JesseShanks.info

I was finally able to get a base dyno of the car!  Wooot!!  EuropeanAG.com had another of their ‘dyno days’ early this November. (link) It was quite a turn out, with about 20 or so cars.  I took my cameras, but was only able to get footage of my car and one other due to lack of space and the batteries were low.

Here’s my dyno vid.  Please note how proud I am of this one, it is my first real attempt at video editing, where there’s an intro, body, ending, with music and all!!  Without further ado:

I dyno’d in at 193.8whp and 240.1tq (SAE adjusted, DynoJet). (link) Not bad!  That’s about what I expected.  Of course, I was hoping to be over the 200 mark, but 194 is close enough.  Now I have a base to start with.  Any upgrades from here on out, I can track and log for actual performance increase.

Here is the other car I filmed.  An awesome MK3 GTI VR6 with a custom (homemade) turbo installation.  He claims it was less than $1000 for everything. The turbo is off a Cummings truck engine ($200). The intercooler is custom, he got it from a friend for cheap.  The piping is all custom. Two weeks prior to this, the same car had a supercharger on it, so there may be other supporting mods already done, not included in that price.

305whp (SAE adjusted).  I didn’t get the torque reading, but it was up there.  In the 2nd run above, he blew his turbo piping off!!  LOLZ!  He fixed it and had a smooth 3rd run.

Great times!  Thanks EAG for the fun day!

Well everyone, I have amazing news!!! I finally got a new car!! (OMGWTFBBQ ROFLMAO LOLLERCOPTERS!!!)

I just got my hands on a black 2003 GTI 20th Anniversary Edition (production number 0201 of 4000 sold in the US). It’s the 1.8t (turbo) Golf from Volkswagen. WOOOOOT!!! The 20AE has a 6 speed manual transmission, 18 inch rims, and lower/sportier suspension, as well as more aggressive looking bumpers and side skirts. This little pocket rocket can get up and GO!!

The day I picked it up, I stepped on the throttle a bit to see what it had and WOW! It put me back in the seat and spun both tires through 2 gears until I let off in fear that I might just pass out from excitement and total my brand new car!! (you gotta realize that I just came from a beat-up 1993 Toyota Tercel with roughly 90 horse power and no power steering–you can’t even imagine the difference!!)

Stock, these things put out 180HP at the flywheel, however, the previous owner added a few goodies to pep it up a bit. With the upgrades that he added, it’s supposedly putting 230+HP to the wheels (according to a tech at a performance shop that specializes in VW and Audi). At 2932 pounds, that’s not bad at all!! I haven’t had a chance to dyno it just yet, but plan to get a ‘before’ run so I can keep track of any additional upgrades and how much of a difference they may make.

Mods added by the previous owner:

• Carbonio Cold Air Intake <link>
• GHL Turbo Back 2.5 Inch Exhaust (Includes down pipe) <link>
• REVO (4bar/Stg 2) ECU Retune <link>
• 4 Bar Fuel Pressure Regulator (Required for the REVO tuning)
• Stiffer Dogbone Mount (Reduces wheel hop on hard acceleration)
• Short Shifter (Reduces the distance between shifts)

Mods I’ve done:

• New South Performance Boost Gauge/Steering Column Pod <link>
• APR R1 Diverter Valve <link>

Some highlights to show just how amazing a deal this was:

• Single owner, non-smoker
• Garage kept for most of its life
• Not driven often
• Only had 53.5K miles on it at 7 years of age!
• Paid roughly 40% less than suggested resale!!
• Already has all of the important upgrades/mods
• AND I work with the previous owner, so there shouldn’t be any ‘surprises’

Truly a gift from the Universe!  Perfect timing!  Couldn’t have found a better deal anywhere!  These 20AE’s are pretty rare and they’re not cheap…

Here are some pics:

I stopped by the Last Concert Cafe the other day for the first couple hours of the ‘Let it SNOW’ event. I already had dinner plans with my family so I couldn’t stay for the whole event. Here are a few photos I snapped while there:

I’ve finally been able to update my ‘personal’ music studio (if you want to call two speakers, a PC, laptop, and some controllers in my bedroom a studio).  Woohoo!

I recently purchased a new laptop  (HP Pavillion DV6-1352dx) from BestBuy to go along with my Hercules DJ Console RMX USB controller.  On top of making my own music, I’m also a DJ, so now I’m finally mobile and don’t have to rely on turntables or lugging around heavy records.  Woooooot!!  Two small bags and I’ve got everything I need.

More recently, I obtained two KRK Rokit 8 (RPG2) reference monitors, and let me say, these mofo’s put out some sound!  They’re SO clean, too.  They do indeed ROKIT!

Here’s a pic of my humble studio, so far:

I’ve started a new track since purchasing the KRKs and I can already tell how much they are helping!  The first two people I showed my ‘beta’ mixdown to said the same exact thing!  “It sounds so crisp and clean!”    I recommend them to anyone!

I have no idea what is going to be on this blog just yet, but I figured it was about time that I did something!  So come with me on this journey and let’s see where it leads us…