Max Duda

I just bought an 87 Audi 5000S quattro 2.3
I live in South Lake Tahoe and I love this thing so hard!

First weekend I had it, it was snowing, so I grabbed a buddy and went out to the snowiest roads around. Never having had an AWD car before, I had a lot of learning to do. Lots of sketchy slides. I managed to get us stuck off the side of the road in over a foot of kinda slushy snow. Suburban pulled us out right there on the spot.

Next weekend I went out into Nevada with a different friend on a quest to find an awesome dirt road... We found one. Let's just say we managed to travel at some daring speeds down this smooth dirt road with surprise series of tight cornering complexes, big rolling whoops, river crossings, tight bush lined trails, and wide open gravel sections. It was amazing, quattro changed my life. I have never felt so much like a Rally driver, ever. I was kind of concerned because I have 235/45R17s on some 2002 A4 wheels painted black, that barely fit in the fenders. But they did... We scraped all 4 tires on bottom out several times. Might need to do some clearancing there soon. Might have blown out the Driver's front strut, because I started to hear a strange rattling knock on small series of bumps, although I suppose it could be a number of other things, but all the components on the front end seems to remain bolted up tight.

I am having a hard time finding performance upgrades for this specific vehicle. I wonder what suspension and brakes parts cross over front different models of this era. I am looking for some stiffer and preferably adjustable struts and shocks, heavier springs with little drop to them, slotted or drilled front brake rotors and performance, but not track brake pads. Also, I would love to find a header that will work on the 2.3 10V natural aspirated engine with quattro.

A friend has a shop to build an exhaust, I am thinking 2.5" with just one muffler in the back with a dtm style upturned split-tip. Also we will fabricate a strut brace for the front and rear as well as a rally light bar for the bumper, thinking removable for Solo racing. Was considering prepping the car for some http://24hoursoflemons.com Racing, but it almost seems too nice with 97,000 miles on it to willingly donate it to a beater car racing team of my young hoonigan friends.

Anyways, I have had the car 3 weeks now and am falling in love. Handles snow amazing with center and rear differentials locked up. I was blasting through about 16inches of fresh powdery snow an extra 5 miles home tonight, just to amaze myself with the new found joy for ripping around corners pitching road coverings off all 4 tires. This is my first Audi, I grew up around MKI II and III VWs. Praise those German engineers, these things are awesome. I though I would introduce myself to the forum with some passion for the car. I will update the site with some more pictures as mods commence. Feel free to tell me 80's quattro stories, tricks and tips for enjoying this fine automobile.

Pushbutton_auto

Ride it till the wheels fall off.



Have fun ...

Kneale Brownson

Sounds like he's trying to do just that.

To OP: you might try rolling the fenders to get clearance for those huge wheels.