OK- those of you who frequent this Z forum are probably tired of my blabbing on about my opinion on things....but this is a thread you want to read.

I just got back home after spending 6 hours in my M Coupe. The car was ready to go and the weather decided to comply. Nothing better than a cool fall day to run the car through its paces.
Even more fortunate is the fact that a few of my closest friends and fellow driving enthusiasts are state troopers. I called one such buddy who has a nicely put together Evo MR 8. He was happy to play rabbit for me. I logged little over 200 miles on the car and still have a 1/4 tank. That prooves the argument about fuel consumption. I was often deep into the firewall with my right foot.

Because I am not a hole shot guy - especially since I like to brag about smooth driving keeping my read sub frame in tact- I have no tails of 0 to 60 or 1/4 mile runs. Just good
mountain, scenic driving, traffic and highway blitzkrieg testing to tell you about.

Car never ran over 210 degrees. Traffic or immature driving on the highway
Boost is almost instantaneous and alsways there. I am going to end the turbo / TS debate right here. I drove the MR and TS back to back. Around down, darting through traffic ( where you have to be off throttle and back on) and even casual fun driving- the TS eats the MR alive. in second gear to 100 plus- TS eats the MR alive. We switched back and forth to remove driver error from equation. I only compare the MR because we all know its a fast and easy car to drive at 9 / 10ths.

Run the car through its gears and panic stop for a light and the idle drops to 850'ish and dosn't budge.

On the highway the car feels like my YZF R1. Cruising through light traffic where you can easily snake your way at 100...I could leave the car in 5th with the AC on and pass any time without fear of havong the door shut. Drop it to 4th arouond 85 and the car slingshots away.

Keeping the car balanced through the corner in the dry is uneffective in any turn in 3rd gear or higher. 1 and 2 gear carousels..you have to be easy. The car is still very driveable- infact its easy to drive because the power is predictable. Its predictable and reliable.......unlike the MR............sorry if any of you are big fans of the jap AWD turbo rice burners. They have thier place.like a Rally circuit or in slippery surfaces...and ok some are killer 1/4 mi cars. But if you want to feel like omeone dropped a Corvette V8 in your bimmer.........then I think you want a supercharger. And you wouldn't go wrong with the TS.

The badge came in handy when we were flying around in an empty state park by the beach. After a small and casual conversation we got the have fun, but be careful nod of approval. These guys put thier lives on the line so we can all sleep safely at night- so the least they should get is a little brotherhood respect for another. I have no quams with that.
I know I am a menace for a late 30 year old track junkie. But atleast I try to be safe and respect other drivers by passing them so fast they forget I came by in the forst place.

So how do I sum up my first sunny day in the TS. I have not been this excited since the second time i got laid. Second time was better cause I knew what to expect

I had reservations about blowing off a day of practice in my shifter - but I am all smiles and need a nap.

Lastly- sound- You don't even know its there. Under full roar its barely audible over the roar of the SuperSprint Exhaust. ( By the way the SS has no low RPM resonance like the crap I have heard out there- so if you are in the market- to LeatherZ for supplying me with SS)

If you want noisy- drive an MR 8 with a blow off valve modification and intake system. That whistle is enough to make me jump out of the damn car .

I hope you enjoyed my story. Excuse the grammer and spelling. I am a bit charged at the moment!

Way to go Eurosport and Rogue Engineering.