hi guys,
I'd like to start here and continue, as the time goes by, my review of the RCZ R I drive on almost daily basis.
I start here with the first 30.000 miles she did since last year when I picked her up at the dealer. Spanking new (4 miles on the ODO).
Please be patient with me and cut me some slack when it comes to my english (I'm willing to learn, therefore go on, correct me :greetings-wavingblue: ) and the frequency I'm going to update this thread. I'm pretty busy and a lot on the road as you can derive from my mileage. I'll also add some pictures as this story goes on.
Alright, let's start.
I took Justine (that's her name) in June 2014 into my home. She's been nice to me since then. No mechanical issues at all.
Currently the ODO shows above 30.000 miles and I assume I will hit the 50k mark around end of this year or begin of 2016. I plan to keep the car until it gets to about 100.000 miles.
The R itself
I like the RCZ since it arrived on the market. I test drove the previous THP156 version back in 2010. Then I took a THP200 facelift for a test drive back in early 2014. But I waited for the R since it was disclosed as a concept car. I begged for it to arrive at the stores.
How do I drive my R?
Now that is quite important to know in order to put into perspective all the data and my experience I'm going to share with you. You must know I choose my cars by its driving abilities first. The car has to have a strong engine, a drivetrain optimized for maximum driving experience, a steering with lively feedback and strong brakes. Then as a next step in my decision cascade I look at the price, the brand, the boot or whatever comes into my mind.
I tend to drive very fast. As I currently spend most of my time on german autobahns that works fine with me. But I also do drive alot across Europe. Visited the UK with the R already two times.
When I drive I love to push the car to its limits. And mine. I see almost daily 130-150mph on the speedo. I love to accelerate hard, drive a clean line thru some corners, play with the car's dynamics, all within reasonable limits and always when driving alone and no other cars are within sight. I just love driving. And therefore I totally disregard car makers who do not offer true driving thrills.
So to sum it up: my R gets a lot of spanking. And I mean it. Let me put it this way: I'm annoyed by the speed limiter kicking in at 157mph :lol:
Running costs
Until now only the usual stuff like two times servicing and the front discs and pads have already been replaced. The pads two times (every 12.000 miles) and the front discs at the second annual service. They are pretty pricey, yes they are.
Honestly I'm a bit disappointed by their short lifespan. I do drive other cars and drive them at the same or higher pace and there is not this high wear-off at the brakes as it is with the R.
My previous daily driver had a Brembo big brake on the front and they lasted with my driving style almost 50.000 miles before both pads and the discs had to be replaced first time ever.
I will watch this area closely on the R as we move on...
Other than that no unexpected expenditures.
My MPG is about 25-27MPG average over the whole 30k plus. But I also easily managed a 47 to 50MPG (especially while driving in UK). On the other end my lowest was 15MPG which was a steady night run at 130-157MPH all the time.
I pay absolutely no attention to eco driving. It is not my ignorance towards environment but purely a lack of extra attention to it from my side. I could, but I don't do it with the RCZ. As long as I can afford it I'm going to drive fast. I'm totally honest with you here. Some might see it as arrogant, some will sense the true intention behind it (I love driving). At least I do not drive a diesel which has way more harmful emissions than a petrol engine at high speed.
Summer tires are good for about 12.000 miles on the front. If you swap them regularly you can squeeze out about 20.000 miles on those Goodyears. Keep in mind, driving at the very limit of the car...
Winter tyres do wear off quicker than summer, so a little bit lower mileage to be expected.
[EDIT]
found two pictures in my old phone when I picked up the car at the dealer.
[2nd EDIT]
Suspension/Chassis
This RCZ has been well set up by Pug Sport division. There is a huge difference to the THP200 which a sensible driver feels, especially at high speed corners. The R feels very planted and safe to be rushed through high speed corners. There have been few passengers in the car, owners of other premium brands like BMW and Merc, who were baffled how safe and confident the R takes any hi speed corners with hi and low elevations on the autobahns. One guy, owner of a BMW M3 said to me, no, I can't take this corner this quick with my M3, no way! He was scared when riding in the R.
Overall you have a lot of liberties with the R in the hi speed area. You gain confidence in overall grip, damping, steering feedback and of course those monster brakes.
You have to search in much more expensive cars for another step up in this area.
[3rd EDIT]
Modifications
I must admit I'm always tempted to modify cars I own. Sometimes it is down to simple wheels swap, sometimes it means tweaking the ECU's software and some engine's hardware.
I had some plans for the R before it arrived. There were thoughts of pushing the engine beyond its 270ish bhp or modifications to the suspension set up.
But you know what? After those 30k plus there is only one modification I went for. And another one still in the pipeline.
The R's suspension is well set up, up to full speed and I personally do not see any reasons why I should tweak it. The stance is perfect, the damping is good for its firmness, the rebound while travelling fast is good (could be a bit better here) and the wheel alignment does not cause overly high tyre wear off. I only miss a bit more chassis stiffness in some areas. I feel the chassis lacks a bit of stiffness in the middle of the car and a bit on the rear. Some strengthening bars would help here. But you only can sense that when pushing the car to its limits. Would I use an R on the track, I'd put some chassis strengthening on it.
The engine and the gearbox are just fine and I do not ask for any changes here.
So, what is the first and currently only modification?
The first one is a pipercross air filter. This small modification paid well off, especially in the higher speed regions. The car pulls definitely better in regions of 130MPH+.
I don't know if this sounds like a strong sales point when it comes to UK and its speed limits but if you like to rev your R a lot, do it! Change the air filter too! It is a reasonable investment.
The second modification planned is to remove the 155MPH speed limiter. I'm still in touch with the insurance company if that will violate any regulations they might impose upon me in case of...
But if that is waved thru, I will do so. I will keep you posted on that. At the end, I want to be the first to post a video on YT with the R going beyond its 157MPH limiter
[4th EDIT]
Finally I had the chance to put my R on a scale. She was filled up by 3/4. No other stuff in the car which could change the weight.
1340kg is pretty good when you consider the 1280kg claim for the dry weight.
Let me end here for a moment. I'll get back to you as soon as possible. :greetings-wavingblue:
Feel free to comment, ask, add whatever you feel to. Looking forward to it!
I'd like to start here and continue, as the time goes by, my review of the RCZ R I drive on almost daily basis.
I start here with the first 30.000 miles she did since last year when I picked her up at the dealer. Spanking new (4 miles on the ODO).
Please be patient with me and cut me some slack when it comes to my english (I'm willing to learn, therefore go on, correct me :greetings-wavingblue: ) and the frequency I'm going to update this thread. I'm pretty busy and a lot on the road as you can derive from my mileage. I'll also add some pictures as this story goes on.
Alright, let's start.
I took Justine (that's her name) in June 2014 into my home. She's been nice to me since then. No mechanical issues at all.
Currently the ODO shows above 30.000 miles and I assume I will hit the 50k mark around end of this year or begin of 2016. I plan to keep the car until it gets to about 100.000 miles.
The R itself
I like the RCZ since it arrived on the market. I test drove the previous THP156 version back in 2010. Then I took a THP200 facelift for a test drive back in early 2014. But I waited for the R since it was disclosed as a concept car. I begged for it to arrive at the stores.
How do I drive my R?
Now that is quite important to know in order to put into perspective all the data and my experience I'm going to share with you. You must know I choose my cars by its driving abilities first. The car has to have a strong engine, a drivetrain optimized for maximum driving experience, a steering with lively feedback and strong brakes. Then as a next step in my decision cascade I look at the price, the brand, the boot or whatever comes into my mind.
I tend to drive very fast. As I currently spend most of my time on german autobahns that works fine with me. But I also do drive alot across Europe. Visited the UK with the R already two times.
When I drive I love to push the car to its limits. And mine. I see almost daily 130-150mph on the speedo. I love to accelerate hard, drive a clean line thru some corners, play with the car's dynamics, all within reasonable limits and always when driving alone and no other cars are within sight. I just love driving. And therefore I totally disregard car makers who do not offer true driving thrills.
So to sum it up: my R gets a lot of spanking. And I mean it. Let me put it this way: I'm annoyed by the speed limiter kicking in at 157mph :lol:
Running costs
Until now only the usual stuff like two times servicing and the front discs and pads have already been replaced. The pads two times (every 12.000 miles) and the front discs at the second annual service. They are pretty pricey, yes they are.
Honestly I'm a bit disappointed by their short lifespan. I do drive other cars and drive them at the same or higher pace and there is not this high wear-off at the brakes as it is with the R.
My previous daily driver had a Brembo big brake on the front and they lasted with my driving style almost 50.000 miles before both pads and the discs had to be replaced first time ever.
I will watch this area closely on the R as we move on...
Other than that no unexpected expenditures.
My MPG is about 25-27MPG average over the whole 30k plus. But I also easily managed a 47 to 50MPG (especially while driving in UK). On the other end my lowest was 15MPG which was a steady night run at 130-157MPH all the time.
I pay absolutely no attention to eco driving. It is not my ignorance towards environment but purely a lack of extra attention to it from my side. I could, but I don't do it with the RCZ. As long as I can afford it I'm going to drive fast. I'm totally honest with you here. Some might see it as arrogant, some will sense the true intention behind it (I love driving). At least I do not drive a diesel which has way more harmful emissions than a petrol engine at high speed.
Summer tires are good for about 12.000 miles on the front. If you swap them regularly you can squeeze out about 20.000 miles on those Goodyears. Keep in mind, driving at the very limit of the car...
Winter tyres do wear off quicker than summer, so a little bit lower mileage to be expected.
[EDIT]
found two pictures in my old phone when I picked up the car at the dealer.
[2nd EDIT]
Suspension/Chassis
This RCZ has been well set up by Pug Sport division. There is a huge difference to the THP200 which a sensible driver feels, especially at high speed corners. The R feels very planted and safe to be rushed through high speed corners. There have been few passengers in the car, owners of other premium brands like BMW and Merc, who were baffled how safe and confident the R takes any hi speed corners with hi and low elevations on the autobahns. One guy, owner of a BMW M3 said to me, no, I can't take this corner this quick with my M3, no way! He was scared when riding in the R.
Overall you have a lot of liberties with the R in the hi speed area. You gain confidence in overall grip, damping, steering feedback and of course those monster brakes.
You have to search in much more expensive cars for another step up in this area.
[3rd EDIT]
Modifications
I must admit I'm always tempted to modify cars I own. Sometimes it is down to simple wheels swap, sometimes it means tweaking the ECU's software and some engine's hardware.
I had some plans for the R before it arrived. There were thoughts of pushing the engine beyond its 270ish bhp or modifications to the suspension set up.
But you know what? After those 30k plus there is only one modification I went for. And another one still in the pipeline.
The R's suspension is well set up, up to full speed and I personally do not see any reasons why I should tweak it. The stance is perfect, the damping is good for its firmness, the rebound while travelling fast is good (could be a bit better here) and the wheel alignment does not cause overly high tyre wear off. I only miss a bit more chassis stiffness in some areas. I feel the chassis lacks a bit of stiffness in the middle of the car and a bit on the rear. Some strengthening bars would help here. But you only can sense that when pushing the car to its limits. Would I use an R on the track, I'd put some chassis strengthening on it.
The engine and the gearbox are just fine and I do not ask for any changes here.
So, what is the first and currently only modification?
The first one is a pipercross air filter. This small modification paid well off, especially in the higher speed regions. The car pulls definitely better in regions of 130MPH+.
I don't know if this sounds like a strong sales point when it comes to UK and its speed limits but if you like to rev your R a lot, do it! Change the air filter too! It is a reasonable investment.
The second modification planned is to remove the 155MPH speed limiter. I'm still in touch with the insurance company if that will violate any regulations they might impose upon me in case of...
But if that is waved thru, I will do so. I will keep you posted on that. At the end, I want to be the first to post a video on YT with the R going beyond its 157MPH limiter
[4th EDIT]
Finally I had the chance to put my R on a scale. She was filled up by 3/4. No other stuff in the car which could change the weight.
1340kg is pretty good when you consider the 1280kg claim for the dry weight.
Let me end here for a moment. I'll get back to you as soon as possible. :greetings-wavingblue:
Feel free to comment, ask, add whatever you feel to. Looking forward to it!
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