A nice longer former post might be nice!
Impulse Wheel Purchase
I've always been a fan of JDM cars and the tuner culture they have. The infamous TE37 wheel has always been a dream wheel of mine and I had a chance to purchase a set.
Specs:
TE37SL Double Press Black
18x10.5 +20 Squared
BNIB
The classified ad said it was pressed graphite but when I received them, it ended up being double press black. I spoke with the seller and it was his honest mistake and we figured out some options and worked things out. I have to give him credit for working with me to deal with the mistake as not every seller is willing to do that for a private sale that isn't governed by like eBay or something similar. Anyways, here are pics of these lightweight wheels:
After inspecting the wheels in the sun, I came to realize its a metallic like black finish which looks awesome with direct sunlight! It reminds me of Black Sapphire Metallic which happens to be my old E46's color. The subtle metal black sticker is a really nice touch as well. I have yet to decide if I want the sticker on yet or look for another color set.
I was planning to get 275/35/18 tires but RS4 no longer exist in this size. I may get Z3s to hold me over for now.
Hub "Restoration"
Since the TE37SL do not accept center caps, I decided to paint the center hubs black as looking at rusty center hubs is ugly! My brother came up with a great template to just paint the hub from a cardboard box. It didn't survive after 4 hubs but it did the job wonderfully! He used BBQ high-temperature satin black aerosol paint which made this a dead simple job.
Suspension Squats
As the official pictures of Laguna Seca started to roll in, I couldn't help but noticed the car was squatting in the rear right after the corkscrew. These pictures were in the morning sessions when it was wet and I believe I left my suspension settings in street mode.
Looking at my rear inner fender liners I saw some nice wearing of plastic!
Even if it was in street mode, there is definitely a rise of concern that my spring rates were too soft for the track. I spoke to Wyatt @ MCS suspension to gain some insight and he suggested using bump stops to add some spring rate after reaching a certain amount of stroke.
MCS Bumpstop
Next time I take off the wheel, I'll do the measurements and see what my options are with MCS. It is definitely interesting that he suggested using the same technique as BMW M utilizes the front bump stops for additional spring rate at the limit. I dig it!
Till next time.