991999R

audis are dreck. M5 is a little grandpa-ish but its pretty awesome with the competition package. very subtle too. my favorite element of the m5 was its sleeper looks. can't say the same for the m3/4. i think they look wild. good pick.

Mcx

Nice choice. M3 4 door in UK starts at £56k ($93k!).. I won't be buying one... not new anyway. May wait until my 1m trades even money with used m3, sure it won't be long.

mb97tts

Not a detail, but a first wash for our new White C2S

Money2536

Love it! The Duck Tail looks great. I good scared at the last second and didn't get it.

mb97tts

I love it, thanks!!!

I am so glad I deleted the rear wiper at the last minute... I don't know what I was thinking!!

Picked up some things from Adam's... thanks for the tip....

If a guy was to do maybe a one or two step sealant/wax.... what would you recommend?

I had used Zaino on my 97 TTS and my Stradale... worked good, and looked nice............

Wanted to give something else a try...

Maybe 1/2 a day's work every 3 months?

Thanks Matt..

Marty

Money2536

As long as the paint looks good, I would:

-Clay or Autoscrub it after a wash
-Tape off the jams/trim
-Use Sonax 4/6 Perfect Finish Polish with an stiffer Polishing Pad. The more aggressive pad will offset the mild finishing polish and finsh nicely.
-I'm telling you Sonax Polymer Net Shield is awesome. Spray it on a pad, spread it on a two sq. ft. area, and wipe off immediately. It's much better and longer lasting than Menzerna Power Lock and doesn't get messy like a wax. No matter how careful I am. I don't normally like sealants or coatings, but carnuba always ends up getting on a piece of trim somewhere. I've been in love with Sonax PNS.

That should take about 6 hours or so.

eg991

M3 looks great in mineral white with black rims and the CF roof. You'll have quite the awesome stable!

BlackBeauty

Matt - thanks again for all your help - I'm going to get a Rupes LHR15ES but saw you have a 21ES - I was thinking the smaller radial coverage would be better for our cars given their curves. I saw you also have a Duetto - any insight as always is greatly appreciated!! Here's some pictures of the garage - I most happy with the cabinets - they're off the floor and are on French Hinges - so you can basically swing from them if you wanted to. I just need to finish the floor and was going to go with WeatherTech tiles.

BlackBeauty

Pictures this time - sorry I'm technologically obtuse.

BlackBeauty

Ok - last try

Money2536

Man I need a bigger garage like your's. You need me to come over and line up those bottles for you.

If I could do it over again, I would absolutely get the LHR15ES. I already had the LHR21. When I was at an Autogeek weekend seminar I got to try out the Duetto and the Mini. I thought the Duetto was a better choice because of the redundancy of having a 15 and 21. Like you said, 5" pads work much better than 6" on the 991.

BlackBeauty

Matt thanks so much! We've lived in the Philly Suburbs our whole lives and when we moved (which was like 1.5 miles from our old house), the one thing that was non-negotiable was that I could get at least a 4 car garage. I actually wanted to stretch this (it was new construction) but was told it would negatively impact the aesthetics of the house . I designed the third bay with a lighting package that would allow me to detail whatever toy I had, but after we moved in it turned out that was only spot my wife could park in without hitting a wall or a door (even with sensors and a camera).

I know about the bottles -I have some organizing to do!

Money2536

I don't use it often, but it makes me feel better having a few towels and other essentials with me at all times. I decided to put it behind the driver's seat. You can't see it, and no human is going to fit behind me. I have Griot's Waterless Wash for the heavy stuff, Speed Shine for the light, Interior Cleaner, and Window Cleaner. I can pretty much clean anything with those 4. I also always have a microfiber towel under the passenger seat for quick access.

Money2536

My prerequisites on a house were: flat lot, no trees, at least a three car garage. Well...I got none of them. I can't fix the flat lot, but I've taken out a bunch of trees and a garage is in the works.

This was the house I was planning to build and then we found the one I'm in. The house we have is on a lake is why overlooked my wishes. Maybe someday...

Money2536

I'm going to attempt to give a review of the X51 Carrera S Powerkit option. I understand this is a controversial and very expensive option with questionable benefits. Here is my story on why I purchased the option and my review on it.

Timeline/Thought Process to Ticking the $17,800 Box
As I began configuring my car, the X51 performance option wasn't much of a consideration. I knew it existed and had seen a few posts about it, but it seemed ridiculous being basically the same cost as buying a Honda Civic.

I subconsciously created a $120,000 max budget for my Carrera S configuration. I was back and forth on Burmester. Once I made the decision for Burmester and I broke that mental price ceiling, I began to consider getting the car exactly the way I wanted it. I had made the decision in September when I finalized my order and did not tick the X51 box.

Well, I started seeing posts pop up about retrofitting it. I hadn't realized how much was involved. I can't find the post of the guy that took photos of his kit being added after the fact. The entire motor was dropped out of the car. The stack of parts left over made me start doing more research. Even though I ordered the car September 1, I still didn't have an allocation. I had time to add it if I wanted.

Around the end of October, I still didn't have a build date. My dealer left out the fact that they didn't actually have an available allocation. I then began the search for a GT3 allocation. Obviously I didn't find one and wasn't willing to wait. It's a good thing I didn't. So the GT3 was out.

Then someone posted the attached .pdf file. The article really explains the virtues of the changes to the car with the included kit. Combine this with others that were adding it, positive reviews from those that have it, and a personal desire to have the best engineering available, I wanted it. It was mid-November, and I now had an allocation and build date. Coincidentally, the day I decided to pony up the cash was my very last day to make changes. We got the option added in the last few minutes of the last day.

Comparison
I don't have extensive seat time in a non-X51 car, so I'm not sure how useful this comparison is. If you've seen the HP/TQ graph, you know there is basically no difference until you reach about 6,500 RPM. From my memory of taking a regular S car to red line, there is a violence that doesn't exist without the Powerkit. The car just feels angrier and much more aggressive. I don't know how to better explain it.

X51 w/ 7MT
Now my lackluster driving skills were very apparent trying to manage 1st gear in 6MT E92 M3 that was darn near impossible to manage running to red line and making a proper 2nd gear shift. I wondered if I'd have similar problems with a 7MT and X51. The Porsche gear ratios and smooth shift gates make it very manageable despite the quickness to red line. I feel confident, other than the fact that I'm going like a million miles and hour, shifting at red line. I had read comments where someone said a PDK is necessary with X51. I would feel comfortable recommending my configuration to a friend.

Included Options PSE and Sport Chrono
I had already ticked the Sport Chrono package as I really wanted auto rev matching. I've been trying to learn how the heel-toe for years. I have practiced, been coached, bent pedals toward one another, tried difference techniques, worked on flexibility, etc., etc. I just can't do it. You'd think I be a good candidate for PDK. I just love the ability to rev the engine when I want and the auto rev match band-aids my weak skills. I'm sure the dynamic engine mounts add somethings too, but I'm sure I wouldn't know if I didn't have them.

The one thing I would have liked to have been able to take out of the Powerkit would be PSE. Hear me out before you completely dismiss the rest of this review. The love affair with PSE does baffle me a bit. It is certainly very good for a stock exhaust, but I'll be tearing it out and going aftermarket shortly. Why are people paying more to add PSE after the fact when there are better sounding aftermarket exhaust available. It drones a ton and is a little weak sounding at times. Again, it sounds good, but the drone/sound trade-off is a little out of balance. Too much drone for the amount of quality sound it produces. On a side note, I think the exhaust note would be much better if we got rid of the burbles after releasing the throttle. Anyway, an AWE Switchpath will be ordered shortly making the $2,950 attributed to PSE a bit of a waste of money. I know I have the button (which I don't use), but I roll in Sport Plus mode all of the time. I'm not going to take this car to a client's house, and my wife has no say in what my exhaust sounds like. This is just my opinion. Sorry to the PSE lovers out there.

Conclusion
So...now what do I think about it? I'm extremely glad I did it. I know myself and wouldn't be happy without it. I'd be looking for upgrades to try and squeeze out a few more ponies despite not actually needing any more power just to drive around town. I now have no desire to search out additional power making modifications. I feel as though the car is complete.

Is it worth $17,800, and do I get my money's worth tooling around town? Probably not, but the joy it brings me the few times I do hit red line makes it worth it.