koifysh

Got my full carbahn kit installed today! And wow! Here’s my initial thoughts.
It drives like a completely different car. Much more planted. Significantly less body roll but with much more compliant. In comfort mode there’s much less body roll, it’s comparable to sport suspension when the car was stock but with the comfort of comfort suspension. Sport mode feels like sport plus suspension level of body control but without all the uncomfortable bouncing in sport+ suspension but still retains the comfort of comfort suspension mode. Sport + feels so much better as there are less of that uncomfortable bounce due to road imperfections. As for steering feel all I can say is it’s a significant improvement in feel and response. That on center vagueness in comfort mode is gone and that steering issues where the weight of the steering change randomly is gone. The turn in, entry speed is significantly better. I can take corners at much higher entry speeds that I normally would not be comfortable with. Brakes better, and the car doesn’t fish tail when putting the power down, it’s much more well behaved. One bad thing or not really a bad thing is that c63 amg character is gone, as in it doesn’t want to kill you, doesn’t want to oversteer. It just wants to put power down and go fast. The whole car is a lot easier to drive hard, more controllable. Feels much more like a sports car than a gt but still retains that comfort.

the full kit here: carbahn coil-over, front cambrr adjuster assembly, rear toe link, from caster adjuster, rear arm thrust

munis

How much did it cost for the entire package?

Sea63s

Been waiting for someone to share their review of Carbahn's suspension setup. Good to hear you're liking the upgrade!! I am currently lowered on Eibach Springs and my wife has been mentioning how the ride wasn't enjoyable (but again Seattle roads don't make the ride any better).

Couple follow up questions: Do you have a coupe or sedan? Do you have Tune? (Stage 1? Stage 2), And did you have Carbahn do the install for you or did you order the parts and had them installed elsewhere?

koifysh

Btw I went out again and taking a corner on rough roads with lots of bumps doesn’t upset the car anymore. It stays really planted. Hitting a pot hole doesn’t feel as harsh anymore. This kit is really amazing!

koifysh

i have the coupe, stage 2 tune pure 900 turbos. I got it from carbahn and took it to my local track shop for them to installed. This carbahn kit is highly recommend, significant handling improvements while being more compliant. It feels a lot firmer but more comfortable on bad roads. Get your wife one of those purple seat cushions it helps a lot haha

koifysh

coil-over (included kits to drill in front sway bar): $1500
front camber adjuster: $600 (reuse old stock arms) I got new arm for $1700
Rear toe links: $1,000
front caster adjuster: $800
rear thrust arm: 1,000$

total: $6,600 plus $2400 installation plus alignment $9000 total spent

boosted20v

Been curious about this as well. Pretty penny for all of the suspension parts, not to mention install!

koifysh

100% I wasn’t planning on keeping my 63s and never though about wasting cash on modding. Changed my mind after hearing that next gen will be a hybrid 4 pot. Keeping it for sure now so might as well go crazy on the mods. It’s pricey but if you’re keepijg yours then this is highly recommend!

munis

Damn that is pretty pricy. I see this as being a really good upgrade when the factory warranty is out and all the related components are wearing out. Is it worth the upgrade if you still have plenty of warranty left?

hyperion667

Klinh

This is exactly what you get when you buy a complete tuned system from a well known race prep company.

koifysh

that depends on your driving style and what types of roads you drive on that are not just straight lines. Honestly I wasn’t satisfied with stock c63 handling, it’s good for what it is but I wanted more. if you’re satisfied with how your stock amg handles then this is not worth it. Plus I couldn’t care less about factory warranty. Got pure 900 at 10k miles and now 45k miles and not a single problem

superswiss

Would be interesting to see a comparison to the FL suspension. I believe OP has a PFL, and the suspension is one of its weak points. Some of the comfort, compliance, bouncing and handling issues described do largely not exist with the FL suspension, and the new AMG DYNAMICS system gives it much better handling than just the suspension itself. In Race mode the handling is noticeably different than in Sport+ with the FL for example, even though the suspension is still in S+. The PFL in Race mode only puts ESP in Sport, but the FL actually has an additional chassis dynamics mode for Race. I suspect the CarBahn setup will still make a difference in the FL, but likely not as much, and maybe not even for the better. The damping of the FL suspension is rather good and the handling dynamics in Master mode are great.

koifysh

correct I have prefacelift 63s. Interesting point you made here. I think it would definitely help the FL as in all the other parts are designed to remove slack from the soft rubber bushing so in theory should make the fl even more compliant and less tail happy with the rear toe link. As for the coils themselves, i’m not so sure as it were designed to work with the stock pre facelift dampers. It would be interesting to compare my c63 with the current carbahn setup with a face life one. I will try to get my hands on one and make that comparison. Hopefully someone will be a guinea pig and get the carbahn kit for their facelift coupe

superswiss

Yes, the bushings is one aspect, but making them stiffer ultimately affects comfort and compliance. The FL already has different bushings, that are more dynamic while still offering the comfort. That's what I mean by the difference may not end up being for the better at least overall. My understanding is that the CarBahn kit was specifically designed for the PFL, so at a minimum it would have to be modified for the FL. Haven't kept up with them, so not sure if they have a version of the kit for the FL now.

boosted20v

Koifysh did you take it to Carbahn for the install?

Spazdoc

That is great news!
I am glad for your review, as I have been looking for a few options to tighten up the suspension, lower the car slightly, and increase camber in the front. I have been running the car at the track this year, and the suspension needs to be updated if I don't switch to a different vehicle (honestly, cannot stomach getting rid of this even for a GT4 because of the V8). I was looking at the same setup, but wanted to hear reviews before dropping $9k. From the old Dinan upgrades, the power upgrades were often sketchy, but the suspension components were solid.

koifysh

100% recommended if you have a pre facelift coupe. As long as you have 285 in front and 305 rear. No understeer, it’s just so balanced. Mid corner bumps doesn’t updet the car anymore, it just settles and grip. Body roll is non existent. Everything is adjustable from camber to rear toe, castor. No dead stop in the steering anymore. No more fish tailing, it just want to put the power down and go! The improvements is significant and in my opinion worth every penny

FromV4_to_C63

At 6K , ill pass
Unless you are tracking this car ...

Simple freeway or point A to B driving, is overkill at that price.

Just jump into a Porsche or GT

koifysh

I was thinking the same but decided to keep the c63 for as long as I can so why no go crazy on mods & have a amg gtr and ram trx1500 coming so C63s became my project car.

C3504matic

I have to really wonder about the charge for install ....how much an hour were they charging ? I work for Mercedes and our rate is $150 / hr and even at that rate its 16 hrs or 2 days . We replace suspension all the time and its doesn't take that long to change all the suspensions out and o/h them and put them back in ..... who was the shop ?

FromV4_to_C63

You Point has been well made , sir !

Didn't even factor your thinking in, its your car and your passion... mod the hell out of it.

koifysh

They had to machine out the front thrust arm for the adjustable front castor. that took the longest $100 an hour

ludwig14

I truly hope this upgrade puts a smile on your face every mile you drive. Enjoy in good health brother.
I'm sorry to be the joy kill here...
This is insane, 9K for a HAS kit and control arms?? Putting that on top of your car gets you into very nice Porsche 911 turbo/s that doesn't need all these add-ons.
Steve Dinan makes decent parts but by no means is he what he used to be in the early 2000's. I had a full manual F10 Dinan M5, among other issues the engine was replaced twice, front monoballs 3 times due to them binding!

koifysh

I know it’s a hard pill to swallow! I decided to keep it forever or at least as long as the wheels don’t fall off 😂. Gt3 rs is my next car after the amg gtr so ig it makes sense at least to me to mod the sh** out of the 63s