LateApex
05-10-2023, 05:45 PM
Caveat: I am not a professional driver or reviewer. With about 1400 miles on the Coupe, I am still breaking her in and not pressing too hard ... yet. I have not slid or power-steered the car.
Background: I live in Colorado, where we have mountain and canyon roads a plenty. I stay away from traffic and interstates and urban driving. Many of the roads I routinely drive I have driven for many years on motorcycles or other high-performance cars well above the posted limits.
Overall: I am as happy as a clam (don't you love similes?)
Getting into and out of the Coupe can be tough for some. I am reasonably athletic and flexible, and with the right sequence, this is straight-forward. I rarely use the NRG Steering Wheel Quick Release - this is mostly reserved for maintenance kinda things. If one places the seats right on the floor, it is a very low seating position. I actually use a booster pad for the passenger seat when taking my (rather petite) partner for a spin.
I find that getting your feet right is something I work on. It is a narrow foot box of course. It is more like a postural issue. Keeping that right heel against the tranny wall. The dead pedal on the left is quite useful. As one is building a car, one doesn't think about the ergonomics all that much. Spend time in the seat before you buckle everything down. All this doesn't translate to "driving impressions" per se.
My Coupe has a 347 with an Eight-Stack. It makes a lot of power; a lot of smooth power. I really have not cracked the throttle in a serious way, much less tried to find quarter-mile times or some such.
Sound is a *****. One needs hearing protection. Those pipes less than 2 feet from your ears are a challenge. Get used to your hearing protection, and use it. You can't hear your passenger, or a stereo. The Coupe is not a luxury cruiser; rather a bruiser.
So, my Coupe is naked, in that it does not have power steering, or side windows, or heating / AC for example. A.K.A. Power steering by "Armstrong". At zero mph, this is noticeable. When the beast is rolling down the road, not so much. There is a fine line between comfort and road feel. I am good with this.
Brakes are the same. Power brakes have inured us to the feel of brakes.
Okay:
This car tracks like it is on rails. The tail heavy weight attributes means when you step on it through a corner, the car sits and grabs. I am flying into hard corners at speed confidently. A chicane is a little muscular, but flat and fast. The Coupe doesn't roll at all (or at least feels that way.)
You hear everything. This is fine. You built this car. What is that little rattle anyway? Don't you love the sound of the two-step?
The fact is that if you have done your work right, when you step into this car, you are going to smile. Not everybody will understand that- Hah
Spring has sprung here. It is another month anyway before the high mountain passes are clean.
Give me three months for the next installment.
Keep the shiny side up!
Background: I live in Colorado, where we have mountain and canyon roads a plenty. I stay away from traffic and interstates and urban driving. Many of the roads I routinely drive I have driven for many years on motorcycles or other high-performance cars well above the posted limits.
Overall: I am as happy as a clam (don't you love similes?)
Getting into and out of the Coupe can be tough for some. I am reasonably athletic and flexible, and with the right sequence, this is straight-forward. I rarely use the NRG Steering Wheel Quick Release - this is mostly reserved for maintenance kinda things. If one places the seats right on the floor, it is a very low seating position. I actually use a booster pad for the passenger seat when taking my (rather petite) partner for a spin.
I find that getting your feet right is something I work on. It is a narrow foot box of course. It is more like a postural issue. Keeping that right heel against the tranny wall. The dead pedal on the left is quite useful. As one is building a car, one doesn't think about the ergonomics all that much. Spend time in the seat before you buckle everything down. All this doesn't translate to "driving impressions" per se.
My Coupe has a 347 with an Eight-Stack. It makes a lot of power; a lot of smooth power. I really have not cracked the throttle in a serious way, much less tried to find quarter-mile times or some such.
Sound is a *****. One needs hearing protection. Those pipes less than 2 feet from your ears are a challenge. Get used to your hearing protection, and use it. You can't hear your passenger, or a stereo. The Coupe is not a luxury cruiser; rather a bruiser.
So, my Coupe is naked, in that it does not have power steering, or side windows, or heating / AC for example. A.K.A. Power steering by "Armstrong". At zero mph, this is noticeable. When the beast is rolling down the road, not so much. There is a fine line between comfort and road feel. I am good with this.
Brakes are the same. Power brakes have inured us to the feel of brakes.
Okay:
This car tracks like it is on rails. The tail heavy weight attributes means when you step on it through a corner, the car sits and grabs. I am flying into hard corners at speed confidently. A chicane is a little muscular, but flat and fast. The Coupe doesn't roll at all (or at least feels that way.)
You hear everything. This is fine. You built this car. What is that little rattle anyway? Don't you love the sound of the two-step?
The fact is that if you have done your work right, when you step into this car, you are going to smile. Not everybody will understand that- Hah
Spring has sprung here. It is another month anyway before the high mountain passes are clean.
Give me three months for the next installment.
Keep the shiny side up!