AudiOn19s

Who's event is April 21. Send me the link. I'd gladly tag along and watch this battle from my rear view mirrror. (Sorry...couldn't resist adding fuel to the fire.) Seriously though, is the 21st the NASA event? Andy

Nice....did you get your t-shirt out of that run?

That's actually the Detail Bay at Auto Assets. Andy

No Hurry man. I'm around pretty much whenever. Best wishes your wife for a speedy recovery. Having 2 surgery's in the last 2 years myself I know it's never a fun deal trying to recover. Andy

In Powell. On the North side of Powel Rd just east of Sawmill. http://www.autoassets.com. 614-793-1050 I think that it's $50 for 3 pulls...don't quote me though. Understeer.com are the guys that are organizing the whole thing. andy

There's an event at Auto Assets this saturday (DEC. 3). It's organized by the guys at Bimmerforums but I'm sure just about anything can attend. Here's the link. http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5421052&posted=1#post5421052 Andy

I'm not sure if there's a Celica or Toyota group locally that has track events but if such groups exist join up and attend one of their HPDE's. If not join either PCA or BMWCCA...I don't really think you have to own the car to join the club. (example...no Porsche for me but I'm a member). I KNOW they have HPDE's all over and several chapters to participate with as well. Blackbird. My impression was that the NASA events were pretty advanced. Maybe I have the wrong imression. I made the mistake of signing my wife up for the Trackquest (RIP) event this past year for her first on-track experience. She was miserable and afraid the entire day as the pace was quite fast even in the beginners group. Andy

Actually my memory must be going...it was a '68 GT500 KR ...not even sure where I came up with the E...was there such a car? Another poor day means bad quality indoor photos. http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/Picture_0081.jpg http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/Picture_0061.jpg

Ha...the fan shround is loose again on the M3....should I call him and tell him about it? I'll let you know when I plan on going next. BMWCCA requires you to pay the membership fee to participate in their events (not really an issue for me). PCA does not in most cases and they were both frindlier and had a better event in my opinoin. I'll let you know when I plan on doing stuff. As soon as I get perminant dates I'm signing up for as many as possible. 4 last year was not enough!! Andy

I hope it doesn't loose any of it's character that came from the concrete patches. They made it more difficult on a bike but more rewarding at the same time. The braking zone at the end of the back straight was starting to get bumpy though so this could be a good thing in that respect. I'm not sure if anyone caught it from that article but there are going to be two AMA weekends there including the final round of the year which was previously held at VIR. But Yeah...we still need to get some bigger venues back like CART. Andy

This was what the 10 yr old NSX looked like pre-detail. http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/Picture_008.jpg during (right side is done...left is not) http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/Picture_009.jpg after: Horrible shot but you get the idea. NO more swirls showing around the reflection of the lights. You can still see some hazing partially from the light and partially because I still had to finish up with the light polishing to bring out the full gloss in the paint. http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/Picture_010.jpg Andy

Jason, Thanks for the compliments. The black car is an NSX that was done on a horribly snowy day. Owner loaded it in a trailor and took off when i was finished. In looking at my site I need to update it. I didn't put any of the cool cars I did this season up on the site yet. The factory Porsche 930 turbo slantnose, Porsche 356, and 68 Shelby GT500E are some cars I did this summer that need to get up there to show off. As for expectations....well with the Ultimate you should expect that the paint is going to be the best that it can be without having body / paint work done. Some paints react better to restoration than others While I cannot guarantee it will be showroom fresh I will spend hours on it making it the best I can without compromising life of the paint. If you're concerned that your car might be past the point of no return I'd be more than willing to come out and inspect the car in person and maybe quickly work on one pannel to give you an example of how it will turn out when I'm finished. I've turned away business before becuase I simply didn't feel I could do much for a car through a detail. Sometimes the owners see this as honesty...sometimes they get pissed because they feel i should be able to fix anything. Dr. Z06, mm1999GT, Orion and others on this board are all customers of mine that you could approach for an independant opinion on my work. Andy

Matt, Give me a call on the cell phone this evening after 4pm 614-747-0002 and I'd be glad to work out a custom package for you. Here's a description of what the clay bar does. It should be done about once a year to properly remove contaminants from the paints finish. http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Z-18&Category_Code=Zaino -Andy

Don't forget the automotive lovers in the family this holiday season. Nothing makes us happier than having full detail on our pride and joy. Gift certificates can be purchased in any amount or for any of my preset detailing packages. **EDIT...THIS WEEK ONLY** CR MEMBERS CAN PURCHASE THE DELUXE DETAIL CERTIFICATE FOR $110 ($25 off regular price) OR AN ULTIMATE CERTIFICATE FOR $150 ($35 off regular price). THIS DEAL IS GOOD THROUGH SUNDAY 12/11 ONLY!!! ** Pricing listed is for cars. Trucks, SUV's, and other large vehicles will be slightly more. If you're thinking about a detail for even yourself for next year jump on this offer now and buy a certificate to be redeemed whenever you choose next year. Pricing and Services can be found at http://www.andyzainodetail.com As Always I can be reached at 614-747-0002 with any questions or to setup a special package if you don't want exactly what's on my site. Andy

I think that Audi calls for 91. My car would spark knock on warm days with 89 even when it was stock. Now that I've got software It never sees anything but 93. I guess that now that it's cold it's less of an issue but she should still be using as least 89.

130K miles and still counting on my '99 A4...still on the origional turbo and all, starts and drives every morning. Regular maintenance is it. 40K hard hard miles on the M3...still under factory warranty and besides the bearing recall that BMW mandated for the car it's never seen the shop. Kinda rough to lump them all into one category..MB reliability esp with the C series cars is well know to be sub-par as of late Andy

John, Sorry to hear of your misfortune...best of luck with the new project. Long visits to the shop should always be followed by a good detail...it's worth 2mph on the big end

I'll be there giving a detailing seminar!!!...so of course it's worth coming. Actually if you're a German Car lover there's always cool stuff to drool over in the shop and showroom. Not sure if the Rolex Grand-Am series is running that weekend but if it's a weekend off you'll probably even see their C6 and BMW Fab (prototype) car. Andy

88 and 89 turbo's are the years to have. The standard '88 cars still had the smaller K26 turbo but the '88 Turbo S and all 89 Turbo's got the K28 turbo and power potential with these turbo's are much greater. with bolt on's you'll get 300+ at the rear wheels without any problems on either turbo...but it's more of a stretch on the smaller K26 cars than on the K28 cars. 270-280 at the wheels is a more reasonable range that you can safely run on these cars without even thinking about it. '86's can be had quite cheap...but have no ABS and have smaller rear brakes than the rest of them...so if you're after a track car...unless you plan on doing a brake upgrade stay away from the '86 cars. I think the 944T is a great car...blast to drive, 50/50 weight distribution, car will fit quite a bit of tire underneith it, with suspension setup you can get the car to handle however you like with simple adjustments, 2900-3000 pounds depending on options means that with bolt on's and nearly 300 at the wheels it makes for a pretty fast car. BUT...I'll add the disclaimer to the end of this...maintenance and parts will cost an arm and a leg. You really need to do timing belts every 30K miles or you're risking expensive engine repairs. If you don't mind the money for upkeep on these cars they're a great way to get into a great driving and looking car.

Dr. T, I appreciate the offier...I may actually just take you up for a ride in it...don't need to drive it though, just maybe a refresher. problem is...I feel in love at the track this weekend...There were several Z06's there...many of them extremely fast...but what caught my eye and my heart was something somewhat slower...but ohhhhh so beautiful....and her name is Porsche! 996 (911) Silver, factory aero package, factory sport, Prepared by Champion motorsports, 3 piece 19' Champion forged street wheels, Coilovers, Tubi sport exhaust, Champion computer software, PURE SEX...fell in love with it the moment I saw it (even more so than the GT3 porsches that were there). Rode in it on track and the car's not any faster than the M3 straight line or around the track (well 2 seconds yesterday but that's the difference between him on race tires and me on street tires)...BUT OHHHHH MY...as a daily driver with occasional track use this could be my ride. Worst, or best part is that my wife fell in love with it too. She's never been a 911 person, we looked at them when we bought the M3 and she always turned up her nose but she was the one that pointed out the car and told me to pursue it. Next thing I know I'm setting tire pressures on the M3 and she drives up in it and tells me to hop in!!! Time to go talk to the bank!!! Boys...I feel a blowout special on details coming next year so that I can justify this bad boy!!! Andy

I dipped into the 1:47's that day on my better laps...ran pretty consistant 1:49's...going back this weekend to see if I can muster more while still on street tires. Mallard...a first gen Miata would be loads of fun...and something that I can put through the sand into the damn barrier and walk away from without a care in the world...BUT driving it everyday and getting smoked by a good Dodge Minivan at stoplights isn't want I consider to be fun.

Exactly...plus driver plays a role...I really wasn't trying to compare times other than stating that The Z06 should have MORE of an advantage than 3 seconds if setup appropriately...our M3 is dialed in to be very neutral with a tendency to push at the limit so it's extremely predictable and can be driven very hard...no chasing the tale without LOTS of trail braking. If I dial in a little more rear bar I'm sure the car would be faster but harder to drive fast. (not a good combo when the wife's out there driving it too) Point is...I know the Z06 is faster...which is why I'm looking at them. My wife has really caught on to the DE's and we're sick of sharing cars so I'm looking for something new. Yes it's an expensive car but on days when I'm not detailing...it will serve as a driver...so maybe my description of a weekend / track car isn't appropriate here...the car will likely be driven 3-5 days per week depending on my detailing schedule. Andy

Yup...only 3 seconds...he said he was having rear tire issues...and I'll admit that he was sliding the rear quite a bit on corner entry that was killing some speed. BUT I expected more on r-comps and with soo much more motor and less weight. To his defense I think that it still had the stock shock/spring combo and only had adjustable bars (which clankd like mad) whereas my M3 has coilovers, sways, camber plates...we were both running hawk HT-10 track pads and even with the weight advantage he wasn't driving any deeper into the turns than me...on a track where HP is more important the difference in lap times would have been even greater...I know with proper suspension setup there's no comparing the two cars...hence the reason I'm looking at a Z06. oh yeah...and my street tires are Michellin PS2's...not your average street rubber. Andy

I'm looking for a car that can server as a weekend / track car. Right now I'm trying to decide between another M3, 996 or Z06. Obviously the Z06 straight away is the better car...but seeing that it will still also be a street car there's a bit of alure behind the other two as well. Anyhow...can a Z06 owner please tell me what's required of the cars to make them into a great track car, I rode in an instructors Z06 at Mid Ohio at my last drivers education event that had noisy ass adjustable sways, and r-compound tires and frankly I just wasn't that impressed...we were only turning laps 3 seconds faster than my M3 that was on street tires that day...but maybe this was setup related or something. I recognize the potential of the Z06 not only for power but for handling and would like some pointers on where to start so that I know what will be needed to make it a great track car (coilovers, sways, brakes) as well as the weaknesses of the car. Thanks in advance. Andy

Yes sir....Kinda sucks for the Audi boys unless you're like me and own fronttrack!!!... either way...$5 for both nights ain't bad...and you get a t-shirt to boot! I also happen to know that there will be some sort of detailing prizes to be won. :-) Andy