How hard do you guys drive these awesome thoroughbreds?

.6845 · Apr 19, 2011

Ihad purchased a Red 06 Gransport with Tubi in October of 10' and I drive the living daylights out of this car. I change the oil every 3k miles...and I shift between 4-5k rpm everytime. Is this bad for the car?

Thank you,

Stephen
06 Gransport Tubi

Vincenzo · Apr 19, 2011

The cars love being driven like this. ENJOY the car! :thumbsup:

.6845 · Apr 19, 2011

Grazi Vicenzo.....that is a sweet picture of your car..thanks for your response

AERspyder · Apr 19, 2011

agreed! i've had mine for a few years and drive the HELL out of it regularly! just keep up with the maintenance (both scheduled and preventive) and enjoy the car!

Also, since you're into driving it to its limits, call Jeff at Formula Dynamics. YOU NEED A DBWM right away. it'll change your perception of the car! :autofahrer:

TravisJ · Apr 19, 2011

These Maseratis were designed for high speed, long distance driving. Don't be afraid to push the throttle and use it as the designers intended.

veloce49 · Apr 19, 2011

Let's reserve the term "thoroughbreds" for Ferraris.
What would the appropriate term for a Maserati be?

skydancer · Apr 19, 2011

Maybe a dumb question, but the DBWM is for CC/F1 only right?

TravisJ · Apr 19, 2011

All modern Maseratis have a factory drive by wire system regardless of transmission type. The FD DBWEM modifies the way the stock system behaves. This happens with any transmission type. A search here on Maseratilife will uncover a few threads on the subject.

borgenhard · Apr 19, 2011

Stephen - from what you describe is normal driving to me. These cars are designed to drive fast and rev high. Just keep up with maintenance, which sounds like you do, and these cars will love it. Mine seems to run better the more I drive it. They are definately not designed to be garage queens!

aufbau · Apr 20, 2011

If you change gears at 4-5k rpm everytime you are missing some beautiful sounds!

flashgordon · Apr 22, 2011

No kidding. Shifting at those RPMs is not "driving the daylights out of the car" - that's for sure. I shift at around 6500 or a bit higher whenever I can get the car out in the open with room to run.

noware · Apr 22, 2011

I change the oil at 7k. I drive always in sport and pedal to the floor shifting at red-line. Not uncommon for me to hit 140mph on the freeway. Got a speeding ticket doing 65 in a 55

noware · Apr 22, 2011

I change the oil at 7k. I drive always in sport and pedal to the floor shifting at red-line. Not uncommon for me to hit 140mph on the freeway. Got a speeding ticket doing 65 in a 55

Saturn · Apr 22, 2011

I had thought shifting on the redline "all the time" is stress on the engine. Once in a while is fine but not all the time....anyone beg to differ.

I normally shift at 4000-5000 range. When I want to conserve gas on long trips its 3000-4000.

TravisJ · Apr 22, 2011

Saturn said:
I had thought shifting on the redline "all the time" is stress on the engine. Once in a while is fine but not all the time....anyone beg to differ.

As RPMs climb, there is certainly more engine wear. Pistons, cylinders, crank, and other parts in engine running at 7,000 RPM will have at least double the wear as in an engine running at 3,500 RPM. With that said, the real wear is probably felt the most in a clutch for a car driven hard.

maseratisportgts · Apr 22, 2011

Screw it, just drive that baby.... And for me, if I start driving aggressively, I'm driving aggressively and fast and I don't do that all the time for safety and police reasons, if there was an autobahn here that I used all the time, then I would be OUT. But since there isn't I drive normally, whatever that means to me.. As for being worried about driving it too hard, there is no such thing man... Just don't be peeling out at stoplights and burning your clutch out, the only thing you should be concerned about is clutch wear with your driving style, I think and everybody else will agree that the engine can definitely handle anything you throw at it...

veloce49 · Apr 22, 2011

Seems to me the car is not meant to driven constantly at the red-line.
Will the master mechanics on the site please provide your opinions. Just curious.

michaeladler · Apr 22, 2011

Well let's put it this way, I just returned from a shortish trip on I-75 in Naples and when I entered the freeway I was in Sports Mode and using the paddle shifters and held the car in first gear up to 6,500 revs before I went into second!

elambo · Apr 23, 2011

You're greatly increasing your risk of damage to these fine automobiles if you consistently shift at red line, not to mention shortening the life of the power train.

flashgordon · Apr 23, 2011

If the car can't take consistent red line shifts then it is not a "fine automobile".

My last few cars have been a 98 SVT contour, 03 G35S, 07 G35S, and now a CTS-V (plus the Maser of course). I drive them all the same - foot to the mat at every oportunity and shifts close to or at redline (sometimes well over). I also track all of them.

In all those cars, I have never had a single one serviced for internal wear as a result of my driving style. It's just my opinion, but if a car is purported to be high performance and it can't take aggressive driving and needs to be babied, then it is probably not worth owning.

isabella maserati · Apr 23, 2011

Guys its a car just drive the damn thing if you can't have fun with it don't own it...it's not science if you beat the shit out of anything everyday its gonna break. Play responsibly

flashgordon · Apr 24, 2011

Fair enough elambo.

I am pretty sure that the motors in the 4200's can take regular trips to the redline without too much trouble though. Driving at the rev limit constantly is a risk - for sure. 4K to 5K on the other hand is barely getting the engine in it's sweet spot - IMO.

The rest of the car is another story. I have loose sway bar links - again, a weird vibration im my driveshaft that only shows up at 110MPH+, and a lot of creaks and rattles. Keeping up with this stuff is a constant battle...

elambo · Apr 24, 2011

flashgordon said:
4K to 5K on the other hand is barely getting the engine in it's sweet spot - IMO.

Yep, in that range she's a raging fireball waiting to be let loose. Anything less and she's just yawning.

VOLTRADER66 · Apr 24, 2011

With gas prices hovering close to $5/gal, not driving it hard at all.

bvanzyl · Apr 24, 2011

Lol. You own a Maserati and are worried about gas prices. May as well sell it and get a Prius. Kidding. Seriously, is anyone driving their Maserati with gas prices in mind ? Just curious.

VOLTRADER66 · Apr 24, 2011

If the price of gas is $5/gal because of true supply/demand imbalances then I have no problem paying for it but the current oil prices are total BS. They are artificially inflated by speculators and nothing to do with true supply/demand on the ground. I hate to think that every 10 miles or so, I have just handed $5 over to a bunch of scumbags. The only way to bring them down is stop driving and FORCE the price of gas down due excess inventory buildup. Sure I can bear the cost of $5/gal gas (having lived in London) but a lot of my friends and family cannot and I feel sorry for them.

elambo · Apr 24, 2011

I agree that the current rise in prices is BS, but if I stop driving I'm losing out doubly. Instead, I'm driving more, and faster. There. Fixed!

veloce49 · Apr 25, 2011

Uh-oh, someone please pull the soapbox out from under michaeladler.
I care about the cost of many things but I've gotta tell you, when it comes to gas for the car, $15/gallon would not have me drive any less.

voltrader66 - oil and gasoline prices in the short- to intermediate-term are seldom reflective of supply/demand. I would have thought you knew better.

elambo · Apr 25, 2011

veloce49 said:
oil and gasoline prices in the short- to intermediate-term are seldom reflective of supply/demand.

Many people would say that you're wrong, but then many people are simple enough to believe only what they're told.

elambo · Apr 25, 2011

Oil guys describing their perspective on reality... it always makes me laugh. None of their claims are "meant to be factual" -- a page torn from Senator Kyle's book.

FormulaDynamics · Apr 29, 2011

If you take excellent care of your Maserati, service it properly and use top quality part... You should be able to drive it to the limits regularly without any real negative consequences. It was designed to perform at these levels and last.

Best Regards,
-- Jeff

elambo · May 3, 2011

I found both posts easy to understand, and well-stated (even if cheeky by design).

Briik · May 3, 2011

I've been surrounded by top-notch bankers and financiers for the past few months and all of them agree that there are at least a handful of commodities where prices do not at all reflect the would-be 'natural' market price. Oil, Gold, and Chinese Real Estate being among them. These prices are all driven by pure speculation and a few individuals & firms with market-moving ability (I'm not a banker so I don't use the proper terms). If the $5 gas is killing you, just wait for one of these guys to take his profits and the price will fall back to 3-3.50. Atm, there is plenty of supply. In 20 years there will not be so you better start buying yourself some EVs. Remember peak oil was 20 years ago, there's nowhere for crude prices to go but up in the long run.

rjinvest · May 3, 2011

How hard do you guys drive these awesome thoroughbreds?

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