2012 Water By The Bridge

Water By The Bridge

 

With the smell of gasoline and bbq in the air this early in the year, it can only mean one thing, Grossman Tunings Water by the Bridge is here. March 25th, the official start to the show season for a lot of the mid west gear heads. The show is in its 3rd year at the new location and things have really blossomed. Not only were the locals out with new projects but some really interesting cars showed up for the day. The old school mini with a tube chassis and a Porsche swap was super cool to see and my favorite of the show. Can't wait until it gets sorted out.  The weather. Always a question mark in kentucky and today was no different. The morning started with overcast and a slight chill early on but finally gave way to the sunshine and the weather was near perfect for a car show. With people from every connecting state and further it was a huge success and pushed the limits of the space provided so it lends itself to the question...what are they going to do next year? Well i guess you'll have to stop by and see for yourself. 

By Brad Prust - Adaptec Speedware

Dubs In The Valley 2011

By Brad Prust

 Our weekend kicked off with a 260 mile trip in the wrong direction to get a new rear axle - less than 24 hours before we were scheduled to leave for Wisconsin. I got it installed out of town (big thanks to Grossman Tuning in Louisville, KY) and we started on  the 550 mile trip to Wisconsin. After a luckily uneventful drive we arrived to just what we remembered from years past - A good crew of people hanging out and drinking. To us it was the perfect way to unwind from the hectic 24 hours prior.

Saturday morning arrives and before you know it, it's show time. Once they opened the cars started pouring through the gates like whiskey on St. Patty's day.  One of the highlights of this show is the annual "Blow Me" car. This years car was a 2.0 passat and it didn't last long. This year the Stag, who is the Stig's brother, manned the throttle and I think it was somewhere in the 4 minute range when it seized. This year they also reintroduced "drag racing", not much to explain, see photos below. Beckett's restaurant provided cold beer on site and great food inside. Chris (co-owner) is a car guy himself and goes out of his way for us to have a good time and succeeds every year. Good times all around for sure. I don't think you would find one person that had a bad experience at this show. Even the poor Iowa guys who had another catastrophe before the show left with smiles on their faces, including one guy that lost half a foot.  Overall, this show is too much damn fun. A quick shout out to Ryan Reel for going to get some spring compressors for my own issues so I could make it home safely (rear axles rubbing perches in back) and Joe D and Justin for lending the extra hands and tools.  Big thanks to those who sponsored the event.. great bunch of guys at Further Performance that came with some sick cars including Mike Olson's ridiculous GTI (Twin Cities), Jay at Mobile 1 (Chicago), Ben at Ben's Vee Dub Shop (Madison), Team Eurotrash, Becketts Restaurant, and Joe D, Ben, Justin and the rest of the Madspeed Crew for putting this event on. Can't wait for next year, see you in 2012!

And here's the, uh.. drag race.

Awesome.

The Good, the Bad, and the Custom

We get inundated with calls everyday for spacers and adapters, with common and not so common questions.  One question we get several times a day is "Why should I buy your adapters/spacers when I can get some pre-made ones online - that are cheaper and have no build time?"


A picture is worth a thousand words, so here's the most in depth explanation of why you shouldn't skimp on your spacers or adapters. 


We had a local guy call us and complain about the "scary vibrations" coming from his front wheels on his Mercedes CLK230.
"Do you currently run spacers?"
"Yes, I got them from some discount place online."
"Bring it by the shop."


Here's what we saw:

A generic spacer produced overseas out of who-knows-what. 

The shop he had them installed at used some kind of silicon adhesive to make sure the wheel spacer stayed put, since it wasn't built to the hub or for the lug bolts.  Hence JR taking it off with a screwdriver.

Which one would you rather put on your car and trust to keep you safe every time you get behind the wheel?


On the left: Mass produced to fit as many patterns as possible out of the who-knows-a-tanium.


On the right: Built custom to perfectly fit the Mercedes hub and the center bore of the aftermarket wheels, out of 6061 T6 Alcoa aluminum on Haas CNC machines.

Our adapter fits perfectly over the hub, no adhesive required.

Tightening down the lug bolts.

Although the wheel is turned slightly here, the spacer pushes it out to the edge of the fender, the wheel fits perfectly snug on the wheel centric adapter, and no vibrations were felt ever again. 


So, which one would you chose?

Waterfest 2011

Here's our boy Brad's report from Waterfest.  He had a hell of a time getting there, but he made it.  Some unlucky groundhogs found out the dark side of going low, his wheels sprung leaks, his control arms, well, didn't.. all before he even left home.  Yet he still trooped it out and made it in his girlfriend's MBZ.  Cheers to Brad and all of his efforts, beers drank, parts sold, friends made. For more coverage, shirts, stickers, and other awesomeness, check out Team EuroTrash. - LM


Waterfest 2011
By Brad Prust
  1407.2 miles in 60 hours with a show in between. It started with a phone call to Waterfest headquarters a mere 12 days before show time. We were amazed at the willingness of Dan and the crew to get us in as a vendor and a great spot to boot.  Everything was laid out perfectly for us starting at the will call booth. Getting in and set up was a breeze. As soon as you entered the gates you knew you were in the presence of one of the biggest VW/Audi car shows in the world. All the heavy hitters were in attendance like BBS of America, Forged, Eurotuner, Motorsport Tech, APR Tuning etc. The day started at 10 in the morning and we were instantly slammed with customers - and it stayed that way until we packed up at 6pm Saturday night. The chaos you hear about at Waterfest didn't disappoint.  Cops had hotels on lock down but that didn't stop the people from enjoying themselves with some alcoholic beverages. Sunday morning started the same way, busy busy busy. The amount of people at the booth was overwhelming at times, but that's a good thing right?  Hung out with old friends, made a lot of new friends, can't wait to come back. We love Jersey, and Jersey loves us! See everyone next year!

The Rise of Russia

Russia is a country rich in tradition and hungry for progression.  No doubts can be cast on the possibilities of a large and proud country that is now 20 years removed from the shadows of communism, Big Brother's vigilant and untrusting eye, and all the repression that defined an era.  The creativity that was stifled and forced under the famous Russian stoicism nearly a century ago has begun to blossom, reproduce, and shine openly in the Eastern European sun.  Eager to catch up with what the West has been up to, the Russians  have spawned a microcosm car culture consisting of strange vehicles like the Lada and the Volga that my paltry American imagination associates with KGB officials and old James Bond films.  The influx of German made cars and an increase in Japanese imports have added flavor to the mix.  Our Evolve Rep Dmitri of Bodybeat.ru was present at the Picnic OD meet in Moscow, and as you can see from the pictures below it was a diverse meeting of all things auto.  Pictures courtesy of Pavel Korotky.

 Rust is the new black.  And I approve.

And for some more familiar faces..

The car balancing contest.  Something I would be way into.

Limbo, or some form of it, being presented in a fashion I find enjoyable.

Now if I can only talk the boss into letting me have a face to face meeting in Russia with Dmitri....