Road Rage, I agree totally with the hand's position when shifting in this car. I like to shift with an open hand and let the shifter's centering springs do the work. I tried the other method first and it doesn't work with this transmission.

Because of the ease of shifting and the throttle response, rev-matching and downshifting are a real pleasure. After 45,000 miles it is second nature and my exhaust note shows the world how well this car shifts. I have a Spugen dual and everyone tells me how they like the sounds of the exhaust.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Road Rage
I just rolled over 1500 miles, and the engine continues to loosen up - it seems both stronger ...

As confidence grows in the man/car synergy, I am starting to drive it close to its limits, or at least the limits I consider reasonable for a public highway. (I have got to get this thing down to VIR for some open-track time!).

 

Well written RR! Did you find a marked improvement with the X-brace?

 

I dream of it! But a large number of these 'narrow' and twisty roads are unfortunately in bad condition...


Albufeira? I go there from time to time. I may have already seen your parents. What a small world...


[QUOTE]I also recall how lovely the Portuguese people are, and the rudest people were the tourists. In the early evening, i would take a few $'s and go to meet the brightly painted little fishing boats, often laden with magnificent fresh shrimp, which I could buy a pound for $1, then off for a bottle of rose wine for another $1, then perhaps another $1 for butter, scallions, garlic, etc. Then, a glass of the wine, another glass as the shrimp simmered in the pan, and a few more as I enjoyed a most delicious little feast on a student's budget, while overlooking a breathtaking view: the bluest blue of the water, the impossibly white little houses that stepped down to the beach from the mountainside, and the occasional magical little laugh of a Portuguese beauty off somewhere just out of sight, perhaps with ebony hair and dark eyes flashing with all the mystery and the promise of Mediterranean women, their perfume mixing with the warm air and constant breezes to produce an atmosphere of languor and energy - ahh, sweet summer's sweat.
Like all things in life, including those great Portuguese port wines, great things take time.