C43

[HB]

Come on Harry, friend?

Sorry you're right. How could a ***** like me have any friends.

 

[V8andTurbos]

C63 is the daddy, period. Point to point isn't what it's all about. Of course an all wheel drive car will be more effective than a 500 bhp rwd C63. In the dry though a C63 will punish a 43 on most roads. Also a 43 is just a turbocharged 6cyl and the 63 is a 6.2 V8 which will never be seen again in a road car

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

...the 63 is a 6.2 V8 which will never be seen again in a road car

Well it used to be.

The (6.2 N/A) King is dead. Long live the (4.0 TT) King

 

[dejongj]

Well it used to be.

The (6.2 N/A) King is dead. Long live the (4.0 TT) King

Indeed, and isn't that the same engine as the 3.0 TT with same displacement per cylinder, just two more cylinders.

Things change, smaller engines these days are more powerful than the bigger engines of yesteryears. Fully understand and appreciate peoples personal preferences, that doesn't mean anyone else's preference is somehow a lesser choice.

 

[def90cars]

C43 to the C63 is the Mexico to the RS2000, the SRi to the GT/E or the S4 to the RS4.

Very good, even great car.

Do we have to compare?

 

[Bernetini69]

So thanks to all who have commented especially the positive comments. For those who have posted negativity I advise go and drive the vehicle before passing comment.

So I decided to head to Wales on Sunday morning, luckily it stayed dry for me. Now, after owning a 63 for a year, I did exactly the same with that when I first got it and these are two completely different cars.

Put them head to head on a track, the c43 would easily be taking off over a second off the 63. Whilst the 63 has that brute force, which was absolutely brilliant and was just a wild beast, the 43 has the option of being driven normally but when you put that switch into sports plus mode it becomes a 63 but with the grip to go with it.

The country roads took absolutely no effort in controlling them in the 43, you weren't twitching going into corners like the 63. You knew that one mistake in the 63 it was game over, with this you feel more solid, secure the grip is there for you. Straight line speed, the 63 obviously would out perform the 43, although from a standing start I imagine the 43 would be ahead.

I only had one twitchy moment which was at a roundabout when the car hit a spot of diesel but nothing more than a twitch.

It is quite easily to sum up really, the 63 is a wild beast, it is an absolutely stunning car and one I thoroughly enjoyed but you had not one tiny bit of space to make a mistake or its game over. The 43 is a tameable wild beast depending on how you drive it, it is more forgiving and definitely provides more grip and security.

Head to head they are different cars. I love the 43 and would never see myself going back to a 63, especially with the new engine in it. The only reason the older 63 was so great was because of that monster of an engine. Whilst cars are now more turbocharged, the good old fashioned engines are dying out. Even the Ferraris are, but that was the only reason I got the old 63 for that beast of an engine.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the 43 and will be able to provide another quick review once its been around a track, funnily enough when it comes up against a new 63 coupe, of my friends.

 

[JLR1969]

So thanks to all who have commented especially the positive comments. For those who have posted negativity I advise go and drive the vehicle before passing comment.

So I decided to head to Wales on Sunday morning, luckily it stayed dry for me. Now, after owning a 63 for a year, I did exactly the same with that when I first got it and these are two completely different cars.

Put them head to head on a track, the c43 would easily be taking off over a second off the 63. Whilst the 63 has that brute force, which was absolutely brilliant and was just a wild beast, the 43 has the option of being driven normally but when you put that switch into sports plus mode it becomes a 63 but with the grip to go with it.

The country roads took absolutely no effort in controlling them in the 43, you weren't twitching going into corners like the 63. You knew that one mistake in the 63 it was game over, with this you feel more solid, secure the grip is there for you. Straight line speed, the 63 obviously would out perform the 43, although from a standing start I imagine the 43 would be ahead.

I only had one twitchy moment which was at a roundabout when the car hit a spot of diesel but nothing more than a twitch.

It is quite easily to sum up really, the 63 is a wild beast, it is an absolutely stunning car and one I thoroughly enjoyed but you had not one tiny bit of space to make a mistake or its game over. The 43 is a tameable wild beast depending on how you drive it, it is more forgiving and definitely provides more grip and security.

Head to head they are different cars. I love the 43 and would never see myself going back to a 63, especially with the new engine in it. The only reason the older 63 was so great was because of that monster of an engine. Whilst cars are now more turbocharged, the good old fashioned engines are dying out. Even the Ferraris are, but that was the only reason I got the old 63 for that beast of an engine.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the 43 and will be able to provide another quick review once its been around a track, funnily enough when it comes up against a new 63 coupe, of my friends.

What are your thoughts of a tuning box moving to 440bhp?

 

[wiz]

What are your thoughts of a tuning box moving to 440bhp?

Sorry, I know this is a couple of months old, but I had a external remapping box fitted to my SL400 (same engine as the C43) and I have to say, it is blisteringly quick now. Using a telemetry app (which has proven surprisingly accurate) I got a bhp reading of 372 bhp before the mod (it was a very cold day) and 448 bhp after!

I did quite a lot of research and Id recommend you do the same, some of the tuning boxes have had a lot more R&D go into them than others, but if you get a good reputable company, it's gives you better than C63 performance, (unless you mod the C63 of course )

 

[ShaneyB]

Sorry, I know this is a couple of months old, but I had a external remapping box fitted to my SL400 (same engine as the C43) and I have to say, it is blisteringly quick now. Using a telemetry app (which has proven surprisingly accurate) I got a bhp reading of 372 bhp before the mod (it was a very cold day) and 448 bhp after!

I did quite a lot of research and Id recommend you do the same, some of the tuning boxes have had a lot more R&D go into them than others, but if you get a good reputable company, it's gives you better than C63 performance, (unless you mod the C63 of course )

What remap box Wiz??

 

[mgooda]

Would be keen to know too, have seen nothing for the 43 yet.

 

[Riverside Red]

Whats the torque split on the C43? 20/80 front/rear?

Personally I have recently come out of an Audi S5 Sportback which had a supercharged V6 with 333hp rather than 367hp of the C43 and yep in the damp it would see off my new C63 from a standing start.

But would I want to go back into a 4wd performance car, not a chance, the C63 is a challenge to drive, and a very enjoyable one, I've only just got over most performance cars being automatic and turbocharged so to loose rear wheel drive would be a really sad day for me.

As far as handling is concerned the front end of the C63 is very good, the coupe being more so and with the LSD traction is also good even when it's damp. (Junctions and roundabouts excluded). Right foot judgement is very useful here.......

My S5 did a job and that was to ferry me to work in all weathers safely, but did it make me smile (or even terrify me) from time to time? Absolutely not....and that's why I wouldn't have another 4wd saloon Mercedes, Audi or BMW.

RR

 

[wiz]

What remap box Wiz??

It's a piggy-back tuning box that actually has maps in it to control the boost levels depending upon multiple factors. From the research I did, there are basically two types of piggyback tuning boxes; one simply takes the boost control signals and adds a fixed factor to them and others where the tuning company download the contents of the ECU and see how the boost is controlled in relation to things like throttle position, RPM etc. They then change how the tuning box controls boost depending what the customer wants, so it can add different levels of boost at different part of the rev range and at different throttle positions, not just a fixed increase. These companies do dyno tests on every engine before offing a tuning box for it and the maps in the box which control boost levels are specific to each engine, not just the same box with generic settings supplied with a different harness.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[wiz]

Would be keen to know too, have seen nothing for the 43 yet.

I'm in East Anglia too. The company I used makes and programs the boxes in Chelmsford! If you'd like to see the one I got you'd be welcome to.

 

[ftb]

So thanks to all who have commented especially the positive comments. For those who have posted negativity I advise go and drive the vehicle before passing comment.

So I decided to head to Wales on Sunday morning, luckily it stayed dry for me. Now, after owning a 63 for a year, I did exactly the same with that when I first got it and these are two completely different cars.

Put them head to head on a track, the c43 would easily be taking off over a second off the 63. Whilst the 63 has that brute force, which was absolutely brilliant and was just a wild beast, the 43 has the option of being driven normally but when you put that switch into sports plus mode it becomes a 63 but with the grip to go with it.

The country roads took absolutely no effort in controlling them in the 43, you weren't twitching going into corners like the 63. You knew that one mistake in the 63 it was game over, with this you feel more solid, secure the grip is there for you. Straight line speed, the 63 obviously would out perform the 43, although from a standing start I imagine the 43 would be ahead.

I only had one twitchy moment which was at a roundabout when the car hit a spot of diesel but nothing more than a twitch.

It is quite easily to sum up really, the 63 is a wild beast, it is an absolutely stunning car and one I thoroughly enjoyed but you had not one tiny bit of space to make a mistake or its game over. The 43 is a tameable wild beast depending on how you drive it, it is more forgiving and definitely provides more grip and security.

Head to head they are different cars. I love the 43 and would never see myself going back to a 63, especially with the new engine in it. The only reason the older 63 was so great was because of that monster of an engine. Whilst cars are now more turbocharged, the good old fashioned engines are dying out. Even the Ferraris are, but that was the only reason I got the old 63 for that beast of an engine.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the 43 and will be able to provide another quick review once its been around a track, funnily enough when it comes up against a new 63 coupe, of my friends.

Very impressive review. Don't suppose you have any pictures of your car? The original in the first post have disappeared.

I don't care what you call it, it must be a cracking car given how the OP is impressed with his. More so after owning a C63!

 

[DRIVER200]

Surprised that C63 owners think the AWD is somehow diluting their thrill seeking as Porsche, Lamborghini and lets not forget Ferrari and Bugatti all have AWD vehicles in their stables.

 

[wiz]

Surprised that C63 owners think the AWD is somehow diluting their thrill seeking as Porsche, Lamborghini and lets not forget Ferrari and Bugatti all have AWD vehicles in their stables.

I don't understand it either, if anything they should want it more! Since my tuning box fitment, if I try and pull away flat on a dry (albeit cold) road in sport plus, the back wheels light up causing the traction control to cut in. Once when I was in the wet, I tried pulling away a bit too fast from some traffic lights because the road ahead narrowed into a single lane, the back wheels span, the traction control cut in and the taxi (yes diesel taxi!) alongside me made it to the gap before me

Having come from a GLA45 with 4 wheel drive, I'd have it back in a second if I could