Well, fellow Sol-sters, I put about 60 miles on my new GXP last night. Impressions, though keep in mind that I was very easy on it-
Really great suspension settings. IMO. Excellent balance between "rock-hard race" and "Lincoln float". Steering and brakes good, linear performance while feeling somewhat "dead". The sucker holds the road well, but doesn't provide a lot of clues through the steering wheel or brake pedal. Clutch is sweet. Light action, quick, linear take-up. Throttle response is as described elsewhere. If you didn't hear the almost inaudible BOV "whistle" between shifts, you'd swear it was a small block V-8. Wonderful, willing response starting real low in the rev range. I can tell this thing is going to be my "ticket to tickets" soon !!!! Interior looks uncluttered and well done to me. Controls are generally well laid out and easy to operate. Drink holders and storage are another story...... Stereo sounds real nice (monsoon system...haven't played a CD yet). Interior noise levels surprisingly quiet (premium headliner). Just enough leg room for me (I'm 6'2"). Haven't gotten the seat adjusted quite right yet. A little lower back pain after an hour behind the wheel. At idle, the engine sounds absolutely pathetic. More tractor than car. Once rolling, sound becomes more "stern", but certainly not too much. One thing I did notice on the down side (and has been reported elsewhere) is some driveline lash if I shifted poorly or at exceptionally slow engine speeds.
This, of course, is totally subjective. But it appears the overall goal was to create a comfortable, intimate, quiet envelope in which two people can cover ground in a hurry!!!. Overall, for the dough ($29,600 out the door), I couldn't be more pleased!!!! I haven't even touched on the looks. I ordered Deep, after much indecision. I regretted up until I saw my car. The grills aren't really black. More a dark charcoal grey. They look sweet against the dark blue. Makes a kinda "happy" looking car look a little sinister (which is exactly what I wanted). Thanks to GM for having the vision to create, and the balls to build the Solstice Hopefully, by the weekend, I will have my break-in miles behind me. I'll report back again when I get the chance to "light the fuse"!!!!!!!!!!
Part II - This morning
Put some more miles on going to work today. The more I drive it, the more I like it. I don't think you'll be disappointed!!! The one thing I didn't report on last night was the gear box. I've seen it "bashed" on the forum by various people. Obviously the new stiffner has worked wonders. Shifts are positive and have a nice "snick" as you move into gear. Of course, I haven't done any shifting "in anger" yet, but at this point I like the feel. There
is some very pronounced driveline lash if you take your foot off of the gas a little before disengaging the clutch. Bad shifting technique. You have to time it just right for it to occur. Obviously, to avoid it,
just don't do it. I had a chance to hear the exhaust note from the outside for the first time this morning. Definitely sounds a lot less "tractor" from the outside. A hoarse rasp, with a slight background rumble. Evil, just as we'd hoped
. As far as the steering and brake feel, it's time to start investigating possibilities. Any idea what the steering gear rack bushings are made of? What type of brake lines are on the car? A friend has a modified WRX STI. Amongst the things he did was to change the steering rack bushings from factory rubber to aftermarket urethane, as well as stainless steel brake lines. I can tell you it was like driving a different car after he made those two changes.........