Cars...

[Simon]

Saw a GTR the other day when I was out for dinner. Another car that looks far better in person than in the pictures.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/large/59571055.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0ZRYP5X5F6FSMBCCSE82&Expires=1265331117&Signature=0LsG0aw5vd207W1hzmadZpr9fms%3Dhttp://www.simonized.com/images/simons/gtr.jpg

If I had kids this would be my next car. ;)

Instead my next car will hopefully be...

http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/large/51483283.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0ZRYP5X5F6FSMBCCSE82&Expires=1265331223&Signature=gRx04rJAmfffmzYgDn%2BY7QVibwY%3Dhttp://www.simonized.com/images/simons/evora.jpg

But with darker wheels. :cool:

[Fred]

pics no worky.

here's mine: 2006 VW GTI
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m59/factorxGTI/IMG_0563.jpg

Sheila is pushing 260 ft/lbs of torque and 215hp to the wheels... software, intake, and some intercooler piping reworked. Sport springs and a beefier rear swaybar are all I've done to the suspension.

[Pump Scout]

The plan here is to have something more entertaining within the next 18-24 months. Right now we're running a 99 Town & Country van and a 99 Plymouth Breeze. At least the Breeze is a stick. Both are vehicles of necessity... the van to haul the 5 kids, and the car because with the miles I put on, I needed something 4-cylinder and stick. Target car for my next is likely a TDI of some sort.

[63VDub]

^ echo that, I've got my eye on the Golf TDI, but I have to find one to test drive. I haven't driven a golf/Rabbit in 15 years and hope they are still as fun, even in the oil burner variant.

[Simon]

Don't know why my pictures aren't showing. That's annoying. They are still up on Twit Pic. Weird. I will get that fixed.

As for the Golf, I am a HUGE fan. Always have been ever since the Mark II's. Absolutely great package of a car. Handles and drives well, and the quality is excellent.

Whenever I go back to England I try to get the 2.0 Diesel as my rental. It's a pleasure to drive around England throwing it around the lanes. The other option I still haven't persuaded them to give me for free is a Scirocco. I was always a fan of the older Scirocco's and the new one looks awesome too.

http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/uploads/rocco.jpg

[Simon]

Pictures are fixed. :)

[Fred]

I curse VW of America for not bringing the new Scirocco here... especially the R version with 4motion and the beefier version of the 2.0t... /cry

then again, my GTI is paid off, and I wouldn't be able to afford a new car right now anyway...

[Fred]

ECS tuning had a special last week...

Old shifter knob:
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m59/factorxGTI/IMG_0868.jpg

New hotness golfball style shifter knob!:
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m59/factorxGTI/IMG_0870.jpg

[Nicad]

Can you shift faster now that the dimples lower the drag coefficient through the air? ;)

[Fred]

its different, a little heavier, but it is quite pleasing to the touch. For 20$ I figured it was worth it. :D
I won't go for a short-throw shifter in this car most likely, its buttery smooth as is, very quick and deliberate, never searching for a gear.

Once employed with disposable income again (hah! someday!), it'll be getting the VF engineering GT28RS turbo kit... bigger injectors, front mount intercooler, high flow exhaust... and be scary fast. Its fun to think about at least.

[Nicad]

The GT28 and GT30 are a fun looking little turbos. Have been eyeballing them for going forced induction to a Buick 3.8l V6 transplant job.
But... we can all dream!!

I found out how to improve the feel of the shifter on my 17-yr old daily driver. Replace the worn out and completely MISSING shift-linkage bushings!! Wow.. super tight shifting again and... I swear the car feels more powerful now. :)

[Pump Scout]

Now, if we can combine that new Sirroco with the TDI plant... Jeremy Clarkson claims it can make it from Berlin to Warsaw on a single tank of fuel. :cool:

It might be a great car ruined by a diesel engine, but I'd still drive it.

[Fred]

VW races the TDI Scirocco in Europe. Its screams.

/insert an idiocy of VW of America rant here.

[cockerpunk]

Now, if we can combine that new Sirroco with the TDI plant... Jeremy Clarkson claims it can make it from Berlin to Warsaw on a single tank of fuel. :cool:

It might be a great car ruined by a diesel engine, but I'd still drive it.

thats a funny episode. i like when he shows the speedometer at 30 mph to prove that its not speeding in the commercial.

i rock a 1996 saturn sl2 ... boyah!

when i get the job offer, im out to buy one of the mazaspeed3s, a lancer evo, mx5speed, or if i can get someone to import it for me, a ford focus RS.

[Georgeboumrad]

well, sadly im only 15 and i have my permit at least. But im gonna try to get like a 2002 wrx and my bros friend is gonna help me sup it up.

[Fred]

Saw a black GTR on the freeway yesterday, very sharp!

[Kyle]

Good to see some dubbers here :)

My newest one (crappy pic, weather hasn't been nice enough to get it cleaned up and shoot some real photos since I got it):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2785/4245621586_9f4188a64f.jpg

So far, so good. Have an APR Intake and Stage I programming, probably going to Stage II this summer (but not much further than that).

[Fred]

oooh... mk6... :) Great color choice!

I've seen a few Golfs on the road, but not the GTI yet. I'm not a huge fan of APR, but thats probably more due to friends blowing things up and burning things out with their products... and the local shops pushed VF Engineering and GIAC more as a direct result.

I also put down better dyno numbers with the GIAC software than identical setups with APR.

[ubooze]

I had the good fortune to see a Ford GT (black stripes on yellow) down here in southern Illinois on my way back from the field on Sunday. Looks very out-of-place in this area, but damn good looking.

I'm currently riding in a 01 Volvo S60 2.4T with some 95k miles on it. Not a bad car, but a bit boring in the drivetrain and interior. I still wail on the thing as if it were the S60R. At least the front seats are comfortable as hell. Hopefully, when I'm done with school and find some form of decent work, I can get something with RWD. But that is way down the road so who knows if all the fun cars don't get phased out by then.

Has anyone had a chance to drive or ride-in a Hyundai Genesis Coupe? Saw one around here recently and it's a interesting looking car. The fact they have a 300HP V6 in one version is also pretty damn cool.

P.S.: You VW guys, are any your cars past 60k miles without issue? Every person that I know who has had a VW car has praised it until the first major service....

[Simon]

One of the coolest days of my life was turning up at Dearborne design studios to work on some top secret confidential project only to walk into the design studios and see two original GT40's and two prototypes for the new Ford GT.

Awesome car. I really, really wanted one for a while. As a kid it was one of my favourite cars and I even looked into building a kit car version of it while I lived in the UK.

[Fred]

The shop that twin turbo's them for 1k+hp was not too far from where I lived in Sarasota... pretty insane...

In other car news: A few weeks back somebody tried breaking into my car through the passenger door... didn't damage anything cosmetically, but broke the handle support inside the door... 200$ to fix. sigh.

And the Dealership I've been using for service apparently fired the service advisor I've been using. double sigh.

[ubooze]

So, does anyone know if the Hennessey Venom GT is done entirely in-house or did Lotus help out in the process of bastardizing the Elise?