vw – Gripshiftslide

Calder Park Test Day :: Bridgestone Adrenalin POTENZA RE003

Grant — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 11:30:34 +0000

Gripshiftslide was lucky enough to score a special invite to a private test day for one of Bridgestone’s latest products. Other guests to be invited to the event included Full Boost, DownShift, Justin Fox, ClubItr and many more.

Originally scheduled to be held at Norwell Racetrack in Queensland the event was moved to Calder Park because of a large tropical cyclone! Good thing it was moved because on the day we were expected to be on track the entire Norwell Racetrack got flooded.

I could not wait to get behind the wheel of the new WRX! Of the two cars we were using to test Bridgestone’s new tyre the WRX was the one I was more keen to test with.

The reason we were all summoned was to test the brand new Bridgestone Adrenalin POTENZA RE003. The third in a series of great tyres the RE003 combines all the greatest aspects of the tyres that came before it.

With some time to kill before briefing I took the time to take a closer look at the all new WRX. This particular demo car was wearing its big brothers shoes! That’s right some STI wheels! The WRX continued to stare at me and practically begged me to drive it!

At briefing we were invited to learn more about the tyre we would be testing on the day. This included a presentation on the benefits of this awesome new tyre such as improved road contact pressure over the preceding RE002 model. Check out more features HERE.

The boys quickly checked out the tyres before hitting the first track test. The RE003 has a cool lightning bolt pattern down the right side of the tyre. The fancy name for this is the connection block and it helps to increase rigidity and transfer power in dry conditions.

Starting on the back straight we had the challenge of negating a slalom at 3 different speeds in two VW Golf GTIs. One car was running the new POTENZA Adrenalin RE003 tyres and the other Golf was running an expensive competitor tyre.

We started the slalom at 50kph on the competitors tyre. This test was easy and the tyre preformed relatively well. It was when we took the tyre over 65kph that things began to change! Having to be more aggressive with the wheel at a faster speed the tyres had to work a whole lot harder. When we raised the speed again, now at 75kph, the competitor tyre really started to scream in pain and many cones were knocked down!

Then we jumped in the other Golf GTI equipped with the Bridgestone POTENZA Adrenalin RE003 tyres. The first thing I noticed about this tyre was as soon as I gave the car the beans it bit into the road and launched the car faster than the competitor tyre. The control was much greater especially when you took the tyre to its limit.

Next we tested the tyres in the wet! Finally it was time to drive the new WRX. I was expecting a crazy rush of acceleration as I put my foot to the floor however there was nothing. It was just a very calm launch lacking excitement. Yet again we started the exercise with a car running the competitors tyre. Taking it through its paces I noticed a fair bit of understeer when turning in heavy.

It was time to swap cars and after having one experience with the Bridgestone tyre already I was beginning to trust in the tyre. Still I was unsure on how it would translate in the wet? I jumped in the car anticipating some understeer but in actual fact the tyre cut in so well I ended up oversteering! It was almost like I had too much control.

The tests were not over! Bridgestone wanted to make sure we put their new tyre through its paces! This was the second last test and it involved racing down the hill into a tighter slalom in the WRX.

Knowing that the WRX felt slow in comparison to the Golf GTI I started to mess with its many sport driving modes. Finally I found a mode that pushed the tyre harder and now that I had confidence in the tyre I was really beginning to give it hell! From lock to lock I accelerated as hard as the traction control would let me and still the tyre was predictable and totally in control.

It wasn’t only me who was impressed! Everyone was pleasantly surprised at the tyres performance. The tyre really preformed well on extreme direction change. The competitor tyre would tend to lose speed yet the RE003 had the ability to grip when others would just fade.

In both FWD and AWD the tyre was outstanding! I did however come out of these tests scratching my head at the fact that the GTI Golf was out performing the new WRX. You heard right! The Golf was fun and the DSG was super fast. The WRX on the other hand was sloppy; the suspension was too soft which in turn created body roll. Its off the line performance was sluggish and it only really felt good over 70kph.

The last test was designed to show us a real-time comparison between the Bridgestone POTENZA Adrenalin RE003 and a equivalent competitor tyre. We took part in two hot laps with one on each tyre chasing each other at the same speed.

This test really showed how at the same speed the competitors tyre would cause the car to understeer while the Bridgestone RE003 would grip and gain on the car in front.

All in all this tyre is the perfect sport tyre and is great for spirited driving or the occasional track day. Even after a host of Australia’s best car bloggers tortured these tyres for a full day there was no visible wear or tyre delamination on the RE003. I would not hesitate to recommend this tyre! Want to know more? Register your interest for the new POTENZA Adrenalin RE003 HERE and receive information as it becomes available!
Thanks for reading,
Grant

National VW :: Swap Meet & Show

Grant — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 10:04:51 +0000

When a bunch of Volkswagen’s get together, you know that a diverse range of people will arrive with them.
The show and swap meet was held this year at the Williamstown Maritime Association just near the main pier of Williamstown. With such a unique location, situated just on the waters edge, this show really made the cars shine.

Don’t be fooled though, the day wasn’t just for enthusiasts. It was also a family friendly day out with heaps of kids and of course dogs out and about enjoying the sunny atmosphere.

The variety of cars on show was huge to say the least, not to mention the amount of parts and unfinished projects that were up for sale.

This BUG was a true show stopper and with an almost Herbie style colour scheme and some summer decals, this was one phenomenal car.

Peering in through the window, this doesn’t look like a Volkswagen… but looks can be deceiving!

The Karmann Ghia coupe is one of the most sought after and collectible VWs. It has its own style and you can even see that hint of Porsche styling within the shape of this car.

Apart from the large collection of VW Beetles and Kombies, there were also a fair amount of type 3 Volkswagens on show.

This is not your average VW Beetle. With enough horse power to move a small planet, it looked truly intimidating. Everything on this car apart from the shell had been constructed just for this build and with the aim of going stupidly fast!

This wasn’t part of the show, but I found it lurking in the car park. I love kit cars, especially ones that are clubman style.

With the Sea Shepard’s “Steve Irwin” looking over the Swap Meet & Show, many people couldn’t help but take a closer look at the famous ship.

The one thing that VW owners know is character. Of all the modified and non modified cars we have seen none have as much character or are as individualised as older VW’s.

The Safari Kombie van is the slightly rarer version of the Kombie. However, in Australia we didn’t get too many of them and to see this one restored was a great sight to see.

This isn’t a VW obviously but Mini Mokes are a dying breed and it seems it’s the perfect run around for the Sea Shepard group. Check out its double canon exhaust setup! Plus its hardcore roll bars makes this little Moke ready for a fight.

What an impressive pillar-less VW custom type 3 coupe. Removing the pillar from this type 3 makes it look much cleaner and puts a new spin on an old favorite.

Some seriously beautiful pipe work here and a monster turbo to match! Love the side by side exhaust and screamer pipe set up.

All kinds of parts were on sale with these speedo’s catching my eye. Parts for these cars are getting so rare that anything in working condition is desirable.

It’s those individual touches that make VWs special. People add the most unique trinkets to their cars which adds real personality to them.

Stephen’s Notchback was looking amazing as usual! Such a clean ride with a great set of wheels to match.

There were lots of Kombies on display and even a few on sale. They are becoming the most prized VW and have seriously gone up in price over the last 5 years.

Not as popular as the Beetle but just as nice is the 1968 Notchback which has the advantage of being just that little bit lighter than the Beetle.

With so many parts and engines for sale this swap meet provided a haven for collectors. It gave restorers a good chance to source that hard to find part needed for their project.

The show had a rather early start so most people disappeared around midday for lunch. Yet there still were a few die-hard VW fans checking out the remaining cars.

There is always one in a crowd that sticks out! Rossko’s 1600 Squareback certainly does that! We first spotted this car at the Hanging Rock Car Show and may even feature it in the future.
The day was full of great cars and fantastic people. The Volkswagen community is growing with every year! With many of the members traveling interstate for this very show it truly represents their passion for these wonderful cars.
Thanks for looking,
-Grant

Scrapin' Dub :: MK1 Golf

Grant — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 22:12:29 +0000

This is the story about George and his first true love… The Volkswagen MK1 Golf.
The story started when George was just 15 years old, clicking away on Ebay he stumbled across a less than desirable example going for a low price.
A few bids later and $1800 out of his savings, George and his father made the trip up to Sydney with a borrowed trailer to collect the car.
The 2000km round trip was done in one day without any sleep!!

Why a Golf, you ask?
George spent a part of his life growing up in South Africa, over there the MK1 Golf is one of the most common cars on the road, with local production continuing till 2010!!
After moving to Melbourne, George never saw any older Golfs on the road. With that in mind when the time came to get a car and get his learners license, he knew what he needed to do if he wanted to be different. So while other kids at school got old Holden’s or Ford’s he held out for that special car he just couldn’t forget.

The first thing to happen to the car was general maintenance and getting the thing running and his bigger hopes and dreams for the car would have to wait until he had more cash.
As you can imagine working part time while finishing high school doesn’t exactly make you rich and can leave you feeling pretty burnt out and exhausted.

When the car first arrived home in Melbourne it didn’t even start and was plagued by wiring issues, being only 15 years old George wasn’t exactly mechanically minded.
What he lacked in skills he made up for with enthusiasm and motivation, taking things apart and figuring it all out as he went along.
Soon the car was running and George drove the car around on his L’s for a short time before he got sick of the car and the ugly body kit it came with.

George started to piece together his vision of the car, after a lot of saving he could finally afford to remove the body kit and also managed to change the headlights from the quad lights back to the cleaner twin lights.
While saving for the ‘freshen up’ he found a set of euro chrome bars. These things are very rare to find and even harder to find as straight as the set George picked up.
In the process of removing the kit, he discovered the paint had seen much better days, so he counted the rest of his cash and decided to paint it.

After talking with his friends he managed to convince a mate to help out and do a backyard respray, this saved so much money that George could also afford a new motor as the original 1.6l engine was getting very tired!
He sourced a much newer 1.8l engine from a MK3 Golf and a 5 speed gearbox. The new engine also came down from Sydney just like the car!

During the engine conversion George got stuck into the engine bay cleaning it up and sanding it all back, he then sprayed it all at home by himself.
The car was really starting to come together. When the new motor was in, he added a 32/36 Weber carby with dual throats. All of this helped transform the sluggish car completely, only weighing around 800kg the car now had plenty of ‘zip’.

George was now 18 and ready to get his probationary license, as a reward for himself and the car he decided it was time to finish the picture…

He picked up some ST coil overs and a set of widened ‘steelies’, then stretched some rubber over the wheels.
The car was then slammed as low as it could go and he has never looked back!

Over the years that George has owned this amazing car, he has been meet with smiles everywhere the car goes.
People just seem to be overwhelmed with the little orange car, whether it’s at car meet with like minded enthusiasts or down at the local shopping center with regular people staring in awe of it’s presence.

Now of course not everyone is a fan the Golf. Local law enforcement haven’t exactly agreed with some of the things he has done to the car.
Just a few weeks before we meet up with George for this photo shoot, he had to clear a defect which meant changing the ride height, wheels and removing his roll cage.

It takes dedication and sheer stubbornness to drive a classic car like this, then modify it to the point in which it has absolutely no creature comforts like the ability to absorb even the smallest of bumps on the road!

Some of George’s favorite destinations on the web, I’m sure it won’t be long after we post this feature until we see a ‘GSS’ sticker on the back…

We had to keep stopping the shoot as more and more people came through the alley way, they kept stopping to look at this intriguing little car.
After I had all the shots I needed and said my goodbyes, I left George and his friends with a bunch of photographers doing wedding shots in the alley, the bride did a couple of poses with the car!

Now the car does have some imperfections around the body, but that only adds to the story and character of this wonderful little car.
How many of us have purchased and maintained our own car since the age of 15? Not many, I’m sure!

It really is low, what you can’t see here is the sump actually sitting on the pavement!

So much has happened to the car while George has owned it. As he has grown up, so has the car.

Nothing a band-aid won’t fix!

George and his mates really got to work with some sharpies on the front fender, this sort of car graffiti is becoming more and more popular with many different styles floating around.
This is some of the most intricate and complete sharpie panel art I have ever seen, months after the shoot I find myself still discovering new characters and elements on the fender!

The bike isn’t just for looks, George is a big fan of BMX and has also just acquired a Huffy Slider!

I really hope you have enjoyed reading about this great little car and the story of how it came to be.
As we post this feature, George is busy restoring another MK1 Golf! This time its a white one rolling on some BBS RS Wheels!! We can’t wait to see how it comes together.
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.P.S. Here is a short mod list of George’s build.
– ST Coilovers
– Widened Steelies 14×8 +10
– Tyres; 165/60
– Bride seat with custom bracket
– MK3 egine (1.8) with 5speed
– Whiteline lower stress bar
– Whiteline Front anti roll bar
– 4Point roll cage/half cage (not in due to defect)
– GTI vented front disc’s with bigger brake carriers
– Bigger brake booster with upgraded master cylinder
– Weber 32/36 carby

– Bigger alternator (very helpful in a old car)
– MK2 dashboard and console

Dub-Stitute :: VWWatercooled

Grant — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:23:01 +0000

Sure to be the biggest VW and stance show of this year Dub-Stitute was a massive hit!
With over 100+ cars and blazing sunlight, everyone came out to see some incredible machines.

Volkswagen 1500 type 3 with period correct ice box and im digging the thermador car cooler.

There’s nothing more appropriate than a dub sticker at dub show and shine.

The only soft top golf at the event was pulling off some mega stance.

Bagged Eos, normally not a fan of these types of wheels but on this car they really work!

The GTI polo gang showed up in style, complete with show decals!

You don’t see many Scirocco’s on ausssie roads, yet their were a quite few at this show.

A golf with massive audi brakes and brembro pads to suit.

This skoda looked even tougher in person!

The golf was clearly the most popular car at this show nearly every generation was on show.

Volkswagen 1600TL Fastback, a timeless shape with modern stance.

A rare Audi Quattro in show room condition!, it was great to see one of these for real and not on old rally clips.

Very clean golf, this one reminds me of the first fast and furious.

Nice subtle kit, a great looking exhaust setup and wheels that compliment this look.

MK1 golf’s, are just bawler! their was one for sale at the show and i was so tempted to buy it!!

Nicely modified seat! all on it own.

Full respect to this bloke! the only bagged Passat in Victoria.

It’s great to see such cars still getting around after all this time.

Custom grille! i can honestly say i have never seen this done to a VW beetle before.

Super Clean! Super Fresh

Hectic looking A4 with some nice engine mods!

Dasher in amazing condition.

The back window says it all! the stance on this golf was truly inspiring.

They do not make dash clusters like this any more!

For the first ever Dub-Stitute, this was an incredible success! with so many cars! and great awards to match. This event is sure to be an annual one! the stance scene is heavily growing and will not be ignored, so it is fantastic to see such an event on this type of scale.
Cant wait for the next Dub-stitute! check out vwwatercooled for more action in the VW scene.
And dont forget to check our facebook for more pics of this event; gripshiftslide fb

Spotted :: vw scirocco

Grant — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 13:11:34 +0000

Random snap at WTAC carpark, i managed to sneak a few pics of this vw scirocco that was hiding alongside many other nice spectators cars. This car defiantly has style, its the first one i have seen on the road this year i hope too see more.

it is one big 2 door hatch, the option of having 7 gears makes me think this is a golf on steroids with big shoulders and a heavy base.
– Grant