Picked up my MCS
 

Will post a more thorough review once I've had more seat time, but so far a few impressions, starting with some "T" words that come to mind:

Torquey
Tiny
Tight
Tossable
Terrible Tires (Continental all-season runflats... that's three strikes. :lol: They'll be fine for winters, I suppose.)

The JCW exhaust/intake combo is awesome. Very sonorous, in a deep, 6-cyl. sounding way. It's a little loud and bassy inside when pushing it, but I like that.

Still getting used to the "hill holder" feature. It's a little disorienting... I imagine I'll acclimate to it.

The car has plenty of go. Agree with (JST's?) assertion that it really doesn't need more engine... no regret on not waiting for factory JCW.

Mild torque steer is there, but I think it's got very different characteristics than in the open diff'd car I test drove. It's probably more noticeable as the LSD tries to correct all the time, but less severe. With the open diff, I imagine once the TS takes hold, it's unrestrained... the LSD tries to reign things back in, and you feel it trying to return to center. It'll take some getting used to, but it feels strangely appropriate for the car.

Armrest annoyingly gets in way of inside-side seat adjusters... (backrest angle, lumbar)

Visibility MUCH better than the RX-8... I feel like I'm in a huge greenhouse.

Steering, clutch, shifter all wonderful. The throw is maybe just a little bit long, and the knob sucks, but the gates feel great. Gear ratios seem perfect.

Bluetooth works great. Paired up effortlessly with by BBerry 8800 (once I realized I needed to disconnect from my Jawbone headset), and immediately downloaded address book from it.

IPod integration works great. Wonderful to have playlists right in the nav, and even scroll through artists and albums. Even the smart playlists appear.

Still playing with the voice commands. When I've known exactly what command to use, it's seemed to work very well.

Lots of fun so far!

what's wrong with Continental tires?

I think they suck - at least the ones I've had.

:line:

Yeah congrats Plaz, have fun man!

:bustingup


Congrats.

Woot! Congrats!

pics please :D

Fantastic, congrats! Post some pics, or are you waiting for your snazzy wheels to go on?

BTW, are they the continental conti pro ssr runflats? If so, they're actually reviewed very favorably compared to the bridgestone turanza rfts. The e90 forum gushes over the contis in comparison, just imagine how bad the turanzas are.

Congrats!!!

As soon as the weather clears, let's do a NJ/NY/CT mini meet.

Ed

I don't know when I'll be able to take pics in daylight before the weekend. I'm not getting up earlier to do it, that's for sure. :lol:

I think the tires are the conti pros. I have to admit I haven't really pushed them enough, and they're not worn in enough to justify calling them terrible based on experience. I guess I was just expressing my expectation and prejudice more than anything else. Does that make me a tire bigot? :eeps:

I'm enjoying the carcinogenic ketonic ethers leeching from all the plastics too. Nothing like that new car smell. :lol: