Done deal. Registered, insured and inspected and drove it home tonight. This is my first car that is all LED based lighting. The headlights are really good.
Now that I have had a chance to really study things I discovered another option that explains the bonkers performance. This car not only has sport mode but has the track pack. This means it gets the AMG goodies for suspension and brakes and it may explain why the car has the higher output Biturbo motor and not the normal blue efficiency motor. There are all kinds of go fast options. With the AMG brakes come the AMG wheels to clear the brakes something I noticed but did not make a big deal of with the dealer. It is basically an AMG car with out the bages. It is also down on power from the AMG motor but not by much. Where as the blue effecency motor is down more than 100 hp and torkes. I called a friend that works for MB and he said I got a unicorn. Said it has to have been a special order car and is not some thing MB would ever advertise. He ran my vin and confirmed what I am finding. In short he wants to see it as he thinks it is a real unicorn. It may be a special order car for a returning customer that a dealer pulled some strings to get. He compared it to a modern day COPO Camaro. My friend suspects that the original owner may have wanted a AMG version but also wanted the 4matic you could not get that until much later in 2012 so that is how this car came to be. They took a 4matic platform and optioned up performance wise as high as you could using a motor that was not officially on the option list as I can not find the biturbo motor listed as an option anywhere. It is blue effecency or you get the twin turbo AMG motor.
Vigo
MegaDork
9/17/19 10:04 a.m.
That biturbo motor is the beginning of when i start caring about CLSs. I didn't like the original body style too much and I've driven the 63 motor and it wouldn't be enough to change my mind, rather have a CL600 than a CLS of any spec in those years. The 550 NA v8 engine is compelling in the sense that it's both fairly strong and also not special so you can get 550s fairly cheap. IF they had sold the updated R class 550 here i would have one by now. I'm considering a GL550 if i ever need a 3rd row in my fast SUV. But the CLS...no combo was compelling in the used market for me until the biturbo engine. Maybe knowing that is why i haven't driven one. I don't need it so i dont want to want it!!
Congrats!!
dean1484 said:
Done deal. Registered, insured and inspected and drove it home tonight. This is my first car that is all LED based lighting. The headlights are really good.
Now that I have had a chance to really study things I discovered another option that explains the bonkers performance. This car not only has sport mode but has the track pack. This means it gets the AMG goodies for suspension and brakes and it may explain why the car has the higher output Biturbo motor and not the normal blue efficiency motor. There are all kinds of go fast options. With the AMG brakes come the AMG wheels to clear the brakes something I noticed but did not make a big deal of with the dealer. It is basically an AMG car with out the bages. It is also down on power from the AMG motor but not by much. Where as the blue effecency motor is down more than 100 hp and torkes. I called a friend that works for MB and he said I got a unicorn. Said it has to have been a special order car and is not some thing MB would ever advertise. He ran my vin and confirmed what I am finding. In short he wants to see it as he thinks it is a real unicorn. It may be a special order car for a returning customer that a dealer pulled some strings to get. He compared it to a modern day COPO Camaro. My friend suspects that the original owner may have wanted a AMG version but also wanted the 4matic you could not get that until much later in 2012 so that is how this car came to be. They took a 4matic platform and optioned up performance wise as high as you could using a motor that was not officially on the option list as I can not find the biturbo motor listed as an option anywhere. It is blue effecency or you get the twin turbo AMG motor.
Much like Porsche, if you're ordering a new Mercedes (especially S/SL class) you can add a lot of special if you're willing to pay the price. So basically you got a CLS550 with an AMG Performance pack and a few extra's minus the 5.5 bi-turbo V8. They must've given it the tune from the S/CL/SL/GL models instead of the CLS/E-class which is a difference of like 27 horsepowers and 73 torques. Plus, all Mercedes bi-turbo cars are underrated. They sure do move out a lot faster than expected given their size.
Also, the blueEfficiency that's down 100hp/tq is because it's the v6. Every m278 engine (even "blueEfficiency") is rated just over 400hp at lowest.
Wait till you get to stomp on a biturbo v12 car, ever been to space?
Vigo said:
Maybe knowing that is why i haven't driven one. I don't need it so i dont want to want it!!
Congrats!!
Trust me you will want it. If you are ever in MA look me up. We can solve this problem!!!
In reply to yupididit :
I also got the Track Pack on top of the AMG Package. I think the wick has been turned up on this car. From either or both. I don't know but it sure does not feel like the other CSL's I have test driven. It feels like the AMG motor in terms of power but I know it is not the tt5.5 it is a tt4.7 I have driven other tt4.7 and they are much slower. Maybe the trackpackage re tunes things and / or a gearing change? I really don't know what the track package does exactly.
dean1484 said:
In reply to yupididit :
I also got the Track Pack on top of the AMG Package. I think the wick has been turned up on this car. From either or both. I don't know but it sure does not feel like the other CSL's I have test driven. It feels like the AMG motor in terms of power but I know it is not the tt5.5 it is a tt4.7 I have driven other tt4.7 and they are much slower. Maybe the trackpackage re tunes things and / or a gearing change? I really don't know what the track package does exactly.
I think your car may have been tuned sometime in the past or by the dealer. Never heard of a track package Mercedes in that era especially a w218. Your car doesn't have the performance/amg steering wheel or silver taller flappy paddles.
Is your front calipers 4 or 6 piston? And are your rear brake rotors the same size as your front?
Send me the VIN I can get you all the options it was built with. Mercedes recorded every VIN every option that car got from them even if they were special options.
I already pulled the options from Mercedes using my vin. That is how I found this out. If I think of it I will pm you the vin tomorrow when I am at a PC. You can take a look for your self. See if you get a different result.
dean1484 said:
I already pulled the options from Mercedes using my vin. That is how I found this out. If I think of it I will pm you the vin tomorrow when I am at a PC. You can take a look for your self. See if you get a different result.
I was gonna have a buddy at MBUSA pull the info. I'm really curious about your CLS as it looks like a normal w218 550 but I'd love to see the options. Do you have an option code 22p "Track Package"?
Yes to six piston fronts. Rear are really close to being the same diameter maybe a half inch smaller in diameter if that. But there have a smaller swept area and smaller calipers.
Something else I was told today at the independent Merc shop is that when you order an AMG car if you don’t check the box for the badges (a $278 option) you just get the regular badges. I don’t know if this is true or not. He told me that this happens more often than people realize. There is also the other school of thaught that some people want the performance but don’t want to attract the attention that the AMG badges can get you. They don’t want to flaunt there $$$$. I guess this makes sense. Again I don’t know if any of this is true or not.
I am more curious as to what the track pack option is.
I figured it out. The Track Pack is not for the race track but in stead it is a bunch of options that assist with the cars tracking in the lane as well as side collision avoidance and what not.
dean1484 said:
Yes to six piston fronts. Rear are really close to being the same diameter maybe a half inch smaller in diameter if that. But there have a smaller swept area and smaller calipers.
Something else I was told today at the independent Merc shop is that when you order an AMG car if you don’t check the box for the badges (a $278 option) you just get the regular badges. I don’t know if this is true or not. He told me that this happens more often than people realize. There is also the other school of thaught that some people want the performance but don’t want to attract the attention that the AMG badges can get you. They don’t want to flaunt there $$$$. I guess this makes sense. Again I don’t know if any of this is true or not.
I am more curious as to what the track pack option is.
6piston front and 4piston rear are what the AMG cars are equippd with 14.2" rotors front and back. Non-AMG cars were 4 piston front and single rear with 14.2" front and 12" rear rotors.
dean1484 said:
I figured it out. The Track Pack is not for the race track but in stead it is a bunch of options that assist with the cars tracking in the lane as well as side collision avoidance and what not.
Yeah 22p/993/7p is Lane Tracking Package.
yupididit said:
dean1484 said:
I figured it out. The Track Pack is not for the race track but in stead it is a bunch of options that assist with the cars tracking in the lane as well as side collision avoidance and what not.
Yeah 22p/993/7p is Lane Tracking Package.
That is a bit of deceptive marketing. Here I am all excited about a track pack and it really should be called the inattentive driver package.
dean1484 said:
yupididit said:
dean1484 said:
I figured it out. The Track Pack is not for the race track but in stead it is a bunch of options that assist with the cars tracking in the lane as well as side collision avoidance and what not.
Yeah 22p/993/7p is Lane Tracking Package.
That is a bit of deceptive marketing. Here I am all excited about a track pack and it really should be called the inattentive driver package.
Im not sure it's marketed as such but I know that code can query as "track pack"
This is a neat car. Thanks for sharing this adventure with us. Mercedes is dangerously close to attracting enthusiasts in meaningful numbers.
mazdeuce - Seth said:
This is a neat car. Thanks for sharing this adventure with us. Mercedes is dangerously close to attracting enthusiasts in meaningful numbers.
I think they already do! Across all spectrums of the automotive enthusiast world.
In reply to yupididit :
While that's probably true, the kinds of places I hang out are essentially barren of their products. If I see one show up at an autocross or track day I get all excited because it's so rare. Admittedly, that's a very very narrow slice of people that love cars, and probably not worth Mercedes chasing, but I'm still sad to not see them there. I like the cars quite a lot.
mazdeuce - Seth said:
In reply to yupididit :
While that's probably true, the kinds of places I hang out are essentially barren of their products. If I see one show up at an autocross or track day I get all excited because it's so rare. Admittedly, that's a very very narrow slice of people that love cars, and probably not worth Mercedes chasing, but I'm still sad to not see them there. I like the cars quite a lot.
Oh that's true. I never really saw them at autocross events. But, I did see my fair share at roadcourse and drag races. Well I did some autocross but they were usually w201's. When I get the S600 sorted I wonder if I can get that thang between some cones!
Jay_W
Dork
9/18/19 11:31 a.m.
I'd like to autox my wife's c300. I think it would do surprisingly well. It's better at changing direction than my nasty nasty Mazda was, even though it's way heavier. This Brabus rocket sled I'm driving would be hysterical to autox, in a tire devouring and brake destroying and dramatic-but-slow kinda way...
Give me an auto cross with out corners and my car would do really well. I think they already have a name for that kind of motorsports event. 
For a two ton vehicle it carry’s it’s weight really well. I would like to try it on a road course actually. Mostly to see where the limits are as you can not get close to them on the street.
