11-14-2011, 05:43 PM
Hardwire turned out great, they did a killer job. I've got a completely stealth setup with a remote panel and custom kill switch that looks completely OEM for when I make my moonshiner runs through the communistwealth of VA.
Tint turned out HORRIBLE, making them fix it next Saturday. Pro detailer coming out next week to fix the 1526134613477 swirl marks and light scratches in the paint. Turns out black is a horrible color to buy pre-owned. Should look a billion times better when it's done though. Sunroof has not leaked one bit since they did the TSB recall.
Some impressions now that I've had a chance to drive it for a while.
- It's nice to have a car that runs on regular gas, for once. The manual says you can put higher octane fuel in it, and it runs noticeably better when you do (some of the V6 Camaro guys did some datalogging that shows that the ECU in these pulls timing on lower octane fuel). I've been running mid-grade as a compromise and it seems to run strong. Even with 22 more ponies and a lot more torques, it surprises me that most of the pull for this car is in the upper RPMs.
- The FE3 suspension is absolutely phenomenal from a performance standpoint for a car this big and heavy. It eats up the curves and has a healthy bit of oversteer. The car wants to go into turns much more than even the TL-S did with the upgraded sway bars. Probably a lot of it is the springs / shocks...it is downright bone-jarring to go over speed bumps in this car. But because of the weight and design it has that Cadillac feel of solidarity on the highway and local roads without the "I'm driving a land-bargeboat" feel of the DTS rental I had. I have a feeling once I get some proper performance low profile tires on this car like I had on the TL, it will be a smile-inducing experience on the urban off-ramps.
- The sound system is amazing. The ELS was no slouch in my old car but the Bose system in this one is light years better. The bass is insane for a stock system and you can adjust the acoustics to be optimized for the driver or for everywhere in the car. I haven't uploaded anything yet into the HDD, it's kind of a pain.
- The dang navigation database is from 2007. Suck. Really? Previous owner that cheap that it wasn't updated for over 3 years? At best this map data is from 2006. So that's on the top of my Christmas list this year!
- I love driving this car at night. The active headlights are frivolous but sweet, the LED interior lighting under the wood grain trim and door handles / feet wells makes you feel like you're in a spaceship. I still think analog clocks in cars are retarded, but at least the interior is classy enough to make it work. I like to drive with my knees bowed out slightly and the driver compartment doesn't allow for this much, it's my only complaint so far really. The LED tubes in the front and rear lights look so evil at night....GM engineers did a really great job overall with the design and aesthetics.
- Gas mileage isn't great, averaging about 18mpg city with a little highway driving. All highway it's about 25-26max. Those numbers aren't far off the TL, but the downgraded gas price softens that blow. The car is still new to me so I'm probably driving a little more heavy-footed than usual.
- I'm not crazy about the chrome anywhere other than the grill...and there is a LOT of it on this car. I may tint the chrome with a spray like my TL had to tone it down a little.
So far very pleased with the purchase. We'll see how this car holds up with the kind of miles I put on vehicles, but overall it seems pretty solid.
Tint turned out HORRIBLE, making them fix it next Saturday. Pro detailer coming out next week to fix the 1526134613477 swirl marks and light scratches in the paint. Turns out black is a horrible color to buy pre-owned. Should look a billion times better when it's done though. Sunroof has not leaked one bit since they did the TSB recall.
Some impressions now that I've had a chance to drive it for a while.
- It's nice to have a car that runs on regular gas, for once. The manual says you can put higher octane fuel in it, and it runs noticeably better when you do (some of the V6 Camaro guys did some datalogging that shows that the ECU in these pulls timing on lower octane fuel). I've been running mid-grade as a compromise and it seems to run strong. Even with 22 more ponies and a lot more torques, it surprises me that most of the pull for this car is in the upper RPMs.
- The FE3 suspension is absolutely phenomenal from a performance standpoint for a car this big and heavy. It eats up the curves and has a healthy bit of oversteer. The car wants to go into turns much more than even the TL-S did with the upgraded sway bars. Probably a lot of it is the springs / shocks...it is downright bone-jarring to go over speed bumps in this car. But because of the weight and design it has that Cadillac feel of solidarity on the highway and local roads without the "I'm driving a land-bargeboat" feel of the DTS rental I had. I have a feeling once I get some proper performance low profile tires on this car like I had on the TL, it will be a smile-inducing experience on the urban off-ramps.
- The sound system is amazing. The ELS was no slouch in my old car but the Bose system in this one is light years better. The bass is insane for a stock system and you can adjust the acoustics to be optimized for the driver or for everywhere in the car. I haven't uploaded anything yet into the HDD, it's kind of a pain.
- The dang navigation database is from 2007. Suck. Really? Previous owner that cheap that it wasn't updated for over 3 years? At best this map data is from 2006. So that's on the top of my Christmas list this year!
- I love driving this car at night. The active headlights are frivolous but sweet, the LED interior lighting under the wood grain trim and door handles / feet wells makes you feel like you're in a spaceship. I still think analog clocks in cars are retarded, but at least the interior is classy enough to make it work. I like to drive with my knees bowed out slightly and the driver compartment doesn't allow for this much, it's my only complaint so far really. The LED tubes in the front and rear lights look so evil at night....GM engineers did a really great job overall with the design and aesthetics.
- Gas mileage isn't great, averaging about 18mpg city with a little highway driving. All highway it's about 25-26max. Those numbers aren't far off the TL, but the downgraded gas price softens that blow. The car is still new to me so I'm probably driving a little more heavy-footed than usual.
- I'm not crazy about the chrome anywhere other than the grill...and there is a LOT of it on this car. I may tint the chrome with a spray like my TL had to tone it down a little.
So far very pleased with the purchase. We'll see how this car holds up with the kind of miles I put on vehicles, but overall it seems pretty solid.
Posting in the banalist of threads since 2004
2017 Mazda CX-5 GT AWD Premium
Past: 2016 GMC Canyon All Terrain Crew Cab / 2010 Jaguar XFR / 2012 Acura RDX AWD Tech / 2008 Cadillac CTS / 2007 Acura TL-S / 1966 5.0 HO Mustang Coupe
2001 Lexus IS300 / 2004 2.8L big turbo WRX STI / 2004 Subaru WRX / A couple of old trucks
2017 Mazda CX-5 GT AWD Premium
Past: 2016 GMC Canyon All Terrain Crew Cab / 2010 Jaguar XFR / 2012 Acura RDX AWD Tech / 2008 Cadillac CTS / 2007 Acura TL-S / 1966 5.0 HO Mustang Coupe
2001 Lexus IS300 / 2004 2.8L big turbo WRX STI / 2004 Subaru WRX / A couple of old trucks