Gallardo test drive

[Blues]

The time has arrived, and i shall be testing both manual and E drive cars tomorrow.
Having only ever been a passenger in these gorgeous cars, i have no idea yet which gearbox to go for, and from your replies to my earlier thread,it seems to be matter of personal choice.

Other than making a decision on gearbox, what else should i look out for?
Is there an "understood" warm up procedure for the V10?
Is rear parking camera a must or just a fancy trinket?

What did you check for and find when you bought yours?
Thanks all

[justin220]

The rear view is alright, I never had one on mine, although it would be nice to have.

I had a Manual, but think I'd go for the Egear next time.

[nigelonich]

In retrospect I was pouring all over spec but id say when buying a Gallardo of any year/type colour scheme is probably the biggest factor. Look down the list with that in mind and then choose.

Lifting would be good but thats an expensive area to be in. I resurfaced my drive up to the garage instead!

Rule of thumb> If its a bad colour for a 911 its a good colour for a Gallardo?

[BPD]

The gearbox is down to personal choice, and mood. In an ideal world i'd like to have one of each.

As for the reversing camera, It can be useful but definitely is not a requirement in my opinion. It takes a bit of getting used to as well. When I first got it I was parallel parking and decided to see how good it was. Looking at the screen it seemed like there was a decent gap between me and the van behind. When we got out my friend pointed out that it was very close to the van. I had to get back in and move it forward a bit.

[UVB]

I had the camera on mine and hardly ever used it; certainly with the roof down.

If I was getting one again I'd want full electric seats and heated seats as must-have options.

Manual says warm it up to just past the first block on the oil temp guage. I'd generally do this as gentle driving rather than sitting idling as driving warms up the gearbox oil too. By "gentle" I also mean not labouring in too low a gear. Second is a pain in the manual from cold; just have to take plenty of time with that shift and make sure the clutch is firmly buried into the carpet.

[UH-Matt]

Heated seats definitely nice on a spyder.

I also saw one or two which didn't have Callisto wheels, which disappointed me, so I would definitely want those.

The colour and interior for me where a factor. I didnt want plain black leather which personally think is underwhelming on a car like this, I want bi-colour or qcitura stitched as it really livens things up inside.

Other than that I was not fussed as long as it was Spyder Egear

[ChrisFitz]

I wasn't looking for lots of things specifically.
But ended up with carbon brakes, lifting plus a reversing camera to name a few.
Brakes are amazing. Would never go back to steel is I had the choice.
Lifting gear is extremely useful and would definately recommend it. Much cheaper than numerous scrapes of the front bumper underside.
Camera, I thought would be a gimick, but again has proved exceptionally useful and saves getting someone to tell you how far back you can reverse. I must have in my book. unless you never need to reverse anywhere into a tight space etc....
Originally was looking at an 04/05 but decided to get the revised 06 model onwards in the end and got an 07 which am extremely happy with.

[Blues]

Excellent feedback here, many thanks all. The comments mostly confirm my expectations, so looks like i was on the right track. I'm favouring the E gear, but don't want to spent such a large amount of money without trying both. One question that i forgot to ask is about the offset pedals.
Is this something that you quickly got used to? Does it cause problems on longer journeys?

Thanks again, i'm looking forward to joining the fold

[nigelonich]

Sounds like you should ask this guy for his before someone else does?

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Sarnie]

Requirements for me would be/are:

Arancio, Giallo, Verdi Ithica or Balloon White paint.
E-Gear
Sat Nav
Bi-colour or alcantara interior.
Callisto's
Electric Seats

Extra's that would be highly likely to make me purchase over others:

Clear Engine Bay
Tubi decat
Rear view camera
Travel Pack
Lifting Gear

Thats all.

[Blues]

nigelonich said:

Sounds like you should ask this guy for his before someone else does?

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

thanks

[iandc]

Blues said:

Excellent feedback here, many thanks all. The comments mostly confirm my expectations, so looks like i was on the right track. I'm favouring the E gear, but don't want to spent such a large amount of money without trying both. One question that i forgot to ask is about the offset pedals.
Is this something that you quickly got used to? Does it cause problems on longer journeys?

Thanks again, i'm looking forward to joining the fold

If you are worried about the offset pedals go for E Gear as far less of a problem. I had manual and now have E Gear. To be honest I got used to the pedal layout in the manual and it never bothered me when driving but it is much easier with the 2 pedals and the foot rest even works as it is wider than on the manual. Regarding options: most people have covered these (seats etc) and having lived with and without lifting gear it is a useful but not necessary option. I have reversing camera and agree it gives false impression of space available as it is a fish-eye lens but useful to stop you reversing over people.
I hope this helps and good luck. You won't regret the purchase!!!

[GallardoOwner]

colour to me was all important had to be Orange or Yellow although think the white also looks very sexy ! ( if much newer model you are looking at the green is v nice too, maybe that was a colour in the earlier models 07 onwards but I havent seen any that old in green ) Mine has lots of extras, lifting which I use alot speedbumps etc although on times I have forgot it does go over ok at standard height, Camera ok for general reversing but with the heated seats think they called it a winter pack on mine the roof should be down anyway, as for reversing into tight gaps or near kurbs I wouldnt dream of it not a good enough driver and it would only result in scuffed alloys, Like matt has said the Calistos in my mind make the car look much much better, clear engine bay would be nice but seem really few and far between, Personally I like a low miles car no doubt they are fine to whatever but was happy getting one with just 6 K on the clock, surprised nobody has already mentioned it but the clutch on the egear is very expensive so check that.