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🤔 C63S is now back to stock & I'm happy? What the hell?
Hello good time
For the past 2 years I've been running a nice ECU & TCU tune, just about 600 horses at the crank and 800nm..... everything else is standard C63S
I've actually been wanting more power for the last 12 months and was looking at doing downpipes/intakes/exhaust blah blah Stage 2 and 650hp haven't gotten around to it
BUT........ today I got the car updated flashed back to stock by Mercedes during a routine recall and the WEIRDEST sh*t about this is the car feels damn good.
One thing I am really enjoying about this is I'm hardly breaking traction like before and I can actually floor it in 2nd on stock 285-30-20 rears without slip.......
I was totally dreading that I'd pick the car up from the dealer and feel mega disappointed with the stock performance but when I drove it home I gave it a good fang I've suddenly become attached to the car all over again.
Has anyone gone stock again in any of your tuned rides and actually enjoyed it? Or am I losing it
How long were you without your car while it was being serviced, and what were you driving during the downtime? Any time I drive my girlfriend's SQ5 SUV and get back into my car (even though mine is stock) it feels like an animal again.
Driving different cars in between definitely helps to keep the experience fresh, but I've said this about tunes for a long time. You do lose the balance that the car has from the factory. What's the point of more power if you can't actually put it on the road? This is what has kept me from considering a tune at all. I think the C63S is an amazing balance between just having to run an errand and an animal when you want it to be. Its biggest challenge has always been traction, which is something it controls much better now in the FL with the 9-stage TC.
⏱️ 700HP Facelift converted C63 S Coupe with Drexler 3.06 plated LSD
It's all down to the fact that because you've been tuned for the past few years with 800nm on tap has made you become so used to being cautious with breaking traction that you weren't able to drive the car as hard in the lower gears.
Now that you're stock, even though your power and torque is lower than what you've been used to with the tune, you can actually use almost all of that 510hp in those lower gears without having to nanny the throttle much and I'm betting you'd feel the car is a lot more moveable on takeoff now.
I have to agree with Superswiss that a tune does disturb this car's overall balance in some certain ways.
Interesting and unexpected thread lol
Last edited by Jimmy_c63s; Aug 30, 2022 at 02:34 PM.
It's all down to the fact that because you've been tuned for the past few years with 800nm on tap has made you become so used to being cautious with breaking traction that you weren't able to drive the car as hard in the lower gears.
Now that you're stock, even though your power and torque is lower than what you've been used to with the tune, you can actually use almost all of that 510hp in those lower gears without having to nanny the throttle much and I'm betting you'd feel the car is a lot more moveable on takeoff now.
I agree with Superswiss that a tune does disturb this car's overall balance.
Interesting and unexpected thread lol
Put in different words it's more fun to drive a slow car fast, than it is to drive a fast car slow. This is the problem with many high powered cars these days. They have too much power/torque on tap for the road, so you end up having to take it easy and as a result the car is less fun, because you can't wind it out. The moment you do you are in jail territory or on the side of the road.
You guys are right haha boy am I glad to have seen your replies which made sense of things......
I was actually only without the car for a whole 24 hours so the tune & everything was fresh in my mind still.
Today I remember sitting down at the dealer seeing the invoice saying "Update Powertrain Control Unit Software" on the bottom and thinking oh man this is gonna suck.......
But totally didn't see myself enjoying the car as much as I did and it's so much more fun to put the foot down again especially off the traffic lights.
Now I'm actually looking forward to waking up, cleaning my wheels and taking the car out to run errands tomorrow 🏃♂️
I can honestly say, when my tires are warm (highly modified C63s), 2nd gear and up, my car is a lot faster than a car on a stock tune (even up to 60). I had the opportunity to drive my car and stock car back to back and the difference is noticeable.
1st gear, forget about it on either car. But the way the boost comes on (at least with my setup), it doesn't blow the tires off at 3k RPM like the stock car does. Again, that could just be how my tune manages boost, timing etc. in certain gears and under certain conditions.
Put in different words it's more fun to drive a slow car fast, than it is to drive a fast car slow. This is the problem with many high powered cars these days. They have too much power/torque on tap for the road, so you end up having to take it easy and as a result the car is less fun, because you can't wind it out. The moment you do you are in jail territory or on the side of the road.
Exactly this. I had an M6 Gran Coupe Competition prior to my C63S, it was rated at 590bhp from stock (and S63 engines are notoriously underrated). It felt like it barely got going until you hit serious jail-time speeds. All good and well if you live by the autobahn but it just wasn't...fun! With my C63S stock I get to enjoy ripping up to 70 or 80 and it's such a fun and visceral experience - I just don't need a tune for my use.
I can honestly say, when my tires are warm (highly modified C63s), 2nd gear and up, my car is a lot faster than a car on a stock tune (even up to 60). I had the opportunity to drive my car and stock car back to back and the difference is noticeable.
1st gear, forget about it on either car. But the way the boost comes on (at least with my setup), it doesn't blow the tires off at 3k RPM like the stock car does. Again, that could just be how my tune manages boost, timing etc. in certain gears and under certain conditions.
By the way, love that blue!!!
How much of that do you think is due to the PTG1000 turbos moving your power band to the right a bit? Does the car feel sluggish off the line compared to stock? Have any before and after draggy runs to compare between the stock turbos and the PTG1000s?
How much of that do you think is due to the PTG1000 turbos moving your power band to the right a bit? Does the car feel sluggish off the line compared to stock? Have any before and after draggy runs to compare between the stock turbos and the PTG1000s?
Upgraded turbos is really the only way to properly tune these cars. If I'd consider a tune it would have to involve bigger turbos such as what CarBahn offers. Most tunes just bump up the low and mid range on these cars. That's where it's already struggling for traction as-is, and then they fall off hard at the top, because the stock turbos just don't have much more to give at the top. To truly make these things faster you want more power at the top and leave the low and mid range alone or even slightly turn it down. Then you can actually get off the line and it will pull all the way to redline making more power at the top where you really want it. The stock tune goes flat at the top which is one thing I'm not too much of a fan of. I'm used to high revving engines that have linear power all the way to redline. I end up short shifting most of the time, because the car pulls harder in the next higher gear than going all the way to redline.
Last edited by superswiss; Sep 1, 2022 at 01:03 AM.
How much of that do you think is due to the PTG1000 turbos moving your power band to the right a bit? Does the car feel sluggish off the line compared to stock? Have any before and after draggy runs to compare between the stock turbos and the PTG1000s?
Definitely does not feel sluggish down low but the car is definitely more linear than stock. I’m not not saying it is a linear powerband - I drove e9x M3s for years and that’s a linear powerband. It allows you to build max power up until 7k or so and removes the dead up top feeling, so you can rev it out (and not short shift). Its definitely a rolling race setup.
Definitely does not feel sluggish down low but the car is definitely more linear than stock. I’m not not saying it is a linear powerband - I drove e9x M3s for years and that’s a linear powerband. It allows you to build max power up until 7k or so and removes the dead up top feeling, so you can rev it out (and not short shift). Its definitely a rolling race setup.
Also depends on the mode. In stock tune, Race mode has a linear throttle map, but S and S+ have an aggressive throttle map, so that's part of the problem. When I wanna drive the car fast and hard I put it in Race and ESP Sport as well as manual mode for the transmission. Makes a big difference.
Also depends on the mode. In stock tune, Race mode has a linear throttle map, but S and S+ have an aggressive throttle map, so that's part of the problem. When I wanna drive the car fast and hard I put it in Race and ESP Sport as well as manual mode for the transmission. Makes a big difference.
How do you know so much about this car btw?
Because you're very right. There's actually a difference between S & S+ compared to R.
Contrary to popular tuner beliefs R is not just the same map as S+ with ability to hold gears longer ☝
Drive the car hard in R coupled with transmission in M and it's almost a different feeling altogether on the stock maps. I really love it. In stock, putting the car in R almost feels illegal 😬
I only just found out how good this car drives stock after coming from a Stage 1 600hp tune.
PS: Thank u to the guy who said my blue color is nice. It's hard to keep clean though
Because you're very right. There's actually a difference between S & S+ compared to R.
Contrary to popular tuner beliefs R is not just the same map as S+ with ability to hold gears longer ☝
Drive the car hard in R coupled with transmission in M and it's almost a different feeling altogether on the stock maps. I really love it. In stock, putting the car in R almost feels illegal 😬
I only just found out how good this car drives stock after coming from a Stage 1 600hp tune.
PS: Thank u to the guy who said my blue color is nice. It's hard to keep clean though
I'm an engineer and I must understand the machines in my life to enjoy them . It's a gift and a curse at times. I spend time learning the ins and outs of the things I enjoy. I learned a lot at the AMG driving events and I've been fortunate to experience these cars in many different settings and take them through their paces, from the straight boring roads in the USA, to the canyon roads, the track and the German Autobahn. You learn a lot about a car that way. Race does transform the car, especially the FL where it activates the AMG DYNAMICS Master mode as long as ESP is in Sport or Off.
Upgraded turbos is really the only way to properly tune these cars. If I'd consider a tune it would have to involve bigger turbos such as what CarBahn offers. Most tunes just bump up the low and mid range on these cars. That's where it's already struggling for traction as-is, and then they fall off hard at the top, because the stock turbos just don't have much more to give at the top. To truly make these things faster you want more power at the top and leave the low and mid range alone or even slightly turn it down. Then you can actually get off the line and it will pull all the way to redline making more power at the top where you really want it. The stock tune goes flat at the top which is one thing I'm not too much of a fan of. I'm used to high revving engines that have linear power all the way to redline. I end up short shifting most of the time, because the car pulls harder in the next higher gear than going all the way to redline.
I have the same feeling on tunes with this car, since all the tunes I see with stock turbos push the low end power really high but then it drops off like a cliff at 5k RPM. I have to imagine that the weak top-end feeling of a stock car would only feel like more of a nose dive once tuned.
Originally Posted by noremaC
Definitely does not feel sluggish down low but the car is definitely more linear than stock. I’m not not saying it is a linear powerband - I drove e9x M3s for years and that’s a linear powerband. It allows you to build max power up until 7k or so and removes the dead up top feeling, so you can rev it out (and not short shift). Its definitely a rolling race setup.
Glad to hear it does not feel sluggish down low. I am between the PTG1000 turbos and the Pure 900 modified stock frame turbos, but leaning toward the PTG option due to their use of ball bearings and the price difference isn't that much if you are going to keep your stock turbos.
Any time I drive my girlfriend's SQ5 SUV and get back into my car (even though mine is stock) it feels like an animal again.
Can't agree more. Recently bought a x3 m40i as a baby mover and been driving it more than my c63s lately cause it's so comfy to drive compared to the merc.
Got into my c63s this morning and even though it is stock power wise except for exhaust it felt like a beast. Couldn't stop smiling while driving to work lol
Recently got a C63S and I honestly cannot fathom why you'd tune it, would be different if it was AWD but stock with MSS tires I can't even in the dry if I floor it at 50mph in 3rd without a little bit of TC cutting in, 2nd I have to be very gentle with. I love it but I'd say it's at the end of its scale in terms of useable power,
I came from an AWD S4 which you could just floor anywhere regardless of the weather, naturally this is an entirely different level of power though, I drove it after buying the C63S and it felt SO slow. (it was still approx 350hp).
I feel a tune would ruin the car for me, so happy to keep it stock. I imagine the E63 with AWD must be great though.
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. It's a gift and a curse at times. I spend time learning the ins and outs of the things I enjoy. I learned a lot at the AMG driving events and I've been fortunate to experience these cars in many different settings and take them through their paces, from the straight boring roads in the USA, to the canyon roads, the track and the German Autobahn. You learn a lot about a car that way. Race does transform the car, especially the FL where it activates the AMG DYNAMICS Master mode as long as ESP is in Sport or Off.
