The Avants Podcast

We're dropping this one early because it's time to shop for holiday shopping! Obviously the first thing on your list should be an Avants membership of course, but we've got a great list of things you or someone you know probably wants!  None of these links are affiliate links; we just love this stuff and think you will too!  An Avants Membership! Griots Products A quiet compressor The DeWalt Stealthsonic Vac (Dan has this one) A battery conversion for that old Dyson hand vac so you can use it again A battery powered hand vac that matches your tools Mini Lowes, Home Depot, or Harbor Freight bucket cups We're not above gift certificates and no other car people are either Icon or Gearwrench 1/4 drive mini ratchet set Get that shop minisplit and heat and cool your space efficiently like this 18k BTU YitaHome for $555 Quick Jacks! Or reach out to our friends at Hydraulic Solutions!  Get some lights or some other custom work from our partners at HKP Customs! And rumor has it they're doing a little extra for Avants members.  Starlink Mini is a game changer, they're on sale for $230, and we swear everyone who road trips or overlands should have one!  OnX Offroad is on sale for 30% for Black Friday, and if you enjoy exploring it's the app to have.  Baofeng GMRS Radios are dirt cheap and great for communicating with your friends on rallies, out while offroad, hiking, and more!  Silicon Gun Cleaning mat - we use these for cars projects, not guns, and they're great!  Mackie Studio Monitor speakers for the best shop speakers I've used to date The EDC pocket knife I think everyone should have, the Kershaw Leek The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail or send us a text any time at 425-298-7873! We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!  

This week Niko Pagones, owner and founder of Amaxi Autosport joins us in the studio to talk about how he started his shop, the excitement and challenges that came with that, and how he's using the latest tech to solve the problems of restoration in older cars. We talk 3D printing, 3D scanning, 3D printed metal, and a whole lot more. If you want to get a hold of Niko to do some work on your ride, you can find him over at Amaxi Auto!  The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail or send us a text any time at 425-298-7873! We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!  

Our friend and neighbor Brian Dallas swings by the show to join us again this week! If you're in the area and would like to join us for a show, send us a message! We don't open the studio every week, but we always enjoy good company.  On this weeks episode, Koenigsegg randomly decided to take their Sadair’s Spear, which is a more track focused Jesko, over to Laguna Seca and break the lap record! Of course to do that they had to put the worlds ugliest muffler on it to comply with Laguna Seca's noise ordinances. We still love it and we're always glad to see Christian Von Koenigsegg breaking records and pushing limits. We also discuss Motorcycle etiquette, Whitworth and JIS tools, and a YouTuber we think you should be watching with your family, Matt Spears.  While talking about the Rever mapping app, which is really useful for finding curvy roads, we talk about how AI could potentially replace all these apps very easily. What useful ways are you using AI today in your cars?  The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail or send us a text any time at 425-298-7873! We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!  

Karissa Haydon and Trista Smith join us to give us all the details on their 2025 Rebelle Rally Adventure. Spoiler alert; they did AWESOME! They give us all the dirt on (ba-dum-tiss) on their 2025 Rebelle Rally adventure, how the move to the Ranger Raptor went, those amazing dresses, and why you don't turn at the dead badger. Follow Team Velocity at https://team-velocity.com The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail or send us a text any time at 425-298-7873! We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!

Porsche profits dropped a whopping 99% this year. And as usual, this was extremely easy to predict. They already pulled back on the full electrification of the Boxster and Cayman, but add in weakening sales in China, tariffs, and people just plain tired of paying ridiculous ADMs and Porsche had an easy to see plan to fail. Car companies need to fire their bean counters in our opinion. Nissan brings back cool SEMA cars with their 1,000 QX80, but we have to wonder why Nissan is building anything like it when they’re barely operational since their last CEO escaped in a Box. Ferrari proves yet again that with enough oil money they’ll build anything you want. We also ask the question, if you had to keep one car forever, what would you drive? Also, a big shoutout to our friends at Team Velocity for their second place finish in the Rebelle Rally! We love supporting them and are so proud of them. Check them out here! https://team-velocity.com/  The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail or send us a text any time at 425-298-7873! We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!

From CVTs with Paddle Shifters to that radio you pretty much forgot existed, we go down the list of features we're wondering why still exist. We can't remember the last time we actually used the factory GPS, when it even worked, and self parking is a great way to lose a spot to the person behind you and cause a small traffic jam as a bonus. What features do you forget your car has? Which ones can't you live without? Which one is underutilized? Cooled seats for all! The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail or send us a text any time at 425-298-7873! We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!  

What was your favorite car movie? Do any of you have your movie car?! We're talking about movie cars, tv cars, and what we think is missing from movies that needs to come back to reignite car culture a little. It sounds like Spyker is going to be making a comeback in spite of their seemingly endless legal battles. Spyker holds a special place in our hearts as being a truly unique automobile and we're hoping their comeback stays true to the soul of the brand. We also follow up on previous conversation about oil catch cans and why you might actually want one and talk about what movie and tv car shows actually should come back.  The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail or send us a text any time at 425-298-7873! We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!

Karisa Haydon and Trista Smith from Team Velocity, factory backed by Ford Racing, join us on the show for a live update from the Rebelle Rally! They'll be joining us again when the rally finishes, but we were lucky enough to have a quick call with them during the heat of the competition!  The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail or send us a text any time at 425-298-7873! We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!

This week Nick turns 46. He's so much older than Dan now. You should make fun of him about it. Black Friday is just around the corner and we want to know what's on your list! Let us know in the comments. And, it's the end of the season for our friends over at Exotics at Redmond Town Center, the best weekly car show in the country. You should check out their latest blog and send some love their way. You can check it out here: https://exoticsat.com/newsy/well-thats-it  The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail or send us a text any time at 425-298-7873! We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!  

The cheapest car you can buy in 2025 is the Nissan Versa with a manual transmission. The days of the $10,000 dollar, 100k mile warranty Kia are gone. Kia even had a buy one, get one free promo at one point! There's a lot of factors in the rising cost of a car, but if you're going to buy new today and you want something good on a budget, what are you buying? We'd love to hear from you and why you chose what you did when it comes to your BUDGET buying experiences. We then talk all about jacking! Harbor Freight seems to have cornered the consumer market, with a few rare exceptions from Costco and Walmart. And when it comes to offroad, you've got Pro-Eagle, Badlands, and then the specialized bottle and high-lift jacks, but what are you using and why? We need to find a solution for Nick!  The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail or send us a text any time at 425-298-7873! We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!  

Brian Dallas joins us this week to hang out in the studio and talk Porsches, Ford mistakes, and more. In good Porsche news, Porsche rolls back their stupid idea to make Caymans and Boxsters full EV because they realized 99% of their customers don't want one. In bad Porsche news, Porsche doesn't know 99% of their customers cover their cars in Stek PPF and doesn't want to give them new stickers when they do. In dumb Ford news, Ford doesn't know we all want the Ranger Super Duty with a diesel. Someone please volunteer us to run an automotive company for a week.  The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail or send us a text any time at 425-298-7873! We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!  

Nick discusses his latest build, the ultimate detail cart! Working with our partners at Griots Garage to get the best gear, Nick created the ultimate detail cart with an integrated pressure washer, all the detailing supplies you'd need, and all in one handy rolling unit. In other news, our favorite doomed automotive brand, Jaguar, is doing even worse thanks to being hacked and decimating their supply chain. It raises the question, are we opening ourselves up to big vulnerabilities using tools like FORScan to "hack" our ECUs? Time will tell.  The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail! 425-298-7873 We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!  

The new iPhone 17 is here! New cameras, faster processor, and still terrible as a dashcam. We talk about why you probably don't want to use it as one, why action cameras don't work that well either, and more about choosing the right tool for the job. Speaking of tools.. Dan got more tools. We know, you're all shocked.  The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail! 425-298-7873 We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!

Dan spent the weekend in Vegas to attend Ford's Bronco Raptor Assault, or BRaptor Off-Roadeo as it's nicknamed by many. Ford puts on one heck of an amazing experience for Raptor owners, but Vegas really failed to deliver. The experience was memorable to say the least, but it re-fueled the itch for another sports car in Dan's life. What do you think he should get next? Leave a comment and let us know!  The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail! 425-298-7873 We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!  

Our friends Todd, Clarke, and Evan join us to recap their rally down to Monterey and all the fun stuff that comes with planning and running a rally. Rock chips, check engine lights, and unexpected cattle grates abound, but the adventure and comradery make it all worth it.  The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail! 425-298-7873 We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!

This week we welcome the 3rd member of the ProFormance ownership family, Donna Porada-Kitch! Donna PK was into cars long before her first track days and we get all the fun, and very sweet, stories of her life with Don and Siena. She tells us the story of how the school started, how her and Don met, and the future of ProFormance and WIMNA. Stories and episodes like Donna are why we started this podcast and we hope you enjoy it every bit as much as we enjoyed the interview. The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail! 425-298-7873 We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!

Someone decided to take a Cybertruck on the Rubicon and it went as it expected. After multiple steering equipment failures the Cybertruck was recovered after 7 days on the trail, but should they have been there in the first place? Rivian has done it a few times now, but some vehicles just shouldn't be in certain places, like the Rubicon. Ford and Jeep are making some big moves, but not just in recalls this time. And in big news, DEF might finally be dead!  The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail! 425-298-7873 We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!

Scott Barron joins the podcast this week to discuss his show stopping Outlaw Ferrari 308 build. Scott's the kind of car person most of us aspire to be; the kind that does what he wants with his builds because he wants to do it. After seeing his 308 build at Exotics we knew we had to have him on the show.  The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail! 425-298-7873 We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!

In very good news, KTM has been saved! Indian powerhouse Bajaj has stepped up to save the company, but what does the future hold under their new ownership? Should they cut Husqvarna and Gas Gas? The X-Bow is unfortunately almost certainly dead, but we'll take some KTM over no KTM and that new 390 Adventure sure seems like a step in the right direction. The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail! 425-298-7873 We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!

Dan drove 1,800 miles in just over 2 days and Nick is thankful he wasn't stuck in the car with him this time. We talk about the most recent road trip, overpriced Bugattis we can't afford, the sexy LC500, and Nick finally admits he doesn't like roundabouts.  The Avants Podcast is brought to you by our friends at STEK USA and Carter Seattle! Not an Avants member? https://www.avants.com/member-plans Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!  Leave us a voicemail! 425-298-7873 We're doing give aways! Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we'll pick a random name every 25th review!