My Big Mistake

[Bomber]

Had to do it - drove a GS sedan yesterday. My dealer mate was bored and I had half an hour to kill so yeeehar.

Gotta say first up, I reckon my 270rwkw FG T would dust it but f*** they sound good. The poor sucker had only 60k on her. My mate has a heavy foot so when it was my turn he said um, don't baby it. Hmmm....lets just say he grabbed the panic rail a few times and I think I scrubbed about 1000k off the tyres in 10 minutes

The blower was noiser than I expected - bonus. Funny too not having the fart between changes and the auto shifted perfectly - quite firm actually. They've mated it well with the traction control and because it doesn't have torque reduction, doesn't bog down like my T does sometimes.

The power is more linear - no question. Not as ballistic as the turbo and because of that it seems to put power down better. Importantly, not one ounce of axle tramp - I tried hard. Just skated off the line several times in a lovely controlled fishtail. The last one left some nice 50 meter-ish snakes up the road - f***ing child.

I love my T but getting back into it and nailing it left me a bit deflated, despite doing a near tank slap with a louder pedal than I realised - dickhead. And yes, they're getting better value by the minute. Could have driven away in this one for 52k. It was a demo and yes had the puss screen, but that's getting within range of the old XR8 money with a far better engine and 19's. True it's still a povo FPV, but driving it yesterday I couldn't have given a f**k really - just smiled the whole time.

Hate saying it in a way, but I think my next car will be one of these. As good as the turbo is if you've had V8's, it's a bloody hard act to follow, especially one as good as these. As dumb as this sounds, the noise of both the blower and the V8 is actually worth going slower for. Ya just can't stop grinning when you drive it. And surprise - I'd go manual in one of these. Why? purely because of the sound of a manual V8 - nothing to do with gear shifting which the ZF did seamlessly and like in the turbo, would be the quicker option in 'non-bathurst' daily driving.

Lets just hope the Falcon survives 'cause even if they dump the I6, the V8 alternative is a bloody nice piece of kit.

[Benny]

Totally agree with your comments around the power delivery and gear shifts. When I drove the GT I had the same thoughts. Wasn't as fast but power to the road and sound was awesome. I'll be looking closely at swinging to the V8 when the FGII comes out.

Benny.

[Bomber]

yeah and add the beefed up ZF in FGII across the range so torque management can be deleted.

[Shyfrd]

lol sounds like u had a ball man! I wouldve been loving life haha. always wanted to get an 8 and as ive become a full licence in february, its been a question of interest to me - I want a ute but do I get an fg xr8 or xr6 turbo? or if I went for an fpv 8 itd be a b series. but these new charged babies are off chops, id love to drive one let alone own one lol

[tray_182005]

My mate works for FPV dealer I cant wait to take on for a cut . Need to con the missus the GTP will be a better family car then the Terry

[Henz]

Ok, so last week got my ass into gear and finally went and had a look at some G/s's.

I'm strongly considering buying one, was before I drove it. More so now.

So currently I drive a manual ute, and I thought this would be what I was after. So I found a nice silver one, leather and nothing else, and lined up a drive. First impressions, the exhaust wasnt as good as I expected, nothing like the sedan, but enough to drown out the blower. Peak hour meant not a lot of playing, but a quick first to 2nd resulted in some healthy lines bieng left behind.

But honestly, the manual v8 combo didn't do it for me. I expected to blown away, but instead felt a little let down. I passed this onto the dealer he told me " pull my tampon out and test drive an auto". No bullsh*t. So I arranged to cOme back the next day to test drive an auto sedan.

Now the sedan was nearly brand new, 30k on the clock. It had leather, premo, dual climate, and the zf. My first impression, alot better than the manual! I know I'll regret putting that in writing but that's the truth. Maybe the other guys tested some that see lower on power, this one felt on par with my ute. But the delivery was so much better. Plant it and its like an orchestra. The exhaust bellows an awesome note, the blower whines alot louder than I expected. No more straining to hear it, it fills the cabin. Then when you back off from some ludicrous speed you've reached in seconds, the exhaust starts popping and crackling. The bi-modal setup must work around EPA laws, because this was easily as loud as most sports exhausts. And the zf, probably the best thing about driving it. Plant the foot and instant acceleration, no fumbling for the right gear. Shifts were smooth and firm. Traction control let a bit of slip bit never interfered to much either.

The outcome? If someone buys my ute I'll be in one in a heart beat. The only thing holding me back is trade in.

Edited 22/05/11 06:50 AM by henz

[STAINLESS again plz]

ill race ya round bathurst when u buy it henz

so ud go the zf over the manual in this? how bout tuned?

good write up guys...

P.S. lol@ tampon comment...

Edited 22/05/11 08:38 AM by STAINLESS

[Bomber]

Interesting Henz. I only drove an auto sedan so I too would be keen to see what the manual is like. If you don't like it as much (as the auto) and you currently drive a manual, the ZF might be back on. I really only said manual coz of the thought of that sweet donk barking through the gears. However, as I noticed in my test, the ZF changes gears superbly and firmer than expected. Not sure if it was the no torque cut, but it was better than my T. As you said, traction gives a little then through the gears she goes like rapid fire. I think you're maturing mate, lol.

[tab]

ill race ya round bathurst when u buy it henz

Don't let it worry ya, they all come around eventually. I.e. look at what Dillz is driving now

[Henz]

Stainless I have no idea about tuned, probably never have traction. Manual sedan might be better than ute but I'm not sold on the manual.

the ZF honestly Suits these better IMO. Plant it and it just leaps forward. Nothing like the turbo at all.

One thing I noticed was the way this motor boosts. When accelerating lightly there's zero boost, even light-moderate no boost.

Bomber did you find yourself selecting 3rd early then planting it to get that blower on song?