LS3 Driving Impressions 5 hour trip
08-25-2007, 08:59 PM
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LS3 Driving Impressions 5 hour trip
Just returned from taking my new 2008 LS3 on a road trip up I-35 to Wichita KS and back from Dallas. Started 250 miles on the OD now 900+. My impressions -
PROs
1. Powertrain. Wow! after 500 miles I did my first WOT at 75 mph. Man, kick in the pants, still accelerating going past 120. My last vette was C-5 vert with 300hp baseline and there is simply no comparison. I did one 'not quite' WOT takeaway from a toll booth and my wife started yelling to stop. 430 hp with the new 6 speed is really something. I'm still shaking my head.
2. Paddle shift auto. I really thought it was a waste. I was wrong, what a blast, got to be careful with those downshifts though. I would order this again.
3. Trim and quality on the 2008. I think the interior is better, gaps are good, impression is of better high end car.
4. Steering - I have to say I was never all that impressed with steering on C-5. Before I bought this car I drove a Porshe 911 and Cayman S and the S steering was incredible. I tell you, this 2008 set up is dang close. I did several high speed lane changes, deliberate dodge the center lines on lonely interstate, and it's now intuitive like the porsche. Kinda think you want to go there and it's there. Really sweet.
5. New HUD is cool. Like the G and additional display options over C-5.
6. BOSE stereo is fine -XM radio, car phone, all avionics is good stuff.
7. On Star - Superb son locked my keys in the car (FYI IF YOUR KEYS ARE PUT IN THE BACK WHERE YOU RAISE THE COUPE THE CAR WILL LET YOU CLOSE IT WITH FRONT DOOR LOCKED AND YOU'RE DOOMED). Unless of course you call on star and 60 seconds back in.
8. Paint quality - hand waxed and it was perfect. Really nice.
9. Wow factor - I loved my C-5. but this car and this color really gets attention.
10. MPG - Incredible 25.6 for trip with several bursts above 100. At 75 the car gets 27.6, at 100 BTW it gets 20.9.
11. Exhaust sound - Now this car sounds like a corvette should!
CONS
1. Seats at 240 lbs I don't fit. Severe butt pain after one hour. Great Incentive to keep losing weight. Seats are weak, Porsche much better.
2. Road noise. Wow really bad on concrete I-35. really bad at 70 and higher. Car has disappointing noise isolation and the run flats are as obnoxious as ever.
Summary
Best value sports car in the world. For long trips we will take the Infiniti M-35. But for curvey roads, raw power acceleration, dollar for dollar you can't beat a C-6. I am really glad Idid not buy the Porsche.
PROs
1. Powertrain. Wow! after 500 miles I did my first WOT at 75 mph. Man, kick in the pants, still accelerating going past 120. My last vette was C-5 vert with 300hp baseline and there is simply no comparison. I did one 'not quite' WOT takeaway from a toll booth and my wife started yelling to stop. 430 hp with the new 6 speed is really something. I'm still shaking my head.
2. Paddle shift auto. I really thought it was a waste. I was wrong, what a blast, got to be careful with those downshifts though. I would order this again.
3. Trim and quality on the 2008. I think the interior is better, gaps are good, impression is of better high end car.
4. Steering - I have to say I was never all that impressed with steering on C-5. Before I bought this car I drove a Porshe 911 and Cayman S and the S steering was incredible. I tell you, this 2008 set up is dang close. I did several high speed lane changes, deliberate dodge the center lines on lonely interstate, and it's now intuitive like the porsche. Kinda think you want to go there and it's there. Really sweet.
5. New HUD is cool. Like the G and additional display options over C-5.
6. BOSE stereo is fine -XM radio, car phone, all avionics is good stuff.
7. On Star - Superb son locked my keys in the car (FYI IF YOUR KEYS ARE PUT IN THE BACK WHERE YOU RAISE THE COUPE THE CAR WILL LET YOU CLOSE IT WITH FRONT DOOR LOCKED AND YOU'RE DOOMED). Unless of course you call on star and 60 seconds back in.
8. Paint quality - hand waxed and it was perfect. Really nice.
9. Wow factor - I loved my C-5. but this car and this color really gets attention.
10. MPG - Incredible 25.6 for trip with several bursts above 100. At 75 the car gets 27.6, at 100 BTW it gets 20.9.
11. Exhaust sound - Now this car sounds like a corvette should!
CONS
1. Seats at 240 lbs I don't fit. Severe butt pain after one hour. Great Incentive to keep losing weight. Seats are weak, Porsche much better.
2. Road noise. Wow really bad on concrete I-35. really bad at 70 and higher. Car has disappointing noise isolation and the run flats are as obnoxious as ever.
Summary
Best value sports car in the world. For long trips we will take the Infiniti M-35. But for curvey roads, raw power acceleration, dollar for dollar you can't beat a C-6. I am really glad Idid not buy the Porsche.
Last edited by 3rd vette; 08-25-2007 at 09:06 PM.
08-25-2007, 09:33 PM
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St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
nice write up. disagree about seats, but both me and my friend are a little less. interior is perfectly fine for my tastes. I've seen better, owned better, and owned worse, many.
08-25-2007, 09:43 PM
#6
Just returned from taking my new 2008 LS3 on a road trip up I-35 to Wichita KS and back from Dallas. Started 250 miles on the OD now 900+. My impressions -
PROs
1. Powertrain. Wow! after 500 miles I did my first WOT at 75 mph. Man, kick in the pants, still accelerating going past 120. My last vette was C-5 vert with 300hp baseline and there is simply no comparison. I did one 'not quite' WOT takeaway from a toll booth and my wife started yelling to stop. 430 hp with the new 6 speed is really something. I'm still shaking my head.
2. Paddle shift auto. I really thought it was a waste. I was wrong, what a blast, got to be careful with those downshifts though. I would order this again.
3. Trim and quality on the 2008. I think the interior is better, gaps are good, impression is of better high end car.
4. Steering - I have to say I was never all that impressed with steering on C-5. Before I bought this car I drove a Porshe 911 and Cayman S and the S steering was incredible. I tell you, this 2008 set up is dang close. I did several high speed lane changes, deliberate dodge the center lines on lonely interstate, and it's now intuitive like the porsche. Kinda think you want to go there and it's there. Really sweet.
5. New HUD is cool. Like the G and additional display options over C-5.
6. BOSE stereo is fine -XM radio, car phone, all avionics is good stuff.
7. On Star - Superb son locked my keys in the car (FYI IF YOUR KEYS ARE PUT IN THE BACK WHERE YOU RAISE THE COUPE THE CAR WILL LET YOU CLOSE IT WITH FRONT DOOR LOCKED AND YOU'RE DOOMED). Unless of course you call on star and 60 seconds back in.
8. Paint quality - hand waxed and it was perfect. Really nice.
9. Wow factor - I loved my C-5. but this car and this color really gets attention.
10. MPG - Incredible 25.6 for trip with several bursts above 100. At 75 the car gets 27.6, at 100 BTW it gets 20.9.
11. Exhaust sound - Now this car sounds like a corvette should!
CONS
1. Seats at 240 lbs I don't fit. Severe butt pain after one hour. Great Incentive to keep losing weight. Seats are weak, Porsche much better.
2. Road noise. Wow really bad on concrete I-35. really bad at 70 and higher. Car has disappointing noise isolation and the run flats are as obnoxious as ever.
Summary
Best value sports car in the world. For long trips we will take the Infiniti M-35. But for curvey roads, raw power acceleration, dollar for dollar you can't beat a C-6. I am really glad Idid not buy the Porsche.
PROs
1. Powertrain. Wow! after 500 miles I did my first WOT at 75 mph. Man, kick in the pants, still accelerating going past 120. My last vette was C-5 vert with 300hp baseline and there is simply no comparison. I did one 'not quite' WOT takeaway from a toll booth and my wife started yelling to stop. 430 hp with the new 6 speed is really something. I'm still shaking my head.
2. Paddle shift auto. I really thought it was a waste. I was wrong, what a blast, got to be careful with those downshifts though. I would order this again.
3. Trim and quality on the 2008. I think the interior is better, gaps are good, impression is of better high end car.
4. Steering - I have to say I was never all that impressed with steering on C-5. Before I bought this car I drove a Porshe 911 and Cayman S and the S steering was incredible. I tell you, this 2008 set up is dang close. I did several high speed lane changes, deliberate dodge the center lines on lonely interstate, and it's now intuitive like the porsche. Kinda think you want to go there and it's there. Really sweet.
5. New HUD is cool. Like the G and additional display options over C-5.
6. BOSE stereo is fine -XM radio, car phone, all avionics is good stuff.
7. On Star - Superb son locked my keys in the car (FYI IF YOUR KEYS ARE PUT IN THE BACK WHERE YOU RAISE THE COUPE THE CAR WILL LET YOU CLOSE IT WITH FRONT DOOR LOCKED AND YOU'RE DOOMED). Unless of course you call on star and 60 seconds back in.
8. Paint quality - hand waxed and it was perfect. Really nice.
9. Wow factor - I loved my C-5. but this car and this color really gets attention.
10. MPG - Incredible 25.6 for trip with several bursts above 100. At 75 the car gets 27.6, at 100 BTW it gets 20.9.
11. Exhaust sound - Now this car sounds like a corvette should!
CONS
1. Seats at 240 lbs I don't fit. Severe butt pain after one hour. Great Incentive to keep losing weight. Seats are weak, Porsche much better.
2. Road noise. Wow really bad on concrete I-35. really bad at 70 and higher. Car has disappointing noise isolation and the run flats are as obnoxious as ever.
Summary
Best value sports car in the world. For long trips we will take the Infiniti M-35. But for curvey roads, raw power acceleration, dollar for dollar you can't beat a C-6. I am really glad Idid not buy the Porsche.
08-25-2007, 10:47 PM
#12
Burning Brakes
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b) Nothing wrong down shifting manually with the paddles. Just know what you are doing to properly take advantage of that rather than flipping paddles senselessly... If you have to ask...
08-25-2007, 11:49 PM
#13
Drifting
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Nice write up. These new 08's are amazing machines. I know what you mean about down shifting the paddle shifters. I'm still trying to get the hang of it myself.
Congratulations...Gene...
Congratulations...Gene...
08-26-2007, 05:01 AM
#14
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Just returned from taking my new 2008 LS3 on a road trip up I-35 to Wichita KS and back from Dallas. Started 250 miles on the OD now 900+. My impressions -
PROs
1. Powertrain. Wow! after 500 miles I did my first WOT at 75 mph. Man, kick in the pants, still accelerating going past 120. My last vette was C-5 vert with 300hp baseline and there is simply no comparison. I did one 'not quite' WOT takeaway from a toll booth and my wife started yelling to stop. 430 hp with the new 6 speed is really something. I'm still shaking my head.
2. Paddle shift auto. I really thought it was a waste. I was wrong, what a blast, got to be careful with those downshifts though. I would order this again.
3. Trim and quality on the 2008. I think the interior is better, gaps are good, impression is of better high end car.
4. Steering - I have to say I was never all that impressed with steering on C-5. Before I bought this car I drove a Porshe 911 and Cayman S and the S steering was incredible. I tell you, this 2008 set up is dang close. I did several high speed lane changes, deliberate dodge the center lines on lonely interstate, and it's now intuitive like the porsche. Kinda think you want to go there and it's there. Really sweet.
5. New HUD is cool. Like the G and additional display options over C-5.
6. BOSE stereo is fine -XM radio, car phone, all avionics is good stuff.
7. On Star - Superb son locked my keys in the car (FYI IF YOUR KEYS ARE PUT IN THE BACK WHERE YOU RAISE THE COUPE THE CAR WILL LET YOU CLOSE IT WITH FRONT DOOR LOCKED AND YOU'RE DOOMED). Unless of course you call on star and 60 seconds back in.
8. Paint quality - hand waxed and it was perfect. Really nice.
9. Wow factor - I loved my C-5. but this car and this color really gets attention.
10. MPG - Incredible 25.6 for trip with several bursts above 100. At 75 the car gets 27.6, at 100 BTW it gets 20.9.
11. Exhaust sound - Now this car sounds like a corvette should!
CONS
1. Seats at 240 lbs I don't fit. Severe butt pain after one hour. Great Incentive to keep losing weight. Seats are weak, Porsche much better.
2. Road noise. Wow really bad on concrete I-35. really bad at 70 and higher. Car has disappointing noise isolation and the run flats are as obnoxious as ever.
Summary
Best value sports car in the world. For long trips we will take the Infiniti M-35. But for curvey roads, raw power acceleration, dollar for dollar you can't beat a C-6. I am really glad Idid not buy the Porsche.
PROs
1. Powertrain. Wow! after 500 miles I did my first WOT at 75 mph. Man, kick in the pants, still accelerating going past 120. My last vette was C-5 vert with 300hp baseline and there is simply no comparison. I did one 'not quite' WOT takeaway from a toll booth and my wife started yelling to stop. 430 hp with the new 6 speed is really something. I'm still shaking my head.
2. Paddle shift auto. I really thought it was a waste. I was wrong, what a blast, got to be careful with those downshifts though. I would order this again.
3. Trim and quality on the 2008. I think the interior is better, gaps are good, impression is of better high end car.
4. Steering - I have to say I was never all that impressed with steering on C-5. Before I bought this car I drove a Porshe 911 and Cayman S and the S steering was incredible. I tell you, this 2008 set up is dang close. I did several high speed lane changes, deliberate dodge the center lines on lonely interstate, and it's now intuitive like the porsche. Kinda think you want to go there and it's there. Really sweet.
5. New HUD is cool. Like the G and additional display options over C-5.
6. BOSE stereo is fine -XM radio, car phone, all avionics is good stuff.
7. On Star - Superb son locked my keys in the car (FYI IF YOUR KEYS ARE PUT IN THE BACK WHERE YOU RAISE THE COUPE THE CAR WILL LET YOU CLOSE IT WITH FRONT DOOR LOCKED AND YOU'RE DOOMED). Unless of course you call on star and 60 seconds back in.
8. Paint quality - hand waxed and it was perfect. Really nice.
9. Wow factor - I loved my C-5. but this car and this color really gets attention.
10. MPG - Incredible 25.6 for trip with several bursts above 100. At 75 the car gets 27.6, at 100 BTW it gets 20.9.
11. Exhaust sound - Now this car sounds like a corvette should!
CONS
1. Seats at 240 lbs I don't fit. Severe butt pain after one hour. Great Incentive to keep losing weight. Seats are weak, Porsche much better.
2. Road noise. Wow really bad on concrete I-35. really bad at 70 and higher. Car has disappointing noise isolation and the run flats are as obnoxious as ever.
Summary
Best value sports car in the world. For long trips we will take the Infiniti M-35. But for curvey roads, raw power acceleration, dollar for dollar you can't beat a C-6. I am really glad Idid not buy the Porsche.
08-26-2007, 06:57 AM
#16
Melting Slicks
Nice write up and glad you're enjoying the ride. I get mine in couple of weeks.. On the con side, it really amazes me that the seats in this car is so sheety... I really want to see that engineer fired... It's clearly the worst part of the car... I don't think the seats have been good in the vetter since the C4's..
/joe
/joe
Last edited by joec; 08-26-2007 at 08:01 PM.
08-26-2007, 07:57 AM
#17
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Illusion 38
IMO the road noise from the tires is higher in this car than in the C-5 vert on concrete roads. Find some asphalt or other smooth surface and the car is very quiet. However, let me add that the wind noise in my C-6 is very, very low. Even at 100 negligible. It may be that these EMTs are even harsher than the previous ones.
08-26-2007, 07:59 AM
#18
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Gene
One good thing is the car has a RPM limiter and will deny a downshift if it will damage the engine.
08-26-2007, 09:09 AM
#19
Melting Slicks
Thanks for the great review!
My 2008 A6/NPP is scheduled to be built 09.10, reading your review makes me want it even more!
My 2008 A6/NPP is scheduled to be built 09.10, reading your review makes me want it even more!
08-26-2007, 09:28 AM
#20
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St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
Nice write up and glad you're enjoying the ride. I get mine in couple of weeks.. On the con side, it really amazes me that the seats in this car is so sheety... I really want to see that engineer fired... It's clearly the worst part of the car... I don't thing the seats have been good in the vetter since the C4's..
/joe
/joe