Fwd: PDQ II - adventure (lost in space agin)

[QSHIPQ@aol.com]

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Forwarded message:
Subj:    PDQ II - the great white adventure report
Date:    97-01-02 22:52:52 EST
From:    QSHIPQ
To:      quattro@coimbra.ans.net
CC:      dan@di.com

Well, just had to take the Urq for a maiden voyage, had it 3.5 weeks now,
changed the oil, that's it....  Lots of looks into the garage to make sure it
was still mine, but my real job has really prevented my true playing with the
new toy....  Have WC RS2 turbo ready for install, as well as stock springs
and tires and wheels and big brakes and that 3" turbo back exhaust crossing
the pond as I write this....  None of which I have had time to do, but the
opportunity presented to fly the new pdqship to northern MI to help the folks
spend fidelity dollars (audio that is) in their newly constructed home.....

Left this past Monday nite from Chicago, promises of 12inches of snow New
Years Eve Eve as I approached Traverse City....  I have a back route, and I
decided to take it, tho unplowed, for some prorally (I packed Buffums book in
the trunk for comfort)....  Car:  My new 84 Ur-q, Tornado Red, grinding turbo
(hot side hits)....   And a true commitment to show those sport utes what awd
is all about....

More than I anticipated....  Decided to put the snows on Carole's ride
(ex-pdq, now waiting for new it's owner to collect, hey don't hit anything
while I'm gone), course chicago had no snow at all....  Well that made for an
interesting experience in the 2 inch lowered car with 8X15 wheels and 225 15
tires....  Thank goodness I've had lots of experience with Eagle GT +4's (ex
sponsor and all)....  Found out a couple things quickly...  Snow and wide
tires mix like vinegar and water (duh).....  GT +4 are still a pretty decent
(predictable) tire in the snow stuff (in dry snow, it was,  they handled
well)....   First pull on the awd knobben reavealed another project, not a
thing happened....  Guess it's diagnal wheel open diff drive for me....   

Found this to be the best control:   with throttle on car was just fine,
throttle off was a sliding thing, mostly controlled....  Braking, well snow
buildup theory was utilized by default....  Neutral throttle controlled as
well as full, so the trick was anticipation of inputs, you did anything more
to the lift than neutral, physics would remind me of the tire size....  Wow,
what a ride!!!!!  And yes, I was THE fastest and most controlled car on the
county road, and yes a couple of suv-egos did bite the dust trying to catch
that red "thing" that wizzed by in white cloud....

I learned alot on that trip, first being the sense that maybe the Urq should
not be driven as wildlyas pdq was, in deference to those gourgeous and
expensive fender lines....  My "sheet metal is sheet medal" was getting a
true mentality test....  With the 5ktq, no prisoners would have been taken,
and 9-10/10ths prorally is due course for my snowy rides.....  I know with
time (toy status an all), this will change (heck, I could get the Crown Vic
Wagon tow vehicle to 4wheel drift.....), and just as importantly, I'm
confident this will be one REALLY fast ride when I'm done with the
tweeks.....  Smiles abounded at the predicatability, even with the butched
spring mods the former owner had done....  After 3 years of tweeking the 5ktq
to get it right, I felt confident that the Urq would be one of the easiest to
modify correctly quickly....

Sideways more than a few times, the reduction in the size of the commitment
of medal becomes sublety obvious.....  The ease of correction was as familiar
as my 2 5ktq's....  The absence of more than nominal turbo boost will be
corrected (I kept it very low cuz of the interference thing, prolly a couple
pounds max) quickly, but the tires made big boost needs at bay for this
trip....  Even with the diag wheel drive and wide tires, passed the hillclimb
test at the folks unplowed new home, and my hippy uncle's 2 track uphill
driveway...

I submit that I will miss one of the wildest 5ktq's built as it goes to it's
new owner (still mine to tweek tho:)....  But, the best of those projects
will find it's way to caroles car, and in deference to the audi gods, I
believe that I will be forgiven for my trespasses on this heretical partial
trade of body styles....   I have Mssrs Anderson and Davis firmly in my
sights as I enthusiastically upgrade this rare classic to PDQ ship
standards.....  And yes, the plate was transferred as uncerimoniously as the
"ex" was from the garage to street parking....   End of Report

Happy New Year to all

Scott
QSHIPQ@aol.com

2 X '87 5ktqRS2
1 X '84 Ur-q
1 X '85 FJ1387cc