On Friday, after almost exactly two months of wait, I took delivery of my new BSP 5-speed tC with sweet graphite leather interior. I recommend the leather - it adds another dimension of luxury. Only other options I got were wheel locks and shifter **** (the solid ball). Ordering floor mats from McGeorge, and will drive it for a while before I decide whether I want the tie bar. (I'm not really a "performance" driver, but if it keeps the car more rigid, that might be a payoff in other ways as the car ages.)

It had 1 (that's right, one) mile on it when I took it for a pre-delivery spin. It was the first time I had driven the 5-speed (my test drive was on an auto). Having driven a 95 Saturn for the past 10 years, I've needed some time to get accustomed to the different tranny. Felt tight to me, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. One thing I thought I'd escaped was the need to double-clutch sometimes to get it into reverse. Nope, the tC needs it too.

Loving the extra power - punching any of my previous cars basically resulted in the car going, "yeah, riiiiight." I haven't had the chance to put it into 5th yet, though (damned freeway traffic). Loving the moonroof - fortunately, this weekend was good open-roof weather. And the stock stereo is actually listenable, as opposed to every factory stereo I've heard before. Gotta get an iPod connection, though.

No rattles, no squeaks, no pops (yet, anyway). It's very quiet, in fact, at least compared to the Saturn. Less road noise, wind noise, fan noise, traffic noise.

One issue - there's a slight power loss/surge when I let off or push the gas around 3000 rpm (notice it most in 3rd gear, but that might be because I'm in 3rd most often). I don't know if that's something that will work itself out or a problem to be fixed or not a problem at all. Gonna ask around.

Really noticing the details - like the trim around the windshield (the windshield itself is an odd shape - pull up the wipers and look at it, it's not symmetrical) and the extra outlet (Inside the armrest? That would be so you don't have to look at the cord while you charge your cell phone, but you don't get to see the phone either, which is a problem). Customized the greeting message on the stereo. I like the way the tC looks even better in the "real world" than I did on the dealer's lot - something I can't say about the Mazda3, which I almost bought instead.

Biggest new thing for me is going to be parking strategy. I've never had low-profile tires (or rims I cared about) before, and sure enough, within 24 hours of having the car, first time I parallel park I give myself rim rash. Maybe it's best that I got it over with early, though. I'm also watching out for the concrete "stoppers" in parking spaces, although the one in my garage spot is low enough that I won't scrape against it. And I know I'll cry the first time I have to drive in the rain. ;)

I have to take it back in soon to get the leather redone (I paid for perforated inserts and they're specified in the work order, but they didn't get done) and the dealer wants to re-detail it as well (there was a tiny bit of tape residue that didn't get removed - I didn't really have a problem with it, I just pointed it out when I did the walkaround at delivery).

All in all, I'm having lots of driving pleasure - you know you're in a brand new car when even sitting in traffic is not a hassle. :D

 

i love my flint 5spd but the only thing im really irked at is that im going 80-85MPH and i am at 3.7, 3.8k RPM

that will eat up your gas in no time.

this coulda be solved easily with a 6th gear.

oh well.

 

i have that same exact problem in my 5 spd box - 80mph = 4k rpm's ... and 90% of my driving is highway ... but it was worth it to get the manny over the auto for sheer fun factor

i wish the box came in flint mica i love that color

 

congrats, mrtc!!! I hope you love yours as much as I love m ine!

This car is the first one I've ever added anything to. I don't race or anything and I don't plan on ever racing this car, but I did get the suspension upgrades listed in my sig. I'm so glad I did, too. really changes the way it feels and handles. I highly recommend at least the springs and rear sway bar.

that's the best part. if I'm sittin' in my tC all is well. wait 'till it's broken in and you can really have some fun!

 

Congrats on the new ride. I hope you like yours as much as I do mine. Who did the dealership sub out your leather to and what did it cost you?

 

There is just enough clearance space in the front of the armbar box that you can slip a wire through it and the box will still lock. so that's what I do: I got my cigarette lighter charger in the box, the wire sticks out, the phone is in the cup holder or in the fliptop box. All in all, works nicely for me, and my charger uses a rather thick wire.

about the springs: how much does it lower the car? I'm all for better handling but I know I'm not the most careful driver out there and they got some open pit elephant traps out here in oakland that they call streets.

 

Thanks, guys.

I plan to combat the high revs at 85 mph by not driving much at 85 mph. (This may be the intended behavior.)

Not too sure about the springs, but I'll be considering the sway bar. As it is, I think it handles quite well stock (then again, remember I'm comparing it to a 95 Saturn).

I don't remember the name of the shop, but they use Katzkin leathers. Cost was $1499, which includes $200 extra for perforated centers and about a $150 dealer kickback.

 

That fun factor will cost you wayyyyy more than the automatic tranny.
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my way of preventing curb rash is to angle my mirrors down to the curb so i can see it when im parking and such. have yet to get any on my rims.

 

how much did the leather cost?????????????

 

Look 3 posts above yours

 

That's a great tip! Wish I'd thought of that before.

My rims aren't actually all that thrashed - only about 3-4 inches at the very edge of both the passenger side rims. I was pointing it out to a friend and he was going "where? where?" But when you get even a little nick on a brand new, perfect car, it seems like a giant scar.

 

I hadn't relly noticed the shape of the windshield yet. Makes sense considering the position of the wipers. My acura's windshield was like that. I had no clue until I had to get it replaced.

 

Ditto. Scraped up about 4 inches of my front right wheel. No biggie though. In some ways I think it's better to get it over with early. Gonna happen eventually, right? Can't stay brand new forever.

 

I hit 1000 miles this weekend (actually 1200 - took a road trip to the 'rents, who live about 100 miles away), so I thought I'd bump/update my thread:

- Rattles: none.
- Squeaks: zero.
- Creaks: zip.
- Pops: negatory.
- Clunks: one or two, when I hit a stretch of world-famous Seattle street bumps/ruts. It's most likely the cargo cover (I can make the same noise by jiggling the cargo cover). I'll get a piece of foam tape when I can think of it. It could actually be the hatch, but even then, it's not anything I'd even take the car in for.

- Got my leather redone (perforated inserts) and while the car was in they fixed my one factory defect - I couldn't open the passenger-side window from the driver's side. Works now. My loaner was a Corolla - man, that was a grampa's car. I couldn't wait to get my baby back.

- The problem with the engine "stutter" has smoothed out, but isn't completely gone. I'm going to have them look at it. Noticed it on the road trip when I set the cruise to where the engine was right at 3000 rpm.

- The stock HU doesn't recognize the ID3 tags on my MP3s. It shows me folder and file names, but shows "no data" for the song/album/artist name. Fortunately, my file names are also the song titles.

- I'm going to get XM installed by next baseball season. Also maybe a sway bar and/or tie bar, but not if it makes the ride any stiffer.

- No more parallel parking problems since I started using the side-mirror tip.

- LOTS of stares. On the freeway people are constantly looking at my car. When I'm parked, people over 30 will ask me about it, and people under 30 will say "nice car" to their friends while trying not to look like they're checking it out.

- Guys in Civics keep trying to "race" me. Boneheads.

All in all, I'm VERY happy with it, and i can hardly wait until road trip weather next spring (by then I'll try and decide whether to get a clearbra or regular bumper cover - you haven't SEEN bug splatters until you've driven through Idaho/Montana/Wyoming, especially at around twilight).

 

Watch out for those bug's I heard they grow them BIG there!!!!!!

 

Great read on your review, mrtc. Can't wait to get mine...