Thanks for the welcomes and for the information guys.
I am hoping the stage 1 does in fact bring the turbo into GS territory performance wise (though the GS is simply a hot looking ride - again - not in the budget). Having had tuned several vehicles, I have found the gains that can be made with increasing boost, etc are amazing - while still maintaining reliability and durability. Much more to gain with a tune in a turbo than a NA vehicle.
We plan to have the purchase completed at the beginning of July. I am having an extension put on our driveway this month to accomodate the extra car, and he receives his full license at the end of August. So that will give us about 6 weeks to detail it to our standards, have him get used to driving it with his mom and I, and maybe do a few minor
mods.
Being a new driver, I need to think about whether we do Stage 1 when we get the car, or wait a little bit. I know most parents say it, but he really is a good responsible kid. And he knows cars and has driven, and driven in, some powerful rides already - and he does have a true respect for how quickly things can get out of control. I have trained him a little in my car under very controlled conditions so he can experience feeling complete control, and then loss of control, in the blink of an eye. I am comfortable with him having a car that hits 60 in the low to mid sixes. But again.....the Stage 1 might wait a few months or at least wait until he is through his first winter. That is another reason I kind of wish we had the ability to load and unload the Stage 1 tune ourselves. I have, in the past, "detuned" my car a little (not entirely) in the winter.
Thanks again for all the welcomes and helpful comments.
Todd
P.S. In most of my other car forums, newbies usually share photos of other rides in their stable. Having still been unable to find the correct intro thread here, here they are:
Wife's DW Enclave. Superb vehicle for what it is - and built 4 miles from my office - here in Lansing MI.
Below: MY ride.......
^^^^ Sorry that guy's foreign car is blocking the photo of mine.
Here is one without an obstructed view. I enjoy driving this a lot and plan to continue to do so for several more years, but it is my first, and likely my last, FORD product. Decent product, but dealer service leaves a lot to be desired, and when I drive a GM product, everything is just more intuitive to me.
