Traded the C63 for a Black Series
08-28-2010, 11:28 PM
#1
Super Member
Thread Starter
Traded the C63 for a Black Series
Took the plunge and traded for the Black Series...and I'm LOVING it. I'm sure everyone here knows most of the reasons why. In particular, I love how low key it can be. Very similar to my '88 M3, unless you know what it is, you usually don't give it a second look. I get a similar reaction from people in both cars. Car enthusiasts pull up and give a nod or thumbs up, while most cops I see are too busy catching up to a Viper or Vette in front of me to give me a look.
Oh, and the sound it makes accelerating from 3-5k rpm is heavenly.
The only things I miss from the C63 are the better ipod integration (when you hit mute in the C63 it paused the ipod, instead of letting it continue to play...which is mainly annoying when listening to podcasts and getting a phone call, then having to rewind the part I missed) and THE WHEELS. I love the way the stock wheels look but they are a PAIN to clean, even worse than the multi-spokes from my E46 M3. Other than that, all is great.
08-29-2010, 01:56 AM
#5
Super Member
Thread Starter
Sure
Exhaust: With the windows up, the sound is noticeably louder in the cabin, close to driving the C63 with the back seat folded down, but more while accelerating. With the windows down its even more noticeable. The black sounds a bit rawer/cracklier. At cruising speeds on the interstate its the same as the C63 with the seat down.
Steering: The effort required to turn the wheel is 3-4x that of the C63. Switching immediately from the C63 to the Black, it feels minimally boosted, which I like. Road feel was the second difference I noticed on the test drive before being after steering effort. The C63 is very good at hiding imperfections in the road, but it also feels a bit numb. Conversely the Black telegraphs undulations, grooves, etc to the driver without being intrusive.
Handling: The C63 has the usual amount of understeer dialed into it that most modern cars do, with available power oversteer. The difference is that the power oversteer in the C63 felt very "snappy." The Black has no detectable understeer dialed into factory suspension settings and has a very linear feel to the oversteer. If anything, the drift is even easier to control than my E46 M3, which is crazy to think about. Cornering G's are also noticeably higher thanks to both the suspension and the wider tires 265 up front 285 in the rear (the C63's rears are only 255 for comparison). And the track is 4-inches wider in the Black, compared to other CLKs.
Interior/COMMAND: The Black has the last generation COMMAND system, so the iPod controls are in the speedometer display exclusively. The navigation is DVD based instead of harddrive. The HK stereo is about the same in terms of quality, LOGIC7, etc. Bluetooth was just a matter of buying one of the pucks off of ebay for around $130.
Suspension: The biggest question is my mind before test driving it was wondering what all the reviews meant by a rough ride. After driving three generations of M3's (never owned an E36), my definition of a "rough ride" is likely skewed. The C63 was like riding a cloud compared to the 2008 M3 I traded on it (which didn't have adaptive suspension, just the standard sport setup). The Black's ride quality is almost identical to my E46 M3, which is to say, its smooth on smooth roads, and rough on rough roads, but never painful and grating as I had read in reviews. Again, rawer than the C63, but not as bad as everyone had made it out to be.
Engine: Still the wonderful M156 V-8 we all know and love, just tweaked to 507hp and 465lb-ft. Feels identical to a K1 tuned C63 in terms of power. Runs noticeably cooler when pushed thanks to all of the extra radiators. I also appreciate the vents in the hood to keep the engine bay temperatures a bit cooler than the C63.
Seats: Exactly the same, except for some adjustments are manual instead of electric.
Paddle Shifters: Exactly the same.
Transmission: The Comfort setting on the Black feels like the Sport mode on the C63. And the Black's sport mode is borderline telepathic at knowing what gear you want at any given time. BIG MINUS for the Black, of course, is the no throttle blips. Likely leading to more wear and tear on the torque converter over time.
Driving it: All sorts of little things, love seeing the pattern of carbon fiber in the sunlight through the rear view mirror. Love being able to put down both front and rear windows. (Haven't had that since my father's 850Ci I learned to drive a manual on.) Its hard to describe but it just feels "more fun" to drive. In short, if I HAD to have a sedan, the C63 is the only thing I would even look at. But I'm currently young and wife/childless, neither of which will last forever, so I took the dive.
If you have any other specific questions about C63 vs. CLK63 Black I would be happy to answer if I can.
Exhaust: With the windows up, the sound is noticeably louder in the cabin, close to driving the C63 with the back seat folded down, but more while accelerating. With the windows down its even more noticeable. The black sounds a bit rawer/cracklier. At cruising speeds on the interstate its the same as the C63 with the seat down.
Steering: The effort required to turn the wheel is 3-4x that of the C63. Switching immediately from the C63 to the Black, it feels minimally boosted, which I like. Road feel was the second difference I noticed on the test drive before being after steering effort. The C63 is very good at hiding imperfections in the road, but it also feels a bit numb. Conversely the Black telegraphs undulations, grooves, etc to the driver without being intrusive.
Handling: The C63 has the usual amount of understeer dialed into it that most modern cars do, with available power oversteer. The difference is that the power oversteer in the C63 felt very "snappy." The Black has no detectable understeer dialed into factory suspension settings and has a very linear feel to the oversteer. If anything, the drift is even easier to control than my E46 M3, which is crazy to think about. Cornering G's are also noticeably higher thanks to both the suspension and the wider tires 265 up front 285 in the rear (the C63's rears are only 255 for comparison). And the track is 4-inches wider in the Black, compared to other CLKs.
Interior/COMMAND: The Black has the last generation COMMAND system, so the iPod controls are in the speedometer display exclusively. The navigation is DVD based instead of harddrive. The HK stereo is about the same in terms of quality, LOGIC7, etc. Bluetooth was just a matter of buying one of the pucks off of ebay for around $130.
Suspension: The biggest question is my mind before test driving it was wondering what all the reviews meant by a rough ride. After driving three generations of M3's (never owned an E36), my definition of a "rough ride" is likely skewed. The C63 was like riding a cloud compared to the 2008 M3 I traded on it (which didn't have adaptive suspension, just the standard sport setup). The Black's ride quality is almost identical to my E46 M3, which is to say, its smooth on smooth roads, and rough on rough roads, but never painful and grating as I had read in reviews. Again, rawer than the C63, but not as bad as everyone had made it out to be.
Engine: Still the wonderful M156 V-8 we all know and love, just tweaked to 507hp and 465lb-ft. Feels identical to a K1 tuned C63 in terms of power. Runs noticeably cooler when pushed thanks to all of the extra radiators. I also appreciate the vents in the hood to keep the engine bay temperatures a bit cooler than the C63.
Seats: Exactly the same, except for some adjustments are manual instead of electric.
Paddle Shifters: Exactly the same.
Transmission: The Comfort setting on the Black feels like the Sport mode on the C63. And the Black's sport mode is borderline telepathic at knowing what gear you want at any given time. BIG MINUS for the Black, of course, is the no throttle blips. Likely leading to more wear and tear on the torque converter over time.
Driving it: All sorts of little things, love seeing the pattern of carbon fiber in the sunlight through the rear view mirror. Love being able to put down both front and rear windows. (Haven't had that since my father's 850Ci I learned to drive a manual on.) Its hard to describe but it just feels "more fun" to drive. In short, if I HAD to have a sedan, the C63 is the only thing I would even look at. But I'm currently young and wife/childless, neither of which will last forever, so I took the dive.
If you have any other specific questions about C63 vs. CLK63 Black I would be happy to answer if I can.
08-29-2010, 02:53 AM
#6
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2013 C63 AMG P31, 2014 GMC Sierra (6.2)
That's a pretty good comparison! So the C63 is a hell of a car and the CLK63 Black even more so! Since Mb won't bring the black to Canada perhaps the C63 with the new performance package would be the next best thing..
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08-29-2010, 04:38 AM
#8
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Excellent comparison of the 2 cars, sums it up nicely.
08-29-2010, 08:16 AM
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10 Cayenne GTS, 07 Porsche 911 Turbo
Thank you
I sold my SL55 last week-end and was thinking of replacing it with a used 2009 C63. Your write-up is very informative and answers a lot of questions I had. Now before anyone asks why would you replace an 07 SL55 with 030 for a C63 with 030 its easy, I'm not a convertible fan and Virginia is not a good convertible state, at least in my opinion. I also like the C and CLK body styles vs. the newer and larger E, CL, CLS and S models. If I buy a C63 it will be for daily use in order to save my BS for the weekend and nice days.
08-29-2010, 10:23 AM
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'05 C200K SS, '05 Kleemann CLK500K, '08 Hummer H3 & '92 Z34 5sp (track car in Canada)
Congrats, beautiful choice. My 500 wants to be a 63 blackie when it grows up.
08-29-2010, 12:16 PM
#13
MBWorld Fanatic!
Sure
Exhaust: With the windows up, the sound is noticeably louder in the cabin, close to driving the C63 with the back seat folded down, but more while accelerating. With the windows down its even more noticeable. The black sounds a bit rawer/cracklier. At cruising speeds on the interstate its the same as the C63 with the seat down.
Steering: The effort required to turn the wheel is 3-4x that of the C63. Switching immediately from the C63 to the Black, it feels minimally boosted, which I like. Road feel was the second difference I noticed on the test drive before being after steering effort. The C63 is very good at hiding imperfections in the road, but it also feels a bit numb. Conversely the Black telegraphs undulations, grooves, etc to the driver without being intrusive.
Handling: The C63 has the usual amount of understeer dialed into it that most modern cars do, with available power oversteer. The difference is that the power oversteer in the C63 felt very "snappy." The Black has no detectable understeer dialed into factory suspension settings and has a very linear feel to the oversteer. If anything, the drift is even easier to control than my E46 M3, which is crazy to think about. Cornering G's are also noticeably higher thanks to both the suspension and the wider tires 265 up front 285 in the rear (the C63's rears are only 255 for comparison). And the track is 4-inches wider in the Black, compared to other CLKs.
Interior/COMMAND: The Black has the last generation COMMAND system, so the iPod controls are in the speedometer display exclusively. The navigation is DVD based instead of harddrive. The HK stereo is about the same in terms of quality, LOGIC7, etc. Bluetooth was just a matter of buying one of the pucks off of ebay for around $130.
Suspension: The biggest question is my mind before test driving it was wondering what all the reviews meant by a rough ride. After driving three generations of M3's (never owned an E36), my definition of a "rough ride" is likely skewed. The C63 was like riding a cloud compared to the 2008 M3 I traded on it (which didn't have adaptive suspension, just the standard sport setup). The Black's ride quality is almost identical to my E46 M3, which is to say, its smooth on smooth roads, and rough on rough roads, but never painful and grating as I had read in reviews. Again, rawer than the C63, but not as bad as everyone had made it out to be.
Engine: Still the wonderful M156 V-8 we all know and love, just tweaked to 507hp and 465lb-ft. Feels identical to a K1 tuned C63 in terms of power. Runs noticeably cooler when pushed thanks to all of the extra radiators. I also appreciate the vents in the hood to keep the engine bay temperatures a bit cooler than the C63.
Seats: Exactly the same, except for some adjustments are manual instead of electric.
Paddle Shifters: Exactly the same.
Transmission: The Comfort setting on the Black feels like the Sport mode on the C63. And the Black's sport mode is borderline telepathic at knowing what gear you want at any given time. BIG MINUS for the Black, of course, is the no throttle blips. Likely leading to more wear and tear on the torque converter over time.
Driving it: All sorts of little things, love seeing the pattern of carbon fiber in the sunlight through the rear view mirror. Love being able to put down both front and rear windows. (Haven't had that since my father's 850Ci I learned to drive a manual on.) Its hard to describe but it just feels "more fun" to drive. In short, if I HAD to have a sedan, the C63 is the only thing I would even look at. But I'm currently young and wife/childless, neither of which will last forever, so I took the dive.
If you have any other specific questions about C63 vs. CLK63 Black I would be happy to answer if I can.
Exhaust: With the windows up, the sound is noticeably louder in the cabin, close to driving the C63 with the back seat folded down, but more while accelerating. With the windows down its even more noticeable. The black sounds a bit rawer/cracklier. At cruising speeds on the interstate its the same as the C63 with the seat down.
Steering: The effort required to turn the wheel is 3-4x that of the C63. Switching immediately from the C63 to the Black, it feels minimally boosted, which I like. Road feel was the second difference I noticed on the test drive before being after steering effort. The C63 is very good at hiding imperfections in the road, but it also feels a bit numb. Conversely the Black telegraphs undulations, grooves, etc to the driver without being intrusive.
Handling: The C63 has the usual amount of understeer dialed into it that most modern cars do, with available power oversteer. The difference is that the power oversteer in the C63 felt very "snappy." The Black has no detectable understeer dialed into factory suspension settings and has a very linear feel to the oversteer. If anything, the drift is even easier to control than my E46 M3, which is crazy to think about. Cornering G's are also noticeably higher thanks to both the suspension and the wider tires 265 up front 285 in the rear (the C63's rears are only 255 for comparison). And the track is 4-inches wider in the Black, compared to other CLKs.
Interior/COMMAND: The Black has the last generation COMMAND system, so the iPod controls are in the speedometer display exclusively. The navigation is DVD based instead of harddrive. The HK stereo is about the same in terms of quality, LOGIC7, etc. Bluetooth was just a matter of buying one of the pucks off of ebay for around $130.
Suspension: The biggest question is my mind before test driving it was wondering what all the reviews meant by a rough ride. After driving three generations of M3's (never owned an E36), my definition of a "rough ride" is likely skewed. The C63 was like riding a cloud compared to the 2008 M3 I traded on it (which didn't have adaptive suspension, just the standard sport setup). The Black's ride quality is almost identical to my E46 M3, which is to say, its smooth on smooth roads, and rough on rough roads, but never painful and grating as I had read in reviews. Again, rawer than the C63, but not as bad as everyone had made it out to be.
Engine: Still the wonderful M156 V-8 we all know and love, just tweaked to 507hp and 465lb-ft. Feels identical to a K1 tuned C63 in terms of power. Runs noticeably cooler when pushed thanks to all of the extra radiators. I also appreciate the vents in the hood to keep the engine bay temperatures a bit cooler than the C63.
Seats: Exactly the same, except for some adjustments are manual instead of electric.
Paddle Shifters: Exactly the same.
Transmission: The Comfort setting on the Black feels like the Sport mode on the C63. And the Black's sport mode is borderline telepathic at knowing what gear you want at any given time. BIG MINUS for the Black, of course, is the no throttle blips. Likely leading to more wear and tear on the torque converter over time.
Driving it: All sorts of little things, love seeing the pattern of carbon fiber in the sunlight through the rear view mirror. Love being able to put down both front and rear windows. (Haven't had that since my father's 850Ci I learned to drive a manual on.) Its hard to describe but it just feels "more fun" to drive. In short, if I HAD to have a sedan, the C63 is the only thing I would even look at. But I'm currently young and wife/childless, neither of which will last forever, so I took the dive.
If you have any other specific questions about C63 vs. CLK63 Black I would be happy to answer if I can.
.....One question though: What vents in the hood?
08-29-2010, 09:52 PM
#15
Member
Congrats and excellent comparo. I had a chance to drive the C63 at AMG's Driving Academy and I think your impressions are very accurate.
Now, whats ur plan for mods
Now, whats ur plan for mods
08-29-2010, 10:17 PM
#16
MBWorld Fanatic!
Suspension: The biggest question is my mind before test driving it was wondering what all the reviews meant by a rough ride. After driving three generations of M3's (never owned an E36), my definition of a "rough ride" is likely skewed. The C63 was like riding a cloud compared to the 2008 M3 I traded on it (which didn't have adaptive suspension, just the standard sport setup). The Black's ride quality is almost identical to my E46 M3, which is to say, its smooth on smooth roads, and rough on rough roads, but never painful and grating as I had read in reviews. Again, rawer than the C63, but not as bad as everyone had made it out to be.
08-30-2010, 09:08 AM
#18
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W203 slightly modified
Interior/COMMAND: The Black has the last generation COMMAND system, so the iPod controls are in the speedometer display exclusively. The navigation is DVD based instead of harddrive. The HK stereo is about the same in terms of quality, LOGIC7, etc. Bluetooth was just a matter of buying one of the pucks off of ebay for around $130.
08-31-2010, 12:30 AM
#20
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Thread Starter
Other coast, Virginia.
09-15-2010, 06:07 PM
#22
MBWorld Fanatic!
Here's the most un-biased comparison you can get. I ran a contest on my website to guess what car I bought, and gave the winner a chance to test drive both the C63 and the CLK63 Black Series, and told him to write up a comparo review between the 2 cars.
http://www.beyond.ca/the-black-not-a...ucks/5837.html
http://www.beyond.ca/the-black-not-a...ucks/5837.html
09-15-2010, 08:08 PM
#24
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09-16-2010, 11:39 AM
#25
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2013 C63 AMG P31, 2014 GMC Sierra (6.2)
Here's the most un-biased comparison you can get. I ran a contest on my website to guess what car I bought, and gave the winner a chance to test drive both the C63 and the CLK63 Black Series, and told him to write up a comparo review between the 2 cars.
http://www.beyond.ca/the-black-not-a...ucks/5837.html
http://www.beyond.ca/the-black-not-a...ucks/5837.html
I think he liked it
