mjfawke

Well... ignoring the Sophie Delezio story, which hopefully will raise the debate about incapable, retarded drivers who shouldn't be on the road (anyone up for some mandatory license re-testing of all drivers?) About ten years ago I has just driven past Belconnen Mall towards the lake, and there was a line of traffic in the right hand lane waiting to turn onto Emu Bank. And there's this little old lady (LOL) walking towards the road... My lane had no traffic, and you have your own lane turning left, so I'm not slowing down... and as the LOL reaches the road... she just walks straight out without even looking. And the funniest thing happened - I've done a complete lockup @ ~50kph, and she just does this little jump and keeps walking - not ONCE did she ever turn her head. And then I collected her over the bonnet .... (Only Kidding I stopped just in time )

I think the dead giveaway is the 'made in australia' on the rear charcoal canister. If the stock canister wasn't considered suitable, it should have been replaced rather than plumbing a second canister inline. Not too sure I'd like a charcoal canister with petrol fumes in it sitting next to my turbo...

That would be because some of the valves are only slighly bent. Bent valves - only for drivers who don't like rev limiters... or for dodgy engines with weak valve springs.

After the stock computer has done its post-reset timing thing, I've never been able to tell the difference (performance wise) between Optimax, Ultimate, and stock 95 premium (Mobil). With the hi-octane fuels, the everyday initial performance after the motor has first warmed up is better, but after giving it a hard time they have all been pretty much the same. However - I loaded up with Optimax Extreme last week, and the car's a farking rocket all of the time now... So I guess I have been dropping down to the low-octane fuel map most of the time. I think I will reset the computer again to see how that goes as well!

John Waterhouse (owner of Reliance) built the motors for the Bathust SP RX7's in the 24 hour races, and would probably be best for the diagnosis/check up. However, for an engine rebuild I'd use John Gotrel (@ Hume, but many years since I've had any contact).

And, Amaru, it looks like the rubber (neoprene) can stay

Ethanol effects RAA on Ethanol Nissan Statement So - assuming Extreme doesn't go off like the 'old' fuel did, it should be fine. And the stock computers have two fuel maps, and the high octane map is supposedly for 100 Octane.

What's with the rubber? I thought ethanol caused corrosion in the metal lines, not attacked the rubber? I've also had bad luck with some of the 'off the shelf' fuel hose (non-EFI, however) from Autobarn - within six months, it goes hard and gets splits in the outer layer. Had the same problem many years ago with 'super duper US quality' oil cooler hose for an auto. So - buy really decent hose!!

As I said.... "decent fuel". On occasion, people have hinted that Shell provides Caltex with Optimax for sale as Vortex Gold. But no, I wasn't aware Kippax had Vortex Gold....

Drove past the Melba servo this afternoon.... Little flags everywhere with "Synergy 8000" on them. No more driving into Civic for decent fuel!

Sounds like the purge line for the vapour canister. One line to the fuel tank, and vacuum and purge lines to the inlet manifold. The canister contains activated carbon, stores fuel vapour from the tank, and releases it into the inlet manifold when the motor is under light load. So - if you broke the connection to the tank, you will end up with fuel vapour in the engine bay (bad), if you broke the purge line or vacuum line to the inlet manifold you will have an air leak and run the motor lean (worse). Yes - replace it.

You guys are scary when it comes to knowing the road rules... then again, when they did the National Driving Test on TV, I only scored the same as Mark Skaife, so I'm not that good either! Under the Australian road rules, passing on the left is not illegal on a multi-lane road unless it was not safe to do so. Keeping left, overtaking and other driving rules Section 141.

I just had the new "toy" ('89 Nomad van) rego checked to change back to ACT. ACT Brakes @ Mitchell has a actual drive-over pit for rego inspections, and no booking required - just drive up between 8am and 4pm (except between 10:00 and 10:30 I think), and they will inspect your car. My front steering is a little tired, but they didn't consider it worth a fail.

Is that another way of saying "I got pulled over"???

Hmmmm..... did he get you on Radar or Laser? Radar used to be accurate to around 20 kph. With laser, don't even try it... +/- a couple of K, and a range of up to 1Km, and at least 500m. Any just because you were going through the roundabout, doesn't mean he didn't get you before the roundabout. I really hate the new cars with the clear lights. Too farkin hard to pick!

I have just one thing to say : I-M-M-O-B-I-L-I-S-E-R. You can buy a transponder immobiliser for $100-$150 - can't be scanned, and if you put it into the wiring loom properly, it takes hours to figure out...

At least it tells you WHERE. When they first introduced the cameras, there were seven zones. The first version of the map had ~ 25. Last time I looked there were 54, now there are 60+. I've been keeping an eye on it ever since I almost got caught on a 'deserted' road going a bit quick. And for reference, the cameras have a +/- 320kph capability, a focal length of around 100-150m, and were not designed to be used in the back of a van. They don't auto focus quickly so fast decelleration gives a bad photo. They can tell your speed, however, at a range of over 500m...

Speed camera zones map

My other car was a weekend track queen.... 260Z 2+2, FIA 72 rally cam, close ratio box, 4.375:1 lsd, 200lb/inch adjustable suspension, half cage, no muffler.... it was my daily driver. Mind you, it took a few years to reach that stage. It sits in the driveway now, minus the good box, diff and the cage - still an absolute blast to drive, more fun that the 240 for cornering, but slow as a wet week (88kw at wheels vs ~ 140). And I NEVER got pulled over.

What's this middle-aged shite? I've been driving a sports car since I was 21.... Also - I NEVER get people trying to give me a go. Maybe I need a big polished exhaust.

Poly bushes?

Looks like some people had a fun Friday night. Police raided Hume, and impounded two cars and did their owners for organising a street race.

It's the area round the edge of the head where the pistons come close at TDC. The relatively cooler surfaces 'quench' the mixture to prevent detonation. The high HP GTR engines (according to an American engine builder living in Japan) remove both 'quench' blocks from the head, and for mid-power engines the one on the inlet side is removed and the exhaust side is radiused. He claims they are only for turbulence generation, not for quench. There are some decent head pics on Hybridz.org under the RB Engines forum.

For the cops to turn up, someone has already agreed to appear in court as a witness. It you say you are going to contest it, they MIGHT lose interest in the whole process... but they try it because in most cases the people accept the charges and pay up. However - at the end of the day, it is your and your friends word against the unknown witness, with (probably) no physical evidence.

On the Skylines with unmodified ECU, the first obstacle is a programmed mass airflow limit cut. The airflow meter is not at the limit, and if you modify the signal the car will run lean and probably detonate. The only wire you can cut is the speed signal to remove the 180kph limit. Turn the boost down.... and check the computer diagnostics for error codes in case there is something else wrong. If you want to keep the boost, you will need to have the computer replaced or re-programmed.