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Old 10-29-2013, 10:32 AM   #1
andrews_texas
 
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1920 Miles To Home - My thoughts

My son and I flew to Atlantic City last Friday (10-25) to pick up #4074. (Ordered the first week of August) I thought I'd post my observations made during the 29 hour drive back to Texas, as well as some pics along the way. FYI- I had been to NY and DC back in high school. (They were building the inaugral stands for Jimmy Carter when I was there) My 23 yr old son had a band trip to DC in high school. Other than that, the trip was a new experience for both of us.

First off, Kerbeck had a driver waiting at the gate for us in Philly. I'd always seen those guys in the terminals with the little sign with peoples names. First time mine was on one!

When we arrived at the dealership, I knew there would be a couple of rows of Stingrays outside based on a post earlier last week. What I didn't expect was an inside showroom with a couple dozen more. It was like a kid in the candy store! Only two were not sold. (It was five that morning). Ours was still in make ready, and they sent out for some food for us. We left about 5pm, made a quick lap by the casino's, then began our journey.

All during last week, I was worried that mine might be one of the ones we've seen the posts about. Just the fact that I'd never even touched one and I've bought it sight unseen was scary enough. Five days later, I have yet to find any blemish on the car. Our only issue- the XM radio sound stopped. It displayed the songs etc, but no audio. Perhaps it started after a bluetooth phone call. After the next fuel stop, it worked fine again... I found the gauges were no longer 'linked' to the driving mode yesterday. I may have done it myself while playing with settings.

We had pledged to follow break-in procedures prior to picking it up. That being said- you don't need much throttle to tell how responsive it is and how easy the tires will spin. We had a blast with it the first 500 miles. What followed was sheer excitement! FYI- my son bought a '14 LS1 two weeks ago. He kept commenting how much more 'peppy' the vette is and how it sticks to the road. He also LOVES the clutch on the vette compared to the LS1. He is trying to figure out a way to get rid of his LS1 now and get one himself.

We hadn't spent much time in the car prior to driving it off the lot, and I can tell you there is a LOT of stuff to 'play' with. If you want a car that you will just get in, start it, and drive, then you're in the wrong car. Even after 2000 miles, I'm thinking about taping some cheat notes to the roof. After every freeway 270 degree off ramp, I wish I'd thought to bring up the g-force meter... So much information... I'm at 3.3 million rev's on the engine...

I know, the big question you have is how was it for 1920 miles in 53 hours. One word- Amazing.
Initially, I found myself with restless leg syndrome while as passenger. First I moved the seat forward so I could 'push' the floorboard to keep my rear seated back. (I'm 5'8" with short legs and often find chairs that are too deep.) I later found that when I raised the seat front up, with legs more bent, it was way more comfortable. After several hours on the road, I have to stop and stretch no matter what I drive.

I've seen the posts about all of the attention you get. Don't get startled from iphone camera flashes while you're on the freeway at night! That was a surprise! Also, plan extra time for every fuel/food stop. We met so many people along the way. Kinda wish I'd had some flyers to hand out. Might have saved time. We spent the first night in Washington, unaware that it was the marathon weekend. Fortunately, the streets were all open early Saturday and we were able to get some great car shots in front of some landmarks!

And to the issue of the HUD. Yes the HUD isn't straight. And yes it IS straight. It depends on your position, and because of the curve of the windsheild and angle of the screen reflection, it does vary. My son and I argued about this for at least one day.

My only complaint- Whether a bug or operator error somewhere, I don't know, but the seat position recall is annoying. If auto exit is turned on, it works great. You open the door and the seat moves back. If auto entry is turned on, when you open the door, the seat starts moving forward instantly (to my short leg position). I guess I could jump in fast, but I turned it off. Then the problem becomes that you have to keep the memory button depressed to return to your position. I'm going to leave the auto exit on, but change the exit memory position to a shorter distance back.

Passenger complaint dept- If you're right handed, it's a real pain to try to do anything on the infotainment screen. Especially if there's two 32oz drinks in the cup holders.

New features dept- seems like a lot of wasted space on the infotainment screen. It'd be nice to able to split-screen Music / Nav etc. I know... you give us an amazing car and we want more!

Yes you can change the exhaust sound to always be loud. It's on the infotainment main menu under settings... However, the valve will still close during Eco mode when it drops to 4 cylinders.

Special thanks to Asptroopa1. We met him at the state police HQ for a nice break from some rain, and then some cool pics! (He didn't bring his lady- didn't want her to get wet.

Here's some pics...
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Old 10-29-2013, 12:06 PM   #2
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Cool! Thanks for sharing!
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Old 10-29-2013, 12:11 PM   #3
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Great narrative! Thanks for sharing your experience. Having a hard time keeping calm on this end.....
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Old 10-29-2013, 12:27 PM   #4
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Great write up! My only question: The NPP "Off" is always open, correct? I've been using "Drive Mode" selected, and might need to see the difference in "Off".
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Old 10-29-2013, 12:52 PM   #5
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Randall....it was great meeting ya'll and if anyone else is coming through Arkansas and needs a rest break _ I'll sure try to meet you at HQ ........Safe travels and great memories in these awesome machines!
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Old 10-29-2013, 01:07 PM   #6
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What's a '14 LS1?
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Old 10-29-2013, 01:08 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GunnyG View Post
Great write up! My only question: The NPP "Off" is always open, correct? I've been using "Drive Mode" selected, and might need to see the difference in "Off".
The drive mode 'opens' the flappers in Sport and Track,i.e., no sound management on those. However, it apparently closes (quiet) above 4th gear in at least the sport mode. My son liked it loud - On the camaro ls1, you can pull the fuse out for the flapper solenoids that makes it full time loud. Personally, several hours of roar gets old...Plus, when you turn it off, the flappers will close in ECO when on 4cyl. Slight rolling hills get really annoying with it this way.

Speaking of ECO mode. Going 70, ECO seemed to like 6th better than 7th.
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Old 10-29-2013, 01:10 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65 View Post
What's a '14 LS1?
Sorry- 2014 Camaro ZL1. Too many acronyms for my brain...
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Old 10-29-2013, 01:16 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andrews_texas View Post
The drive mode 'opens' the flappers in Sport and Track,i.e., no sound management on those. However, it apparently closes (quiet) above 4th gear in at least the sport mode. My son liked it loud - On the camaro ls1, you can pull the fuse out for the flapper solenoids that makes it full time loud. Personally, several hours of roar gets old...Plus, when you turn it off, the flappers will close in ECO when on 4cyl. Slight rolling hills get really annoying with it this way.

Speaking of ECO mode. Going 70, ECO seemed to like 6th better than 7th.
Ok, guess I'll keep the Drive Mode selected. I'd like a full time loud as well. Maybe someone will figure out the fuse pull for that. Thanks!
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Old 10-29-2013, 03:08 PM   #10
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What fuel mileage did you get on the highway at legal speeds/
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Old 10-29-2013, 05:58 PM   #11
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Andrews_texas, the seat memory does actually work like one would suppose - as long as you haven't put it in gear after starting. I've found that if I hit the memory button after starting the engine, put my seat belt on then put it in gear, all is good. Also, there is a time threshhold on the button press: too quick, and you'll end up needing to hold it in for complete adjustment. Same thing if you press for a bit too long. Practice it a bit and you should have little to no trouble in the future. Took me a few trial runs, but now I have the hang of it.
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Old 10-29-2013, 06:38 PM   #12
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I'll try that on the seat memory issue. Although it's a standard and I usually have it in gear, clutched when I start.

As for mileage... I think our overall average was close to 24-25 mpg. The first part had no ECO or 7th gear per break-in specs. Then the second half had a few 110-130mph romps against mustangs. Just about every freeway on-ramp had a 0-60 test... We had several tanks that were 27-28 mpg. I don't think it'd be hard to have 28-30 @ 70mps, in ECO mode, with some restraint..
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Old 10-29-2013, 07:07 PM   #13
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Not exactly along the topic, but I thought this was worth posting. We had a pair of Marine Cobra choppers make a fuel stop in our small west Texas town this afternoon. FYI- about 2 dozen people showed up to see what rattled the windows. The pilots, returning from 6 weeks in California on training, were in route back to North Carolina. They let all the kids get an up close view of the cockpit and visited with everyone that wanted to chat. Way, way cool day!
I asked about a photo, and had NO PROBLEM getting this picture. While out there, one of the pilots was an obvious vette fan, so I let him get in. When they were leaving, he actually walked over and thanked me for letting him sit in my car! I told him that he was the one that deserves the thanks for what he does for me; what I did was nothing in comparison...
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Old 10-29-2013, 07:29 PM   #14
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man what a great write up, makes me smile ...reading about your corvette trip.
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