Nearly Wrote Off My C63!!!!

[thebig1]

Hi Guys,

My C63 has been in at Mercedes Chesterfield since last Friday.
I went to pick it up today, I live near Coventry.
So on the way back, down the M1, I was cruising, about 65 - 70 (Not because being a good boy, low on fuel lol) when just after the Deby junction, I was in lane two, a youngish woman in lane one, driving a driving a Ford Fiester, just pulled across me! No indicator, no other cars in front! I swerved hard, brakes the lot! Car was at 90 degrees to the motorway! I manged to stop it turning around, then it snapped back and I held it so it didnt spin the other way. Tyre screaching, tyre smooke the lot! How no one hit me I will never know. Worse thing is, had just had brand new front tyres on!!!! She slowed down to see what happened and as I pulled towards the hard shoulder, crapping myself, she sped off. Not before I got a picture of her car and regestration. Car seems ok but I bet my tyres arnt!!!

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Shame you didn't speed after her and get her details. Saying that, doubt the police would do anything of any significance. At least you and the car are ok.

 

[meeeb]

Good job you were low on fuel then big1 !

 

[thebig1]

Yeah I know, worse case I have to get new tyres and tracking done again, almost new underwear time!

 

[thebig1]

I have a dash cam too! I have just got it, had it on the loan car temp on the way there and thought "I will fit this in mine tomorrow at home" sods law lol but another good reson I got it lol

 

[AMGeed]

This is where a dash cam pays dividends. Really thinking about getting one myself.

Glad to hear only your tyres may be damaged big'un. Could have been a whole lot worse.

 

[thebig1]

Yeah, they feel ok, no vibrations etc so hoping all is fine

 

[trapperjohn]

Close one big1, thank your lord for your reactions not making it Thebig1.

 

[John]

Be interesting to find out what happens should you decide to proceed with the evidence...

I suspect your tyres will be OK - they are quite tough as I've found out in the past...

 

[sl55plymouth]

No ABS on a C63 then ??????

 

[renault12ts]

No ABS on a C63 then ??????

ABS v. physics? Physics wins every time.

 

[John]

No ABS on a C63 then ??????

Not effective when sideways.

There are limits to stability programmes also, as renault12ts eludes to.

 

[prprandall51]

ABS v. physics? Physics wins every time.

I have to support the ABS question (more precisely ESP) - or pose another question about the mechanical state of the C63.

At motorway speeds and without any external input (i.e. the C63 being clipped at the rear) I cannot see how a swift - even violent - lane change maneouvre such as the one being described here could induce the kind of slide being described. The rear end should have simply followed the front.
No offence to the OP but there must be either a mechanical fault with the car or it was significant driver error by the OP that induced a rear slide.

With ESP switched on I cannot conceive how this could happen; you need significant forces on the rear of the car to bring the tail round.

 

[flango]

As I've posted before the C63 is inherently unstable and MB know it. under severe braking it just lets loose as its too nose heavy. The same situation in an E63 would not have yielded the same result it's far more stable

As posted physics Vs electronics, physics wins every time

 

[flango]

With ESP switched on I cannot conceive how this could happen; you need significant forces on the rear of the car to bring the tail round.

Not on a C63 I've demonstrated this to my pals loads of time put it hard left into a roundabout and you lose it completely the mass of the nose and the inertia going forward just overrides everything else

As Scotty would say " you cannae beat the laws of physics Jim"

 

[Simon_M]

Heavy braking on track really made my C63 estate squirm, I never fully switched off ESP whilst on track. Remember these cars typically wear narrow tyres (255 section as standard) for a 450+ bhp car.

 

[WDB124066]

Or Scotty, I canne hold her any longer Captain...

 

[prprandall51]

Heavy braking on track really made my C63 estate squirm, I never fully switched off ESP whilst on track. Remember these cars typically wear narrow tyres (255 section as standard) for a 450+ bhp car.

On a track, with ESP partially off = fair enough. The power (unless you choose to apply it whilst the front is loaded and the rear is light) is not relevant.

In the OPs scenario, he was at a constant speed on a motorway and had to swerve to avoid a vehicle intruding into his lane, which itself would have been travelling at some significant speed, so this isn't like swerving to avoid a stationary object in the carriageway. ESP would not allow the car to end up sideways if a reasonable braking / avoidance maneouvre was performed.

This is the classic Elk test scenario and something outside of the norm happened here:
* ESP not functioning or partially / fully disabled by driver
* Massive over-correction out of proportion to the hazard
* Vehicle is mechanically unsound
* Dangerously worn tyres
??

 

[flango]

On a track, with ESP partially off = fair enough. The power (unless you choose to apply it whilst the front is loaded and the rear is light) is not relevant. In the OPs scenario, he was at a constant speed on a motorway and had to swerve to avoid a vehicle intruding into his lane, which itself would have been travelling at some significant speed, so this isn't like swerving to avoid a stationary object in the carriageway. ESP would not allow the car to end up sideways if a reasonable braking / avoidance maneouvre was performed. This is the classic Elk test scenario and something outside of the norm happened here: * ESP not functioning or partially / fully disabled by driver * Massive over-correction out of proportion to the hazard * Vehicle is mechanically unsound * Dangerously worn tyres ??

See my previous post this is normal with a C63 because of the imbalance here's how I show my pals

Any violent manoeuvre in a C63 will result in a scenario to the OP

Throw the car hard into a left hand exit off a roundabout so enter at speed and 90 degrees hard left but be prepared to catch the back end it will go every time doesn't matter how good the esp is withe the back end light and little traction on the road it's next to useless

Then do exactly the same with two bags of builders sand in the boot totally different experience far more solid and planted yes there's a twitch but it doesn't break away

 

[Minz]

See my previous post this is normal with a C63 because of the imbalance here's how I show my pals Any violent manoeuvre in a C63 will result in a scenario to the OP Throw the car hard into a left hand exit off a roundabout so enter at speed and 90 degrees hard left but be prepared to catch the back end it will go every time doesn't matter how good the esp is withe the back end light and little traction on the road it's next to useless Then do exactly the same with two bags of builders sand in the boot totally different experience far more solid and planted yes there's a twitch but it doesn't break away

So why don't Mercedes just add two bags of sand to the price? Simples.