The Blurpening, Covid Coping & Returning to Form

[SlimKlim]

So I sold my M3 in January after 10 years and 50k miles of ownership. It was a hell of a run but I wasn't enjoying owning it anymore, and didn't like the idea of turning it into something I actually wanted to drive. After that many years of ownership I was into the car for so much more than it was worth, continuing to "invest" in it was just a gross idea. The plan was to just enjoy my GTI and bank up some money for a house or something eventually. Then the Trump virus happened, and all of a sudden I barely need a car. Also found myself fuckin' bored. Real bored. 

So, prologue over, I sold the GTI to a dealership in MD and bought this one-owner 2007 Cayman S, midnight blue over stone gray with 51,000 miles. No exciting options, but it has the premium package that includes Xenon lights, power seats, rain sensing wipers & the colored center caps. It was sold new in NJ but has been in FL since about 3,000mi. It showed regularly at Audi Porsche dealerships for maintenance, the last thing on record was a water pump at 48,000mi last year. So I took a flyer on it and had it shipped up from Tampa. 







So they serviced it but I'm pretty sure they never washed it. Pretty ridiculous oxidation on the top of the front fenders.






I started with a wash & quick 2 stage cut and polish so I could stand to look at the thing.





Then my used car ritual of deep cleaning the interior. This water was clear when I started and the interior didn't look particularly dirty. People are gross. Go clean your seats.





Next order of business, bitchin' tunes. 



Turns out it's kind of a bitch to install a head unit in a car with a fiber optic Bose system. You can send the stock HU out and have a stealthy bluetooth feature added to stream music, but you obviously need to use your phone for directions. Your other options are to rip out and replace the entire audio system, or get a fiber optic signal converter to make a aftermarket HU work with your factory amp and speakers. 

If you go that direction you still have two options, a "full" integration kit ranging anywhere from $350-750 that retains steering wheel controls, fader & balance settings and some other shit, or you can go the ebay option for $100 that just converts it to a left & right RCA signal. I went for the last option to get Carplay (really just Waze) but not drop a frickin comma on it. 

Long story short, these cars have terrible grounds and I spent a ton of time trying to sort out nasty alternator whine. The magic formula is to tap (fused) power and ground straight off the battery for the HU and signal converter, and install 12v noise filters on both the constant and switched power leads.

I also essentially ruined the $40 dash install kit I bought from crutchfield and had to pony up for an $80 one that actually came with a cage to slide the HU in and out of. The cheapest option usually isn't. On the plus side, this thing is a dream to run accessory wires on, there is a blank grommet behind the battery that pops out above the throttle pedal.



IDK if we have a post limit so I'm gonna play it safe and break this up. Sit tight.