New member, new 2014 R-Spec

[TorqueFiend]

Hi all! I received a new company car recently, and I thought you all would like some pictures of it. It's a 2014 R-Spec in white. I've already tinted the windows, put a wing badge on the rear, and wings on the wheels. The front will remain badgeless.

Here's a few pictures of the car, as well as a few shots of it with my previous ride, a 2008 528i.











Yes, I like white cars with dark tints. Could you tell?

It's been an interesting shift. The power is a very nice upgrade - I left my wife several car lengths behind when she followed me onto the on-ramp in the BMW without even meaning to. A little disappointed by the handling - it wallows a little more than I was hoping for, given that it's the performance model. The legroom is wonderful - as a tall man with long legs, this is the first car I've ever had where a passenger would willingly sit behind me. The Lexicon system is amazing; yes, I know I'm not the first person to say that. And I wonder how I survived without adaptive cruise control - it saves my sanity on the commute every day.

I got the car back in April, and am already at 14,000 miles. No problems other than a tank of bad gas from Arco a few months back.

Overall, it's been a good car thus far. Curious to see how it holds up as I start to stack the miles onto it.

 

[daviderle]

Welcome aboard

I fully agree with you, the tint on Pearl white just looks amazing;

http://genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showthread.php?t=14250

If you would like to address some of the chassis firmness issues, I would suggest to look at this thread to see if this simple mod addresses your needs;

http://www.genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showthread.php?t=13126

 

[landtuna]

Was there a suspension change between 2012 and 2014? Mine sure doesn't "wallow".

 

[geops]

The r-spec suspension was supposedly improved for the 2013 version. Mine is 2013 and it doesn't wallow either. It probably does lean a bit more than your 5-series but it's because the car is actually larger and heavier.

 

[TorqueFiend]

My previous cars might explain the wallowing comment a little bit better:

528i
E63 AMG - sold quick due to the most uncomfortable seats I've ever had.
CTS-V (1st gen) - good car, weak rear differential. Don't ask how many I replaced.
993 911 - best car I've ever owned. Still in the garage. Undergoing a rebuild/restoration.
C5 Corvette - replaced by the 911

The 528 was deliberately chosen to help the number of points on my license decrease.

I'm used to a very hard sports suspension. The Genesis is more akin to a Mercedes in terms of tuning. It floats more. It's part of what makes it a great highway car. Some of the float is the size, I agree. Some of that is lateral roll in corners, which is due to the suspension, roll bars, etc. It's closer in feel to the E500 than the E63, if that makes sense to you.

I did look at suspension options, but it seems that lowering springs & coilovers are difficult to find for the 2013+ models, and I dislike air suspensions. I hadn't considered the collars though. At $100, it might be worth taking a chance on them - it seems some other R-Spec owners found it worthwhile.

 

[Mark_888]

The r-spec suspension was supposedly improved for the 2013 version. Mine is 2013 and it doesn't wallow either. It probably does lean a bit more than your 5-series but it's because the car is actually larger and heavier.

There was a noticeable suspension change in 2012 for all trim levels (spring rates, shock rates, anti-sway bar changes). If there was a change in 2013 it was relatively minor, but I don't recall reading anything about a suspension change for that model year.

 

[geops]

I can't remember exactly what it was but they improved some parts of the suspension which made it a bit stiffer and reduced the corner roll. I believe it was a change specificaly on the R-Spec.

Regarding the comparison - you simply can't compare it to an AMG. I've had the worst ride of my life in an AMG. The R-Spec badge on the G doesn't make it a sport-tuned car. It just has a lot of power (not as much as a large AMG of course) and the suspension is a little bit stiffer than the regular G. E500 might be a good comparison, although the Merc rides better

I can totally agree about the 911. Porsche makes amazing cars. Sadly, I'm not rich enough to own one (unless it's a bit aged).

 

[TorqueFiend]

Re: Mercedes' ride. I agree, it's not as good as it should be in their performance models. The CTS-V was substantially better, as was a friend's M5. I'll take your word on the E riding better, doubt I'll ever go Mercedes again. The E63 just left a bad taste in my mouth.

And in regards to the 911, I'm in the same position re: a bit aged. Buy an old air cooled one. They're substantially easier to work on than the new models, and still have the insanely fun and dangerous rear engine handling that Porsche's mostly worked out of the new models. I've had mine for 7 years. It's the longest I've ever owned a car. And when I jump into on the weekends, I'm still grinning like a loon. Even my wife says we can never sell it, and I thought I'd never hear those words from her.

 

[geops]

Re: Mercedes' ride. I agree, it's not as good as it should be in their performance models. The CTS-V was substantially better, as was a friend's M5. I'll take your word on the E riding better, doubt I'll ever go Mercedes again. The E63 just left a bad taste in my mouth.

And in regards to the 911, I'm in the same position re: a bit aged. Buy an old air cooled one. They're substantially easier to work on than the new models, and still have the insanely fun and dangerous rear engine handling that Porsche's mostly worked out of the new models. I've had mine for 7 years. It's the longest I've ever owned a car. And when I jump into on the weekends, I'm still grinning like a loon. Even my wife says we can never sell it, and I thought I'd never hear those words from her.

I wish I had a 911 and be able to keep it!

What were your impressions of the cts-v? I actually considered it at one time but then forgot and never got to test-drive one.

 

[fiveoh]

Funny, looks like a number of us had the CTS-V. I had an 04. I also had an 09 sedan and a 6M '11 coupe.

FWIW, I was careful and never replaced the rear end on mine, but did do the axle and all the other crap to it. In the end, it was just dated. The dual mass flywheel was crappy, the LS7 clutch helped, and so did a shifter -- but not enough to really make it easy like a C6.

I had a 996, thought it was crap. Your 993 is the best, never sell it.

I swear, dont say the AMG seats were shitty too loud... I think there are roving patrols that will kill you for saying that. But I agree on the E63. I bought and sold an S600 that was every bit the car of the E63 but better in every way. What sucked about that car was the fear something would quit.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[TorqueFiend]

I wish I had a 911 and be able to keep it!

What were your impressions of the cts-v? I actually considered it at one time but then forgot and never got to test-drive one.

The CTS-V. Mine was a first gen, and I understand that they improved them considerably the second gen. That said, it was an incredibly frustrating car. The steering, the transmission, the engine, the handling - all were excellent. As good or better than any of the competition. But the interior was obviously designed to a price point substantially lower than the cost. And the rear differential... oh, the rear diff. Just google CTS-V and rear differential. Mine was replaced 3 times before I sold the car, and probably has been replaced every year since then, given my experience. I wanted to love it. But the reliability was just not there.

That said, the only reason I didn't buy a CTS-V wagon with the manual transmission instead of the Genesis is that I couldn't justify almost double the money. The second generation is apparently amazing, but just too much $ relative to the competition.

Funny, looks like a number of us had the CTS-V. I had an 04. I also had an 09 sedan and a 6M '11 coupe.

FWIW, I was careful and never replaced the rear end on mine, but did do the axle and all the other crap to it. In the end, it was just dated. The dual mass flywheel was crappy, the LS7 clutch helped, and so did a shifter -- but not enough to really make it easy like a C6.

I had a 996, thought it was crap. Your 993 is the best, never sell it.

I swear, dont say the AMG seats were shitty too loud... I think there are roving patrols that will kill you for saying that. But I agree on the E63. I bought and sold an S600 that was every bit the car of the E63 but better in every way. What sucked about that car was the fear something would quit.

Mine was an 04 too. Odd!

I have the wife's permission to keep the 911 until the end of time, as long as she gets a WRX STI for her next car. I told her it was a deal. .

Yes. I almost bought my boss' CL600. 40,000 miles. And the ongoing fear of a $8,000 repair bill. Couldn't do it.

 

[Aquineas]

Welcome!! And great thread, btw...

 

[geops]

Did they by any chance improve the interior qualit of the second-gen cts-v? How about the rear diff?

I was also looking at the wagon. For some odd reason I like wagons.

I also remember top gear testing the 3 versions of the cts-v and wagon did the best time... odd, right?

 

[fiveoh]

The rear end problems from the V1 were totally gone from the V2. The interior was ok, a HUGE improvement from the V1, but not AMG-class by any means. Microfiber steering wheel and shifter, but not on the pillars and headliner (like AMG). The infotainment was, in my opinion, better than CUE even being so old.

The seats were AMAZING, at least to my frame. Feauxcaro's held you in in tight maneuvers, but still great for 10+ hour days.

I had the supercharger on both cars get replaced, that TVS1900 had bearing issues which is now a full blown recall.

But, talk about power. 490hp to the wheels, stock. A pulley, intercooler and a tune ($2000 invested total) yielded 630hp to the wheels. Forget about keeping tires on it. And running 305 DR's gets spendy.

The V2's weak link looks to be the transmissions. The clutch doesn't hold much past 650rwhp, and the auto has to be professionally handled to not grenade itself on WOT kickdowns. Even still, pushing much past 800rwhp and it won't last long.

Motors seem to go over 700, but tune is a HUGE factor.

If you want a platform for modding, the second gen CTS-V is exactly what you want.You can pick up an 09 right now for high 20's.

The wagon was faster because of a tiny variance in weight distribution.