# Rally Beetle



## 2003miata (Oct 26, 2013)

I just picked up this 2013 Turbo Beetle last week as a DD! It's my first VW and so far so good.









As my screen name suggests I have a 2003 Miata, this is my 2nd NB Miata and hands down one of the best cars to drive, ever.

















With the Miata I've always been willing to sacrificed comfort for speed. Sadly reality set in and I realized race cars make poor commuters, plus I was tired of paying for replacement tires, breaks, and dampers before even getting on the track due to the 30K miles I put on her in a given year. Anyway with the Beetle I've decided to take a different route than most VW owners. First modification? Rally Armour mud flaps :laugh:


















Very easy to install, I used 2 of the existing fender liner bolts and drilled a small hole deeper in the wheel well for the 3rd.
Now the body is protected from rocks on the dirt roads I frequent for work and I only get **** for owning 1 girly car  future plans do include a rear sway bar, maybe a slight drop on stiffer springs, lighter wheels and some snow tires, cat back and intake, and stage 1 down the road.


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## VWNDAHS (Jun 20, 2002)

2003miata said:


> I just picked up this 2013 Turbo Beetle last week as a DD! It's my first VW and so far so good.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Great choice and wonderful to see a fellow track addict here . I was blown away that a stock turbo beetle could provide a 5-7 second advantage over my previous R32 with just a chip. Now that it has coil overs and race wheels shortly I cannot wait to see if I can get to a 10 second advantage over the R per lap. Wonderful all around cars these beetles, track, commute, everywhere  :thumbup:


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## 2003miata (Oct 26, 2013)

Went to Hershey, PA for a Porsche Club autox last weekend and the TB did a lot better than I expected. I was even a couple seconds faster than the stock MK6 GTI and 500 Abarth  It really needs stiffer springs and sway bars, plus some waaaayyy lighter wheels and wider tires until I'm happy with it.


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## 2003miata (Oct 26, 2013)

Went to Hershey, PA for a Porsche Club autox last weekend and the TB did a lot better than I expected. I was even a couple seconds faster than the stock MK6 GTI and 500 Abarth  It really needs stiffer springs and sway bars, plus some waaaayyy lighter wheels and wider tires until I'm happy with it.


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## JPeezy (Mar 30, 2007)

So awesome man! Hope you enjoy the car ive had mine for two weeks and im loving it


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## 2003miata (Oct 26, 2013)

Using my mud flaps 











This may or may not be related to the fact I do a lot of "off-roading" but:

Recently I seem to have developed a pretty nasty clunk from the front suspension. I can feel it in the floor like the something substantial is contacting the bottom of the car. I feel it over most bumps and some times under breaking and when shifting. Due to the extreme cold I haven't been able to get under the car and check it out.

My question is this: has anyone else experienced this is this a common issue or is it more likely my doing?


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## JPeezy (Mar 30, 2007)

your problem more than likely is the sucky stock OEM strut mounts.


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## RedBugD (Jul 14, 2013)

Might be the sway bar bushings.


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## 2003miata (Oct 26, 2013)

Hmmm strut mounts that's not something I would've thought of thanks! I'll check them out. 

As for the sway bar everything looked good and tight, regardless I'll be upgrading soon or at the very least cleaning the bushings out and re-lubing them.


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