Well, the good news is that I got my car back today. The bad news is that the arrival of the car coincided with a hellacious windstorm...which turned into rain and snow. As a result, I haven't been able to drive my car yet and it's sitting in the garage. But...I'm hopeful the roads will be clear tomorrow and I'll post my impressions.

 

Let me be the first to congratulate you!
Please tell us as much as you can after you get a chance to take it out for a spin.

 

Congrats!

I'm very curious to hear results!

 

your aston looks good with that drop....nice stance on it. nice color also.

 

OK first driving impressions...

Obviously it's a lot faster than stock. Keep in mind I'm at altitude now, so it's not making the power it would at sea level. Midrange is MUCH better...from a roll even when I'm not pushing it, it gets up to speed very quickly without that feeling of lagging that it had before. It just pulls nicely from idle all the way up.

The roads are clear now up but I'm still taking it really easy until I get comfortable with it. I'm really going to want get the new tires on before I can really push it. In first gear if you get on it even at 2500 rpm the tires light up, so that will be much better after the bigger rubber is on.

It definitely feels faster but you don't realize how fast it is until you look at the speedo or notice how quickly other cars are disappearing. I was only pushing it a bit on the freeway and was well into ### before I realized it...much faster than stock would be at those speeds, too.

The tuning is set now so that the boost cuts at around 6250 rpm, so I'm short shifting it at that point, and even with doing that it's much much faster than it was before. Once I get that sorted out so that I can rev it all the way to redline and it will be even faster.

The springs are great. The car is 20mm lower so there are some clearance issues, but the ride is actually LESS harsh than stock due to the progressive springs. Ride is great really and the handling is definitely improved over stock. Totally livable as a daily driver from that standpoint.

 

Congrats Tahoe. Sounds like an absolute beast!!! You're still waiting on the HREs?

 

Yeah...the maddening wait continues...7+ weeks now. They apparently had a supplier issue and still wont have the blanks in for another 2 wks.

 

Tahoe,

Have you ever driven a 997 911 Turbo? If you did, how would your "new car" compare to the Porsche. Just by reading the couple of lines, I can sense that you are very happy with the outcome.

 

Yeah I have driven the 997TT and I would say they are very comparable, although I won't know for sure until I get to do a direct comparison with a friend and fellow 6-speeder in town.

I'm also planning on doing similar comparisons with the F360, CL55, and GT3, GT-R, E63, and Z06. I won't be able to really do that until I get the new tires on, because I really can't get on the throttle in 1st without roasting the tires at this point...even from a roll. A launch with any revs would be pointless. Also, I want to see the power go up to the rev limiter rather than having to short shift at 6250 rpm.

When it's in the power band in the higher gears where I'm getting traction, the acceleration is easily as good as the 997TT I drove without the annoying turbo lag of the Porsche. The acceleration is more linear with better low end punch although it seems to really be ramping up at the top end when I have to shift at 6250...running it to redline will make a big difference.

 

Sounds awesome Tahoe. I'm really looking forward to the heads-up against those cars. Is the tuning adjustable? Will you be able to maintain the boost up to 7100 RPM's? I have the ECU reprogramming and I believe that the red line is extended to 7500. It would be amazing to maintain the boost up to there.

 

Can't wait to hear more. Especially interested to hear about the comparisons. Are you going to be comparing numbers, or are you going to do more hands-on testing?

Also, you got a new clutch too, right? If so, who made it? And pls provide feedback on it too if you can. Thx.

 

Congrats, and enjoy it

 

Yeah the tuning is going to be readjusted this week to take it all the way up to redline, which should be 7500 rpm as I also got the RSC/Paramount chip. I'll know more about when it's going to happen after I get an update tomorrow from ESX.

 

Tahoe M3 - which springs did you go with (or full suspension)? How does the "rebound" feel at speed over a bump?

 

congrats!! what r the official dyno numbers?? what size tires r u going to put on??