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Well, after a long 2+ week wait, I was able to head down to Motorcars of Atlanta to pick up my Vantage, and I've got to say: I'm in love. After putting roughly 600 miles on her for the drive back and a few spirited jaunts through the country roads of the Triangle (she got to 145 way too easily), the car has been everything I had hoped. She seems mechanically sound, and apart from a fuel filler door that occasionally gets stuck, a very small area of seperation between the rear glass and convertible top (fixed), and some door seals that could stand to be replaced, the car is wonderful. 33k miles, got it for a really good price ($36k), new clutch 6k miles ago, and service records, I couldn't be happier. Grant at Motorcars of Atlanta was awesome to work with, and I'll assuredly be going back to him when the time comes to buy another. I've attached some pics showing the condition of the interior and top- forgive the grime, but 600 miles will do that, and I'm going to wait to wash her until the rain passes. I do have a few questions for you all however:
First, what is considered "too low" of an RPM range for driving? I like to keep it between 2-3k when driving around town- will this wear out the clutch at all?
Second, the rear tires seem to be cambered in a bit (ie top of tire in, bottom out)- is this normal? She's outfitted with Potenzas, and theres a bit more wear on the inside of the tire than the outside.
Great car and a great buy!
With regards to clutch wear it isn't the revs you are driving around at that will cause the clutch to wear, it's clutch slippage. So when starting from a stop if you are feeding in too many revs and releasing the clutch too slowly causing excessive "slip" this is where the wear occurs. So driving around at between 2-3k will not hurt the clutch. These are revy engines and make their power higher in the rev range so in my experience they like the revs.
They do typically have negative camber built into the suspension for better handling. However if there is significantly more wear on the inside of your tires I would suggest you take it in to have the alignment checked.
Very nice looking....congratulations! I have had no issues keeping 2-4K around town (22K miles from new on a manual 4.7), and 3rd is a very long legged gear.
You are probably overdue for Michelin P4S if those are OEM Potenzas! And do yourself a favor and look into a convertible top protectant like 303. Awesome car for the new year
Wow, our cars are getting cheap. That is ALOT of car for that money.
There is no danger to cruising RPM being low. There's no risk to the clutch. Just don't load the engine (that is larger throttle openings, trying to accelerate) at RPM in the 2000-2500 range. Downshift to accelerate.
Thanks folks, I really appreciate the input. Joe- as for the model year, it is indeed an '07. It does have the Sportshift, but I've quickly learned to shift smoothly. As an added bonus, it came with a K40 Calibre system with laser defuser. All in all, I think I got a steal on it!
Thanks folks, I really appreciate the input. Joe- as for the model year, it is indeed an '07. It does have the Sportshift, but I've quickly learned to shift smoothly. As an added bonus, it came with a K40 Calibre system with laser defuser. All in all, I think I got a steal on it!
Most likely throw that K40 away. I am surprised you are not already complaining about the noise it makes constantly from vehicle parking/awarness sensors like the acura's and audi's on the road. Had one in my RR and hated it. Also please research your K40 and the laser diffuser before thinking they will work for you. MOST laser diffusers do not really help you, due to not being installed correctly, having enough sensors to adequately cover the front end, and then the actual know how of using them. Ie.......is your diffuser set to only go off for 5 seconds then go dead for 15sec? So while you driving towards the cop with the laser you think its scrabbling his device, but in reality its not even on due to the settings the prior owner set it up for.
Thanks folks, I really appreciate the input. Joe- as for the model year, it is indeed an '07. It does have the Sportshift, but I've quickly learned to shift smoothly. As an added bonus, it came with a K40 Calibre system with laser defuser. All in all, I think I got a steal on it!
sounds like a nice deal... be wary of the rear window patch and keep an eye on it because this is the weak link in the roadster roof (along with hydraulics) ...I passed on one two years ago because I talked to several folks to repair and all wanted several thousand to repair properly.
