[s-cars] Re: Who's got the loudest exhaust now? Frank!

Tue Apr 12 14:34:51 EDT 2005

Friends, Romans, S-Car Countrymen,

Yes, it is I. 

I have been absent from the list for some time. Much longer than I ever would have guessed back in the days of checking tons-o-email, answering a lot of questions (some of which I am sure are still being asked) on a dog-meat dial-up connection, MH'99, "listening" to Peter Blaser and Scott J. hash it out, hell, listening to Tors*n-boy hash it out with everybody at one point or another, The East Coast Crew. etc. Speaking of, Pizzo, ever get that EVO?). 

My '93 UrS, which I have now owned since Sept. '97, continues with some mild development (anything is mild compared to sharing the road with Hap and Pederbuilt, although Cody Payne is doing his part too) since it last saw these pages. Engine development has ceased at pretty much full-RS2, but I have done the LLTek front bumper, BIRA Sys 6 brakes (my 993tt rotors have finally developed cracks after some heavy-duty track use last year), Happer RSB (in place of the factory rear / Pederbar), 3" turbo-back, open-pipe, exhaust... and I think that is about it. I have a set of leather / alcantara Recaro Pole Positions that I have been meaning to drop-in (along with doing the rear seating surfaces and door panels in matching alcantara), but I haven't gotten around to it. I would love to dial-in some more negative camber up-front, and now that the car is a garage queen weekend warrior (bit of a dichotomy, eh?) I may do just that. 

My S just sits in the garage these days (I may have put 8k miles on it in the last two years) and only gets driven on the occasional Sunday, or during the track season (11+ track days with her last year), see pics at PPIR (with taped off headlights, SSR Comps & 255 RA1s) here... http://gallery.rennlist.com/gallery/PPIR-10-03-2004 . In fact, it has burned far more Sunoco GT100 than it has burned Conoco / Amoco / BP 91 these past two years!

I still have a wheel thing / fetish, but the addition of that damn LLTek front bumper (that thing is just too low, I have the same front ground clearance, which is to say not much, that Mark Hunter's 993 Turbo with Turbo S front lip spoiler does. Only problem is that the UrS has about 2.5 more feet of front overhang than the 993 tt does!) means that my car is pretty much done for Steamboat / BWDS and ice autocrossing which is a shame. As a result, I no longer have my 17x7.5 Audi / BBS RCs and LM-22 snows. In fact, I have had summer rubber (still OZ S/L with 245/35-18 T1-S, the longest I have ever had the same tire & wheel package on this car!!!!) on since Spring '04. I did get a set of 17x7.5 Avus powdercoated flat black (20% gloss) and I have to say that they look pretty stunning sitting in my basement (waiting to mount up the set of 225/45-17 Michelin Pilot Sport A/Ss sitting right next to them if I ever need to drive the car "this" winter).

Luckily, I no longer need a daily driver as I have been fortunate enough to be doing automotive journalism as a secondary career (including a weekly review that is broadcast on Channel 2 news, our WB affiliate, here in CO). One of the many perks there is that I drive different press vehicles every week (last week was a BMW 330Ci Convertible, this week a Lincoln Mark LT, next week is a Dodge RAM SRT-10, with a Noble M12, Honda Accord Hybrid, and A6 4.2 on the docket a few weeks out. Gearhead heaven!). A schweeeet set-up to be sure!

I do miss the fraternity and characters of "the list," but work, auto journalism, and family take up way toooo much time. Getting older sucks...

My son is now 5!...

Him: "What new car are we getting this week daddy?" 
Me: "Take it easy dude, this isn't normal." or, 

Me: "Don't tell your mother that we were doing doughnuts in the Mustang, ok?" 
Him: "...mommy, mommy! We were doing doughnuts in the Mustang!"
Me: "Doh!"

I was double booked with a TT 3.2 and a Mini Cooper last summer...
Me: "Which one do you like better, the TT or the Cooper?"
Him, scrutinizing both, looking up to me... "Which one is faster?"

Anyway, I am actually considering selling the UrS after this track season as I no longer need a "practical" car. I am looking for its successors in an R32 (that I can put a VF engineering supercharger and nitrous on) that I can track up at Steamboat as well as on the dry tarmac and a ’87-’89 911 factory turbo-look cabriolet all-show-and-no-go pimpy cruiser. Both black on black, of course! 

We sold the wife’s ’95 850 T-5R wagon and replaced it with a ’04 V70R and I have been enjoying that (I even spend a little time lurking on the Swedespeed R Forum, I do have to say that the Forum format is better than the email list format for the casual user), the auto tranny blows, but the cockpit adjustable suspension is perfect for us. 

Anyway, sorry for the long post, and thank-you Jeff for allowing me to update some old friends on what I have been up to.

Happy motoring, 
Frank--

----- Original Message -----
From: "Postupack, Jeff" <Jeff.Postupack at analog.com>
To: s-car-list at audifans.com
Subject: Who's got the loudest exhaust now?  Frank!
Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2005 12:40:00 -0400

> 
> 
> This is a funny story about Frank Amoroso.
> 
> He's not been active on this list in a while, but I had to share this
> report. I exchange email with Frank from time to time and feel I owed
> him a favor, for all the contributions that got ME S-car pregnant and
> onto said Slippery Slope!
> 
> Frank has a beautiful Black/Black S4 RS2 _all done up_ with a Stromung
> Gen 2 exhaust. Was pictured in European Car mag a while back.
> Dave Forgie has the issue I am sure! Frank was really involved in the
> early BOOM car days of Stromung Gen #1 and #2.
> 
> About a YEAR ago, Frank asked me to arrange a Stromung straight pipe
> rear section for track purposes.  I hounded Stromung a lot, Frank and I
> exchanged lots of email.
> And the owner (Scott) did question the sanity in making a rear pipe,
> deleting the resonator and rear muffler.
> After convincing Scott that Frank may indeed be crazy, that it's for
> Track purposes only, I think?  but just BUILD it.
> 
>   and after some Colorado Mafia intimidation (uh... encouragement)
> directed at Stromung  to get the job
> done and shipped!  It did happen.
> 
> Frank took delivery of  a stainless  rear _tube_ to bolt to his cat-less
> TEST pipe on or around March 25th.
> 
> So whattaya think happened?
> 
> Read on and enjoy!
> 
> Frank,  you GOTTA take a video and audio clip of this madness!
> 
> All the best
> Jeff Posto
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Frank Amoroso [mailto:frank at amoroso.com]
> Sent: Monday, April 11, 2005 6:51 PM
> To: Postupack, Jeff
> Subject: RE: Muffler-less section III?
> 
> 
> LLLLLOOOOOUUUUUDDDDD!!!!!
> 
> Which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, except that it just sounds
> just awful upon start-up, idle and part-throttle acceleration (this
> being said, the 17 year old Mustang owner just LOVES it).
> 
> On the flip side, it sounds KILLER / otherworldly at WOT / Full-Boost in
> the upper rev range.
> 
> Anyway, I think I am going to clamp a Supertrapp on there so I can run
> with some muffling to / from the track and still go un-corked at the
> track.
> 
> I gotta take some video of this thing, it is nut-so.
> 
> The up-shot is that I should be turning the heads of the Fast & Furious
> females now.
> 
> Ha!
> 
> Frank--