Bad. Badder. Baddest.

I've had these for ages, but whenever it came to updating my R32 site I always forgot about them. Here are two pics of the official VWoA R32 description VW had on their site. I wish I had the whole thing, but all I have is the introduction, and the 'R32 is no longer available' message. Oh well. Enjoy.

Monster mats

I decided it was time for me to replace my GTI monster mats. More information here.

AEM Air-Bypass valve

I opted to install the AEM bypass valve along with my CAI. It gives me peace of mind, especially since originally I had no intention of getting an intake. Here's a review of the AEM BPV. More information on my CAI here.

Sakura Festival, Washington DC

This weekend is the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC. I loathe DC roads and traffic, even more so on abnormally busy weekends, so in lieu of travelling to the Mall I found my own cherry trees. After taking a few pictures, I went on a 120 mile cruise :o)



A couple more pictures, here.

Project complete!

Hurrah! All the performance modifications I wanted for my R32 have now been installed :o) When I first purchased this car, I ultimately wanted to get three things: HIDs, upgraded suspension, and a rear sway bar. Due to fortune (of the good kind!) and a change of mind, I went a little above and beyond that. In order of installation:
1) EIP short shift and lower rear transmission mount (July 2004)
2) EIP ECU upgrade (April 2005)
3) VW OEM HIDs (May 2005)
4) H&R 21mm RSB (May 2005)
5) EIP CCAI (May 2005)
6) HPA Motorsports SHS coilover suspension (March 2006)--installed Monday this week. Having driven it for almost a week, now, I don’t know why I was initially hesitant about installing it. Anywhoo, more information and driving impressions on my dedicated R32 website. FYI, I've also updated a couple other things, too.

Any future modifications will be purely cosmetic :o)

EIP street series short shift:

EIP lower rear transmission mount:

HIDs:

H&R 21mm rear sway bar:

EIP CCAI:

HPA SHS:

HPA SHS

Today I upgraded the suspension on my R. Wow, even on the way home in heavy traffic there was a noticeable difference--less squat and roll. More impressions and pics, later.

P.S. Oh yeah, the stock shocks and springs are noticeably heavier than the HPA SHS.

How I drive

Recently on weekends I've been doing a lot more driving with no destination in mind--driving for driving's sake. I also moved recently, and since then my commute to work includes major highways and Washington D.C. traffic in all its miserableness. So I thought it would be appropriate to share a few things about how I react to certain situations on the road.

1. I get much less annoyed with someone who cuts me off when they use their turn signal than with someone who cuts me off without using their signal. Maybe I'm just weird.

2. I make it a habit to try to be in a position to see further ahead, i.e. further ahead than the vehicle immediately in front of me, the further the better. This lets me anticipate what's happening in front, and I'm much more comfortable and stress-free.

3. Unfortunately, point 2 directly leads to a habit of mine that is not so positive. I am much less likely to allow someone in front of me (or if I do, I still become very frustrated) if they're driving a large vehicle that I won't be able to see in front of--either around because they're just too big, or through their rear window because it's tinted too dark, or it's been completely covered (white van alert!).

4. I also become frustrated (admittedly to a much lesser extent than in point 3) with people with no passengers who still drive in HOV lanes. Okay, it doesn't really bother me that much, except for the idle wish that plentiful traffic police would magically appear and ticket everyone doing it.