Well, It finally rained enough to wash the salt away and we had a decent 50 plus degree day yesterday, so woke up the cat and took her out for a spin:

Some observations:

1) It idled a bit rough at first, but sorted itself out. I did get one puff of white smoke out the driverside tailpipe, which I thought may be some condensation. None after that.

2) God, I forgot how fast this car is and how much I missed it.

3) I had a new set of MP4S put on just before I put it away. I only had the opportunity to drive it a short distance, once before the snow hit. These tires seem extremely quiet as memory serves, but the P-zeros were showing the cords so maybe not the best comparison. I did upsize to 265/305. Are you guys with AWD R's running these at 37 psi?

4) The car still attracts a lot of attention.

5) All the other car buffs seemed to get their toys out yesterday. Saw BMW verts, Vettes, Camaros, etc. No f types or exotics yet. We don't have many but they are some. I know there is at least one other white coupe out in the wild in my area, just haven't come face to face with it. Maybe at this month's local cars and coffee.

6) I'm getting the new BC Forged HCA381's put on a week from Monday. I was debating whether to add the lowering springs. In about a week I won't be needing to back into my driveway to avoid scraping. I was debating whether the KW HAS may be a consideration instead of the VAP's. Not sure if I would ever adjust them, but I like the thought of that option, just in case. Would after intial installation adjustments in height on a HAS require adjustments in camber? As I recall the rears don't allow adjustment. Any thought's welcome.

7) This thread is mostly borne out of exuberance of having the car back on the road! Thanks for listening.

 

Awesome, Vince! While I’ve enjoyed driving the XE all winter, I’ve loved the few top-down days we’ve had. Much easier to spin the tires when it’s in the 40s and they haven’t cleaned the roads yet. Top will be down after golf today.

 

I know how you feel as I pulled mine out last week and really enjoyed the responsiveness, sound etc. after driving an SUV for the last 6 months.
My drive was straight to the dealer to get certified and if all goes well it will be sold on Tuesday.

I will miss it for sure but the wait for my 2020 R will be a patience testing experience.