Car work...
Ahh the joy of owning a high performance german car. It's closing in on 70,000 miles and a bunch of work on wear and tear items as well as regular maintainace stuff is looming on the horizon,...it's penumbra bristling with dollar signs. You see, my problem is a problem most Car guys deal with...why replace a part with an original part?...why not take this oppurtunity to, in the parlance of the car tweaker, MODIFY. But given I'm married, have a mortgage, going on a vacation to Europe, and working on home projects, and essentially, NOT wealthy, I've had to beat back this incessant urge and appease it with some comprimises. After a little research, I've discovered that OEM (that's factory original parts for you Noobs) replacements can cost as much or MORE than aftermarket modifications. So here's my To-Do list:
1. New rear tires....I'm past the wear bars and on the steel belts. OEM, Perilli P6000's, the "P" stands for "piece of shit". Total garbage tires. The only reason they use Perillis is because they're NOT uni-directional...so if you have a flat tire on any corner of the car, you can use the spare in the trunk. My choice; Goodyear F1 GS D3's. Awesome tire, great treadwear, rediculous dry traction and sidewall integrity for transition and cornering stability, and totally rediculous wet traction...in fact, it has better traction than Potenza's Wet UHP flagship tire, the SO3....AND it's CHEAPER! This one is a no brainer. But then again, if after they put the tires on the car and I discover my wheels are bent, then I'll have to replace them with new rims...and THAT can get rediculous. Then again, my wheels can be replaced at 100 bucks a pop...I might be able to find a set of used BBS's for a bit more!...I can dream, can't I?
2. Windshield....I have two pocks, one 8 inch crack, and a new one splitting my windshield in half. I think it might be time for a replacement. OEM replacement, 450-500 installed, depending on the dealership. An exact copy, same thickness, dimensions, and even the same COMPANY for cryin out loud, 250 installed with lifetime warranty on installation. This one is also a no-brainer.
3. Motor mounts....S4 OEM rubber garbage, 60 bucks. APR RS4 Poly's, 49 bucks. Quicker shifting, more rapid power translation to the wheels, and no engine bucking in the engine bay....and the Polyurethane will last till the sun expends it's remaining hydrogen and shrinks into a white dwarf.
4. Brake Rotor's and Pads....this one is easy. Achtuning Brembo slotted rotors mated to PBR Ceramic pads. Or I can spend the same amount and get a rotor and pad combination that stops worse, overheats, and fades after 1 lap. But then again, I won't have as much brake dust...woo-hoo!
5. 75,000 mile service....I can't get arount this one. I'm going to DIY as much of it as I can. I'll: change the plugs, clean my filter, change the oil, bleed and bed the brakes, and check for play in the suspension. I'm fearing I'll need to replace my tie rods...but then again, I can upgrade to ECS adjustable tie rods with helical bearings...hehe. The rest I have no clue as to how to proceed. I've developed a good long-standing relationship with DynoSpot Racing. They do good work and they always charge me 20 percent less then anywhere else...and they're honest too...several times I've come by with symptoms that appear to indicate a catastrophic problem. They've looked it over and with what seems to me as a simple turn of one screw sent me on my way without charging me a dime...really good guys. They'll be: replacing the timing chain, rollers, serpentine belt, tortioner (if necessary), water pump, thermostat, and valve cover gaskets.
Now for the worst case stuff:
1. Play in the suspension: my upper control arm bushings look horrible. I'll need to replace both upper control arms just to replace the damn bushings...ugh!
2. Play in the wheel: Tie rods and/or wheel bearings. Yuck!
3. And if I discover I have gutted cats (called "Piggies") given my constant DTC's and error code referring to "Catalytic converter not to operating temperature", then I'll need new downpipes. Here again: Labree split mouth stainless steel down pipes with high-flow cats run 15% more than OEM. 15% more will get you and extra 15 HP and 40 foot lbs. of TQ.!!! That one is a no brainer as well.
4. My turbo and or wastegate is leaking/burning oil...that would be the worst of the worse cases...they'll need to pull the motor and swap the turbo's. Huge ordeal and huge price tag...several thousand dollars in just labor...my head hurts. I'm counting on my long history of completely over the top consistent adherence to properly warming and cooling the turbos, as well as avoiding rev-outs, to protect me from this one.
Anywayz, back to work...
1. New rear tires....I'm past the wear bars and on the steel belts. OEM, Perilli P6000's, the "P" stands for "piece of shit". Total garbage tires. The only reason they use Perillis is because they're NOT uni-directional...so if you have a flat tire on any corner of the car, you can use the spare in the trunk. My choice; Goodyear F1 GS D3's. Awesome tire, great treadwear, rediculous dry traction and sidewall integrity for transition and cornering stability, and totally rediculous wet traction...in fact, it has better traction than Potenza's Wet UHP flagship tire, the SO3....AND it's CHEAPER! This one is a no brainer. But then again, if after they put the tires on the car and I discover my wheels are bent, then I'll have to replace them with new rims...and THAT can get rediculous. Then again, my wheels can be replaced at 100 bucks a pop...I might be able to find a set of used BBS's for a bit more!...I can dream, can't I?
2. Windshield....I have two pocks, one 8 inch crack, and a new one splitting my windshield in half. I think it might be time for a replacement. OEM replacement, 450-500 installed, depending on the dealership. An exact copy, same thickness, dimensions, and even the same COMPANY for cryin out loud, 250 installed with lifetime warranty on installation. This one is also a no-brainer.
3. Motor mounts....S4 OEM rubber garbage, 60 bucks. APR RS4 Poly's, 49 bucks. Quicker shifting, more rapid power translation to the wheels, and no engine bucking in the engine bay....and the Polyurethane will last till the sun expends it's remaining hydrogen and shrinks into a white dwarf.
4. Brake Rotor's and Pads....this one is easy. Achtuning Brembo slotted rotors mated to PBR Ceramic pads. Or I can spend the same amount and get a rotor and pad combination that stops worse, overheats, and fades after 1 lap. But then again, I won't have as much brake dust...woo-hoo!
5. 75,000 mile service....I can't get arount this one. I'm going to DIY as much of it as I can. I'll: change the plugs, clean my filter, change the oil, bleed and bed the brakes, and check for play in the suspension. I'm fearing I'll need to replace my tie rods...but then again, I can upgrade to ECS adjustable tie rods with helical bearings...hehe. The rest I have no clue as to how to proceed. I've developed a good long-standing relationship with DynoSpot Racing. They do good work and they always charge me 20 percent less then anywhere else...and they're honest too...several times I've come by with symptoms that appear to indicate a catastrophic problem. They've looked it over and with what seems to me as a simple turn of one screw sent me on my way without charging me a dime...really good guys. They'll be: replacing the timing chain, rollers, serpentine belt, tortioner (if necessary), water pump, thermostat, and valve cover gaskets.
Now for the worst case stuff:
1. Play in the suspension: my upper control arm bushings look horrible. I'll need to replace both upper control arms just to replace the damn bushings...ugh!
2. Play in the wheel: Tie rods and/or wheel bearings. Yuck!
3. And if I discover I have gutted cats (called "Piggies") given my constant DTC's and error code referring to "Catalytic converter not to operating temperature", then I'll need new downpipes. Here again: Labree split mouth stainless steel down pipes with high-flow cats run 15% more than OEM. 15% more will get you and extra 15 HP and 40 foot lbs. of TQ.!!! That one is a no brainer as well.
4. My turbo and or wastegate is leaking/burning oil...that would be the worst of the worse cases...they'll need to pull the motor and swap the turbo's. Huge ordeal and huge price tag...several thousand dollars in just labor...my head hurts. I'm counting on my long history of completely over the top consistent adherence to properly warming and cooling the turbos, as well as avoiding rev-outs, to protect me from this one.
Anywayz, back to work...
posted by supergoober at
5:25 PM
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