. . . passing 275k mi
('TMU,' actually . . .
. . . odo 's out for about two months, so . . . :o)
After 11 yrs/270k-some mi of faithful service, my Every Day needed some attention . . .
. . . meaning money. Brakes + pads already went in, last Fall. Alternator, too. But then the motor went off --- had it re-built/zero-timed, back in January. Which pretty-much killed all kinds of stuff . . . Pebble, Rennsport, Alaska . . . . . a house
Not-to-mention pretty-d@mn inconvenient car-wise --- considering all the other stuff that a quarter-million mile car needs after a quarter-century on the road . . .
. . . like tires
I'd held-off as long as I could, got down to the wear bars, then had to replace. Unlike my cars, I throw tires away, so . . . I don't get too attached to 'em. Been running all-seasons for a while now --- not very sexy, maybe . . . but I don't worry about weather/conditions, either. (Actually --- when it rains? . . . I speed up) Anyway, last two sets were Yokohama Avid Envigors which I picked 'cause they have an astronomical wear-rating. Actually, they're harder that donkey dung = ~40k mi of woo-hoo. Course, they ride like, well --- donkey dung, as well, so . . . w/ this latest set, I decided to switch back to an old/cheap/more-comfortable (!) favorite: Firestone Firehawks
Anyone remember the 'Firehawk' Racing Series?
Cue the crickets, please
Anyway, the 'Stones may not have the 'stick' of the Yokis --- or the life-expectancy . . . but/then again I can stop worrying about all that precision molded quarter-century-old German plastic in my interior threatening to come-off at every expansion joint. And the car slides-around again, too, like . . . kindova LOT, actually. I think of it as a speed governor
Cheap, too. ~$700 for the set, incl disposal + N-fill + road hazard + Dealer prep + options
Soooo --- w/ my Every Day now running a fresh motor + riding somewhat smoother --- + me feeling somewhat solvent . . . I went out and did something that I've never done . . . not in 40-years of owning/driving/fixing cars . . . not to mention the million-or-so miles that I've inflicted on them . . .
. . . I bought an after-market exhaust --- specifically . . .
. . . a Supersprint cat-back
Been eye-balling this exact system for years, but I was still a little anxious about, well . . . everything. Would it fit? How would it be to install? How would it sound? Cost me more than the tires, actually. But/then-again . . . I expect the exhaust to stay around a whole-LOT longer. Anyway/as it turned out, I had to wait a coupla weeks for the stuff to even arrive --- 'made in Italy' . . . so I got more anxious about what the whole thing even looked like when it got here. 4-cyl e30s are like A-cups, here/in SoCal . . . = extinct. Never actually seen a car w/ this set-up. Just pictures. On-line
Well --- the thing . . .
..1) arrived early
..2) looked beautiful
..3) took all-of-15 min to install
..4) fit perfectly
..5) sounds wonderful
Couldn't be more pleased