MartiniWorks Podcast dives into the “wrong car” problem—how buyers realize too late that a car doesn’t match their tastes, tolerance, or intended use. Stories range from a Subaru Impreza base-model regret to an air-cooled 911 that looked great but proved expensive and finicky, plus talk of the “it factor” (cars that feel instantly right) versus “disconnected” modern drivetrains. The crew also covers parts deals, wheel/coilover sponsors, Ford’s Nürburgring GT record, Audi dropping the five-cylinder, and a long-running S2000 track build update. They close with car-use philosophy: drive more, work less.
Enjoy having the pod every Friday? Keep it going by modding your car at https://martiniworks.com/You're driving the wrong car. Today Alex, Gels, and Dakota sit down to talk about what they learned between all the makes and models they've owned over the years. We also cover our favorite ways we've used our cars and some breaking news in the industry! Sit back, relax, and hang with the boys on the MartiniWorks Podcast. #cars #automotive #podcastPick up our Coffee here! https://martiniworks.com/products/other/show-merchA HUGE thank you to Continental, Motegi, and Fortune Auto for being the official tire, wheel, and suspension of the MartiniWorks Podcast! Let us know if you need a set of tires or coilovers.Shop Continental tires here https://martiniworks.com/products/wheels-tires/tires?brands=continentalShop Motegi wheels here https://martiniworks.com/aftermarket-car-parts-brands/wheels/motegiShop Fortune Auto suspension here https://martiniworks.com/products/suspension/coilovers?brands=fortune-autoCheck out the main channel! @MartiniWorksOfficialWe also have an unboxing channel @MartiniWorksUnboxedFollow Alex @alexmartini__Follow Dakota @dakotastoneeFollow Gels @akagels
"So if you're looking for a discount on airlift performance air suspension kits, we have those over on martiniworks.com"
Airlift usually means an air-suspension setup. Instead of fixed springs, the car uses air pressure so you can raise or lower it.
“Airlift” here refers to Air Lift Performance, a brand known for air suspension systems. These kits replace or modify traditional suspension components so the car can be raised/lowered by changing air pressure.
"General tires we have some really cool rebates and things like that going on"
A rebate is money back after you buy something. It can make the final cost lower, but you usually have to qualify and follow the rules.
“Rebates” are manufacturer or retailer promotions that refund part of what you paid after purchase. For tires and accessories, rebates can significantly change the effective price, so it’s worth checking eligibility and deadlines.
"subaru impresa Base model and I think it was a 20"
A base model is the simplest, lowest-option version of a car. It costs less, but it may not include the features you wanted.
“Base model” means the lowest trim level of a car, typically with fewer features and sometimes different equipment than higher trims. Choosing the base can be a cost-saving move, but it can also mean you’re missing comfort, convenience, or performance items you expected.
"[461.4s] But like, you know, like the seats were like standard manual seats like alcantara type like cloth
[469.1s] You know, it didn't really have any like backup sensors camera anything like that like cruise controllers"
Backup sensors beep or warn you when you’re close to something while backing up. The speaker is saying their car didn’t have these kinds of parking aids.
Backup sensors are proximity sensors that alert the driver when they’re close to objects while reversing. They’re part of modern driver-assist convenience features, and the speaker notes their absence as part of what made the car feel “basic.”
"[478.1s] No adaptive crew like it was it was just basic
[480.7s] And I really liked that but it also like it kind of just kept things simple overall like"
Adaptive cruise control changes your speed automatically to match traffic ahead. The speaker is saying their car only had basic cruise control, not the more advanced kind.
Adaptive cruise control automatically adjusts your speed to maintain a set distance from the car ahead. The speaker specifically says their car did not have adaptive cruise control, reinforcing the theme of preferring simpler tech.
"It's funny as it may sound like
[489.1s] I reliability was another big thing to even though I owned a Mazda rx8
...
[521.7s] Um"
Low mileage usually means the car has been driven less, so it may have less wear. But you still want to check that it was maintained well.
“Low mileage” is a common way buyers reduce the risk of hidden wear. Lower odometer readings generally mean less time for components to degrade, though maintenance history still matters.
"[499.9s] And even with like the frs2 like it was a it was a one owner like lease car
[503.9s] So like when I got it only had like
[506.3s] 12,000 miles on it at the time"
A one-owner lease car means only one person had it, and it was used under a lease agreement. That can be a good sign because the ownership history is simpler, but you should still verify maintenance.
A “one-owner lease car” typically means the vehicle was leased by a single person and then returned, often with more consistent documentation than multi-owner cars. In practice, it can be a positive signal for how the car was cared for, but you still want maintenance and inspection records.
"...I wrapped
[611.7s] first rotary
[613.4s] First car with like a big wing out like it was"
“Rotary” means the engine type used in cars like the Mazda RX-8. It’s different from the normal piston engines most cars use, which is part of the RX-8’s appeal.
“Rotary” refers to rotary engine technology, most famously used in Mazda’s RX-series. Rotary engines have a different internal design than piston engines, and they’re often a big part of why RX-8 owners are enthusiasts.
"I really really love the driving like
Driving experience of that car that car with like power steering and that engine. It's so fun to kind of play around with"
Power steering makes the steering wheel easier to turn. That means the car feels more controllable and less tiring, especially when driving hard or parking. The speaker thinks that helps make the car more fun.
Power steering uses a motor or hydraulic system to reduce the effort needed to turn the wheels. In older or classic cars, power steering can dramatically change how easy it is to place the car precisely at low speeds and during spirited driving. The speaker credits power steering as part of why the Z-car is so fun to “play around with.”
"You want a horsepower per liter and this that and the other thing? But I remember was like, it's just another ferrari"
Horsepower per liter is a way to measure how strong an engine is compared to its size. People use it to judge how impressive the engine is. The speaker is saying that even if the numbers look amazing, the driving experience might not feel as special as you’d expect.
“Horsepower per liter” (often written as HP/L) is a metric that compares engine output to displacement. It’s commonly used to judge how “high-strung” or efficient an engine is, especially in performance discussions. The speaker challenges the idea by saying that even with that kind of spec, the car still felt like “another Ferrari.”
"it's like you drive a new Nissan z and the the rev hang So disconnected. Yeah, the rev hang is this like massive disconnect between what you're giving the car and what the car is doing"
Rev hang is when the engine speed doesn’t drop immediately when you let off the gas. The speaker dislikes it because it makes the car feel less responsive to what you’re doing.
Rev hang is a calibration where engine RPM stays elevated briefly when you lift off the throttle. It’s often used to smooth emissions/driveability, but enthusiasts dislike it because it can create a delay between your input and the car’s behavior—exactly the “disconnect” the speaker describes.
"It was going for over msrp people were scooping them up instantly even I I wanted one super bad"
MSRP is the sticker price the manufacturer starts with. If a car is selling over MSRP, it means dealers are charging more than that sticker price because everyone wants it.
MSRP stands for Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price. It’s the price automakers publish as the baseline, and when cars sell “over MSRP,” buyers typically pay a premium due to demand.
"If you're gonna make a slow car feel fast
That is like the the best way to keep the hobby in check because now you're not crashing into side rails"
“Keep the hobby in check” is about channeling enthusiasm into safer, controlled driving rather than chasing extreme speeds. The speaker argues that making a slow car feel fast can reduce risk while still delivering the emotional payoff of driving hard.
"We do want to take a small rake but not before talking about one of our partners of the martini works podcast Which is of course moteggi racing wheels"
Motegi Racing makes aftermarket wheels you can put on your car for style and sometimes performance. The episode mentions them as a sponsor/partner.
Motegi Racing is an aftermarket wheel brand known for offering performance-oriented designs and fitments for many popular cars. In the context of the episode, it’s mentioned as a partner, but it also highlights how enthusiasts often customize with wheels.
"[1362.9s] All the bits and pieces and then it immediately like blew up took it to ma performance back when we still worked at the previous adventure
[1370.3s] Got the car back
[1371.7s] With a new engine supposedly a whole bunch of stuff
[1376.0s] Um, and then took it to tune and then it blew up again"
“Blew up” is track slang for catastrophic engine failure, often from overheating, detonation, oiling issues, or insufficient tuning—especially common after turbo builds. The speaker describes the car failing immediately after the build, then failing again after the tune, highlighting the risks of high-boost setups.
"[1400.7s] So we did the wide body
[1402.1s] We we put it up to power and then we ended up running an m4 in grid life for for one of the events that"
A wide body means adding wider fenders so you can run wider tires. Wider tires can help the car grip better on track.
A wide body is a body modification that increases fender width to allow wider wheels/tires. In racing, wider tires can improve traction, which the speaker connects to Grid Life class competitiveness.
"And what's really cool is both lars and I have our ability to to be a passenger
You know at those track days because we have the kind of like the experience and we got approval with with some of the people
That we host with that we can help coach"
Track days are events where people drive on a race track for practice. Often there are instructors or coaches to help you improve.
Track days are events where drivers can use a circuit for non-competitive practice, often with coaching and groups. They’re a common way to learn car control safely while getting feedback on technique.
"Black's boring. Well, every car wouldn't be boring if you put like a nice cool race livery all on it. That that's where she shines"
A race livery is the flashy graphics and paint design you see on race cars. It usually includes stripes, numbers, and sponsor-style decals to make the car look like it belongs on track.
A race livery is the bold paint/graphics package used on track cars—often including sponsor decals, stripes, and number panels. It can make a car look more purposeful and less “sterile” than plain paint, even if the base color is simple.
"That's what I really liked the rx8 on the other hand. I loved cruising in that car"
The Mazda RX-8 is a sports car with a unique rotary engine. The speaker is saying it was great for relaxed cruising and going to car shows.
The Mazda RX-8 is a rotary-powered sports car known for its distinctive driving feel and character. Here, the speaker contrasts it with the Toyota FRS, saying they loved cruising in the RX-8, especially for show-focused outings.
"But then you kind of remove the whole concept of having air suspension
Yeah, it doesn't
And I do like air suspension because it looks really good aired out, but I am more of like"
Air suspension is a suspension system that uses air bags instead of metal springs. It can change the ride height, but it has more parts that can fail.
Air suspension uses air springs (bags) and a compressor/valves to automatically adjust ride height. The tradeoff is complexity—if the system can’t maintain pressure, ride height and comfort suffer.
"I remember when we went to Formula drift long beach in 2023 Yeah, yeah 2023"
Formula Drift is a big professional drifting competition. Long Beach is one of the events where drivers show off serious drifting skills.
Formula Drift is a professional drifting series in the U.S., known for tandem runs and purpose-built drift cars. Mentioning Formula Drift Long Beach signals a real-world, high-level drift environment rather than casual track days.
"I think there's 97 miles on the odometer now
Um, but like I'm trying to drive these cars like that's the goal for 2026 is not to work on the cars"
The odometer is the mileage counter in your car. It tells you how many miles the car has traveled, which helps you judge how used it is.
The odometer is the instrument that tracks how many miles (or kilometers) a car has been driven. It’s often used to estimate wear, maintenance history, and overall usage of a vehicle.
"Take it away. Of course fortune auto
You've heard us talk about it before we're going to talk about it again
We're going to keep talking about it because we love fortune auto suspension"
Fortune Auto makes aftermarket suspension parts, especially coilovers. Coilovers help you adjust how the car sits and handles, and they can be set up for street driving or track days.
Fortune Auto is an aftermarket suspension brand known for coilover kits. In this segment, they’re positioned as a sponsor and as a source for suspension setups that can work for both daily driving and track use.
"But they've been a fantastic coilover for all of us
We've ran them on multiple vehicles all of our personal ones at some point or another"
Coilovers are suspension parts that help your car ride and handle better. They combine the spring and shock in one package, and many are adjustable so you can change how high or low the car sits.
A coilover is a suspension component that combines a coil spring and shock absorber into one unit. Upgrading to coilovers is a common way to improve ride quality and handling, and to adjust ride height for track or street use.
"There's been like a battle at the nerberg ring lately. Yeah, and it's all the domestic brands
Just trying to beat the crap out of each other."
The Nürburgring is a very famous race track in Germany. People use it to compare how fast and capable cars are because it’s challenging and well-known.
The Nürburgring (often called the “Ring”) is a famous German motorsport circuit known for its long, complex layout and demanding conditions. Lap times there are widely used as a benchmark for real-world performance.
"Yeah, and there's a hole like through the car to the wing"
A wing on a performance car is an aerodynamic device that generates downforce. The wing’s angle and shape strongly affect how much grip the car gains at speed versus how much drag it creates.
Aero is how the car’s shape affects the air around it. On fast cars, aero parts are designed to help the car stick to the road and stay stable.
Aero (aerodynamics) refers to how the car’s shape and surfaces interact with airflow. In performance cars, aero components like wings, splitters, and bodywork are designed to manage drag and downforce to improve speed and handling.
"Okay, but the crazy thing is the amount of aero... it makes 2400 pounds of downforce at 150 miles an hour"
Downforce is the “suction” effect from the air that pushes the car down onto the road. More downforce usually means better grip when you’re going fast.
Downforce is the downward aerodynamic force that presses the car toward the road at speed. More downforce generally improves grip and stability, especially in corners, because the tires have more normal force available for traction.
"Yeah, but we should keep making Five-cylinder engines. I don't know why we're we're stopping that"
That means the engine has five cylinders working together. More cylinders usually means smoother power, but it’s not always necessary—people debate what’s best for efficiency and feel.
A five-cylinder engine is an inline engine layout with five combustion chambers. It’s a common “middle ground” between four-cylinder efficiency and six-cylinder smoothness, and it often shows up in performance and enthusiast cars.
"That I didn't install when I did the tail tidy on the bike. I was like Shit, you know what? I should probably just throw that"
A tail tidy is a makeover for the back of a motorcycle to make it look cleaner and less cluttered. When you do it, you often need to move the plate light and wiring so the plate still lights up.
A “tail tidy” is a common motorcycle modification that cleans up the rear by relocating or removing bulky stock components like the license plate bracket, wiring, and sometimes turn signals. It often requires additional small parts—like a license plate light—to keep everything functional and legal.
"You you put the thing in between the license plate
You drill a little hole into like the block off plate and then the two wires literally get like spliced
They have like a little wire tap things they get spliced into the positive and negative of the wiring that is already in there"
To splice wires means to connect them together so electricity can pass from one to the other. Good splices are important so the connection stays solid over time.
Splicing means joining two wires together so current can flow between them. In automotive installs, splices are often done with connectors or solder/heat-shrink to maintain reliability and prevent corrosion.
"If you picked up wheels and tires, thank you for everybody that leaves notes in your order as we read
[3492.0s] Every single one of them and it always means a little bit special extra when you get to say that you came from the podcast"
Wheels and tires are the parts that connect your car to the road. People often upgrade them for better grip, a nicer look, or a different ride feel.
“Wheels and tires” refers to the tire rubber and the rims it mounts to—often upgraded together for grip, ride comfort, appearance, and fitment. The segment suggests listeners may have ordered these parts through the podcast’s associated store.
"Continental baby some of the best of the best if you're looking for rubbers
Uh, they got every size imaginable and a tire for every situation head on over to martini works"
Continental is a company that makes tires. The host is basically saying their tires are high quality and work well for lots of different situations.
Continental is a major tire manufacturer known for performance and all-season options. When a host says “rubbers,” they mean tires, and Continental is being positioned as a top-tier choice for different driving conditions.
Select text to request an explanation
Welcome back to the martini works podcast. We're so excited that you're here on this Friday morning. Welcome back
We're here with Dakota and gels. Hi lots to talk about today. First off. We're gonna be talking a little bit about
just you know
Spaceships because that's kind of cool. Yeah, that is happening right now
And then we I literally there's like 10 computers in the shop just so everybody that's listening in there
But I think ten are loving computers in the shop every single one of them has the twitch live stream
Yeah, this is huge always like since I've been a kid anything with engines that goes fast is interesting to me
And that's one of the fastest
We got and we launched it and she was scooting over like
20,000 miles an hour at one point and now it's just coasting at over a thousand miles an hour
Like it's so crazy because you watch a video it looks like nothing's fucking happening just a painting
But is that is it moving in that? Yes, it is. That's alive. It's going a thousand miles an hour in that
Right now. We are so alone
We're so to bring it back down to earth so they don't have an existential crisis
We are going to talk about some new car news
We've got some topics that we think would be fun to chat about including
Why you might have the wrong car? Oh god, which is always a fun one
And then of course if you guys and gals are looking for car parts
We're closing up april
It's kind of like the last of a lot of really good deals that are going to be running until you kind of get into the fall
So if you're looking for a discount on airlift
performance air suspension kits, we have those over on martiniworks.com
You can save yourself a few hundred dollars right now if you pick up the kit right now
We also have conic forged on sale for 10 off apex forged is up to 40 off right now
And we've got some discounts on
General tires we have some really cool rebates and things like that going on
You can get them mounted and balanced shipped right to your door
And if you check out with catapult you get 2 back in an in cart discount
It's a win win win win win win triple win with that being said dakota
Get us started with today. What are we chatting about? So
I wanted to talk about in the first segment a little bit
What if you're driving the wrong car? How do you know you're driving the wrong car?
And if you're about to get a new car, what steps can you take to make sure you don't get the wrong car?
Obviously picking up a new vehicle
Is uh, one of the most expensive
spendatures that we do besides maybe a house or travel or something like that
But generally it's one of the most expensive things you're doing
So it's not fun when you get a car and you realize like a couple weeks in like I hate this which I've done actually
You'd never you'd never guess what what brand it was. What was it?
You'd never ever guess toyota subaru
And maybe that's where this all stems from. Yep. There's uh, I bought a brand new zero miles or six miles
Whatever the fuck is on it when they test drive it a lot subaru impresa
Base model and I think it was a 20
There it is 18. Yeah. Yeah, I know I I don't how dare you get the base model of a car and it blew up
That's your fault. It didn't blow up. It didn't blow up. It was just old and long enough
yeah, I had the exhaust cut off and I put on a borla and uh
Then I was like, what am I doing? This is horrible. I hate this and uh, I was like, what the fuck
So what are your guys tips? What are some things now that you've owned both of you have owned multiple platforms?
What are things you look for in a vehicle? What are things must-haves can't fails? I think uh,
There there are things that I've learned
I've I've
stubbornly gotten my way through almost every kind of car that I've owned but I have realized that people's taste towards a car
Does not match that they'll enjoy driving it. I think the the best example I ever had was when I bought my wife, uh
a g-series
Portion 9 11. This was a few years ago, but there was a 1982 whale tail guards red black leather interior
gorgeous car like
Awesome cool car really loved it
And loved the way that looked didn't do much history on it because I just figured 9 11's were notorious for being like the perfect car
Like they're a great driver's car and air cooled. They're they're cool and they're fun
Um, which was my first mistake
So I learned about head stud issues only after I had to take care of the head stud issue like 500 miles in which was like
$15,000 and then after that, uh, when we started driving the car
I didn't mind it because I was used to ship boxes being difficult to drive
But like the g-series wasn't inherently like a very easy car to
Drive like that one the transmission is really tricky like the manual transmission is kind of a tricky little
finicky thing to get used to because the way it's clutch the clutch the clutch pedal is different
The engagement is really different
The gear like the actual shifters like
Fucking it's like you're driving a semi, you know, it's pretty it's pretty tall
I like this so so getting in getting it in the right gear is is a it is an experience
There's no I what do they call them like synchro? There's nothing to help guide
You know you're going into the next gear so you can you can throw it in the wrong gear really easily
Um, and you know it doesn't have a whole lot of helpers on it
And so it was a very very analog car and I think there'd be people that would love to own a g-series
And and probably hate me for even saying this right now, but it's like it's a trickier car to drive and so
Uh, we when we got that car fixed we ended up selling it
Um didn't keep it probably should have kept it for the value
But we sold it then Becca got uh 2018 BMW m4 competition and that car is
Insurmountably better for her and probably just better in general very different play. Yeah. Yeah, because we realized that like
old 9-11 cool
old 9-11
Not cool to drive
It's so funny you say that too because when I was uh in the era of picking up my mark 5 supra
At the same time I was almost dead set on importing a vehicle
Whether it be like an fdrx 7 or something like that like I wanted some old 90s japanese cool
Um and I kept flip-flopping in my head because I was so torn between
Like 90s nostalgia and having new tech. Yeah, and I ended up ultimately obviously going with the supra
But it was because I loved all that stuff and I wanted to drive the car. That was the biggest thing
I didn't want to be stopped. I didn't want to be paused. I wanted to be able to take it across country
Whenever I want to not think twice about it, which I did many times. So I think that's the part that I
Am gearing towards lars had the great idea with his m2 comp when he had it too like he bought a new car
Didn't do a lot to it
But he drove that thing everywhere and like I am slightly jealous of all of the bmw owners and all of the new
Super owners and all of the new sports car people that can just like
Drive wherever they want and it just works and it doesn't blow up and doesn't overheat
And it doesn't have issues and it does maybe not fall apart and a bolt's not going to randomly come loose
Because like anytime I think about doing that with any of my cars and I'm like thinking about it really hard
There's maybe a car. I would take three hours and it's the r34
Oh, yeah, easily take that three hours. That's it the rest of them not a chance in hell
I'm surprised you don't want to sell that yet because it works so good. Well, you know, we'll get into the summertime
I'll really fall in love with it. I'll really enjoy it and then I'll list it for sale because we can't have nice things
What about you jails? What's up? What do you look for in a car?
What are some attributes you've picked up that you really enjoy or things maybe specifically you're like I don't want this again
Yeah, I honestly like I look back and like the cars that I've owned and I've kept things like
Really simple for the most part. It was like I just want a car that like drives good
um, and it doesn't need a ton of like
Technology think like even like the frs was like the I don't know
It was the newest car that I've ever bought it was 2013
And it's like still had like standard radio in it. Um had bluetooth that was like about the extent of it
But like, you know, like the seats were like standard manual seats like alcantara type like cloth
You know, it didn't really have any like backup sensors camera anything like that like cruise controllers
Just cruise controllers on like lane assists or nothing
No adaptive crew like it was it was just basic
And I really liked that but it also like it kind of just kept things simple overall like
It's funny as it may sound like
I reliability was another big thing to even though I owned a Mazda rx8
But I specifically went and bought like the lowest mileage one that I could possibly find that was well maintained
And even with like the frs2 like it was a it was a one owner like lease car
So like when I got it only had like
12,000 miles on it at the time
The rx8 had like less than 50,000 miles on it at the time even the bmw that I bought had like
50,000 miles that was a 2011
So like I always look for
As low of mileage as I can usually get
Um
Especially when looking at something older because it's just for the most part
It's turned out well for me like that that's always been the best bet for sure
And I think too when you're picking out a vehicle what really determines it too is like
What this vehicle is for you, you know, is it going to be your daily?
Are you just having one car then that I feel like changes what you should get?
Tremendously absolutely versus like now it's like I have the forerunner
And it's like if I was going to go purchase a fun car like we had srt4
Pop-up or been talking about golf harlequin stuff like that
It's like now I'd be willing to sacrifice a lot more of like novelties
Because I have a vehicle that has those things so I have that
But if it was going to be my sole daily driver, I don't know if I'd necessarily probably wouldn't just look at those
You need something that balances it out a little bit more and that was kind of like where the the rx8 kind of came into play
It was like, you know, I had the the frs
And then I was like man, I really could go for like another like just
Older fun project because I sold my eclipse that I had for the longest time
So I had just frs. I was like dude
Like finding like a fun old project would be fun
And that's when I started looking for an rx8 because I realized that they're like dude
They're like five or six grand like you could put them up for pretty cheap
At the time and I'm like I want to do just some crazy like stuff with it stuff
I've never done before and that was like the whole purpose of that car
Was like a car of firsts like it was first car put on air first car. I did wide body first car
I wrapped
first rotary
First car with like a big wing out like it was
Basically the car first
And that was the whole reason behind that car
But yeah, again, I wouldn't have done that if I didn't have another vehicle to fill
the the normal void
lame
Make your only car the most unreliable
Coolest thing ever just risk the whole thing right risk it the whole time
You can do that when you're like 16 17 be be that be that person who's constantly just struggling to make it to the
Because when you are 16 or 17, that's like kind of your only yeah, that's when you should do it
You should do it too because it's you have to do it then it's important. It's a cannon event
Yeah, you have to do it then don't do it later do it when you're making all the mistakes and you're like man
I should have never listened to alex if you're 30 don't do it. You know, it is what's weird
I don't know if you guys have this but I have this I call it the it factor
Okay, there's certain cars that I have gotten in and drove and for whatever reason I can't even put my finger on it
They have the it factor like what condos 2000 mark for gti
um
I was just thinking of another one one second
Uh bmwe 30. Mm-hmm. I don't know why I get in those vehicles and it's like instantly
I know like I'm like, this is it. This is right. This is good. Yeah, and I can't put my is there cars like that for you guys like
That have the it factor something you just really like but you can't really put your finger on it
Uh, to me, it's the e36 e36. Yeah, like it just it just feels good. I don't know what about it
Uh, like the the 86 chassis like you know gr86 frs beers. He like those cars
They got it on lock. Um
Trying to think of one other one that like I've sat in I do this. This is good
Honestly, like the s chassis stuff too
Anything right hand drive like honestly, like it does feel really fucking cool
The skyline school dude like yeah, I feel like the r34 gtt that has a little bit of the factor to it
Yeah, it's like you sit in here like exactly what it is, but it's not a gtr. It just feels solid
But it's freaking good like like everything about feels ergonomical right
Purposeful. Yeah, that's a good car. That's so it's like if you didn't score a car like that
Yeah, it doesn't need to be like the craziest car out there. Yeah, you sit in they feel right
I think
I'm trying to think if there's a car that's kind of like that for me. I think one of the newer cars that I really enjoyed
um
Doing just a couple bits and pieces too was like the grt6
grt6 was super solid like super fun
um
I really enjoyed it. I mean, I thought it was a great car and and stock angle a little bit of a slidey boy
You can have some fun with that. I think one of my my favorite
Like it cars ever probably would be like the z the 240z. Sure. Um, two sixty two eight are all the same, but
I really really love the driving like
Driving experience of that car that car with like power steering and that engine. It's so fun to kind of play around with
um, and I think the only other car that I would say that I really had like
a true true true connection in terms of like the the it factor which is
kind of a an out of
wild take but like
I got to drive a four five eight ones
The ferrari four five eight
And like I always thought because that was like the halo car and like the fours of days or was like
You want a horsepower per liter and this that and the other thing? But I remember was like, it's just another ferrari
It's just another ferrari. It's just another ferrari and then I drove it one time and I'm like this thing is the coolest god damn car
I've ever seen before like it's like iconically
Ferrari and then I drove it a 488 a few years ago and it didn't feel quite the same like the four five eight had this like
Finale to it like it was the last kind of analog factor. I think there is like a touch of maybe
Like you have to have something analog to connect you with the car
and that can either be
Like through the motor the transmission the like the drivetrain maybe how the
How it feels with like the pedals and the steering but like there's got to be something
That like is like one to one like you push the pedal down
Cargo, you know
And when you start getting into some of the newer cars
I think it's really tricky because there's so many
pieces of tech and ecu and warning lights and systems that like are in between you
And that experience, you know, it's like you drive a new Nissan z and the the rev hang
So disconnected. Yeah, the rev hang is this like massive disconnect between what you're giving the car and what the car is doing
That that's why it feels so
Not it
You know and you drive an s2000 like with the f22 or the f20 or whatever it is that's in that car
It's it's right there. You tap the engine or you tap the throttle. Boom. She goes it feels awesome. It feels incredible
The driving feels super tight
But chasing those cars down is a I think a rarity. Yeah, there's the it factor and then the shit factor
And you don't want to be on the side of the shit
What do you think are cars that have the shit factor? I'm sorry have halo
Oh, they have halo. What do you mean? Like cars that have a halo effect in the community
Historically kind of drive like shit. We've we've said it a little bit before but like I truly think the Nissan z that was just
Something about it. It had the shit factor. I don't know what it was. I didn't do it for me
But it was put on a pestle. It was going for over msrp people were scooping them up instantly even I I wanted one super bad
um
And I couldn't get one from a dealership because they're all fucking sold out and going crazy
I didn't get one something about that was a little off
another
one
The vbwrx
Oh, really? Yeah, like the the newer wrx like I wanted to like it even though like the body style wasn't there
But it was like, okay. Well at least someone's still doing super is still doing something
But yeah, we got I got to drive one. I was just like it just it was kind of like the the Nissan z where it was like it just
feels too
Disconnected like it just feels cheap. Yeah almost and it's I don't have a way to say it
Yeah, there's there's sides to it. Mm-hmm
You gotta make sure you're on the good side. Yeah, I'm trying to think
Ask a question. I don't even know
You didn't even answer your car had the shit it is
I mean, that's the good news is there there. I don't think there's a ton of cars out there that
Like fail. No, but there's things that you like
Uh for a car to do and there are a lot of cars that are trying to
Like permeate the same segment
So like a sports car, right? We'll drive configuration or front front mid-engine rear wheel drive
And it's like there's a lot of cars in that bracket. It does not mean that they all drive the same
It does not mean that they all be the same
And what do you think makes like a a slow car that you enjoy so
Fun like why do you enjoy it? You think connectivity
You think that's just that's it. Yes
There's nothing better than having a shitty car that when you turn the steering wheel it's boom. It's right on it
You press there. Boom. It's right on a throttle. Boom right on it. Is it fast?
Fuck. No, they're slow as well. A lot of the a lot of the best cars are the slowest
Like honestly, some of the best cars for everyday folk to drive that are affordable are the slowest cars out there
The reason people love the Mazda miata the reason the real secret sauce as to why people love miatas is because they
They need something from you
They are begging you to drive them hard
Like they need you to give it something to do anything
Otherwise, they're really slow and boring. So you're forced to drive these cars hard
You're forced to drive an s2000 hard. You're forced to drive a gre6 really hard
You're forced to drive those old like ek civics that like night ride air building like you have to just
Treat them like piss missiles and because you're treating it like a piss missile
It doesn't like the fact that a car is going fast is not the fun part
It's when a car feels like it's going fast. That's the fun part
If you're gonna make a slow car feel fast
That is like the the best way to keep the hobby in check because now you're not crashing into side rails
You're not putting people at risk. You're not going 160 miles an hour on the highway or on the on the tollways
You're going 73 in an nb fucking banging gears with your buddies with the top down and you are having a field trip
and that's it
And everybody looks at you like a fucking idiot and it's awesome same recipe for the hondagram
That's you nailed it. That's exactly what a hondagram is it literally
It's like the the fast cars are cool like properly cool, you know and and I I appreciate and respect
I love fast cars, but there is
When you're trying to have fun internally, you don't need a fast car
I think you just need a fun car and you need to you need to drive it hard and that's where it's like
Dude, you want to have fun?
Go get some like little old chip box that slows balls, but you can just like party on with it
Even like rx7s rx8s 2 like r6 super well balanced super fun. It's incredibly balanced. Yeah
But yeah, you don't need to spend $90,000 on a m3
No, yeah, I think that's something I've I've learned over the years too is like the money doesn't
Necessarily equate how good the car is like you don't need to just keep spending more with every car you get you could
Spend less and get something you like more
And it's same thing you don't have to have the newest thing that came out
You can get the older generation and potentially enjoy that even more like it's it's crazy to me
How many cool cars are out there that aren't the top trim that people refuse to buy because they're not the top trim
Like because they're not the version that like gives them
Like the super hype like I still think the r34 gtt is a bang on car
Like super fun and and if you want the r34 chassis
And you want the taillights and you want that style like dude, it's a treat. Yeah, you can get that
You know, you don't need a lot less. Yeah
150 grand is like gtr is so cool
That's a lot of money a lot of money. That's a lot of money. You know, it'd be cool to a house
Yeah house to be pretty sick
So that being said, you guys let the let us know what's a car that you think or that you've driven in the past that you've absolutely loved
Um, whether that you've hated and maybe one that you've just absolutely despised and it's changed your entire concept of that brand
Let us know in the comments below
We do want to take a small rake but not before talking about one of our partners of the martini works podcast
Which is of course moteggi racing wheels
We're very very proud to have them on the s15 as our drift set
If you guys been following along with that build, it's been super fun
We did the cojans in an 18 by nine and a half plus zero with a polished
Design or polished finish on it looks absolutely killer on the car
Which is some of the really cool things about moteggi racing wheels is you can get them in a plus zero offset
Which is great for anybody that's trying to drift wants something that has a low offset
But still one piece cast or one piece flow form wheel. They're absolutely cool. They're in stock
You can package them up with tires and you can save like 300 bucks
If you do moteggi racing wheels and then any sort of in stock tires that we have at martini works
So fantastic stuff. Absolutely love running them. They look killer on the car
We love the the the style that we went with so of course if you're looking to get something different
You can check out moteggi racing wheels over at martiniworks.com
So the internet told me every single one of you agreed with me
There was not a single person on the internet that told me that I should sell the s2000
Yeah, every person on that short said alex keep the car show them
What you're made of don't sell it. Don't give up your cherry picking
I'm not cherry cherry picking the common cherry picking would imply that there were people that disagreed with me
Every single person said that not only was I right that I was very handsome
So with that being said we should talk about what we plan to use that car for
And how should people like use their cars to get the most out of them because I think different cars have different
Purposes, you know what I mean? Yeah, so the s2000 actually has a really long story and I haven't actually talked about it in a long
Time that car's been in
my chapter of life since 2015 so about 11 years now
I know the previous owner. I knew the previous owner before that owner and the previous owner before that owner
I've known this car for a long time
And dale schlitz was the last person to to own that car
And I remember doing videos on it under a youtube channel name called automotive millennial
I did a a car review had drone shots and had cool music. Yeah, it was sick
The car was on xx cars. It was awesome
Um, and then I ended up buying it in 2021. I want to say for 11 000 dollars
k24
Turbo
All the bits and pieces and then it immediately like blew up took it to ma performance back when we still worked at the previous adventure
Got the car back
With a new engine supposedly a whole bunch of stuff
Um, and then took it to tune and then it blew up again
Which was terrific. Uh, that car has since ran not that much
And we now have another k24 turbo that we're putting into it k24 came from asm
They do a lot of racing on k24s
So i'm pretty confident in this one, but originally the s2000 was going to be a grid life series track battle car
So we did the wide body
We we put it up to power and then we ended up running an m4 in grid life for for one of the events that
Wrote america and I realized that the class that that car would be in needed like
300 more horsepower
Jesus christ to be competitive because it got put in that class because of what the
The arrow and the tire width
Yeah, well actually the real big thing with grid life is the engine swap
So it's because of that and then the tire size and all that sort of stuff
So I probably could have kept it naturally aspirated stock body and been in the class that it probably should be in
What other what other uh cars were in that class? It was like mark 5 supras corvettes
Yep, zero six is stuff like stuff with a lot of horsepower and a lot of downforce. Um, so
We we ended up having a tough time with it. It's it's now sat for a prolonged period of time
We're working to get it back up and rocking for this year
But what I really wanted to be for for the team is is I wanted to be a track car
I want the team to learn how to track
Uh in the s2000 so we're going to retune it. We're going to put on a modest boost like 330
Keep it nice and stable do some test runs and then allow people
Kind of once they climb the the tiers of cars that we have here at martini works the ability to drive that car
Learn how to you know go out there
Learn why the s2000 is kind of a snappy fun but careful car to drive
And what's really cool is both lars and I have our ability to to be a passenger
You know at those track days because we have the kind of like the experience and we got approval with with some of the people
That we host with that we can help coach
Um, so it'll be really fun to see if we can get a couple of the people that work here into into that car
So that car will be a track car and it will not be anything else because it's too far in to be anything else
Yeah, all right, if you're giving it a redemption aren't
I think it needs to be wrapped a new color. Please
You guys don't like
the
Light sand. No, I don't know what color that is, but I think we should get it out of here. What colors should we wrap it?
That's a great question
That's a great question
I don't know. What about it's tough. You got them green seats in there. Yeah, I was gonna say you almost a neutral color with
What the hell you got going on? You need one about a slightly darker brown. No, no no more brown
No, bro. I think I tried it like black a few times black didn't work black would be good black any train
Just black. Yep Johnny train livery with with a race livery on it. Okay. Okay. Okay. I just don't like
I don't like different wheels. I don't like how sterile everything is. I do need new wheels
I do need new wheels on it. I hope a lot too. Um, they're kind of they're kind of not matched. Yeah, they're busy
What can we not do a boring color though?
Black's boring. Well, every car wouldn't be boring if you put like a nice cool race livery all on it. That that's where she shines
You could make it though. It's just dude. You got green seat. I gotta replace the seat
What else are you gonna put with the either got to replace the seats or go with a neutral color?
It's not going on. It's not working
So what about like a like a lime green? What? No, all right
I'm okay. I I could see
Honestly, best color would probably be yellow would be sick. You'd have to get rid of the seats again, but yellow
Dang it
Would be sick. It would look good. It would be hot. You know, like think of like, um,
Ray's fd rx seven. Yeah
And like how that looked yellow with all like track arrow and stuff on it
That could be that
Put some fender vents in it in the hood
And I could work with the seats, but long term. I would probably swap them. Yeah if you're on the fucking packers bud
Maybe you can do green and yellow. Wisconsin. Yeah, I guess if there was a spot to do bye
I think the seats I have to go. They're too unique of a color. That's sure. They are pretty they are pretty out there
They're cool. I like them and I think the green's kind of neat. It's just it really hard to work with anything else
Fair enough. I'll uh, I'll consider your requests and I'll keep you posted. Okay. I will say this
I'm not wrapping the car until the car runs. That's fair. That's a good call. I'm really gonna leave it
Physically alone outside of getting it running again. I'm trying to set the bar as low as I can
Because even then I'm probably going to get this appointed. We can unwrap it in the meantime. Yeah, no because
Any wrap that comes off any wrap that comes off that car has to immediately be placed with different wraps same day
That's the what's going to be the rule because I don't want the car to sit any longer than it has to
It's already sat way too long. I can see the dust. It makes me uncomfortable. There's a lot of dust
You can even see through the windshield. Yeah, there's today. I tried to sit in it. I couldn't even sit in it
Um, yeah, it's a gathered. It's gathered more parts on the inside somehow
I don't know. It is a it is a visualization
You know, I what you shouldn't do with a car build
I I tried to give you this tip of like you just put it in the middle of everything
So when you stumble and do it enough, you just end up working on it. That didn't work
You gave me that tip. There's there's engines everywhere that we stumble over and that is still somehow not finished
Yeah
Yeah, you know if I could just do that full time
What is what is the what what else is in it like the engine engines?
Good. Yeah new engine. Mm-hmm transmissions mounted up. Uh-huh. What what else needs to be done?
Just got put in just put the damn thing in. Oh, yeah, just put the damn thing in though
There's a hoist right there. Mm-hmm. Yeah
There is isn't there how much would take to put that engine back in realistically? Yeah, like an hour
Jesus Christ. All right. I know what we're doing after this
How much of a pain well wait? No, it's the same. I know there's all the wiring and stuff. It's the same though, right?
Yeah, it's it's actually easier because we have a
Wiring specialty is harness in there now everything just click connects right in
Um, so yeah, so we are going to stall on this for one to two months and then I'll report back
I will say this guys. I will say this
I'm not a mechanic
Obviously, right, but I am very excited to hopefully have that car done
Because when it did run for those eight laps
It was a treat
And I'm holding on to that fleeting
Experience. Yeah, we got I got the drive that down at riverside a few years ago
And it was a fun car to rip through the mountains not gonna lie. Yeah, she grip up. Okay, so let's talk about cars and
The best way to to build them or use them, you know, we have different versions
Obviously, we just talked about the s2000 to be frank and to be very clear. I'm just gonna wrap myself though
Don't do any of what I did to the s2000
Keep your stock as fuck like get yourself the weird high offset, you know, like 17 by 9 plus 40s
You know put some gram lights on or get some, you know, cool advance
You have to be so top it and be done with it careful buying someone else's project. Don't buy mine. You have to be so careful
Yeah, I can't be done. I knew I knew it was going to be a problem
I knew dale's was going to be a problem
I didn't expect that much problem
Which is kind of the problem kind of snowball
Well, the first time it blew up. I was like, okay. The second time it started on fire. I was like, what the fuck?
You know, like, come on you get
It can give and then like every time you talk, here's the problem
Here's my big thing with with working with like car enthusiast slash mechanics slash people that know more than me
I always have an issue because then when something happens, they'll be like, oh, I could have told you that and i'm like
You should have thanks. It was in your hands
Even if you even if you told me that and I didn't do it like, why would you say that?
You know, like
It just pisses me off. So I just got to fix it. Let's let's go around say what your favorite thing is to do with your cars
What's it your thing whether it's like drifting tracking go to car shows, uh, dragracing
Uh, whoo cruising whatever it is
I think mine was uh, the favorite thing that I ever done with like the frs was like the road rallies and stuff like cruising
Like you killed it on that cruising with a cause I guess cruising with a cause. I like that. Um
Those were really really fun because it's like you got to drive the car like kind of aggressively
It was like you got to go like sightseeing. So that's like that's what the that car was for
It wasn't like crazy low or anything had a really good wheel and tire set up on it had some tame flecks ease on it
So had a good stance to it
Um, and then it was just some simple like cosmetic stuff exhaust into like
Simple simple stuff
But that car was a freaking treat to drive and it because I didn't go like way over the top with one thing or another
I could just hop in it and go wherever whenever and not have to really worry about it
That's what I really liked the rx8 on the other hand. I loved cruising in that car
But it was like, you know, all we're gonna go on like a cruise downtown or something like that and we're gonna go grab like dinner
Um
We were cruising to like a car show, you know, that was more of a show focused car
Yeah, um, so I really enjoyed doing shows with that one and then the 240
It's like, well, obviously I fucking love
Slinging that thing around on the on the up at us air, uh, which is a ton of fun when it when it does do it
Um, but yeah, that completely different cars for completely different
Things so joes had to go around and get a bunch so you could do a bunch of different things all at once. Yeah. Yeah
um, not uh
not ideal
the problem is is like
transparently
I'm not a huge fan of
like just driving
I think it's tricky. So like
If I if I if you were to say alex, you want to sit driver side or passenger side like 90% of the time I'd be like
I'll sit passenger. I'm not a big like driver. Um, okay, unless like but like racing
I really like to obviously, you know do that, but there are times where I enjoy driving
To like to disconnect that's like my big thing and I don't do it that often but like every once in a while we'll go up
Uh to like the apostle islands, right up in that area
Which is like an hour and a half two hour drive
But it feels like you're an entirely different country when you when you live here in wisconsin
A certain part of wisconsin it is not it does it's different it changes it changes and it is really cool to do
So like uh, there have been times where we've done cruising with the m4. I've even taken the the 430 up there
and those times
Uh, it's been like I really love this car. I really wish this car could do this like more often
and so that kind of started I think it was last last summer is when I started to like
Unruin the Ferrari to try and make it easier to like drive. So we did tcu tunes
We did ecu tunes. We did
Different deletes to try and fix up some of the suspension bits
And there's still like some things that we need to fix to get it up and rocking but to me
To me and well like that's one of the things right we have air suspension on it
But the the right or the left rear cup on our on our universal air strut doesn't
Doesn't actually pop
To lift the rear
So you kind of have to like give it like a wiggle waggle
Like you have to turn the car to the left and like drive it in a circle to pop a weird issue
I don't know if it's I don't know what we don't know what it is
I don't know what it is the rear of that car just never wants to air up
I don't know if it's because like
Obviously like the engine and stuff is back there. There's a lot of weight or something
It's like we have gone through that system and redone it reran lines did bigger lines did bigger compressors did more
Like all the stuff you could possibly do and it's still required like a hundred and fucking 80 190 pounds in the rear to even
So then so then we're talking about like just changing the system
Right like we're talking about either just like lengthening the rear so that it doesn't require so much air to be at ride height
But then you kind of remove the whole concept of having air suspension
Yeah, it doesn't
And I do like air suspension because it looks really good aired out, but I am more of like
Cruising in that car this last fall with the tcu fix which is a transmission control unit
and having it not
Like bottle up at that 4k rpm route, which is where it was before
dude
Incredible
Incredible so much fun sounds so good going to the gas station all the kids want to get a picture with it
I think that's the coolest thing in the world when a kid loves your car
That's like to me the top compliment
Like when a when a kid that has a hot wheels and is like it looks like your car. That's it like you've won
I don't need a 25 year old telling me my car is cool
I want like the one kid that's like walking with their parents to point at the car as it drives right to me
That's like
The ultimate compliment, but yeah, I mean car shows are cool. I love doing them. I love but I love bringing people together
I think being at a car shows only cool if you're with people
I think going to a car show just for like the trophy
I think it's old really fast and I think you start to want to do different things like autocross or drift or track
But if you're just saying driving for the sake of driving
I will happily take a heated seat in a duramax
And let you drive fair enough
Yeah, that's just my opinion gels
Oh, I was just saying talking about like these cars and Dakota mentioned like oh, we got one for each thing
It's like man if I were to get one that could do like multiple things like that
It's like oh, I'd be confident like taking it to a show and then like to like the drift track or something like that
I remember when we went to
Formula drift long beach in 2023
Yeah, yeah 2023
There was a super street had they unveiled like a 350 z build
That they were doing like a whole media coverage on and then they actually like drifted it through the
like the
Course that they had set up at long beach. I was like dude that car
Is fucking sick. I have a picture of it here. I'll put it up on the screen here
But dude like that thing was like, oh, yeah, like that would be like a such a fun car to like
I really like that like crews like with your buddies
You could take it to his show
But then like could you could street drive to the track go drift come back like that's a little bit everything
Yeah, there's a little bit everything and that that's what I always think about when uh
Like man if I were to do a 350 z build like do like like stock body
Good like just normal like four-piece body kit on it
Maybe just look dope make it comfortable enough to like street drive and and still go do stuff normally
But be able to get down driving the driving the z at riverside even though it was giving me a a couple issues
That was also like a really enjoyable experience
Was like just cruising around with that because I haven't gotten to drive that a whole lot
I think there's 97 miles on the odometer now
Um, but like I'm trying to drive these cars like that's the goal for 2026 is not to work on the cars
Drive the car. Just like enjoy it. That's why we didn't do any paint. We didn't do any of that
Because I think like that's the one thing I really want to do is just drive these cars more
I just don't
I don't like working on cars for the sake of working on cars. I I like
Experiencing them and that's like the most enjoyable thing which is why it's like the next car. We just want a fucking new one
So I don't have to worry about the thing breaking 24 seven
But then of course I am looking at k cars because they're really cute and cool
Dakota, what would you say? Uh, my favorite thing which I haven't done in a while. I should probably get back to it is
Going out and
Taking photos of my car. You're so goddamn good at it and well, thank you
And I yeah, I don't want to sound that like in a corny way like oh to like flex photos on the gram or something
It's not that that I enjoy. It's not the posting of them that I enjoy
Um
It's going out. I would always search for cool spots
I would wake up at like 5 a.m. Because I want to get sunrise right at fucking perfect time or you know
Staying out a little bit later getting sun set
And finding that perfect time
But then inherently while you're doing that like you're always driving to these like off-grid locations there in the middle of nowhere
No one's out there. You're driving on new roads. That's fun in itself
But then when you get to the point that you're like finding on google maps or a buddy told you about whatever
And you get out and get to look at your car and then frame it up
Uh, I just love that whole process and a lot of times too if I was doing like those early morning shoots
I was just out by myself
Um, so you're listening to music taking pose you get the shot. Oh, you feel so good about it hop back in the car
And naturally a lot of times
Um, those spots were in really cool locations that were fun to drive
I remember I found something like the best driving roads
Ever uh just by going and trying to find um like shoot locations
because for a while, uh, I
Had my decodersome photography and I like I needed to find locations because people would hire me to go shoot their vehicle
So I'm always constantly looking for different spots and I really enjoyed doing that. It was so calm. It's so peaceful. No one else is out
Uh, just you sunrise in the car. Um, so I'd really like to do that again
When we did the riverside shoot that thursday friday morning. That was the first time I think I've done something like that in years
Yeah, and it was nice and that was fun
That was so cool and the photos are so I always like my my my happy little like
Alex moment is when we're out shooting for like martini works and then dakota whips out the camera
And I see him like taking like just a couple not a ton
They take a couple and kind of go on his merry way backwards
Yeah, that goes backwards. How do when dakota puts the hat back dude. He's cooking. He's on. Yeah, you gotta get in the viewfinder
He's he's in there and then like, you know two weeks go by and then all of a sudden
I'll get a message on slack and it'll be like hey
Some photos are done and they're like always the most iconic
Cool ask well colored photos every single time like the ones that you took of
I actually I didn't forget, but I've always wanted to post them
I should probably put them up here
But like the the photos you took of the 430 and the dots and next to each other at the gatlenberg cabin last year
Those are like my favorite photos because those two have never been photographed together
That's the only time those two cars have ever been photographed together
And uh, you do such a good job with that and I can tell that you care a ton with it too
Yeah, I enjoy and it's not because I was good at it. It's because I've done it five billion times
I used to go out every single morning. I get done with work. I work till like
2 a.m. Or um
I was working till 5 a.m. For a while and it was like I would get out after work
I would just go shoot and doing it in repetition
And you figure out what works you figure out more importantly what doesn't work
And you just learn habits and you can keep increasing what you do and making it better each time
But yeah, I absolutely I love that
I think that is my favorite way to enjoy a vehicle is going out getting lost and uh, just framing up a good
A good picture
Oh, yeah
Well, we're going to take a small break but not before talking about another partner of the martini works podcast gels
Take it away. Of course fortune auto
You've heard us talk about it before we're going to talk about it again
We're going to keep talking about it because we love fortune auto suspension
We actually uh reach out to them at the start of this whole shindig and the start of the podcast
We're like, hey, you want to sponsor our podcasts. It's gonna be really cool. And they're like hell. Yeah, we do
They make some fantastic aftermarket coilover solutions for a ton of different vehicles and even some off-road stuff now
Which I think is actually really neat
But whether it's the 500 which you can run pretty much on your daily driver with some
Hyper focused track driving if you want to do that as well
Or if you want to really really dive into the tracks off the 510 is a great option as well
But they've been a fantastic coilover for all of us
We've ran them on multiple vehicles all of our personal ones at some point or another
And they've been incredible. They are hand assembled right in virginia
We went down and saw how they were made and the processes that they go through and some of the custom stuff that they do
and uh
All the stuff that goes into
Manufacturing a fortune auto coilover and it's really really impressive and they really do
Truly care about the product that goes out the door every single day. So
Really incredible stuff. Like I said, they're pretty much a lifetime product at this point
Because you can get them serviced you can get them rebuilt you can actually upgrade them if you get the 500s
Man, I really should have got the 510s. No worries. You can literally upgrade your coilovers to a 510
They're kind of modular at that point, which I think is a really cool
Thing as well. So if you haven't checked out fortune auto yet really recommend doing so
We have them over at martiniworks.com. And of course, we can't think fortune auto enough for sponsoring martiniworks podcast
Welcome back to breaking news
I have some breaking news. Hey, what are you doing?
Uh, ford off just doing extra credit stuff in, uh, germany lately
There's been like a battle at the nerberg ring lately. Yeah, and it's all the domestic brands
Just trying to beat the crap out of each other. It makes me giggle. So they ran a six minute
15 second
nerberg ring
record which for
America, I'm pretty sure that is the fastest domestic car to ever
Partake in the ring race
I watched the whole video because I was trying to figure out how the hell do you make it around that track in six minutes
In 15 seconds outside of the obvious fact that it's going buku crazy on the back straight
The driver the whole time I watched the whole video
There is only one instance in that entire six minute lap
Where there is a smidgen just a smidgen of oversteer
And that is the final corner coming in to hit the 615 mark. Jesus the entire time. He's racing on that track
I'm watching the telemetry data. I'm watching I'm listening
I have like the sound turned to max and like Becca's like, what the hell are you watching?
I'm like, I need to hear if this car is going sideways like at any point dude. The thing was gripped up the whole
lap like if you watch if you watch some of like the zr1x and the zr1 like their big thing was
That they ran those records with like
Quote unquote normal
Drivers, they're still like engineers. They were still like product product managers for corvette
But you can kind of like see it in their driving behavior. Like there's there's like that whip oversteer
There's sometimes where they're not breaking as hard as they need to and they're kind of like course correcting
Ford was like, nah, fuck that we're putting the best driver. We possibly know in that passenger seat and ran a
615 which is just
in
Saints the mark for
Ford gt looks pretty gnarly too. Like it's a gnarly look. It just looks like if engineering was a car
That's what yeah, so like this was like they took
I guess I don't know a whole bunch about this because like they hadn't made they haven't made that car in a long time
They only made like so many of them and that was back in like what?
2016
and um
This one is like a very very highly modified like race car version. Yeah, correct. Yeah, mm-hmm
But it's sick, dude
Like I think they've been doing this for a minute now, but like the how the hips of the car have this like gap
Yeah, and there's a hole like through the car to the wing
Like it just looks like it was molded in a wind tunnel completely. I remember when that when they first launched that car
Uh, and Ford at the time was a huge sponsor of ea a here in ashkash
And obviously we went every year my family went every year
And uh, they would have a massive Ford booth like it was like the Ford like plaza before it was like the bowing plaza and all that kind of
stuff and um
Huge booth and they had like all the new stuff all like the new trucks cars
Mustang but they had the gt there the year that it came out and they had it literally like
I think they had one like vertical
like I'm like the wall and then they had one on the uh
Like carousel like a thing and dude, I remember seeing that car in person
I just could not fucking believe it like I'm like, dude, that is the most badass car
Like ever made blast
So there's some really cool things about it. So one it has a big chunk of power 3.8 later twin turbo v6
820 horsepower
So it ain't playing around much there. Okay, but the crazy thing is the amount of aero
So, uh, it makes 2400 pounds of downforce at 150 miles an hour
I wonder what like a camry makes for comparison like for downforce
Can you just do they do they record those?
Yeah, is that yeah, I'm gonna search this hold up that info
Is this like a standard testing one pound of downforce at 50 miles an hour
There's there's there's obviously there's some things called like adaptive spool valve, which is
The mark for uses a multi-matic adaptive spool valve damper, which adjusts damping rates up to a thousand times per second
Which is absolutely just crazy
The driver has experience on the Nordschleife
It's got obviously full carbon fiber chassis and weight reduction
The mark force 400 pounds lighter than the mark too for for reference
So yeah, I mean just just crazy obviously the the rule books of the nirburgring
You know if it's a pre-production car production car those sort of things allow forward to
to get wild with it, but um
You know if you want to mark for I guess the low low price of 1.7 million dollars and they're all sold out already
So you cannot find the downfall numbers of standard traffic. I think someone switch to that someone
Holy shit. He's dying. Someone needs to do that. Someone needs to start like wind tunnel testing. Just regular traffic
It's because I just want to know those numbers getting crazy
So if we do have another number of reference like how much downforce it's generating so you can put that power down and be gripped
I think that would be kind of cool
But like I need a base. I need like I don't know what that really means how much
I feel like that could be such a good like marketing tactic too, right like say like
Like uh, like for they came out with like like the gtd for instance. Maybe they did this, but it's like it's like yeah
It comes with 1,500 pounds of downforce. That's like a marketing number. I'd be like that's kind of fucking sick
That bitch heavy. Yeah
Maybe no one really cares about it. Maybe no one really knows what that means, but I need the baseline first
I don't understand how good or bad that is. So uh more news
Uh, it's kind of like good slash bad news mostly bad. Oh god, uh, outie after 50 years five zero
Don't say it
They axed the five cylinder
No more five cylinder engine. However, um, there still has been like plenty made
Uh, so you're gonna see it for the next few years, but they're just not progressing with it further. Um, so the good news
There's a rumored 25th anniversary golf r coming out and they are going to put that five cylinder in the 25th anniversary
That would be as any golf come with a five cylinder before ever
I know that would be fucking crazy. Yeah, that would be crazy. It'd be sick all-wheel drive too. Probably. Yeah. Yeah, holy
Yeah, go far all-wheel drive. So that would be sick. It's practically a mini rs
Yeah, how much do you think something like that go for? Well, not all golfers are going
It's gonna be no, it's like a north of 60k sick more than 60. I think with the five cylinder
Whole well think like
I feel like I mean that's super a msrp. Yeah, and I feel like
Somewhat comparable there, especially if you're going up with a bigger engine and think about it. Yeah, it is
But I think it would be a killer car
The only thing though is it's going to be paddle shifter because they announced no more manuals. I believe too
So still really cool. Um
And I think that's an exciting way for it to go out
But yeah from what I was reading online and said expect to still see him
On certain showroom floors because uh, is anyone else making five pots right now?
I know Volvo Volvo still making them. Okay. Mm-hmm. All right. There's still hope
Volvo's got some cool cars. They do and they're and they're and they kind of just chill about it. They don't really brag
No, they're they're just expensive. Yeah, they just kind of exist because they can like and they don't
Generally look that insane. So it's like Volvo's kind of look like regular traffic a little bit
They have a little bit of that but then underneath there. They are a wolf in sheep's clothing. Those things are gnarly
I think the xc 90 has been made for 20 years
It has only seen two generations
But the two generations look identical
Like there's like slight changes to them. I love Volvo you can't tell if it's a 2006 or 2026
You know what car I've been seeing a lot lately that I've actually been coming around to quite a bit
I think would look really good just lowered on some wheels
CA Corvette the Genesis g70
Yeah, like I
Fucking love the headlight design on like the new Genesis stuff and I think those cars specifically
Like lowered on some was I think we actually saw one in gallenberg. That's what did I was like, holy fuck that looked good
What was that? I was like, that was a goddamn Genesis. Yeah, those cars
Those cars look good. They're pretty expensive. And I don't know what they I don't know what the uh, the power is but I know like
They're nice on the inside too. Oh, yeah, they went pretty luxury with that whole side of things like yeah
Well, Genesis owns boston dynamics
So we can expect that and 49 other companies. You mean that the
The companies that make like the weird robot dogs
That's them. That's wild. Yeah at the new york auto show. They had it on display doing with those
They had it on display to like show they had like a real dog and then they had their boston dynamics dog
And I was like get that black near bullshit
I was wait for me. Yeah, I watched that one episode of black mirror and I will never
Be good with that again
There was some random booth on it again. Yeah last year
Megan ever walked through the grounds and there was like one of those
Dog like robot dogs. Oh, it was like running around and like doing handstands and flips and shit
Megan's like get me the fuck away from the shit. I look scary. It's like I legit don't want to go over there
I don't know what it is. But yeah, we got a really unsettling about them
Because they kind of have like like animal like joint movements, but then it's a robot super aggressive doesn't have a face
Yeah, maybe that's it. Maybe it's affected doesn't have a face or anything to it. So it just was like this headless creature
clinking around
Metalhead
Is the episode
Yeah, I don't like it. We don't got to make robot dogs. It's fine. Yeah, but we should keep making
Five-cylinder engines. I don't know why we're we're stopping that
So maybe they're gonna do seven cylinders
Seven cylinder would be I hate that video. I just was looking back. You guys stop watching. Oh, it's so bad
I like black mirror because it reminds me of what I don't want the world to become
And I have a finite amount of time before I dip and find a random piece of land in the middle of nowhere
Where nobody can find me. Yeah, fair enough. Um, any other breaking news? Yeah, in other news. I uh reminded myself
I keep myself out of the garage
Because I got myself into the garage the other weekend. Yeah, how'd that go?
Honestly, it went pretty good
But I I got sidetracked heavily. I think I told the coda about this
I wanted to say on the podcast because this is just I think everyone can relate on how this goes
Uh, garage been collecting a bunch of shit just random boxes
Amazon boxes whatever it gets in the house. We're like, ah, well take it out in the recycle later
So we throw the box on the garage and then this doesn't so I was like
I had a bunch of like wheels and stuff that were laying around tools laying around boxes all this shit
So I was like organizing. I'm like, I'm gonna go out organize garage
He's doing a really good job
And then I came across
A couple boxes of some parts that I bought for my motorcycle and in there was my universal license plate light
That I didn't install when I did the tail tidy on the bike. I was like
Shit, you know what? I should probably just throw that like it had all the stuff to like put it in
It was a pretty straightforward install. I just forgot to do it when I put the tail tidy. I'm like
All right, 80 hd brand
I'm just gonna do it quick. Yep, because then I can throw the box. I can throw the box out then
So if I put this on I can throw the box up
And it was literally like, okay
You you put the thing in between the license plate
You drill a little hole into like the block off plate and then the two wires literally get like spliced
They have like a little wire tap things they get spliced into the positive and negative of the wiring that is already in there
Just put it in you screw a little cap on
Good to go
I'm literally watching the they have a really nice how-to video on how to do this guy literally says
Make sure you don't drop the little screw top because they're really small and if they fall
And you're gonna drop it. You're never gonna find it. I was like, well, duh
As I say that what I do I drop the fucking screw tap. Oh my god, and it falls into the bike
Somewhere is gone. I didn't hear it hit the ground. I'm like it's fucking in the bike
I got to really know the rear section of my motorcycle for the next hour and a half as I'm tearing everything
I'm tearing the fucking bearings apart the batteries coming out
Wiring harnesses are getting moved out of the way other plastic pieces are coming out
And finally I'm see I'm looking at the ground through my bike and I'm like
It ain't fucking in here. I don't know where it is
I accept the feet. I'm like, I just wanted to get this done. I'm gonna finish it
So I walk back into the house maybe he's like how's it going? I'm like good
I started on a completely separate project and it went wrong and I have to go to the parts store now
Okay, so I go to I run down to a Riley's you know how much those little fucking wire taps are
They're not 50 cents like I thought it'd be
$15 for a pack of like four of them
So my quick little side project to throw a box out turn into a hole like afternoon and a shit and uh
Yeah, got done though. That happens. It happens. It definitely happens the best of us. That's why I just don't work on it
You know, I just that's why it just sits. Yeah, but it was nice out
It was nice out. I got a beef stick and energy drink on my way back. I was a happy boy
The garage the garage is a little more clean. The bike is good to go
It was a day that's how projects go you just got a if it says it's a 20 minute job
It's never a couple years ago me probably would have blew a fucking gasket if that happened
I just accepted my fate. I was just like this is I I did this to myself and I'm just gonna make the most of it
Yeah, I think it's tough
Because you you start working on stuff and you try to make like a casual project
It's never casual
It's never and then the stuff that you have to do and the stuff that you have to do isn't casual either
So you're stuck between a rock and a hard place of like, okay
So I can make this an optional activity to do which is small and easy and then it becomes difficult and painful
Or I can wrap up my entire weekend and doing this thing that I don't want to do and chances are it's not going to get done either
Right, or I can play League of Legends a ram and forget about both
never play to League of Legends
With that being said
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We'd be more than happy to help and thank you guys so much for listening to the podcast
Bye have a good weekend
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