[EwanD]

I'm trying to decide whether to buy a GT or a Cambio. I have not yet driven a GT, and obviously need to. However, I keep hearing negative feedback on the GT (from both dealers and one mechanic) with respect to some type of problem either shifting into or out of second gear. Can anyone explain this to me? Is this a mechanical flaw with the car, or simply a matter of dexterity? Thank you.

I got my 2yr old Spyder GT from the dealer where it's been a demonstrator since new. There have been various niggles with the car (mostly electrical - it seems the Italians still have a bit to learn from the Germans about how to build electronics :wink: ) but one of the problems I had was a poor gearchange into 2nd, particularly when shifting down from 3rd.

The gearchange is not smooth at all, really - not compared to cars like the Honda S2000 - but you do get used to it. 2nd gear was a problem though, because sometimes the gear lever would not go into the gate... and I'm not talking about when the thing was cold... you'd be accelerating in 1st, go to put into 2nd and nothing would happen - the only option was to go straight to 3rd. I tried lifting off the clutch totally and re-engaging, but it still happened like this sometimes.

The dealer said there was a known problem and they 'replaced the gear change linkage' and now the problem has gone away.

rgds
Ewan

 

[EwanD]

Its funny it seems the more money I spend, Shifting gets harder. ...
[snip]
It seems they are worried about battery as there is much written about conserving juice. Then read that whole emergency start up procedure about pressing gas pedal to match light flashing to the 5 digit code they give you.

I suppose the shifting gets a bit harder as the power the gearbox needs to handle is so much greater; on the Honda, we 'only' had 240bhp and the gearbox was right under the lever; on the Maser, it's hung out at the back and has 150bhp more

As for battery life, yes, it does seem that there is a worry the battery will go... even the 'on hold' messages from the service center I use advises that they sell battery conditioners which leads me to think it's quite common to have battery problems. I had one occasion in the Spyder where the immobiliser wouldn't recognise the key, so when you turn the ignition, the starter motor chugs away but the engine won't fire.

Boy, that doesn't half drain the battery ... I started getting paranoid that I would wipe it entirely!

Do let us know how you get on with your car, Scott ...

rgds
Ewan

 

[EwanD]

Bigger problem was the Alum race pedals are so close, found myself pushing gas and brake at same time and could be a much bigger problem if I was pushing brake and gas went with it.

I find the pedals are a bit too close too - I tend to wear narrower shoes when I know I'll be driving for a while. One thing that has disappointed me though is that the layout of the brake & accelerator pedals are such that I find it near impossible to 'heel&toe' when downshifting... not that it's a great big deal (I'm hardly racing the thing after all), but with the sonorous engine/exhaust combo it would be that bit more enjoyable...

Ewan