scathing

As a general rule, people don't try and wind me up for a race in my car. They must know its slow. But yeah, it is typical. I don't know why, but I am seeing a lot of modified Magnas these days. Today I saw one that was dumped on chromies and a cannon exhaust out the back. It was also running a lot of neg camber on the rear. What is it about the Magna that's making it so popular for modifying now? I just don't see it. Its not a particularly nice looking car. Its not particularly fast in stock form. I am a bit confused.

That's my point exactly. They can take the family, and its an overly big car, which makes them not a Porsche. A Porsche is meant to be a pure sports car that's only as big and heavy as it needs to be to go fast. Porsche could build a truck that outhandled every Mack, Kenworth, MAN, Scania, etc on the planet while being able to double the length of a road train. In the end its still a truck, which means its not a real Porsche. To my eyes, a Porsche should be a sports car first with some compromises towards road / market usability. Which is why the 911 has that much grip and grunt, but is compromised in ultimate performance because weighs a little more than necessary with all the luxury crap and has a low-mount parcel shelf the brochure refers to as a +2 seat. The Boxster has that handling, but is compromised in its ultimate performance because the engine is so underpowered for the amount of chassis balance and grip in order to bring the price down. The Cayenne, on the other hand, is a large lumbering offroad family vehicle whose fuel consumption, insurance costs, and high purchase price are compromised by all the go-fast bits in it. Its not a fast car that happens to seat 5. Its a 5 seat car that happens to go fast. I'm not knocking its crash safety either - but I don't think that crash safety is what defines a Porsche (despite an apparent history of crash safety). It defines a Volvo, certainly, but not Porsche.

In that case, buy a Mazda NC MX5 soft top, with the Touring pack. You will look like a complete homo in a MX5, but you will love the way that car handles. And it'll be brand new, your servicing will cost around $250 a go from Mazda, and insurance will be lower. Just give it a catback, to get some more noise and free up the top end a bit (the engine is quite flexible and torquey from low in the rev range, and has a great crackle on over-run) and maybe some swaybars to take out some of the bodyroll, and that is all you need do.

The only way you could look like more of a fag than driving a TT is by getting license plates that say MAN53X. At least the Boxster handles like a proper sports car. Its a car for someone who wants to carve corners on a nice mountain or coastal road. Not a surfeit of power, but great to get the wind in the hair and a car that does what you tell it to, when you tell it to. The TT is what happens when you let stylists anywhere near automotive design. Its not just a boring drive, the original TTs were dangerously unstable at high speeds. If I were you, I'd be more sorry about being a f**kwit than being a hater. I'd ask you what's wrong with the Boxster, but I don't think you know jack shit. The Boxster is a proper Porsche. The Cayenne (and upcoming Panamera) are not.

When you pay out of pocket, you get second hand parts or whatever you can scrounge up. When you've got an insurance company paying, and the person is not at fault, the smash repairer gets the stuff that's gold plated and hand-made by nuns living in the mountains of Romania, in a convent that's only accessible by foot once every fortnight. I am really sorry to hear you got bent over, though. Its about typical of people, unfortunately. If you or the missus is ever involved in an accident again, I'm sure you'll have insurance and be sure to exchange them. As people have said, just call up an insurer and ask for a quote. They issue you with a policy number and cover note over the phone, and you have 30 days to pay. If you don't have an accident, then don't pay. If you do, pay the premium and the excess and make the claim.

I still remember when the Magna ran a faster quarter mile than the old 308 / Windsor Falcodores, and the ad campaign they had. And when I went on that OzMadaClub memorial cruise, I found out that there's an actual Magna car club, and people do them up. Wonders never cease.

Model: Z33 manual Engine: VQ35DE Mods: 2.5" catback exhaust (not entirely dual), intake manifold spacer, pod filter, Unichip Power: 189.2rwkW

Peak power at 6800RPM isn't bad. It'll probably have a redline in the low to mid 7000RPM range, which is on par with the NA VQ35HR's 7500RPM cutout that is apparently the donor engine for the GT-R. Its still not as revvy as the old RB's, but given the extra litre of displacement its not bad. And you can always try and bore it out (there are various sleeves available for the VQ block, as well as the possibility of destroking the engine) if you want it to rev. I'd hope that 370kW (500ps) is a minimum. That's the Lexus LF-A's target power, and it has to be at least as powerful to be "competitive" on paper.

Zaino FTW! That said, Zymol and Swissol products are amazing. Scarily expensive, but amazing.

Better to get legal advice then asking some random keyboard warrior on the Internet. There might be a legal loophole to use. Why is it any better to ask on an Internet forum than from someone qualified to give an opinion, and who can be held liable should that opinion be proved incorrect? If they were to go to court, given the admissions so far you could argue that the amount of damage to the car is not reasonable for the accident caused. And so you shouldn't be liable for the entire charge, just a portion of it. Unfortunately, that means you'd possibly need to get a hold of the person the BMW was pushed into. With the right expert witnesses (crash investigators), it could be argued that the damage done to the first car could not have caused that much front end damage to the BMW. Yes it will cost more, but if you go over the itemised repair bill you can question if what the girlfriend did would break certain parts. Otherwise, the damage is there and needed to be repaired. Without proof that you couldn't have caused it, you'll be screwed. But, you'd well behind the 8 ball on this one. The lawyer will probably tell you that even if you did win (a long shot in itself) it would cost you more in the end than just swallowing it and paying up. But then, I'm not a lawyer so I don't know for sure.

I'm a little slow at times, so can you explain something for me? Your girlfriend collided with a stationary car. Why is it that it "seemed she was at fault", rather than "she was at fault"? Am I missing some piece of the puzzle that actually exonerates her despite the perception? If you're crouching over a corpse with blood all over your shirt because you tried to stem the bleeding when the cops bust in, it "seems like" you're the murderer. When the cops see you repeatedly stabbing the person while screaming that you hate their guts, I don't think you can reasonably say it just "seems like" you killed them.

Its possible. Just because you can afford a Ferrari doesn't mean you can drive one. Or, as Roy says, the cost and rarity comes into people's heads. Probably a mixture of both. I've passed a 575M at Eastern Creek before. But then, my car doesn't cost over half a million dollars. That and I know approximately where the racing line is, unlike the Ferrari driver. By the same token, I've been passed by an Elantra at Wakefield too. But then, his car doesn't cost $65K. And while my awareness of a racing line and braking points are approximate, his are pretty much dead on.

Yeah, I should be at both as well. JDMST to SAU cruise reprazent!

I'm just wondering if you know what HICAS actually is. In case you don't, its active rear steering. Unfortunately the system is reactive and hydraulically / electrically operated, and so as people have said it doesn't react quickly and at the limit it makes changes you didn't request. Around town and at 7/10 it probably does improve handling, but if you're really pushing it you may find it counterproductive.

TVR FTW! Although my dream car at the moment is an optioned out Ariel Atom (including the "track pack" front and rear wing kit).

The GT-R only costing $15K more than a 350Z, a car that shares most of its parts with the volume-selling V35 Skyline, as opposed to the totally bespoke GT-R? Not a hope in hell.

1540kg is your idea of thin and trim?

....says the guy driving the series of Skyline people refer to as the "whale". What colour is that kettle again? The Boxster is a great Porsche. It does almost everything right as an entry model car. Its not overly expensive (for its class), and its got more handling than power. Something that's the true mark of a balanced sports car.

I could replace the word "Boxster" with "Skyline", and the above statement would be just as true.

There's delusions going on here, alright. Even the one I drove, which was apparently shagged, was still a sublime drive. It needed more herbs and a gearbox that did what it was told, when it was told, but in terms of everything else it was excellent.

It also costs $1000 to do a minor service on an M3, from what I've been told. It costs less than half of that to service a 350Z. If you want to pay your Nissan dealer $500 a pop to kiss your ass, I'm sure they will. But you'll get better value hiring a hooker to fellate you while your Nissan is having its oil changed than having some BMW service drone make you a coffee and offer you a danish.

Yeah, I'd be looking at a Boxster S or nothing. The standard just doesn't have the grunt. I rented a Tiptronic Boxster about a year go for a few days. Great handling, average power, ratshit gearbox. I was up in Cairns, and driving it up the side of the escarpment (with your typical mountain road switchbacks) was great. The brakes are amazing, and the car handles really well. Definitely more handling than power. The thing is, do you want to brand name or do you want the driving experience? If its the latter and you can handle not making any power, give some serious thought to buying an NC MX5 soft top. It'll be a crapload cheaper to run, and just as much fun to drive. It'll also be brand new, or with demonstrator mileage. I took a NC for a test drive, and to be honest there's almost nothing in it between the MX5 and the Boxster. There might be a bit more rear end grip in the Boxster, but there's not enough power to make that a major issue.

I'd hope that it was engraved / embossed onto the back of the spokes of the rim, but I realise that's not always the case. This is what an offset is - so with a ruler and some string you could technically measure it yourself. But since they measure in mm, and its quite cramped in there, there's a good chance you won't be 100% accurate anyway.

Here's a response I prepared earlier. And the "pulse tuning reversion" is also called "scavenging".

XForce make reasonable quality copies of Japanese aftermarket exhausts. They're not the last word in build quality, but they generally flow pretty well and fit just as well as Jap ones (since they're a pretty accurate copy). My mate had a Trust exhaust that he ripped open on a speed hump. He bought an X-Force rear pipe section when the exhaust shop found it was a direct fit (from the flanges to the mounting hooks, to the shape of the bends). No noticable drop in power, either.