2015 WRX STI - A year later.

It's hard to believe the STI has been part of the stable for a year already. It's been a pleasure to live with on a daily basis and is an ideal Colorado car. The only modification made has been a set of Michelin snow tires, which transformed it from a bank vault on skis to a winter hooligan. Snow tires + disabled traction control = fun. It hasn't seen any HPDE or track days, but that may change when the summer tires are re-installed. Mostly, it's been used as my bike hauler and all-weather sports car. Overall, I'm happy with the purchase. If I had to pick a vehicle out of the current stable as my only ride, this would be it.

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Porsche 911: The Adventure Begins

Back in June, I bought my first Porsche - a 2004 40th Anniversary 911. Original rennlist post: After a couple years of researching, looking and comparison shopping, I finally bought a Porsche - #1147 40th AE. It's only gone 34.5K miles in the hands of the previous owners, of which there have been three. I drove a bone stock 1999 a number of years ago and, while it was a very nice car, it left me wanting. Fast forward five or so years and a number of cars owned/sold later and I came away with a much more positive view of the 996 after driving a friend's 1999 911. Specifically, I was impressed with how solid the car felt with 115K miles. He's put a fair amount of work in it to get to that point, but it's impressive nonetheless. I was convinced that I could drive a 996 on a daily basis. It's faster than any sane person needs to go on public roads, makes a great grand tourer and is fairly robust is one starts with a good foundation and observes t...

2015 WRX STI - Changing gears

I bid farewell to the Porsche about six weeks ago. It was a fantastic car to drive, but nagging and potentially expensive issues convinced me that it was time to let it go. Coming as a surprise to absolutely nobody, I bought a 2015 WRX STI. Here she sits, dirty and about 2 miles outside of the break-in period on one of my favorite driving roads: It's good to be back in Scooby. As an prior owner of a GD STi, I can say this is a very different car. The interior is a much nicer place to be and they finally sorted the chassis tuning. The steering feedback is great, turn-in is fantastic and the car is a much more competent handler than any prior stock STI. Actually, this STI is *almost* as composed in the twisty bits as the Evo X (yeah, I had one of those, too). The inside of the STi is a much nicer place to be. It's not luxurious, but it's far better than the late sixties eastern bloc motif sported by the Evo. In addition ...

Porsche 911: Six Month Report

Overview Writing about the 911 was planned from the beginning. To that end, I'm periodically recording my thoughts and experiences regarding what it's like to live with a 10 year old Porsche on a daily basis. Without further ado, here's the six month report. Maintenance & Repairs One of the goals of this little adventure is to see how much it costs to operate a 911 on a daily basis. As mentioned earlier, this car is not a garage queen. It's used as...well...a car. As such, it not only has to put a smile on my face as we cruise through the canyons, it must get me to work and back reliably. In the first six months of ownership, the following work was performed: Pre-Purchase Replace AOS (symptom - oil leak) Install new clutch kit (clutch disk, pressure plate, throwout & pilot bearings, shift fork) Replace left AC condenser Replace window regulator Replace accessory belt & idler pulleys Replace grounding strap Unexpect...

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