Blog Entries Tagged Auto

Here's a list of all 58 blog entries tagged Auto here at derek.broox.com. I've also got 2,430 other things related to Auto.

  • 2-Door Bronco Rear Seat Delete + Raptor Lined Cargo Platform posted

    The rear bench seat of my Jeep spent most of it's life in a Christmas tree storage bag... and I had a similar plan once I traded my Jeep in for a Bronco. But I was pretty bummed to learn that it was a lot more work to add/remove the rear Bronco seats (bolts, sensors, and tools? wtf!)... so, I just went scorched earth and ripped everything out, along with the seatbelts... read more

  • From a Jeep to a Bronco posted

    As soon as Ford announced that they were re-releasing the Bronco, I knew that I wanted one. However, I’d just bought a Jeep that I really enjoyed, so I decided to wait a bit. This would allow the aftermarket to catch up and Ford to shake out any issues within the first couple years of launching. 2024 felt like the model year to go after. The vehicle should be relatively stable, the aftermarket would’ve had a few years to catch up and with any luck, they may launch their anticipated hybrid model along with some other mid-cycle refreshes... read more

  • I Got a Jeep! posted

    I've always driven 2-door coupes and hatchbacks. My current car is BMW M4, which has been my only vehicle for the last few years. I live in Iowa and didn't wanna drive my M4 in the snow - so I decided to uber around town on bad weather days... Last year, we had a terrible winter where I wound up ubering for months. ... read more

  • Picking up an M-series in Germany posted - 2 comments

    First of all, some things I noticed about Germans: no one is staring at phones. Everyone rides bikes - mostly cruisers with kickstands and barely locked up. They are big rule followers. They seem to require very little policing and are generally very respectful people. They love super cheesy t-shirts, especially if the F word is on them... read more

  • The Ultimate Drive (round 2) posted - 1 comment

    So back in 05, Nehru brought me along to the BMW/Susan G. Komen Ultimate Drive, which is a pretty amazing event. You show up and drive decked out BMWs on a ~15 mile route around the city... and they do their best to give you a fun route with varying speeds. It's a yearly event that travels around the country (so check the website to see when it's in your town) and it's completely free... read more

  • HHR Gravedigger posted

    One of the main reasons I'd really love to be wealthy (aside from obvious reasons) is that I could do hilarious/expensive things. I've always envied celebrities like Bam Margera for this reason. But one thing that I've been thinking about for a bit. Have you seen those Chevy HHRs without rear windows? The panel side or whatever... read more

  • You Might See Me in My Brand New Whiiip posted - 13 comments

    So I got a new truck. An 8 year old truck that looks like it's 1 year old. As most of you know, I (for some weird reason) was in the market for a truck. The truck that appealed to me most was the F150, but I didn't want the F150 that you pass 76 times a day on the road. I wanted a unique one... read more

  • Filming the 2030 Road Rally posted - 1 comment

    was a blast. It was pure chaos all day. Just driving around seeing people you "knew" in amazing cars all throughout the day. It was a good feeling for sure. Most of us were connected only by your love of cars and driving... read more

  • No Cars, High Bars posted - 6 comments

    What's been up lately? Well yesterday we had another outing at Lake Panorama, which was nice. I golfed for the first time this year and shot pretty good - only hit 1 duffer and 1 slice. However, Nick and I got paired up with JD in a best shot "tournament." And if you don't know JD... all I can say is that he's really good at golf... read more

  • My Talon: Finally the End? posted - 18 comments

    My car has been running horribly lately. The engine sounds horrible, it idles bad, etc. I mean, what can I really expect from an engine with 175,000 miles on it. Well... Monday I pulled into the garage, shut the car off, and heard a new *CLUNK* noise... read more

  • Chicago Auto Show Randomness posted

    So, Nehru planned on driving to Chicago with some of his STI and EVO buddies last weekend. However, at the last minute someone canceled, which opened up a seat for me. Of course, I accepted. The drive was definitely interesting. 4 pretty different people with really the only thing in common being our love for cars - and maybe beer... read more

  • Beer Pong Tires posted - 4 comments

    Another weekend at home. This is getting a bit out of hand. So yeah, it was pretty laid back. Zach and Amy came over to play ping pong, eat pizza and hang out on Friday. It was a fun time... read more

  • Rico Leaves Oktoberfest posted

    Ahhh, home. When I'm home, things get done. So yeah, Friday was Rico's last day at Pioneer, which was a little weird, but was also quite nice. I really don't know many people that have the balls to up and quit a job after over 20 years of service. I'm pretty excited about it... read more

  • Wang's Auto Insurance posted - 1 comment

    So, my Car Insurance only went down $10 a month... booo. Maybe it will go down more when Kari is 25 too. On another note, I really love the Asian Market. There are always interesting things there, plus everything is always spelled wrong... read more

  • Sweet Summer Blues posted - 3 comments

    And it all begins - again. I have this love/hate relationship with summer. I love the weather, all the hanging out, skating, traveling, driving, partying, etc. But I hate hate hate how poor I get. And even more so, I hate complaining about how poor I get... read more

  • Don't EVER Answer the First Question posted - 7 comments

    Tonight I got pulled over and I broke the FIRST FREAKIN RULE IN THE BOOK. The FIRST rule. I seriously about smacked my forehead right in front of the cop. I answered the first question he asked me. That question that you are never ever EVER supposed to answer... read more

  • Money, Cars, and Movie Stars posted - 12 comments

    Oy, It turned out that Chicago was more expensive than I thought. Kari and I are so insanely broke, it's retarded, haha. I get so mad when I don't have money - like, I don't even know what to do with myself; I just sit at home and pout, haha. We haven't spent this much time hanging out at home in a long long time. Things are becoming somewhat clean and organized though... read more

  • Wreck Number 2 posted - 3 comments

    One day Krissy and I decided to drive past my old house on Old Ranch Road in Port Byron. I was feeling pretty sick so I had her drive. In fact, I started to really feel like crap so I took my seat belt off so that the pressure wouldn't be on my belly. Right when we passed my old house we came up on this car driving 40mph in the 55. Like any normal person, we got real annoyed... read more

  • 3 3ast 3 3urious posted - 6 comments

    I usually don't write about movies and stuff, but this caught me off guard and not too many people know about it so here it is... I was reading Modified Magazine yesterday, and apparently there's going to be a Fast and Furious 3. And apparently they have a bigger budget than the first 2... but they're trying not to pick any big actors for it. Which, pretty much shows that FnF is obviously more interested in cars than acting - as most of its viewers are... read more

  • The Ultimate Drive posted - 2 comments

    BMW sponsors this event called the Ultimate Drive where all you have to do is sign up and drive BMWs... then for every mile you drive they donate $1 to the Komen Breast Cancer Fund. So instead of working today, Nehru and I drove BMWs, haha. We got to sign a 645i. Then we drove on this 15 mile route they had plotted out... read more

  • Bloody Sheds and Cars posted - 2 comments

    Oh man, this weekend was pretty awesome for getting things done. My car has been running like hell lately, it's been really annoying. But Saturday I met this dude named TJ, who is 21 and has already owned 7 eclipses, helped me fix my car. He knows his stuff. His car is insane, he's getting under 12 second runs in his 92 eclipse... read more

  • The Nova Edit posted - 7 comments

    For those of you that don't know, my first car was a 1963 Chevy II Nova. Here are some pics and a short story to bring you up to speed. Anyway, my dad and I completely restored the car, and while doing this we shot a lot of video. I've been meaning to put together a short edit for a long long time - I finally did it, and here it is. Just a word of warning, this might be a little boring to some of you... read more

  • My Bumper's Fixed and My Drawers are Dirty posted - 9 comments

    Today after work I stopped by the body shop to pick up my car. I got a new front bumper, the fender fixed, and both are coated in brand new paint. Now I'm only $1k down, ha. BUT.. It looks really really good... read more

  • I Hate Body Kits posted - 14 comments

    I hate bodykits, badly. To recap, a few months after installing my original fiberglass body kit, I backed into a truck in a dark alley. Obviously cracked the fiberglass. Then last winter I didn't see this snow covered curb and clipped my bumper on it. Last fall, my old mechanic at Grimes Automotive hit a curb and broke my front bumper... read more

  • Sun Prairie's Snowboard DJ Took an Oil Leak posted - 1 comment

    This weekend I was at home again... Friday was a little weird because we found out that someone had broken into Kari's apartment garage and put a different padlock on it. After a ton of calling around, yelling, being lied to, calling the cops, finding bolt cutters, etc - it turned out that Sun Prairie rented out her garage without telling her. This is awesome because Kari still has stuff in there - stuff that we needed this weekend. Sun Prairie Apartments in West Des Moines suck so so bad... read more

  • AHHH! I got backed into posted - 7 comments

    So this woman driving an Intrepid totally backed into me today. It sucks. It totally busted my bumper so it's not at all fixable, and rolled my fender under the wheel well. It may have put a couple stress cracks in my headlights also. I have not had good luck with my car lately. read more

  • Pull over to the right next time! posted - 3 comments

    One day, during my senior year in high school or so, Jeff Wingert and I decided we'd take a drive into town in my Celica. I needed some gas so I stopped at the Amoco on Route 84 in Rapids City to fill up. After getting gas I pulled out to make my way to the interstate which is probably a mile away or so. I was just driving along and when I started to get into the left hand turning lane for the on-ramp, I see a cop with it's lights on behind me. There was also a random fat guy sitting in his passenger seat that I couldn't make out... read more

  • Grimes Automotive posted - 12 comments

    I feel like I've been complaining a lot lately. But I really don't think it's my fault. Crappy things are seriously happening to me. So, while I'm at it, let's talk about Grimes Automotive and how many times they've screwed me. The first few times I went in there, they were really honest, did a good job, etc... read more

  • Figures posted - 6 comments

    2 days after I move in, my car breaks. I went out to my car this morning, turned the key, cliiiiiiiick. Didn't have enough juice to turn over. So I met my first neighbor this morning. She brought her car around to jump me... read more

  • Exhaust: Installed posted - 9 comments

    Alright, after months of dealing with this exhaust order and getting the wrong system I went ahead and installed it. I didn't want to wait until spring for them to correct it. So yeah, I now have a 3" stainless steel exhaust from my turbo all the way back through the Magnaflow straight through muffler - awesome. I also installed the Catco high flow cat for now... I might take it off someday... read more

  • Weekend at Home! posted

    So this was the first weekend that I've been home in weeks. It is literally the second time that I've been in Des Moines for a weekend since June, haha. I mean, I've gone to Cornerstone (Illinois), Heritage Days (Mt Vernon), L.A., Denver, Quad Cities twice, Minnesota, and Chicago Twice. The only other weekend I was here was during 515 Alive. wtf... read more

  • RnR Racing Turboback Exhaust posted - 8 comments

    On June 21 I ordered a custom exhaust from RnR Racing. I've heard great things about their products, they sound really good, and best of all, they're reasonably priced. I was super pumped when I ordered the exhaust. Here are the specs on my order: Item: FWD Standard Turbo Back Exhaust - $675.00 Quantity: 1 Generation and size: 2g 3" Standard turbo back Turbo Back options: Stainless Steel Bullet Muffler Straight through design Stainless Steel 3" Downpipe Stainless Steel 3" Catback 4" Stainless Steel N1 Style Tip Here's a timeline of how it went. -June 21 - I placed my order at RnR Racing... read more

  • WTDT - What the Damon Toal-rossi posted - 4 comments

    I love finding out that cornellians are doing cool things. Especially when they're making bio-diesel fuel. This rules, haha, Damon is making gas for his diesel vw golf. Hopefully it's not new, or else he probably voided the warranty. So yeah, apparently Damon is begging for some interview attention... read more

  • My Fartcan is on Order posted - 4 comments

    So today after finding out my financial situation is not crappy, I ordered myself a new exhaust... or fartcan if you hate that import exhaust sound. Anyway, I got a 3" stainless steel turbo back exhaust with a 4" tip from RnR Racing. I can't wait. I'm gonna be so loud, haha... read more

  • Father Skirts posted - 2 comments

    Hmmm, the weekend.Friday, Kari and I saw dodgeball. funny movie. Kevi also finished editing the third nutpunt video, which is sort of a continuation of the characters and ideas of our "I against I" video. Today he got it all converted to flash and uploaded to the site: www.nutpunt.com. Too bad the flash is a little choppier than the actual video (especially the first time you watch it)... read more

  • Big Brown Titties in the Viper Convoy at the Motor Inn posted - 10 comments

    It's 8:00 AM and today is already good. I checked my mail this morning and had the Iggy Pop & Peaches - Motor Inn vinyl. Felix has this really really good mix on it. Very hard hitting - good club music. I've been looking for the record for a long friggin time... read more

  • Mustangs want me posted - 4 comments

    Alright so my MAFS went out right? I called several dealerships and junkyards trying to find this part. The prices ranged from $325-$680. And I found another guy that would give me one in trade of a case of beer. Well that guy sucked at communicating, so I sucked at trusting him... read more

  • Cars are tricky, Iowa Cops are fishy, and Iowa Cubs are funny posted - 11 comments

    Holy day. This AM I had to wake up early to take my car to the shop to get looked at. It has been idling really weird and cutting out. After talking to a few people I came to the conclusion that it was the Mass Airflow Sensor (MAFS). The shop called at 10 this morning and told me I was right... read more

  • INTAKE'D!!! posted - 8 comments

    I got a new intake pipe from ebay yesterday. dsmtuners.com tells you that it's the first step you should take (along with a conical air filter) when modding your car. However, I'm finding out that most intake pipes don't really do anything for a turbo 2g DSM. The Injen intake (which is very similar to the intake I got) is dyno proven to not increase horsepower. The only thing that it does is look cool and make the turbo/BOV sound cooler... read more

  • Theta Formal and Kari's Car posted - 5 comments

    This year Theta Formal was in Dubuque on the Miss Dubuque dinner boat, which was nice... definitely something different than normal. It was funny because a few of the girls had just gotten back from a Carribean Cruise, so they thought that our small dinner boat was HILARIOUS.... it's a friggin dinner boat on the Mississippi and it costs $35 a person, what do you expect? It's sorta like how my car is really really funny to ride in after riding on a bus...... read more

  • Well, Hello Shirley posted - 2 comments

    "Ah, come on farva, man! Same team! Same team! What's Thorny gonna say, Rook?!"-Super Troopers Ever since I moved to Des Moines, almost every time I drive to Mount Vernon on a Friday, I am behind a cop. And almost every time it's a cop out of its jurisdiction... read more

  • Laser Radar, I hate you posted - 1 comment

    This morning started off awesome when I was getting on the interstate from University to go to work. There were 2 semis and quite a few other cars about 6 feet apart and no one seemed to notice my turn signal (which made it impossible to merge). Naturally, ultra road rage kicked in. At this point I glanced forward and saw that the light was green at the end of the ramp to get back off of the interstate, so I floored it down the ramp and came back up onto the interstate from Hickman.At this time, I just felt like catching up to everyone that wouldn't let me in so I could cut each and every one of them off, haha, I am a loser. So I'm doing 85-90 weaving through the 3 lanes of traffic that make up Interstate 80/35 in Urbandale... read more

  • Greddy Type S and new UICP posted - 4 comments

    This afternoon I installed new upper intercooler piping and a Greddy Type S Blow off valve on the car. It was actually a pretty easy install. I did it in about an hour and a half and it turned out really well. Here is the old version, and here is what it looks like now. I also helped Nathan install some mirrors on his accord... read more

  • First step, Monitoring posted - 4 comments

    So the first step to any serious engine modifications is to install a means of monitoring what's going on. This is simply to make sure anything you install doesn't cause you're car to die, blow up, etc and also so you can tune it to get the best performance possible. Last night I took the first step in ordering some new gauges. After days of searching I decided to go with a set of Autometer Phantom gauges. They have a good rep and cost less than $180 per gauge (like Apexi and Greddy)... read more

  • Breaking down on the interstate rules posted - 9 comments

    So I'm driving home from work all speed demon, road rage style and I'm in the fast lane of "Interstate 80" doing 85 or so. I come up on this semi doing about 65, with a motor home next to it doing about 70.... the far right lane was open, so I punched the gas to the floor to dart accross 3 lanes in between a motor home and the truck behind it... As soon as I hit the gas my car jumped once (cause the turbo kicked in hard)... and then it jumped right back down, vibrated, and just wanted to coast for the rest of the day... read more

  • Talon to Eclipse body kit conversion. posted - 1 comment

    I get so many emails about this and I'm sick of rewriting it, so here is a small tutorial on how to convert your Eagle Talon to use Eclipse body kits. It's actually not too tough. Here's what you will need (parts): eclipse tail lights eclipse head lights eclipse reverse lights eclipse body kit (of course) 15 feet of 12 guage wire I think that's pretty much it, however you might have to pick up some bolts here and there. The front bumper cover is kinda tough because it requires the most customization (if you're keeping the actual bumper on, otherwise it's easy). I decided to keep my front bumper in case I get into a wreck... read more

  • Kids, driving fast is not cool posted - 4 comments

    Derek R Brooks: i should have gotten pulled over to the MAX this morning Derek R Brooks: i will just paste the conversation that i had with jammey Derek R Brooks: so i dont have to type it again sofa king kari: k Derek R Brooks: well, to get to work i have to jump onto the interstate for like 5 minutes... and it's all 3 lane with big wall dividers between eastbound and westbound... so the only way you're gonna get pulled over is if there is a cop right in front of you or right behind you Derek R Brooks: well this morning, i didn't have my radar detector on and i flew onto the interstate like i normally do... doing about 90 Derek R Brooks: about halfway to work i switched lanes from the far left lane to the far right lane to get around a school bus... that's when i noticed the cop flying up on me... read more

  • My Car posted - 4 comments

    I love my car. In fact, I love my car so much that even though it almost has 130,000 miles on it, I've decided that I'm going to restore it rather than buy a new car. The only problem is, stupid things keep happening to it! For instance, last fall (shortly after I got my new body kit on) I went and bought a new cell phone (you probably saw the article about it on this site). Anyway, I was so caught up in my cell phone that when I went back out to my car I was only paying attention to the phone... read more

  • It's on posted - 2 comments

    Well, after hours of work by my dad and I, the kit is finally on... well most of it. We got the headlights, tail lights, and both bumpers on, but we couldn't get the side skirts. See the sideskirts will look best if we actually mold them into the car instead of just bolt them on, so I'm going to wait until I decide it's time to get the entire car repainted. I also put some new 6x9s in, finally... read more

  • And it all starts... posted - 1 comment

    Today I'm leaving work at 12:30 to go home and put all my new stuff on my car! It's going to be a ton of fun, but it's not going to be anything easy... I have to take my front and rear bumpers off, my sideskirts off, my headlights off, and tail lights off. Then I have to cut, mold, and fit a bunch of stuff in order to get my new kit on. I also have to put on the new headlights and tail lights... read more

  • My car has some serious legality issues posted - 3 comments

    I got pulled over again for the blue lights on my hood last night... that brings the tally up to 12. I also got pulled over a couple months ago for not having a front license plate and having my windows tinted too dark. I talked my way out of the license plate one, but he still ticketed me for the windows, and then tried to say I wasn't wearing my seatbelt, which as stupid, cause I always wear it.Sooo, I guess 2 tickets out of 12 stops isn't bad. And one wasn't even a moving violation. read more

  • Is that a Talon? posted - 15 comments

    I've started ordering parts for my car lately. First of all I ordered a new body kit, which will totally change the look of it. Both of my bumpers and the sides of the car will be different. The kit I ordered is called the blitz kit. You can see it on a red eclipse here and here... read more

  • Turbo's GT posted - 10 comments

    My buddy, Aaron, liked my Nova video so much that he wanted one of his own. Aaron drives a Mustang GT (so fast)... and we thought we could do a couple cool things in a video. The only problem was, I live about 2 hours from Aaron, and have no video of his car. But, something worked out...My other buddy, Zach, is also getting into video editing and had to make a "how to" video for a class he was in... read more

  • Nova posted - 4 comments

    There is a good chance that I blew the engine of my Talon last Friday... which sucks, but i'll find out the verdict soon. Yesterday, I put together a little video in remembrance of my first car. Yes, I miss that thing, heh. It was a 1963 Chevy II Nova... read more

  • Once again... posted - 1 comment

    I got pulled over tonight for the little blue lights on my hood, hehe. apparently they're really not street legal. This makes the 10th time I've gotten pulled over... and I still have only 1 ticket on my record. read more

  • frowny face to the max... posted - 1 comment

    My car got put into the garage for the winter :-(. i took my system out and it's setting in my room, not getting used, poor thing. i guess it's better though because it can't get stolen, and i won't risk ruining my car in the snow. One good thing... I got a new snowboard this weekend and I'm ready for the season! read more

  • I'm a cop posted - 5 comments

    Ok, so I've come to the conclusion that the little LED lights on my hood are not legal. Pictured here.Here's the story... Tonight I was driving out of Subway with my buddy Jeff with my LEDs on. There was a car in front of me who slowed way down, signaled, and pulled off the side of the road... My buddy Jeff starts crackin up and yells Dude! read more

  • Talon Mods and Pictures posted

    I did a few mods to my car and added some pictures. just a few lights here and there.... read more