SpyderBite

....I will just generalize as this.. While I don't think it will be long until initial display cars for the showroom are hitting dealerships, of the limited production they are making this year, the U.S. doesn't appear to have a generous allocation... I sure hope it will be ratcheted up significantly for Year 2.

Went to the event.. I'm not sure which I enjoyed more: getting to see the car, or getting lots of 1-on-1 time with C-Suite Lambo execs. Great experience. This car really is a game changer for Lambo, there is so much more work into this car versus other SV/SL type stuff we've seen previously. It seems like they really have the balance right -- finally giving us the driver's car that we've never really had (as best we can tell), without sacrificing much in the way of drivability to do it. The exhaust on the car sounds wicked. Normally I plan on purchasing an aftermarket exhaust to uncork things but I'm not sure this one needs it. I have always been turned off by the rear end of the Huracan. This one fixes that issue, and gives your eyes a lot to take in. As far as seats go... The fixed Sport seats seem pretty good as far as these things go, but having broad shoulders, I found myself a bit pinched up high. I had to round my shoulders to get my upper back to make decent contact with the upper rear of the seat. They felt better than the Gallardo SL seats from what I can remember, but that was many years ago. FYI it's a no-cost option to instead select the power/adjustable seats, but you will lose a little headroom, and you will gain 50 lbs total.

I've had to deal with similar frustrations and experiences on other cars regarding getting the Catalyst to clear for CA smog. And like some posted here, I tried driving the car for long lengths of time & distances, thinking that's what was needed to clear the code (and getting more and more frustrated as I drove longer & longer without clearing it). When I finally figured out the unbreakable rules, I then subsequently found I could clear the code in under 15 minutes every single time I tried. 1) stay in the middle of the MPH range for the test, do not come closer than 2mph to the upper or lower limit. 2) always keep your foot lightly on the gas, at no time should you depress the pedal significantly. 3) See #1. 4) Make sure you have the mph limits right on #1 . 5) See #1 & #4. In a nutshell, the ECU's rules regarding the MPH speed limit ranges you need to stay within are absolute and unyielding. If your MPH goes too high or too low even by 1 mph, the current cycle is over and you're back to square one. If your speedo is even a little off and you take the car close to the lower or upper limit on your speedo, you may actually be exceeding the limits as far as the ECU is concerned. You said you have an OBD2 monitor, I suggest bringing up the MPH display and check it out while running the test on the freeway to make sure you are truly at the MPH the ECU needs you to be at. As you probably know, you need to identify a stretch of freeway and time of day where you can cruise at a constant speed without issue and you need the willpower to stick to your mph limits no matter what traffic does around you including big-rigs on your tail or merging onto the freeway in front of you, etc. It will drive you absolutely nuts of course. If you are following these basic steps and it's not clearing after 20 minutes tops, then perhaps the MPH limits you think work for the Lambo are incorrect. In the case of the E46 M3 for example (a nasty car to smog), 60mph was actually the upper fail limit. Cruising at 55-57mph was the way to go. Same thing for some other cars I looked into, including I think some Porsches. You mentioned 60-65mph for the Lambo, my guess is that's too high and is why you haven't cleared the test. I suggest you try 55-57mph, treating 59-60mph as the upper limit not to get too close to. Side note, I often had my finger on the Hazard lights and would flip them on when someone was behind me for more than 10 seconds... Caveat's: I haven't had any issues with smog for my LP, so I can only guess at the limits and exact test requirements for the car, based on having solved the issue on other cars. Please report back and let us know how it goes!

Hi all, Can anyone recommend a SFV/Los Angeles shop that is well-versed with the Gallardo and front bumper installs, and can be trusted to properly shim & align a new bumper? I'll only need the shim/installation work by the way, so I suppose if there's someone who can do a great install but no paint work, that would be fine. I'm updating my LP560 with various Performante touches including the LP570 front bumper, and apparently even with the factory bumper I purchased from Lamborghini, there's a lot of shimming work involved to get the gaps right. See this old Lambo Power thread for an eye-opener if you weren't already aware . http://www.lambopower.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=61573 Thanks

Heyya John, MPSS, 245/35/19, stock 2010 Apollo rims.

Yes, there is enough room for 245's in the fronts. I have been running them for over a year and only made that choice after confirming that other people had been running them as well. After having experienced them, I'm convinced the 245 is the way to go, I would never again go back to the 235. The Gallardo suffers from understeer and the slightly wider tire helps a little in this regard. I have stock-sized rears (295). You can pair the 245's with either the 295's or the 305's. I probably would have gone with the 305's if they had been available but they were out of stock for months when I needed to purchase. By the way, I strongly recommend Pilot Super Sports and avoiding the Pirelli's.

For the Southern California - Los Angeles area, which should be one of the largest Lambo population centers and has plenty of great weather and great driving roads, there is zero Lambo Club presence whatsoever (that I'm aware of, anyways). However, I know that when a local dealership (Auto Gallery) hosts an annual Lambo drive event here, 40-50 Lambo's show up for it. Hell, I saw them send out an email once to just a subset of that group with only a couple weeks notice, to see if some Lambos wanted to show up for a kid's birthday party, and we had 8 cars. So, it's not a matter of lacking cars/drivers here that want to do group drives or activities. For me, a "Club" involves other people, not just ordering a package of (nice!) Lambo merchandise. Get some activity in the Los Angeles chapter, heck, even half (or a quarter??) of what I've heard happens in the Orange County chapter, and you'll have my $$... I hear ya though re: difficulties finding people to help organize, but have you really tried in the past year for Los Angeles? My apologies if I'm mistaken about the (lack of) events or your efforts to get some leadership here...

I own a Rosso Andromeda LP560. I have had the car parked next to Rosso Mars Gallardo's, and Rosso Corsa Ferrari's. Andromeda vs. Mars, side by side they basically seem identical, as the owners we couldn't really tell a difference though we weren't pulling out microscopes or anything . If you are looking for a Gallardo pre-2012, then you should be looking for Rosso Andromeda. AFAIK Rosso Mars replaced Rosso Andromeda in 2012. As for Andromeda vs. Corsa, it was a little hard to compare and identify differences because the curves/lines on the cars are different, and trying to match the same angle/plane and light conditions doesn't make for a "perfect" comparison. That said they are very similar and look good next to each other. Here's a few pics to help. Notice the need for multiple shots -- in one picture one of the cars will look darker than the other, in another picture it will be just the opposite. I have additional angles if it would be helpful, but I'd have to edit out some license plates first.

I have Liftmaster 8500's as well. For those who don't know, these have a battery backup option (part: Liftmaster 475LM). Works fantastic. I've had mine installed for 5 years now and they are still running strong. During any power outage your garage doors will work like usual. Also fun is the looks on neighbors' faces when power is out for everyone but your garage doors are opening/closing for you

I'll admit that I bought a set. I feel I had little choice in the matter. I hate the stock paddles; they are simply too small and there are times when driving through curves that I had to think about or try to find the stock paddles rather than focus on my driving, and that's bad. There are only 2 choices for aftermarket paddles, these, and the MaCarbon horns which are carbon fiber and even more expensive. I have zero carbon fiber in my interior, so buying them in carbon and paying even more money to boot left me with the Fabspeed paddles as my only "choice". Here are my basic thoughts on them, in no particular order. 1) The Cerakote texture is too rough. It's like very fine grit sandpaper. You can argue that it allows better traction, I would say it's simply a distraction, it calls attention to your fingertips, and that you don't really need finger traction on paddles for the way you actually use them. The factory seems to agree or they wouldn't have made the stock paddles glossy. Some edges up near the top are a little thin (on top of being rough) which also detracts from the feel. 2) The size is helpful, the fit is good. Yes, you will notice the difference from the increased size. One pleasant surprise was how they fit over the stock paddles. I was expecting that I'd worry about them somehow popping off etc, but the way the clips work with the stock paddles make them very secure, there is no need to do anything other than slide them on. 3) These really are over-priced, and they are likely to leave a bad taste if you purchase them. I'm a capitalist with a background in business. Fabspeed is attempting to fill a need that otherwise would not be addressed; no one else is making paddles (except for the ol' MaCarbon horns). In that regard Fabspeed should be commended for making a very niche product. And no one is forcing anyone to buy these paddles, so you can vote with your dollars on whether you want the product for this cost, or you don't. There are no misrepresentations about the product and they are holding up fine. I knew up-front they were over-priced, so I do not "blame" Fabspeed. I chose to buy them, the responsibility is 100% mine. That said, these things feel cheap as heck. Yes, we are paying for the fact that Fabspeed was very time-inefficient in developing these and has decided that they'll make $$ back by raising the price to compensate for both the time they put in, and the lower volume they'll get in sales (vs. a more mass-market car). And they know Lambo owners have larger wallets. Bottom line for me, they feel like $125 (retail, mass-market) paddles that I could pay $275 for and still be ok with given the need they fill & that I'm supporting a niche product. At just under $500 and a texture that keeps making me take note of them when I drive, well... While I'd still have to "do it all again" because there simply is no other choice if you need something better than stock... It pisses me off that I paid that much for them. And when Fabspeed was nice enough to call me up weeks later and ask how I was enjoying the paddles, I didn't hold back and I let them know that they were way over-priced and that I wasn't happy at all due to the cost.

Sadly... You called it!...

Mike, the path you're on (balancing design, durability & costs) sounds just fine to me and there will be plenty of us who will buy this in black plastic as long as you meet those goals. You can always come out with a CF version later, after you've first gotten the "easier" one produced. The one thing we will all agree on is to JUST... GET... IT... DONE... The years of delays and number of promises or implications about the paddles being just a couple more months out, continues to reflect poorly on Fab Speed.

Add 1 more... A new service bulletin recently came out for all 2009 and newer Gallardo's, replacing the A/C pressure sensor with an updated sensor. A good one to get done based on the number of posts over the years regarding A/C issues that may have stemmed from this. Campaign is L71X-A.01.14 Doesn't take too long, I'll guess roughly a couple hours or so.

Thanks all! You are correct, sir! (Andromeda). In truth they are almost identical, I had my car parked next to a Rosso Mars STS and you had to look really closely & at the right angle to see Rosso Mars is just the smallest bit darker. Some trivia, here's my Rosso Andromeda next to Ferrari Red (whichever one ) for comparison:

Been here & posting for a while, but hadn't paid attention to "Owner" status... Time to remedy! Here's a few pics.