AudiOn19s

Couple of pictures of Preston's Orange Mach 1 after it's detail. http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/mach11.jpg http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/mach16.jpg http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/mach110.jpg http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/mach112.jpg Andy

Am I the only one that thinks that Mid -O's partially to blame. In the past the car would have gone off and bounced around a bit but with the new cut through to add a third configuration to the track it would appear as though Mid Ohio has overlooked some details with grading the dirt aroud the new portion of track. Can't tell you how many times I've seen cars squeezed there in the kink and people go through there with 2 or more wheels in the grass. It's happened before and it will happen again. Mid Ohio needs to get that crap fixed with a quickness. Andy

The new M3 is not slated until Mid '07 at this point as an early '08 model...that's what I was told as of about a month ago when I tried to get on the list!!!...they weren't taking deposits yet. Now that I have the Porsche I doubt I'll get the new M3....at least not for a few years. Andy

David: Sharp M3...PG-3's are some of my favorte wheels for the M3. Well put together without going overboard with exterior modifications...I'm a big fan of the subtle look. Slightly OT...but if you're in need of a quality detailer in town...I'd love to have your business. http://www.andyzainodetail.com 614-747-0002 Andy

Pics of mine after her last big cleanup http://www.m3forum.net/gallery/data/522/Picture_006.jpg http://www.m3forum.net/gallery/data/522/Picture_022.jpg http://www.m3forum.net/gallery/data/522/Picture_025.jpg http://www.m3forum.net/gallery/data/522/Picture_0141.jpg Andy

I own an '02 E46 M3 and it's probably the best all around car that I've ever driven. Many people call it the Ultimate compromise car. It's not outstanding at any one thing, but it's VERY VERY GOOD at everything. Heck it's always been used as a benchmark for the Luxury GT segment with some cars that fall into the sports car segment still trying to achieve M3 levels of performance. Only 5 years after it's introduction has Audi finally stepped up and bested the M3 with the RS4 which I'm sure will be beat again when the new M3 comes out for '08. Aftermarket parts are going to always fall in comparison to the price of the car....so Yes mods are going to be MORE expensive than say a Mustang or Camaro...but for MOST thigns you'd be suprised that they're rather reasonable. I've got intake, software, muffler, pullies and honestly it's probably worth 10hp combined. There's another 10-15 hp in Headers and race cats but it cost $4000. Where the car gets fun and where I wish I would have allocated more of my mod money is in suspension. The M3 understeers a fair amount from the factory. But there are several well priced solutions on the market. Columbus' very own TC Kline make top of the line customized suspensions. For barely over $2000-2500 you can have Koni single adjustables or double adjustables, spring rate of your choosing (not an off the shelf standardized spring), camber plates, upgraded rear shock mounts and everything you need to trasnform the car. Ground control also offers similar solutions for similar pricing but why not go TCK when they're local. with coilovers and camber plates the car is a completely new animal and SO SO entertaining to drive. if you'd like a ride in mine sometime shoot me a PM. Maintenance. while labor rates at the dealer are high, parts are reasonable for a $60K car. The car calls for plug changes and fluid changes (diff, tranny) every 30K miles. All pre 03.5 cars were required to have a rod bearing recall done to them due to oil starvation issues on track. Part of the recall requires owners to run Catrol TWS 10W 60 oil in the cars which is $10 per lieter (6 required) so oil changes are not cheap BUT due to the recall all engines are covered for 6 yrs or 100K miles. So the oil is a small price to pay for an extended warranty on a 8000rpm, solid lifter motor. Speaking of the Lifters that's where you will eventually have to pay for some service. I had my valves checked recently at 38K miles and all were still within spec and needed no adjustment. Unfortunatly to get to the valves requires some special BMW tools that are $$$ so it was worth it for the couple hundered I paid in labor to just have them checked and not try to do them myself. All the rest of my service I have performed with ease on the car. I'm sure there's more...shoot me a PM with any questions. Andy

The guys at the Race shop @ Auto Assets use that stuff on the Fab car and C6 vette that they maintain. Just wonder back there and ask for Ross...he should at least be able to tell you where they get it from. Andy

Wow!

I posted these in Consumer Reports too but figured they'd get a little more attention here and rightfully so for a very nice ride. Don't razz him too hard about the ride height he's already got springs ordered for the car. Sharp looking piece with the front end treatment and the wheels. Andy http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/wrxs1.jpg http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/wrxs2.jpg http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/wrxs3.jpg http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/wrxs4.jpg

Tyler: Thanks again. Here's a few shots of the car. e-mail me at work (kutscha@nationwide.com) and I'll get you all of the photos. Tom: Sorry to hear about the problems man. Actually July sounds great at this point because I'm nearly scheduling work out that far anyhow. I'll get you a PM in a bit for a follow up. Andy http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/wrxs1.jpg http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/wrxs2.jpg http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/wrxs3.jpg http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/wrxs4.jpg

Thanks for the kind words. Working on cars that people acutally appreciate makes cleaning them well worth it. Makes me not look forward to the minivan and lexus SUV tomorrow though. I'll get pictures up Monday morning when I'm at work. Andy

Damn man...sorry to hear about the head gasket. Thanks for the good words on the detail. Andy

The one I saw was Dark Grey with a small model badge in yellow on the back

Agreed...not like Seeing a Noble is a letdown. The grey one that I saw in Gahanna recently was hot...and apparently has the boosted powerplant becuase there was a distincitve blow-off valve sound on each shift. Andy

RU sure?...I'd love to see one in person but never thought that I'd see one in this town. There's a Noble M400 running around somewhere in town that's very similar in shape...looks like this http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.autotrack.nl/img/noble/m400.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.autotrack.nl/owa_dima/owa/att_techniek.foto_popup%3Fp_merk%3DNOBLE%26p_model%3DM400%26p_submodel%3D&h=375&w=500&sz=40&hl=en&start=18&tbnid=Z8Lr_AnPZ5jhaM:&tbnh=95&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnoble%2BM400%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3Dactive Andy

Sharp looking car. How do you like the Magnaflow? We just did Stromung on my brother's E36 and it's pretty tame but has a very nice tone. Andy

Finally...glad you found one!

Really...thanks. It's got headers and mufflers but I feel it's still too quite. I'm working on getting a little more volume out of it as we speak without going too obnoxious with the exhaust note. Andy

OK...so I'm trying to figure out how much stiffer (no jokes please) one sway bar is over the other...and then I'd like to figure out where the two bars overlap considering one is adjustable and one is not. Standard bar: 19.6mm, 2.6mm thick Adjustable bar: 20.7mm, 2.8mm thick 4 way adjustable. I must be doing the math wrong becuase I've been told that the difference should be ~24% with the adjustable bar on it's stiffest setting but my numbers are not working out to that value. Secondly how do I then figure the difference based upon the adjustment holes. I don't have the measurement between the centerlines of the holes handy but I'm assuming it's required. Andy

I feel your pain. It sucks that the wait is sooo long for Achbach but at least you know the work will be done right. Obviously I'm pretty picky about my paint and I was blown away with how good the paint work was that came out of Achbach on my A4. You'll love the Clear Bra as well...at least for a year or so until it turns into a yellow-bra. They all do it though...well worth the investment to have it done every 2 years or so. Andy

I paid $1700 to have my car shipped from Seattle (about as far away as you can get from us). Enclosed transport, totally professional drivers, car properly cared for as far as I could tell...had it not taken 45 days I would have been overjoyed with the experience. I used Intercity lines. Others to check would be Passport Auto Transport, Horseless carriage, etc. If you can deal with open trailor the prices drop quite a bit. DAS is big in open transport. Or shipping via rail is even cheaper yet. Andy

Sorry man...I know how frustrating it is trying to find exactly what you want and it not being readily available. Andy

Once again DJ comes through in a pinch. Always a pleasure to do business with him. I think he depends on me for regular entertainment when it comes to stories on how I've once again destroyed a phone. Don't hesitate to give him your wireless business, you won't be disappointed. Andy

I've got a Yellow '04 Automatic you might really like....I think it's exactly what I want to sell you.....errr..what you've been looking for. ???...NO? Andy

S. Passen sold the business over a year ago and went to work for the SCCA. The new owner came from a Stereo background and from what I've seen has a much different vision for the shop and who it's core customers should be. Andy