diamondjo

Hey Justa. I was thinking around the 300 mark which seems a fairly reasonable expectation for my car and a goal for a lot of people; although I can't remember reading of any auto's pulling that much - do you think the tranny would hold up? I would mod the GTR eventually of course, but not right away; I'd need to pay off a bit of the loan first. What a stock GTR has over a GTST of equivelant horse-power is handling and that second turbo providing some extra help at the bottom end.

Hahaha, what sort of car enthusiast are you?

Okay, so I've found myself in a bit of a situation. My wedding is coming up soon which means I'll be able to put money aside for other (car related) things again soon. I've got an (almost) stock R33 GTST at the moment and was going to drop a few grand on it after the wedding... then I saw how cheap the R33 GTRs are getting nowadays; they're down to what the 32s were a couple of years ago. So here's my dialema: Upgrade the GTST / Just cave and get a GTR Here's my thinking at the moment: - It would be cheaper and quicker to drop $5,000 - $10,000 on my GTST for a bit of added fun and some very reasonable rwkw - The GTR has more tuning potential (?) - Four wheel drive is a massive bonus - It would be sweet to have a GTR - The R33 is my favourite shape and I like the interior: the GTR will be almost the same inside - My current car is an auto (which has its pros and cons, not the least of which is that the missus doesn't have a manual license) - Petrol on the GTR will be more pricey (is it really if you just drive normally?) - I might have trouble selling my current car in this economic climate (because it's a guzzler?) - I'd need to get a loan to buy a GTR - not so to mod my current car. Can anyone add anything to this or has anyone here upgraded from a GTST to a GTR? Thanks guys!

Yeah ras (edit: and PM-R33, sorry for missing you the first time), that makes the most sense to me. More of a cost saving thing. I suppose this also brings up the question of why not set the gear ratios so that at the point the limiter kicks in, you're already pushing the redline in top gear? Hmmm, just after I typed that I started thinking about power bands and how that probably wouldn't be such a good idea after all. But you know what I mean? It seems a bit of a waste to have another few thousand RPM left and not be able to use it.

Yeah, in spite of the price tag, I get the feeling that the 427 will still feature Holden's trademark bogan-pack build quality and dodgy electrics. I'd like to see what Clarkson thinks of it. I seem to remember he was bagging the cheap interior of the Monaro - anyone remember which episode that might have been?

Thanks for the reply madbung. I know the Japanese have what they call a "gentleman's agreement" on power restriction - but speed limiting is not just a japanese thing. The latest BMW M5 is elecronically limited to 250km/h (and is capable of 330 without), this from the country that brought you the Autobahn. Closer to home, the new HSV W-427 will also be limited to 250.

I was driving home from work the other day and I was thinking about how my 33 is electonically limited to 180km/h and while this is massively over any posted speed limit in our country, I got to wondering why manufacturers do this. I figure it might have something to do with reaching the limit of the vehicle's aerodynamic stability - while a stock engine might be capable of powering on for another 30-50 km/h, perhaps higher speeds go outside of the rest of the car's safe operating parameters. At what point would a stock 33 start generating lift and leave the road? I suppose we don't just need to consider aerodynamics, but the propshaft, gearbox and other moving components could be reaching the limit of their safe operation as well. Now everyone knows there are 300km/h+ Skylines out there, but I think you'll find most of them have massive spoilers and diffusers providing truckloads of downforce, sucking the car into the tarmac - and I also wouldn't be surprised to find carbon-fibre propshafts, upgraded diffs and high-speed tires. So I guess the question is this; is the above a reasonable assessment of why we have elecronic limiters, or are the manufacurers just being kill-joys? And semi-related; I'd be interested to know if anyone has driven a stock R33 gts25t without a limiter on something straight and flat like an airstrip and how fast you got it up to.

I've got a strange and irritating problem with my windscreen washer jet. Only the passenger side one. It leaks like a mo-fo all over my nice polished bonnet and I think it's now starting to affect the clear-coat. Anyone else have this problem or know what causes it? Everytime I get back from a drive, I've got streaky watermarks all over my bonnet. Water pressure is excellent so I'm inclined to think it's not a cracked tube. Plus, the water actually leaks out of the jets. Any clues?

Thanks guys for the awesome responses, I appreciate your help. Chuckie, I've done a little research and found that Mazda US have indeed done a recall of RX-8s between 04 and 06 (the aussie 03 model is the US 04 model oddly enough) due to engine problems saying that they "tend to fail in hot climates". Apparently there is no such recall in effect here, which is strange when you consider we have a pretty hot climate. I did find a post on RX8club.com that explains why this might be the case. http://www.rotarynews.com/node/view/822 http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/24/mazda-to-recall-the-rx-8/ http://www.rx8club.com.au/forum/viewtopic....e10b0823d228a75 http://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php?p=1492...amp;postcount=4 (Explanation of why not Aus)

My girlfriend was relating her bosses tale of woe this morning and I said I'd ask around you guys and see if any of you knew any reputable Mazda specialists (performance or otherwise) that she could take her car to. She's got a '03 RX8 and she has trouble starting it. Everything else is fine (apparently), it's just a total b*tch to start. So she took it back to the Mazda dealer she bought it from to see if she could get it fixed. So far she's already spent a couple of grand with them and got no result. As a woman, she's got the old "Well we've tried everything else, and the only other thing it could be is the whole engine... blah blah blah... but we're not 100% sure it's the engine. 15 Grand please." which roughly translates to "We've hooked up the diagnostic computer and aren't imaginative or skilled enough to look any further and you look like you're made of money so I'll try and sell you a brand spanking new engine from Japan... but the ride's not over after that, I'm going to see how long I can keep this going" My missus got a similar runaround getting a new engine for her Laser a few years ago. "Oh yeah, you know how there's like... thousands of your particular model of Laser lying around in wrecking yards? Well we can't source a second hand engine anywhere in Australia... blah blah blah... 8 Grand please." Needless to say, a stop was put to that pretty damn quick. So the question is this; are there any decent honest workshops out there that you guys know of specializing in Mazdas?

Very VERY thirsty, but it's so worth it. I normally crack 280 - 330km to 55 Litres doing mostly city driving. Mine's an auto so it chews a bit more apparently. But it isn't about fuel consumption! Just get one mate

My one missing point was taken off me while I was overtaking some leyland-driving market-gardener whilst in a Charade. POWEEEEER!

Really? The one I saw on Beaufort street was a very sheepish looking 17-18 year old. He actually looked about 16 but I'm not sure how young you're allowed to be a cop... and how old you have to be to drive a squad car - but this guy looked like he'd be more at home riding around shopping center carparks on a mongoose

Ha, yeah, I've seen that kid a few times on Beaufort street. I wonder what he'd do if the sh*t hit the fan? Do you think he'd pursue?

Nice work Craved. I haven't done a whole lot of fiberglass work before, but I am pernicity and persistent. How long did it take you?

Hmmm, fiberglass... Mearcat looks like he's onto something http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/t112024.html

Thanks Trent. I'm not fussed about paying to have it done, but that said, I do enjoy doing it myself if I can. I'm still thinking that the bit under the stereo is best. Actually instead of facing them forward, if I made it up with some fiberglass, I could angle the gauges up and toward the driver - to ease reading.

Hmmm, nice thinking Cheez. It would mean losing the use of the vent of course, but I like your thinking, a bit left-field. Have you done anything similar?

Hey Guys I've got a bit of a puzzle. I've got a GTS25t and I would like a place to mount my 2" boost gauge that is easy for me to read while driving, but can't be seen (or at least is very discreet) from outside. Right now I have it mounted low-down next to my left leg, which is nice and discreet, but it's really hard to read when it matters and I keep knocking it with my leg - so it requires constant adjustment. Here's some of the things I've thought about: Remove the clock and place the gauge in the space where the clock used to be The problem with this is that the gauge is slightly bigger than the clock, so a professional looking job might not be easy. Plus, all the clock adjustment buttons would be empty - which would suck. Remove the compartment under the stereo and replace it with a gauge panel. This has a similar problem to where I have it now in that you have to take your eyes off the road to read the gauges. I really want to avoid dash-mounted pods and pillar-mounts, the idea is I want a stock look from the outside. Has anyone here attempted something similar or have any tips for doing a decent job? Cheers all!

Here we go.. It's in the middle of page two of their catalogue http://www.autoone.com.au/latestcatalogues..._catalogues.pdf Found some pics too:

I know we have a cheap boost controller thread already (http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=73375), but I've seen this one in the latest Auto 1 catalogue and haven't been able to find any threads that discuss it here. So here we go. I know the old adage "you get what you pay for" but I'm just wondering if anyone has tried it out and what they think. Basically, I'm not going to be in the market for an EBC until I've done the full exhaust, FMIC and HiFlow and thought this might provide a little fun in the mean time. Would any of you do this to your car? Here's the details: Monza MSPEC Boost Controller Dual adjuster in cabin or under bonnet I will post up a pic a bit later on.

What's with the christmas tree with snowflake motif on his picture?

I'm really sorry I missed it, sound like you all had a good time. Judging by what people are posting, I'm getting mixed signals about the police presence. Were they just hanging around to make sure nobody was misbehaving (fair enough) or were they being antagonistic? Is it true that they blocked the exits at one meet point? I wonder why they do that. Anyone here in the "service" and able to shed some light?

Okay, here's another question. Why does the standard gauge under the tacho measure from -700 mm Hg to +700mm Hg? When you're just cruising, obviously it's sitting down at -7. Presumably the turbo isn't going backwards and creating a vacuum. So what, if anything, does a negative pressure reading mean?

Thank you all. Sun Load Sensor hey. Who'da thunk'et