GMW
Active Member
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2008
- Messages
- 127
- Car
- ML63 AMG PP
I've been following this board for quite a bit as I agonizingly waited for the arrival of my C63. Finally it has arrived :bannana:, over a month ago and....well......I've been busy driving it ever since. This is one very, very mad (read insanely amazing) car!!! 
I still get a big adrenaline rush each time I drive it. I have friends asking me to do full throttle take offs so they can hear the noise from outside, I have lots of offers to be my chauffeur, I have lots of offers for free wine so that I require a 'chauffeur'!
Now that I passed the break-in 1500km, this is my view on the different transmission modes.
Transmission in C mode:
This is supposed to be the comfort, driving-miss-daisy mode…which it is, however, press the pedal down and the car will still shoot off at terrific speed. It can be a bit hard to just overtake one car when in a traffic jam because if the gearbox decides to kickdown you had better scan the horizon fast for a gap in the convoy of vehicles. You sometimes end up overtaking 3-5 cars in a go because of this.
I like the C mode for its generally more relaxed nature, when you just want to take it easy and not have the temptations like the lunatic S mode provides. Since the car always starts in 2nd gear you can smoothly accelerate with a nice deep burble sound. If you keep your foot down (though not pressing the kick down button) the gearbox will usually change up at around 5,000rpm. The combination of the 2nd gear start and the relatively early gear change give a good combination of relaxed driving and fast overtaking. I believe the rear tires lifespan will also be way much longer in this mode as it encourages you to drive ‘slower’ (or at least slower than the rest of the transmission modes). You get to enjoy more deep bass from the exhaust and underground parking lots encourage you to drop the windows and enjoy the sound!!
Bottom line: if you want to drive in a casual way, lengthen the lifespan of your rear tires (and probably yourself), and listen to the burble from the exhaust at a more leisurely rate, then this is the transmission mode for you!
Transmission in S mode:
This is supposed to be the sport mode though pSycho mode would be more appropriate! The car will always start in 1st gear and that is where the action begins. Sometimes I wonder if the tires were spinning all through 1st gear as they fight to give you maximum forward momentum. Then the eagerness of the engine to run almost to the limiter followed by the quicker than C mode gear change, all combine to get your adrenaline flowing and your addiction started. Before you know it all you want to do is accelerate and listen to the lunacy of the engine/exhaust music and feel all the g-forces being generated. You just don’t want to stop, period!!! The car will inspire you….no, it will make you want to drive it very, very fast.
Where you thought that the kick down in C-mode was very quick, you will now know a newer more potent version of ‘very quick’. Holy S*** quick might be the one floating in your head but warp speed quick might be the more appropriate term. In 1st gear and most of 2nd you won’t have time to admire how fast the speedometer or rev counter is rising, like you would in much ‘slower’ cars, as all your attention will be on holding on and monitoring ahead for any traffic or people (which you should actually do before you perform an sort of kick down or full acceleration in S mode).
I see the tyre lifespan being cut down by more than half if you keep driving on this mode. You would have to have the restraint of Batman or the Man of Steel to drive slowly while in this mode. You get such an adrenaline rush when you use this mode that it leaves your hands slightly shaking after you stop.
The exhaust noise is more potent because of the engine now going up to the rev limit. It seems to open some more tunes from the 5000rpm onwards and leaves any onlooker in awe. The difference for this faster performance is you can’t pull for lengths at a time with the deep bass burble from the exhaust as the 1st gear is short and accelerates so fast that you won’t have time to listen for the burble, instead you will be treated to a really crazy throbbing V8 soundtrack!
Bottom line: “Dr. Jekyll, meet Mr. Hyde”. If you want to go from point A to point B in the shortest time possible, then this is the transmission mode for you! Not for the faint of heart!
Transmission in M mode:
This is supposed to be the Manual mode with the fastest shifts; I like to call it Maestro mode! However it is not necessarily the fastest point A to point B mode because you are too busy planning your route ahead to be worrying about changing up and down gears. S mode is better for that.
The beauty of Manual mode is on a clear straight-ish road, you get to feel more like you are in control. You can hold onto gears and control when you want to change. There is no doubt that the car feels equally warp speed quick in this mode.
I like to call this mode the show-off mode because since you can hold and change gears yourself, you can control, up to a point, how much sound the engine/exhaust is making. Add the throttle blips and popping/back-firing sounds and you can scare the hell out of or impress, pedestrians. My wife thinks I’m racing down the road whenever I come back home in Manual mode. She says she can hear me from about ½ km away. I always tell her I was only playing with the gearbox but not speeding. (Though by the time you are doing 5000rpm in 3rd …..that is quite fast )
This is the most fun I have had from any paddle/button steering wheel shifter I’ve ever driven! If I want to indulge myself in the noise more than outright pace, then this is the best mode to drive in.
Bottom line: If you want to be the maestro then this mode is for you! Screw fuel bills, screw tyre bills. Before I forget, try this with the rear seats folded down and all the windows closed….you’ll be in musical exhaust heaven!!!
On a side note, I recently felt the secondary oil cooler, located in the right side of the front bumper blowing hot air out of the right side vents! I know it’s supposed to do that but it was amazing to see and feel the hot air just rushing out. This might freak out a pedestrian or guy on a bike if you are at a standstill and they are standing close enough for the hot (won’t burn you) air hitting their bare legs.
I still get a big adrenaline rush each time I drive it. I have friends asking me to do full throttle take offs so they can hear the noise from outside, I have lots of offers to be my chauffeur, I have lots of offers for free wine so that I require a 'chauffeur'!
Now that I passed the break-in 1500km, this is my view on the different transmission modes.
Transmission in C mode:
This is supposed to be the comfort, driving-miss-daisy mode…which it is, however, press the pedal down and the car will still shoot off at terrific speed. It can be a bit hard to just overtake one car when in a traffic jam because if the gearbox decides to kickdown you had better scan the horizon fast for a gap in the convoy of vehicles. You sometimes end up overtaking 3-5 cars in a go because of this.
I like the C mode for its generally more relaxed nature, when you just want to take it easy and not have the temptations like the lunatic S mode provides. Since the car always starts in 2nd gear you can smoothly accelerate with a nice deep burble sound. If you keep your foot down (though not pressing the kick down button) the gearbox will usually change up at around 5,000rpm. The combination of the 2nd gear start and the relatively early gear change give a good combination of relaxed driving and fast overtaking. I believe the rear tires lifespan will also be way much longer in this mode as it encourages you to drive ‘slower’ (or at least slower than the rest of the transmission modes). You get to enjoy more deep bass from the exhaust and underground parking lots encourage you to drop the windows and enjoy the sound!!
Bottom line: if you want to drive in a casual way, lengthen the lifespan of your rear tires (and probably yourself), and listen to the burble from the exhaust at a more leisurely rate, then this is the transmission mode for you!
Transmission in S mode:
This is supposed to be the sport mode though pSycho mode would be more appropriate! The car will always start in 1st gear and that is where the action begins. Sometimes I wonder if the tires were spinning all through 1st gear as they fight to give you maximum forward momentum. Then the eagerness of the engine to run almost to the limiter followed by the quicker than C mode gear change, all combine to get your adrenaline flowing and your addiction started. Before you know it all you want to do is accelerate and listen to the lunacy of the engine/exhaust music and feel all the g-forces being generated. You just don’t want to stop, period!!! The car will inspire you….no, it will make you want to drive it very, very fast.
Where you thought that the kick down in C-mode was very quick, you will now know a newer more potent version of ‘very quick’. Holy S*** quick might be the one floating in your head but warp speed quick might be the more appropriate term. In 1st gear and most of 2nd you won’t have time to admire how fast the speedometer or rev counter is rising, like you would in much ‘slower’ cars, as all your attention will be on holding on and monitoring ahead for any traffic or people (which you should actually do before you perform an sort of kick down or full acceleration in S mode).
I see the tyre lifespan being cut down by more than half if you keep driving on this mode. You would have to have the restraint of Batman or the Man of Steel to drive slowly while in this mode. You get such an adrenaline rush when you use this mode that it leaves your hands slightly shaking after you stop.
The exhaust noise is more potent because of the engine now going up to the rev limit. It seems to open some more tunes from the 5000rpm onwards and leaves any onlooker in awe. The difference for this faster performance is you can’t pull for lengths at a time with the deep bass burble from the exhaust as the 1st gear is short and accelerates so fast that you won’t have time to listen for the burble, instead you will be treated to a really crazy throbbing V8 soundtrack!
Bottom line: “Dr. Jekyll, meet Mr. Hyde”. If you want to go from point A to point B in the shortest time possible, then this is the transmission mode for you! Not for the faint of heart!
Transmission in M mode:
This is supposed to be the Manual mode with the fastest shifts; I like to call it Maestro mode! However it is not necessarily the fastest point A to point B mode because you are too busy planning your route ahead to be worrying about changing up and down gears. S mode is better for that.
The beauty of Manual mode is on a clear straight-ish road, you get to feel more like you are in control. You can hold onto gears and control when you want to change. There is no doubt that the car feels equally warp speed quick in this mode.
I like to call this mode the show-off mode because since you can hold and change gears yourself, you can control, up to a point, how much sound the engine/exhaust is making. Add the throttle blips and popping/back-firing sounds and you can scare the hell out of or impress, pedestrians. My wife thinks I’m racing down the road whenever I come back home in Manual mode. She says she can hear me from about ½ km away. I always tell her I was only playing with the gearbox but not speeding. (Though by the time you are doing 5000rpm in 3rd …..that is quite fast )
This is the most fun I have had from any paddle/button steering wheel shifter I’ve ever driven! If I want to indulge myself in the noise more than outright pace, then this is the best mode to drive in.
Bottom line: If you want to be the maestro then this mode is for you! Screw fuel bills, screw tyre bills. Before I forget, try this with the rear seats folded down and all the windows closed….you’ll be in musical exhaust heaven!!!
On a side note, I recently felt the secondary oil cooler, located in the right side of the front bumper blowing hot air out of the right side vents! I know it’s supposed to do that but it was amazing to see and feel the hot air just rushing out. This might freak out a pedestrian or guy on a bike if you are at a standstill and they are standing close enough for the hot (won’t burn you) air hitting their bare legs.
.