zer0t

I went to my local dealer who I have a good relationship with. They had a CLA45 they ordered for a customer who couldn't take delivery for some reason--so I had to drive it.

First it's really cool looking car with a very nicely styled interior, comfortable.

On the drive I took a sweeping highway entrance at a fairly reasonable 45 mph and as the road straightened it was empty so I just lit into it. I had it in manual mode (do wish it was a wet clutch but very good nonetheless) and it shifted pretty well. I hit 5th gear 94 mph in what seemed like the blink of an eye. The car was rock solid with respect to suspension and I'm sure the AWD helps as well. No wind noise, no struggle, just a really awesome exhaust and turbo note coming out of this.

What a dilemma as I was thinning about C63 or the new 2015 C63 but this car is crazy. I also see that Renntech has out a 414 HP tune for it at 2500 bucks. I always wanted to get that for my wife's CLS63 but what would she do with 669 hp?

What's everyone's impressions on these cars so far? I'd have to mod the crap out of it with a tune and an exhaust. I can get the car for about 3500 off the sticker.

jamesyot

I really like mine even though I only got to drive it for three days before I had to put it away for the winter. I have always loved turbo cars. They are so much fun to mod. The RENNtech ECU looks sweet but I am going to wait until more options come out. The exhaust is not that restrictive but there is improvements that can be made. I wonder what this car will sound like with a turbo back exhaust WO cats. Let us know if you get it!

jonnyrt

Does the Renntech ECU Mod affect warranty?? Sounds interesting for $2500

zer0t

I've done no research on it at all. I'm sure there will be other choices available. I'd guess your tossing the warranty unless it doesn't flash you ecu. There is a counter inside the ecu which even when restored the dealer would know. There are others far more knowledgable than me on this board related to those details.

zibby43

What do you mean you wish it had a wet clutch?

The car has a true, proper dual-clutch transmission. Unlike the MCT that is essentially an automatic transmission with a wet start-up clutch in lieu of a torque converter.

Are you saying you don't like the DCT and wish it had a slower-shifting MCT or automatic? Just curious.

zer0t

Yes, it is a dual clutch no converter transmission, but it is a dry clutch setup. It's not bad, but for high revving sports car fun a lot use a wet clutch. This lubricant obviously keeps things cooler, provides for smoother and faster shifts. I would also think that it would increase the service life of the clutch pack/ transmission because of the friction and heat reduction.

A good example of wet clutch DCT are the Porsche PDK, BMW M series and Ferrari. An example of cars with dry DCT are the Dodge Dart, Hyundai Veloster, Ford Fiesta and Focus.

The CLA45 AMG costs more like a starter 911 or M3 than it does a fully loaded Focus.

I thought the car was fantastic, just one area for improvement for the 100% AMG premium on the sticker price.

Added to my dilemma above is I have been offered a 997.1 GT3 with low miles and in good shape for 70k. Not that it's comparable but when do you see an offer like that? Ugh, I can't get two, I'd really be pushing it with my wife who's good sport but there has to be a limit.

elijah

So far there's Renntech 2500$ & Eurocharged 999$. Both have similar gains

zer0t

Yep, I commented in the other thread. I would need to understand both better. I wouldn't want to shop price alone when it comes to tuning my cars. That's not to say I wouldn't get the Eurocharged, but I'd have to be more educated. If I were to do my wife's CLS63 I would only do the Renntech kit. It gets great reviews and is considered to be docile when not really beating on it. It's makes 669hp and 734tq in the bi-turbo AMG cars.

I'm not a Renntech fanboy by any stretch but the guy who founded the company is ex-AMG. He's gotta know something.

newtrita

Porsche GT3 or CLA 45 ? Is that even a question ? If you like driving nothing compares to Porsches, best built daily super cars. CLA is very plain compared to a GT3. Id say go get the GT3 and never look back.

zer0t

I have an 04 GT3 which is way more of a race car than the 997 IMHO, I'm leaning towards the 997 GT3 because it's actually something I can drive to for fun on the street dinner with the wife, etc. They are also very tunable for a bit more than the 415 HP they put out, not that it's bad at all.

I love the license plate, awesome.

jonnyrt

That is the best license plate I have ever seen! Awesome!

How can you compare a $150,000+ car to a $50,000 car? Personally, the 911 is a nice car but for more of a comparison to the CLA 45, it would have to be the Porsche Cayman, which I am NOT a fan at all (more $$ and less performance and ugly!!!)

zer0t

I'm not comparing the two at all. Just mentioning the opportunity that popped up. Im well familiar with tge differences. I have a GT3, 996, already.