Traction comparison W205 C63 v C63S Brabus 600 cabrio

[Engadine]

I have had my courtesy car C63 saloon and my C63S Brabus 600 simultaneously for the month of January, and done a few back to back drives. One of my misgivings about getting the 600 hp upgrade was about traction. I needn't have worried: with 19/20s on MPS4S tyres, the Brabus has noticeably better traction from standing start and low speed lockdown than the standard C63 on 18s and MPSSs.

The standard C63 has only 2000 miles on it and the tires are not worn.

The improved traction on the 600 must be down to a combination of wider 20 inch wheels, MPS4Ss, coupe/cabrio wider rear track, coupe/cabrio extra weight, and cabrio extra weight. Although the standard car does feel a bit more dainty, the Brabus handles better in many ways, feeling less bouncy, more settled, particularly powering out of corners. The steering feels more muscular and sharp, due to a combination of bigger wheels and those PS4Ss. Turn in in the standard car is quicker as it's 100 kg lighter, although that's the weight of a passenger and no more. Mid corner onwards the Brabus feels more planted and secure, though the standard car would be better on a track. On bumpy roads, the Brabus cabrio feels less bouncy in all modes, more solid.

If you were doing a drag race, I'm not sure what improvement you'd see for the extra power, given that I haven't yet gone flat out, given running in and January. I suspect traction would be an issue in that case. But that's not relevant for my use, and the 600 is worth it for the extra torque and improved power delivery.

Conclusion: traction is pretty amazing on these cars given the amount of power generated, so a good 600 hp hack and MPS4Ss are recommended by this user.

More reports as the weather gets better.

 

[Rich764089]

Very interesting

Although I beg to differ on the below. I've never had a passenger of that weight; mine tends to be half that weight!

it's 100 kg lighter, although that's the weight of a passenger and no more

 

[Martyn_n]

I once squeezed a passenger of significantly more than that weight into my Westfield, to say it dulled the performance would be an understatement.

 

[Engadine]

Very interesting

Although I beg to differ on the below. I've never had a passenger of that weight; mine tends to be half that weight!

I didn’t want to make anyone reading this feel self-conscious! Of course my actual passengers are all flyweights..

I notice spellcheck turned kickdown into lockdown in my first entry. Sign of the times

 

[Steve84N]

@Engadine thought you might like this...

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[Engadine]

Damn.

It's the way it whipped from 240 to 280 that made me want to get in the car and drive to Germany right now.

Not a lot of opportunity to do that on the A1(M)..

 

[f17ant]

I have had my courtesy car C63 saloon and my C63S Brabus 600 simultaneously for the month of January, and done a few back to back drives. One of my misgivings about getting the 600 hp upgrade was about traction. I needn't have worried: with 19/20s on MPS4S tyres, the Brabus has noticeably better traction from standing start and low speed lockdown than the standard C63 on 18s and MPSSs.

The standard C63 has only 2000 miles on it and the tires are not worn.

The improved traction on the 600 must be down to a combination of wider 20 inch wheels, MPS4Ss, coupe/cabrio wider rear track, coupe/cabrio extra weight, and cabrio extra weight. Although the standard car does feel a bit more dainty, the Brabus handles better in many ways, feeling less bouncy, more settled, particularly powering out of corners. The steering feels more muscular and sharp, due to a combination of bigger wheels and those PS4Ss. Turn in in the standard car is quicker as it's 100 kg lighter, although that's the weight of a passenger and no more. Mid corner onwards the Brabus feels more planted and secure, though the standard car would be better on a track. On bumpy roads, the Brabus cabrio feels less bouncy in all modes, more solid.

If you were doing a drag race, I'm not sure what improvement you'd see for the extra power, given that I haven't yet gone flat out, given running in and January. I suspect traction would be an issue in that case. But that's not relevant for my use, and the 600 is worth it for the extra torque and improved power delivery.

Conclusion: traction is pretty amazing on these cars given the amount of power generated, so a good 600 hp hack and MPS4Ss are recommended by this user.

More reports as the weather gets better.

The coupe and converts do feel more stable because of their wider track.

I 100% agree with the tyres I’m on 19’ and had MPSS and upgraded to PS4S (just rears waiting for the fronts to wear down) and the improvement at low speeds is night and day

I wouldn’t dare to run 600bhp on the MPSS but with the PS4S I believe it would be able to put the power down