neodoc

I took my CL63 out on Homestead Speedway yesterday with the Chin Motorsports Club. It was a very well organized event consisting of two groups of drivers, novice and pro, who were out on the track separately. The time on the track was significant also, with a 30 minute warm up session, followed by two 60-minute sessions per group. During the warm-up, I got to know the instructor riding with me, and more importantly, he got to know me. Pretty soon, he saw that I had been on this track before, so he mainly concentrated on improving little areas where I had weaknesses, and he taught me how to go around one especially troublesome corner that after a few laps was a piece of cake. In the longer track session I got to really experiment with my lines and also with the car's limits. I was impressed to discover that it would pull very hard and keep up with the Corvettes and the BMW M5 that were there, but it's very heavy, so it's definitely a "slow in, fast out" car. I left the traction control on, and for the most part, it didn't feel too intrusive. I learned to feather it to the verge of engaging the traction control and that seemed to be the smoothest way around the track. What I found to be both intrusive and impressive at the same time was the PreSafe radar. I had turned it completely off, or so I thought, but when approaching a turn at about 100 mph with a car in front of me, it still engaged heavier braking than the already heavy braking I was doing, causing a "pumping" effect in the car. At first, the instructor even told me not to pump the brakes, but he later realized it was "big brother" doing it. With no cars in front of me, there was no intrusion. I was astonished to discover that at what I already considered to be very heavy braking there could still be even more braking applied by the car. I did find it a bit uncomfortable to have the brake pedal suddenly go deeper into the floor and I was worried that the car behind me, which was already gauging my deceleration rate, could be caught off guard by the sudden increase in braking and hit me. Once I figured this out, I could anticipate when it would occur, so no more surprises. This extra braking power actually made me feel more confident in pushing the car a little further and brake a little deeper and harder before turns. By the end of the day, my speeds through corners had increased by about 15-20 mph, with turn #1 going from about 75-80 with braking to 90-100 without braking until turn#2. All in all, it was worth the risk and the new set of tires I will need in about 400 miles. The brakes were smoking after the last session as I pulled into the paddock and the tires were sticky and hot, but at no time did any warning lights come. I went through 1.5 tankfuls of gas, with an average of 5.5 mpg. It's simply amazing that this street car, albeit an AMG, could withstand 120 miles of full on racing with nary a hint of trouble. These are some preliminary pictures. Better ones will follow soon. I'd recommend you try this at home.

Chappy

Hi Joe,

Looks like you had a blast!

Why not join us September 15th at Roebling??

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk55-amg-clk63-amg-w208-w209/252647-ringin-stars-track-day-09-15-08-roebling-road.html

neodoc

Thanks for the invitation, Chappy. Unfortunately, I won't be able to take time off for that this time. Perhaps in the future. Have fun and be safe.

DFW01E55

Thanks for the write up.
Any indicators of progress outside of your corner time?
Maybe lap times ... compared to the other guys?

Sounds like a great day, 5mpg ... nice.

ieb

I am very impressed by you and your car. At least we share the CL63 love. If I were a little younger, I'd take it to the track but at 50+ it's just good to hear proof of how amazing and enjoyable a car it is.

BTW the Renntech ecu program is awesome, I wonder how it would respond on the track?

juicee63

Great show Joe!!

The CL 63 is simply amazing. That car is so heavy it must take real skill to keep the oversteer in check. The pre-safe system never is off...This is an advantage but does prevent pushing the car 100%

MB_Forever

Looks like you had a lot of fun. And very nice pictures, thanks for posting......

Did you use Manual mode or S mode? How was the car's shifting around the corners?

I'll be waiting for more pics.....

m_berman

Confirm my belief in AMG that your full track day was similar to my taste of the track at the AMG Challenge Event. All AMGs are amazaing that you can take it from Showroom to Track without any mods. It's bullet proof.

Just got finished driving the 09 SL 63 with the MCT tranny. That's a wild ride. Hope to see the MCT in the CL and CLS AMGs. It's worth paying for it as an option.

Exotic-metal55

Great write up! Sounds like you are hooked

DFW01E55

I don't think I like that kinda' talk ... you'll be making me feel old next - nah!

neodoc

Hello, everyone:

I'm glad the write-up was of some use to you. I was mainly in S mode for most of the day, switching to manual mode on cool-down laps to avoid using the brakes too much. In retrospect, in some turns I could have used M mode and gotten out a bit faster, rather than waiting a second for the sometimes abrupt downshift, but very respectable nonetheless. Even with a bit of engine braking on cool down laps, the tires were extremely hot and gummy and the brake pads were smoking when I pulled into the paddock. Between runs (60 min each) I allowed the car to cool off with the hood open, and at the end of the day, I let it cool down for about an hour before driving home.

As far as lap times, there weren't really any. This was not a competition, but rather a track day for all to enjoy. There was a point-by rule, which worked well for the most part, except for the road hog in a Mustang GT who wouldn't point people by until it was too late to actually pass him. The times I allowed people by, I lifted briefly off the throttle to let them go by, but I was back on full once they were in front of me. I easily kept behind a Corvette Z-06 and the M5 that were there. My top speeds on the relatively short straights of this 2.5 mile track were between 100 and 110 mph before having to stand on the brakes to make the next turn. Once in those turns, being very aggressive would engage the traction control, due in part to the OEM Yokohamas, but it was easy to feather the throttle to just shy of that threshold. There was no appreciable understeer and oversteer was usually cut in its tracks when "big brother" intervened. All in all, once the driver gets used to the heft, this car can do wonders.

In contrast to the AMG Challenge/Graduate events, in this type of setting, one can push the car a bit further than what the instructors from MB will allow. For instance, in the AMG events that use the same track set-up I ran this weekend, turn #1, which is just past the pits, is usually limited to about 70 mph by the instructor riding with the participant, and they frown upon going over the rumple strip. (Not patting myself on the back, but) I was going over the rumple strip and going into this turn at about 95-100 without using the brakes until turn#2, just before the infamous "toilet bowl" of turns 3 and 4. No drama, but more aggressive than what can be done in the AMG events. I'll see what I can do in this year's Private Lounge event in October.

If any of you have the opportunity, I would encourage you to participate in an event like the one I did this past weekend. It will likely cost you a set of tires and maybe a brake job sooner than you would need from just driving to and from work, but it's entirely worth it. This is definitely not a poser or just a pretty car; it can take 120 miles of hard driving and then take you home in style and comfort. And as far as age is concerned, there were a few 50+ drivers there on Sunday. One of those 50+ guys was a lead instructor, who flew by everyone in a 911 Turbo, so don't count yourself out just yet

WSH

neodoc, thx for a great write-up w/interesting obsvns

NBR times leave me unconvinced that wt is as big an issue w/latest-tech perf cars, after one adjusts driving style....599 is 4000lbs; Veyron is ?4300+lbs; 640 is ?4000+lbs....SL65 Blk will be 4000lbs....and the 4400lb SL63 030 prob does NBR about as quickly as many lighter cars, like 3900+lb 997TT Cab....

Did you notice brake fade/changes in pedal feel twd end of session?

Indeed, even on public rds, biggest risk of emergent braking in a new CL63/65 is being rear-ended by some rusty, 10-20yo car following too closely and inattentively....

neodoc

[QUOTE=WSH;2949929]neodoc, thx for a great write-up w/interesting obsvns

Did you notice brake fade/changes in pedal feel twd end of session?

QUOTE]

My last session was my most aggressive and where most of the tire wear took place. During that session, I felt no changes in the brakes, even with harder braking a little later in the braking zones before turns. What I did notice was that the tires were getting a little squirrely. The tread is still good, but the deformation that took place on turns clearly affected the sidewall-tread junction. Still, this is what kept the car on the track, so it was expected. There will be a picture posted soon (when I receive them) that clearly shows this. I was told by some people that I was crazy to put such a heavy "cow" on the track. I beg to differ. One just has to know that the laws of physics apply, and only try to bend them a little.

MBZFAN55

Joe - Glad you finally got to the track! I know you had been planning this for some time and am wondering if this "roll in the hay" has changed some of your CL63 trepidations you mentioned a few months ago. Do you like the car better, now?

Great writeup !

Marvin

(White coat is 8/11 !)

ieb

Dear Mr. Neodoc:

I'm very impressed with your ability to get a picture into the text of a message. How do you do that?

neodoc

Hello, ieb:

Thanks for your compliment. Getting a picture into the text of a post is not very difficult. You just have to upload them to a gallery that provides you with a BB Image Code, which you then copy and paste into the text. It will appear in brakets as [img...], sort of like when you insert a quote. Here are a few better shots of my track day, taken by the ColourTech photographer who was there that day. Next time I plan to have magnetic numbers so I don't have to get the "ghetto" painted ones on the glass.

On a side note, I had my mechanic check out the car after the track day. The brakes are still good, having lots left on the pads, but the tires have worn shoulders and somewhat worn centers. No surprise there, as you can see the distortion they took on in the corners from the pics below. I now feel the rotor dimples when I use the brakes. It feels like I am on a porous road, but I'm told that should go away as the brake pads wear a little more. They're still getting rid of the evidence of being red hot. The rotors themselves are in good shape, with no warping or noise. It's funny how different the car now feels after having been allowed to open wide on the track. Some of it is for the good and some...well. Let's say that it was worth it, but this is too beautiful and expensive a car to abuse.

BTW, thanks for the "Mr. Neodoc," but I'm just plain Joe. Hope you like the pics.

ieb

Hi Joe;

Thanks for the help. I guess that I also need a better camera, my pic were quite awful.

You know I had Renntech reprogram my ecu and I know that this is off your topic but you may be interested in how it turned out. There is a very noticeable increase in power and the overall engine and transmission operate in a more fluid way.

I felt that the factory settings had all the parameters set so low as to not allow any possible damage and that the engine and transmission were constantly bumping up against factory set points. I just got back from a 400 mile trip and totally enjoyed the ride.

I think that the difference in the 63 when it is freed up is quite dramatic. I’d be interested if anyone has tracked a 63 that’s been ecu’d.

neodoc

I don't think it's off topic at all. In fact, I too would be curious to see how the 63 would behave on the track with an ecu reprogramming. I found that on certain turns, the traction control intervened a bit too much, perhaps for my own good, and in other corners, the downshifts to power out were a bit slow and abrupt. This last problem would have been overcome by simply shifting manually, but I didn't want to thrash it too much, since this is my daily driver and having to get it repaired would be a problem. Moreover, it would be kind of hard to explain why the tires were so worn if I wanted to use the warranty. You get the picture. So for now, I think I'll lay low for a while and perhaps do another track day next year when the cycle goes back to Homestead. I could go to Sebring, but that track is a bit more dangerous and the risk would go up. Maybe someday I'll have a track car for that purpose.

Fikse

great write up and camera shots, someone knows how shoot with the right settings to setup the blurring in the background....