[V8] Ramblings

[Professor GT gmail]

OK. OK, I knew sooner or later I'd get sucked into the Vortex and have to add my 2 cents on a few topics. That's what's so cool about this forum: we can not only pontificate on all sorts of things, but occasionally some good useful info comes out of it too.

K, first things first! Stereo (us old farts call it a stereo because we remember the days of "monoral" sound, that spews fake engine sounds! It's a car, not a friggin video game! Come on BMW you are stooping to Jap Car antics to attract more sales just for the sake of sales! Shame on you! Put the money into something better suited to give "drivers" what they are looking for, not fake BS! BMWs current model line up may be fantastic, but stooping to the level of "fake" sound to make "the experience" "ultimate" is pretty lame no matter how nice the car is. End of Rant 1

Next, VWs V10 TDI Touareg is an awesome ride, that is until you have to fix it! I spent just shy of 5 yrs as a VW factory geek, and was one of the "lucky" one who got to go the Wolfsburg & Slovakia, the locations of Engineering and the Touareg Assembly plant respectively, for 3 weeks before the US launch to learn as much about these vehicles as possible before they we thrust upon the unsuspecting US customer base!

The ONLY way to own one (V6, V8, or V10 TDI is on a lease, so you can give the POS back before the inevitable deluge of repairs needed has you remortgaging your house to pay for it!

Seriously, it is a nightmare in the making.
 Ready? 
The V6 thermostat needs replacement?
The V8 alternator needs replacement, or
The V10 TDI O2 sensor needs replacement?

You sitting down?

All three, per the FACTORY shop manual REQUIRE Engine R&R!

Are you kidding me? What idiot would engineer such a bunch of BS? Oh yea and the subframe attachment bolts were teRing out their threads upon assembly at the plant as there is only about 1/2 inch of thread engagement skid you try to pull up the subframe with them they strip, if the didn't in fact strip upon installation at the plant, or when the poor unsuspecting repair tech goes for it. Even better, the nuts are captured inside the frame rails, so the only viable repair is drilling them out, etc., etc., etc!

I know, they hired the same rectal engineer the designed the Ford F-series to require cab removal to do any involved word beyond the simplest of operations, and I was a"Ford Man", but not after that brain fart!

So, then there is the Audi V8!

All I can say is that back I'm the late 80s when I was a rep for BMW in the tri-state area I had an M5 as a demo for a while, and it was one of the nicest vehicles I had ever driven overall.

Fast forward to about four uears ago when i got my 91 V8 5-speed. The first  time I got it out on the road I had a flash-back to the M5 bit it was even better than what I remembered thanks to the Quattro System and the nice tone of the V8 engine - Nothing beats the sound of a finely tuned Ho-Po V8!

Is it somewhat of a pain in the butt to work on? Yea, in some ways, but in this case it's a labor of love, because the car is so fine! With a strong 4.2 ready to swap in with a correct manual trans 4.2  Motronic Unit this car is gonna be fantastic! The fact that it does not have to be my daily driver will also help with "Stage Two" which will be twin Garrett TB04 Turbos with custom injection control. I will be fabricating my own stainless manifolds, and will have an absolute blast doing it. 
First priority is to get my automatic car's engine swap done (3.6 for 3.6) as this will be my daughter's first car! - spoiled brat! Hey hot chick with a hot car! It doesn't get much better than that!

Once that's done it's on to the 4.2 fun with my stick car!

Can't wait to get started, but moving very slowly as I'm recovering from a back injury which put me out of work for a month.

Ah, now I feel much better! Thanks for indulging my rants. 

OWDEE ON! 

Thanks,

ProfessorGT
(Sent from my iPhone4)