Ekona

When you say exhaust, what do you mean? The Backbox itself will fit fine, but the y-pipe and midpipe are different.

Yeah, you need an IDP to hire anything out there any more. As for hiring a specific car, and a muscle car at that, you're leaving it mighty late. I doubt any of the guys like Hertz or Dollar who do specific stuff will have anything left, but you can try. Other than that, it's just a case of googling local companies and seeing if you get lucky. Check and triple check the insurance of each one and you should be fine, the US is more litigation happy than us so you're unlikely to be shafted in the same way as you might in Ibiza, for example. Personally, having just come back from there and touring around in a Camero I wouldn't bother with anything decent. Florida has no decent driving roads, so just get something that's comfy and more importantly will take your luggage easily. A minivan might be better if there's three of you, as you don't always get room for three cases in most sedans! Did I enjoy driving the Camero? Yes. Did I enjoy it any more than I did the Focus we had last time once the novelty had worn off? No.

With the 4C it's quite likely that lots of people bought one because it was supposed to be amazing, and then they drove it and wen "Ah, actually this engine is a bit naff and the gearbox is rubbish and OH LORD THOSE FRONT LIGHTS!!!", and decided to get out. Or to try and make a quick buck on the premium of a desirable new car and a waiting list.

Stick with K&N filters, they're better than Pipercross in my experience.

I'm not a fan of oiled filters full-stop, which is why I either never use them or I simply buy a new one each time. Have to say I agree with Darren, I think you're either going to have to live with it or you're going to have to re-route the pipework to lift it out of the current location.

£50K today, £30K by Xmas, £10K by next year. If usual AMG depreciation is to be followed of course! On a different note, could you not run two cars? One is the boring cheapy DD that does the miles, the other is the fun car for weekends? That way you could run something more compromised for the toy.

Not just the interior, there was a lot of mechanical fixes as well, not least of all sorting out the dreadful gearshift of some of the early cars. Stirring a bucket of bricks doesn't really come close! Was only on the odd car though to be fair, but you'd have to drive it to know (i.e. you wouldn't know by when it was made, or serial number). Ah, the benefits of a car made in a shed in Norfolk!

Yeah, most people bought the 2+2 because they thought that's what the market would want after they got rid of it, but really you wouldn't want to sit in those seats for too long I'd search out a good 2+0 if it were me, but there's not really much difference in terms of usable space between the two.

Yup, boot isn't that big but you've got the rear seats/empty space to chuck things on to Or swap suitcase for two squishy bags, job's a carrot.

Evora would be more than suitable as a DD, that's what it was designed for. Just get an MY12 or later car and you're laughing.

Why?

1st world problem indeed

Not a clue! MR2 might be done on Thursday, and if it is I'd much rather bring that but then my sensible head says a shakedown on track is not the greatest idea...! Plus the 911 goes shortly so would be good to end it's life with me as it started. So serious question, what would you bring if you were me? Batshit mental track slag, or expensive mistake waiting to happen road car you'll never get a chance to track again?

Pics of the location? My first thought would be get a new filter too, that one could be knackered and over-oiled.

I don't

I genuinely don't think any one is jealous at all. This forum isn't like that, and in all the years I've been here I've encountered it maybe once or twice. Certainly not with any regularity. It's a bit like me saying that the reason no-one likes my 911 is that they're jealous of it. Given the polarising nature of the 911 (much like the 370ZN), that just wouldn't be reasonable to assume. I think that everyone who has said they don't like it (myself included), has pointed out reasons why and also that there are some parts they do like. That doesn't sound like jealousy to me.

Anyone heard from Maxi at all? He's not been online since Jul 17th, hope they didn't bang him up for this!

Link?

If you get adjustable both ends then he can play with the balance. Just changing the rear is likely to make it far too spiky, same reason you wouldn't just change rear springs to make the rear stiffer.

No harm at if it's spare cash, but do both ARBs and tune the whole car.

Easy to finish often when you're just bimbling around at the back He's definitely a good consistent driver, but he lacks the hard mentality to ever progress his career seriously IMHO. Without the money behind him, he'd never have made F1. He's a really nice guy though, and clearly a much better driver than I'll ever be, so I won't criticise him too much!

Never realised I'd made it that obvious! I have a hatred for any 4WD system that prioritises the front wheels. If I'm right, the 8P has the 4th gen Haldex, correct? I'd get the controller first and foremost. My theory is that you should sort out the biggest thing first, and then work your way down to the fine tuning. That works with anything if you think about it: If you want big power you go FI, then worry about adding exhaust and intake. If you want less weight, strip the interior before changing every bolt to a titanium one. With the balance of the car entering and exiting corners, you want to ensure the power goes to the rear as much as you can without compromising on the benefits of the 4WD system, and you can then fine tune the handling characteristics by changing ARBs etc. Now that's all very much depending on how good a driver your friend is, no offence intended. If he knows his stuff and can play with a car on the throttle, then the Haldex controller will work best for him I would think. If on the other hand part of the attraction of the S3 was the Quattro system, then he would be better off tuning the geometry and smaller things. Our Impreza had the ability to change the 4WD bias on the fly, from full auto to locking 50/50 to my preference of a 35/65 split. The difference in handling traits was staggering, and it felt so close to RWD at times that you could almost swear it was.

Okay, well if acceleration is your goal (and that's fine, btw) then I would do the following: If you're after something that's quicker from the off, then as you say tyres will make a huge difference. The other thing that will make the biggest difference is the wheels: Assuming you're running the OEM 18"s from you sig, they're about as heavy as you can get which massively blunts your acceleration. Get them changed for some Rays or similar weight wheels and you will notice a massive improvement. Aside from that, and if you're after rolling improvements then you are either going to need more power or less weight. I always prefer to do weight as it helps everything else as well (braking, handling, fuel economy) so you might think about removing some of the sound deadening, or even better get rid of those really heavy stock seats and go aftermarket. Nowt wrong with the traditional route of intake (good air filter and the velocity stack mod to the OEM airbox), exhaust (hi-flo cats and a decent cat back exhaust) and then a remap, but you're then on the wrong side of nearly £2K. If you took two cars: One with Rays with good tyres (050A or MPSS), DS2500 pads and quality discs, and with lighter seats One with £2K spent on power increases You will find that the first car is quicker everywhere, on the roads and on track. The first car will also handle better, stop quicker and be cheaper to run

I think someone did point that out already...

What are you aiming for with the car? Tbh, the mods you've mentioned look like mods for the sake of it rather than trying to improve something about the car you don't like. As a rule, you cannot go far wrong with the very old 'First make it stop, then make it handle, then make it go' phrase. Do the brakes, then do tyres/wheels/suspension, then anything that will add power or reduce losses.