[Tvk1991]

AMG Track day in August:

Was invited by Sundaram Motors to Coimbatore COASTT for a one day track experience organised by Mercedes and Autocar India.
This was an all inclusive experience with flight tickets, accommodation and transfer.

The event was divided into 4 sections:

1. Auto cross with the A45 AMG
2. Track experience with all AMG cars.
3. Drift experience
4. Forget the name of the event (sorry)

Had a nice time in driving all of their AMG line cars including the GLC43 AMG which was private reveal prior to the actual launch and all participants had an opportunity to experience the car in the track.

Lineup was:

1. A45
2. C43
3. GLC 43
4. E53
5. E63
6. GLE53
7. SL55
8. GT63
9. S63

It was very nice opportunity to understand the differences in these cars as we had to drive each car back to back for 2 laps/car.

My personal favourite was the SL55AMG and the E63 AMG (they had the v8). Understood the more track friendly car is not suitable for our Indian roads.

Was very surprised to the transformation of a saloon as big as an S Class when it’s put in Sports + mode, was able to touch 200+ in all the cars as the track was the best place to understand these cars.

Autocross:

This was a short section of the track with the A45AMG, since I was the first participant (volunteered due to excitement) the instructor (Mr.Rahul Kakar) took me around after my lap which was the highlight for me in this whole experience. Observing his way of driving make me understand how sharp he applied brakes to achieve the best timing. His timing was unbeatable till the end of the event. And felt could have improvised a bit if I took the lap after his demo to me.

This was a well planned event and they had all essential arrangements in place like food, ambulance, doctors, additional tires (for all cars), rotors and pads ready to be changed.

Met my old garage mate Mr.Ram who works with Sundaram motors, I spent a brief period of my college time in Coimbatore for doing my MBA. Saved some money from some side business to buy a scrap Suzuki Shogun and restored it, have gone for few rides with him to Kerla and near by hill stations during weekends. Spent countless nights with the Shogun mechanic to finish the restoration where he used to regularly visit.

This used to be a daily hobby for me to spend 1-2 hours after college at his shop and talk about 2 stroke bikes.

One of my friend went slight went off track and had damaged the tires of an A45 AMG.
The tires were immediately replaced and the car was ready in 15-30 mins.

On a lighter note made my mind clear not to consider the demo cars sold by showrooms after seeing the way the cars were driven.

Stage 2 Tune for the A35:

Spoke to Harmonixx tuning for an upgrade and was recommended to go wit Amytrixx downpipe. The wait was long around 30-45 days before I could drop the car off for the installation. The plan was to stay and oversee the work, but the owner suggested I leave the car with them and follow up after the job was done. It was expected to take 5-7 days.

The planned modifications included:
* Amytrixx downpipe
* Stage 2 ECU and TCU tune
* Expected power increase of 20-25%

I left the car with minimal fuel as instructed and returned to Chennai via Shatabdi. A few days later, I was contacted by the owner, who informed me that the downpipe installation was complete. However, after the Stage 2 ECU and TCU tune, the car was being restricted by the CPC module. They advised that I would need a CPC tune as well, which could take 6-10 months due to the newer model cars. I was given dyno figures, and the car showed an 8% gain in power, but it wasn’t the expected 20-25%. I consulted with several tuning agencies, including Weistech in the US and others in Europe, but they were unsure how to proceed with the CPCC2 module. Harmonixx was optimistic that, with time and patience, a solution would be found, and they assured me they'd follow up once they had a breakthrough.

Further I was recommended to stick to XP95 based on their dyno figures on several cars, so changed from regular fuel to XP95 for all future fills.

Before heading to Bangalore, the front tires were in bad shape. I wanted to keep the old ones to complete the dyno runs and then invest in new tires after the tune. The car had a noticeable mid-range increase and pops and bang effect, especially between 3,000-6,000 RPM. The gearshifts also became sharper after the tune. The drive back was a lot of fun, and I learned that if you depress and quickly release the accelerator, the pop and bang effect kicks in. I also requested the tuner to keep the sound mild, avoiding excessive pops and bangs, which he was able to do.

Upon returning to Chennai, I found that the front tires had completely worn out due after coming back from Banglore.

At around 13,500 kms, I replaced only the front tires with a slightly higher profile 235/45/18 while the rears remained 235/40/18.

The new tires, Continental PremiumContact 6, were the closest I could find to the original ContiSportContact 5, which wasn’t available. After the replacement, I took the car to the track to test the 0-60 time. I was surprised to see it drop from 4.83 seconds to 4.56 seconds on the first run. Although I didn’t perform multiple launches, I wasn’t expecting any major changes due to the CPC restriction, so I was happy to see an improvement.

CPC Tune Update:
It turns out the existing CPC (Computer Powertrain Control) module cannot be reprogrammed or altered. A new, “virgin” CPC has to be procured whenever flashing a new code. The CPC is a key control module in modern Mercedes vehicles, managing functions like active exhaust valves, throttle pedal response, speed limiters, and torque limiters, which were previously handled by the ECU.
For the CPC tune, I needed a new CPC module. The prices in India were upwards of 50k INR, but I managed to find a virgin CPC online from the US (22k INR) with the same part number. I’m now waiting to flash the virgin CPC and see the results. Harmonixx assured me that once the CPC tune is done, no further ECU coding will be needed.

[Aditya]

Mercedes AMG Track day in August 2024 - Post moved to a new thread.