Contining to polish - more racing in the Mk3

Photo credit: Mark Kissel

After a decidedly slow start to 2012, I managed to hit the final three Chesapeake chapter PCA events this year. It was a blast to finally get the Golf out there, and with the laid back and friendly vibe of the PCA run races, it was without any real drama or stress. Just a great group of people enjoying their cars and pushing some limits.

Photo credit: Mark Kissel

After getting lucky back in August, I had to work a little more in September and October. Higher temps in September and colder temps in October meant balance was a lot more tricky to find. I've already started planning on some changes over the winter to help with consistency and grip in 2013. (most of that has to do with me by the way, rather than the car) I'm determined to knock on the door of the 'fast' guys that are running in the series.



The course in September was fast and smooth, not all that technical, and a lot of fun. Aside from the tighter turns, the main straights and chicanes were all able to be taken flat in the Golf. This doesn't make it all that suited to a lower horsepower car on the one hand, but I managed to get within five seconds the fast time of the day.

For 2013 I may make a few nods to better functionality with the Mk3 too. Maybe even raise the ride height. Sadly all that talk about level control arms, suspension travel and geometry becomes all too real if you're really pushing it. You can still have fun, but when you're trying to hit a target time or just continue to improve, and know that there is time on the table in the set up, well. Sometimes you just have to cave. Maybe.

The final PCA Autocross of 2012, round seven, was a lot tighter and more technical. And while this should have suited the Golf I struggled with rear grip and overall grip. Partially down to set up, but a lot was thanks to the cold temps and older rear tires. They're pretty hard at this point and where I could have picked up time on the two skid pads, I was barely hanging on at pedestrian speeds. Indeed, my first run out I spun as soon as I turned into the first left hander. Things got better, but I was leaving a lot of time on the table with a few of my lines and never could crack the 60-second barrier. I defintiely have a lot I want to work on for next year.



Special thanks to Mark Kissel for the pictures. With the long winter ahead hopefully we'll also get some real progress going with the Caravan GTi. I'll have some info up soon, but it's back on the ground and ready for the fun stuff.

_WRS

Video post: PCA Autocross, getting the rust out

After a year's worth of events had nearly passed by in 2012, the planets aligned and the impossible happened: I had off from the shop, there were no car shows to work, and I didn't already have 10 different things scheduled the day of an autocross I could actually attend. Finally, I could have a little fun.



It's a little intimidating to have your first event back be a Porsche Club event, after all, it's a little like bringing a knife to a gunfight. But there is shared DNA between the Porsches and VWs, so why not? Never mind that most of the cars there would have two to three times the power, let's see what we can do!



 Turning in times in the 59 and 58 second range (the very fastest entries were down in the 52-54 range), I managed to push the little 8v and land solidly mid-pack with a best time of 58.3, finishing 31st out of 52 entered.


Given a few more RPM and some more tidy lines I think I could have easily been down into the mid 57s, maybe even better, but as is I had a blast, everyone was very friendly and with a little luck, I'll be able to get out at least one more time this year. Planets allowing of course.

_WRS

24 hours, 16 valves, 1837 miles, and one Mk3 GTI - The Britcar 24 2011

Photo copyright / courtesy of John Brooks

As human beings we all share at least one similarity: We dream. As car automotive enthusiasts, and more specifically motorsport anoraks, we've all likely shared the same little day dream: Take a modest budget, a group of friends, a cheap car and go giant-killing at a proper endurance race with something akin to David's sling-shot in a battle of the Goliaths - if you allow me to use that well-worn cliche.

Home for the Holidays

Being back in freezing Baltimore for Christmas meant the obligatory visit to The Wiz car wash to rinse off the Winter grime. Here's to hoping you and yours have a safe and happy holiday season.

_WRS

Behind the scenes with Frank the Biz

Now that the issue is out, I can finally post up some pictures that I've been sitting on since this past Summer. A little look inside the last-ever photo shoot of one of the U.S.'s most famous VWs. Josh, who hadn't shot anything for Performance VW for some time, got the nod to give Frank 'the Biz' Bisogno's legendary Mk3 it's final shoot before she was parted out and put out to pasture. Josh has shot Frank's car on three other occasions; twice for PVW and once for Eurotuner.



Frank has been around the scene for quite a while, and although not all that active on the long-distance show circuit these days, his 1995 GTI VR6 has always been a benchmark.



The attention to detail, the constant innovation and being one-step ahead of the game has been the hallmark of Frank's car. It's never been the exact same way twice, anytime I've seen it, even if it had only been a few months.



It's been on magazine covers, had multiple full-features, and Josh has shot them all. Us old-school heads have to stick together, you know? From supercharged VR6 12v (with the infamous Z-Engineering blower), shaved bay, back to NA, turbo'd, and now with a 3.2 R32 motor, naturally aspirated. Wheels went from 16" OZ Volcanos to a bunch of bigger / wider 17s, before going back to these super hot, super chrome Fittipaldis.



Suspension has always been coilovers, but the car has never the been lowest of the low. It's always been a looker sure, but then it's always had visual balance rather than 'just' being retardedly low.



Frank is a VW technician by trade, so has done the vast majority of the work himself. Changing interests and changing priorities meant he was finally ready to move on to the next challenge...his bike being one of the newer priorities, not to mention his fiancé. (that's her in some of the pictures)



So while Josh spent time setting up the shots, directing and getting the final iteration of Frank's Mk3 captured for all eternity, I was trying to get my own take on the afternoon. And sweating, profusely, because it was blazingly hot up on top of this parking garage in downtown New Haven.



This car is really unlike most of what I tend to concentrate on. It's more of a hard-parker than a hard-driver. In order to keep up with the times it's on air-ride, naturally, so it's not a performance car in the more traditional sense. It is however, really something closer to mobile sculpture than most of what I see out there.



Some of which is innovative, some of which is just 'follow the pack.' And nothing, in my opinion, is worse than following a fashion simply for the sake of it.



Frank's car has been constantly updated, upgraded and re-worked over the years into something more than a 1995 GTI VR6. It's one of, if not the only car I've ever seen owned by one person for this length of time in the 'scene;' they usually are built once, then sold, parted or wrecked between an average of 2 months and 2 years.



Think of them...all those feature cars, all those thousands of dollars, all of that time. Gone, destroyed or passed on to uncaring owners who let them slip into dust and grime. Got my feature, and on to the next one...



And now so goes Frank's Mk3. Nothing lasts forever, it's stupid to think that it will, but it was always nice to check out what was new on The Biz's car. But no more. It was nice to be there to capture Josh, capturing the car and the owner, one last time.



_WRS

Save the 8v - Save the Harlequin Edition

I should honestly know more about this car than I do. Unfortunately however, both times I've spoken with the owners it has been at a show (Dubs at the Beach and H2O International, respectively) and as per usual I'm a bit busy to take down the specifics.



This car is in fact the very first to sport a Save the 8v™ sticker (aside from my own of course) and it was after the owners came back for a second sticker to replace the first that I was finally able to snap some pictures.



Which, by the way seems to be the case with people. Of the many sent, given away, etc, very few images make their way back here once they're on the car. It's cool though...



Not that I'm bitter, heck I'm glad anyone at all thinks it's a cool idea and it's worth putting on their car in the first place. This one in particular is (obviously) one of only 200 Harlequin models sold in the USA, sporting it's Chagall Blue main body color with Tornado Red, Pistachio Green and Ginster Yellow secondary panels.



Like many of the Harlequin Golfs, this one is a slush-box, but it's not likely to stay that way for too long. Plans were originally to be for all motor mods, but at H2O there was discussion of a turbo charger and built bottom end. No matter, as long as it stays 8v! This car was actually rescued from a fate at the junkyard by the current owners (who's names I cannot recall, unfortunately) for something like $1200? Basically it was hit at the rear and was sitting for a number of years before it was discovered, recovered, and put back on the street. The hatch damage, scuffs on the bumper and misaligned rear body seam give away the history, but all things considered it's really not in bad shape.



It's a great example of what a few bucks and a little hard work can do to a car that was ready for the dumpster. For more information on the Harlequins in the States, base color options and even some single color (!?) Harlequins, check out the Harlequin Registry over at Ross VW.

_WRS

Back home from H20i

It was a crazy weekend which literally flew by, and now another H20 International is in the books. Full report soon...

_WRS

To continue the thought

In my last post I touched on some of my frustration with living in a the most metropolitan area in the USA, and being a 'car guy.' Coming from Baltimore, where it was very easy to go from city to perfect, fairly empty and challenging back roads in about 10-15 minutes maximum, to a city like NYC can be frustrating. Here it takes a minimum of 30-45 minutes to get to something other than stop lights and divided highway (and that's being generous) and even then more time to get to a road that you can really wind it out on and be alone with your thoughts. (and not around a million mini vans and taxi cabs) Then another 30-45 minutes (don't forget about traffic at the Lincoln!) to get back home...it's exhausting.

Now that I have lived in NYC for about 5 years, the first three of those years being without any kind of car, I now rarely drive for any sort of reason other than basic transportation. That bothers me. It's a frustrating predicament to be in as someone who has always very much enjoyed the act of driving. I can recall more than one vacation or trip where I enjoyed the route more than the results.



I'm not sure what the solution is. Perhaps I'm just too lazy to find the fun places to drive near my apartment, but I have yet to see anything other than the recently repaved part of the BQE that makes me think anything other than 'this bump is going to hurt, please don't smash my oil pan.' I'm by no means downing NYC car culture and those in and around the tri-state area by the way. Quite the opposite in fact...to be a 'car guy' here requires a diligence like none other, just pure, unrelenting dedication and sacrifice.

To run a modified car in NYC means to subject yourself and your vehicle to any number of hazards that are beyond the scope of 90% of the rest of the country. Baltimore was never a cake walk when you were downtown, but it's definitely not like one of the Boroughs. You break down here, you don't find a nice side street to leave it on until you can borrow a trailer. There will be no spot, no parking lot, no anyplace that will be safe from tow-trucks and tickets. It's rough, and not for everybody. Maybe not even for me.

Had I grown up here I can't say I'd be the same person I am now (obviously) or would even care about cars, but while I'm here I owe it to myself to find out more about what makes the NYC scene tick. I've been saying that for years, now it's time to investigate...watch this space...

_WRS

Pic post: Mk3 GTI 16v from Germany

That does it. Or should I say this car does it. I'm lowering my car more, (just a little!) putting on the flares that I've been sitting on for the past year and change, and getting some texture top bumpers. I've been sorta headed in this direction anyways, but VW Vortex user denisgeu posted some pictures of his incredible Mk3 GTI 16v and I am forced to take action.



My Mk3 is already sorta halfway there with the textured sides, smoked lamps and the like, and I was playing around with the idea of painting the grill slats black and getting either smoked Hella dual round projectors or some smoked e-code headlights when I was at Dubs at the Beach this past weekend, but this car pretty much overcomes any doubts I had.



I mean really, what's not to like? 286 cams, KW Coilovers, Porsche Cup 1 wheels with R32 brakes. This for me is the perfect Mk3. Low enough to look good but clearly still a decent performer and not a total fashion victim. I first saw this car in the 'stance' thread, but for me this is the opposite of stance. It is functional and can be put to use, something those garage and show queens can't do.



Thread here.



And the car get's time on the 'Ring? Consider the Wolfsburg Rennsport Mk3 officially put into "track" mode from here on out...

_WRS

Nate's Dusty Mauve Jetta

Nate's car has been around for a few years now, so it may seem a bit familiar to some of you, but that doesn't mean it's not worth seeing again. After all it's been featured in Eurotuner and Performance VW, plus Nate is a pretty dedicated guy when it comes to the Ocean City shows in the spring and fall. He stopped by the shop today to do a little fender clearancing in anticipation of setting up the car a little lower than it was previously.



I can recall when this car was bone stock and in need of some love, as it sat languishing in the back lot for a while. I can't recall why, but eventually Nate decided to show the car the love it deserves. This fairly rare Dusty Mauve GLX has been in his family since new, and is still on the original paint. It's not perfect, but it's pretty damn close, especially for a 15 year old car.



Oh yeah, these rims? Nate custom made the centers. Not had them made, not bought them, but CAD designed and set up the CNC machine to create them from a solid chunk of aluminum. Pretty unheard of as far as I know...and they look good too. The inner and outer barrels were taken from his old Gotti wheels, which were 15x10" all around.







The other cool thing about Nate's Jetta, counting out the powdercoated everything and insane attention to detail, is the remote mounted turbo system. I didn't have a ton of room because of the way the alignment rack lift is postioned, but this pic is right at the back axle, and shows the turbo and main details.



If you want to know more about the wheels, check out the Build thread on Vortex.

_WRS

Think they'd let go of those ATS Type 10s for cheap?

I don't think they'll be needing them anymore. Still, makes me happy I'll be able to walk away from running over a wild bore, since the guy driving this Mk3 did...WTF?
_WRS

You can keep your parking lot queens

I like the rock and rollers. Sure, I can appreciate just about any car, but the simple ones with some real life experiences are the ones that do it for me the most. I guess after years and years of seeing beautiful cars with thousands of dollars dumped into them do nothing more than pull in and out of parking lots, I just like to see cars that get some use. Sure it looks good preserved like a museum piece, but what's the point? I'm not a stamp collector, and I don't see the point of having a car just to not drive it because it might get a few dings, or get dirty, or get rained on, or whatever. The world would be pretty boring if everyone spent all their time being concerned about the little things. I'd rather have a story to tell.

_WRS

From the archives... Abt Sportsline Cup 2.0 Jetta

Despite my best efforts, I finally ran out of hard drive space on my trusty Macbook. I fought it for a while, but even after deleting a bunch of unneeded, space-hogging videos and various junk, it had to be taken care of. So I made the purchase a few weeks ago, but oddly enough I'm not the most computer savvy person in the world when it comes to those of the desktop variety. I can solder a chip or repair a connection on a Bosch ECU with the best of them, but crack open a laptop and I'm all question marks.

Josh (blacksquirrel) is the resident computer pro, so I lured him over to Chateau de Rennsport (French / German...sure, why not!) with the promise of some free tacos from De Mole. My Lacie external backup drive had decided to pack it in, awesome, so Josh had to bring his over for the cloning process, which as you can imagine went for much longer than we expected. Pretty typical. At any rate, the plus side of this is that his drive was left overnight for me to complete the process, and lo and behold, it has a bunch of pictures on it that he's too lazy busy to send me for the blog.

This particular shot is a reject (slide film son!) from a Performance VW shoot, probably around 2000 or 2001. I don't recall the owner's name, but he was a really cool guy, who drove all the way from California for the honor of a feature! To Waterfest! Talk about commitment. The car had a full ABT Sportsline Cup widebody, which is in my opinion the best around for the Mk3, along with some other items, the specifics on which escape me. The raw carbon fiber hood perhaps takes away a little and dates the overall style, but there's no faulting the rest of the car. Nice and low without looking silly, OZ wheels, just a nice looking car. A true classic, and proof that VW's have been doing the whole 'stance' thing while the import guys were still rocking et45 Konigs on their Wings West Civics.

For the record, I like imports, so no hate mail please.

On a somewhat related tangent, I was reading Hot Rod today, (eye opening magazine by the way, really well written) and they used the word 'Stance' in a feature story. Does that constitute shark-jumping? Discuss....

Full Sized Pic

_WRS