doltmo

Could the shifter cable(s) have stretched? I'm thinking the "left-right" cable might affect Reverse and/or 5th-6th before you would notice it in the other gears.

I usually replace them when the thickness of the friction material is about equal to the thickness of the steel back plate. The photo below is of my front pads when I changed them (a bit early, as you can see) compared to a new pad.

Got back Wednesday (8/18) evening. I put just over 5000 miles on the Gallardo in 11 days total. Burned through 268 gallons of gas (18.8 mpg for the trip), but used only 1 quart of oil.

I got my first really close look at an R8 V10 last weekend. The rear brake rotors appear (visually) to be the same thickness as the G's. Has anyone gone down this path to try to find a match?.

Are you talking about the instrument cluster (speedo/tach) or the Oil temp/voltmeter cluster? Not sure if it's the same on the Gallardo, but domestic (US) autos store the mileage in the instrument cluster. So to keep you from changing the mileage on a car by swapping the instrument cluster with one from another car, they also store the VIN in the instrument cluster software. The VIN is also encoded in the engine controller software. When you power up the electronics (i.e turn on the key) the two computers talk to each other and compare VINs to make sure nothing's been changed. If the VINs don't match, the car will not start. The dealer may be able to reset the VIN on the instrument cluster to match your car.

To clarify, the exhaust plumbing changed in '06, not '07. But in '07 they tightened up the engine controls and CEL's became common if you tinkered with the exhaust. The '06 still had 24,000 mile limit on the warranty.

Check out the Lamborghini discussion group on Audiforum. There's a post that addresses this topic. http://audiforum.us/lamborghini/2644-rns-e...i-gallardo.html You'll have an easier job, since you're starting with a Lambo radio rather than trying to make an Audi radio fit the opening.

I can't spend that many days on the road, so my trip out is the express route (400-650mi/day). Leaving Indy early Sunday morning and spending three nights on the road. Thinking of three routes: Northern Route: Indianapolis -> Omaha -> Denver -> Las Vegas -> LA Central Route: Indianapolis -> Topeka -> Denver -> Las Vegas -> LA Southern Route: Indianapolis -> Tulsa -> Albuquerque -> Flagstaff (or Scottsdale?) -> LA

This has all the makings of a "round up" before the stampede. Indy, Nashville, Atlanta so far. Any others?

When you decide on a route and a departure date, send me a PM. Maybe we can meet up along the way.

I could adjust my route to swing further south. We could try Oklahoma City, if that works for you. Memphis is a bit out of the way. OKC's a stretch for the first overnight, but doable.

Haven't quite decided on the route yet - it depends on if I link up with anyone else who's driving out. Looks like a Sunday or Monday departure from Indy with 2 or 3 overnights along the way. It's one day longer than the trip to Salt Lake last year for the Giro, so it's not that big of a stretch for me or the car.

I'm in too! I'll be driving to/from - another 5,000 miles on the Gallardo won't do it any harm.

I bought my car from Lambo Ohio in 2006 a few months earlier and I heard the stories about this "guy from Texas" who was racking up the miles. I'm not in the same league mileage-wise, but I do have him beat in the "miles-per-ticket" category - 1 ticket in 51K.

I've not seen a write-up, but the procedure is pretty standard for any car. If you're not comfortable with the process, take it to a dealer. (1) unhook the battery and let the car sit for a while (30 minutes or so) so that the air bag electronics can discharge. (2) remove the air bag from the steering wheel. It's held in place by 2 screws accessible from the back of the steering wheel at the 3- and 9-o'clock positions. (3) carefully unplug the airbag from the clock spring wire (usually yellow) and set the airbag in a safe place. (4) remove the large bolt holding the wheel to the steering shaft. You will probably need a wheel puller to remove the wheel, since the steering shaft splines usually don't give up without a fight. Installation is the reverse. Keep your hands and face away from the airbag when you turn the key on for the first time.

Didn't know the passenger side has "auto-up". Mine just does "auto-down".

The Gallardo is a great car. After 4 years and over 50K miles, the excitement is still there.

Are you getting bitten by the Bull?

I replaced my original pads (F & R) with another set of factory pads around 33K miles. They probably could have gone another 5-10K. Now at almost 52K now, that second set of pads still has lots of material left - even after 12 track days. I'm still on my original rotors, but will replace them with the next set of pads. I expect to get 60-65K miles out of the original rotors. IMO the factory pads are very good - but pricey. I'm switching to Audi RS-6 OEM pads at the next pad change.

Great write-up. Thanks for taking the time to document the process. Here's a photo of the two drain plugs you mention in step 6.

For Putnam, Autobahn and a few other tracks, check out Mark Pfeffer's schedule: www.MVPTrackTime.com.

So why is the manual TOB so much more expensive than the e-gear version? Is it just production volume or is there something different about the e-gear version that makes is less expensive to manufacture?

E-gear or manual? The factory rep I last talked to said the recommended gear lube for the manual gearbox/rear dif on an '06 Gallardo is VW G052171A2. Add some Mopar friction modifier if the LSD clutches growl on tight turns. Personally, I've had good luck with Red Line MTL, and you'd probably be OK with MT-90 in warmer climates. I believe that the Red Line fluids include some kind of friction modifier. I don't know what's recommended for the front dif. I'd shy away from the GL-5 products and any kind of ATF.

Interesting tire combination: Rosso's on the front, Corsa's on the rear. Wonder what this does to handling in the corners.

You need to remove the air bag first. I believe it is held in place by two screws from the back side of the wheel. Check at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions on the back side of the wheel and you should be able to see them. Once the air bag is removed, the wheel is held in place by a large bolt in the center of the steering shaft. It may take some effort to remove the wheel; you may need to use a wheel puller. Be VERY careful when working with the airbag. Unhook the battery and let the car sit for a while (30 minutes to be safe) to allow the storage capacitors to discharge. Keep your head and face away from the bag when reinstalling it and when you turn the car on for the first time.