Show report: Ultimate Dubs

Not a show that I've been to before, Ultimate Dubs is primarily a water-cooled show held at the International Centre in Telford. We made the journey in the Caddy rather than the T5 which meant being at the mercy of cheap hotel deals with paper-thin walls, expensive bar prices and obnoxious guests - if we go again next year it will be in the camper!

The show is a one-day affair but it seems everyone arrives on Saturday and sets about cleaning their cars (something I took part in too!), the hotel car park was like a mini show'n'shine, pretty cool...

...but we left on Sunday feeling a little flat. Not just through lack of decent sleep but the water-cooled scene as a whole seems far too 'money' for me. And it's not a hater-thing; I have the utmost admiration for the cars and owners that have poured blood, sweat and tears into their rides - but a succession of nice paint, air-ride, Rotiform wheels, big stereo, RS4 seats, repeat, repeat, ~yawn~ fade-out... leaves me a little jaded. The show could benefit from more trade - more 'middle of the spectrum' trade rather than cheap stickers at one end and big-dollar conversions at the other.

Would I go again? Hmm... maybe. As a self-confessed 'wheel-perv' I could spend all day looking at different wheel and tyre setups - the kids call it 'fitment' and 'stance' but I think I'm too old for all that!?! The venue is pretty nice (and warm) but the car park is very limited - if you're not there first thing your ride will be in one of Telford's many shopper's car parks... we got there early!

Anyhoo, here's a few pics from the day. Not many T5s in attendance...

iKustoms' T5 on air looked stunning

Show-winning Caddy was a jaw-dropper

Super-simple Mk2: less is more!

A very tasty Passat wagon

Something for the air-cooled fans

Another perfect Mk2

Tidy Jetta on air

I certainly left feeling that our T5 needs to drop more than the current 40mm. Time to look for a coilover deal I think - air-ride would be great but there's no way I could justify the spend.

There's some more info on the show-winning Caddy over on the tdistyle blog.