Today, we finally took the Crossfire out onto the highway, legally. First time it has been driven at highway speeds in about 10 years, except on the trailer when we brought it home! My observations are as follows. Nice firm ride, Very quiet for a sports/sporty car. Achilles tires are quiet and seem to work fine. The spoiler rises at 55/60, and retracts at 40 or so. Transmission works great, overall things work well.
Except, for the following: The car tramlines, following the worn areas of the highway. Good road, no problem, old worn road kinda a hand full.I took the time to read a few threads about that issue, and it seems to be fairly common. Keep in mind this car has less than 20k miles on it. I read about a possibility of a loose pinch bolt in the upper steering shaft area, replacing the stabilizer, and beyond that, looking at worn suspension components. But the latter, at 20k miles seems unlikely.
Also, the BAS/ESP light illuminates frequently. It will stay off for some time after doing the steering wheel turn to reset sequence. It was on, more than off, for most of the time during our 50 mile ride today. Everything seems to work correctly and the car runs/drives ok except for the above mentioned tramlining.I have read some on this issue, and since I will probably be removing the panel under the steering column to check the pinch bolt, I may as well replace the brake light switch while there. I bought a new one as a spare a few weeks back. Beyond that, not sure what else to do to keep that light from triggering. I do know that since the car sat out for several years during its non op status, that the brake rotors were pretty crusty/rusty. They have polished up pretty well with use, and no pulsating or pulling is happening.
All in all,Ii"m pretty happy with my first real Crossfire drive at normal speeds. But I sure would like to get a bit more comfortable with the steering situation. Any advice would be appreciated.
And, I promised some pictures, other than in the driveway.
.
Cannery Pier Hotel and Astoria/Megler bridge in the back gound.
Cannery Pier Hotel and a peek at the Columbia River.
A bit of the river, and Port of Astoria mooring basin in there as well.
And a shot of the passenger side, just so you know it exists.