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My Zed replacement. C63 content


robin c

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Had this little gem since end of Jan. Well after owning few 350's and 370 roadster I finally had to get something with more seats and a bigger boot suitable for the daily grime. I looked at many different big high power saloons / estates (RS4,RS6, XFR, IS-F, E63, M5, VXR) in the search for a replacement and finally ended up with the C63 bus. It won on engine theatre alone and the fact it can be bought in estate form! It also has some of the best seats in the front I have ever sat in.

 

The car is a facelift C63, not as aggressive in looks as the earlier model but it has a much nicer interior, much better 7 speed box and no risk of cylinder head bolt failure. Winner.

 

The car has the Harman Kardon sound system, DAB, reversing camera, 19 inch wheels, LSD and tints as factory options.

 

Its a jolly nice place to be in. It handles surprisingly well for such a big car. The steering feel is leagues better than the Zed. The ride is not bad either considering the rear tyres are 30 profile. Its easy to drive in sport mode but very tail happy if DSC fully switched off. It goes like a train and god knows what it will do top end once its tuned and de-recstricted. Roll on the visit to friends in Germany.

 

Since owning it I have fitted some wider rear boots to help with grip. Not helped at all....

 

It is soon to be booked in for a ECU remap and secondary cat delete at Eurocharged. It should make around 515bhp - 530bhp which should do the job, the cat delete will make the rifle cracks louder between shifts and raise exhaust volume 20-30%. It is very quiet in the cabin compared to my old Zeds. It does sound bloody great from outside even in standard trim.

 

My only other modification plans are to add a 507 bonnet or get some lovers in the same style to the current bonnet added to help with cooling. Maybe de-chrome all bits for a matt black vinyl. Spare set of the 18 inch AMG 5 spoke alloys for the winter use.

 

Do I miss my 370z roadster. Yes big time. The C63 is truly mega, don't get me wrong, but the Zed was more fun driving at the limit and you can't beat open top motoring. I can't get safely anywhere near the limit in the C63 on the roads, needs big open roads to really let it off the leash. It also blends in with other cars and I must see about 10 a day! Common compared to 370z.

 

I plan to buy a 350Z as soon as funds allow as our third car. Maybe another Ginger one :teeth: .

 

Anyway a few pics of the millennium falcon and two videos in standard trim. Hope to be back in the Zed fold in the not to distance future...

 

1_zpsvargpsmw.jpg

 

[2_zpstayfzn1m.jpg

 

4_zpswh8v5yxy.jpg

 

3_zpsm4nrswiv.jpg

 

 

 

Race start video:

 

http://vid1058.photo...zpsdyi2osfy.mp4

 

Start up:

 

http://vid1058.photo...zpsomzpdbnm.mp4

Edited by robin c
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Is this still the 6.3 v8 or is it the supercharged 5.5 block in this?

 

6.3, says it on the wing :p

 

 

 

I'd love a C/CL63, but the ones in my price bracket have the ugliest steering wheel in any premium car under 10 years old :(

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This one has the 6.2L engine in it. No such thing as the 6.3 lump in modern C class. The German market rounds it up to 6.3L. Bit of a joke really as 6208cc isn't exactly near 6300cc...It's weird as main dealers even refer to it as a 6.3L car.

 

The lump was built by Philipp Waibel.

 

The E63 had the bi turbo 5.5 engine, it was also a bit of a tank in estate form. All be it a rather quick one. Oh and another 5-10K on top of what already a hell of a lot of money for a car. I preffered the NA engine sound, nicer to my ears. The bi-turbo was more gruff than nascar type sound of the C63 V8.

 

Shall get some vids up from outside once got it tweaked.

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Yeah the 6.3 V8 lump is the beast. My brother has the CL63 coupe which sounds great- not really the fire breathing monster that I first thought thought and it's definitely a little bit more refined than my buddies C63 coupe.

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Ive been considering one of these for a long time. Ever since what I thought was an ordinary family merc saloon blew me off the road when I was in my HR roadster. I especially like the fact I could probably get away with parking it on my drive without it being overly obvious to passers by what it is. The only thing putting me off getting something like this is just the running costs. I see blokes using them as their daily commuting car, but when im doing 100 miles a day, the fuel cost alone would kill me.

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Yes it doesn't draw the looks of a Zed and sort of blends in.

 

The fuel on the other hand is dire. At best it gets 20 mpg (normally with my lady driving). A spirited drive and it can easy tumble it into single figures. I average mid teens for the most part.

 

It also has a tiny fuel tank (around 66L) for the engine size, so I am now on first name terms with my local shell garage and a big user of Vpower.

 

General running costs are in line with the type of car. No worst than a M5,RS4. Anyway service and parts pale into insignificance compared to its thirst.

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  • 1 month later...

Had the falcon eurocharged the other day..Wow, big difference. Merc really restricted it from the factory. The shove at 3000 rpm upto the redline in any gear is just colossal.The car has really come alive. The blip function is vastly improved, the engine and exhaust note has changed too becoming louder and more aggressive. Lots more crackles and bangs when shifting in sport modes. It's even pretty crazy now in comfort mode when pinning the throttle.

 

I am still debating about the exhaust modification. Not sure about removing the secondary cats now. Think I might just save my pennies and buy a valved type system. Need to do a lot more research before dropping £2-3k on a exhaust system.

 

Next up some dechroming and maybe a set of drop in filters.

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  • 1 year later...

Been a while since my last post. Still saving for another Zed, probably going to go for my 3rd 350z this time hopefully by end of the year. Hard to explain why but I really miss driving the Zed car. They get under your skin. Need to extend my drive slighty first.

 

In the meantime the C63 is coming along nicely. Painted the 19 inch wheels, drop in air filters added, secondary cats removed and few other little tidy up details. Next up a 507 bonnet & address some of the on track cooling issues. This car is a keeper, loving this as a daily driver.

 

Also got a new Audi S3 (same as golf R but more low key) a few months ago which is now stage 1 chipped. This is a little monster of a car and has crazy levels of grip. Launch control is pretty comical too as are the farts and pops on upshifts and actually sounds nice for a 4 pot lump. The S3 certainly blends in nicely with the boring diesel ones:). Still not sure why Audi feel the need to put four tail pipes on the thing.

 

IMG_0762_zpsq3fm5fxh.jpg

Edited by robin c
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