Purchased in December to replace my Civic SI - better in every single way, shape, and form. No options - this means no sunroof, no leather - none of that garbage - as a result I've kept the weight down (especially up top where its least needed - who needs a sunroof when you've got a convertible anyways?). Fortunately, the car comes with pretty much everything but the kitchen sink as standard features - I'm a big fan of the heated seats and mirrors. Bluetooth. iPod integration. Sat radio. It even has a TPMS reset button for when I get around to replacing those wheels (which weigh 29 lbs each!!!). 2-6-2011: Master technician Christopher England spent the freezing day assisting me in lowering the car on Neuspeed sport springs - 25mm drop front and rear. 330 lb rate front, 340 lb rate rear. Its nice to see a company with some balls make a spring set that has a higher rate in the rear than the front - not everyone needs nanny understeer for safety. The car feels pretty similar, a little more neutral, a little degredation in ride quality - but when I drove it the day after I had to remind myself they were in there - fairly transparent. The drop is nice and perfect for daily driving.  Frozen Tundra 2-22-2011: Received my first speeding ticket in the GTI. Purchased a Valentine One V1. Cleaned up for Summer   10-2-2011: I autocrossed this car in the Western NY Region SCCA "Champagne Run"  The end result was a good one.  10-16-2011: Winter Battle Mode - ENGAGE!  RallyCross - 11/12/2011    This later devolved into a night rally - we got a total of 3 laps (~2 minutes each) in the sun, and 7 laps in complete darkness - combined lap times from all ten runs resulted in the total for scoring purposes (rewards consistency). Nothing quite as exhilarating yet simultaneously terrifying as rally racing in the darkness.  I had about 10 lbs of mud inside of my suspension after the last winter rallycross. At least we got to run on snow - that made things interesting. The mud actually got inside of my springs, making them have a spring rate of infinity - which was awesome - the car handled great, although it rode like crap. I eventually had to clean everything out by hand. |
