The Avants Podcast

This week Curtis Creager joins us in the studio to discuss his return from the Nurburgring! Back in February Curtis joined and discussed his plans for his first time there, and now he's back with all the good stories and more tips and tricks to help you get ready for the big day. 

Thumbnail photo credit to Jason Tang. 

We welcome back Brian Elich for some shop talk around buying a previous gen vehicle and upgrading or buying new with all the options. It's a huge price difference, but is the peace of mind worth it? Dan goes and checks out the new GX550 and still thinks you should probably just buy a Raptor. 

On this episode we discuss the the new car reveals that worth looking at from Monterey, an automatic noise ordinance camera tickets a car with a stock exhaust, Drivers Assistance features are proven to not actually help, a designer at Audi proves they have apparently never driven a car before, and how the tires on your new truck can easily get out of balance in spite of how angry you make people on a forum. 

This week we get the always impressive Faye Hadley on the show! Not just an extremely skilled automotive tech and educator she is also the co-host of MotorTrend’s All Girls Garage, and the featured mechanic on MotorTrend’s Motor Mythbusters series. You can hear all about how Faye got here, her PNW connections, and her love of chickens! Follow along with Faye here! 

If you've got a Land Rover Discovery, we've got the show for you! Our friends Daniel and Emily join us to talk about their company Golden Rovers who specialize in essential accessories for Land Rovers. Emily and Daniel were famously the friends of ours who hydro locked their Land Rover discovery while out playing on Stampede Pass with us and then immediately started an LS Swap. They have also helped volunteer for Avants Off-Road days and are always out there supporting the community, so next time you see them be sure to say hello! 

Do you like forest service roads? Do you like doing anything off-road? Do you like dispersed camping? Then you should be supporting the Blue Ribbon Coalition. It's hard to believe how much access we have lost to beautiful lands, and the only people really making a difference to keep our access is the Blue Ribbon Coalition. We strongly believe in treading lightly, packing it in and packing it out, and even want higher fines to people who abuse land, but a lack of management is not land management! Unfortunately we're losing the battle and we need your help. The best way to do that is by supporting the Blue Ribbon Coalition. 

You can read more about and support the Blue Ribbon Coalition here: https://www.sharetrails.org/ 

The best driving roads aren’t the same things as the best roads. The best road in the country is Highway 12 in Utah, but the best driving road is almost every road in far northern California. Dan discusses his epic R8 road trip, Nick discusses CRF450 sales, Ranger Raptor warranty repairs, and more on this week’s Shop Talk episode.

We always say the Avants Podcast is a car show about people so it made perfect sense to have someone like Ryan ZumMallen on as a guest since he creates car books about people. Ryan tells us about his publishing company Carrara Books and talks more about the book everyone should own, Cult of GTR. 

This week the newest member of the ProFormance Racing School joins us in the studio, Siena Kitch! Siena is a proud chip of the Kitch block and has been basically living and breathing the automotive racing world since the day she was born. She's smart, funny, and a great guest we know you'll love to hear! 

Check out ProFormance on Instagram and TikTok to see all of the latest content. 

Be sure to check out our Avants Track Days at ProFormance! 

https://proformanceracingschool.com/events/

The R8 heads to its proper home at the track next month, Porsche lets the media judge it's new hybrid, and that new RS6 Avant GT is HOT! 

Check out our friends at STEK USA! https://www.stek-usa.com/

Need the perfect vehicle for the PNW and beyond? Go see our friends at Carter Automotive group! https://www.carterseattle.com/