12/28/2005:
Just Cruisin'

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Long time no update! The holidays are a crazy time and I haven't had much time to do anything to the car other than drive the wheels off of it. So far the car has been fun to drive, economical and reliable, given what I am asking out of it on a daily basis.

Here is a pic of the boost guage I installed recently. Previously, it was temporarily mounted in the glovebox, which made it kinda tough to see while driving, at 100mph, in 3rd gear, in a parking lot, sideways. :-)


All the miles I've racked up lately required a good, thorough detail. Here are some pics of the car all shined up.


Wow, this thing sits real high on the stock suspension


Artsy rice-muffler shot. I just left the "Tsi" sticker on to keep 'em guessin.



Driver side shot.



Here's a clear shot with the Intercooler installed. These cars are naked without a big nasty intercooler stuffed in the nose.



I'm a clean-freak.





Another picture of the engine. I've added my patented water/alcohol injection setup, as seen by the small tank that I've added.

A few weeks ago, I got a wild hair and headed to the local 1/8 mile dragstrip to see what the Talon could do in its current street trim. Out of the 4 runs I made, my best was an 8.24 at 89mph. My sixty foots were pretty lame for an AWD, in the 1.9-2.1 range. I am clearly still trying to get the hang of launching this puppy. These weenie all-season tires aren't helping either. They were more than happy to go up in smoke off the line.

I am pretty happy with it, since it is at full weight with A/C and power everything. Even thought I lowered the boost a few pounds to help traction, am on the stock suspension and was shifting like a 70 year old woman, it was better than I expected.

Next time out I'll be on some better shocks/springs, launching on the stutterbox and sipping some race gas. Muhahaha.



Here is a shot of the local dragstrip. Tell me this ain't some down home shit right here! There are guys running 5s on this thing. Thankfully, I'm not one of them.



A little known fact about me is that I'm an all-american V8 guy at heart. When I saw the facts and figures on the new Corvette ZO6, I knew it would be my destiny to own one. So until that day, I'll be saving up my pennies in hopes to pick up one of these beasts.



Here's to wishing that you and yours have a great 2006! Thanks for visiting.