Posts Tagged ‘audi tt’

Kellie and I hosted a birthday party for Kellie’s sister, Allison, last Friday night. We made some tasty white chicken chili paired with a white table wine from Menage a Trois – very good. After stuffing ourselves with dinner, the ladies played cards while the guys played video games. I hadn’t played Smash Bros on the Wii in ages.

On Saturday, I undertook a project that I’ve been both dreading and looking forward to: a brake upgrade on the Audi TT. Back in July, I was informed by the dealership that my brakes were nearly expired… and they wanted $1400 to fix them. I sourced some better parts on the aftermarket for a fraction of that and they’ve been sitting in the garage ever since. I spent five hours on Saturday (including a trip to Autozone for a 7mm hex 3/8 socket and Sears for a new jack – it started leaking oil on the first lift and died halfway up the second lift) and three hours on Sunday (including another trip to Autozone for a 8mm hex 3/8 socket). Even if I valued my time at $125 an hour, I still came out ahead. They look so much better and work perfectly so far.

Before

During

After

I wrote three days ago about purchasing a hitch by Curt Mfg for the TT and a Thule hitch mount bicycle rack. Both parts arrived yesterday – amazingly – and I was able to get the hitch installed this morning at Community Auto Center – which, I might add, was an extremely satisfying experience. Not only are the employees passionate about nice cars AND their customers, they actually let me in the back to take a look at the underside of my ride. I have a LOT of respect for shops that will do that – I know it’s a huge legal risk and that makes me appreciate it all the more. The tech who worked on my vehicle (Jim) also owns a 2001 TT just like mine (except it’s the roadster) and that instantly gave me a lot of faith in his work (attention to detail, cares about the car, etc.). The hitch went on without a problem and I’m a very happy customer – can you tell??

Back in the garage at the condo.

The hitch is hardly noticeable with nothing attached!

Add on Thule 912. Plenty of clearance from the back bumper.

Extend the rack arms.

Add the bicycles!

Check width and height.. centered behind car very well.

Check the quick release (and other) clearances… no rubbing.. not even close when putting pressure on it. The two anti-sway attachments keep the bikes VERY sturdy.

Final product. A hitch on the TT with bike rack (and soon to be snowboard rack and the occasional trailer to and from Lowes).

Overall I’m extremely pleased with how this turned out. It seems like inevitably there’s always a flaw in my ideas or something doesn’t turn out just how I’d hoped it would. I can’t see anything with this upgrade yet that fits that bill.

As an added bonus, Jim gave me a ride in his TT which has the APR stage I chip upgrade… what an amazing difference! About 50-60 extra horses and better fuel economy all around. I’m just waiting for the next APR sale (perhaps Christmas?) and I’ll probably jump at that. His TT pulled hard! It reminds me of the Altima…

About a month ago, I ordered new EBC rotors and Hawk brake pads for the TT. I haven’t installed them yet because the rear rotors are on back order and I’m still waiting on them. The vendor said it could be another month so I’m just being patient (and easy on the brakes to avoid any emergency replacement need).

For the past year or so, I’ve been trying to locate an OEM roof rack for the vehicle. I’d like to transport my bikes and my snowboard and the OEM rack is such a nice fit. The aftermarket roof racks just don’t interest me. I haven’t had any luck searching ebay or classified ads in all this time so I’m moving on to plan B.

I found out today that a company called Curt Mfg makes an aftermarket hitch add-on for the TT. I’ve never thought about having a hitch before because I always naively assumed they were just for trucks and towing things. There are many bike carriers and snowboard/ski carriers that fit on hitches and as an added benefit, I could hook up a small trailer for transporting things (such as building supplies from Lowes!).

All of a sudden, the TT seems much more practical in my mind. I can still have the sleek, fun, sporty car but it can be versatile too. I ordered up the hitch and the bike rack and am excited to get all that setup. I’ll pick up the snowboard carrier closer to winter. Does anyone think it’s weird having a sports car with a hitch?!

I took the TT into the dealership this morning for an oil change and was presented with a $1400 quote for a full brake replacement. Evidently the fronts are about 90% worn and the rears are 80% worn and the discs are too thin to resurface – meaning it all needs to be replaced. I had some idea that this day was coming – last summer I had the dealership investigate a scraping sound from the rear passenger brake area and it turns out I had rust on the rotor. They removed it and the car felt great for about two weeks, at which point it returned. At that time, I looked into aftermarket brakes kits and such as my gear head past forces me to always think about upgrades versus a simple replacement. I didn’t spend much time on at last summer though as it wasn’t imminent. Now it is.

I ended up researching options and purchased EBC Sport Rotors and Hawk HPS pads for a total shipped cost of about a third of the dealers quoted price. I used to do these upgrades all the time in college, replacing rotors and brakes on both my Altima and Del Sol. Hopefully I still have the ability… if so I’ll be able to do the work myself and save a boatload of cash. On top of that, I’ll have much better quality components on the car… can’t beat that!

I finally set an appointment to get the Audi TT windows tinted this afternoon and wow am I happy I did. The car looks so much better now and driving it is much more comfortable as the interior doesn’t heat up as quickly in the hot sun nor is there as much need for sunglasses. I had it done after Delta Audi recommended me to Extreme Car Audio, which is apparently one of the best shops in West Michigan. I’m a believer now. The installers and staff there took VERY good car of the car. There were numerous BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi, and Lexus cars there getting various work done… even a Ferrari F430 – I kid you not. That’s a $200k+ car for those of you who aren’t car fanatics.

It needs a wash, but looks pretty good, right?

Well Kellie’s 1992 Ford Tempo finally crossed the line when it stranded Kellie for the third time this holiday season. She decided it was time to take the 2002 Volkswagen Jetta 1.8t from me and allow me to step up to a vehicle I’ve been eyeing for a while now: a 2001 Audi TT. The TT is the AWD coupe with the high output turbo engine (it’s actually the same basic engine in the Jetta – a 1.8t – but with different pistons and enhancements to boost power from 180hp to 225hp). It’s a 6 speed manual with all the extras I could want including heated seats and mirrors, 6 disc CD changer/Bose audio and 17inch special edition rims.

So far I’ve put a new set of tires on it (Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S) as the previous tires were summer only (that’s all the car has ever seen). I will be driving it year round.

Took a quick trip to Mackinac Island with Kellie for the region 4 PMI yearly meeting. My parents were kind enough to lend me the Audi TT for the weekend so we could cruise up in style! We headed up Friday (May 18) morning and stayed two nights (for free – rather on WMPMI’s tab) at Mission Point Resort (a step up from the hotel we stayed at here last year!). Meetings were Saturday and Sunday morning but we managed to have some fun while on the island too. We biked around the island (a Mackinac Island staple), enjoyed fudge, and did a little more touring of the island. I love low-cost trips!

http://picasaweb.google.com/chad.kettner/PMIMackinacIslandTrip