8500 Miles of Joy

[blair223]

Getting ready to call it quits for the driving season here in upstate NY. Just passed 8500 miles on the odometer this week.

Ran some rough calculations:

Got the car on 6/4 about 5 months ago so I averaged about 56 miles per day

Gas prices here for 93 have been as high as $4.40 but even using $4 as a conservative average with my pretty much consistent just under 13 mpg (I tend to drive a bit non-conservative ;-) ), that works out to around $520/month for gas.

Worth every penny though, I absolutely love this car and it is as close to perfect as it gets. Have not had any mechanical issues and it drives like a dream.

Just beware of the factory tires and cold weather. I've been reluctant to put it away for the winter and have been driving in below 40 weather. Forget about punching it, tires will spin with anything past 1/4 throttle in 1st through 3rd.

So into the garage it goes.

 

[Chris!]

Love it! They were meant to be driven!

 

[PhoenixM3]

Thanks for sharing. The not so torquey M3s which I'm used to have never been traction limited, but I loved and drove the wheels off them every chance I could get. I still have the '11 sedan, but selling my '02 M3 to help fund the Shelby purchase was the emotional equivalent of losing a loved one. I thoroughly enjoy hearing stories about others who are enamored with their car and look forward to having "traction-limited" moments in the near future....

 

[5.0 guy]

Damn, you have almost as many miles as my 03 Cobra, by End of Summer you will be there for sure, my convertible arrived at the dealer this morning. Ill get to drive it home and that's about it for this Season

 

[Warloc]

Must be nice! I got mine two days after you and it went straight into storage until yesterday. Sux to be working out of town for long periods but it does pay the bills. Such beautiful weather here with highs in the lower 60's and sunny. Time to play catchup!

 

[finsrin]

Good to hear and good for you.
You be driving it and loving it.
After all,,, Ford makes GT500s for driving. Hey, thatz why they got a supercharged 5.8

 

[SVTKen]

I'll be driving mine no matter how cold it gets, but will be putting some different tires on it. You just have to drive with more restraint and less throttle. I would rather drive it than park it, and these cars don't like sitting around for months at a time. It makes them very sad.

 

[MNCobra]

when mine comes it it will be sitting at the dealership for a few months until i get back in the US....so not only do i have to wait for it be built i have to wait until i can get home to drive it...

 

[BAS]

Thanks for sharing. The not so torquey M3s which I'm used to have never been traction limited, but I loved and drove the wheels off them every chance I could get. I still have the '11 sedan, but selling my '02 M3 to help fund the Shelby purchase was the emotional equivalent of losing a loved one. I thoroughly enjoy hearing stories about others who are enamored with their car and look forward to having "traction-limited" moments in the near future....

Jeff - you're like a brother from another mother! I parted with my heavily modded Phoenix yellow E46 M3 back in January as I left Singapore to live in Aus. It's taken almost a year to organize a '13 Shelby to replace my baby. I'll be driving it early December after its been converted to RHD... The wait and work is crucifying but, given all the great stories on this forum I am sure the wait is worth it!!