Attended the Pantera/Ferrari semi annual track day at Willow Springs this week end. This is a great event as there are high performance cars and race cars of all makes. What I like is wide variety of cars so one can test how one make stakes up to another within certain perameters as there's always the drivers ability which is a huge factor.

Viper ACR's, Ferrari 430's and Scud's and a 250 TR worth about $1mm,,Zo6's, M3's, GT3's, GT3 RS's GT3 Cup cars, Shelby Gt500, Cobra 427's real and fake,Lotus's, Monster Miata (V8 Miata) three race Vipers including the Lemans winning car of 98, several Nascar race trucks, porsche twin turbo's 993, 996, and 997, GTO's and one AMG. Lota cars to test against.

The BS is still a steet car with no roll bar or harnesses so the rules of the club don't allow me to run in the race group. No matter as some of the all out race cars are worth about $5K and are driven like there stolen and some are worth several hundred thousand. I don't want to fight for positon with either. So it's down to blue group to test the metal.

First session low and behold I've got a Gt3 and a Ferrari Scud infront of me on the grid After a few warm up laps I see that the two are locked up in battle. The Scud win's in the braking zone trying to hold off the GT3 who has a better driver who knows the line. Finally the Ferrari waves the GT3 by and hangs on its tail as it's easier for him to follow to keep pace. I carefully plan my attack using a Lotus Exige as a pic and dispose of the Ferrari on the front stright and pull along side of the Gt3 in the braking zone. Rules prevent me from doing a bonzai pass and continue in the hunt pressing him at every turn and opportunity. Finally a run out of trun nine puts me even to his door and he gives up the fight. The checkered flag ends the session and I see my gas light signal my engines need for some petrol.

At many of these events you get to meet great people and this was no exception as at the gas pump the GT3 owner pulls up and congratulates me. He tells me Ya I've kind of suspected that the BS is faster on the high speed courses and confesses he ownes one also!

I wanted to run the new M3, but it was in another run group and based on the drivers experience level it wouldn't have been a conclusive test. On the other hand I was happy to find a willing Viper ACR who has new respect for an AMG.

Jimmy is out

Nice work bud...way to represent. Those guys arent used to seeing the three pointed start all over their bumper

great report.....any pics? Cmon there have got to be pics.

T

great report. We need video for your next day! Thanks for sharing

I'm jealous. We still have snow on the ground. Sounds like a great day. AS

Jimmy, I just got back from a week in Mexico and can't believe I missed out on all the fun that you had. Well, at least I had 88 degree weather and lots of Tequila.

I have a serious question; do you guys usea camera mount for recording the laps and where can I get one for a similar car, the C63?

Thanks for the website, did you guys run a pipe behind the driver seat to mount the camera? I don't know where I could mount the camera on the C63 because the headrest and the seat is attached as one piece.

Prob questions better suited for the C63 forum or the OT forum or just get a suction cup mount for the rear window.

What a way to represent AMG. We are proud

Something very simple like a suction cup mount on the FRONT window can yield decent results. This is what I use with a simple point and shoot digital camera mounted to it:




Here is a video clip from my C55 with it mounted to my front windshield.


The only downside to this setup is you can't see your steering actions, but it does offer a great view of the track ahead.

where can i get a suction cup like that?

T

Would you mind sharing where you bought the camera suction holder and what brand it is. I watched the video and it is quite good. THANKS

any chance you can share with us where u got the suction cup?

T

Just for kicks I googled suction camera mounts. www.filmtools.com
Jimmy

that looks about right.....i use seasuckers on the boat and they look about the same but white and without the 3 axis adjusters.

T

Did you go through an entire tank of fuel in one session with the 63? Also what oil and coolant temperatures did you get up to during the track sesssions?

To PC Valkyrie: Is the cooling on the stock C55 sufficient for a summer track day session without the need to pull over to cool the engine down? I plan on bringing the C63 to the track and am worried about the possibility of overheating either coolant, oil or both. I know the 63 engines run a bit on the hot side so I guess I am just overly concerned. Also are you running stock pads on the track? I know the C63 is around 4000lbs so I was wondering if the brakes will fade if I run on stock pads with upgrade fluid.

If the 6.2L V8's coolling system is anything like the N/A 5.4L V8, then you will have absolutely NO problems with regards to engine cooling even with continous high rpm running on a track. Mosport is a high speed track and there are only 2-3 heavy braking zones. The rest of the time, I am on the throttle. In that particular track shown in my video above, the C55 ran CONTINUOUSLY at speed for > 45 minute sessions at a time. At no point did the coolant temperature go above the middle of the gauge. The naturally aspirated 5.4L AMG engine (and likely the 6.2L V8) has a lot of reserve with regards to engine cooling (in contrast to the supercharged and turbocharged AMG engines which can suffer from heat soak).

With regards to the brakes, my C55 is on stock pads and even stock brake fluid. This particular track is a high speed one, with only a few heavy braking zones. There was absolutely no problems with the braking during my multiple extended sessions.....no fading, nothing. I have taken the C55 onto slower, tighter circuits, and I was still very impressed with the stock braking system. There have been a few times where I experienced some fade when really cooking the brakes after extended sessions on slower tighter tracks, but overall, I would say the stock AMG brake system holds up pretty well (much better than the stock E46 M3 brakes). With your C63, you have even larger rotors and 6 piston in the front as opposed to 4 piston setup on my C55. Even though your car is significantly heavier, I suspect you will be fine.

My suggestion to you is to just bring your C63 completely stock to the track. Then you will realize exactly how your car holds up in track conditions. Then you can see afterwards whether you actually need to upgrade anything. I suspect engine cooling will not be an issue. Whether stock brakes are an issue will depend on the type of track, and your driving style.

The only thing for sure is that the outer edge of your front tires will likely bear the most "damage" from any prolonged track sesions.

Are you running on stock alignment for the C55? Also would more negative camber help with shoulder wear on tires?

Don't sacrifice a good corner balance and/or agressive alignment for tire wear. If you're gonna goto the track, tires are a "wear item".

Stock alignment/camber suspension. The only thing not stock on my car are the Michelin PS2 tires and a Renntech carbon fibre airbox.

Wouldn't a slight adjustment in the suspension alignment help with the understeer resulting from a 54/46 weight distribution on the car and improve turn in?

Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't the majority of production cars sold these days dialed in with a hint of understeer because the average driver is able to cope with it much easier as oppose to oversteer?

I really wish there were more aftermarket products for the handling purposes such as sway bars, strut bars, etcas opposed to just power tuning from the majority of the vendors.