CLK 63 AMG Black Series Owners,
Due to the overwhelming feedback of Private Lounge CLK 63 AMG Black Series owners, AMG is currently engineering a solution to retrofit the rev matching downshift programming for the CLK Black Series. This solution should be available via your dealerships by early Q3. We will notify everyone via the AMG Private Lounge once the solution is in place.

Best regards,
AMG Private Lounge Team

Obviously quoted from another site.

 

Cool. Thanks for the update. I was wondering what was happening with that.

 

Astounding this wasn't there upon release. Well, props to AMG for listening to their buyers and eventually doing the right thing

 

Just curious what exactly is this "rev matching downshift programming"?

 

I think they're talking about the downshift rev-matching found in the SL63. They are going to retro-fit onto the CLK63 Black Series programming.

That'll be cool

 

This is true except I think it's programed into the 7G-tronic found on the CLS63 and C63? I asked the question in the PL so I'll ask it here too. Could somebody please explain to a non-track junkie like myself exactly what this means? How would the software revision impact the driving experience of my BS?

 

When you downshift when heading into a corner, each lower gear will result in a rise in engine rpm's. As you aren't accelerating at that point, the higher engine speed translates into increased engine braking. This braking sounds like a good thing, except it is sudden, and it impacts only the driven rear wheels. At an extreme, it will result in rear wheel lock-up, which instantly throws the car into oversteer. If it is less extreme, it is still a sudden increase in rear braking, which tips weight forward, loading the front tires and unloading the rear. This again results in less rear traction, which manifests itself as oversteer.
The engine blip on downshifting matches the revs to the speed (say you were at 80 in fourth which hyopothetically was 3000rpm, when you downshift to 3rd, the engine might be at 5000 rpm. The car will lurch as the engine must suddenly speed up to 5000 rpm with the throttle closed. Since it is the momentum of the car that causes the speed-up, the car will slow suddenly. The rev match "blip" brings the engine speed up to exactly the right rpms for the speed you are traveling, and eliminates the lurch). As a result, the transition to braking is much smoother, you can carry more speed without upsetting the car, and you can accelerate earlier out of the turn.
Is this essential? Not really for most driving, since you are braking for the corner anyway, and the brakes smooth out the downshift. But when tracking, the speed changes are more violent, and the effects of sudden engine braking are modified. Without the automatic blip, you would compensate by being hard on the brakes all the time you were downshifting.

Now the interesting tidbit. I had the opportunity to drive at Blackhawk Farms Raceway with Vic Elford, the famed Porsche rally champ, Can Am and sports racer driver. At that time, I had a wonderful Porsche 964 Cab tiptronic. Elford consistently used his left foot for braking, and used his right foot to lightly goose the throttle on downshifts, to accomplish the same goal of rev matching.

A bit later that day, Derek Bell, the multiple times LeMans 24 hr winner in Porsche, did a timed lap in my car. He did the same for the other 19 Porsche owners present that day. At the end of the day, Bell's time in my car was fastest, and my time was second fastest, losing to Bell by .1 second. The point of the story is that the automatic box can be as fast or faster than the manual, and allows a good amateur to approximate the performance of a seasoned pro- at least for one lap. By the way, I came across the finish line with the car sideways, and everybody running for cover, so I couldn't have possibly done a second lap. Bell obviously could have.

AS

 

Thank you AS. That makes perfect sense to me and feel I now have a basic understanding. I intuatively figured that is what it meant but couldn't have explained it to someone but with your explanation I could pass on a basic understanding of what it means to someone like me?

Great story too! I have watched both Elford and Bell drive and met Bell at Rennport Reunion at Lime Rock a few years ago. Sounds like you would have added some time to your second lap once you got it pointed in the right direction again......

 

It's hard to be humble when you're good, but you do a nice job AS.

Nice write up on the throttle blip too.

 

Thanks for the explanation AS. That was the answer i was looking for on my initial question.

So this rev matching programming will fix that issue and provide more?

 

I knew they would - I asked them to make this available a long time ago...here's the thread:

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...highlight=blip

Can't wait !!

 

Does this mean you are keeping your car?

 

I'm surprised that they did. They don't spend easily.

 

I don't think I qualify.....If I bring my car in for this I assume it will flash all my other tunning back to stock, Am I correct in thinking this or is the tranny program different? My local dealership is mod friendly and are fully aware of all my mods, but I think when they plug it in it is out of their hands. I wonder if this is something I can have added by my tuner once they get it out in the stockers????? Any opinions?

 

Jim - Yes, it would reflash your aftermarket programme as the downshift blip is NOT tranny software, it's all in the ECU. Perhaps the guys over at evosport can take a flashed car, copy the code, and implement it into what you currently have. That'd be your best bet, but hell bro, your car is so wicked who gives a crap about a little blip !!!

 

YUP !!!
I bought a dually to tow my boat around and I like it so much I just drive it every day. In LA all you do is sit in traffic and I prefer to be comfortable and have a commanding view of the rest of the idiots around me. Plus, I had the car listed at $115k, got a few interested buyers who ended up offering like $109 and $112...I told them to take a hike I'll just keep it - it's too nice to give away. My thought is that when the SL BS comes out, people will realize what a bang for the buck the CLK BS is and they will all get snapped up - especially when the market rebounds...For now, it'll be my weekend car.

 

I think you can still get it. Powerchip/Evosport already have your A/F ratio and other ECU settings. So once the dealer replaces your ECU, Powerchip can then re-adjust the needed parameters to bring you back to the power level you need.

 

I has a short exchange with one of the instructors at the amg challenge yesterday on this topic.

he was showcasing the c63 in avoidance reactions in the c63 with the rev matching transmission takes every downshift---the current BS will not in every situation.
try to grab two in the BS in some cases and you only get one. even though the car likely knows better than me what it needs-I would rather it let me make some decisions on my own. the new system, it seems allows that as engine speed will rise to more closely match wheel speed.

 

the flash would be to the TCU in the bottom of the tranny- I doubt it would change anything requiring any remapping.

 

Did you try just leaving the BS in the "S" auto mode? Our weather just got nice, so I haven't been to the track yet. However, I have lots of laps in a Porsche tip. The Porsche tip downshifts properly under braking after the car figures out what you are doing. You do need to get the suspension loaded up under braking and corner entry for the computer to readjust. I will be surprised if our cars don't act the same as that. But, let me know if I am about to be disappointed.
My observation of that manumatic is that it worked much better in full auto than manual override. Upshifts are hard to do at the redline manually, but the auto does that right every time. Delays on getting a downshift were also a bigger problem in manual than full auto. I thought that I had heard that the Porsche tip in the tt was a benz box, so perhaps my projection isn't baseless. AS

 

Would this tranny upgrade Allow for the user to have more control of the shifting in that when I would want to double downshift, like in an SMG, the car would actually do it? I know right now the BS does not do this and is a really big pain and annoyance.. I also wonder if Renntech would make a software update to allow this

 

Where did you get this information ?
I was told by an engineer from AMG that the throttle bliping is done by the ECU, not the TCU. Perhaps he was wrong....

 

Well just thinking about how the blipping would work and all that, it's throttle control and tcu.. you might be right in the ecu change. I really don't know.

I read somewhere maybe above that the flash will allow it to dump down a few more gears better as well.

FWIW, when I use manual mode I heal and toe blip the throttle a bit to keep from upsetting the car. Although there is a delay if you get used to it, it works better than the auto trying to figure things out- If anyone is in SD and ever wants to do a canyon run let me know, I have a few "tracks" selected from my P car days (what most would consider a track car).

 

Well based on the latest chat session with AMG personnel at the Private Lounge, it appears we won't be seeing a retro fit for the rev matching feature anytime soon if at all. AMG is claiming that it is turning out to be way more expensive than they originally thought to develop the software program and are re-examining the issue.

 

Dammit, bad news.....Hopefully they will come around. ET550 - can you provide me with the private lounge link where this was discussed ?