Last year it was Floodfest, this year it was Sweatfest, followed by Lightningfest and then Floodfest. No matter how good the event, the lasting memory is always the lousy weather, which started out hot and sweaty, turned into scary lightning strikes, and was followed by flooded roads. Can we please hold it indoors next year?
We arrived at the show fresh from Kreuzerfest (and you can read about the fun elsewhere in this issue) but the drive down with all those VW fans whetted our appetite for top-notch Dubs, and we weren't disappointed.
Our designer, Billy, won't allow us to describe all our favorites because it leaves no room for the actual photos, but the significant cars were mainly Mk2s. These are as old as the hills but can still stop traffic. The various VR6 and 1.8T transplants were so good it almost defies belief and again emphasizes your need to be there.
This year we took along a couple of virgins for sacrifice. Sunny is relatively new to the scene but took it all in stride, while Brady is back from the desert and anything looks good to him right now. You can read their thoughts below. We've run out of space for mine so stop me at an event or email me and I'll tell you which were my favorites. But since I get to choose the photos, that'll give you some idea.
For even more photos, go to www.eurotuner.com and see our Kreuzerfest and Waterfest galleries.
Waterfest 11Sunny Lee:Having attended Waterfest for the first time, I was caught off-guard. They said it was big, but I never imagined it was that big. There was so much going on, like the drag race, autocross, burnout contest, sound off, dyno, car show, vendors and the swap meet.
Held at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ, with the remains of Hurricane Dennis lingering in the area, Saturday's weather was a concern. It was hot and humid all day, but didn't rain so the drag racing had the green light.
Although it's entertaining to watch a 12sec car go against a 17sec car, the races were bracketed, with bracket one for 16.50sec or slower, two is 14.50-16.49 and the last bracket is 14.49 and faster. And if you've ever watched a drag race, you know anything slower than 13 seconds is like watching paint dry.
We were waiting for the more exciting runs, like Brian Siegfried's Mk3 GTI. He runs a 3.0 VR6 with JE piston, Pauter rods and ARP caps and studs. It also sports a T66 turbo. "Last year I ran 11.1sec but I'm hoping to beat it this year," he said.
Next to him was Justin Cohen and his GT42R turbo Mk3 Golf. His VR6 was fully built and the car had a full cage and fiberglass front end. His first run yielded mid 10s on slicks, but he claims it can be faster!
The most impressive was SEM Motorsports' Mk3 drag car. Inside was a fully-built 2.1L 20v motor with a GT42 turbo running methanol. The engine was built to withstand 45psi but ran a 13.1 at 8psi.
Sadly, Sunday's drags were rained off so we'll never know who had bragging rights. There was also an autocross on Sunday, but the rain curtailed this as well.
At Waterfest, dyno pulls are also a spectator's sport. All Wheel Dyno brought the only AWD mobile dyno in the country and for $70 you got two pulls and a dyno sheet. There was always a crowd gathered around the dyno to see the sleepers and was shocked by a mild-looking Jetta that put down over 400 horses with a VR6 turbo. That's entertainment.
There were plenty of vendors displaying the latest products and projects. As usual APR Tuned was there. In addition to chipping visitors' cars it had a new motorsport intake manifold for any transverse VW engine. It positions the inlet on the opposite side of the bay and is used in conjunction with the Motorsport Z-Flow FMIC. It's designed with inlets at either end of the cooler for better flow and cooling. APR also had its new hollow carbon fiber strut bar, which can be tightened with a twist of the bar.