This made me ROFL.

And to salukidude: what part of SoCal are you located?

 

What color VIII did you have? I have had a Tarmac Black for about 4 1/2 years. I drive it every day, so, like you, it pretty high mileage (70k) and no mods. I l still ove to drive it and have only been unhappy about the paint quality.

Anyway I have been thinking about getting new one myself. If I got one it would definitely be PB. Yours looks amazing!

If you don't mind a couple questions....

What made you go with the MR over the GSR? Do you miss the manual? Anything you liked better with the 8? What do you think of the paint so far? Any other tidbits?

Thanks!

 

^^ I'm in the West LA area. I don't like to laugh at my own jokes, but I too ROFL about that

^ Damn and they called me a lurker!!!!! 11 posts in 5 years....FAAAWWWCK! But wow another stock 03 VIII owner. I thought I was the only one. Mine was Apex Silver and being in SoCal the weather was good on it. It was garaged at night and in a parking structure when at work. The paint was phenominal for me.

I wanted the MR mostly for the tranny. Being on congested freeways often takes a toll on the clutch and my left leg. But yes I do miss the manual and the VIII in general. The X MR is heavier, taller, and is for sure slower. The gas mileage is neck and neck, but I feel like the VIII got better. Yes it really handles through corners but after 5 years with the VIII I knew how to make it corner just as good. On the upside though, the cruise control, navi, (sick ***) BBS wheels, and less racer look is appealing to me. The 4B11 engine is so much different then the 4G63. The power is put down so smoothly and quietly (you can't hear the turbo spool) and the shifting is super quick. I like to equate to a BMW 7-series; big, bulky, full of gadgets/gizmos, but fast as hell and easy to drive.

The bottom line from me is if I had room and felt like registering/insuring another car I would have kept the VIII. I know it had another 100k miles in it and would have become my weekend driver instead of daily driver. I hope this is helpful and sorry for the length. Call this my one month review

 

Give us some impressions about the TC-SST.

 

I can't tell you about s-sport yet. Normal mode is great for gas mileage and gets you up to about 35 mph pretty fast. Once at 35 is hits 5th then 6th at about 40 and really bogs down. I tend to pull away from people at a stop but they pass me when it gets to 5th.

Sport mode is fun but obviously uses more gas and frankly I don't like the shifts. It's kinda comparible to medium octance gas....who the hell buys it? I'm sure s-sport is altogether different.

Putting it in manual and using the paddles is quite fun. It took some time to get used to. At first I was like why aren't the paddles on the wheel instead of the column, but it's starting to feel normal. You have to keep your hands on the wheel but learn to keep one in reach of the paddles.

btw...I know "Bliu" and don't feel like I appreciate your sig.

 

I'll be on the lookout for that gorgeous car of yours