SSOTT

[Arcades]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

2nd gear not too long?

No the 2nd gear is tall regardless of which tranny you choose. It's just sadly the only real big thing with the car. Even the PDK-S, you probably won't generally hit 3rd gear on regular street very often. 6MT is like... 77 max mph, PDK-S its like 74 max mph. It's 10% shorter as AP mentioned somewhere but it's still tall. At least with the PDK, it shifts for you, so.

I can personally look past this because it isn't a huge deal to me once you are driving because the gearing being that tall means you can hit the power band of the car which is where the engine shines. I know people online have complained about this but once I was driving it didn't bother me at all really. I am pretty certain the tall gearing won't bother most people once they really actually drive the car.

Think most I have seen that complained is because they cannot get past 3rd gear most of the time by driving. Meaning.. 4, 5, 6 are unused. I don't really care? At least when I drove it didn't bother me. Probably bothers the manual drivers because they cannot row the gears like they want to. When you drive a manual, it's more fun to bang through the gears. I prefer my DCT so I don't care lol.

Edit: minn19 the gearing for the PDK on the GTS 4.0 is pretty normal right?

[Lups]

Originally Posted by Captain Blood

Plus you started a secret society of nerds. SSOTT. Or is it just me?
I have to deal with a German national tomorrow night. Any tips? Can he give me a deal on a BMW?

All germans travel with a suitcase full of extra bmws. It is a fact. Thats why they always sound so constipated.

Germans are not big on smalltalk. They like facts and figures and beer.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by Arcades

No the 2nd gear is tall regardless of which tranny you choose. It's just sadly the only real big thing with the car. Even the PDK-S, you probably won't generally hit 3rd gear on regular street very often. 6MT is like... 77 max mph, PDK-S its like 74 max mph. It's 10% shorter as AP mentioned somewhere but it's still tall. At least with the PDK, it shifts for you, so.

I can personally look past this because it isn't a huge deal to me once you are driving because the gearing being that tall means you can hit the power band of the car which is where the engine shines. I know people online have complained about this but once I was driving it didn't bother me at all really. I am pretty certain the tall gearing won't bother most people once they really actually drive the car.

Think most I have seen that complained is because they cannot get past 3rd gear most of the time by driving. Meaning.. 4, 5, 6 are unused. I don't really care? At least when I drove it didn't bother me. Probably bothers the manual drivers because they cannot row the gears like they want to. When you drive a manual, it's more fun to bang through the gears. I prefer my DCT so I don't care lol.

Edit: minn19 the gearing for the PDK on the GTS 4.0 is pretty normal right?

From what I’ve read the PDK is about 10% shorter than the 6MT in the GT4/4.0.

FWIW and strictly my own opinion, I think the whole gearing thing is way overblown. You can’t get past third gear in any car in this class before it’s go to jail time. It was like that in all my cars, especially the ZL1 because it was a monster. The GT350s gearing was even longer IIRC/made for the track.

The GTS 4.0 and GT4 6MTs are tons of fun and one of the best manual gearboxes around. If someone want a manual and let’s this talk move them to a PDK, than they are depriving themselves of one of the best/possibly last great MT cars. You don’t have to redline it in every gear to have fun in it. There is plenty of fun in the 4-6/7 range etc. Then when you do get the chance to wind it out, it is glorious.

You guys know I don’t like Farah much, but he did have a great point when he reviewed these cars. He essentially said, if you want a manual get a manual and same for the PDK. Don’t let the gearing talk be the deciding factor.

Also Arcades this rant isnt aimed at you, just a general rant.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

2nd gear not too long?

I actually love it during my commute/DD. I've got about 2300 miles on it and we've had an early spring here so I've been driving it a lot more. It is perfect for my commute as I can creep around 10 miles an hour in it. Then when traffic opens up it is great for dispatching soccer moms/dads that are in their gargantuan SUVs/camping in the left lane. Fuckers.

[Arcades]

Originally Posted by minn19

From what I’ve read the PDK is about 10% shorter than the 6MT in the GT4/4.0.

FWIW and strictly my own opinion, I think the whole gearing thing is way overblown. You can’t get past third gear in any car in this class before it’s go to jail time. It was like that in all my cars, especially the ZL1 because it was a monster. The GT350s gearing was even longer IIRC/made for the track.

The GTS 4.0 and GT4 6MTs are tons of fun and one of the best manual gearboxes around. If someone want a manual and let’s this talk move them to a PDK, than they are depriving themselves of one of the best/possibly last great MT cars. You don’t have to redline it in every gear to have fun in it. There is plenty of fun in the 4-6/7 range etc. Then when you do get the chance to wind it out, it is glorious.

You guys know I don’t like Farah much, but he did have a great point when he reviewed these cars. He essentially said, if you want a manual get a manual and same for the PDK. Don’t let the gearing talk be the deciding factor.

Also Arcades this rant isnt aimed at you, just a general rant.

Originally Posted by minn19

I actually love it during my commute/DD. I've got about 2300 miles on it and we've had an early spring here so I've been driving it a lot more. It is perfect for my commute as I can creep around 10 miles an hour in it. Then when traffic opens up it is great for dispatching soccer moms/dads that are in their gargantuan SUVs/camping in the left lane. Fuckers.

No I agree, especially after I got my hands on the car I am a bit confused about the complaints myself. Maybe I don't care nearly as much about wanting to always rev out the engine or any of that stuff but I didn't feel the need to want to do that.

The way Porsche made the car is for a purpose. GTS 4.0, GT4 and Spyder are still far away better than anything I have touched when it comes to BMW. All current BMWs are very fast no doubt but there are so little connection to the car or the feel of it that none of it really excites me. I still love my F80 I really do but it is a completely different experience when you feel everything. Not to mention the mid engine setup. It was so eye opening.

The GT4 was so nimble, it literally felt like a feather compared to what BMW has offering. Not needing to always play with the engine/suspension/steering config in the car was so nice. I don't mind having the option to choose but the longer I have had the F82/F80 the more I wished there was just a goldilocks setting that I don't have to constantly mess with. The car also wasn't as stiff as I was worried about, guess all the crappy suspension tuning from BMW got me a bit immune to it. It also wasn't as loud as I was afraid of it to be. Think the OFP filter had something to do with it but it was fine. I'm also glad I did spec the one i built out with 18 way sat because it was perfectly okay. It definitely isn't like the 18 way seats in the Macan/Cayenne/Panamera.

My friends at the dealership, or at least the one I'm in contact with, knows that I need to drive the car to know if it's right for me. I apply that to everything especially if the car is going to be 100k+. No way in hell was I going to do it blind. I am glad I did.

Funny thing is, driving the car reminded me a bit of my mother's old 97 Benz SLK in some ways.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by minn19

it is great for dispatching soccer moms/dads that are in their gargantuan SUVs/camping in the left lane. Fuckers.

GAH! MN is the worst for that ... and then you get "the activists" who purposely drive their minivans or prii in the left lane at EXACTLY the speed limit. I sure don't miss that ... though when 494 is just a little packed that southwest corner is damn near the autobahn; I would routinely drive it at 120 and never got a ticket - I'd stay out of the left as much as possible and only use it for passing ... going east I once got to the airport from EP in just over 10 min. There's a couple of stretches of 280 around here like that but the patrols are greater so I've never really tried it.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by Arcades

No I agree, especially after I got my hands on the car I am a bit confused about the complaints myself. Maybe I don't care nearly as much about wanting to always rev out the engine or any of that stuff but I didn't feel the need to want to do that.

The way Porsche made the car is for a purpose. GTS 4.0, GT4 and Spyder are still far away better than anything I have touched when it comes to BMW. All current BMWs are very fast no doubt but there are so little connection to the car or the feel of it that none of it really excites me. I still love my F80 I really do but it is a completely different experience when you feel everything. Not to mention the mid engine setup. It was so eye opening.

The GT4 was so nimble, it literally felt like a feather compared to what BMW has offering. Not needing to always play with the engine/suspension/steering config in the car was so nice. I don't mind having the option to choose but the longer I have had the F82/F80 the more I wished there was just a goldilocks setting that I don't have to constantly mess with. The car also wasn't as stiff as I was worried about, guess all the crappy suspension tuning from BMW got me a bit immune to it. It also wasn't as loud as I was afraid of it to be. Think the OFP filter had something to do with it but it was fine. I'm also glad I did spec the one i built out with 18 way sat because it was perfectly okay. It definitely isn't like the 18 way seats in the Macan/Cayenne/Panamera.

My friends at the dealership, or at least the one I'm in contact with, knows that I need to drive the car to know if it's right for me. I apply that to everything especially if the car is going to be 100k+. No way in hell was I going to do it blind. I am glad I did.

Funny thing is, driving the car reminded me a bit of my mother's old 97 Benz SLK in some ways.

I know a bunch here get tired of hearing about Porsche, but they just make damn good cars that are fun to drive. As you know they make you pay though, especially for the GT cars.

It isn't a fair comparison to BMW as they can build ground up sports cars instead of compromising from a run of the mill sedan etc. But still, BMW needs to seriously up their game and they look like they give no effs doing that.

[Arcades]

Originally Posted by minn19

I know a bunch here get tired of hearing about Porsche, but they just make damn good cars that are fun to drive. As you know they make you pay though, especially for the GT cars.

It isn't a fair comparison to BMW as they can build ground up sports cars instead of compromising from a run of the mill sedan etc. But still, BMW needs to seriously up there game and they look like they give no effs doing that.

It's true but I think the reason why it keeps happening because all the way back, the E30 M3 was only built because of homologation. Years down the line, it has gone completely away from that. Hell BMW isn't in most motorsports anymore either, which is what their darn M stands for in the first place. I just don't think BMW cares anymore about what brought their Ms to the forefront in the first place.

Btw, since you did own a GT350 and the Camero, how tall was their gearing? I so rarely hear people speak of it.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by Arcades

It's true but I think the reason why it keeps happening because all the way back, the E30 M3 was only built because of homologation. Years down the line, it has gone completely away from that. Hell BMW isn't in most motorsports anymore either, which is what their darn M stands for in the first place. I just don't think BMW cares anymore about what brought their Ms to the forefront in the first place.

Btw, since you did own a GT350 and the Camero, how tall was their gearing? I so rarely hear people speak of it.

The GT350s were very long and more of a “problem” than the GT4/GTS 4.0 on the street. IIRC, 1st gear you could get it to 59 mph. It was very much set up for the track and it was great for that. Also, the Voodoo doesn’t rev that fast so the power band didn’t seem as big as the Porsche cars. My 4.0 seems to rev so quick I’m shifting at 3500 when I’m trying to shift under 3k. I always say the GT350 was the slowest 500 plus HP car I’ve ever owned or drove on the street. My 4.0 doesn’t seem as gutless down low as the GT350 did. I’m sure it’s a combo of the weight and the freer rev nature of the 4.0 compared to Voodoo. If you were on a track and let the Voodoo run it was no joke though.

The Camaro was a monster from 2k ish to redline. It was fast as hell and seemed to make great power nearly everywhere in the rev range. I do miss some aspects of that.

FWIW, the GT350 had the best suspension set up out of the box for dual street comfort and track purpose. I don’t know why none of the German manufacturers are willing to go to the mag ride tech.

[Arcades]

Originally Posted by minn19

The GT350s were very long and more of a “problem” than the GT4/GTS 4.0 on the street. IIRC, 1st gear you could get it to 59 mph. It was very much set up for the track and it was great for that. Also, the Voodoo doesn’t rev that fast so the power band didn’t seem as big as the Porsche cars. My 4.0 seems to rev so quick I’m shifting at 3500 when I’m trying to shift under 3k. I always say the GT350 was the slowest 500 plus HP car I’ve ever owned or drove on the street. My 4.0 doesn’t seem as gutless down low as the GT350 did. I’m sure it’s a combo of the weight and the freer rev nature of the 4.0 compared to Voodoo. If you were on a track and let the Voodoo run it was no joke though.

The Camaro was a monster from 2k ish to redline. It was fast as hell and seemed to make great power nearly everywhere in the rev range. I do miss some aspects of that.

FWIW, the GT350 had the best suspension set up out of the box for dual street comfort and track purpose. I don’t know why none of the German manufacturers are willing to go to the mag ride tech.

Ahhh. Yeah I did a quick search and the GT350's gearing was pretty tall from the ratio but I figured the V8 is different, that and I never really... driven a Mustang.

You did make a good point about the Flat Six. It revs fast and gets past 3k very quickly for the most part. It isn't like the S55 and it's turbo when you know when the max torque hits and then just just goes. The Flat Six is more linear but when you get on the peddle, it really goes. It isn't as different from the S55 in some aspects. It just builds up very fast, it's actually quite surprising that an NA engine can feel like this lol.

Just think too. Porsche mentioned it's almost perfect to pair up this engine with an EV motor. Can you imagine? lol

[Lups]

Corona is really picking up steam here so I thought this would be a good time to have a survival skill test done for the family. Thanks to our bank shit got real.

For two fucking weeks our bank has been emailing us, notifying via netbank, all the news sites have published their warning for last Sunday and them being out of order completely. I'm excellent at ignoring shit but even I knew about this coming yet I did nothing to prepare for it. We have more than enough food and toilet paper to last at least a week so this was no issue for us.

Except thanks to my son and I drinking all our milk on Saturday, the Sunday morning started out bad. At 6 am J came to inform me that he has 60 euros cash, so thanks to him we might survive this long lasting (24 hours) break in our access to funds. I thought it was cute that because of this being an unforseen (only to me) situation, he was willing to loan me the money for an interest rate of 15 per day.

I sent the kid a link to a story about a kid who survived almost a month in a collapsed building after an earthquake so show him he and I could potentially handle drinking water for a day. He lasted 4 hours before he informed me that I'm unfit to be a parent.

Since I managed to burn my hand quite badly 10 days ago, going outside has not been my favourite thing lately. The cold air hurts badly. Only the thought of him dying of thirst got me do it so I stuffed the cash he so generously lent me to my pocket, went to the store, got some milk and came back home. After washing my hands I took the used mask from my pocket and threw it to the fire place. Sadly I threw 45 euros there with the mask too, which means we have zero cash, none of us ever use cash, we never even figured out how the kid had any in the first place even. We do have 8 litres of milk left and now our bank is telling us that this 24 hour pause is likely to prolong cuz they can't handle their shit right.

Anyway, the day one of this survival boot camp is not going very well. While food or toilet paper situations are well taken care of, I might have to relent and buy a cow. It sure as hell would be cheaper in the long run than owing the damn boy money.