First few days review: ’16 GT350R, AG / Black OTT, no electronics
In brief, I’m incredibly happy with, and impressed by, this car. While I’d gotten a taste of it through the brief drive at the Track Tour, and I’d right-seated for a few laps at the Monterey Historics…and, like most of you, I’d consumed every bit of info I could find on the car (in many cases, those bits were consumed many times over), I was still curious how it would be to live with day-to-day.
Now that I’ve got about 250 miles on it in a variety of settings, I thought I’d write up some impressions. The weather here hasn’t cooperated, otherwise I would have had quite a few more miles on it since picking it up on Friday. We’ve had a LOT of rain here and while it’s great for CA, in general, I have had a couple days where the car has just sat in the garage and I’ve just sat there staring at it. I don’t know how you guys do it in climates where you have to put the cars away for months at a time…hats of to you for having that kind of patience.
I’ll pivot off the things that most others are talking about instead of completely 'recreating the wheel.’
I can’t tell you if the stereo sucks. I don’t have one. I'll take people’s word on that one. I can tell you that the noise this car makes is ridiculous(ly good). I was hoping it’d be as charismatic sounding in everyday driving situations as the Boss, and it’s all that and more. (I still love the way the boss sounds…I’ve had side pipes open, GT500 axle-backs, and track-key since about day 1.) This car turns nearly every head everywhere…just on sound alone. My neighbor was out in his new GT4 yesterday (red, bad-ass looking) and we crossed paths as we were both out for drives with our teen-aged boys. He’s a car nut and active racing driver. After chatting a bit, I pulled onto a freeway onramp and took off (he was waiting at the light to go the other way on the freeway). He later emailed me saying that the car was the closest sounding thing to an actual race car that he’d ever heard on the street - he was massively impressed, and a bit envious (his words). I have turned the car to quiet mode a couple times just to see what it’s like…and if you use that in conjunction with the ‘normal’ damper mode, the thing is super quiet and pleasant on the freeway. Doing about 80mph, it was turning just above 2k rpms and was getting a solid 22ish mpg on flat sections of freeway. (average mpg has been running closer to 10. it’s a thirsty beast). The motor is so elastic, so blip-able, it’s just a joy to create noise with it.
Given that most everyone looks at the car once they hear it (and most people hear it), that doesn’t leave much room for anonymity. But for those who may not hear it first, people see it and stare. Those who know what it is are absolutely gawking…I feel like I’m creating some seriously unsafe conditions for some drivers. I have the usual folks you see in the rearview mirror (though I gotta say, with the big-ass wing back there there’s not a lot you see with the rear view mirror) charging up the freeway to get alongside. I’ve had people with phones out their windows taking video…just crazy. But then there are the people that you can tell don’t have any idea what it is and they still stare. I’m sure it’s a bit of the color combo (AG is pretty unique looking..and then add flashy stripes) and the big wing and the vents and the fact that the car looks so squat and muscular…it’s quite an attention-getter.
The car is wide, but the visibility is so much better than in my boss (especially for someone my height - 5’9”)…and I’m still nervous about the wheels. Oh, and it’s so dang low that I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it’ll scrape and I’ll be replacing splitters…no biggie. I broke the ice last night by actually taking it to get groceries - parked it a little out of the way, but not much - so, yes, it’s a grocery-getter too.
The shifter is great. I really like it. Very positive and direct with a nice throw. This will probably be the first car in a long time where I don’t install an aftermarket shifter. The clutch is unusual. I’m still getting used to it. I can see why people want to remove the helper spring…I’ll consider that. Hill-start assist is crazy. I don’t need it but I can see how it’ll help some people in some situations. Another oddity, and I don’t think it’s tied to hill assist, is that if you just let the clutch out to it’s engagement point, the motor adds a couple hundred rpm. It doesn’t do it every time, but almost every time. weird.
The brakes are incredible…but I haven’t leaned on them yet.
Magna-ride = game-changer. The car is taught, even in normal mode, but not jarring. It’s flat, flat, flat. The dampers firm up noticeably in sport and even more in track. I like having the damper button right on the steering wheel so I can keep the car in sport mode (which I like for most driving I’ve done) but I can soften the dampers with one touch right there on the wheel. I don’t have access to the exhaust mode without going through track apps (the non-electronics package R's don't have the exhaust toggle switch)…but the solve for that is simply to toggle between normal and sport modes on the steering wheel. Even if you’re in normal, when you get on the throttle hard the exhaust opens up.
I love the seats and the steering wheel. The rest of the interior is nice…I’d only wish for a little more alcantara coverage - like on the top of the doors. But it’s nice. My biggest gripe is with the pedals. They’re too slick for my liking, and the spacing b/ brake and gas is too big (again, for my taste). SRP pedals are on their way. The steering is nicely-weighted and communicative. I like sport mode…tried the others but really only need the one mode. The softer settings are nice for a long freeway drive to cut out some of the communication from the front tires because, at least with the Cup 2’s, the car trammels significantly and it would get annoying over a long drive.
I haven’t pushed it hard laterally, the g-meter shows ~.9g max….but we all know what it’s capable of. And the brake feel is excellent…again, haven’t pushed them very hard yet, though.
My wife thinks the car is awesome because it’s so civilized. My kids think it’s awesome because it’s so uncivilized. I think it’s awesome because it’s like the perfect union of the two…it doesn’t give up one for the other…it’s BOTH!
It really is an amazing beast, this one.
In brief, I’m incredibly happy with, and impressed by, this car. While I’d gotten a taste of it through the brief drive at the Track Tour, and I’d right-seated for a few laps at the Monterey Historics…and, like most of you, I’d consumed every bit of info I could find on the car (in many cases, those bits were consumed many times over), I was still curious how it would be to live with day-to-day.
Now that I’ve got about 250 miles on it in a variety of settings, I thought I’d write up some impressions. The weather here hasn’t cooperated, otherwise I would have had quite a few more miles on it since picking it up on Friday. We’ve had a LOT of rain here and while it’s great for CA, in general, I have had a couple days where the car has just sat in the garage and I’ve just sat there staring at it. I don’t know how you guys do it in climates where you have to put the cars away for months at a time…hats of to you for having that kind of patience.
I’ll pivot off the things that most others are talking about instead of completely 'recreating the wheel.’
I can’t tell you if the stereo sucks. I don’t have one. I'll take people’s word on that one. I can tell you that the noise this car makes is ridiculous(ly good). I was hoping it’d be as charismatic sounding in everyday driving situations as the Boss, and it’s all that and more. (I still love the way the boss sounds…I’ve had side pipes open, GT500 axle-backs, and track-key since about day 1.) This car turns nearly every head everywhere…just on sound alone. My neighbor was out in his new GT4 yesterday (red, bad-ass looking) and we crossed paths as we were both out for drives with our teen-aged boys. He’s a car nut and active racing driver. After chatting a bit, I pulled onto a freeway onramp and took off (he was waiting at the light to go the other way on the freeway). He later emailed me saying that the car was the closest sounding thing to an actual race car that he’d ever heard on the street - he was massively impressed, and a bit envious (his words). I have turned the car to quiet mode a couple times just to see what it’s like…and if you use that in conjunction with the ‘normal’ damper mode, the thing is super quiet and pleasant on the freeway. Doing about 80mph, it was turning just above 2k rpms and was getting a solid 22ish mpg on flat sections of freeway. (average mpg has been running closer to 10. it’s a thirsty beast). The motor is so elastic, so blip-able, it’s just a joy to create noise with it.
Given that most everyone looks at the car once they hear it (and most people hear it), that doesn’t leave much room for anonymity. But for those who may not hear it first, people see it and stare. Those who know what it is are absolutely gawking…I feel like I’m creating some seriously unsafe conditions for some drivers. I have the usual folks you see in the rearview mirror (though I gotta say, with the big-ass wing back there there’s not a lot you see with the rear view mirror) charging up the freeway to get alongside. I’ve had people with phones out their windows taking video…just crazy. But then there are the people that you can tell don’t have any idea what it is and they still stare. I’m sure it’s a bit of the color combo (AG is pretty unique looking..and then add flashy stripes) and the big wing and the vents and the fact that the car looks so squat and muscular…it’s quite an attention-getter.
The car is wide, but the visibility is so much better than in my boss (especially for someone my height - 5’9”)…and I’m still nervous about the wheels. Oh, and it’s so dang low that I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it’ll scrape and I’ll be replacing splitters…no biggie. I broke the ice last night by actually taking it to get groceries - parked it a little out of the way, but not much - so, yes, it’s a grocery-getter too.
The shifter is great. I really like it. Very positive and direct with a nice throw. This will probably be the first car in a long time where I don’t install an aftermarket shifter. The clutch is unusual. I’m still getting used to it. I can see why people want to remove the helper spring…I’ll consider that. Hill-start assist is crazy. I don’t need it but I can see how it’ll help some people in some situations. Another oddity, and I don’t think it’s tied to hill assist, is that if you just let the clutch out to it’s engagement point, the motor adds a couple hundred rpm. It doesn’t do it every time, but almost every time. weird.
The brakes are incredible…but I haven’t leaned on them yet.
Magna-ride = game-changer. The car is taught, even in normal mode, but not jarring. It’s flat, flat, flat. The dampers firm up noticeably in sport and even more in track. I like having the damper button right on the steering wheel so I can keep the car in sport mode (which I like for most driving I’ve done) but I can soften the dampers with one touch right there on the wheel. I don’t have access to the exhaust mode without going through track apps (the non-electronics package R's don't have the exhaust toggle switch)…but the solve for that is simply to toggle between normal and sport modes on the steering wheel. Even if you’re in normal, when you get on the throttle hard the exhaust opens up.
I love the seats and the steering wheel. The rest of the interior is nice…I’d only wish for a little more alcantara coverage - like on the top of the doors. But it’s nice. My biggest gripe is with the pedals. They’re too slick for my liking, and the spacing b/ brake and gas is too big (again, for my taste). SRP pedals are on their way. The steering is nicely-weighted and communicative. I like sport mode…tried the others but really only need the one mode. The softer settings are nice for a long freeway drive to cut out some of the communication from the front tires because, at least with the Cup 2’s, the car trammels significantly and it would get annoying over a long drive.
I haven’t pushed it hard laterally, the g-meter shows ~.9g max….but we all know what it’s capable of. And the brake feel is excellent…again, haven’t pushed them very hard yet, though.
My wife thinks the car is awesome because it’s so civilized. My kids think it’s awesome because it’s so uncivilized. I think it’s awesome because it’s like the perfect union of the two…it doesn’t give up one for the other…it’s BOTH!
It really is an amazing beast, this one.
