Very nice purchase! Glad everything worked out for you.

Loving the photos

Ahh, sorry Udo. My mistake. For some reason I thought we did the PCA Treffen together last September, and just never got a chance to meet up. Yes, the Rattler is NC Rt 209 just west of Asheville. Glorious road. We had a blast that whole weekend, and drove a different area for each of the 4 days we were there. There was a Rennlist thread on that Treffen too. I would LOVE to come down your way again soon. You guys have some of the best driving roads in the country IMO.

I couldn't convince Cobalt & his wonderful wife to join my wife & I for that Sept '17 Asheville Treffen (I think maybe he had a track event that weekend),... but maybe after he reads this, he'll consider it the next time it's in the NC. Hoping to join him on a Adirondacks 928 drive this year though!! Would be great to meet up for a weekend of fun twisties!

Oh, in fact, the map that PCA gave out during that weekend is a MUST HAVE keeper. It has amazing detail and descriptions of some of the best driving roads in that area.

If you do not already have one of these maps, I'd suggest reaching out to Harmony Motors dealership that sponsored it,.. or contact your local Smoky Mtn PCA region, and see if they still have some copies left over.
Here's a few pics of the Map,... on the backside, it has descriptions of all the "drives", for each of the regions. VERY informative. I could spend MONTHS just exploring all these great roads...
All my best,
=Steve
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...5980f0d07.jpeg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...0a4b9d95b.jpeg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...27d623682.jpeg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...f1662179b.jpeg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...dcf90c7c2.jpeg

Steve,

Too busy running PCA stuff. That was the weekend of our annual PCA wine tasting Cindy and I run. If I have the weekend open I would love to join. Lets talk soon about Adirondacks it is approaching quickly. Still haven't pulled the 928 out of storage but should be getting to it soon. I have LRP this Friday, Hershey Saturday and I am running a trek on Sunday. I need a vacation LOL

Harmony Motors is sending me 5 maps! Thanks for the heads up. They have a box full if anyone else is interested: Harmony Motors @ 888-623-3887
I have a whole list of roads that are just amazing, but it can take a long time to get a really good loop dialed-in. This map will help a lot on future drives! I'm looking forward to exploring the western side of Asheville.

This is the company that produces the map: https://americaridesmaps.com/

That's awesome, congrats on a great score man! Glad to see it worked out for you in the end.

Just catching up here, looks like you've landed a gorgeous replacement! Good luck and Enjoy:thumbup:

^^^^^^^^^
Thanks again guys.

There's a lot going on with this thread, so I wanted to ask.again. Is this a stock cat or some type of bypass?
I'm curious and if it's stock, just bypassing the secondary (with a g-pipe) is pretty loud... and a cat bypass would be too loud for my situation.
Thanks

The pictures seem to be unviewable now, but if I recall it looked like a stock CAT to me. If you like the sound now, I'd leave it alone. If I'm not mistaken, the G-Pipe, Primary and Cat-bypass was a tad loud for some. I'd love to hear a vid of it when possible:D! Good Luck! Cobalt FTW

What? Unviewable image...

I just remembered that I have my old cat stored up in the attic, will get that down to compare. I tried to compare it to pictures of a stock cat, but it seemed subtly different.
It's probably a stock cat. I'm only guessing because the car is so loud now (in a good way).
Just a single secondary bypass seems louder than my previous cat & primary bypass??

Here's a random video I took in the garage this past weekend:


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/hA...w1632-h1224-no

The car is back from it's first check at my local favorite shop. Dropped it off for them to give it a look over, and a round of mods. Right now I keeping the exterior as stock as possible, and just sharpening up the mechanicals underneath.

Starting from front to back:
Steering rack brace
Rennline 3-pt struct brace (still working on the install)
RS hood prop (no more droopy hood shocks!)
FDmotorsports short shift kit (RS-style lever and fork)
FD RS forward rod (see pic, the forward rod cup was beginning to crack)
FD Golden Rod
Function First transmission mount insert (soft, 60A, orange)
Rennline RS heater duct
Rennline dead pedal
Fresh brake and trans fluid (Swepco).
Removed extra stereo amp bull****...

This is the second time I've had a Golden rod installed. Last time I chose the billet shifter and used the stock forward rod and had a new front cup pressed in. This time I went with a RS short shift lever to keep the nice blue shift lever material, but went with a FD forward rod to complete the whole shifting set. Such an awesome, necessary upgrade. So, so much better in your hand. Shifts so well from 1st to 2nd. Really nice smooth, mechanical feel, with no subtle sense of rubber flexing or looseness in the lever. Highly recommend getting the forward rod at the same time. (Check your forward rod cup before it falls apart). Super happy with the Function First trans mount.

Golden Rod + Short shift lever + FD forward rod + Trans mount insert + stiff motor mounts = very direct, and precise and quality feeling. Sponginess is gone, and it's not harsh at all. Highly recommend!

Sorry for the bad phone pics:

Still need to finish installing the Rennline brace - very tight in some spots.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Jf...=w1249-h936-no

Big crack had formed. I'm sure it would have been fine for years, but nice to know this will never be an issue.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/M2...=w1175-h936-no

Heater bypass installed, and everything works as it should! (I had them use anto1150's one wire method = run a 7.5 amp fused wire from the + side of the coil to post #87 in the relay socket)
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7k...=w1248-h936-no

Congrats on the new car 911jetta! looks like you are moving pretty fast getting it to where you want. Love the progress. Cheers!

^^^^^^
Thanks. Your car, those wheels, that duck. Love the Ruf style rear center light bar. Just delicious! Plus, love watching your crew's videos.

The new car is all around much nicer than my previous car, so I'm at a better starting point, but there are a couple mods that just needed to be done right away.

Tightly connect suspension, shifting and transmission components really raise connection and drive-ability of these car.
They go from feel solid but soft and floaty, to feeling even more solid, agile and super connected (but not harsh).