AudiOn19s

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right but if you don't get it appraised every couple years it won't be insured for enough to buy an equal stone in the current market

Most stones of decent quality and size have lazer inscripted serials number on them on the Girdle. You should be able to see it using a 10x loupe if it's got one.

You can get the Zaino clay at Buckeye Nissan. But for the most part clay is clay. There are different grades but there's only 2 or 3 manufactures of the stuff in the world. My personal favorite is Clay Magic blue clay. Despite the fact that the kits you buy in the stores come with extra crap, they're not a horrible buy. For some reason the big bricks of clay are not that great of a buy for what you get. Most of the big bricks are $25 + shipping off the internet and you get 200g vs. (2)80 gram bars in most of the kits you buy over the counter. The clay magic kit at Autozone is like $15. By the time you pay for shipping on the bricks from the internet it's not a great deal. The microfiber towel in the Meguiars kits is REALLY nice for an extra that's just thrown in. Andy

Reason for brand new vs. 1 yr old? As Jones stated you open yourself up to much more car for the money if you get something that's slightly used. Not only will you have the remainder of the factory warranty but in many cases you can score a CPO'd car with an extended warranty period over new.

I too was given Wreckless op and 75 in a 35 speeding violation years back from an officer that was over 100 yards away when he witnessed me. Fought it in court and plead it down to 40 in a 35 and they dropped the wreckless. Sounds like I shouldn't try my luck anymore.

There's nothing wrong with it, I have no complaints, no oil or other debris in the fluids last time I flushed, but I'm always open to using something better if there's data to back up why something might be better. That's what lead me to using Redline in the first place. Based on my research I'm not sure anything better exists. Even on the M3 boards where people bitch about the Redline there's no quantifiable reason. Only failure related issue was in a 3 series race car that used MTL instead of the suggested D4 ATF. (there's a huge argument over which is better / correct for the application).

So it's time to do fluids again in the M3...well not really but I'm a big believer in fluids much more frequently than it's required. I've been running Redline in all the driveline components of that car since I bought it 5 years ago. As with everything on the internet I seem to be reading more and more hate threads on Redline fluids. Problem is I'm not sure what's going to be any better. I'm NOT a fan of Royal Purple. My brother used their syncromesh in his M3 and was not impressed. I looked at Amsoil as a possibility as that's what I'm using for motor oil in the E55 and the A4 but it's hard to find any feedback on anything but their engine oil. Doesn't appear their gear oils have much of a following. Plus with the Amsoil I'd have to run a friction modifier for the LSD in the gear oil where it's already present in Redline. Are there others out there that I'm missing or have shown to be better than Redline, or should I go with the Redline as I personally have Zero complaints in 5+ years of use in that car. Andy

M3forum.net is the best E46+ board for M3 info. Bimmerforums is a little more geard towards E36 stuff.

No problem, I'm in the fortunate position to where I'm car shopping every day trying to find what I want. Just so happens a 996 TT is still one of the cars on my list. There was a nearly stock Seal Gray one here in Ohio listed a few weeks back for reasonable money but I think it sold pretty quick. Auto Assets has a silver one with some really nice upgrades on it (still a great, reliable package) but It needs a clutch and it's priced on the high end of the scale because of the upgrades. As Eddie about it next time you talk to him.

6speed always has a good assortment of quality turbo's for sale. http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/automobiles-sale/194377-feeler-2001-biarritz-white-911-turbo-6-speed.html http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/automobiles-sale/212114-01-911-turbo-polar-silver-6spd-gt2-look-42k-miles-48k-firm.html http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/automobiles-sale/209411-fs-2001-996-turbo-w-2-yr-warrenty.html Really nice one on page 3 of this thread that's offered up http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/automobiles-sale/197591-wanted-996-turbo-3.html http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/automobiles-sale/211958-2002-996tt-lapis-blue.html **This one is a TIP (automatic)** http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/automobiles-sale/207760-2001-porsche-996-turbo.html http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/automobiles-sale/185054-2002-996-tt-sale-trade.html

One thing I forgot, if you don't need the practicality or utility of a Sedan the 996 TT you had on your initial list is one of the most amazing all around cars ever produced (if you're not going to go crazy with mods). Great driving experience, great power, SUPRISINGLY comfortable and liveable, and the trunk is even capable of holding a good amount of stuff. You just can't put sluts in the back seat and despite the fact that they're amazing buys you still are going to be 40K -ish for a nice one. If I wasn't hung up on getting a GT3 I'd have a 996 TT in my garage right now.

Steve, Despite the fact that the Porter Cable is still an orbital it's a step up from what you've got now. Another key thing is getting the correct pads and polishes for the job at the same time. With most ortibals found at places like sears not only are the pad choices generally uneffective for anything other than just waxing the car, but they really give you no guidance on proper products to use either. You really need to expect to spend about $200-250 to get a good orbital, pads, and polishes to get yourself started. The good news is that's about the same money you'd pay to have a pro do your car just once so consider it an investment that you won't have to be making again down the road as long as you're committed to learning the process correctly. I wouldn't suggest a rotary if you have limited polishing knowledge and experience. Too many risks of making things worse and not better. Andy

I personally think you're on the right track with the C class. My assumption from reading this thread is you've still got the Cobra for when you want to really go have fun. There's something really comforting about having a nice & RELIABLE (read slow-ish) daily driver. In owning an E55 it's really an outstanding choice too if you want the best of comfort and performance combined in a car. However it's even heavier and less connected on a driving level than your CTS-V would have been. As a matter of fact if you enjoy the driving experience at all it's horrible as a "drivers" car...still fast as stink though. I also will admit that it's the only car that I've ever owned that I'm not looking forward to owning outside of warranty. We've got another 7 months of warranty on our '55 and despite the fact that it's been pretty much bullet proof other than the air shocks I'm still scared like a little girl that something stupid expensive is going to break on that car down the road. Then there's also the fact that it rarely gets over 12mpg. Not a horrible thing but that all adds up in a daily. Personally I'm more of a BMW guy so I'd suggest you give the 335i a really hard look before deciding on the C Class. Both are great cars. Andy

Well...even if he drove it like a little girl then Inspection II should have been around ~50K miles. (the inspection interval varies depending on driving style to be simplistic about it). If it has drastically more miles than that and just had inspection II done I'd be a bit weary. If it's got alot of miles it's priced about right though. ...and the imola red interior is sex in person.

What I maybe missed is what's the budget and what's the intended use for a car. You stated you were tired of DD'ing a manual so I'm assuming DD, but really fast DD or comfortable, relaxing, sporty DD?

Oxi-clean, woolite & water are your friends here. Mix up and soak the area. Let sir for 5 or so minutes, apply more and start aggitating with a brush. Finally wet with Hot Hot water (hotter than you can getout of a tap if possible) and vacuum the as much of everything up. Repeat whole process as needed. That door could take a few tries

From one E55 owner to another, here's my .02 Either do the v12 TT swap which has been done a few times now and is becoming more and more common, or stick with one of the proven supercharger setup's on the market. I say this because you're dealing with a car that's worth no more than 30k these days but still costs you $30k for a fresh long block in the event something happens in the tuning process while you're trying to do what nobody else has done. You can make a fairly reliable 500+ whp with pulley, tune, coolingods and headers. Similar Cars are in the 10's in the quarter right now with the right wheel and tire combo. Are you looking to go much quicker than that in a 4400lb sedan?

Looking Good Ryan!

Nice...great update and thanks for the info on the wheels. It looks like with my 996 gone my M3 is going to be returning to the track this year so I need to get another track wheel / tire setup.

so you can go race in spex boxster

+1 buckeye Nissan is your only solid bet.

I'll second the 5996. I've used it and like it and it's about the only good finishing polish I know you can get locally. M205 isn't much cheaper. I think a pint is $35ish. My favorite finishing polish is Menzerna PO85RD. It's $45ish and not available locally...and it has such little cut that you generally need to add a 3rd polishing stage with a slighly more agressive product. The results when using it are amazing though. If I wasn't getting down to my last little bits of everything right now I'd offer to sell you some out of my stash. Some of the 3M & Meguiars Professional Line stuff comes in smaller sizes at NAPA. Might want to check to see what they've got sitting on the shelf. Andy

I thought "faster" from you was going to consist of Penske's, T1 bars, slicks, etc.