st3v

Coming from BMWs, I have experienced turbo lag and it does bother me. I've also driven various naturally aspirated cars. I greatly prefer the feeling of the NA engine.

According to this Autoweek review for the C63S, "The only complaint we had was the transmission’s engagement at throttle tip-in with a noticeable period of lag before things engage and you get moving." This is slightly alarming, and I'm not sure this is regarding the turbos or transmission. It is the punch of initial engagement which determines a lot of the ride enjoyment for me.

I would for sure test drive the car before I consider placing an order. However, I was wondering if anyone has driven any similar Mercedes cars with a Biturbo engine. Do you experience lag? I am especially interested if anyone had any time with the Mercedes-AMG GT, as that has the 4.0 Biturbo engine too.

abcut973

Only people that participated to DA events or press release would had the chance of testing this engine. Cars haven't hit the showroom yet so I doubt public test drives started. Particularly in the US.

AV1

As above, wait until you get the chance to test drive yourself and then go from there.


There's only 2 reviews I'm aware of where any such turbo lag is evident and one even stated he was nitpicking so it must have been only slight.


I believe overall it'll be all good even if there is very little lag and only in some circumstances it's just a matter of getting used to driving the vehicle a little differently compared to straight N/A.


I have a few turbo powered vehicles both petrol and the twin turbo diesel in the C250-CDI, the petrols have different amounts of lag as both are an older tech older generation of cars, the diesel hardly any noticeable lag at all but it only takes me a little while to adjust switching from one to another without concern

Will617

I drove the new generation 550i with the twin turbo and there was no turbo lag to speak of.

irablumberg

My wife owns the W204 C63. This sounds like something I observe with her car, particularly when the transmission is cold. This is definitely one of the annoyances of the transmission which is supposed to be improved in the W205. Particularly in comfort mode, there is a bit of hesitation when starting out from a full stop. This usually results in my pressing down on the gas pedal further in impatience and then the car accelerating more quickly than I wanted.


It is a relatively minor annoyance as it typically only happens when the car is cold and in comfort mode.


We will have to wait to see how the W205 performs. Generally, turbo lag is not an issue when accelerating from a dead stop, generally it is most noticeable when accelerating while driving at low RPM, so in general this issue does not sound like lag.

Tjdehya

thats funny because when I drove the 550i the turbo lag was unbearable!
I guess that's why it's better to test drive the car for yourself than to rely on someone's opinion in regards to turbo lag.
The amount of turbo lag is probably largely dependent on every individuals own perception.

JPMBenz

I drove the car like I stole it; I didn't see any turbo lag. The MCT shifted much faster than both the E/CLS and previous C63. The shifts were almost as quick as a DCT; as many noted.

g-f

This!
Is what the author meant I'm sure.

Will617

How much turbo lag can there be when you hit sixty in 5 seconds?

unagi1

Did you read the rest of the article? The second sentence after that statement reads "There’s no turbo lag to speak of and there’s power in all areas of the rev range."

I've driven E63 / CLS63 and no turbo lag to speak of. on my w204 C63, there is transmission lag at times when in any of the automatic modes, depending on rev range (this is why I always drive it in manual mode). w205 makes this better but does not cure it.

g-f

This doesn't mean anything.

Lag is time to spool the turbo up to speed to get the extra power.

Some turbos don't push any boost before the engine rpm reaches 2500-3000rpm, this period of time where you have no boost is the lag. Well at least some part of it. Because there is also lag when you're off throttle but in the spool zone (over 3000rpm).

So, you can have a really quick car to 60mph that lags. The thing is, to achieve the best time, drivers will raise the rpm to spool the turbos so when they launch, the turbos are already pushing good amounts of air to the engine. You won't feel the lag.

But if you launch from idle and you don't have much power until 3000rpm, that's when you'll really feel it.

Nowadays with ball bearing turbos we don't feel much lag once the engine is over 3000rpm. Once over that mark, the turbos spool up almost instantaneously (unless you have very big aftermarket turbos which is not the case from OE manufacturers). Manufacturers use small turbos that spool quickly but usually run out of puff at higher rpm. Porsche have used variable vane turbos to have quick spool off and good high rpm pull.

But many years ago, sleeve turbo would take some time to spool up even with the engine over 3000rpm. That made driving these cars pretty scary.

I believe what the first testers say is true, minimal lag is to be expected. Modern twin turbos bolted to a big displacement engine will usually produce minimal lag.

Will617

I drove a saab turbo that took forever to start going and then suddenly, hey there we go. I punched the 550i from a standing start and it just took off. I didn't really feel any lag at all.
I've probably watched most of the new c63 reviews and only a couple of guys said there was minimal lag if any.

zibby43

At least 3-4 reviews I've read said that the new motor feels more NA than turbocharged. If anything, the consensus seems to be that this motor has virtually no turbo lag.


Also, reviewers have praised the AMG GT/GT S for its crisp/immediate throttle response.

bmoney12

What autoweek is describing sounds similar to how the DCT in my CLA45 behaves off the line. There can be a little delay but if you modulate the throttle correctly it can shoot off the line like a rocket. I don't really remember this behavior in my 2012 C63 with MCT or else it was much less noticeable. Not an issue in my book. Also if the M133 has minimal turbo lag then one would have to assume the M177/78 has basically none.

vr421

zibby, The video you posted is perfect.

I have driven the C63 S, and the engine just simply responds. It delivers power at every point in the RPM band and does it with a perfect exhaust note.

The turbos are mounted on top in a "hot-V" design which makes them inches away from the exhaust port, taking advantage of exhaust gas cooling/expanding--resulting in instant spooling.

Here's a video of the engine:

The exhaust has flaps that will tame the sound when requested, and unleash all the fury when requested, or automatically when you place the Agility Select in "Sport +"

Will617

Great video, thank you

AV1

This welcome/great news and well done to MB/AMG


I suppose no need for any more MCT criticism and no need for MB/AMG to go source an excellent non DCT type auto from ZF as most other people do.

JPMBenz

A DCT may shift a bit quicker. However, in traffic & around town the MCT setup is much smoother.

Carlos Ferreira

Hi,

I drive an SLS since 2010 and I recently bought a C63 AMG S.

I have no question or doubt whatsoever that the NA 6.2 Engine is far more superior and better in terms of driving experience than the new turbo one.

the new turbo engine does have a very clear lag, and worse than that, it lost completely the milimetrical crispiness of the accelerator at low, medium and high rpms...

One example of, in my opinion, a terrible and much worse engine, is the Nissan GTR either 2010 or 2017...completely unacceptable lag...it looks like you are driving with some kind of physical mail connection to the engine..you press the accelerator, someone writes a mail letter, send it to the post office, a truck picks it from the post office, delivers in the engine and the the engine searches for glasses, reads the letter and finally decides to do something. However, if the accelerator oscillation in low revs is very small, the engine just decides there is no need to do nothing..just forget about the letter...

AMG tried to compensate with some nice sound in the exhaust, some measures were taken for the turbo lag...but honestly, for someone that likes to drive and feel an engine in all RPMs...and like accelerator crispiness..( and I think that is fundamental in a sports car ) the new turbo engine is unfortunately relatively bad, compared to the old 6.2..no question about it...It may be possible to make more power with some simple remaps, but that will only make it worse..I am amazed how is it possible that most people are not complaining about this..The only reason I can understand this, is because maybe most people did not have a good 6.2 NA to use as daily drive...

tscales

I don't find that to be my experience at all, but I usually drive in S or S+. Comfort is useless. I find essentially no lag, and my comparison is my supercharged E55, which is just brutal.

To each his own, but I never liked the NA 6.2. It just never did anything for me.

skim7x

Carlos... Only thing I can say is... Uh, you crazy man. I think 99% of people in the world would disagree with you, literally. If you're the 1%... I think the problem is self explanatory 🤣 but to each their own and sounds like you really need a NA car to be happy... Good luck as we move into the future of efficiency and turbos! Oh, maybe you'd like a hybrid (P1, La Ferrari, etc) or Tesla more.

Carlos Ferreira

I tried before the i8 from Bmw and I liked the immediate pedal response and torque. Maybe the hibrid will be better. My most important points, independently of the direction of industry, and in my subjective opinion is that:

1 - A sports car should be very sensitive in terms of the accelerator pedal. We should explore the pedal milimeter by milimiter..

2 - Variations in the accelerator depression, should be equally instantly matched with engine torque delivery and rotation build in a nice linear fashion


Overall, for me, it is essential, along with linearity of direction and feedback from the road surface...

anyway... I accept being in the 1% of strange drivers..but I know clearly the reasons..NA..more rewarding for me...

GordonGEICO

This word "unacceptable"... I don't think it means what you think it means. If the car has completely unacceptable lag, why did you buy it in the first place? It's like buying shoes that don't fit then *****ing because the shoes don't fit.

The solution to your problem is simple: sell the car and get something else.

CitznFish

The C63(s) is not a sports car. If you want a sports car, or expect a sports car, you bought the wrong vehicle.

auditoamg

You might have driven a C63s plagued by the lag and power issues some of us have, which clearly feels like lag or towing an 18 wheeler behind.... It's not supposed to feel that way.