esses

so, today was my first time out in my C63 sedan. Running with BMW club at NHMS, run group 1.

being april in New Hampshire, the morning temps were a chilly 35 degrees, and only warmed up to around 50 as the day went on.

First Session - hate is a strong word, but coming from a GT3, this car felt like a pig. i made the mistake of driving the same line as in the Porsche, and that simply doesn't work in this car. The weight transfers upset the balance in the chicanes, and i felt like i was fighting the car the whole time. i made the mistake of starting with 40 psi cold tire pressures, which rose them to 50 hot — making the tires feel greasy and locking up front tires under heavy braking. The ESP (in sport mode) kept flashing repeatedly powering up hills and in slow corners. I was really overdriving the car.

Second Session - better. i dropped my pressures to 35 cold, and the tires only reached about 45 hot, which was still too high, but better. as i picked up pace, i found it hard to brake consistently, with the brake pedal lacking feedback. the brakes were strong (no fade), but the feedback was not porsche-like. i drove a much wider line, braking deeper into the corners and giving the car more time to transition. it felt a lot more settled, and the ESP flashed very rarely.

Third Session - much more comfortable. i started the session at 32 psi, and the pressures settled at a comfortable 40 psi hot. i figured out how to trail brake consistently to rotate the car and allow it to put power down more effectively — with virtually zero ESP intervention.

Bottom line:
1. i will need better brake pads - pagid or pfc if available.
2. i cooked my front tires so i will need new tires soon - michelin ss
3. tranny works great in S+
3. it's not a GT3

AMGTTV8

LOL

By reading between the lines though, sounds like you had fun!?!

Nothing like driving these things in a place where you don't have to constantly look over your shoulder and pray that you aren't going to have your a$$ handed to you by the courts...

esses

yes - lots of fun.

Dads C63

Congrats, with time it gets much faster! Less tire pressure may help also.

natman316

No over heating issue?

esses

No over heating issues at all.

CoolBDPhenom03

I'd hope not in 50°F weather. Out west might be different.

Case1906

I bet you were the only Benz? How did you feel it performed against the M3s at the meet?

kaz109

Can't wait to take mine out to thunder hill this summer. Thanks for the list of things I need to do before I hit the track and glad u had fun

Mabuhay

There IS no substitute... which is why I also have my C4S and Boxster S!

esses

our run group consisted of a 996 GT2, a 430 Scuderia, 4 fully prepped (caged) e36 M3's and 2 stock e92 M3's. most of stock cars were in run group 2 and beyond, and this included most of e92's.

the C is as fast as any stock e92 in corners, and is faster corner to corner.

the car is really is slingshot: brake hard, turn in/rotate, get on the gas as soon as possible to keep the rear planted, accelerate hard to get to the next corner.

i prefer this car over an e92.

in my opinion, this is as good of a compromise car as you can get. it's a great 4 door daily driver, that can be tossed around on the track. it's NOT a track car however.

i weighed the car at the track - with a FULL tank of gas, 3930.

02Drunkenup

without you inside? surprised it didn't break 4K

esses

that weight is without me.

options are:
dev pack
lsd
multimedia
leather
carbon fiber trim
lighting package
keyless go

esses

i ordered new pads for it...looks like pagid rs19 has a fitment. these should make a huge difference, as i love them in my gt3.