i thing with the new stepping they fixed the degrade too :/
i'am trying mine Q801 ( E8500 ) with 1.55 @ 4.3Ghz he is ok for now :p
but i'am sure in one week i will need more than 1.6 for those Ghz
I'm not sure that a stepping change can fix it. It shouldn't degrade that quickly. Keep testing and let us know. This is very important information. Every Wolfdale seems to have an initial burn in period were it takes less volts to hit higher speeds for the first week. Then, you have to increase the volts. It seems to be a one time thing.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Is anyone getting E0 steppings for the E8400/8500?