92/5000 -or- so I decided to buy a German car.

[matsayswhat]

The "list" as of 12/18/11

Installed or performed (in chronological order):
KW V1 Coilovers (HPA Waterfest sale + DBC installation kit)
HPA Hockey Puck (HPA Group buy)
Corner balanced. Wow I love this. (TC Motorsports in Auburn, WA)
Black Hazard Light

Waiting to be installed or pending:
R32 dead pedal
Black coil pack covers
City light and license plate LEDs (PerformanceLEDs)
Black coolant cap and plug for washer fluid tank
Haldex controller with switch (Friendly folks from the classifieds)
Summer wheels that need to be painted, or powder coated. Exact details pending until I can post pics
Adapters and wobble bolts for said wheels
Clear sidemarkers that are getting color matched or filmed... undecided (Classifieds!)
Elemental Designs Amp and Subwoofer

On order:
Forge Intake
Forge Manifold back exhaust with HFCs
H&R Sway Bars

Sold or Getting Sold:
My "experimental" grill that is holeless, but damaged. I suck at autobody, so I'll pass it on to someone that can use it for a project

Short Term:
Summer Tires - Likely going with Conti DWs since it rains in Seattle so much
Some kind of holeless grille solution

Long Term:
More engine bay clean up
Brakes (nice pads, stainless lines, DOT4 fluid, Tyrol stiffener?) when my current pads are shot
Possibly Bracing
Cams, likely Schrick 268/264
Weight Loss? Color matched CF items... hrm. Not sure what kind of options we've got.


Original Post:
Hello all, I'm new here (obviously being as this is my first post)! I've been a Subaru guy for six years, and have really only owned Japanese in my decade and a half of driving, but when I changed jobs nine months ago and started commuting a little more I started to notice the less fun aspects of my 08 STI a lot more... Sure it was a fun and fast car, but a cruiser with comfortable seats it was not. Then last spring I road tripped with a buddy of mine in his e46 M3 and I started thinking about going German.

Fast forward six months or so to yesterday and I traded my STI with all of the equity I had in it against a clean 08 R32, number 92 of 5000

I still like the Subaru boxer rumble, but wow does the VR6 sound fantastic!

I don't have any huge plans since this is going to be my DD... The wheels on it right now are 19" Hartmann Euromesh 3s I think, a bit big and heavy for me. Those will get traded out in favor of a set of 17 or 18" enkei RPF1s. I'll tint the windows, probably get an intake (everyone seems to like EVOMS), and maybe sways and an exhaust... It'll all depend on how I feel once I've gotten used to it.

So yeah, thanks in advance for all of the threads full of information! Here's a pic I took earlier, excuse the darkness, I'll be waxing it tomorrow and will get some nice pictures with my DSLR afterwards.

[madcrzydrmr]

welcome

[PSU]

[R3Drew]

Had a few scooby gents come through here making the same transition, and most of them promptly switched back

Sounds like you have the right idea as to why you switched though, so I have high hopes for you

Welcome, and enjoy!

[mach gti]

Great choice to switch.

[matsayswhat]

Heh, I won't be switching back... I'm lucky enough that I can have a DD and a project car, which right now is a Forester that I was going to do a turbo swap on, but I'm probably going to sell it and get something else... maybe a project wrx or evo, or maybe an old e30... we'll see

Thanks for the greetings!

[PSU]

Great choice! Welcome to the community.

I know it's a hike, but check it out:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5135689

Also, good #:

[gottiR32]

Congrats and welcome...

[germanbycar]

Congrats man!! Good number too.
VR6 Growl ftw

[10Ten]

I want that golf ball shift knob so bad.

I'd retain my stock boot though.

IIRC, it's like $300...

id keep the stock boot too, and it got me thinking, until you said $300. ouch.

[PSU]

id keep the stock boot too, and it got me thinking, until you said $300. ouch.

My thoughts exactly.

[matsayswhat]

They might not carry it anymore... I thought I remembered reading somewhere that it was going to be discontinued, but when they did have it, they were definitely the cheapest place that carried it. I think it was ~$275. And yeah, that's a lot, but my worn stock shifter bugged me too much to keep it because of how worn it was.

Looks like the cheapest price on ebay is $350. Oy.

[matsayswhat]

Just ordered a small Christmas present for my R32.

1. LEDs from PerformanceLEDs, city lights and license plate lights
2. Black hazard light to clean up the interior a bit
3. Misc stuff from ECS, black coil pack covers, an R32 dead pedal, euro black coolant cap, and OEM electrical tape to clean things up a bit.

I'm hoping to wash, wax and detail Monday or Tuesday, it's badly needed.

[matsayswhat]

Goals for the new year:
#1 Take cool picture of self with R32 for future owner so they know how badass the car made me. Nipples optional.
http://imgur.com/gallery/eUXfY
#2 Hide said picture in the owners manual. Totally not creepy.

[sixteen10]

Awesome updates!!!

[Mr_Peach]

Wait! You had neon green and you're sanding it off! I am so butthurt!

Say hi to Joe at Doublej for me. He did my UM tune last month.

[matsayswhat]

Wait! You had neon green and you're sanding it off! I am so butthurt!

Say hi to Joe at Doublej for me. He did my UM tune last month.

Hehe, I never actually ran the neon green, that's... a bit bright for me. I'll be going with a much more toned down color.

Will do! Joey is actually going to be doing all of the work on my car and your review was part of what made me feel ready to pull the trigger with them. While I've only spoken with him and his wife on the phone at this point it's so far been a great customer service interaction. They're going to be really cool and let me snap some pictures during the install too!

[matsayswhat]

Something arrived from Forge Motorsports!

A heavy package full of presents for the #r32. Super excited, especially for install, dyno and tune on Monday. @v4n15h by matisanerd, on Flickr

Very well packed, looking good!

Unpacking the new #forgemotorsports exhaust look at those #welds! #r32 by matisanerd, on Flickr

And it came with swag!

Swag from #forgemotorsports and #scorpionexhaust #r32 by matisanerd, on Flickr

I'll be taking better pictures with my DSLR today and tomorrow, washing the R, taking the before videos and getting everything ready for Monday morning. I probably won't post any of the high quality pictures until I have everything before and after put together for it's own thread.

In the meantime, if anyone is on instagram, I'm 'matsayswhat' on there too and will be posting iphone pictures over the weekend and on Monday during the install.

[kyle77777]

mat i wanna hear this once you get it installed