PSDS Lead Instructor: "Damn fast Mercedes"
 

For all the track junkies out there who are tired of hearing how inadequate the C63 is for track duty read on.......

This past Sunday I was at Roebling Road Raceway testing out new tires, rotors, pads, seat and tune. In two weeks Keith and I will be there with a gathering of 40 close friends in what will be a VERY intense private rental so of course I wanted to shake off some of the rust ahead of time. I was VERY pleased with my lap times which were over 3 seconds better than my typical. The car was considerably faster than any other car in the white group and most of the black and red group cars as well.

http://i55.tinypic.com/30w3via.jpg


This was a PCA event (hats off to Coastal Empire for a very nice job) and Porsche Sport Driving School North America was providing demo rides in a pair of Cayman R's. I was their first customer of the morning and it was an amazing ride. It is incredible to see a pro keep the car at the maximum level of adhesion. The new Cayman R is really a track worthy car right off the lot!

http://i51.tinypic.com/300b029.jpg



At the end of the day, after we had switched the AMG back to street trim, a voice behind me said "that is one damn fast Mercedes!" Honestly we get a lot of positive feedback from other participants but when I turned around this time it was Cass Whitehead, lead instructor for PSDS who had been driving the red Cayman R and was on track with me on several occasions. He asked if the car had about 550 or 600 horsepower (good guess) and wanted to know what suspension changes had been done to make it handle the way it did. Needless to say I was on cloud 9 just talking shop with him for the next 15 minutes or so. His partner told me that he has a C300 for a daily driver but didn't realize it had Frankenstein for a sibling. All in all I have never felt better about AMG as I did chatting with these two professionals from the Porsche world.

That some fantastic numbers! I am headed for Laguna Seca for the AMG academy next month. I am really looking forward to see what the C63 and the other AMGs can do on a track with pro instruction. I have always been a 1/4 mile guy except for some kart racing. :y

Awesome report, and nice consistent lap times except for lap 6 . Traffic? Trap speeds like yours on a 2 mile course is what I call gettin' it done. :bow: Good luck at the private meet and give us a report

sweet, what suspension setup are you on?

Awesome story!!! :y

Curious: why does it say "Temperature: 32 F"?

You mention one of the items you were testing out was a tune. Which one?

I did pretty well a Buttonwillow a lil bit ago. There were only 3 M3's running faster than me, 2 had extensive mods (brakes, coilovers, tires, exhausts) and 1 only had NT05 tires the rest stock. I was completely stock, in fact he wasnt able to run faster than me till much later in the day after I had left. Annoying thing was I had issues with the tranny going into limp mode after a few laps :( was about 100 outside But had a blast with the car.

Jump to 3:20


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WzrWiviGQY

LOL, left the porsche in the dust....:y

LOL!!! I started around 3:10 and I was like, What am I looking for?? then I see the red C63 pass by bahahah. Good stuff. :y

HAHAHAHA! That pass made me rewind to verify the other cars were even moving!

You running the MHP v3 tune?

What an awesome fly by.:y

Howard,
Those are some great times!!! CONGRATS!!!!!!!! :y
Can't wait for another week so we can all run together!!
I'll be right behind you. :naughty:

Awesome stuff! LOVE seeing AMG's on the track! :zoom: :y

"It is incredible to see a pro keep the car at the maximum level of adhesion."

Sounds like you are making great progress with your lap times. It is really hard to drive at anything near 10/10's in your street car for one corner, let alone for a full lap. Keep looking for small gains and you will surprise yourself with how quick you can become without drama.
There is no way I would go out there in my street car 'cause I know how I get :zoom:
Although running around Sebring again would be a hoot. I haven't had that kind of fun since 1991:(

The Track master data comes from a $10 android app that I downloaded that day after the GT3 RS owner told me about it. It was more like 132 degrees out there and both my speedometer and Passport 9500 GPS were indicating maximum speeds of 151 mph?

The Hankook Z214's are a huge upgrade to R888's and the switch to MHP yielded much more power than I thought possible in that atmosphere.

LMAO, you took the point by from 2 cars ahead. Love it.

1:24s is smoking fast. Glad to hear the reported top speeds are off - I was thinking I must really be doing something wrong on the back!

I was actually stunned by those lap times as my previous best was 1:26.7 last November in much cooler weather. The list of changes made since then was lengthy and I don't really know what each contributed but I will take multiple 1:23's any day especially in the summer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAV-8zU8qoE
kinda boring video as the track was mostly clear, other 2 sessions were more interesting

Modifications:

MHP V3 Tune: noticably stronger acceleration and maximum speeds ~150mph

Sparko Evo Seat: very secure position and serious weight loss removing both front seats

Hawk DTC 70 front pads: huge difference over oem allowing much later braking. Killed momentum on occasion when over applied

Racing Brake 2pc front rotors: much lighter than eom need a pair for the rear as well

Hankook Z214's: DOT slicks provide much improved rear grip but still need to go from 275 up to 315 or better It is still a wild ride but the oversteer is managable, just wish there was enough traction to get on the throttle a little earlier and harder without the slide

What a great thread. I really enjoyed reading about your experiences with the different mods you were trying out.

Just wondering, what kind of brackets do you use to fit the lighter weight seat(s)?