In The Shop
Black Forest Technik Year in Review 2022
This has been yet another wild ride, full of surprises and challenges. We couldn’t be more thrilled with how things have been going, and we are carrying quite a bit of momentum into the new year. These last few months have been our busiest ever. With the increased work load we are making sure that we maintain our quality and service standards though, and we are proud of the team that we have built. That said we know that there is always room for improvement and we are constantly evaluating our processes and our procedures to ensure that we truly do provide “highly engineered service.” We’re grateful for all of our loyal customers who trust us with their vehicles, and we’re grateful for all of our friends in the industry and the community as a whole that we get to learn from every single day. We attend as well as host as many events as possible each year not only to have fun, but also to ask questions and gain experience from our peers. We have a lot more planned for 2023 and we are very excited to see what’s in store!
Remembering Phil Pinto
Early this year, one of our favorite people showed up at our shop asking us to install a CAE shifter in his absolutely amazing Mk2 Jetta Coupe with a VR6 swap. If you’ve ever met Phil Pinto, you know that he was one of the most humble and genuinely kind human beings. Despite Phil working at, and for many different shops in the industry, there was never any bad blood that he spread his love around. Starting out at Eurowise, eventually working at Eurofed, and others, finally winding up at DAP. Phil is one of those people you were always excited to run into at a car show, or even just try to help source a part because you knew he was going to be grateful for your time and that he had a great understanding of what things were like behind the scenes. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I fully expected him to be working for us one day. We joked about it all the time and honestly if we were an hour closer I think it would have already happened. Phil was one of the OGs, and he’s owned and built pretty much one of everything, all while doing it with taste. Going to shows will never be the same without his incredibly friendly and welcoming personality. He will be sorely missed.
HAVE MURCI
It’s always a pleasure having this Murcielago in the shop. This time it was here to address some oil leak concerns. Even though this one gets driven a lot now, in it’s former life it was pampered a bit too much. Cars are meant to be driven and the current owner takes this to heart.
Porsche Macan Lowering Springs
With the trend shifting towards lifting anything and everything, it’s fun to go the other direction and drop something as good looking as this #PorscheMacan. With less than 1000k miles on the odometer we installed a set of H&R Special Springs, LP. 1.5” lowering springs, and while this thing may not look slammed, it’s definitely significantly lower and handles much tighter than before. Of course we also performed a complete alignment after the installation to make sure everything is tracking straight, an absolute necessity with any suspension job.
Technik Thursdays
Over the course of the year we hosted many monthly get togethers where we saw a huge variety of cars and owners show up simply to enjoy each other’s company. We loved not knowing what each week would be like, and seeing the cars and coffee-like vibe progress. Everyone was very respectful and well behaved and we’re pleased to be able to continue this tradition on in the new year. Our parking lot is a great place to congregate and we will continue to offer it to the community.
New Hires!
We’ve expanded our staff to meet our increased amount of business this year. We could not be happier with how our team has worked together to efficiently service the growing number of vehicles we see. This streamlined group has an immense amount of experience and the quality of work shows!
Jaron Brown
MOrgan Wilson
Morgan has long since been involved in the automotive world locally, as well as nationally in a variety of mediums. Formerly employed both in auto sales, and also in vehicle graphics and vinyl wrapping, Morgan is maybe first and foremost known as a European car enthusiast. From that enthusiasm, and his excellent verbal and written skills, Morgan was a regular contributor to the media outlet ‘Fatlace’ where he wrote many articles over the years. Morgan has taken to the new position exceedingly well, and we’re confident that your experience with him will be smooth, and above all communicative.
Jadon Locklear
Jadon has honed his skills at another local shop where he was able to further his knowledge with not only OEM, but also the large variety of what the European aftermarket has to offer. This unique background made him a perfect fit for our automotive service shop, and we were just waiting for the ideal time to bring him aboard. So far his youthful energy and can-do attitude has slotted in perfectly with the team. And if you happen to hear any slightly off-key singing coming from behind the shop doors when you’re here…that would be him.
Sonoma Green Audi RS5
Heat is always the enemy of making good power. Fortunately Wagner Tuning makes some incredible parts to help keep intake temps cool on these newer Audi platforms. We installed their replacement heat exchanger and air to water intercooler on this Sonoma Green Audi RS5 recently. The fit and finish was top notch and now this thing is prepared for the upcoming summer months ahead.
Southeast Eurofest 2022
We had an amazing time at this first year of the new format for Southeast Eurofest. The weather had nothing on us and getting to show off our cars in the warm dry Jim Graham building was the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon. We enjoyed seeing a bunch of familiar faces as well as meeting lots of new ones. Look forward to doing it again next year
Technik Treffen 2022
Wow. We couldn’t have asked for a better turn-out for our first annual event. Such a cool variety and diversity of cars and people, and perfect weather for enjoying it all. The Tiguan live-build went super smooth too! Check out just a quick little video recap of the day. Can’t wait to host more events like this!
All the Porsches
We are seeing more and more Porsches come through the doors here. From GT4s to Caymans, to Macans and Cayennes. Tons of Boxsters and everything in between. We love working on these unique vehicles. In fact, we love them so much we’ve even purchased two new Porsche projects of our own- a 2005 911 C2S as well as a 2014 Cayenne Diesel Overland project. We look forward to seeing even more in 2023!
BMp's MK4 R32 Revival
We had the pleasure of helping to get Autrey McVicker of BMP Tuning #MK4R32 ready for Wookies In The Woods yesterday. Autrey purchased the car from Humble Mechanic who recently installed KW V3 coilovers, new brakes, and other maintenance items. Short on time and without the ability to mount tires or align the vehicle, the Deep Blue Pearl hatchback made its way over to our shop for some last minute services. We straightened up the track, and swapped out the old tired rubber for some Falken Azenis, well suited for spirited mountain driving. Charles noted that the cooling fans were inoperable so we were also able to swap those out for new replacements and get them functioning to make sure the R32 stayed cool on its long trip to the NC mountains, and then ultimately all the way back to Texas. Here’s just a few shots of this modern classic while under our roof.
All Of The R8s
We have on staff the very first to be trained on the R8 formally by Audi themselves. In fact, we do not know of any other shops anywhere nearby that have any formal training on these vehicles. It makes sense that a large majority of them seem to find their way to our doorstep. We love servicing and modifying these modern classics, and it doesn’t hurt that we have one of our very own that’s here every day!
Alpine Volksfair
Not only did we attend Alpine Volksfair but we hosted a GTG for the famed Volkswagen Caddy / MK1 Pickup. In honor of that we brought not 1, not 2, but 3 Volkswagen Caddys with us, including a 2.5 5 cylinder swap that we did here at the shop. We ‘finished’ it just in time for its maiden voyage for the over 6 hour drive to the event. In addition we brought our carb’d all original low mileage truck as well as a dumped rat style truck with bed cap for good measure. We also made this cool video!:
Some Stand Out BMWs
We also see our fair share of Bavarian metal here. We cut our teeth on BMWs even though many know us as primarily a VAG shop. We still have a tremendous amount of love for BMW though and we welcome any and all customers with a roundel.
Ferrari FF Voodoo Design Exhaust Intake and Software
Audi RS3 Unitronic Intercooler and Performance Parts
It’s always a pleasure installing parts that fit out of the box, and it’s even nicer when the parts themselves have the appearance and quality of the manufacturer. This @Unitronic front mount intercooler upgrade fortunately ticks all those boxes. With 71% more volume than the OEM unit, this will greatly help to reduce heat soak which is especially important on days like we’ve been having lately! Best of all this FMIC (and many other Unitronic parts) are on sale now through the 24th.
MK7 GTI Ohlins Suspension
We’ve installed pretty much every single suspension option under the sun on a MK7 GTI, but this was the first time having the pleasure of installing a set of Ohlins. You’ve likely seen this name on two wheeled vehicles, but their quality and reputation extend far into every aspect of motorsport. Suffice to say they are worth the hype and the value of these is immediately evident. While they do have a limited amount of adjustability in the ride height department, this is more to save you from yourself and your temptation to lower the car beyond functional performance. By leaving just the right amount of travel combined with their linear springs, these things deliver just the right combination of supple and control. 10 out of 10, would install again
Audi RS7 APR Software
This Audi RS7 came in to add even more power to this already powerful executive cruiser. If you only see a blur of gorgeous green paint whiz by, it’s thanks to APR software and the over 750 ft lbs of torque that this beast now has on just 93 octane.
Georgia Traverse Overland Outing
We recently had the pleasure of taking a trip to North Georgia and the surrounding areas to explore some of the wonderful trails and wilderness that part of the country has to offer. Being relatively new to non paved excursions we were fortunate enough to have some experienced guides from Forge Motorsport Overland and 380 Industries leading the way for us. While more of the trails were not that technical, there were enough spots that demonstrated the vehicle’s capability, as well as some water crossings that just looked great in photos (but again did not remotely challenge the vehicles) All in all it was an incredible time and the scenery and the company were absolutely top notch. We’re looking forward to getting our Touaregs, both the T2 and T3 TDI out again very soon for more adventures.
Audi RS6 Eventuri Intake Install
Well the day finally came, and we were wondering how long it would be, but we finally had our very first Audi RS6 in the shop. There is no other way to put it, but these marvelous creations are nothing short of a spaceship. There is no doubt that this one of the best cars that Audi has every produced, without question. With their relative newness and obscurity there are not a huge variety of aftermarket parts, however we think the Eventuri carbon fiber intake that we installed is a huge upgrade for the fit and finish of this vehicle, which says a lot because the factory left little to be desired. And if there was ever any question about the vast amounts of air that these beasts suck in, just see the photo of the cigarette butt that was lodged in the factory intake. Not something we regularly see. This was a fun one, and look forward to more in the future!
One Day Tiguan OverlanD Build
As some of you may remember, last March we had an event here at the shop to celebrate one year under our new banner. During the event we wanted to give people something to spectate, so we decided to take a completely stock 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan and modify it into an adventure / overland vehicle in just one day. We added LP Adventure wheels wrapped in Falken Wildpeak AT3 tires, as well as a lift and camber correction kit from B2BFAB. In addition to that we added roof bars and a roof basket, with functional Hella auxiliary lighting all wired to a controller that is neatly tucked away in the cubby near the driver’s knee. We deleted the chrome above the rockers, as well as around the windows and along the rear bumper. We also deleted the chrome on the slats of the front grille, and then gave the fog lights a “french” treatment courtesy of Lamim-X. Inside we upgraded our shifter with a brand new custom green Black Forest Industries DSG/auto knob and alcantara shift boot. To give this Tiguan a bit more oompf to turn those larger tires, we added Stage 1 software from APR. For one day’s worth of work we think this transformation was very successful! This Tiguan gets thumbs up and comments from everyone when it’s out and about, and now we find every excuse to get out and about often 
Cars and Coffee Morrisville
We had a killer time out at our second Cars and Coffee Morrisville event this weekend. We brought out our Audi R8, BMW M235i, 2 Volkswagen Touareg overland builds, and a Mk6 Golf R. Of course these paled in comparison to some of the shinier exotic metal that turned up, including the surprise star of the show Ferrari F40! Take a look a just some of Euros (and select random other) cars we saw.
Vegas Yellow TTRS
This Vegas Yellow TTRS came in for a post purchase inspection to see what all had been modified by the previous owner. While we normally suggest doing these inspections prior to purchase, we totally understand jumping on rare and unique color cars and figuring out the rest later. Fortunately this one was in great shape.
All of the Suspension Jobs
For some inexplicable reason we had a rash of suspension work – all manner of vehicle and brand coilovers (even some air ride not pictured) to close out the year. Here’s just a few of what we had come in.
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