ctown113

Hey Friends,

I know this is somewhat of a difficult question to answer, but I will ask and explain as best I can
I was doing about 75-80mph on the highway, traffic was pretty light, and I approached a moderately sharp bend to the right in the road.
As I was "taking the turn", an ALARM went off in my head, and my car just didn't feel very responsive to the turn... I felt a lot of under steer and felt like if I didn't hit the brakes and slow down a bit, I would've crashed in to the guard rail.
Now, considering the speed limit is 55mph, and I was doing about 75mph before I started braking, I would've thought the C63 would've taken that turn with no problems.... Not the case at all.
So my question is, given I started to loss traction and control, would the DSC activate and help me out of the turn? Or would I have just ended up sideways, sliding into a 180 spin or into the guard rail?
Maybe it's because I was SO used to the well balanced e92 M3 and just NOT used to such a nose heavy car, hence just overreacting? Or, are our cars really just great on the straight aways, but WATCHOUT on the turns?
I don't know how to drift, so that would be out of the question

Jeez, if I was doing 100mph+, I wouldn't be asking this... Also, I only have about 1100 miles on the car. Maybe I just need to get more used to it??

Thanks for any input.

Happy and Safe Driving

I am Jeff

I've never had any problems doing 20 over the posted limit in turns. Were there a lot of debree on the road? Road conditions play a huge factor.

izzyAMG

Check my CnC video out and you can see how a c63 turns really well in a 360º off ramp, lol.

Vie

It's hard for me to imagine the road, but you have to hit the apex of the turn and let the steering wheel spin....best thing? check out youtube for the visual. This car is a beautiful drifter...but you got to know what you're doing....hard for me to explain safely......

Merc63

So you were doing 20 over the limit and thought the car was gonna go into the guard rail? I find that very difficult to comprehend.

I have never experienced under-steer while driving a C63, just massive over-steer.

Frankly, I think you panicked. You need to take the car out to an empty parking lot where no one is around and learn to drive it lol.

GBlansten

Didn't you just post this: "After being an ///M fan and owner of the Z4M and E92///M3, I took a C63 for a test drive... the only question I asked myself was,
"WTH was I THINKING ALL THESE YEARS???!??!?!?"

C63 > M3..."

While I find the M3 handles more crisply than the C63 I still felt the C63 was really planted at 75 in 55 mph sweepers. I was more careful accelerating in turns with the C63 because of the narrower back tires and the higher torque. But on the streets the C63 could handle well enough to inspire confidence.

I'm not sure what happened to you.

ctown113

Pardon me, yes, OVER STEER

-Marlin-

Wierd. I can't compare it to an M3-I've never had one, but I can say it handles great and I wouldn't think you would have had a problem in that scenerio.

Sometimes, not being able to see the out of a turn, can make you more defensive and quicker to hit the brake. This kind of driving can have more to do with spinning out than powering through.

IStern

lifting and hitting the brakes mid corner can cause oversteer, and make the situation worse if the tail is already out.

ctown113

LOL.. Yes, that was me. THIS was the 2nd question
I agree about the car feeling planted. However in this situation, it almost felt OVER planted? It felt like I was turning the wheel to the right but the car just felt like it wanted to keep heading toward the car to my 11 oclock and the guard rail...
In detail, I was in the left of a 3 lane highway (FDR Drive NYC South)..
I hit a short straight away and punched it to about 75-80mph...
Soon enough I see car ion front of me, and the bend up ahead...
So, without braking, I was attempting to take the bend (I had my foot off the gas)and also slip into the middle lane in order to pas the car that was in front of me before then turn.. Wow, after just explaining that, I guess it was more than just a "bend".. It was the bend + moving over a lane against the turn.
All in all, I had to hit my brakes (nice and smooth, not abruptly at all), but I felt that *Phwew.. that could've turned out bad if my rear tires slid out* feeling..

as someone mentioned above, I will take her to an empty parking lot, and mess around a little bit to get a better feel for this car, because quite frankly, I'm whenever I start weaving in and out at speeds above 75+..
Maybe I'm just getting old too... Heck, I used to drive my 1994 Honda Prelude like a SERIOUS MANIAC when I was 17 yrs old (18 years ago) and never lost control...

All in All, as always,
thanks for your input, much appreciated!

GBlansten

Stay safe but have as much fun as possible.

Vie

also, as was said, braking in the turn is not a good thing. Before the turn, indeed...drifting takes ***** for a newbie, and can be very difficult on unfamiliar roads for anyone....go to a huge shopping center at midnight after a rain and have a ball...then do it on bone dry pavement: you have arrived....'tis a real ***** tingler...

Merc63

Ok so you got OVER STEER? As in the back end wanted to come out??

That is a feeling we all have experienced. If you had ESP on, the car wouldn't allow it to happen unless you really really got into it hard..


Again, you need to take the car out to a open parking lot with no one around, take ESP off totally and intentionally try to throw the back end out and learn to control it.

Once you get a feel for the back end you can just power through those over steers and smoke the tires a bit. Just takes practice

Also, like the other guy said, hitting the brakes hard will throw the car into a slide or even worse over steer. I would suggest letting off the throttle and letting the car settle back down.

gthal

Two comments...

First, I find the C63 as planted and predictable in corners as my M3. The only caveat is that you can induce oversteer easily with too much gas. However, I don't find the C63 understeers any more than the M3 did... if anything, I find it turns in more sharply.

Second, I would highly, HIGHLY, recommend some HPDEs and track time. I have no idea what your experience level is but based on what you are writing and how you describe the situation, I don't think you have a lot of experience driving near the limit and wonder whether you might get yourself in trouble pushing the car beyond your limits. I don't mean this at all in an offensive way but, for me, spending a lot of time at the track with an instructor was one of the best things I have ever done. It taught me car control at the limit and also helped show me where the limit was for me. I wouldn't want to find my limit by accident on a public street (no pun intended). Getting track experience will help you recognize and correct issues (like those you describe) and also know how to avoid them in the first place even when driving very aggressively. Best money I ever spent on me and my car. Cars with this much capability need to be respected as they can bite you hard and the only way to do that is instruction and track time IMO.

Also, DSC will help with oversteer... sometimes. If oversteer is due to lifting too abruptly, I don't know if DSC will help. If the car is understeering, again, I don't know that DSC will necessarily save you. Maybe. The DSC intervention, in my experience, is when you are too heavy footed on the gas and the car brakes or cuts power to pull the rear end back in and avoid power induced oversteer. It may help in other circumstances but I haven't noticed it if it does.

IStern

This is classic understeer, NOT oversteer. If you're confusing the 2, please go to an instructional trackday before you hurt yourself with this car.

BerBer63

your describing understeer...you probably target fixated on the rail and tightened up like a **** on prom, let off the gas didn't look through the turn and move your hands accordingly....basically you were going to fast for your level of skill (takes more to drive a c63 than m3)

Das Geld 2

The bend near E23rd or Right before the BK Bridge straight away(It's tight) but shouldn't be an issue. Just know the limits of your tires..

Ugh got work in a few hrs gn..

farhadahmad

man that video was done last week!! so many people and nice cars. btw im scared these days to lose control. was in a accident that prevents me from doing dumb stuff . ill get over it soon i hope so to makes videos .

ctown113

Thanks for the info... You were right on the money with a LOT of your comments. I always THOUGHT that I was a pretty good driver when it comes to speed, but after reading these posts, especially yours, I see how much I lack when it comes to driving at a high performance level... Who can't weave in and out of light traffic while pretty much going STRAIGHT? Apparently Me in this case. Lol..
I will look into HPDEs and try to get some track time in....
Thanks again..

ctown113

Will do! I just hope a COP doesn't catch me even doing that...
COPS around here (NNJ) don't really like that kind of stuff.. even if it's in a totally empty parking lot.

thanks again~

-Marlin-

Strafe1

Just so you know, you are entitled to a complimentary AMG Beginners Driving Instruction day for buying your 2012 AMG. Here you will learn the fundamentals of road course driving as well as handling characteristics of your car. Sign up!

ctown113

Good point on that. Maybe I can just tell or show the COP this thread?
Show him that I was doing it in good faith so that the next time I'm going HARD into a turn, I know what to do.

I guess I have only 1 choice. Take her to the TRACK, and meantime just drive in "C" or Civilized Mode.
"S" "S+" and "M" are a lot of fun too-

Off topic, I think I enjoy "S" vs "S+" for some reason.
How about you guys?

DuaneC63

You should have been able to take a 55 mph turn at 75mph without even using the brakes. Chalk it up to new car jitters. The DSC will cut power and even apply brakes to a one or more wheels individually to keep you out of trouble. I drive my car fairly hard and the DSC rarely kicks in while taking turns.

gthal

Maybe. If you are plowing into a corner (understeering) carrying too much speed then DSC may not be able to do much IMO. DSC can't overcome the laws of physics

Personally, I'm of the belief that relying on DSC too much to save your butt may not always work out well