I don't even know how to do this, my ESP button just seems to go between normal and sport]

Anyone have recommendations? :nix:

I am leaning towards:

- Transmission: Manual [2nd gear]
- ESP Sport

I already went ahead and got a new set of tires since the old set were a little worn :y

Oh and I do have the P30 pckg with LSD... and the new tires are Pzero's.

Thanks in advance... This forum has been a gold mine during my (long) research process and (so far, short) ownership experience....

Heavy car to auto cross in, but it will be fun. I took mine once. Give all the power it was more like a drift car. Hard to keep the back end tucked in. Just get started in first then leave it in second. ESP sport to start with. Turning it off may actually lower your times. If you have the 19" wheels, you might consider picking up a set of 18" for autocross days. 18" tire and wheel combos are lighter the the tires much cheaper.

At the risk of sounding stupid (oh well, it's just the internet) I've never checked if the wheels are 18 or 19. I guess I just assumed they are 18's, that is what comes standard on a P30 2009 C63 right?

As I recall that year had 19" wheels. At least it's easy to check.

I walked my lazy butt out to the garage... they are 18"s :-)

Sounds like I'm all set then,

1. 18's w / fresh tires
2. Tranny in M (2nd gear)
3. ESP to SPORT

That sounds right to me. Maybe I am a bad driver but in my 997.2 my fastest times were always with: Sport plus automatic (redline each gear) PDK mode, and traction control fully ON. AlTHOUGH, traction control OFF always looks much cooler ;-)

The C63 is a very fun car but its too nose heavy for the track and the rear is too light.
To turn off ESP just hold down the ESP button to turn it off.
Use M mode for track.
Get yourself some track oriented tires
-TOYO R888
-Dunlop Direzza Star Spec
-Bridgestone Potenza RE-11
-Michelin Sport Cups.
-Nitto NT05 or NT01

Call me crazy but I am a hardcore believer that the C63 is not made for AutoX. I just don't see myself throwing 2 tons of car left and right in 90 degrees turns with bycicle tires in the back smoking.
Have you consider just grabbing a used Mazda Miata and just leave the C63 at home?

I hate to say it but I agree with you, I really don't consider a C63 a track car.
I consider a GT3/RS a true track car, Lotus Elise, GT-R or even a Mazda Miata like you mentioned.

Wife says I can only have 1 car. :-)

And no, it isn't "made for" autocross. But it's a compact sedan with an enormous engine... why not have some fun with it?

https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...k-mhp-c63.html

You can get them moving around the track pretty well with the right set up ;-)

GT3 RS and Elise are certainly true track cars, but a GTR??? The GTR is a heavy car with so many electronic nannies that it just about drives itself and isn't much faster around a track then a properly set up C63.

To get back on topic to the OP's question, if you are going to Auto-X the C63 I would suggest ESP sport or off (depends on your skill level) and manual mode for the trans. If you can swing it I would definitiely recommend getting some really sticky tires as they will help immensely.

i would try s and then select 2 or 3 and esp sport. it wont go any higher than the gear you selected. that way it will shift up or down as needed.

Chief, way to show those guys what r=the C63 can do! I love taking mine to the track and having fun with the Porsches and M3s...:D

Just got home from the autocross. It was held at the Tire Rack test track which is an awesome venue for an autocross!

Thoughts on autox'ing a C63:

1. I can confirm, ESP=Sports and Transmission=Manual,2nd gear is the way to go.

2. Even among some 911's with aftermarket exhausts, the sound coming from the C63 was 'competitive' ;-)

3. The C63 was a blast to autocross in general (especially this course which had some longer straightaways, and pretty gentle curves)

4. Is the C63 a competitive autocross car? Not at the highest levels. If you really want to win some competitive autocrosses, you'll probably be wanting a dedicated auto-x car, and the C63 would NOT be a good choice for that. Also, if this had been a very tight course with a lot of tight turns in sequence, I feel the C63 would have been at a disadvantage.

5. BUT the C63 is PERFECTLY autocrossable... balanced, powerful (obv), pretty nimble (much more than anyone expects a MB sedan to be), etc. I might say it's a B- auto-x car in terms of competitiveness but it's a solid A for how much FUN it is to auto-x (lots of high rev engine noise and lots of tire squeal :y ... plus it has the sleeper factor going for it where no one expects a MB to be so nimble and bada$$ )

Overall I do auto-x and track days for the FUN factor and I'm probably about an average performance driver on a track or course, and the C63 was extremely fun today. I'm glad I made the move into the AMG and I hope to see some more AMG owners autocrossing in the future! :)

much more than the M guys have made me think, I got to sit and ride in a P30 C63, its quite something.

I do agree with you about the GTR having alot of electronic aids but is indeed a track car imo. I really wouldn't count on a C63 (even if its setup for the track) hanging with a GT-R around the track.
You cant argue with 7min 24sec around the Nurburgring.

Well I never thought I would be one of those t00ls who posted youtube videos of themselves in their cars ;-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LnD8KOJASM

the wife youtubed a vid of the C63 autocrossing. I'm not the best autox'er out there by a long shot but I'm not a noob either. As you can see the C63 isn't the limiting factor, the driver is... the C63 is indeed competitive with the p-cars and M3's, depending on the course / track.

That GTR had more doping than Lance Armstrong. The thing was so juiced Snokie wanted to date it.

I don't know that I agree with that. Tires and driver can make all the difference. I run my C55 at the races, it depends on the tracks. Tight tracks favor the civics, mini's and miatas. Open tracks favor power, GTR's are 4100 lbs and running fast time of the day. Unfortunately, the C55 gets placed with the EVO's and STI's in Touring Sedan, the 06 EVO's are the fastest cars on the track and about 4 sec ahead of me in a relatively stock car. I can say I am on par with all the German cars and mustangs.

A competitive autocross P-car is a 914-6, BMW it's 2002tii, Lotus just about all of them. AMG has never made and most likely never will make a good autocross car. It's not their mission. You can't have the comfort, power and torque with the light nimbleness required for autocross. As stated lots of Japanese cars will embarrass a C63 at autocross. But who spends all their time racing around cones in parking lots in second gear. I'd rather have something that can handle more daily driving with both speed and comfort.

For the record I assume that all the comments trashing the C63's track abilty (and the GTR???) reference AutoX specifically. If not then I would suggest you put down the magazine and come out to a HPDE. There are hours of video links posted where MBWorld members dominate these events, passing all the pure track cars mentioned in previous posts.

Agree with everything you said, except for the "dominating these events' part!
I have done a minimum of 12 - 15 track weekends each year for the past three years. Unfortunately, it is incredibly rare to see an MB at any track events, at least here on the East coast.
Also, I have never seen an MB "passing all the pure track cars". Many of those Porsches, BMWs (and GT-Rs!) are incredibly fast around a race track.

Well, check my vid if you think the C63 "is not an autocross car".

Did I have the best time of the day? No. Is the C63 going to out-hustle a Lotus or boxster around a tight course? No.

However the C63 wasn't a "bad" autocross car. First of all, it was a lot of fun to autocross especially on a course which wasn't too tight. Second, yes, it (or I) was faster than some of the other drivers times, so I guess you have to define "competitive".

I admit you don't think "autocross" when you think "AMG" BUT the whole point of the C63, for me, was that this was an all-new side of AMG we hadn't seen before. Don't autocross your S class AMG, but DO autocross your C63 if you want to have some fun with it !

With any car regardless of class, it boils down to set up and driver. Even in stock classes, nothing is stock. Suspension settings can be altered to a degree, tires and rims can be changed. Then there is the driver factor.

So out of the 140 cars that show up on any given weekend at a Seattle autocross, I am the only benz. That doesn't mean they are not fast, it just means no one wants to try.

I run in what would be considered a limited bolt on modification class but the only thing I am running is camber bolts and different tires against completely modified and gutted EVO's and STI's so I don't think I am too far off the pace. Even the GTR that run's fast time of the day, does it on Hoosier race rubber.

Warning, if you show up on the stock Conti's or Pirelli's, you'll be ice skating. No one uses them for good reason, they are garbage. Read up at Grassroots Motorsports on tire selections and prep.