Update: 97 TSI, 3 months and $900 later...

[nighthawk355x]

I've been pretty damn pleased with my Talon , aside from a few minor mishaps it's been a good daily. I've had it for a little over 3 months and spent about $900, mostly on preventative maintainence, a few minor mishaps, and a few mods. Here's the list of where my money/blood/sweat/tears have gone to...

-new mass air meter(made the rookie mistake of gutting the old one...works on 5.0's... )
-new water pump/thermostat/timing belt/cam seals/water pump/valve cover gasket/BS belts/etc
-new valve cover(that I sanded down and custom painted black w/polished letters)
-stainless valve cover hardware
-new brakes all around(last week)
-2 new tires
-2 full stnth 15/50 oil changes(one when I got the car and one after I replaced the oil feed line the IC piping destroyed when a hose clamp blew)
-new stainless braided oil feed line
-all new t-bolt hose clamps
-new steering fluid tank
-new/custom coolant overflow tank(had it at work and customized it for the car)
-replaced 85% of the vacuum lines
-new headlights(alternator overcharged and fried them)
-new alternator
-red top battery
-rear strut tower brace
-Stainless 3" Downpipe + Test pipe(bye bye cat! It's DAMN FAST now too, BIG improvement!!!)
-differential + transfer case oil change
-new set of seat belts(driver's locked up and was 100% slack so I got a full set from a 63k mile 99 gst off e-bay)
-Magnasun wires(not sure on spelling...freebie from a friend)
-new plugs
-new pcv
-Buschur Racing plug cover(also free from a friend, and I painted that to match the valve cover)
-new 5th gear synchro, washer wave spring, and retaining nut(car had the typical 5th pop-out when I got it)
-Royal Purple Synchromax trans fluid change when I fixed 5th
-balanced all 4 wheels just for sh*ts and giggles
-OBX gauge bezel to fit 2 autometers(not in yet)
-Apexi turbo timer(not in yet)

WTF whew...the list looks soo much more insane when I write it out! Did I miss anything?? How did I do?

 

[PieEyedPiper]

So you're AWD and you only replaced 2 of your tires?
You know what I'm getting at, right?

Otherwise I'm glad you're enjoying your car!

 

[VTRICCO]

are new differentials in the works too? cause they'll be needed soon

 

[Defiant]

VCs, perhaps. Not diffs.

 

[TSIMonsteR]

Yeah with AWD, you need to replace all or none.

Anyway, good job on getting all the maintenance done first. Thats a good start to a happy DSM.

All you need now is some hard IC pipes (which I have , just PM if your interested)

It does feel amazing after exhaust, doesn't it?

 

[DiamondStarAwd]

unless you had some serious camber issues and wore your tires out in like a week, id suggest replacing all tires

 

[nighthawk355x]

I do realize I'll be needing all 4 tires replaced, unfortunately money was an issue and I could only get 2. They're same brand and same size so the difference should be very minimal. I should be alright for a little while at least...it's not like I'm driving a lot anyway. I work 4 miles from my house.

And the car WOKE UP after the exhaust...it's unbelievable!

Edit: And on a side note snow is now MY bi***! It's unstoppable in snow...I even took it out to see if I could do wild sh*t and get stuck, wouldn't happen.

 

[PieEyedPiper]

I don't share your condifence that driving dozens or even hundreds of miles before you replace your other tires will somehow keep you safe.

 

[HOT97ECLIPSEGSX]

Edit: And on a side note snow is now MY bi***! It's unstoppable in snow...I even took it out to see if I could do wild sh*t and get stuck, wouldn't happen.

I have done this...funny as hell, I don't seem to get stuck. I love passing SUV's and other people that just look over like WTF

 

[Artago]

I have done this...funny as hell, I don't seem to get stuck. I love passing SUV's and other people that just look over like WTF

Haha. Yeah, me too

 

[pmanaresi]

yea replacing only 2 tires= dif working overtime to correct= extra wear on dif

 

[Nuclear3000GT]

yea replacing only 2 tires= dif working overtime to correct= extra wear on dif

unless the difference in tire wear is huge, then we better hope everyone on here check their tire pressures constantly so each tire is exactly the same, otherwise 4 tires with slightly different sizes=extra work^2 on diff. Does the difference in tired tread left really have that much of an effect on how the diff works? (talking mm's here)

 

[HOT97ECLIPSEGSX]

Well, I had a tire that actually went completely flat on me, and all I had was a spare with the stocker wheel/tire. All wheels are actually the stockers, except the tires, which are Kumho's. The spare was a different manufacturer/tread. I slapped it on and drove about 7-8 miles to get them changed at a place I trust, and didn't seem to have any problems, any abnormal noises/problems. That was about 3-4 months ago.

 

[OwninFools]

It will affect it, but not as much as one though think, if you drove 1000s of miles on 2 new tires and 2 old tires, then it'd start to hurt it, but not anything to worry about when you just gotta wait 2 weeks for your next pay

 

[nighthawk355x]

Thanks for all the replies guys!

I'm not too worried about the tire situation, they're almost the exact same tire, aside from tread pattern...and anyone who starts telling my that will cause problems can blow it out their a$$. I was working at a shop doing tire crap for a while, will having a big difference have an effect, YES. But the tires I've got on mine would take TONS of mileage to do anything negative, and even then it may not happen. If you use the exact same size tire on your car a different brand should be well within the same total hight of the old ones, and even if there's a difference it'll be minimal...not enough to totally destroy sh*t. If I had totally bald tires up front and new rears that'd be one thing, but I'll be fine with what I have for now. I'll be getting the other 2 soon enough anyway, but it's not a huge rush.