The first generation BMW X5, known by those in the scene by its chassis designation, the E53, is a full-size SUV with tons of potential. The E70 X5 continued the tradition set by BMW’s first SUV, which straddles the center of a Venn diagram that balances performance, practicality, and rugged dependability. Whichever generation or engine [...]
Some things are too well-loved to be permanently killed off, like Arnold coming back in Terminator 2. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably figured out Tuned In Weekly is back to save the day, as, you’re reading it now! Yes, after a seven-month hiatus, I’m back. Like Arnold’s famous lever-action shotgun-wielding, re-programmed, robot from the [...]
As those of us who came of age in the 80s and 90s grow older, the culture that we were born into but otherwise rather exempt from has made its resurgence. In the past few years for the car community, this explosion of all things vintage has mirrored the muscle car boom of the early [...]
Part of becoming an enthusiast is recognizing that performing maintenance services on your VW aren’t inconveniences, but rather, opportunities. You gain new skills and confidence with every service that requires more work, build a relationship with your car, and become quite self-sufficient with these mechanical skills that transfer fairly universally to other parts of your [...]
Since March of 2020, we’ve seen extreme, generation-defining, events happen real-time back to back. Most recently, for the past fifty-three days and amidst an ongoing global pandemic, Ukraine is attempting to repel Russian invaders and millions of refugees have fled the country as a result. What this most recent global event, and the preceding line [...]
The MK8 GTI has been out globally for quite some time and we’ve had our Pomelo Yellow Launch Edition GTI for several months. In that time, we’ve come to know the car fairly intimately in our quest to develop everything cool we can think of to improve the MK8. Naturally, these improvements are largely carryovers [...]
This month, people who don’t spend their evenings and weekends in the garage or out enjoying their cars are all focused on basketball. Us car guys, however, as a majority tend to ignore this championship entirely. So, in order for us to have some fun with competitions of our own before show season and racing [...]
Lowering your car is one of the best early modifications you can make to improve both looks and performance. The lower stance, reduced wheel gap, and more aggressive appearance are enough to make you fall in love with your car all over again. More than the improved looks, lowered cars benefit from a lower center [...]
In Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope, audiences were introduced to this small cast of characters fighting unambiguously for good against a well-armed and militaristic empire with a planet-killing space station. The movie ends with good triumphing over evil after overcoming some difficult, but not insurmountable, odds, but the universe in which it took place [...]
When we left ECS on Friday around 8 am, we did the typical stop to get fuel and snacks. Overall, the drive was uneventful until we ran into our friends from Pittsburgh: Tyler Herwig, Eric Zyvith, and the gang we've been fortunate enough to befriend over this past show season. From there, we enjoyed a [...]