AudiOn19s

Orbitals work strictly through mechanical action only and not through heat. 99% of the polishes on the market contain diminishing abrasives so the worst you can do with an orbital is overwork the polish and dry-buff the paint with your pad putting some marring back in the surface. Since the polish breaks down the longer you work it the less cut you have and instead of working with cut from a polish and foam pad you're left with just the foam pad. Rotaries build heat on top of the mechanical action. Because of this they work MUCH quicker to correct paint but if you continue to work with a rotary the surface will get warmer and warmer which is where you run into issues with burning through paint, etc. There's still a bit of a learning curve with an orbital but again, it's actually learning to get it to work effectively not necessarily learning how to not harm the paint with it. Andy

I passed a GTR several times at Mid Ohio on Monday/Tuesday...it was not due to a lack of straight line speed however. He could exit a turn with much less speed and then suddenly pull on me like I was standing still. Luckily for me he actually watched his mirrors and was nice enough to hit the brakes to slow and let me pass. That is all.

You shouldn't fear the Orbital. you SHOULD fear the rotary. Orbitals are nearly dummy proof to where you almost have to try to screw up the paint to really do it with one of them. Most people are suprised at how long it still takes to correct paint with an orbital once they finally use one.

Zaino's leather conditioner is what you're looking for. Great leather scent (I've used some that try to smell like leather and fail miserably), matte finish if you go back and do one extra buff of the surface and generally it just works great. You may want to think about something like Leatherique if you're trying to restore the leather at all, if you're just doing upkeep the Zaino works fine. http://www.leatherique.com/ Also, if cleaning is required I still prefer water/woolite mixture over anything else. 15:1 ratio is the strongest I'd go on the leather. Andy

you don't suck...it's soo time consuming to do correctly without a machine that it's nearly impossible.

solid upper shock mounts with a bearing in them.

Ha...thanks. Mine's a regular 3.4L, 295hp 996 with the factory aero bits, I sure wish it was a GT3 though. At least I've got mandrel bent pipes on there now and no more crimp bends. Just can't force myself to put tips on there when I take those pipes off and put mufflers back on the car for the street. Sucks about the PCV valve. Hope to see you at more events in the future. Andy

If anyone is interrested...We got word the other day from Nelson that their event schedule is still planned to be as-is until the end of the season in November. We're planning on Sept. 5 Funday trip if you guys would like to come experience some fun. Andy

You missed out man. There was NOBODY there. More track time than normal, and outstanding weather. Only event I've ever been to at Mid Ohio that was more lightly attended was a private rental a couple of years ago. Andy

Shit man...how on earth did I forget you were going to be there for the PCA event. I even noted the good looking GTI and completely forgot it was you. I was parked way at the other end of the garages from you. You should have come over and pointed out to my dumb butt who you were. Sorry for completely not introducing myself. Andy

While this post may sound like a broken record I'd like to thank Derek and Dave for their outstanidng work and for taking care of me yet again. They're kind enough to put up with the multiple allignments per car / per year that I'm down there for and each and every time they do everything in their power to do the best they can do, set the cars up to the "T" how I want them to be. My cars are NOT easy to get on an allignment rack in the first place and they go out of their way to make sure the cars leave the shop just as they arrived. Thanks again boys...off to the track to enjoy my new allignment. Andy

As it's already been stated you just need a heavy polish/compound and they should come out if you can't feel them with your fingernail. However most of these agessive polishes don't work by hand, or at least they don't work well and if you attempt to use an agressive compound by hand odds are you're going to make the area even worse and not better. Andy

With #3 we could get into a discussion on foam guns...otherwise it's all user preference here.

+1 on what he said.

brandon can you guys flare pipes? I need the most simple 90 degree bend possible but it needs to be flared at one end. You can see the entire pipe that I need in this photo (the silver part). there's universal crimp bent 90 degree piping from AutoZone in these pictures. I only use them at the track but would like it to look a little better than the crimp bent pieces. 2 1/4 inch pipe. As a matter of fact I'd like it to be aluminized instead of stainless just to keep costs at a minimum since they'll be used like 10 days a year. http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q192/ZainoDetail/Picture008.jpg

Bumping this thread because I too am looking for someone to do some simple exhaust work with Mandrel bending. I find it hard to believe that with all of the connections on this board there's no exhaust shops on here that can do this type of work? I guess I could buy what I need from Jegs, but I still need someone to cut and flare it for me. Anyone? Andy

You could always use the stockers as winter wheels and use that as an excuse to buy yourself a nice set of summer wheels/tires.

Maybe you need to meet more M3 owners? p.s. We've gone this far in this thread and still have no pictures of the OP's car?

In short...NO. Which product were you looking for. Maybe we can suggest something similar or better that's more easily attainable. Andy

Back when I was considering going GT28 on my A4 I looked into this quite a bit and it's a very effective / inexpensive method. Just takes a little effort too. Lots of boost guys have been using Toluene for years in place of purchasing race gas.

If you're taking about Nelson Fundays, there's no official tech inspection at the event so you basically do your own. So, Yes you could go as the car sits but I'd highly suggest making sure you've got at least fresh brake fluid and pleanty of pad left. That should be good enough for your first time.

Welcome

Best bet is to find car specific forums online and check out their classifieds section. Granted the wheels probably won't be local but you'll find the biggest collection of wheels that will fit your car that way.

19' wheels on my car for the last 100K miles, and it's slammed, no problems yet. Same goes for the ball joints though there is FINALLY some play in them at 165K miles on the clock. Can't really fault the parts for that one. Although I will note, my car is the dreaded front drive (GASP!) that all of the Audi guys shun. If I had to do it over agian I'd buy another front driver. My personal feeling is it's better for long term maintenance, which mine has shown to be, BUT aftermarket pars are much harder to find for the front drivers. andy

Ha...I was just adding fuel to the fire. Matt's a very talented driver for those that don't follow him closely. This whole thread makes me smile. Maybe it'll light a fire under some of you guys to come experience another type of "track" to enjoy. Andy