Half of the WRS team went upstate over Labor Day weekend for some much needed RnR. We were able to stay with a friend who has an amazing house in a remote area, it's quite scenic and there are plenty of back roads for some spirited driving. Yuko and Tony went along, and with all of our gear it was a good test for my slightly adjusted suspension setup. Its taken a while, and a bunch of small changes to get to the current state of tune, and now I'm pretty happy with the setup. In addition to the house, our friend drives an Audi RS4... a beast of a car, and a true wolf in (mostly) sheeps clothing. I think the pair looks pretty good together in the rugged outdoors! I'll get to the RS4 later, first a bit about my ongoing project 2006 Gti.
Serious dust!
It seems somewhat unbelievable to me, but I've managed to have 3 sets of tires on these wheels [Hartmann G5 Gallardo replica] in 2 years. I started with Nitto 235/35/19 and it was obvious fairly quickly that they were TOO BIG for the ET 42 of these early production models. The front fenders were rolled, and some minor trimming was done in the rear so that I could make Waterfest 2007. After the show, I made another trip south to Lufteknic before H20 to mount a set of Dunlop 215/35/19's that did not rub AT ALL. I dropped the front of the car a bit, and in hindsight could have/should have gone much lower. (Nate and Robert talked me out of it, they are more sensible I suppose?). With 215's you could probably go down a lot with the 19 x 8 ET 42 wheels and still keep the car drivable... the 'slammed Mk2' in me wants to try that for the fourth set of tires. I seriously had 5 people deep in there and it was rub free. The tiny 215's did however fall victim to the Cross Bronx Expressway, and I bubbled one of the front tires pretty badly. It took me a while to figure this out (I thought the rim was bent, there was a lot of vibration), and because the damage was on the inside I drove for a few months like this. I'm extremely glad the tire never blew out!
For 2009 I painted the wheels gloss black, and mounted Dunlop 225/35/19's. I spun down the coils a little more before the drive upstate (1/8" in front, 3/8" in the rear), and the car finally has a somewhat proper stance that might not be "Vortex approved", but it looks good, and still has it's handling/city capabilities pretty much intact. These 225's ride noticeably better than the 215's did, but they do rub a bit on the bigger highway dips in both the front and back. Honestly, it handles the Manhattan/Queens city driving admirably, and rides better than one would expect. I've had Vogtland coilovers since the car was practically new, and they have handled 40k miles with no problems. As it sits, there are less than an inch of threads left to go down...but I don't need to go any lower and sacrifice utility.
For 2009 I painted the wheels gloss black, and mounted Dunlop 225/35/19's. I spun down the coils a little more before the drive upstate (1/8" in front, 3/8" in the rear), and the car finally has a somewhat proper stance that might not be "Vortex approved", but it looks good, and still has it's handling/city capabilities pretty much intact. These 225's ride noticeably better than the 215's did, but they do rub a bit on the bigger highway dips in both the front and back. Honestly, it handles the Manhattan/Queens city driving admirably, and rides better than one would expect. I've had Vogtland coilovers since the car was practically new, and they have handled 40k miles with no problems. As it sits, there are less than an inch of threads left to go down...but I don't need to go any lower and sacrifice utility.
The RS4
This RS4 lives a busy and somewhat hard life. Unlike many examples of this fairly rare car (2500 imported to the US) which are likely pampered, this particular RS4 is daily driven in Manhattan (!) and is treated basically like any other car. It's not exactly abused, but the owner has a certain detachment from the fact that this car is pretty special. I like the fact that it is treated in such a utilitarian way, but it could be washed once in a while, to be honest. A Weimaraner is usually riding shotgun, or sitting in the dog blanket covered rear seats (the claw marks on the seats are a bit distressing). It makes the 3.5 hour trip upstate several times a month... in all conditions. Snow tires are fitted in the winter on the factory wheels to deal with the feet of snow this area gets.
One bonus that comes from this "it's just a car" way of thinking, is that I usually get to take the car on extended drives to pick up whatever is needed at the house. Because everything is so far away, this means 40 mile round trips on some great mountain back roads, and it is a treat to be able to drive an RS4 somewhere it can really shine. I don't push anywhere near the limit on the curves, the cars capabilities are WAY beyond what I need to be doing in someone else's ride, but I have run through the gears well up into 5th on the straighter sections. The sound of that V8 is amazing and the car is pretty damn fast... not the fastest (if I'm going to be jaded the similarly powered 996 GT3 seemed like it was quicker) but the whole package is pretty intoxicating. Compared to my Mk5 everything about the car seems more solid and capable: shifting, brakes, motor, the Quattro (as you would expect) and Yuko is much more tolerant of high speeds and cornering in this car than in the Gti.
Honestly though after driving both back to back on the same roads, you can really see the things the cars have in common. My Gti's interior quality/design and capabilities hold up surprisingly well overall, and the fact that I can hop in my car after driving such a beast and not be totally depressed is kind of amazing. It might seem crazy but I don't know if I would rather have the RS4 over my car... The gas mileage is terrible and I prefer the looks of a hatchback over a sedan, if it were an Avant there would be no contest.
_JB
One bonus that comes from this "it's just a car" way of thinking, is that I usually get to take the car on extended drives to pick up whatever is needed at the house. Because everything is so far away, this means 40 mile round trips on some great mountain back roads, and it is a treat to be able to drive an RS4 somewhere it can really shine. I don't push anywhere near the limit on the curves, the cars capabilities are WAY beyond what I need to be doing in someone else's ride, but I have run through the gears well up into 5th on the straighter sections. The sound of that V8 is amazing and the car is pretty damn fast... not the fastest (if I'm going to be jaded the similarly powered 996 GT3 seemed like it was quicker) but the whole package is pretty intoxicating. Compared to my Mk5 everything about the car seems more solid and capable: shifting, brakes, motor, the Quattro (as you would expect) and Yuko is much more tolerant of high speeds and cornering in this car than in the Gti.
Honestly though after driving both back to back on the same roads, you can really see the things the cars have in common. My Gti's interior quality/design and capabilities hold up surprisingly well overall, and the fact that I can hop in my car after driving such a beast and not be totally depressed is kind of amazing. It might seem crazy but I don't know if I would rather have the RS4 over my car... The gas mileage is terrible and I prefer the looks of a hatchback over a sedan, if it were an Avant there would be no contest.
_JB
The road that leads to the house could be a gravel rally stage.
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