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Hey all, just bought my first Audi: a 2002 ALMS TT with 10,150 original miles, out of WV. The car is loaded and absolutely mint. I am looking forward to learning about it, tweaking here and there, and hopefully meeting up with a cool local group of enthusiasts. I used to auto-x many moons ago, so I would like to get back into that too. I currently live just south of the Fox Valley mall in the Aurora/Naperville area. To be honest: this is the first vehicle I have bought without exhaustively researching it first, so i am kind of taking a chance here. I hope the gamble pays off! In the meantime though, I will be stalking the forums regularly for tips, tricks, advice, guidance, to make this a rewarding experience. I have bought/built/raced/etc. all sorts of American vehicles in the past, and I like to get my hands dirty. But after apprehensively popping the hood on the TT, and considering the 4 pins in my left hand (for 6 weeks anyway), I think I will leave most of the work up to the pros.

Speaking of pros, which tuner shop (I cant believe I actually used that term) is preferred? I stopped at GRD in Naperville and talked to Irshad (sp?) about some power mods. He seems like a pretty knowledgable guy. I am currently looking at the APR chip with a rediverter valve for some easy extra punch. What is the typical path of mods you TT owners take on the road to bigger performance?

A few observations: first and foremost, it seems everybody wants to race now. I realize that a bright red coupe on 18s is bound to get some attention, but all from the stoplight dragracer wannabes? The occasional thumbs-up or " hey nice car” would certainly be welcome! Second, I think this car feels a lot faster than it really is. I have not dynoed or (more importantly) taken it to the strip/track yet, so I do not have any hard numbers yet, but it seems like a lot more cars are faster than me. Of course, I am not exactly beating on it yet. * FIRST RACE * I pulled onto 75th from 59 heading west. About a mile or so of straight flat 4 lane with no real place for Johnny Law to hide. I thought I would open it up a bit. There was a big yellow Cavalier a good 100+ yards in back of me, so I figured I could get home without him catching me. Ooops, bad call. That 2004 GTO reeled me in, gutted me, and filleted my little German flanks with plenty of time to slow down and cross lanes before we even got to Meadowridge (not quite ½ mile.) I realize 350hp &gt; 225hp, but damn, it was not even a contest despite the huge headstart. Maybe I can catch him on the twisties somewhere. Do they even have those in Naperville?

Also, I am taking the car in for some service on Monday. I have an appt. at the dealer in Westmont, close to my office. (1) the glove box does not open, (2) there are some obvious rattles coming from underneath, sounds like exhaust / heat shield, but who knows (3) one of the back wheels is clearly audibly out of balance. I am not sure if I should trust the local tire store, or if I should have that addressed at the dealer.

Whew! I think that is enough rambling for now. I look forward to this whole new Audi thing.

See you on the road!!!!

Oh, one more thing. Here's a pic of the bruiser that I built myself, and traded (snif, snif) for the sweet red coupe in the background...

 

welcome to the red car club!

 

First, street racing is bad. Don't do it and don't brag about it here - we don't want to hear about it.

Second - if you used to autocross, get your butt out to Maywood park on Sunday and pick-up the habit again. You will even get a free lunch while you meet some of the nicest Audi enthusiasts in the world.

 

It's possible your car is already chipped. If it's an APR chip, you can probably find out by reading this pdf...<a href="http://www.goapr.com/Audi/support/dpp_emcs_instructions.pdf">click here.</a>

 

(rolls eyes and walks away)

 

AutoX Sunday At Maywood

 

Your not getting you radio keys back.

 

Welcome!!!...and re-read gription's post.

 

Hey Dan, AutoX Sunday at Maywood

 

I tried it twice, because I am a dumb a$$