Trip Report, Evans, Investments, Questions

["Janet Scruggs" <scruggs@mbay.net>]

Took a little trip starting Christmas afternoon, just over 1kmi total, from
Monterey down to San Diego and back.  Car performed flawlessly...Pearl white
'87 5kCSq with suspension, brake, and engine mods.  Pacific Coast Highway is
still a terrific drive, bridge repairs, traffic and all.  (You East Coast
folks will be amazed that the tendency here is for slower drivers to signal
and pull off in designated 'turnouts' to allow faster drivers to pass on
curvy two-lane roads.  You Left Coast folks must realize that Right Coast
drivers would sooner eat worms than display any form of road courtesy.
Generalities, yes, but they reflect my experience on each coast.)

I found that my combination of Eibachs, Konis, and 34psi-50 series tires are
a bit 'jiggly' for the Los Angeles area roads.  But this combination was
otherwise very nice for the curvy bits and quite stable at speed even in
traffic.  I consistently drove 80-90mph and was regularly passed.  Got about
23mpg.  Except for the two hours in second gear that it took to get back
through lower LA it was a really good driving trip.  Saw only the second
Bitter that I've ever seen, a red coupe in very nice shape.  Saw only one
interesting quattro, a black 5k in very good condition, near Escondido.

To add more length to the thread, I converted to the Evans non-aqueous
propylene glycol (NPG) coolant about a month ago and have had no problems.
It does tend to run about two needle widths warmer in my system than water
did but I see no cause for alarm.  I'll trade slightly elevated temperatures
for a system with no pressure in it any day.  It stabilizes at about two
needles less than the 1/2 mark on the road and the highest I've seen it was
halfway between 1/2 and 3/4 and that was going up the Grapevine between
70-80mph, loaded, in fourth gear, with the air conditioning on.  The
Grapevine is a section of I-5 north of LA that rises about 3500ft in about
10mi and is famous in the west for taxing cooling systems.  (So Cal folks,
whomever, please correct my description as needed.)  Regardless, I've had no
problems using the Evans.  I've corresponded with Igor and talked with Avi
and have yet to arrive at a clear understanding of why NPG works in some of
our cars and not in others.  My entire cooling system is either brand new
(hoses, heater core, 80degC thermostat, after-run pump) or a year old (all
metal radiator, water pump, metal heater valve).  It did not occur to me
until Avi and I talked that the 5k radiator is a two pass device, just like
the intercooler.  Were I to need another radiator I would look for a single
pass replacement and adapt hoses to make it work.  I believe the two-pass
design for both the intercooler and the radiator is to simplify the
plumbing, to the detriment of the performance of each.

Regarding the reason for taking this little trip, we visited Universal
Studios, Wild Animal Park, and San Diego Zoo.  If any of you wish to become
wealthy I have an investment opportunity for you... we'll open our own theme
park... it will be called LineWorld.  I have it all figured out.  You drive
for hours to nowhere, pay $40 to park, walk a mile uphill carrying your
children to get to the front gate, pay $40, get your forehead stamped with
"Stupid"... backwards so you can read it everyday in the mirror... and stand
in line for two hours.  When you get to the head of the line you will have
your head shaved with a cheese grater as you chew a large wad of aluminum
foil.  Then you will be kicked in the butt toward the next line where you
will pay another $40 and be allowed to stand under heat lamps for another
hour.  When you get to the head of this line your crotch will be sprayed
with sugar water and you get to stand in a pit of fire ants while tribes of
naked, garlic eating foreigners serenade you with bagpipes as you stare
directly into the sun.  Judging by what I saw the last four days people will
flock to the experience... just tell them, "...It's for the animals...," and
I swear that we'll all become rich.  Make out those checks to "LineWorld,
LTD."

Audi 5kCSq questions:  Speaking of temperature gauges, does anyone know the
temps that are represented on the gauge at the 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 marks?
Although I plan to eventually get an analog gauge I realized that I have
only suspicions about what the OE gauge is telling me.

Driveshaft bearing failure... I noticed that above 90mph there is the
beginning of a vibration that I don't associate with tire imbalance.  The
vibration itself is not high frequency but rather low.  Is high-speed
vibration a failure mode of driveshaft bearing failure?  Car has about 91kmi
on it.  I plan to have the tire balance revisited to eliminate that
possibility.  Any experience?

Regards, Gross Scruggs