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.

These Wheels, to that pavement

No doubt we have all hit “speed bumps” in our lives. These bumps come in many forms ranging from physical manifestations to mental or even emotional hurtles that stop us in our tracks and cause us to take a pit stop on the race track that we are speeding down. No matter how grueling or grinding these situations can be on the cogs of our lives, we must always regain focus and determination to improve and move forward. The best way of achieving this, and turning a speed bump into a boost in speed is to create tangible entities of your motivation, and use physical reminders of what drives you.

Decision analysts will always choose the most basic form of all decision making options. What this means is that we must take all the clouded, uncertainties and eliminate all possible decisions to the most direct and simple paths. The car enthusiast world is no exception to such theories, especially since many of these hopes and dreams involve large portions of time and money. The idea is to eliminate all possible distractions and focus on three qualities. By consistently honing in on these qualities on a daily basis, you can quickly retain focus and get the tread of your tires back on the race-track.

How can a car enthusiast create tangible motivation? By focusing on three qualities: Determination, Integrity and Decision.

If that isn't a call for Determination, I don't know What is...

Determination is that brand new Porsche GT3 RS, or Ferrari you lust for. Determination is a new intercooler or suspension kit that will eliminate 2 seconds off your track time and earn you more respect and pride within your community. Determination is finding that physical entity that is within your grasp, but will take effort, time, sweat and blood. Nothing that is worthwhile is free, and that is the first realization about generating Determination. Again, the essential feature of this quality in getting back on track with motivation is to establish a solid, real, palpable feature of that motivation.

Integrity is the understanding and acceptance of absorbing all effects related to Motivation as it is channeled through Determination. A wise, commonly quoted idiom states, “with great power comes great responsibility”. In parallel fashion to this idiom comes the cause and effect relationship between Motivation and the sweat and tears that can come from the results we seek. Our Idiom thus becomes, “with great Motivation comes great Determination and Integrity”. Motivation’s requirement of integrity is to act as a reminder about the challenges ahead, and to accept them no matter how winding the road may get, no matter how much our breaks will heat up and our paint will tear, wining first place is all that matters.

Finally Decision is the last quality in the hierarchy of what must be encompassed in Motivation. That GT3 RS will never live in that 2 car garage of yours if you don’t decide to risk your time to strive for it. This decision must permeate and resonate in all aspects of your life. That end goal must never be devoured by the darkness or the temptation to off-road in the middle of the race, after all, this is a F1 competition, not an Autocross rally. Once Determination and Integrity are established, Decision becomes a day-by-day venture, to start small and work your way up to the prize. Lance Armstrong didn’t wake up the day of his first Tour De France and decide to win without preparing and deciding to practice, or apply determination and integrity to all his prior steps leading up to his victory.

Motivation is an interesting concept, one that is mental and theoretical in nature, but in order to be effective, it must be materialized and consumed (Think gasoline in the engine of our lives). Dreams and ambitions are not impossible or out of reach, if this were the case, they wouldn’t produce a couple hundred GT3’s each production cycle, would they?

P.s. I heard one of those BadBoys are for you!

How many flavors does Motivation come in?

Ever since diesel engines were introduced they had a bad reputation about being harmful to the environment. The tides are finally changing and diesels are now competing against hybrids in today’s market. Through the years, car manufacturers have attempted to add diesel-powered cars to their line up but it never really appealed to the public here in the states and sales fell short. In 2009, Volkswagen decided to reintroduce their TDI (Turbo Diesel Injected) engine into their line up of Jettas to appeal to consumers who wanted a fuel efficient car without sacrificing performance or looks – it was an alternative to the alternative. Let’s be honest here, hybrids look like a sore thumb on the road, and I’m sure I have Jeremy, Richard, and James (from TopGear) behind my back on this one.

First, let’s get some common misconceptions cleared up.

• Diesel engines are easier to maintain compared to gasoline engines.
• Diesel engines are much more efficient in terms of MPG because they burn less diesel gas compared to regular gasoline.
• Diesel engines are very reliable because they don’t have a high-tension electrical ignition system to maintain unlike regular gasoline powered cars.

Diesels are no mystery to the racing world. In 1998 BMW entered their 320d into the 24 hour Nurburgring race and won the race, beating out the gasoline powered cars. This was the diesel’s first racing accomplishment and proved itself worthy to the racing scene. Soon diesels became popular among the long endurance races such as Sebring and Le Mans. Audi’s R10 TDI dominated the world of Le Mans until this past year when Peugeot defeated them, yet also with a diesel powered engine.

My father owns a 2009 Jetta TDI and I must say that I’d never experienced a diesel car before. The driving experience has been pretty impressive and I’ve even considered trading in my Rabbit for a TDI. The common stereotype for diesel’s is that they’re huge, loud, and slow. I bought into the misconceptions and felt completey misled since the TDI proved to me that it could get amazing gas mileage and still look and perform great. The Jetta TDI is also equipped with VW’s famous DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox) transmission to help it get the best mileage. Don’t be fooled by the Jetta’s subtle looks. This diesel powered 2.0L engine creates 140 hp and 236 lbs of torque…yeah, it can haul ass when you step on it!

Myth Busters, from the Discovery channel, decided to test the new Jetta TDI and debunk all the common stereotypes for diesel engines in a series they call, “Diesel Diaries.” Here’s a clip of how the engine works and some of the features it offers. You can learn more about Volkswagen’s new direction in diesel engines on their site at tdi.vw.com.

At Big SoCal Euro I took a driving course and hit the skid pad and the slalom with my MkV GTI and Yokohoma AD08′s. After the skid pad the tires were a bit torn up. These are not cheap tires, but you can’t put a price on experience, right? Well, at least that’s what I’m telling myself. In reality, getting on the skid pad is the equivalent setting piles of cash on fire since you can literally see your investment go up in smoke.

Now, with my tires worn, I was a bit concerned about the performance on the mountain roads. Perhaps, that’s not the best place to be testing your ride’s responsiveness, so “kid’s don’t try this at home.” The drive was organized by Steven, and 4 cars, including mine, showed up. Anymore than that gets pretty tough to manage, especially when you’ve got traffic and bicycles on the road.

My suspension and brakes are both stock, so that makes me more susceptible to brake fade and body roll. Still, I had no problem keeping up with the pack. The car handled great and the tires lived up to their name. Early in the drive I was able to break the tires loose a bit, but after they warmed up they were super sticky. It was actually quite impressive. I could no longer spin the tires going into 2nd gear with hot tires. And, like any other driver, this just made me want to push the car even harder… so I did. The toughest stretch was on Alpine Road going into Palo Alto, but still the car stuck to the ground.

The drive was great, but if I were to do this weekly, my next investment would be in some shocks and HP+ brake pads. The car handled extremely well, but at times I got a little more bounce than I would have liked. My next performance part will likely be the Koni FSD shocks. I want shocks that perform but also maintain a great ride quality since my back isn’t in the greatest shape and I still need to go from point A to point B comfortably.

Do you have the Koni FSD shocks? Or, have another suggestion for a suspension kit? Leave your feedback in the comments below.