Drove the dealer "demo" yesterday...

[Patrick M]

And I was blown away by the combination of sophisticated elegance and raw power. The "demo" was a weird green color, but if I didn't have a car ordered (scheduled to arrive at dock by friday) I would have bought it on the spot.

I spent about a half-hour driving her and formed these initial reactions:

Seats are great - no need to upgrade (at least for me)

Overall look is subtle, but muscular

The car is actually quite pleasant to drive at lower speeds - my wife is going to love the beast

Lots of mass to hustle around tight turns, but the near-flat body roll profile and reasonably neutral steering encourages "spirited" turning manouvers (read: fun!)

One odd thing, though. There were four RS6's at the dealer - three being delivered and the "demo". Three cars had P-Zeros, but one car was shod with Dunlop 9000's. The dealer said that they were not special order for the customer. Does anyone know what's up with that?

Patrick

'03 RS6 on the way (pleeease hurry...)
'02 Allroad
'00 BMW 540i sport
'99 Corvette C5 - For Sale
'88 BMW 325is -Track only

[avdh]

Originally posted by Patrick M


One odd thing, though. There were four RS6's at the dealer - three being delivered and the "demo". Three cars had P-Zeros, but one car was shod with Dunlop 9000's. The dealer said that they were not special order for the customer. Does anyone know what's up with that?

It seems that one has the option of specifying the tyres and if that this not done at the time of the order, then you get whatever comes out.

Here we have a choice between Pirelli's and Michelins

[Erik]

Patrick M, welcome to RS6.com!

Where are you located? Please 'upgrade' your profile (goes for everyone else who didn't do it).

Makes communication easier for everybody.

[nene]

About the tires...
I had inquired about it myself on this forum, as I had come up with some odd conspiracy theory.
However, some folks have talked to the people that matter, and the powers that be, and it seems that orders for tires were made to a couple of manufacturers. Tires are all there and ready to be put on the car. Whichever the worker picks out of the pile, are the ones that seem to go on the car. No rime or reason.

[Patrick M]

Thanks for clarifying the tire issue, guys. I went back and read the historical posts, and it seems to be hit or miss as to what you will get.

My dealer offered to fit either brand on my car, but I'm not sure which way to go. The P-Zeros look cool with the red lettering, but I've been told that the Dunlops may perform better in the wet. Decisions, Decisions...

Erik, thanks for the welcome, and I will update my profile today.

Patrick

[Speedracer]

When my car came in it had Dunlops. The other two cars had Pirellis. I didn't take delivery, but I would have been disappointed (a bit :-])

[Benman]

welcome Patrick M ,

it is pretty cool that your dealer has a demo for you to drive (as my dealer does not). also, that green is Goodwood Green. and your right. it's not the greatest color

Ben

[avdh]

Originally posted by Patrick M


My dealer offered to fit either brand on my car, but I'm not sure which way to go. The P-Zeros look cool with the red lettering, but I've been told that the Dunlops may perform better in the wet. Decisions, Decisions...

Patrick

I had the SP9000 on my olf Ferrari 400i and I was very pleased. They are very comfortable, silent and gripped well in the dry and the wet. They felt a bit soft and allowed more body roll.

I have the Pzero Rosso on my S6 and to me they are about as comfortable, but seem to have bettter grip on dry tarmac.
On the wet, althought I never tried them seriously, but the 20 minutes or so that I drove the S6 in the rain I was not dissapointed. On the other hand, my son reports that the PZero's on his S3 (1000 km old only) are no better than the Bridgestone RE040, in fact worse, but of course the Pirelli's are still a bit too new for him to be able to make a proper judgement,
Furthermore The Brit (Chris) reported that in the English cold climat, unless the PZero's were warmed up and reached a fair temperature, they were very slippery.
That does not bother me much, as in SA it is warm to hot 10 months of the year and although we get a fair amount of rain (but mostly in strong hour/ 2 hour showers), the area where I live is the part of the world which gets the most sunshine hours per year. Yes, and quite a bit more than California

So my advise is, if you are in a warm to hot region, such California or Texas or Arizona, get the PZero's, otherwise if you up north get the Dunlops.

go toTire Rack . com they have tested both tyres and you can thus compare what they have to say.

[Finnus]

The car is actually quite pleasant to drive at lower speeds - my wife is going to love the beast

Lots of mass to hustle around tight turns, but the near-flat body roll profile and reasonably neutral steering encourages "spirited" turning manouvers (read: fun!)

Patrick,

Welcome to the forum! I agree, the car is amazingly well suited to "civilized" around town driving. Also, for a 2 ton Beast, the car handles remarkably well. Highway exits are a blast and the DRC really does quite a job. It makes the curves seem so, well, effortless.

Finnus