Palmball
New Member
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- 268
I've had my new pride and joy for just over a couple of weeks now and was eagerly waiting for this weekends' promised weather to be able to give it a good detail. Before some pics, heres a an overview on how I'm getting on...
The looks and sounds of this car are incredible. I still haven't got used to either and its the sort of car that I feel so proud of driving everywhere - it seems to have such a positive well-recieved image with none of the stigma that seemed to came with owning my previous 911 Turbo. The sound is such an exotic and expensive tone and alone this attracts more attention to the car than the whole of the Porsche (maybe a little too much for my liking)....it's definitely not a car for the shy person!
Performance - mmm, I though this'd be the one area that I'd struggle with given what I stepped out of but in all reality, I'm not missing the power of my previous German metal - the Maserati also feels a fair bit quicker than I thought it would be. At the top end it feels as quick as anything I've had except the Porsche which is quite surprising given it's in the same ballpark power-wise to my M3 / C63's, yet weighs as much as 20% than them. Maybe it's just the sound giving this impression but the push in the back you get when screaming (as it does) through 5-6-7000rpm (redlines at 7.5k rpm) tells me it's the real deal! It's also just a very nice engine...I've said it before but it really feels and sounds exotic and it's got a very linear power delivery.
The gearbox is fine too and suffers none of the jerkiness found in the BMW M6 - you don't have to lift when changing gear to make smooth change. You don't have myriad of different settings either - just normal and (when you push the sport button to open the exhaust valves) faster. In sport mode you get the MC Shift option which, as long as you have 80%+ throttle and over 5500rpm makes for pretty instantaneous (yet oddly enough, still quite smooth) changes - around 80ms IIRC. The paddles are fixed which takes some getting used after all my previous non-manual cars had steering wheel mounted paddles - at least the paddles are really big so you can get to them almost regardless of where you're holding the wheel.
Some pics of the engine bay before cleaning (with all the plastic covers removed)....
and after cleaning....
OK, it could do with another 100bhp to really be in the big-boys league but in all honesty, it's not that kind of car....
....which leads me onto the dynamics. This is the one area that it's somewhat behind my previous cars and not because theres anything fundamentally wrong (indeed, it's actually the best balanced car I've had since the M3) but because of the weight. The suspension is quite firm but it still rides nicely at 7/10th's. The handling is also pretty sharp with reasonable turn-in, good body control and just enough grip which, on demand, can give way nicely at the back to give a beautifully balanced, progressive and controllable slide. The ability to do this must have a lot to do with it's front-mid engine layout (the engine is so far back it's nearly under the dash!) and it's transaxle gearbox giving IIRC a 52% rearwards weight bias.
Where it starts to fall apart is when you're giving it 8/10th's or more....this is when you feel the weight going against you. Typical situations are going fast round a tight roundabout or on heavily undulating roads - both of these generate too much vertical body movement and the structure itself doesn't seem as stiff as the 911 or the M3 (but it is just as good as the C63). I can't really do much about that and it's certainly stiff enough not to create any rattles or creaks (see below) but the suspension could be rectified by a slightly stiffer set-up and some weight loss. I reckon such equipped, this car could really benefit from it's fantastic chassis balance and I guess this is what they've done with the MC Stradale that's getting such good reviews at the minute. Whilst I that car is a bit rich for me, at least I do have the option of retro-fitting the springs, dampers, roll bars and geometry from it at reasonable cost which should improve matters considerably....watch this space!
Whilst on the bit's I don't like too much I've got to mention the entire telematics/sat nav system. The speed of the system is fine as it's hard-drive based, the mapping is OK too (although not as good as the Comand systems in Merc's) but it has some peculiarities like a very poor sat-nav voice which is largely incomprehensible, a Bluetooth system that decides whether it wants to connect to your phone or not (this last one should be fixed by a software update next week) and a trip computer which only stays visible for 10 seconds before reverting to the previous display.
Interior-wise, the driving position is excellent and it has the straightest steering wheel I've ever come across - it comes out vertical which means you can reach the whole wheel without stretching! I've even got used to the seats which on a day to day basis are very comfortable (although they could still do with more side support so I don't keep falling off them!).
The quality is GREAT....and is one of the few car's I've had which doesn't rattle, creak or buzz...nothing but silence from the interior. The whole interior is leather covered, it's got a nice, very plush-feeling alcantara headlining and even the gearchange buttons (no floor-mounted levers in this car!) have a nice soft leather surround to them. In contrast to my opinion of the Porsche, this is a lovely place to sit and why, despite the lower performance ability, I'm enjoying this car more.
The colour isn't to everyones taste but even those that don't like red comment on how it just suits the car. It creates a great sense of occasion....
When I first got the car, I thought the condition of the paint was exceptional as both in sunlight or under florescent lighting, there were no scratches or swirls on it. How wrong could I have been! After the first wash I must've removed whatever was covering up the marks as it had some awful scratches, lots of swirls and on of the sills doesn't even have lacquer all the way along it! It's very disappointing, especially as the car came with two receipts for a yearly £300+ Swissvax detail carried out at Maranello!
So, I took the opportunity to make the most of the weather this weekend to fix what I could. Firstly, I washed the car and let it dry after after hosing it down with filtered water (using my hose-attached Aqua-Gleam water filter to remove all the sh!t you normally get in tap water), I clayed it and then I machine polished the entire car using my DA polisher, some Sonus Yellow swirl-removing pads and Menzerna final finish compound.
This took about 4 hours as, working a 50-60cm square section at a time, I went over each section with about 20 passes of the DA polisher making sure I slowly built the speed up to maximum and slowed it down again to ensure the compound could 'work' properly.
By the time I'd finished the bodywork was smooth and extremely squeaky clean but most importantly, I'd managed to reduce or remove most of the swirls and scratches (this is far preferable to just covering them up with a polish full of silicone fillers as it's a result that should last). A few still remain but you've really got to catch them at the right light and know what you're looking for - I couldn't fix the sill that had no lacquer so that's being resprayed when it goes into the dealer for a software update next week. They're also replacing all the stone chip guards that are stuck on just in front of the rear wheel arch as they're past their best... a result as this is being done FOC under warranty!
Once the bodywork was 'bare' of any protection I applied some Poorboys EX-P sealant and then applied my creme-de-la-creme...my Swissvax Best Of Show wax. I hope you like the pictures....
The looks and sounds of this car are incredible. I still haven't got used to either and its the sort of car that I feel so proud of driving everywhere - it seems to have such a positive well-recieved image with none of the stigma that seemed to came with owning my previous 911 Turbo. The sound is such an exotic and expensive tone and alone this attracts more attention to the car than the whole of the Porsche (maybe a little too much for my liking)....it's definitely not a car for the shy person!
Performance - mmm, I though this'd be the one area that I'd struggle with given what I stepped out of but in all reality, I'm not missing the power of my previous German metal - the Maserati also feels a fair bit quicker than I thought it would be. At the top end it feels as quick as anything I've had except the Porsche which is quite surprising given it's in the same ballpark power-wise to my M3 / C63's, yet weighs as much as 20% than them. Maybe it's just the sound giving this impression but the push in the back you get when screaming (as it does) through 5-6-7000rpm (redlines at 7.5k rpm) tells me it's the real deal! It's also just a very nice engine...I've said it before but it really feels and sounds exotic and it's got a very linear power delivery.
The gearbox is fine too and suffers none of the jerkiness found in the BMW M6 - you don't have to lift when changing gear to make smooth change. You don't have myriad of different settings either - just normal and (when you push the sport button to open the exhaust valves) faster. In sport mode you get the MC Shift option which, as long as you have 80%+ throttle and over 5500rpm makes for pretty instantaneous (yet oddly enough, still quite smooth) changes - around 80ms IIRC. The paddles are fixed which takes some getting used after all my previous non-manual cars had steering wheel mounted paddles - at least the paddles are really big so you can get to them almost regardless of where you're holding the wheel.
Some pics of the engine bay before cleaning (with all the plastic covers removed)....
and after cleaning....
OK, it could do with another 100bhp to really be in the big-boys league but in all honesty, it's not that kind of car....
....which leads me onto the dynamics. This is the one area that it's somewhat behind my previous cars and not because theres anything fundamentally wrong (indeed, it's actually the best balanced car I've had since the M3) but because of the weight. The suspension is quite firm but it still rides nicely at 7/10th's. The handling is also pretty sharp with reasonable turn-in, good body control and just enough grip which, on demand, can give way nicely at the back to give a beautifully balanced, progressive and controllable slide. The ability to do this must have a lot to do with it's front-mid engine layout (the engine is so far back it's nearly under the dash!) and it's transaxle gearbox giving IIRC a 52% rearwards weight bias.
Where it starts to fall apart is when you're giving it 8/10th's or more....this is when you feel the weight going against you. Typical situations are going fast round a tight roundabout or on heavily undulating roads - both of these generate too much vertical body movement and the structure itself doesn't seem as stiff as the 911 or the M3 (but it is just as good as the C63). I can't really do much about that and it's certainly stiff enough not to create any rattles or creaks (see below) but the suspension could be rectified by a slightly stiffer set-up and some weight loss. I reckon such equipped, this car could really benefit from it's fantastic chassis balance and I guess this is what they've done with the MC Stradale that's getting such good reviews at the minute. Whilst I that car is a bit rich for me, at least I do have the option of retro-fitting the springs, dampers, roll bars and geometry from it at reasonable cost which should improve matters considerably....watch this space!
Whilst on the bit's I don't like too much I've got to mention the entire telematics/sat nav system. The speed of the system is fine as it's hard-drive based, the mapping is OK too (although not as good as the Comand systems in Merc's) but it has some peculiarities like a very poor sat-nav voice which is largely incomprehensible, a Bluetooth system that decides whether it wants to connect to your phone or not (this last one should be fixed by a software update next week) and a trip computer which only stays visible for 10 seconds before reverting to the previous display.
Interior-wise, the driving position is excellent and it has the straightest steering wheel I've ever come across - it comes out vertical which means you can reach the whole wheel without stretching! I've even got used to the seats which on a day to day basis are very comfortable (although they could still do with more side support so I don't keep falling off them!).
The quality is GREAT....and is one of the few car's I've had which doesn't rattle, creak or buzz...nothing but silence from the interior. The whole interior is leather covered, it's got a nice, very plush-feeling alcantara headlining and even the gearchange buttons (no floor-mounted levers in this car!) have a nice soft leather surround to them. In contrast to my opinion of the Porsche, this is a lovely place to sit and why, despite the lower performance ability, I'm enjoying this car more.
The colour isn't to everyones taste but even those that don't like red comment on how it just suits the car. It creates a great sense of occasion....
When I first got the car, I thought the condition of the paint was exceptional as both in sunlight or under florescent lighting, there were no scratches or swirls on it. How wrong could I have been! After the first wash I must've removed whatever was covering up the marks as it had some awful scratches, lots of swirls and on of the sills doesn't even have lacquer all the way along it! It's very disappointing, especially as the car came with two receipts for a yearly £300+ Swissvax detail carried out at Maranello!
So, I took the opportunity to make the most of the weather this weekend to fix what I could. Firstly, I washed the car and let it dry after after hosing it down with filtered water (using my hose-attached Aqua-Gleam water filter to remove all the sh!t you normally get in tap water), I clayed it and then I machine polished the entire car using my DA polisher, some Sonus Yellow swirl-removing pads and Menzerna final finish compound.
This took about 4 hours as, working a 50-60cm square section at a time, I went over each section with about 20 passes of the DA polisher making sure I slowly built the speed up to maximum and slowed it down again to ensure the compound could 'work' properly.
By the time I'd finished the bodywork was smooth and extremely squeaky clean but most importantly, I'd managed to reduce or remove most of the swirls and scratches (this is far preferable to just covering them up with a polish full of silicone fillers as it's a result that should last). A few still remain but you've really got to catch them at the right light and know what you're looking for - I couldn't fix the sill that had no lacquer so that's being resprayed when it goes into the dealer for a software update next week. They're also replacing all the stone chip guards that are stuck on just in front of the rear wheel arch as they're past their best... a result as this is being done FOC under warranty!
Once the bodywork was 'bare' of any protection I applied some Poorboys EX-P sealant and then applied my creme-de-la-creme...my Swissvax Best Of Show wax. I hope you like the pictures....
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