Trying to figure out if that is what it is, and if so how to use it.
With the steering wheel controls scroll over left untill AMG lights up. then up 2 or 3 times and you see L1 --.--.--
I assume its a lap timer?

 

Yes, that is the lap timer. To start it, you press the +, press - to show your intermediate times, that time will display for 5 seconds. to stop press +. All this information is located on page 172 of your owners manual.

 

It is not really intuitive to use on the track when you are pretty busy. I've played around with it, but don't really use it. Do any track guys actually use it? Transponders are the way to go to really capture your lap times.

 

I use it. Just have to start timing on a straight when you have a second or two to think about it. You certainly need to practice before getting on track, though - it is not entirely intuitive, to put it mildly.

Would love a transponder, but they are sometimes banned at track events to avoid it becoming a "contest of speed".

 

The laptimer is cool I guess. My friend's car has a 0-60 and 1/4 timer which I would've maybe liked better. Probably not super accurate but more fun / useful I would think.

 

Today's smart phones have track apps that are far superior to using the in dash timer. "Track Master" is $10 and uses the GPS to record lap times, data log speed at all points on the track and gives visual reference to braking, coasting and acceleration. They may not be as capable as a product like Traq Mate but the price makes it a no brainer.

 

I personally never used the thing, besides experimenting with it. I'm more concentrated on the driving to worry about it.

 

Looks like the lap timer only increments in seconds. This is not very useful for 0-60 measurements.
I noticed there were red seconds marked on the clock face. Does anybody know what those are for? There is no second-hand in the clock and why are there red second marks in the clock face? Can it be used as a Chronograph?

 

Is your car US market? I don't have the red seconds, can you take a picture?
The function is on several pages and I played with it a bit, to see how I would use it for 0-60, but it has a report once you've done two or more times.
There are problems with using this for 0-60. Because you didn't reach 60, just because the speedometer shows 60. probably got to 55. it would have to be programed for 0-60 & 1/4 mile and I would say then it's accurate.

 

 

Ok, I thought you have the C63, we don't have this clock, but the Command NTG virtual clock and that doesn't have the red second numbers.

As far as the report, there paragraph was so long about the timer in the owner's manual that I skipped it, thinking I will never use this feature. But now I started to wonder if this could somehow do quarter mile or 0-60 so played with it.
Here's how you get the report:
Start the timer by hitting plus
Get a part time by hitting the minus
Hit the minus again, starts a secondary timer
As the secondary timer runs, there are now two timers on the screen and the initial timer is now called BT
the new top timer is now called L2
You can repeat the steps above, I stopped at L8
Then stop the secondary timer by touching one minus

Then start using the left side controls.
I started by using the arrows, forgot whichone.
Now the report shows up and it has as many pages as you had part timers.

to move to the next page or previous page use the arrows.
when you're done you have to press the ok button and it asked you to choose yes or no reset timer

Now the first page of the report which is titled BT I think, is the interesting one. In it is maximum speed achieved and distance travelled and so on.

In theory, this could somehow be used to do some sort of quarter mile or such timing.
Edit: can't get anything more out of this timer.

 

 

 

Eh. I never use it. The W205s have 1/4 mile timer and 0-60 timers IIRC, which would be neat. My friend's SRT Charger has all that tho, and it's the same year as my C63 lol.

 

 

I agree that as Blkrokt put it, it's a toy and it's useless in its current format.
But here's what bothered me:
Corporate doesn't spend development money to create something this complicated (although German engineering is by definition complicated), in order to make a toy, something with no functionality.
So I set out to read the owner's manual of the Black series.
Only, there is no owner's manual of the Black series.
The existence of the black series is not acknowledged in the list of manuals on MBUSA.
I've looked 2012-2014.
Then the Command manuals don't provide any evidence of the existence of the Performance media at all.
You may wonder what this has to do with the current topic.
Well, in one of the early magazine tests of the Black Series, claims were made by the guys testing it:
That it does satellite track recognition, that it does unassisted lap timing and so on, all via the Performance media unit..

So, finally I found that. It's an Owner's manual add on brochure..

I'll start by telling you my opinion.
1.What corporations do is to develop a system that works on everything. But they only give it to you, if you pay ALL the $$$ they are asking for the product (just paying C63 $$ is not enough, C63 Black, or 507 $$ AND extra $$ for the performance media option).
If you don't pay everything, they'll give you bits and pieces that won't seem to make sense.

2. This Performance Media thing is far from being a joke or a toy. It certainly has the SAME line items (as well as many other important) features, with the SAME symbols, only now it's autostart and automatic lap ending detection. My opinion is that this system was always designed to be there and the on board lap timer was always designed to rely upon the performance media detecting the satellites and measuring upon motion start, with no human input. But, my logic is that since once you read the performance media owner's manual, you'll see that this must have been the idea from the get-go, meaning from PFL, it has to be that PFL can do performance media. Of course, you'd have to buy the expensive box and simple t-in wiring harness, but the whole business of having to have the facelift selector wheel, because the AMG button plugs into that, I really have to look at the wiring harness. Maybe PFL it just goes direct and replaces the connection from the wheel to the command.

Anyway, here's what the Performance media does:
0-60, based on GPS and timing based on car getting in motion, without driver input.
1/4 mile, the same way
Temperatures, coolant, transmission, engine
Record your track: once you're at the track, you record satellite information into the box and then it knows the track where you are at.
Once you did this, it uses the same lap timer, only now it knows you've started and it knows you completed the lap, you don't press anything.
It gives you more data output, like segment speed and a nice table.
The well known power and torque screen as well as braking force and G screen.

here's a link to the manual

Performance media