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

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
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....
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 ;-)
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
Have you consider just grabbing a used Mazda Miata and just leave the C63 at home?
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Have you consider just grabbing a used Mazda Miata and just leave the C63 at home?
I consider a GT3/RS a true track car, Lotus Elise, GT-R or even a Mazda Miata like you mentioned.
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
You can get them moving around the track pretty well with the right set up ;-)
You can get them moving around the track pretty well with the right set up ;-)
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
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!
You cant argue with 7min 24sec around the Nurburgring.
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.

Have you consider just grabbing a used Mazda Miata and just leave the C63 at home?
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.
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 !

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.


