C43 owners - done any track days?

[braddo]

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has used a C43 (or indeed just about any Merc/AMG!) on a track day and how it went.

Did you have any particular issues or did the car hold up pretty well? Did you have brake fade problems, ESP spoiling fun, shredded a pair of tyres in a day, engine/gearbox temperature problems, was the gearbox annoying etc etc.....

I am taking my car to Bedford on the weekend - probably just half a day - and thought I would see if anyone had done similar. I know these cars aren't exactly track focussed but I am looking forward to trying it out (having done probably a dozen track days in other stuff).

Thanks

 

[ddavidm]

Can't help you with this (yet), but Bedford is a great track. Can't recommend the Palmer Sport days there highly enough.

 

[bedwards1966]

I've never done it (I'd love to, but the issue is that to enjoy yourself you need to be pushing it to the limit, and by doing that you are running a (too) high risk of writing off the car. I know you can get track insurance, but I'm not sure what it costs).
I understand it's quite easy to go through a set of tyres, brake pads, and discs while enjoying yourself. Other than that they are solid cars and I wouldn't expect any mechanical difficulties.

 

[NW_Merc]

I think Olly has - BlackC55 of PCS.

 

[Justin1600]

I have done one Track Day in a W202 and found the auto box changing gear in the wrong places compared to my normal Trackday car with a manual gearbox.

 

[braddo]

A more general question regarding the gearbox - is manual downchanging something these (722?) gearboxes are designed to handle?

I'm thinking about downchanges to keep the engine revs above, say, 3000-4000rpm.

 

[Newera]

A Benz is really not a car for the track. It'll probably roll, cook it's brakes and spin an inside wheel on tight corners and suspension will be too soft. If it's a fast track be prepared to shell out for new replacement discs (They'll probably warp), pads and possibly tyres at the very least. Might also be wise to change the brake fluid and top up the oil to a little above full before venturing out in the hope of avoiding oil starvation on long corners...

 

[Wagon]

Some here with AMG's have just done one .... http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/events/122325-goodwood-trackday-2012-a-7.html

New or newish pads , new brake fluid and enjoy , any car is fun on a trackday.
You wont eat tyres unless you are a mental , drive fast and smooth , you'll love it..
p.s do a cooling down lap and dont put the handbrake on after a run..

 

[braddo]

Some here with AMG's have just done one .... http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/events/122325-goodwood-trackday-2012-a-7.html

New or newish pads , new brake fluid and enjoy , any car is fun on a trackday.
You wont eat tyres unless you are a mental , drive fast and smooth , you'll love it..
p.s do a cooling down lap and dont put the handbrake on after a run..

Is the white 911 in the photos on that thread yours?

I have a '72 Alfa GTV and I haven't had problems with brake fade (or with the Elise I used to have) at track days. We'll see how it goes with 1500kg of AMG though. I'm looking to get a 964 when the Alfa gets sold.

 

[renault12ts]

A Benz is really not a car for the track. It'll probably roll, cook it's brakes and spin an inside wheel on tight corners and suspension will be too soft. If it's a fast track be prepared to shell out for new replacement discs (They'll probably warp), pads and possibly tyres at the very least. Might also be wise to change the brake fluid and top up the oil to a little above full before venturing out in the hope of avoiding oil starvation on long corners...

The OP has an AMG so the brakes will be up to the job.

Overfilling the oil could seriously damage the engine.

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
The brakes will overheat on a 43 with heavy use like what is experienced with track work, though the brake performance is superb on the 43 in heavy use and due to the restricted airflow around the brakes brought about by the slab sided monoblocks and lack of brake cooling ducts.
It might be worth removing the front foglights and forward front wheel arch liners to aid the cooling.
I,m sure when Olly did some track work with his he melted the brake pad sensor wires he put a pic on the forum of them after.

 

[gaz_l]

I've taken the SLK on track a couple of times now and loved it, I think the C43 wouldn't have been so well suited.

Mostly down to the gearbox, the SLK has the 7G with flappy paddles, the C43 had a 5 speed with no manual shift - I know there were a few MY2000 models made with the tiptronic style gearbox but mine wasn't one of those.

That said, I'm sure if you take the C43 on the track you'll have fun - you really can't stretch the legs of a car like that on the public highway. Enjoy..

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[Wagon]

Is the white 911 in the photos on that thread yours?

I have a '72 Alfa GTV and I haven't had problems with brake fade (or with the Elise I used to have) at track days. We'll see how it goes with 1500kg of AMG though. I'm looking to get a 964 when the Alfa gets sold.

ooh nice , post a pic of the Alfa .
Yeah its my old bus , 26yrs old and still humping round , 964's are a good buy , although 5k more than a year ago and going up..the iconic shape but with real suspension, brakes and power steering..

 

[Newera]

The OP has an AMG so the brakes will be up to the job.

Overfilling the oil could seriously damage the engine.

I said a little above full, not a lot.

Although I'm a newbie here, I have built a few full race spec cars and done a lot of track time, so I wasn't giving inexperienced advice .

 

[braddo]

Well, I got through a day at Bedford last Monday and I really enjoyed myself. Most of the morning was a damp track, which undoubtedly made it easier on the car and gave an opportunity to see how effective the ESP is at keeping the car pointing the right way through the higher speed corners. That's the first time I have experienced one of these systems and it's amazing to feel the car braking a wheel or cutting a touch of power to settle the car more quickly than you could have reacted.

Bedford is very hard on brakes... I didn't get any fade problems but they did start to rumble quite a bit in the afternoon. The discs look a bit streaky so I gather this is an issue of pad deposits on the discs.

I didn't bother with big-rev downchanges under braking - it's easy to pop down a gear in the middle of a hairpin and there's enough torque to still get decent drive out of corners from 3000rpm (and it's easy to spin the inside rear anyway).

These cars are so rare on track that quite a few people got surprises at how well they go! I managed to touch 130mph at the end of the longest straight. A couple of E46 M3s were consistently overtaken and a 997 C4S owner was rather reluctant to let me by. On the other hand, track biased stuff like R26 Meganes were in another league through chicanes and under brakes....

It was great fun and it's always interesting seeing a wide variety of stuff on track. I don't think the C43 will be a regular though.

 

[braddo]

Oh, and here's the Alfa:

And having some fun at Goodwood:

I don't have any good pics of the Merc but hopefully this iphone shot gives an idea...