So I’ve had my car now for 3 months and I’ve driven about 3800 miles so far. I’ve played with different drove modes on the street and mostly drive in sport mode. One thing that annoyed me was the heavy cut in power the moment rear tires start to lose grip.

Well today I drove the car around in sport handling mode (pressing the traction/stability control button once). The car in this mode is perfection!!! Just the right amount of slip, no heavy cut in power, tail slides but not too much. Wow!!! Love it!

If you haven’t tried it then I implore you to try this mode. It behaves so differently under heavy acceleration.

 

Yes, the Sport Handling mode is key to the enjoyment of the car. With ESP fully on it tries to essentially eliminate any kind of wheel spin or slide. It will also progressively allow more and more slide and spin depending on the drive mode. Specifically the AMG DYNAMICS mode. Sport uses Advanced mode for AMG DYNAMICS, Sport+ uses Pro and Race uses Master. Master is only active if ESP is at least in Sport Handling mode, and it practically allows 90 degree slides. I actually went completely sideways the other day and almost crashed into a wall with AMG DYNAMICS in Master. I have since dialed it back to Pro. Master is too dangerous on public roads. For normal around town driving I keep it in Comfort with exhaust open and ECO auto start/stop OFF, but for spirited, fun and highway driving I put it in Individual where I have the drivetrain in S+, Suspension in Comfort, AMG DYNAMICS in Pro, transmission in M and the exhaust open and then I put ESP in Sport Handling mode if I want proper action and I have the suspension setting on one of the left soft buttons, so I can dial up the suspension when I want sharper handling instead of comfort. I also just put on a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires and it transformed the car. From ride comfort to road feel, handling and grip everything is dialed up to like 150%. I can actually put the power down now. I'm kinda disappointed AMG didn't ship the FL with PS4S tires. Not sure why they stuck with the PSS, but no way I'm going back to the PSS. It's a different animal with the new tires.

 

I haven’t tried the master mode just yet, my individual mode is setup with pro which is pretty good. Good to know about the tires as I will switch to either Cup 2’s or PS4s soon and also go one size wider.

I made the switch to PS4s from Pzero Corsas on my old Alfa Giulia QV and the difference was night and day in most scenarios. I am sure Corsas would be better once heated up but in street driving, PS4s were perfect.

Now, I need to make my exhaust louder.... much louder.

 

Part of the improvement you notice may attributable to simply going from worn tires to new ones. The 4S are better than the PSS, but it was an incremental improvement, not Earth-shattering in my opinion. I ran PSS for several years on my previous BMW and though they were the the best real street tire available, they werent great at holding big power (like our cars make) in 1-2 gear. Ive alway run 4S on the C63.
I believe the PSS were superceded by the 4S and no longer available BTW.

 

Are you sure? I still see a lot of places offering PSS - and oddly enough, at prices higher than the 4S lol!

I can't wait to burn through mine and swap to the 4S

Hey Swiss, I'm surprised you drive around town in Comfort. For me Comfort feels just too lazy with throttle and I find it not responsive enough when I need to make a pass. I've got mine set to Sport which will still grab the higher gears while cruising but is more eager to downshift. Then again, you're probably also just more mature than me about not feeling the urge to pass everybody

Have you ever considered the ASR module mod? Feel like you'd be the type to really appreciate the full exhaust noise around town. We got our cars around the same time and my biggest regret is not getting that on Day 1.

 

https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-car...sport-4s-test/

Also I had a hard time getting PSS in the same size again the last time I ordered them, Before the 4S was available in my size, and the guy at discount tire said it was because Michelin was phasing the PSS out. I do see PSS currently for sale at tire rack though, So appears they do still offer them.

 

https://www.michelinman.com/tires/pi...per-sport.html

Hey Michelin still offers it on their site

 

No, it's definitely not worn vs. new. Dry grip increases as tires wear, that's why race cars use slicks. More rubber making contact with the pavement and less flex from the grooves. If anything, the brand new 4S should have less grip, also because brand new tires have lubricants on them from the molds that wears off over the first 500 miles, so grip is only gonna get better. Despite all that I have much more grip already now than I had with the PSS. I'm pretty sensitive to tires. I wouldn't necessary say earth-shattering, but the 4S is noticeably improved in the areas that matter. The main improvement in the 4S are the nylon belts compared to the traditional metallic belts in the PSS. It makes the tire conform more to the road, but also maintain its shape under high cornering forces. This really can be felt and it improves ride comfort at the same time. The 4S also don't get as stiff as the PSS at colder temps, which is a factor for me here as given we have no snow and icy temperatures I drive on summer tires all year long, but past tires do get a little stiff when it goes into the low 50s and 40s here.

BTW, the PSS are still being sold. I think one reason AMG didn't switch to the 4S is because they had a standing contract with Michelin. There was a period a few years ago around when the 4S was about to be announced that Michelin had severely reduced production of the PSS, but they are back in the supply chain. The 4S hasn't so much replaced the PSS as rather the 4S is a new generation tire and the PSS is still being sold. Heck you can still get the PS2 as far as I know. Manufacturers keep producing these tires for the cars that came with them.

Comfort mode is surprisingly responsive in this car, especially if you allow it to learn your driving style by using it regularly. I really have no issue with the responsiveness. I have tried Sport around town, but I don't like it. I do drive very spirited, but generally around town I'm more laid back with people around, so I appreciate the car to be calm. There's a time and place for a heavy foot. That's what I so like about a GT. It can be calm when I want it to be and a beast otherwise. While I do drive with the exhaust open, I don't mind opening it manually every time. Sometimes I leave it closed depending on the mood. It's become my routine starting the car using the emotion start and immediately hitting the exhaust button, followed by ECO start/stop while I'm waiting for the revs to drop to idle.

 

You are right about the GT calm for this car. After a long day at work, I almost exclusively leave it in Comfort.

For opening the exhaust, I'm sure you're aware but the AMG stock "Open" only actually opens the exhaust 50%. The flaps open to 100% only past 4K revs. The aftermarket exhaust module forces the flaps to open 100% all the time and unlocks the full sound at any rev.

 

Yes, and that's fine with me. I prefer sound to be a function of how hard the car is driven.

 

I have a 2018 C63S without the dial in ESP on post facelift cars. When I turn ESP off, is there an amount of ESP intervention remaining varing from Comfort (most ESP), Sport, Sport+, to Race (no ESP?)

 

No, there is not. On the pre-FL ESP Sport Handling and ESP off are essentially the same for each mode. The pre-FL C63S doesn't have an adjustable traction control or the new AMG DYNAMICS system. On all AMGs, though, ESP does come on under braking, even if it's fully turned off.