alco - did you try your kid's car today? i bet its probably normal.

 

Your question is a good one Ken. My kid took the Fit on errands last night and this afternoon and reported that the A/C worked fine. So, engine load seems to have been the culprit. Whew!

Next up is a wash, clay bar and wax, then a brake fluid change.

I'm guessing that the serpentine belt is okay at 66,000 Miles. The job is a nightmare - lots of posts on it.

 

I think the belt is even worse on our GD. It's old school with no self adjusting tensioner. I've done our GD and my mom's GE. The GE was easy, but it took a second set of hands. Thankfully my Mom was there to do the top work.

 

sounds good alco! huh ure the only guy with an ASE certified mom, gafit.

 

.. Grin! ..

 

She also cooks dinner and does our laundry when we are there. Would it be wrong for me to move my family and I in with her?

 

:D haha! sounds like you got the perfect mom gafit!

 

any updates on Golf? anyone buy a new GTI? Golf-R purchase? anything?

getting some ceramic pads for my Golf-R's fronts as they dust like crazy.

 

You will like the ceramic pads so much cleaner, but be advised initial bite won't be as good as before. You'll get used to it. If you want to do track days pass on those pads.

 

ic.. will need to adjust how i brake. yah no tracking for me. just relaxing drives in my R. sometimes spirited but mostly relaxing.

 

I haven't found ceramics that I like. Akebono's have a good reputation so I'm tempted to try them sometime. I just don't like the mushy feel.

I've just relegated myself to using lots of wheel cleaner.

 

i wanted to get some endless mx72’s but they don’t make them for Golf-R’s..

 

the ceramics are by Brembo

 

I used Akebonos on my MINI. They take a bit of getting used to, but after a while I did. Used them on track once & never did again. I switched to StopTech for track days. Switching pads for track days is a pain.

Not sure what pads VW used on my GTI, but they don't dust too badly. Not sure how they'd work on the track, haven't used them there. This old guy hung up his helmet a couple of years ago.

 

yah will keep u guys posted when i get the ceramics installed. if i hate it i can just revert back to stock or maybe try some ebc reds

 

Not much new here, but all is well. I've never owned a performance car, but in my limited universe, our Golf's 1.8T remains a blast to drive. My wife and I went to supper last night and I unwound the Golf en route back home and it was so much fun, 5 Speed and all. If we listen close, a faint turbo whistle can be heard. I wish VW hadn't muffled it. I guess it would lead to customer complaints if people heard the whistle. :-(

 

alco if ur engine is pretty much the same as mine, you can remove the snow baffle inside the air box (its like a grate on the bottom side) and that will allow more free air to come though for more turbo noise. more bypass valve noise. my R uses this intake that replaces just the top side of the intake box with the baffle removed. it's got a cone filter inside. its pretty cool. this + the jb1 piggy back makes the car go very quick. havent timed it but 0-60 comes around 4-4.5sec on my MT.

https://store.034motorsport.com/x34-...-0t-gen-3.html

 

Cool stuff Ken! ~ 4 to 4.5 Sec is fearsome.

Some months ago I found that CTS, Integrated Engineering and Forge make a turbo muffler delete part, but from what I've read on a forum somewhere, these don't seem to increase the turbo sound much, if at all.

Do you have a 16 GTI Autobahn, a 16 STI and a 17 Golf-R in your stable? How do you choose what to drive each day? <g>

 

yah, its mostly the recirculation noise you get. my GTI runs a AEM intake. it's pretty lively when i throttle up.

about 2.5yrs ago i injured my left ankle and had a hard time driving with a clutch pedal so decided to kill 3 birds with one stone giving DSG and VW a try while getting an AT car for dd. now that my left ankle has recovered i dont really need the GTI, but since i modded it and it looks great (factory stereo sounds great too) i decided to keep it for the time being.

the STI and Golf-R are like polar opposites how they look and drive so depending on the mood i take the STI or R. i have been thinking about changing up the GTI for the DSG-R.

 

Yours would be a fun decision to make on what to drive each day. If and when I decide to buy a GTI, I'll drive both the 6-Speed manual and the DSG. I'm in my early 60s, so can easily handle the manual, but I'm wondering what life might be like later on. My friend who's 66 just bought a Nissan Frontier 6-Speed manual (as is mine), so maybe I'm overreacting to my aging concerns.

I'm building an Excel sheet of car potentials, although I have no immediate plans to buy.

I would likely not buy a used car to work on, but I've always loved the looks of the BMW Z3, Honda S2000 and the Volvo C30.