u/capt_jack994

A buddy of mine recently picked up a C4X and we decided to do a comparison with my comped C2. This comprised of field stripping the two pistols to compare internals, a cosmetic inspection, physical manipulation, and several trips to the range where we put about 500 rounds through each pistol. For context, my friend has very little experience with 2011s aside from shooting my C2 (which is what compelled him to buy the C4X in the first place), and I have about 8k rounds through my C2; 1,500ish in the comped configuration. Both pistols have a DLC coated barrel and X series serrations.

Side by side initial impressions are that the C4X is marginally smaller and thinner, and slightly more ergonomic for those with smaller hands, as the lack of a grip safety and installed mag well helps to squeeze your grip upwards. Upon manipulating the C4X, I was surprised to find how stiff the recoil spring was for a pistol with an integrated comp, and the tension of the thumb safety was not equal. It took more force to engage the safety than to disengage it. Whether this is by design I have no idea, but the safety on my C2 has equal tension.

Cosmetically there were machining marks on the curved upper part of the slide, but none on the sides or inner surfaces of the slide. The ambidextrous slide stop/slide release is made in two parts, the left paddle is traditional with the integrated takedown pin that has a slot which keys into the right paddle. The right paddle had a significant amount of play but functioned otherwise normally. And despite having a slide release that sits farther rearward than traditional 2011s, it was still difficult to reach without breaking our grip.

I had expected the two to feel nearly identical at the range but the C4X had significantly more felt recoil compared to the C2. While the comp definitely decreased the overall recoil and muzzle rise, I found it odd that it didn’t do more. The series 80 trigger in the C4X had a less defined break and reset. This was to be expected. We also observed the ejected casings bounce off the right edge of the RMR HD installed on the C4X, to the point of making tiny scratches and dents in the aluminum housing.

Overall I wasn’t as impressed as I expected to be with the new C4X and find its price to be unusually high for what it offers. I did not find it to be particularly impressive, and the build quality and tolerances did not seem as good as previous generation Staccatos. The only feature from the C4X I wish the C2 had is the external extractor.

Every couple months I get the “sunroof not calibrated, please reset” message. Half the time it goes away by itself as soon as I start the car, the other half I have to run through the calibration procedure. Whenever I operate the sunroof it works fine and doesn’t seem like it’s getting hung up anywhere. Is there anything I should check? Could a sensor or actuator be going bad?