Thanks for the info 668LT4, very helpful so I have a follow up question, on the street are you fighting for traction alot in the 5BW? I love the power and sound of the LT4 but it's alot more $ than the 4BW. I think if the prices of the used 5BW comes down that will be hard to pass up for now I will just be happy with my electric blue 4BW.
In the 5BW, it is difficult to put the power down in the first several gears. Once you get the tires warm, and if the road is very smooth, it WILL put the power down. First thing in the morning, on a potholed, bumpy road (or God-forbid a slightly damp one) 50% throttle might be the limit.
The tires seem to want a lot of heat to work properly (a good thing if you track such a heavy car). If you set the dash to show tire pressure it will give you an average tire temp (cool, warm, hot, etc). It takes some spirited driving to get the tires to "warm," but once you do the car works really, really well. But if you just drive a couple of miles to the store and want to race a Tesla at the light, you're probably not going to have much luck getting the power down.
I love the sound of the 5BW, but the power is way overkill. I bought it knowing the power was overkill - in fact that is why I bought it, but in hindsight, the 472 hp of the 4BW is a lot more appropriate on the street. I guess I had visions of doing smokey burnouts from every stoplight, and drifting around every turn, but, apparently, I don't value those attributes as much as I did when I was 16. For me, the power of the 4BW is more than adequate and more shifting with shorter gearing and less power makes it more engaging on the street. Although my first car was a big block, I haven't driven a V8 regularly in a couple of decades until the 5BW. These days, I find smaller engines that rev like crazy more engaging.
In a similar vein, I went to an autocross recently and there were two ZL1 Camaros and two SS 1LEs. The SS 1LEs were quite a bit faster (I rode in all four of them and the 1LEs blew my mind at how good they were). I think the only place the LT4 would be faster is a race track - or if you routinely exceed 150mph on the freeway.
Also the 5 might get you arrested. I wont admit to racing a model S, but I will say that the 5BW at 160 mph feels like its going slower than most of my other cars do at 80mph. The car is still accelerating at 160 like most cars do at 80 or 90 - there is absolutely no sense you are anywhere near its limits. However, I hate to think what would happen if a cop clocked you at that speed. The car requires a lot more restraint than any other car I have owned - it only takes a few seconds to get to those speeds - and you really don't realize how fast you were going unless you check the PDR afterwards.
