Trackaholic
Well-Known Member
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- #1
I've mentioned it in a couple threads, but thought I'd finally take the time to write a summary and review of my drive back home from picking up my GT350.
Long, long ago, in a state far, far away, there was a forum member (u8mylunch) who helped me find a dealer with integrity - Jack Kissee Ford in Claremore, OK. I talked on the phone to the sales guy, Connor Bull, while I was visiting family in Oregon over Father's day weekend. We settled on a markup of $2500, which was pretty much the limit of what I was willing to pay. A few minutes later I was on the phone with the sales manager, Lyle Johnston, and we adjusted their pending order to my specifications, agreed that I'd give them a non-refundable $5000 deposit when I arrived back at home, and I was good to go.
Connor would spontaneously provide updates when the order status changed, helped me get an idea of when the car might arrive, let me know when it had been given a VIN, when the build was complete, etc. I was out the yard digging up my broken septic tank when I got a text from Connor that included a few pictures of the car at their dealership (I've already posted a couple in a different thread) - my car had finally arrived!
I bought a plane ticket to Tulsa for my dad and I, and a week later we were flying out on a 6:45 AM flight. Connor picked us up at the airport and drove us to the dealership about 1/2 hour away. Connor mentioned that their was a lot of interest in my car, and that a dealer in Texas had offered them $20,000 for it, as well taking some of their less desirable vehicles in a trade, but the folks did not try to back out of our deal. Everyone at the dealership was a class act, and I would recommend that anyone in the Tulsa area check them out. I can't say enough good things about the experience.
After picking up the car, my dad and I drove to Oklahoma City, where we stopped for the night. Other than running a few toll booths (no change in the car, and the damn booths required exact change of $0.35), the trip was uneventful and I was very impressed with how comfortable the Recaro seats were and how well the car handled bumps. Way smoother than my 350Z!
The next morning we headed out towards Albuquerque, had a bit of a close call with gas, but pressed on through and finally stopped in Gallup, NM. We had a great dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Jerry's, and my the poor car sit outside in 27 degree weather.
We left Gallup and all I could think of was the tires coming apart due to the cold weather. And how thick the 5-50 oil was going to be on startup. The original plan was to stop in Las Vegas or Kingman (depending on the time and whether we wanted to go out of our way a bit), but because the GT350 was such an effortless cruiser, and because we were going between 80 and 90 the entire way (and because I had a goal of hitting 100 in each state - briefly), we thought Barstow would be a good stopping point. However, as the day progressed, we found that we were making even better time than expected, and ended up in Bakersfield @ 5:00. We stopped for a quick bit at Carl's Jr. where I met a guy who had just left a track day @ Buttonwillow. He drives an E9X M3, and had many nice things to say about the GT350. Also met some beekeepers from Tulsa, who were on their way back with a load of empty beehives. They also were very interested in the car. I know it's a bit sacrilegious, since bumblebee was a Camaro most recently, but I may need to think of a bee reference for my plates due to this encounter.
Since Bakersfield is only ~3.5 hours from my house, we decided to finish the drive that night, and ended up getting home @ 9:30 in the evening. I wasn't even tired, and am still amazed at how comfortable the journey was. I was expecting the car to be fast, but it's ability to be a daily driver was very surprising to me.
This morning I drove the car to work over HWY 9 (a nice twisty road), and found that it was also quite good in the corners, which is what I expected.
So, now that I've written the long, boring story, here's my quick take on the car:
Recaro Seats - Fantastic! They fit me perfectly, are extremely comfortable, but also very supportive. Looking forward to seeing how they do on the track.
Steering wheel/steering feedback - Very comfortable. Hard to discern the quality of the steering feedback due to most of the miles being on straight road, but I think the steering will be good, but not as good as my Z.
Ride quality - Very happy. Seems like maybe the front and rear springs aren't quite matched to the weight of the car (rear may be quite a bit stiffer). I noticed this on speed bumps and also over some road surfaces, where the car seems to pitch a bit. This was in normal mode, though. Haven't tried sport mode much yet.
Engine - Love it. Would like more low end torque for cruising, but when you are going 80 in 6th, and downshift to 4th or 5th and punch it, you get to 100 VERY quickly. Looking forward to spending a bit more time winding it out.
Gear shifter - Similar to the one in my Z. Very positive engagement and it requires some force to get into gear. Once you are in gear there is almost no play, so it feels very precise. Syncros work better than the ones in my Z, but not as smooth as the MT-82 in my buddies S197 Mustang, which just seems to glide into gear with very little effort. I'm fine with the feel, as it lends a feeling of robustness to the car, but you do need to exert some force to get it into each gear.
Ratios - I think all the ratios are quite good actually, although the gap between 5th and 6th seems a bit larger than I would prefer. I think 6th could be a little shorter and it wouldn't hurt much, and might actually improve MPG due to being able to use it at a lower speed and still get some acceleration.
Overall I love the car, and feel very lucky to have had a forum member find me a good dealer, who worked with me and agreed to what I consider a reasonable price. Thrilled to finally have the car sitting in the driveway.
Here are some photos of the trip. I am attaching them so they'll end up a mess at the bottom. I think the order should be:
1. Leaving San Jose @ 6:45
2. Car at dealer
3. Me next to car
4. At rest stop in NM
5. Leaving Gallup, NM in the morning, covered in frost
6. View of the open road in AZ, with one of about a billion trains running along side
7. My dad driving
8. Coming over Tehachapi pass back in CA, on the way to Bakersfield.
-T
Long, long ago, in a state far, far away, there was a forum member (u8mylunch) who helped me find a dealer with integrity - Jack Kissee Ford in Claremore, OK. I talked on the phone to the sales guy, Connor Bull, while I was visiting family in Oregon over Father's day weekend. We settled on a markup of $2500, which was pretty much the limit of what I was willing to pay. A few minutes later I was on the phone with the sales manager, Lyle Johnston, and we adjusted their pending order to my specifications, agreed that I'd give them a non-refundable $5000 deposit when I arrived back at home, and I was good to go.
Connor would spontaneously provide updates when the order status changed, helped me get an idea of when the car might arrive, let me know when it had been given a VIN, when the build was complete, etc. I was out the yard digging up my broken septic tank when I got a text from Connor that included a few pictures of the car at their dealership (I've already posted a couple in a different thread) - my car had finally arrived!
I bought a plane ticket to Tulsa for my dad and I, and a week later we were flying out on a 6:45 AM flight. Connor picked us up at the airport and drove us to the dealership about 1/2 hour away. Connor mentioned that their was a lot of interest in my car, and that a dealer in Texas had offered them $20,000 for it, as well taking some of their less desirable vehicles in a trade, but the folks did not try to back out of our deal. Everyone at the dealership was a class act, and I would recommend that anyone in the Tulsa area check them out. I can't say enough good things about the experience.
After picking up the car, my dad and I drove to Oklahoma City, where we stopped for the night. Other than running a few toll booths (no change in the car, and the damn booths required exact change of $0.35), the trip was uneventful and I was very impressed with how comfortable the Recaro seats were and how well the car handled bumps. Way smoother than my 350Z!
The next morning we headed out towards Albuquerque, had a bit of a close call with gas, but pressed on through and finally stopped in Gallup, NM. We had a great dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Jerry's, and my the poor car sit outside in 27 degree weather.
We left Gallup and all I could think of was the tires coming apart due to the cold weather. And how thick the 5-50 oil was going to be on startup. The original plan was to stop in Las Vegas or Kingman (depending on the time and whether we wanted to go out of our way a bit), but because the GT350 was such an effortless cruiser, and because we were going between 80 and 90 the entire way (and because I had a goal of hitting 100 in each state - briefly), we thought Barstow would be a good stopping point. However, as the day progressed, we found that we were making even better time than expected, and ended up in Bakersfield @ 5:00. We stopped for a quick bit at Carl's Jr. where I met a guy who had just left a track day @ Buttonwillow. He drives an E9X M3, and had many nice things to say about the GT350. Also met some beekeepers from Tulsa, who were on their way back with a load of empty beehives. They also were very interested in the car. I know it's a bit sacrilegious, since bumblebee was a Camaro most recently, but I may need to think of a bee reference for my plates due to this encounter.
Since Bakersfield is only ~3.5 hours from my house, we decided to finish the drive that night, and ended up getting home @ 9:30 in the evening. I wasn't even tired, and am still amazed at how comfortable the journey was. I was expecting the car to be fast, but it's ability to be a daily driver was very surprising to me.
This morning I drove the car to work over HWY 9 (a nice twisty road), and found that it was also quite good in the corners, which is what I expected.
So, now that I've written the long, boring story, here's my quick take on the car:
Recaro Seats - Fantastic! They fit me perfectly, are extremely comfortable, but also very supportive. Looking forward to seeing how they do on the track.
Steering wheel/steering feedback - Very comfortable. Hard to discern the quality of the steering feedback due to most of the miles being on straight road, but I think the steering will be good, but not as good as my Z.
Ride quality - Very happy. Seems like maybe the front and rear springs aren't quite matched to the weight of the car (rear may be quite a bit stiffer). I noticed this on speed bumps and also over some road surfaces, where the car seems to pitch a bit. This was in normal mode, though. Haven't tried sport mode much yet.
Engine - Love it. Would like more low end torque for cruising, but when you are going 80 in 6th, and downshift to 4th or 5th and punch it, you get to 100 VERY quickly. Looking forward to spending a bit more time winding it out.
Gear shifter - Similar to the one in my Z. Very positive engagement and it requires some force to get into gear. Once you are in gear there is almost no play, so it feels very precise. Syncros work better than the ones in my Z, but not as smooth as the MT-82 in my buddies S197 Mustang, which just seems to glide into gear with very little effort. I'm fine with the feel, as it lends a feeling of robustness to the car, but you do need to exert some force to get it into each gear.
Ratios - I think all the ratios are quite good actually, although the gap between 5th and 6th seems a bit larger than I would prefer. I think 6th could be a little shorter and it wouldn't hurt much, and might actually improve MPG due to being able to use it at a lower speed and still get some acceleration.
Overall I love the car, and feel very lucky to have had a forum member find me a good dealer, who worked with me and agreed to what I consider a reasonable price. Thrilled to finally have the car sitting in the driveway.
Here are some photos of the trip. I am attaching them so they'll end up a mess at the bottom. I think the order should be:
1. Leaving San Jose @ 6:45
2. Car at dealer
3. Me next to car
4. At rest stop in NM
5. Leaving Gallup, NM in the morning, covered in frost
6. View of the open road in AZ, with one of about a billion trains running along side
7. My dad driving
8. Coming over Tehachapi pass back in CA, on the way to Bakersfield.
-T
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