SlasherX
06-16-2002, 07:17 PM
My brother was recently looking at the Matrix and buying it, so I advised him to get the 6 speed with teh GT-S engine in it. He took my advice after hearing the hp numbers and my lil speech about the vvtl-i motor. (good things)
Well, He got married this past weekend and I was the DD. We went out to a local bar, and once done there, I got the keys. I turned the car on and searched right for reverse, DOH..my bad, reverse is FAR left. ok find it, backed out. Shifted the car into 3rd and stalled it..WTF I hate this gearbox. Ok, pull back into parking spot and learn the gearbox. move the shifter through each gear and practiced clutch to get familar with it. 2 minutes later, we're off. I must say the 2-3 shift sucks ass in this tranny, in my car you literally push straight up to nail 3rd, in the Matrix you have to push up, then push over then push up...can't imagine attempting a poweshift on that. Anyways, we're driving along and my drunked friend yells "PUNCH IT!!!" my brother is in the back saying how the cars really fast (his prev. car was a Saturn..go figure) So I floor the car at 4k rpms in 3rd I believe. "PUNCH IT!!!" uhh bro, car's floored.. "PUNCH IT!! YOURE GOING TOO SLOW!!" "dude, my foot is on the floorboard" Sad truth..I had the car floored and watched it literally crawl. I started to watch the speedo...hmm...*twiddles thumbs* la la la...ok 6k rpms..Lift hits..Weeeeeee!! ok thats better, car starts moving decently, but I have to get off teh gas now to slow down back to the speed limit. we keep on going down the road when my brothers friend goes..Nice huh? I had to hold back laughter. I then decided to test some apexes and noticed that for a tall car almost minivan sized vehicle, it stuck pretty well..very little body twitch or lean, something my Mustang isn't good at on those stock springs. I then decided to test out lift further by taking off from a light quick, hitting the highway and running it up to 65.(Where my 6 is the strongest) Well...lift is nice, it gets teh car moving pretty well, but the down time from when you're off the 2nd cam is downright painful in that car. I tdefinitely could use mroe displacement to enhance the lack of mid range power the car has.
All in all my brother loves teh car, I digged the factory sound system, handling and interior a lot. Styling isn't to my taste, but thats a moot point anyways. Pedla placement is decent, although the clutch runs a tad too close to the side of the car. shifter is just awkward to my hands, im used to 5 speeds. braking is o.k. i can't say whether or not it outperforms my car, but i doubt it does esp. with the extra weight we were carrying around.
honestly, here it is...lift itself feels a lot liek my car does from 2k through to redline. honest. the acceleration didn't blow my mind away, it just was a sharp contrast to the other cam, that the car seemed to feel quicker all of a sudden then it relaly was. with teh additional weight of the matrix and my 2 passengers, obviously this wasnt in any race trim, but i had expected a bit more punch anyways..i had come to expect 3.8 torque/midrange out of a 1.8 and that was my problem. all in all, i think its a cool car for what it is, and what it offers, but leaves me thirsting for more "PUNCH IT!!" power on tap.
Well, He got married this past weekend and I was the DD. We went out to a local bar, and once done there, I got the keys. I turned the car on and searched right for reverse, DOH..my bad, reverse is FAR left. ok find it, backed out. Shifted the car into 3rd and stalled it..WTF I hate this gearbox. Ok, pull back into parking spot and learn the gearbox. move the shifter through each gear and practiced clutch to get familar with it. 2 minutes later, we're off. I must say the 2-3 shift sucks ass in this tranny, in my car you literally push straight up to nail 3rd, in the Matrix you have to push up, then push over then push up...can't imagine attempting a poweshift on that. Anyways, we're driving along and my drunked friend yells "PUNCH IT!!!" my brother is in the back saying how the cars really fast (his prev. car was a Saturn..go figure) So I floor the car at 4k rpms in 3rd I believe. "PUNCH IT!!!" uhh bro, car's floored.. "PUNCH IT!! YOURE GOING TOO SLOW!!" "dude, my foot is on the floorboard" Sad truth..I had the car floored and watched it literally crawl. I started to watch the speedo...hmm...*twiddles thumbs* la la la...ok 6k rpms..Lift hits..Weeeeeee!! ok thats better, car starts moving decently, but I have to get off teh gas now to slow down back to the speed limit. we keep on going down the road when my brothers friend goes..Nice huh? I had to hold back laughter. I then decided to test some apexes and noticed that for a tall car almost minivan sized vehicle, it stuck pretty well..very little body twitch or lean, something my Mustang isn't good at on those stock springs. I then decided to test out lift further by taking off from a light quick, hitting the highway and running it up to 65.(Where my 6 is the strongest) Well...lift is nice, it gets teh car moving pretty well, but the down time from when you're off the 2nd cam is downright painful in that car. I tdefinitely could use mroe displacement to enhance the lack of mid range power the car has.
All in all my brother loves teh car, I digged the factory sound system, handling and interior a lot. Styling isn't to my taste, but thats a moot point anyways. Pedla placement is decent, although the clutch runs a tad too close to the side of the car. shifter is just awkward to my hands, im used to 5 speeds. braking is o.k. i can't say whether or not it outperforms my car, but i doubt it does esp. with the extra weight we were carrying around.
honestly, here it is...lift itself feels a lot liek my car does from 2k through to redline. honest. the acceleration didn't blow my mind away, it just was a sharp contrast to the other cam, that the car seemed to feel quicker all of a sudden then it relaly was. with teh additional weight of the matrix and my 2 passengers, obviously this wasnt in any race trim, but i had expected a bit more punch anyways..i had come to expect 3.8 torque/midrange out of a 1.8 and that was my problem. all in all, i think its a cool car for what it is, and what it offers, but leaves me thirsting for more "PUNCH IT!!" power on tap.