Draco-REX

Tried to take another picture of the V but some Volkswagen got in the way.

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/58/58b60830d26ef5b1f63fd4edb732fe5c220cba41465f207836d5bf861c5ece40.jpg

I might go there. They did a good job on the STI. I want to get clear bra on the front as well as tint, so it will need a good detail also. I may wait until the BRZ is back on the road....

That's in the initial plan. That plus an AirRaid intake should help quite a bit.

Thanks. The drive up was ok. Numb butts and a lot of noise. Danielle was a LOT happier with the ride home. I'll try to remember. Not yet, but I can get some later.

I tried that and.. ehh.. It's not a big deal, I'm happy with it. 18 gallons is one of the larger tanks I've had (S5 = 16.1, STI = 16.9, BRZ = 13.2). It should give me enough range to make the two stops between here and MA that I prefer to stop at. The lack of Bluetooth streaming is just silly. I know I can get an adapter, but I won't be able to control the phone with the radio. I'll figure something out.. The pulley will come in the future. As for exhaust, I want to keep as much of the comfort as possible. My plan is for a replacement x pipe (non-flattened) and cut-outs just before the muffler. I'm hoping that will keep it close to stock levels of noise except when I want more.

Thanks

Home at last! What a weekend. Gabe at Van Horn Dodge was great to work with. The dealership was pretty nice too. They had a pair of Vipers on the showroom floor, two of a set of four executive leases that they are selling. (I sat in one. The windshield is surprisingly small.) Everything went really well. I got $2K more for the STI than CarMax offered and a better interest rate as well. It's too bad they're 8 hours away or I'd recommend them highly. I really enjoyed the ride home today. If you're going to drive 400+ miles in a day, a Cadillac is not a bad way to do it. Overall the comfort was much better than the STI. No surprise there. Interior: This is definitely a luxury car, there's no question there. But I did get a sense that ergonomics weren't exactly priority #1. The armrest is in the way of my elbow when I shift; I have to learn to shift with my elbow on the arm rest. Unfortunately, the cup holders are in the way of shifting also. I wish there was more storage space too. All of the little areas for stashing stuff are just too small to be really useful. http://cdn.meme.am/instances2/500x/1616741.jpg The controls are good, and the suede-wrapped steering wheel is nice. I do think I'll change the shifter and shift knob though. The seats are comfortable. Lots of adjustment means you can get them to fit the way you like. However, lots of adjustment means it might take a while to get them to fit the way you like. My Fiancee managed to get her seat comfortable in a couple minutes. I, on the other hand, was fiddling with the controls for a good couple hours. When I stopped for gas, I somehow confused the entry/exit motion and the seat and wheel ended up in the fully withdrawn spots. When I moved everything back, suddenly everything felt right and I didn't have to mess with the seat again for the rest of the trip. I kicked on the ventilated seat half way through the trip and wish I had done that sooner. So nice! But this is a GM vehicle, so there are a couple items under the WTF column. No Bluetooth streaming. Really? My 2011 STI could do that. The sunroof doesn't slide back, just pop open. But then, the Audi was the same way so I guess that's normal for a luxury coupe. The seats only seem to have one release to rock them forward and it's on the back of the seat. It take a little bit of contortion to get my hand on the release and it always feels like I'm breaking it when I pull it. Now, I'm not saying I don't like the interior, it was a nice place to be on this trip, it just has some issues. Ride comfort was good. There wasn't the Caddy "float", but that's a good thing in this car. The Fiancee enjoyed the ride, so it hit the right note there. I still can't tell much of a difference between Tour and Sport modes. Compared to the STI though, this is a plush comfortable car that will be great day in and day out and for any road trip I take it on. MUCH less numb-butt! Driving: The power! This thing is a freakin' cruise missile. The big LSA engine just HURLS this car down the road. Even in 6th I could just give it a little throttle and make a pass without the boost gauge even twitching. I do wish the gas pedal was slightly more aggressive, but I'll get used to it. The brakes are fantastic, which is no surprise. A car this heavy with that much power has got to have brakes to match. I may go to my favorite rotor/pad combo in the future though, the stock pads are really dusty. The clutch is what I would expect on a luxury manual; soft without much communication. I took a lot longer than usual to get used to it. I wonder if there's a return spring mod for the V... The steering is accurate and well weighted. Being a hydraulic unit helps, I'm sure. I haven't been able to really toss it around yet. I want to get a bit more familiar with it first. But what little pushing I've done, it seems like the suspension is pretty well set up for what it is. With the A/C on and staying up around 79mph, I managed to get a bit better than 20mpg. That kind of sucks compared to the STI, but with nearly twice the power and more than twice the displacement, it's not bad. It'll certainly suffice for my trip to MA and back. The only downside to driving this thing is that for some reason it seems like people don't like letting Cadillacs pass. I was expecting that with the BMW (even happened on the test drive) but not the Caddy. Ah well. This car just eats up the miles effortlessly. Exterior: Black Diamond Tricoat is awesome. Subaru's blacks always have some nice flake in them, but nothing like BDT. Any more flake and the car would look like it was painted in the 70s. Oh my god, it's full of stars! (It also needs a detailing..) In person, this is a sharp looking car. It even looks menacing, which is an odd thing to say about a Cadillac. But nothing's perfect. There will be some tweaks; LED upgrades, tint, wheels, maybe some discreet aero.. I've dubbed this one NightHawk since the origami styling reminds me of this. Some more pics (as promised): I'm really liking the car and I'm happy I chose it. It should stay in my stable for a long time to come. Bonus: Woke up this morning and discovered we had some company at the hotel.

Haven't made it home yet; we stayed the night in Sheboygan so I'm still on my phone. Here's a quick and dirty pic at the hotel.

Heh. Mods are part of my research. I already have a short term plan. I think first Q will be for recommendations for shops to do the cutout installs.

It's pretty crappy here today. I have one potato pic. I'll try to get more later and b post them. I've been restraining myself until I got the car so I didn't jinx myself, but I can't wait to get home and start digging into questions on mods and such now. This will be fun.

The car is nearly flawless.(There's a small chip on hood and a very light curb on the RF wheel. Nothing unexpected for a 14k MI car, or anything that can be seen from far away ) Unfortunately the roads are wet so I couldn't put the power down. Maximum 1/3 throttle on the test drive. The finance guy came out while I was writing this. The V is now mine!

Woke up at 3am, going to hit the road at 4. It begins! I was thinking last night and realized this is the most excited I've been to pick up a car since the BRZ. It might just be having to wait to get it. But it might also be because the V will be a departure from my usual car choices, while also being the a solid stab at a DD with everything. Either way, I can't wait.

All the better to rub it in when your small crossover SUV beats someone's Ferrari.

Very nice. Took me a moment to figure out the exhaust routing. Bet that took a LOT of prototypes to get right.

Don't worry, you had me laughing.

Ever get burned so bad you feel it over the Internet?

Snow tires indeed. Still deciding on what rims and what sizes. I spent 9 years back home in New England driving various RWD cars. RWD in the snow is just good fun for me.

If my BRZ were stock....... It's not.

The V. WHEEEEEE! *spin*

Waiting for my turn. I didn't realize that ZB was a little backed up with engine work. Going to be a month or so, unfortunately. Hopefully I'll get a full Summer out of it next year. Nope. BRZ stays in the stable. The STI is being traded for the V.

I cannot imagine why I would prefer a 4200lb car to a 2800lb one for hustling around cones. That literally like strapping half of another BRZ to the roof. That's not to say the V won't see an AutoX. It'll be hilarious.

The BRZ stays. The only thing I can think of that could replace it would be an Exige S 240 or 260, or an 818R.

I've been wondering this for a long time; since an indy car death when I was younger. They're aerodynamic, VERY strong, and the development has already been done on them.