RE: Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG: PH Buying Guide
Discussion
That was a good read. Interestingly despite the mention of some less than tastefully modified C63 models around, I think because the prices have stayed quite strong and because running costs are high (in proportion to the cost to buy) these seem to fall into less unscrupulous hands than I expected.
I feared that these would end up dropping to the £10-12k mark and we'd see a host of them being driven by shirtless, chavvy types who'd ruin them. Much like many fast cars that have since become classics. Thankfully this seems fairly minimal, which I'm pleased about.
Although I went for a CLS63 so get to enjoy that engine I think if I was going down the C63 route, a grey or glue estate would be ideal. Size wise, these make a great daily car as well, assuming you don't mind the 15mpg round town.
I feared that these would end up dropping to the £10-12k mark and we'd see a host of them being driven by shirtless, chavvy types who'd ruin them. Much like many fast cars that have since become classics. Thankfully this seems fairly minimal, which I'm pleased about.
Although I went for a CLS63 so get to enjoy that engine I think if I was going down the C63 route, a grey or glue estate would be ideal. Size wise, these make a great daily car as well, assuming you don't mind the 15mpg round town.
These are great cars my OH still misses her 63 they make every journey feel special but we still have my 63 so she doesn't miss it to much
There performance is still relevant even compared to more modern machinery:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUs48KitW6M
& compared to the newer model:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwLxzxsLf1g
There performance is still relevant even compared to more modern machinery:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUs48KitW6M
& compared to the newer model:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwLxzxsLf1g
I've always liked these big time(especially the engine). If these had been offered with a manual gearbox I'd have much preferred it to the manual E92 M3 I had I reckon.
They sound lovely, and I really like how torquey they are in comparison to the V8 M3. I heard one rumbling away only yesterday.
They sound lovely, and I really like how torquey they are in comparison to the V8 M3. I heard one rumbling away only yesterday.
Well written, but I'd like to add some info, so as someone who's had one coming up to a decade, who has supercharged it also, here's some other info.
Cooling - Gearbox
Gearbox cooling isn't really the issue on the street and I'd be very surprised if you hit temps on the street to make your car hit limp mode. On a track you may well cook it a little, say a hot lap at The Ring and there are two fixes for this. The MB fix is a SW fix that raises the threshold in the ECU before it triggers limp mode. It works but the gearbox only gets hotter. The backyard/enthusiast fix is installing a plastic plate between the front bumper and the radiators which forces air through the coolers. The natural design flaw in the facelift bumper is that it allows air into the front of the car through the grilles but, air will always take the path of least resistance and therefore a lot of this air disperses upwards and around the engine bay rather than through the coolers. This mod stops this from happening and many owners report fewer occurrences of gearbox overheat, and also quicker recovery for engine oil temps.
Cooling - Engine
Engine intake temperatures are more than ok due to the short, factory ram-air style intakes fitted to the engine however, the Achilles heal of all cooling, especially on Facelift cars is engine oil. Normal driving Winter through Summer will see oil temps of between 100c - 110c. This causes no issue however, the rate at which they rise is quite phenomenal when you push on it repeatedly or you are stuck in traffic in the Summer. At around 116c the engine fans and oil cooler fan will activate to bring the temps back down, switching off at around 105c. There are a few remedies to this:
1. As above, install radiator shield. This will do nothing for you in traffic but when moving, oil temp recovery will take effect much more quickly and temps will rise a little less quickly than before. Cost is approx £50 plus labour (easy DIY).
2. Remove the aux oil cooler fan and air channels. This might seem counter intuitive but aside from the face being able to cool in traffic, these parts massively impede airflow onto the cooler while driving. Cost is free, only your labour. Removal of the fan won't cause an error code.
3. Procure the Black Series 44O cooling kit (discontinued) which adds a larger oil cooler, a cooling fan, lays the cooler flat and has a duct specific to the cooler that forces air down onto it. A flap can also be fashioned under the cooler to mimic the Black Series undertray, which uses principles of the Venturi effect to speed through air at this bottleneck and suck it out quickly through the cooler. I believe this kit costs a handsome sum, approx £3k if I remember plus labour.
3. The backyard/enthusiast fix is to install a much larger oil cooler in the factory position. A kit has been developed that doubles the size of the factory cooler but fits as a direct replacement. Inspired by the 44O kit, it has its own dedicated duct and undertray modification to produce the same, if not better cooling than the Black Series. Cost for this is approx £1100 plus labour. It can be coupled with both 1 & 2 to assist cooling even more. I would personally recommend coupling it with 1 without question however, unless a track car, number 2 can be left.
More power doesn't mean more heat, just more rapid acceleration in producing the heat. A remapped car realistically won't produce more heat than one that isn't, and is proven reliable. I would recommend this to wake the car up some more, even though you may feel it doesn't need waking up. The secret in more engine power on the C63 is only in telling the ECU to open up the throttle body 100%, it's that simple. Each variant of C63 has its power limited in this way and there's no other secret. A standard car & a PP/PPP car will remap to the same figures and all have proven reliable. The restriction thereon are the exhaust manifolds. Changing these unlocks around 30hp but with it, godly amounts of open throttle noise.
Regarding supercharging, additional cooling is not actually needed and you won't run into further issues as a result. The same principle is as above, in more rapid heat generation. Intake temps are stable without methanol injection to around 750+hp. The upgrade is reliable, factory feeling, but literally double the car when you push on. I have to be honest, the car is too fast for the road, like many supercars, which it can actually be compared to now. No one needs a 700+hp C Class, but it's fun
. A standard C63 will take a supercharger just fine, and all cars will need internal work when approaching 800hp plus a gearbox upgrade going north of 750hp. You can supercharge a standard C63 without exhaust work to around 640hp. Those with exhaust manifold upgrades can be pushed further up to 750hp and a smaller pulley.
Brakes
Front brakes can be upgraded to Black Series 390mm without much effort. There are two choices here:
1. The callipers are actually the same on all C63's but, the BS callipers have longer mounting points to allow the calliper to space outwards. These are a direct swap.
2. A few tuning companies make calliper adapters for the front which generate the same result as above at a fraction of the cost. In both cases you'll need to purchase 390mm floating Brembo discs which were on many models of AMG incl the some of these later AMG GT's.
Rear brakes are more tricky. The BS C63 uses an E63 rear axle, which is where it gets its wider track. The rear callipers are again the same but with longer mounting points. Sadly there is no adapter solution so you will need purchase E63/BS rear callipers and 360mm rear discs (non-floating).
Edit:
One common issue missed is the AC not working. This is usually one of two things, or both.
1. AC Pressure Sensor switch O-Ring perished, leaking AC gas. This is around a £150-200 fix including full re-gas.
2. Damage to AC condenser causing AC leak. Replacement condenser is around £500 plus labour.
3. Wild card. It has been known for the AC compressor to cr&p itself. I believe these are about £1k. I am sure recon units are now available.
When buying, check the AC works!
Cooling - Gearbox
Gearbox cooling isn't really the issue on the street and I'd be very surprised if you hit temps on the street to make your car hit limp mode. On a track you may well cook it a little, say a hot lap at The Ring and there are two fixes for this. The MB fix is a SW fix that raises the threshold in the ECU before it triggers limp mode. It works but the gearbox only gets hotter. The backyard/enthusiast fix is installing a plastic plate between the front bumper and the radiators which forces air through the coolers. The natural design flaw in the facelift bumper is that it allows air into the front of the car through the grilles but, air will always take the path of least resistance and therefore a lot of this air disperses upwards and around the engine bay rather than through the coolers. This mod stops this from happening and many owners report fewer occurrences of gearbox overheat, and also quicker recovery for engine oil temps.
Cooling - Engine
Engine intake temperatures are more than ok due to the short, factory ram-air style intakes fitted to the engine however, the Achilles heal of all cooling, especially on Facelift cars is engine oil. Normal driving Winter through Summer will see oil temps of between 100c - 110c. This causes no issue however, the rate at which they rise is quite phenomenal when you push on it repeatedly or you are stuck in traffic in the Summer. At around 116c the engine fans and oil cooler fan will activate to bring the temps back down, switching off at around 105c. There are a few remedies to this:
1. As above, install radiator shield. This will do nothing for you in traffic but when moving, oil temp recovery will take effect much more quickly and temps will rise a little less quickly than before. Cost is approx £50 plus labour (easy DIY).
2. Remove the aux oil cooler fan and air channels. This might seem counter intuitive but aside from the face being able to cool in traffic, these parts massively impede airflow onto the cooler while driving. Cost is free, only your labour. Removal of the fan won't cause an error code.
3. Procure the Black Series 44O cooling kit (discontinued) which adds a larger oil cooler, a cooling fan, lays the cooler flat and has a duct specific to the cooler that forces air down onto it. A flap can also be fashioned under the cooler to mimic the Black Series undertray, which uses principles of the Venturi effect to speed through air at this bottleneck and suck it out quickly through the cooler. I believe this kit costs a handsome sum, approx £3k if I remember plus labour.
3. The backyard/enthusiast fix is to install a much larger oil cooler in the factory position. A kit has been developed that doubles the size of the factory cooler but fits as a direct replacement. Inspired by the 44O kit, it has its own dedicated duct and undertray modification to produce the same, if not better cooling than the Black Series. Cost for this is approx £1100 plus labour. It can be coupled with both 1 & 2 to assist cooling even more. I would personally recommend coupling it with 1 without question however, unless a track car, number 2 can be left.
More power doesn't mean more heat, just more rapid acceleration in producing the heat. A remapped car realistically won't produce more heat than one that isn't, and is proven reliable. I would recommend this to wake the car up some more, even though you may feel it doesn't need waking up. The secret in more engine power on the C63 is only in telling the ECU to open up the throttle body 100%, it's that simple. Each variant of C63 has its power limited in this way and there's no other secret. A standard car & a PP/PPP car will remap to the same figures and all have proven reliable. The restriction thereon are the exhaust manifolds. Changing these unlocks around 30hp but with it, godly amounts of open throttle noise.
Regarding supercharging, additional cooling is not actually needed and you won't run into further issues as a result. The same principle is as above, in more rapid heat generation. Intake temps are stable without methanol injection to around 750+hp. The upgrade is reliable, factory feeling, but literally double the car when you push on. I have to be honest, the car is too fast for the road, like many supercars, which it can actually be compared to now. No one needs a 700+hp C Class, but it's fun
. A standard C63 will take a supercharger just fine, and all cars will need internal work when approaching 800hp plus a gearbox upgrade going north of 750hp. You can supercharge a standard C63 without exhaust work to around 640hp. Those with exhaust manifold upgrades can be pushed further up to 750hp and a smaller pulley.Brakes
Front brakes can be upgraded to Black Series 390mm without much effort. There are two choices here:
1. The callipers are actually the same on all C63's but, the BS callipers have longer mounting points to allow the calliper to space outwards. These are a direct swap.
2. A few tuning companies make calliper adapters for the front which generate the same result as above at a fraction of the cost. In both cases you'll need to purchase 390mm floating Brembo discs which were on many models of AMG incl the some of these later AMG GT's.
Rear brakes are more tricky. The BS C63 uses an E63 rear axle, which is where it gets its wider track. The rear callipers are again the same but with longer mounting points. Sadly there is no adapter solution so you will need purchase E63/BS rear callipers and 360mm rear discs (non-floating).
Edit:
One common issue missed is the AC not working. This is usually one of two things, or both.
1. AC Pressure Sensor switch O-Ring perished, leaking AC gas. This is around a £150-200 fix including full re-gas.
2. Damage to AC condenser causing AC leak. Replacement condenser is around £500 plus labour.
3. Wild card. It has been known for the AC compressor to cr&p itself. I believe these are about £1k. I am sure recon units are now available.
When buying, check the AC works!
Edited by Swole on Tuesday 5th January 10:10
Having moved from an e92 m3 to a low mile black c63 estate I am very happy with my choice. These cars are huge entertainment, not as precise or deft in corners as an m3 and certainly heavier but in estate form and a remap they will always make you smile and a a price point now that I think is not going to dip much further. Mine has been (touching wood) bullet proof, only standard servicing and consumables. Awesome!
Maybe I need to drive another of these as my experience still mystifies me, but the PP / 507bhp coupe I tried a few years ago was easily the most disappointing test drive i've ever had.
Dim-witted gearbox, didn't feel anywhere near the published numbers and just strangely ordinary (and quiet) from behind the wheel.
I knew within a couple of miles it wasn't for me. When I returned it to the dealership - who had just roadtested my 987.2 S - and politely declined to proceed with the purchase, the guy gave me my porker keys back and said "I don't blame you mate".
I drove it back-to-back with an E92 M3 CP (dct) which just felt more exciting in every department. I still find it hard to believe there was such a BHP and torque gap between the two of them.
Dim-witted gearbox, didn't feel anywhere near the published numbers and just strangely ordinary (and quiet) from behind the wheel.
I knew within a couple of miles it wasn't for me. When I returned it to the dealership - who had just roadtested my 987.2 S - and politely declined to proceed with the purchase, the guy gave me my porker keys back and said "I don't blame you mate".
I drove it back-to-back with an E92 M3 CP (dct) which just felt more exciting in every department. I still find it hard to believe there was such a BHP and torque gap between the two of them.
I’ve owned a 13 plate wagon for almost five years and have covered ~40k miles and apart from the cam adjusters going (£1,200 fix under extended warranty) it has cost me very little. Yes, 15 mpg and £580 road tax means it isn’t a cheap car to run, but anyone who buys one knows what to expect.
I’ve had mine remapped to ~515 bhp, which combined with a secondary cat delete and Fi exhaust means it sounds amazing. It may not be the quickest car out there but is still fast enough to lose my license if I get carried away.
Assuming all goes to plan, I’ll be keeping it till I’m six feet under by which time V8s will be something you read about in books. What a tragedy that day will be.
I’ve had mine remapped to ~515 bhp, which combined with a secondary cat delete and Fi exhaust means it sounds amazing. It may not be the quickest car out there but is still fast enough to lose my license if I get carried away.
Assuming all goes to plan, I’ll be keeping it till I’m six feet under by which time V8s will be something you read about in books. What a tragedy that day will be.
I ran a facelift PP estate from new in 2011 to 2019, 50k miles.
When I first bought it, I started it up outside my house and heard wailing, a young child was covering it’s ears due to the noise, I appreciate that this is not socially responsible, but it made me chuckle and ensured that I was a bit cautious thereafter.
Mine did not have an LSD fitted from new, I had one fitted a few years in. Not quite ‘ night and day ‘ difference, and certainly not an essential upgrade, but it certainly allowed marginally better power application. I would buy another with or without an LSD if using it as a daily.
Drove it to the alps every year for ski hols, I really couldn’t think of a better way to travel. Cruised over Germany at 130 + , the fuel consumption at that speed was ridiculous and actually made the journey longer due to refuelling stops.
It was perfectly reliable, used about a litre of oil every 1,500 miles.
Epic engine, it felt like I was starting up a Spitfire
When I first bought it, I started it up outside my house and heard wailing, a young child was covering it’s ears due to the noise, I appreciate that this is not socially responsible, but it made me chuckle and ensured that I was a bit cautious thereafter.
Mine did not have an LSD fitted from new, I had one fitted a few years in. Not quite ‘ night and day ‘ difference, and certainly not an essential upgrade, but it certainly allowed marginally better power application. I would buy another with or without an LSD if using it as a daily.
Drove it to the alps every year for ski hols, I really couldn’t think of a better way to travel. Cruised over Germany at 130 + , the fuel consumption at that speed was ridiculous and actually made the journey longer due to refuelling stops.
It was perfectly reliable, used about a litre of oil every 1,500 miles.
Epic engine, it felt like I was starting up a Spitfire
Leon R said:
RS4, ISF, M3, C63 and not a bad one amongst them.
Agree. In many ways I feel like I didn't appreciate a NA engine enough back then to be fair. I also like a turbo engine, but I feel like they have been crammed down our throats in recent years. Which in turn makes me miss the NA engines more. I guess you always want what you haven't got(or can't have anymore).Swole said:
Well written, but I'd like to add some info, so as someone who's had one coming up to a decade, who has supercharged it also, here's some other info.
Cooling - Gearbox
Gearbox cooling isn't really the issue on the street and I'd be very surprised if you hit temps on the street to make your car hit limp mode. On a track you may well cook it a little, say a hot lap at The Ring and there are two fixes for this. The MB fix is a SW fix that raises the threshold in the ECU before it triggers limp mode. It works but the gearbox only gets hotter. The backyard/enthusiast fix is installing a plastic plate between the front bumper and the radiators which forces air through the coolers. The natural design flaw in the facelift bumper is that it allows air into the front of the car through the grilles but, air will always take the path of least resistance and therefore a lot of this air disperses upwards and around the engine bay rather than through the coolers. This mod stops this from happening and many owners report fewer occurrences of gearbox overheat, and also quicker recovery for engine oil temps.
Cooling - Engine
Engine intake temperatures are more than ok due to the short, factory ram-air style intakes fitted to the engine however, the Achilles heal of all cooling, especially on Facelift cars is engine oil. Normal driving Winter through Summer will see oil temps of between 100c - 110c. This causes no issue however, the rate at which they rise is quite phenomenal when you push on it repeatedly or you are stuck in traffic in the Summer. At around 116c the engine fans and oil cooler fan will activate to bring the temps back down, switching off at around 105c. There are a few remedies to this:
1. As above, install radiator shield. This will do nothing for you in traffic but when moving, oil temp recovery will take effect much more quickly and temps will rise a little less quickly than before. Cost is approx £50 plus labour (easy DIY).
2. Remove the aux oil cooler fan and air channels. This might seem counter intuitive but aside from the face being able to cool in traffic, these parts massively impede airflow onto the cooler while driving. Cost is free, only your labour. Removal of the fan won't cause an error code.
3. Procure the Black Series 44O cooling kit (discontinued) which adds a larger oil cooler, a cooling fan, lays the cooler flat and has a duct specific to the cooler that forces air down onto it. A flap can also be fashioned under the cooler to mimic the Black Series undertray, which uses principles of the Venturi effect to speed through air at this bottleneck and suck it out quickly through the cooler. I believe this kit costs a handsome sum, approx £3k if I remember plus labour.
3. The backyard/enthusiast fix is to install a much larger oil cooler in the factory position. A kit has been developed that doubles the size of the factory cooler but fits as a direct replacement. Inspired by the 44O kit, it has its own dedicated duct and undertray modification to produce the same, if not better cooling than the Black Series. Cost for this is approx £1100 plus labour. It can be coupled with both 1 & 2 to assist cooling even more. I would personally recommend coupling it with 1 without question however, unless a track car, number 2 can be left.
More power doesn't mean more heat, just more rapid acceleration in producing the heat. A remapped car realistically won't produce more heat than one that isn't, and is proven reliable. I would recommend this to wake the car up some more, even though you may feel it doesn't need waking up. The secret in more engine power on the C63 is only in telling the ECU to open up the throttle body 100%, it's that simple. Each variant of C63 has its power limited in this way and there's no other secret. A standard car & a PP/PPP car will remap to the same figures and all have proven reliable. The restriction thereon are the exhaust manifolds. Changing these unlocks around 30hp but with it, godly amounts of open throttle noise.
Regarding supercharging, additional cooling is not actually needed and you won't run into further issues as a result. The same principle is as above, in more rapid heat generation. Intake temps are stable without methanol injection to around 750+hp. The upgrade is reliable, factory feeling, but literally double the car when you push on. I have to be honest, the car is too fast for the road, like many supercars, which it can actually be compared to now. No one needs a 700+hp C Class, but it's fun. A standard C63 will take a supercharger just fine, and all cars will need internal work when approaching 800hp plus a gearbox upgrade going north of 750hp. You can supercharge a standard C63 without exhaust work to around 640hp. Those with exhaust manifold upgrades can be pushed further up to 750hp and a smaller pulley.
Brakes
Front brakes can be upgraded to Black Series 390mm without much effort. There are two choices here:
1. The callipers are actually the same on all C63's but, the BS callipers have longer mounting points to allow the calliper to space outwards. These are a direct swap.
2. A few tuning companies make calliper adapters for the front which generate the same result as above at a fraction of the cost. In both cases you'll need to purchase 390mm floating Brembo discs which were on many models of AMG incl the some of these later AMG GT's.
Rear brakes are more tricky. The BS C63 uses an E63 rear axle, which is where it gets its wider track. The rear callipers are again the same but with longer mounting points. Sadly there is no adapter solution so you will need purchase E63/BS rear callipers and 360mm rear discs (non-floating).
Edit:
One common issue missed is the AC not working. This is usually one of two things, or both.
1. AC Pressure Sensor switch O-Ring perished, leaking AC gas. This is around a £150-200 fix including full re-gas.
2. Damage to AC condenser causing AC leak. Replacement condenser is around £500 plus labour.
3. Wild card. It has been known for the AC compressor to cr&p itself. I believe these are about £1k. I am sure recon units are now available.
When buying, check the AC works!
What an excellent post - thank you. As my PH name suggests I have form with the 63's predecessor and may, funds permitting, buy a C63 estate one day, so this kind of owner experience is very useful. Cooling - Gearbox
Gearbox cooling isn't really the issue on the street and I'd be very surprised if you hit temps on the street to make your car hit limp mode. On a track you may well cook it a little, say a hot lap at The Ring and there are two fixes for this. The MB fix is a SW fix that raises the threshold in the ECU before it triggers limp mode. It works but the gearbox only gets hotter. The backyard/enthusiast fix is installing a plastic plate between the front bumper and the radiators which forces air through the coolers. The natural design flaw in the facelift bumper is that it allows air into the front of the car through the grilles but, air will always take the path of least resistance and therefore a lot of this air disperses upwards and around the engine bay rather than through the coolers. This mod stops this from happening and many owners report fewer occurrences of gearbox overheat, and also quicker recovery for engine oil temps.
Cooling - Engine
Engine intake temperatures are more than ok due to the short, factory ram-air style intakes fitted to the engine however, the Achilles heal of all cooling, especially on Facelift cars is engine oil. Normal driving Winter through Summer will see oil temps of between 100c - 110c. This causes no issue however, the rate at which they rise is quite phenomenal when you push on it repeatedly or you are stuck in traffic in the Summer. At around 116c the engine fans and oil cooler fan will activate to bring the temps back down, switching off at around 105c. There are a few remedies to this:
1. As above, install radiator shield. This will do nothing for you in traffic but when moving, oil temp recovery will take effect much more quickly and temps will rise a little less quickly than before. Cost is approx £50 plus labour (easy DIY).
2. Remove the aux oil cooler fan and air channels. This might seem counter intuitive but aside from the face being able to cool in traffic, these parts massively impede airflow onto the cooler while driving. Cost is free, only your labour. Removal of the fan won't cause an error code.
3. Procure the Black Series 44O cooling kit (discontinued) which adds a larger oil cooler, a cooling fan, lays the cooler flat and has a duct specific to the cooler that forces air down onto it. A flap can also be fashioned under the cooler to mimic the Black Series undertray, which uses principles of the Venturi effect to speed through air at this bottleneck and suck it out quickly through the cooler. I believe this kit costs a handsome sum, approx £3k if I remember plus labour.
3. The backyard/enthusiast fix is to install a much larger oil cooler in the factory position. A kit has been developed that doubles the size of the factory cooler but fits as a direct replacement. Inspired by the 44O kit, it has its own dedicated duct and undertray modification to produce the same, if not better cooling than the Black Series. Cost for this is approx £1100 plus labour. It can be coupled with both 1 & 2 to assist cooling even more. I would personally recommend coupling it with 1 without question however, unless a track car, number 2 can be left.
More power doesn't mean more heat, just more rapid acceleration in producing the heat. A remapped car realistically won't produce more heat than one that isn't, and is proven reliable. I would recommend this to wake the car up some more, even though you may feel it doesn't need waking up. The secret in more engine power on the C63 is only in telling the ECU to open up the throttle body 100%, it's that simple. Each variant of C63 has its power limited in this way and there's no other secret. A standard car & a PP/PPP car will remap to the same figures and all have proven reliable. The restriction thereon are the exhaust manifolds. Changing these unlocks around 30hp but with it, godly amounts of open throttle noise.
Regarding supercharging, additional cooling is not actually needed and you won't run into further issues as a result. The same principle is as above, in more rapid heat generation. Intake temps are stable without methanol injection to around 750+hp. The upgrade is reliable, factory feeling, but literally double the car when you push on. I have to be honest, the car is too fast for the road, like many supercars, which it can actually be compared to now. No one needs a 700+hp C Class, but it's fun
. A standard C63 will take a supercharger just fine, and all cars will need internal work when approaching 800hp plus a gearbox upgrade going north of 750hp. You can supercharge a standard C63 without exhaust work to around 640hp. Those with exhaust manifold upgrades can be pushed further up to 750hp and a smaller pulley.Brakes
Front brakes can be upgraded to Black Series 390mm without much effort. There are two choices here:
1. The callipers are actually the same on all C63's but, the BS callipers have longer mounting points to allow the calliper to space outwards. These are a direct swap.
2. A few tuning companies make calliper adapters for the front which generate the same result as above at a fraction of the cost. In both cases you'll need to purchase 390mm floating Brembo discs which were on many models of AMG incl the some of these later AMG GT's.
Rear brakes are more tricky. The BS C63 uses an E63 rear axle, which is where it gets its wider track. The rear callipers are again the same but with longer mounting points. Sadly there is no adapter solution so you will need purchase E63/BS rear callipers and 360mm rear discs (non-floating).
Edit:
One common issue missed is the AC not working. This is usually one of two things, or both.
1. AC Pressure Sensor switch O-Ring perished, leaking AC gas. This is around a £150-200 fix including full re-gas.
2. Damage to AC condenser causing AC leak. Replacement condenser is around £500 plus labour.
3. Wild card. It has been known for the AC compressor to cr&p itself. I believe these are about £1k. I am sure recon units are now available.
When buying, check the AC works!
Edited by Swole on Tuesday 5th January 10:10
Probably the best car Iv owned and regret selling. It’s the perfect all rounder for me can potter around town like a normal c class but with that wonderful V8 burble massaging your back in the seat, but get on it and it can be a wild brute of a car! I even saw 30mpg on the long drive from Lancashire to the in-laws in Inverness. Prices have only slightly dropped to what I paid 4 years ago.
Make sure you have a good check of any car as they are creeping into chav price sector and when they realise all their moneys going on fuel things like servicing/ brakes/ tyres take a back seat and then they try to sell them just as everything needs doing and if it’s a PPP car the brakes are MUCH more expensive than the normal ones.
Make sure you have a good check of any car as they are creeping into chav price sector and when they realise all their moneys going on fuel things like servicing/ brakes/ tyres take a back seat and then they try to sell them just as everything needs doing and if it’s a PPP car the brakes are MUCH more expensive than the normal ones.
Glenn63 said:
Probably the best car Iv owned and regret selling. It’s the perfect all rounder for me can potter around town like a normal c class but with that wonderful V8 burble massaging your back in the seat, but get on it and it can be a wild brute of a car! I even saw 30mpg on the long drive from Lancashire to the in-laws in Inverness. Prices have only slightly dropped to what I paid 4 years ago.
Make sure you have a good check of any car as they are creeping into chav price sector and when they realise all their moneys going on fuel things like servicing/ brakes/ tyres take a back seat and then they try to sell them just as everything needs doing and if it’s a PPP car the brakes are MUCH more expensive than the normal ones.
Had one of these for 4 years, great car but they are firmly in the Chav price sector now sadly as I found out from the sort of chancers enquiring about it. I will admit there is now a snob factor for me and I couldn’t own another one when I see typical current owner profiles and how unsocially these are often drivenMake sure you have a good check of any car as they are creeping into chav price sector and when they realise all their moneys going on fuel things like servicing/ brakes/ tyres take a back seat and then they try to sell them just as everything needs doing and if it’s a PPP car the brakes are MUCH more expensive than the normal ones.
KPB1973 said:
Maybe I need to drive another of these as my experience still mystifies me, but the PP / 507bhp coupe I tried a few years ago was easily the most disappointing test drive i've ever had.
Dim-witted gearbox, didn't feel anywhere near the published numbers and just strangely ordinary (and quiet) from behind the wheel.
I knew within a couple of miles it wasn't for me. When I returned it to the dealership - who had just roadtested my 987.2 S - and politely declined to proceed with the purchase, the guy gave me my porker keys back and said "I don't blame you mate".
I drove it back-to-back with an E92 M3 CP (dct) which just felt more exciting in every department. I still find it hard to believe there was such a BHP and torque gap between the two of them.
I agree. I drove a coupe a number of years ago. Felt very agricultural.Dim-witted gearbox, didn't feel anywhere near the published numbers and just strangely ordinary (and quiet) from behind the wheel.
I knew within a couple of miles it wasn't for me. When I returned it to the dealership - who had just roadtested my 987.2 S - and politely declined to proceed with the purchase, the guy gave me my porker keys back and said "I don't blame you mate".
I drove it back-to-back with an E92 M3 CP (dct) which just felt more exciting in every department. I still find it hard to believe there was such a BHP and torque gap between the two of them.
Also, out of the usual suspects (RS4, M3 and the C63), the 63 does seemed to have aged worst of all. Wagon is the prettiest to me.
AMGSee55 said:
What an excellent post - thank you. As my PH name suggests I have form with the 63's predecessor and may, funds permitting, buy a C63 estate one day, so this kind of owner experience is very useful.
You’re welcome. One more thing to check actually is for rocket cover leaks. The gasket can go bad or the plastic cover can crack, seeping oil onto the exhaust manifold/downpipes, creating some smoke and a smell. Just check it’s dry.
Dezbo said:
Glenn63 said:
Probably the best car Iv owned and regret selling. It’s the perfect all rounder for me can potter around town like a normal c class but with that wonderful V8 burble massaging your back in the seat, but get on it and it can be a wild brute of a car! I even saw 30mpg on the long drive from Lancashire to the in-laws in Inverness. Prices have only slightly dropped to what I paid 4 years ago.
Make sure you have a good check of any car as they are creeping into chav price sector and when they realise all their moneys going on fuel things like servicing/ brakes/ tyres take a back seat and then they try to sell them just as everything needs doing and if it’s a PPP car the brakes are MUCH more expensive than the normal ones.
Had one of these for 4 years, great car but they are firmly in the Chav price sector now sadly as I found out from the sort of chancers enquiring about it. I will admit there is now a snob factor for me and I couldn’t own another one when I see typical current owner profiles and how unsocially these are often drivenMake sure you have a good check of any car as they are creeping into chav price sector and when they realise all their moneys going on fuel things like servicing/ brakes/ tyres take a back seat and then they try to sell them just as everything needs doing and if it’s a PPP car the brakes are MUCH more expensive than the normal ones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra621YNH-CY
Remember that one that got binned at the Trafford Centre around then as well ? Then the owners hurried to take the plates of, dodgy as f
k !Now, doesn't seem to be the car of choice anymore.
gigglebug said:
ghibbett said:
Also check for interior rattles on face lift cars. They can be pretty bad.
Agree the LSD make a BIG difference to the drive. It really allows the driver to control the car's yaw angle with the throttle.
Finally there is a noticeable difference in both ride and slip progression between the 18"s and 19"s.
P.S. I ran one for 2 years and the associated costs are in my 'garage'.
Was 30K expenditure for 2 years expected and planned for or did it come as a bit of a shock? It really helps to quantify the overall cost of running such a car seeing the monthly total in your blog, would be a lot of peoples budget for a car full stop! Were you able to demo a variety of differently specced cars before you came to your ideal compromise? I always think that many will end up buying blind based on what they think will be their perfect option list without actually being able so sample it. Not their fault obviously more the availability of demo cars with different specsAgree the LSD make a BIG difference to the drive. It really allows the driver to control the car's yaw angle with the throttle.
Finally there is a noticeable difference in both ride and slip progression between the 18"s and 19"s.
P.S. I ran one for 2 years and the associated costs are in my 'garage'.
Bladedancer said:
gigglebug said:
Yep but it's still money you'll never see again. Another poster might have it spot on by saying that second hand prices might keep rather keen seeing as they will be the last of the N/A engine versions
I wonder what the overall expenditure would be on a 2 year old car if run for 24 months?
While I do agree those 24k are, as you say, "money you'll never see again" I don't think it is fair to include that as "running costs". IMO it creates a very bleak image of what looks like a reliable car.I wonder what the overall expenditure would be on a 2 year old car if run for 24 months?
Edited by gigglebug on Monday 30th March 19:53
If you just say "it costed me 30k over 2 years" I think most people will think "it's a heap of junk that kept breaking down and costed 30k to keep on the road and I'm staying clear of that".
TX.
Edited by Terminator X on Tuesday 5th January 13:21
Loved my C63’s. Truly epic way to travel. The original C63 saloon PPP that I had was frankly awesome. I can genuinely say that in the near 3 years I had the PPP as a daily - I didn’t come across anything it couldn’t live with. Got stopped by the gendarmes one night, they said & I swear down ‘can you take us for a spin’ we love cars & we particularly love these AMG V8’s. Try one - before the world goes EV.
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