jed55
16-04-2005, 02:44 PM
Okay, the 10k mark has come and gone so I thought I would share my experience so far with those interested.
Enhancments
tinted windows
sunroof
mobile phone car kit
HSV sill plate covers
replaced front door speakers with Alpine SPS - 170a's and added Alpine SPE - 6903's mounted in the rear parcel shelf.
Modifications
None as yet. I'm waiting for ls2 edit.
The Experience
In a word.....fabulous. The car is everything that I hoped it would be and somewhat more.
Brief history.. I traded a vx berlina super 6 and a vt2 clubby to get the z. I loved the comfort and luxury of the berlina (a good sleeper too) and the raw animal acts of the clubby. Had the best of both worlds, so I thought. However guess which set of keys I picked up 90% of the time when going out. The clubby of course, So the poor old berlina was left languishing most of the time. Sad waste of a nice car. I decided to sell the berlina and mod up the clubby.
That is until one evening that we stopped at Zupps because my mate wanted to have a look at the new astra. She had recently got one of the old ones and wanted to compare. As we walked past the Hsv showroom there was a new Impulse Blue z glistening under the lights looking at me seemingly saying "you really want me, don't you". Well, no, I didn't really. Very happy with mine and was going to cash up and mod it up (bloody ls1 fever).
Decided that I may as well have a look at one and see what all the fuss over the ls2 was about. Firstly though I had a look at what the dark side had to offer but wasn't overly impressed. Nice cars but didn't feel any emotional connection with them and didn't seem to offer any performance advantage over what I had, although ride was good, and that exhaust note...
Back to Zupps, drove the ls2. Liked it, but wasn't overwhelmed. Definitely quicker, but not the great leap forward I was expecting after being fueled up on journalistic ravings. However I did feel the connection that was missing when testing the dark side. After much deliberation over the pros and cons of modding the ls1 versus going for the ls2, I decided to go ls2 even though I knew the modded ls1 would be quicker than the stock ls2.
Deal was done and a week later drove away in my new shiny impulse blue clubby, while, I admit, shedding some tears for the old one. Loved that car.
Okay, enough of that, on to the new car.
Mechanically it has been faultless. Finish is good and the two faults, missing seat rail cover and fault in the leather on the steering wheel were corrected, no problems. No squeaks or rattles and everything fits as it should.
Once I got it into my normal driving regime I soon discovered that the ls2 does have more on offer than the old one. Power is significantly better lower in the rev range, the suspension is intially softer giving a more comforatble ride for normal driving but plants nicely and drives out of corners better. Maybe I'm too insensitive but I don't notice any real difference with the fly by wire throttle.
Around the 7.5k - 8k mark it felt as though someone had flicked a switch in the computer or something as the improvement in power was very noticeable. In past posts I have mentioned how the traction control was virtually unnoticed, allowing adequate wheelspin on hard launches with a healthy chirp into 2nd (a4, by the way). Now, the launches feel very similar but when it hits 2nd it wheelspins rather than chirps and you really feel it pulling the power out till acceptable traction is regained. It's nothing like the crash, bang and epileptic throttle and total power shutdown of old. Far more subtle and you don't lose drive. I also notice the trac warning flash on tightish corners when giving it more than a tickle, but without actually feeling any intervention. Wet roads aren't as demanding as they were in the old clubby but are still very interesting with the trac control in demand for even the mildest touch.
Fuel consumption has been brilliant for me. Average over 10k has been a touch under 13l/100km. Compared to my old clubby which gave around 17l/100km in the same driving conditions. Hell, I was happy with that as the super 6 rarely bettered 15.5l/100km, but the ls2 is an economy car by comparison. Assuming $1 per litre for pulp, I've saved $400 in fuel costs, which would be more in reality as I haven't seen it that price for a while.
Interior comfort is good. The seats are softer in the bolsters and they seem to be a litle bit wider as I'm not held as closely across the shoulders as in the old one. Not as good for quick twisty stuff but the compromise suits me. I find that you don't slip around as much on the cloth seats compared to the leather in my daughter's vy2r8. The majority of passengers have commented how comfortable it is, being pleasantly surprised, having expected it to be a rip roaring hard riding monster. Then I give it a prod and they get whiplash.
The auto in the z differs from the old ones inasmuch as when 1st gear is selected, it stays there, doesn't change into 2nd at peak revs like the old ones. No one told me this and as I was in the habit of leaving it in first for hard launches in the old cars, the first time I tried it in the z I got quite a surprise, hit the limiter at 80kmh, forward motion came to such an abrubt halt the inertia belts locked as I was thrown forward. Ouch!!! The changes feels similar to the old one when it was in power mode. Changes are positive, can be a litlle jerky going 1-2 on light throttle. Overall I feel it is an improvement as it drives similarly to the old ones' normal mode when just tootling about and when you want some action it drives like the old power mode. I guess the improved computer management works it all out now so there is no need to manually switch it.
Servicing has been basically non events. Everything asked for has been done without any fuss or bother. I had dragged the front spoiler off on one of those damn car park cement blocks and I couldn't get it to stay hooked up so I asked for it to be fixed up at the service. Was told that the clip would need replacing as they are designed to break away rather than break off the bar. Only $7 to replace. No problem. When I picked it up I was told that the old clip was reusable so was put back in. No charge. Now I know that is only a small thing, but it does it does give confidence that if anything more major happens down the track it will be dealt with fairly. Lets face it, they could have put the clip back in, charged me for a new one plus labour and I wouldn't have known any different and I wouldn't have cared because I had ok'd the replacement. It's the little touches like that leave you feeling good. It's a pity more dealers didn't have that attitude rather than seeing the customer as a cash cow to be milked at every opportunity.
Also, when collecting my car, I was asked when I was going to do the headers and exhaust. Not if, but when. He then told me how good power gains are being made with just those mods. A most refreshing attitude I thought, encouraging mods, especially when I read in other posts of peoples problems with other dealers getting things like clutches legitmately fixed under warranty.
Was talking to my sales rep, Michael afterwards as well and he told me of one he is doing a deal on where they are fitting an exhaust prior to delivery. Promised to let me know when it comes so I can I have a listen. I intend to do my exhaust but want to hear some modded ls2s before making the plunge. Have only heard one which belongs to son in laws' friend and it sounds like crap. He's not happy with it either. It's loud and sounds okay when getting up it, although it's far louder than I want, but when cruising around it drones terribly. Bloody awful, ruins a good car. I actually like the sound of mine the way it is, so I'm not in any rush to change it.
Thank you to those who have read my ramblings to the finish. As you can no doubt tell, I love the car and extremely satisfied with the purchasing and after sales service. Can't stop smiling.
Cheers, John D
Enhancments
tinted windows
sunroof
mobile phone car kit
HSV sill plate covers
replaced front door speakers with Alpine SPS - 170a's and added Alpine SPE - 6903's mounted in the rear parcel shelf.
Modifications
None as yet. I'm waiting for ls2 edit.
The Experience
In a word.....fabulous. The car is everything that I hoped it would be and somewhat more.
Brief history.. I traded a vx berlina super 6 and a vt2 clubby to get the z. I loved the comfort and luxury of the berlina (a good sleeper too) and the raw animal acts of the clubby. Had the best of both worlds, so I thought. However guess which set of keys I picked up 90% of the time when going out. The clubby of course, So the poor old berlina was left languishing most of the time. Sad waste of a nice car. I decided to sell the berlina and mod up the clubby.
That is until one evening that we stopped at Zupps because my mate wanted to have a look at the new astra. She had recently got one of the old ones and wanted to compare. As we walked past the Hsv showroom there was a new Impulse Blue z glistening under the lights looking at me seemingly saying "you really want me, don't you". Well, no, I didn't really. Very happy with mine and was going to cash up and mod it up (bloody ls1 fever).
Decided that I may as well have a look at one and see what all the fuss over the ls2 was about. Firstly though I had a look at what the dark side had to offer but wasn't overly impressed. Nice cars but didn't feel any emotional connection with them and didn't seem to offer any performance advantage over what I had, although ride was good, and that exhaust note...
Back to Zupps, drove the ls2. Liked it, but wasn't overwhelmed. Definitely quicker, but not the great leap forward I was expecting after being fueled up on journalistic ravings. However I did feel the connection that was missing when testing the dark side. After much deliberation over the pros and cons of modding the ls1 versus going for the ls2, I decided to go ls2 even though I knew the modded ls1 would be quicker than the stock ls2.
Deal was done and a week later drove away in my new shiny impulse blue clubby, while, I admit, shedding some tears for the old one. Loved that car.
Okay, enough of that, on to the new car.
Mechanically it has been faultless. Finish is good and the two faults, missing seat rail cover and fault in the leather on the steering wheel were corrected, no problems. No squeaks or rattles and everything fits as it should.
Once I got it into my normal driving regime I soon discovered that the ls2 does have more on offer than the old one. Power is significantly better lower in the rev range, the suspension is intially softer giving a more comforatble ride for normal driving but plants nicely and drives out of corners better. Maybe I'm too insensitive but I don't notice any real difference with the fly by wire throttle.
Around the 7.5k - 8k mark it felt as though someone had flicked a switch in the computer or something as the improvement in power was very noticeable. In past posts I have mentioned how the traction control was virtually unnoticed, allowing adequate wheelspin on hard launches with a healthy chirp into 2nd (a4, by the way). Now, the launches feel very similar but when it hits 2nd it wheelspins rather than chirps and you really feel it pulling the power out till acceptable traction is regained. It's nothing like the crash, bang and epileptic throttle and total power shutdown of old. Far more subtle and you don't lose drive. I also notice the trac warning flash on tightish corners when giving it more than a tickle, but without actually feeling any intervention. Wet roads aren't as demanding as they were in the old clubby but are still very interesting with the trac control in demand for even the mildest touch.
Fuel consumption has been brilliant for me. Average over 10k has been a touch under 13l/100km. Compared to my old clubby which gave around 17l/100km in the same driving conditions. Hell, I was happy with that as the super 6 rarely bettered 15.5l/100km, but the ls2 is an economy car by comparison. Assuming $1 per litre for pulp, I've saved $400 in fuel costs, which would be more in reality as I haven't seen it that price for a while.
Interior comfort is good. The seats are softer in the bolsters and they seem to be a litle bit wider as I'm not held as closely across the shoulders as in the old one. Not as good for quick twisty stuff but the compromise suits me. I find that you don't slip around as much on the cloth seats compared to the leather in my daughter's vy2r8. The majority of passengers have commented how comfortable it is, being pleasantly surprised, having expected it to be a rip roaring hard riding monster. Then I give it a prod and they get whiplash.
The auto in the z differs from the old ones inasmuch as when 1st gear is selected, it stays there, doesn't change into 2nd at peak revs like the old ones. No one told me this and as I was in the habit of leaving it in first for hard launches in the old cars, the first time I tried it in the z I got quite a surprise, hit the limiter at 80kmh, forward motion came to such an abrubt halt the inertia belts locked as I was thrown forward. Ouch!!! The changes feels similar to the old one when it was in power mode. Changes are positive, can be a litlle jerky going 1-2 on light throttle. Overall I feel it is an improvement as it drives similarly to the old ones' normal mode when just tootling about and when you want some action it drives like the old power mode. I guess the improved computer management works it all out now so there is no need to manually switch it.
Servicing has been basically non events. Everything asked for has been done without any fuss or bother. I had dragged the front spoiler off on one of those damn car park cement blocks and I couldn't get it to stay hooked up so I asked for it to be fixed up at the service. Was told that the clip would need replacing as they are designed to break away rather than break off the bar. Only $7 to replace. No problem. When I picked it up I was told that the old clip was reusable so was put back in. No charge. Now I know that is only a small thing, but it does it does give confidence that if anything more major happens down the track it will be dealt with fairly. Lets face it, they could have put the clip back in, charged me for a new one plus labour and I wouldn't have known any different and I wouldn't have cared because I had ok'd the replacement. It's the little touches like that leave you feeling good. It's a pity more dealers didn't have that attitude rather than seeing the customer as a cash cow to be milked at every opportunity.
Also, when collecting my car, I was asked when I was going to do the headers and exhaust. Not if, but when. He then told me how good power gains are being made with just those mods. A most refreshing attitude I thought, encouraging mods, especially when I read in other posts of peoples problems with other dealers getting things like clutches legitmately fixed under warranty.
Was talking to my sales rep, Michael afterwards as well and he told me of one he is doing a deal on where they are fitting an exhaust prior to delivery. Promised to let me know when it comes so I can I have a listen. I intend to do my exhaust but want to hear some modded ls2s before making the plunge. Have only heard one which belongs to son in laws' friend and it sounds like crap. He's not happy with it either. It's loud and sounds okay when getting up it, although it's far louder than I want, but when cruising around it drones terribly. Bloody awful, ruins a good car. I actually like the sound of mine the way it is, so I'm not in any rush to change it.
Thank you to those who have read my ramblings to the finish. As you can no doubt tell, I love the car and extremely satisfied with the purchasing and after sales service. Can't stop smiling.
Cheers, John D