whatsisname

G'day Pete and Matty! Kisin, I agree, Euro is a class above Japanese 'in most cases' in terms of interior trim and fit and finish. But as Pete pointed out the R35 is well and truly on par with most Euro offerings and its performance is unrivalled bang for buck! Shane has a current model M3? Nice! Pete, one thing I will say about the Golf is that whilst it drives beautifully and feels and looks a million bucks it probably loses out to the Japanese in terms of reliability - case in point the current DQ200 7sp DSG Mechatronics unit. That said it is rarely major hardware failure but more electronic gremlins and software, at least initially. My Pirelli (all Pirellis) is equipped with the DQ250 6sp wet clutch DSG which is the same box in the 10.8 @ 128mph and 600HP APR Golf R albeit with upgraded clutches and fluid. A few weeks back I got German Auto to upload the APR/HP DSG software for improved shifts and more performance and it certainly made a huge improvement. Yes Matty still got the Caldy. It serves as the family wagon mostly.

It's a late 2008 (first rego'd Jan 2009) limited edition VW Golf GTI Pirelli. One of about 400 in Australia, approximately 40 in this colour. It came with a bunch of APR upgrades and I've since added quite a few extras. A few more tweaks and it should be producing 210-215kW at the wheels, which is more than enough to get its 1350ish kg moving. Seat of the pants suggests it has 12 sec potential, although traction is a challenge. A slightly different experience to Japanese performance car ownership and the interior is certainly a level above the Caldina and 33. Some parts are amazingly cheap. Brand new upgrade Audi R8 coil packs a grand total of $82 for four, $138 delivered! Brand spanking alloy Porsche 911 oil and coolant caps $56 total. Other parts, not so cheap, like the APR RSC exhaust at well over $2k.

Thanks mate.

Here's the Go-Pro footage from the first pass babying it off the line (12.5 @ 126.2mph 2.48 60ft)

No going to hold off till Sept or Oct, might go for a look though. A street meet after a comp meet is the go track should be well prepped.

Jet, that's what i though too, clutch slipping, turns out it was wheel spin. Once we reduce the oil flow to the turbo I'll be ready to go again - should have it done by end of next week. Thanks for the video, I'll check it out in a sec - think that was my 2nd pass when it turned the rears. Yep, that's the second pass when it wouldnt grip, a low 113.7mph. It didn't help that the track officals noticed the previous car dropped fluid on the track and simply mopped it up with household mop! The next pass I ran 128.6mph.

John, Matt, I set out with a goal of running as quick as possible on 17-18" rims and street radials and a few small mishaps won't stop me going back for more. I've got our JWM IPRA team to focus on when it comes to Mallala - see sig - but I like the sound of your offer, John. Count me in. Congrat's on running 10.7 @ 134. Thanks for the kind words re my car too. Andrew, I'm planning on going again in Sept or Oct. Yeah traction issues were greater than expected. Jet, if plates aren't obvious feel free to post YouTube clips of the Burgundy 33. Cheers.

After thinking I had hurt the botton end 'prior' to my first pass, I think I can be cut some slack for not getting aggressive in the burnout. Turns out the turbo is getting too much oil at sustained high rpm, doesn't happen on street or dyno, took a few runs to surface on strip. Comp test and leak down show engine is perfect. In short, my times are rubbish. I didnt get one decent pass out of the three attempts. I took it easy on 1st pass, nailed it top of 2nd onwards: 12.5 @ 126+ (2.4 60ft) wheel spin. Second pass I tried a clutch slip launch, appeared to suffer clutch issues and got out of it in 3rd, got on it again three times, finally the last time it started accelerating again. The footage that evening confirmed wheel spin through 3rd, not clutch. Last pass, came off the line slow thinking I had to nurse the clutch, better burnout (decided if bottom end was on the way out I may as well do a good job) got reasonable grip through 3rd and ran a 12.2 @ 128.6 (2.48 60ft). Engine is fine, clutch is fine, I now have a baseline with new set up. A soft 2.0 should see mid-high 11 @ 130+

Fingers crossed the rain holds off or doesn't pass through the area. I'm planning on running, weather is the main deciding factor. Please, please don't rain! I've been waiting 6 years for this!!!

I'll certainly look at it as an option mate, makes perfect sense. Current turbo is a custom Turbonetics T62-1, had it for a few years now. It will produce approximately 625-650HP.

Steve, thanks for the info re your pumps, if Jet wants/needs it no dramas. Andrew, not stock but not heavy gauge or direct from alternator - thanks for the info. Fingers crossed the weather improves from the current forecast. WR600 runs 10.3 doesn't it, Martin?

Yes just noticed the Evo - couldn't see it on my phone screen earlier

Sounds good Steve, I'll let you know when I'm ready to upgrade. Are you upgrading?

A second 044 is the plan at this stage mate.

Bosch lift pump - can't remember which one! - and an 044, Sard reg, 910cc Siemens, all lines upgraded, bar the solid ones under the car.

Chucked the old 33 on the dyno today to check the tune prior to drag day and see if a few changes made any difference. Ended up with just over 385kW at the rears. Need a bigger or second fuel pump and larger fuel lines and should squeeze 400+. Will have to wait till later in year though. Just got to fit drag radials and I'm ready to go.

Hey John, be good to see you out there, and a 35 on the strip in the flesh! Talking about your 33, Sutto works with me these days.

Hopefully they deliver a reasonable 60ft given my set-up, Steve. Andrew, I bought them from A1 Performance in WA. I bought my last set - 275 40 17 MT ET 1 from the same place. Good prices, cheaper than local despite the freight cost - warehouse is Sydney based anyway.

Can't wait to get these on the car and in action! Given the so-so response to a private day in July, it looks like the open street meet on 29 July is the go.

Sounds like a quick family wagon in the making - and knowing you it was never in doubt The Caldina is off limits to serious tinkering... for now.

Looking forward to seeing the beast back in action, with even more grunt this time. I wanted a Stagea as our family wagon but Kim didn't want anything to do with it, doesn't like the look at all - she is a Toyota girl too. In the end, I got a '03 Caldina GT-Four N. They are surprisingly quick, slight boost increase and it does mid 5sec 0-100 and 13 sec 1/4. But the best thing is the grip level they can generate and the handling, they are quite a bit lighter than a Stagea and the N version gets tricky suspension and diff.

Hey Darren, been a while mate! Is the 31 up and running? Auto trans clearly suits the low profile drag radial best. When it comes to drag racing, auto dominates manual period!

The ET Street Drag Radial 2:

Andrew (sky30), the ET Street Radial 2 is the same compound as the ET Street Radial 1 but they come in a different tread pattern and are designed for larger diameter rims. Here's a Cadillac CTS-V on 20" ET 2's doing 1.6sec 60ft - auto trans helps too. http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/2009-cadillac-cts-v-performance-mods/250252-irwindale-results-mt-20-street-radial.html I agree with Martin, if there's no track prep, then don't even bother. I've got video footage of me attempting to run a pass on an unprepared AIR surface and you can hear the car spin from 1st through 4th gear.

Andrew (Blue32), I want to see you pull the fuse and then try to launch it off the line A driver of your calibre and AWD is a piece of piss, you need a challenge