Summer in NY can get pretty hot, but last weekend was simply perfect. 80-90 degrees with virtually no humidity to be exact. Surprisingly the roads were pretty clear(by New York standards), and I was able to experience the Boxster under a variety of driving conditions including low, mid, and high end acceleration, handling, and hard braking. This isn’t a review of the car as there are a million of those around, so I’m limiting my comments to a few qualities of the car that I experienced.

Despite my overall positive experience there were a few areas where the Boxster could use a bit of enhancement. In my upcoming posts, I’ll suggest fixes for each area of improvement that help improve the balance of an already very balanced ride. Each post will cover one of these areas and offer up some relatively cheap but effective aftermarket solutions. I’ll add links to each section below as they are published. If you have your own issue with any area not yet mentioned, leave it in the comments below and I’ll try to include that in my post.

AWE Tuning had just released their K04 Turbo Kit for the Mk6 VW GTI. The stock GTI produces 200hp and 207 ft-lbs of torque. But add the $2,245 kit ($2,495 after Aug. 18th) and power jumps to 335hp and 345 ft-lbs. And if you want to squeeze even more power from your 2.0T, add the Audi S3 sourced intercooler and AWE cold air intake for $1,080 for a total of 350hp and 360 ft-lbs of torque.

With the AWE K04 kit plus recommended exhaust, intake and intercooler, you pay about $32 per horsepower increase. That’s not much considering the APR Stage III kit costs $4,999 plus an additional $3,000 for the recommended intake, exhaust and intercooler for 376hp at a cost of over $45 per horsepower.

Forget shelling out a couple of grand on a new set of rims or new suspension. Save those for later! We’re talking BMW / Porsche power levels for just a few thousand over sticker. I think 335 owners would start questioning their purchase when trying to out run a Mk6 GTI fitted with this kit.

In my previos post, I talked about my decision to go with some aftermarket upgrades when replacing my clutch and flywheel as opposed to just going with the OEM parts. This was due to the fact that the OEM parts were about the same cost as the aftermarket upgrades and I also wanted to get a bit more performance from my car. Now, don’t get me wrong, the economies I experienced for these parts are not seen for all replacements, but it doesn’t hurt to do some poking around when you need to do some repairs. You might find, as I did, that some aftermarket performance upgrades aren’t as expensive as you think.

It has now been a few months since the parts were installed and I’ve done the easy driving 500 mile break in on the flywheel and clutch. I must say that I’m VERY pleased. The throttle response is much better and the clutch “bite” is pretty quick. It is still quite easy to drive though around town. It just took a little getting used to. I estimate that I probably dropped a tenth off of my 0-60 time. Also, the time it takes to rev from 1k up to 7k and back to 1k dropped by about 1 second which is about a 25% improvement.

Check out the video to see the before and after results. Special thanks to Vivid Racing for the parts and Metric Motors in San Francisco for the install.

AASCO Lightweight Flywheel

So it’s time to replace the clutch on my 1999 Porsche 911 (996) Carrara 2 Cabriolet. It has done its job and lasted 11 years and 7ok miles. I made a few calls and did some research online and found that I should also replace my flywheel and rear main seal (RMS) at the same time. The rear main seal on the 996 is notorious for leaking and if mine is in even the slightest amount, it will be fixed. Luckily, it is easy to do when you’re replacing the clutch and the part is really cheap.

In my research I found that if I ordered the OEM clutch and flywheel it would run me about $1,600 for the parts. I did some poking around and found that for about the same price, I could upgrade both my clutch and flywheel to higher-performing parts. I found both on VividRacing.com.

Flywheel:

The original flywheel is a dual-mass piece that is great if you want to drive like an old man. But, this is a Porsche. I drive the snot out of the thing. I found an AASCO Motorsports single-mass lightweight flywheel that is 50% lighter (13 lbs) than the original. It can be used with the OEM clutch or an upgraded clutch which I’ll be using. Removing 13 pounds of rotating mass from my drivetrain should really improve throttle response. In part 2, I’ll provide some before and after videos to demonstrate the difference.

SPEC Stage 2 Clutch Kit

For the clutch, I’m replacing my, now slipping, OEM unit with a SPEC Stage 2 kit. The kit features a pure Kevlar disc with steel backing. It offers a higher torque capacity and longer life than the original. Since I like to autocross my car and, at times, enjoy experiencing full throttle acceleration on to freeways, I figured the stage 2 would better fit my driving style. It is also good for up to 375 wheel hp which is perfect. My current engine is stock with 300 hp but, over the next year or so I’ll be adding a new intake, ECU, and exhaust which should put me in the range of about 350 hp.

Unfortunately my clutch is too far gone at this point to demonstrate any differences between the two via video. You’ll just have to take my word for the difference.

So, if you’re looking to replace any part of your engine, exhaust or drivetrain, check out your aftermarket options. You might be surprised, as I was, at how inexpensive upgrades are compared to OEM replacements.

When BMW does its job, making aftermarket parts for a car that improve the car’s demeanor is a tough endeavor. It’s easy to over do it and develop parts that make a grown man cringe. However, subtle and sexy is Vorsteiner’s ace in the hole.

Vorsteiner’s new E92 M-Tech Aero Package includes a front splitter and a rear diffuser. It’s the kind of upgrade that your wife may not notice at first glance but purists will get it quick. This set is brand spanking new and there is very limited information on Vorsteiner’s site. However, JLevi Streetwerks has additional information and pricing over on their site.
-Front Splitter
-Rear Diffuser

Many people ask “How can I improve my handling without breaking the bank?”. There are many ways to improve your handling and if you are a car enthuisat who enjoys taking those turns hard, fear not this will be a quick guide as to how you can take your favorite turns with your foot off the brake. I will break this segment into two parts making a little easier to follow along.

A modification that you can purchase to significantly improve your handling will be changing out old rubber. Tires are such a vital part of our cars yet there are some people that do not see their value and purchase the cheapest tire their can find. They don’t make a cool sound or deliver power, but tires are where the power hits the road. Choosing the right tires for you requires endless amount of time of research to pick the correct tire that you looking for to suit your purposes. Using tire websites like tirerack will help with your search to finding the correct tire you wish to match your needs. For example if you live in a place that has snow in the Fall and Winter time you might want to get All Season tires, but if you live in a place that is constantly dry, like sunny California, then Summer tires are the way to go.

There are typically 4 factors that must be considered while selecting your tires:

1. Handling
   For you performance junkies out there, this might actually be the only factor you care about. Determining how a tire will grip the road under dry conditions is actually fairly straight forward. You want a soft tire with as much of the rubber contacting the pavement as possible. This will decrease performance in wet conditions, but who cares right? Summer tires are what you want.
2. Location/Weather
   For many of us this can’t be ignored. If you live in a place that gets pretty rough winters or lots of rain, and you’ve only got your one car to get you around town, then you will need some tires that can handle multiple conditions. A set of all season tires will fit the bill in this area. They won’t perform as highly in dry weather as summer tires, but at least you won’t find yourself wrapped around a tree during the winter. As expected, all season tires suffer from “Jack of all trades, master of none” syndrome. They perform fairly well in all conditions, but not exceptional in any.
3. Tread Life/Durability
   Since this article is headed “Cheap Modding” I can’t ignore the price of replacing tires. If you pick a tire composed of a very soft compound, you’ll notice improved performance, but you will also be going through tires at a much faster rate. Needless to say, this can get expensive. Fear not, as tires have a tread wear rating that will give you some insight as to how long they’ll last.
4. Road Noise
   In terms of tire decision making factors, this is the red-headed stepchild. Believe it or not, all of that noise in the cabin of your car is not just the wind hitting the car or the Civic driver next to you with a 5 inch diameter exhaust tip. Much of the noise you hear is your tires hitting the pavement, and this can vary greatly. Some people are more sensitive to this than others, therefore it should not be ignored.

Recommendations
For the price it’s tough to beat the Falken 452. It’s a tire that has passed the test of time. For under 100 bucks a piece, the Falkens continue to deliver excellent value. For more details head on over to my Falken 452 review. Warren reviewed the Yokohama Advan Neova AD08s which are by no means a cheap alternative with a price of 2-3 times that of the 452s depending on where you buy them. However, if you want to get maximum grip without throwing on some race tires, these Yoks will get all that torque down to the ground without so much as a chirp. Below is a list of our tire reviews to date. Happy hunting.

Falken FK-452 Review
Yokohama Advan Neova AD08 Review
Sumitomo HTR Z III Performance Tires Review

As I mentioned in my A5 post, the VW/Audi 2.0T block puts out some solid horsepower, and you can get a lot more power out of the engine for very little cash by picking up an ECU upgrade from APR, GIAC, or Revo. However, if you’ve got another $3K sitting around, or you feel the need to break the 300hp mark in one fell swoop, then AWE has something for you. The k04 turbo has been around for the early 2006-2008 2.0T for a while now, but if you are the lucky owner of a 2.0T TSI engine then you would have been out of luck until now. AWE is advertising this part as the first K04 turbo for the 2008.5-present 2.0T engine, and that claim does check out. The K04 pushes the 2.0L engine to 315hp and 345 lb-ft torque with a totally stock setup.

AWE added a nice touch to their K04 product page by giving us the power potential of the K04 with different upgrade options considered, as you can see below.

• 315 crank hp and 345 crank torque when using the stock airbox and intercooler system
• 325 crank hp and 346 crank torque when the Audi S3 intercooler is added (see package price above)
• 335 crank hp and 357 crank torque when the Audi S3 intercooler and a cold air intake kit is added
• 350 crank hp and 363 crank torque when the Audi S3 intercooler and a cold air intake kit on race fuel program
• 361 crank hp and 370 crank torque with Audi S3 intercooler, cold air intake, and AWE Fueling Kit on pump fuel program

Dyno Sheet vs Chipped K03	Dyno Sheets with Stock Fueling	Dyno Sheet of Fueling Kit

I bought an ABD Cold Air Intake for my 1st VW Rabbit a while back. It was a killer deal when the prices at the time were extremely high. When I installed it on my 2007 VW Rabbit, my “butt” dyno noticed that the throttle was responding easier. I also noticed that in the higher RPM’s it helped the car breathe more smoothly and it was easier to get to the higher speeds. Plus, it made the Rabbit sound more aggressive. Overall I was satisfied with my purchase. In a nutshell, let’s just say that I emptied a tank of gas pretty quickly once I installed it. Revving it up more than 3,000 RPM brought a smile to my face.

The 2007 Rabbit has 150 HP and 170 lbs of torque out of the box. The 2008 adds an additional 20 HP, bringing them to 170 HP and 170 lbs of torque. When I bought my 2008 Rabbit I installed the intake and still felt the same difference that I experienced in the 2007 Rabbit. So I knew the small gains from the intake were consistent for the Rabbits.

Of course the upgrade came with a price, my CEL (Check Engine Light) code lit up on my dash and the MAF (Mass Air Flow) sensor was being thrown because it was detecting more direct air flow to the throttle body. After I grew accustomed to the CEL on my dashboard I finally found a solution. In the 2.5 technical forum on VWVortex, a member was nice enough to contribute a design he made for the MAF sensor to disable the CEL without getting scanned or Vag-Com work. The MAF insert was then mass produced by 20squared.

If any Volkswagen Rabbit owners are reading this post, I suggest you guys getting an aftermarket intake if you’re interested in modding your cars. The air flow on the stock intake is ridiculous and isn’t direct. First it channels through the front, then it flows through your engine cover and down to the throttle body. If you guys already have the intake but still have the CEL I suggest getting the MAF insert. I’ve had the insert for about 15,000 miles and the CEL never came back up on the dashboard. It might seem a bit expensive but you get what you pay for. Plus, I’m sure you can probably find someone who is parting out their car since now there’s a small, but growing, used parts market for the MkV Rabbits.

Most of you are probably not too familiar with Sumitomo tires, but I’ve had some good experience with their HTR Z III’s. Sumitomo is based in Japan, but has many distributors in the United States. They’ve created a reputation as the “best bang for your buck”, and honestly, I must agree with this statement. Being a college student and working part time, being able to manage my budget is vital. Sumitomo has created an great product overall with their HTR Z III’s compared to the predecessor the HTR Z II’s.

My father’s friends are gear heads one of them is also a tire freak. He suggested that I should buy the Sumitomo HTR Z III’s for my next set of tires. So when it was time I went along with it and decided to go for a new brand because his personal experience won me over. I put them on my car the first day I picked it up from the dealership. They have about 28,000 miles on them and could probably squeeze out another 3,000.

They are summer tires but they are not directional. This is a major advantage in my case because I would be able to rotate them front to rear and side to side allowing me to get the best possible tread life. And, given my limited budget these were right up my alley of the ideal tires to pick. For the set of 4 they shipped direct from TireRack.com to my doorstep for about $400.

Time for the break down…

• Would I buy these tires again? Definitely these were a get set and budget-wise, right up in my alley for the broke college student. More pros than cons.
• Hydroplaning and wet traction: Hydroplaning, these do catch those small wet spots on the road but since they are not directional they do not pass through the water so easily. Wet traction, they are decent but if I take it hard off the line when it is wet I would probably be slipping into 2nd gear. Grips decent in the wet, but any hard driving in the wet is not recommended.
• Dry traction: These are great for the price that I paid them for. They aren’t the best at handling, not like Warren’s Yokohama Advan Neova AD08, but for 1/3 the cost these were great. They took a little while to warm up to feel the full grip but for daily driving the grip was there when I needed it.
• Cornering and steering response: Cornering, the tires held to the ground for the corners and I felt confident at taking turns even in emergency situations that the tires were able to grip when I had to dodge an obstacle on the freeway. Steering response was good, wasn’t the best, but not the worst.
• Noise comfort: These tires were great on the noise comfort and quiet on the freeway at cruising speeds but also in the city as well.
• Tread wear: I can’t stress enough on how much the tread life was higher than I expected for these tires. They were great and being asymmetrical it allowed me to rotate the tires all directions, which would enable me to get the best life out of them.

Overall I felt that these were great tires, definitely the best bang for my buck. If you’re on a small budget and need some great tires, I highly recommend the Sumitomo’s HTR Z III’s. Don’t let the name scare you away because they’re not a mainstream manufacturer. And, TireRack.com posted the rank from their consumer survey results as 10th for the Sumitomo HTR Z III’s – not too bad for the price.

Typically, tire reviews are done when the set is new, but tires won’t be new forever. We know a lot of you can’t always afford to buy a brand new set so I wanted to do a review on a set with some wear already.

I’d heard that many tuners enjoy these tires and recently I bought a set for my VW Rabbit. To my knowledge I am currently the 2nd owner of these tires, bought from a GolfMkV forum member last month. They probably had about 15,000 miles on them and experienced some pretty heavy driving, so I only expected to get another 5,000 miles on them before they went bald.

For the past month I’ve had them installed and have been to Southern California and back with no problems. Dry traction is decent. It doesn’t work well with my daily driving, but once they warm up they can grip. Unfortunately, if I’m just driving normally and when I need to punch it, the grip isn’t there yet because the tires haven’t warmed up enough from my daily driving.

I can’t comment too much on the wet traction. My only experience was one random rainy weekend and they performed just like any other tires in the wet. I never pushed it hard so I can’t say I know the full limit of these tires in the wet environment.

Noise is usually not a factor for me because I’m typically driving with the windows down and music pumped up. But, when I am cruising on the freeway or just want some quiet time I do hear some regular road noise, though nothing excessive.

Let me break it down…

• Would I buy the Falken FK452′s again? Yes, maybe just to try them out with my own driving habits. But, I wouldn’t buy a used pair again because I can find cheaper alternatives that perform just as well.
• Hydroplaning and wet traction: I do not have enough info because it’s pretty hot here in the middle of summer.
• Dry traction: the traction is there, but only once you get them warmed up. Daily driving might not be enough to warm up the tires to get that extra grip when you need it.
• Cornering and steering response: is up to par and I felt comfortable, but also confident, in any turn I was making with these tires.
• Ride comfort: seems to be a little bumpy but since I am lowered I grew accustomed to the bumpy-ness. The lower profile tires are expected to make it bumpy as well.
• Noise comfort: is good for daily driving and quiet cruising on the freeways.
• Tread wear: seems to have a lot of potential, but since they are directional you can’t get the maximum  tread out of these tires.