Supercharged HSV? - Part 3

[Vulture]

A 12.6 is ok. Must admit that I was hoping for a little faster, say closer to a 12.2. Still, a 12s factory standard street car is nothing to be sniffed at - especially at this price point. Very impressed that it went around a race track quicker than the AMG though. Sort of the wrong way around! A muscle car is supposed to be quick in a straight line as the sine qua non! But then fall over a bit on the corners. No doubt the engineers could have concentrated more on getting a quick quarter time but perhaps this would have compromised track handling. The AMG is obviously at another level of engineering (as it should be) with much less fuel usage from its stout engine and a more resolved ride/handling balance.

Will be interesting to see the times when private guys get them out onto the race track. Tempted to have a go in mine at Willowbank but potentially not as quick as it is a manual.. Although from what some others have said it may actually be quicker with the ratios? The manual has a 3.7:1 differential as opposed to the auto's 3.23 (from memory, can anyone can check the .pdf sales brochure?).
I'm sure guys willing to tweak the GTS a bit will be posting sub 12s by next year without much effort.
One thing that Morley mentioned in his review was the bi-modal exhaust seemed to take a while to open even when on the sport setting. That sounds shite and would push me towards an aftermarket exhaust if mine does that.
Who wants a big delay for the sound when stomping on the pedal? He also didn't like the electric steering and found it a bit contrived. Agree with his comments about the interior - there is something just not right to my eyes every time I look at it. I think it is the mix of knobs and button and different finishes. I think the aircon vents should have been done in black and some of the buttons 'hidden' a bit better. But I am really knit-picking here, when I sat in an R8 at the dealership, the interior felt a lot more cohesive than it looks in pictures but it is not a patch on the AMG layout.

[Vulture]

The GTS to me is the winner regardless of .2 here or there on the basis of drive it out of a show room, & go so close to beating a car 3 times its price... what else can do that... and I don't want to mod it and possibly send it in the wrong direction based on what HSV have spent squillions getting so right

Definitely, I've decided that if I want a fast car, I'll buy it fast.
Well ok, sometimes some simple mods are not so bad as Markone2 points out.

[GTS LSA]

^^
Gear Ratios
6-speed manual / 6-speed automatic with Active Select
1 2.66 / 4.03 2 1.78 / 2.36 3 1.30 / 1.53 4 1.00 / 1.15 5 0.80 / 0.85 6 0.63 / 0.67 Final Drive 3.73 / 3.23

[Jag530G]

^^
Gear Ratios
6-speed manual / 6-speed automatic with Active Select
1 2.66 / 4.03 2 1.78 / 2.36 3 1.30 / 1.53 4 1.00 / 1.15 5 0.80 / 0.85 6 0.63 / 0.67 Final Drive 3.73 / 3.23

Working it out gearbox x diff, the auto has a shorter 1,2 and 3 and pretty much same same for 4th, maybe the auto will be quicker down the quarter mile? Are there different ratios available for the 9.75" diff apart from 3.73 and 3.23?

Cheers, Matthew

[Vulture]

Was the car Wheels tested an auto or manual?

[Brett240]

Was the car Wheels tested an auto or manual?

Auto. i'd be really interested if MOTOR tests a manual. I susect t will be quicker than wheels auto time

[GTS LSA]

Yeah I wouldnt mind a comparison either, I thought I had read that auto but manually changing was the quickest, but that may have just been an opinion also

[Pickles]

Just bought Wheels & read the GTS/E63 "comparison".
All I can say is "Wow", I thought the car would be well received, but that comparison shows it being "right up there" with the E63 for a little more than a third of the price. I think this article, & others, (there's another in the Sun today), will make even more people stand up & take notice of what this car is.....Phil Harding would have to be super happy.
John Bowe's comments were telling....He is nobody's idiot, and if he says something's good, then it is.
I did notice that the GTS was a manual, so another comparison with an auto?....well, what do you guys think?....would it be better, worse...or what? And another thing was that the standing quarter, 0-100 etc was done on damp surfaces, surely not the best launch for 430KW, so maybe those times for both cars could be improved upon.
Well done, HSV. Pickles.

[jaykay]

Get Joe Public in them already !!!!

[XUV]

I did notice that the GTS was a manual, so another comparison with an auto?....well, what do you guys think?....would it be better, worse...or what?

If the Auto, in manual mode, changes gears when it's told to , then you have the best of both worlds.

[GTS LSA]

Get Joe Public in them already !!!!

YES... Send me mine early and I will tell all

[XUV]

This is what puts it all into perspective for me:

I can have an E63 AMG S

OR

A GTS *and* a CLA45 AMG *and* still have enough change for an SSV Redline if I wanted one.

Anyone buying an E63 AMG in Oz is getting sharfted, as they're only a 100-130k car in America/Europe.

[Pickles]

Anyone buying an E63 AMG in Oz is getting sharfted, as they're only a 100-130k car in America/Europe.

Ha ha ha...Very true....ya can get a C63 for $80K in the U.S. Whatever Govt is in power here must have a big grin when anyone buys a "Luxury?" car.
Cheers, Pickles.

[Jag530G]

Auto. i'd be really interested if MOTOR tests a manual. I susect t will be quicker than wheels auto time

No, the Wheels test was the manual.

Cheers, Matthew

[Wonky]

Auto. i'd be really interested if MOTOR tests a manual. I susect t will be quicker than wheels auto time

In today's Carsguide in the Herald Sun's GTS vs E63 AMG comparison they say "We're assured the GTS auto is slightly quicker than the manual. We believe it, especially as the manual needs to grab second just before it passes the 100 mark."