rs73

LOL.... I was mistaken for a Japanese while on holiday to Bali and Makasar (Sulawesi/Celebes) ages ago... the local traders started greeting me in Japanese "Let me assure you that no subject is taboo, except what has just been quoted above. If anyone ever bring that matter up again, I will chop your friggin' turbo exhaust wheel!" - as adapted from O-Ren Ishii

ic... thks for the info... Is "Shaken" a japanese word? What does it mean? Also what mods are still legible to be passed under the inspection? Pods? Aftermarket turbo? FMIC? BOV? Gauges on A-pillar? Steering wheel?

As the subject said, I often heard about the compulsory automotive inspection in Japan (Shaken). What is this? what's being involved, and beside fuel is this the largest cost to own a car in jpn? (Spending $ on mods does not count)

All this thing going on.... guess it would hypothetically "easier" for me to blend in since I look like this... (as long as I keep my mouth shut, they may not notice I'm a gaijin?)

Thks Justin.... I also read somewhere about why US drives on the other side is because the way they use horse wagons in the pioneer days, and it is easier for the horse (maybe) to pass each other on the left side, thus they were all keeping right.... it then carried away to modern days with all cars in US were made left hand drive. Which brings up the question, why did the Europeans drive on the same side with US? Same reason? Or is it they don't have knights with lance/sword or samurais in Europe....? I think they should have a reason too

Well as long as your number plate is visible from the front it is still legal. If you see current Alfa Rome models, they all have front number plate at one side due to the fact that they have that weird triangular grill....

more whoring incentives.....?

That's probably caused by using Viagras bought via those unsolicited emails....

Since the japanese std of 96db is higher than aussie's EPA limit of 90db, then u'd still get done whether ur exhaust is JASMA or no JASMA ... I heard in japan there is the latest JASMA requirement on exhaust noise, what is the latest one? I think in 2003 (maybe) there is a new standard...

Found this from a website: http://www.2pass.co.uk/japan.htm Thought it might be interesting to know It is considered certain that at least among Samurai warriors, left-side passage had been observed. Left-side passage not only allowed right-handed Samurai to draw their swords more easily in case of emergency but also prevented two mutually approaching samurai from getting into a duel when the sheaths of their swords hit each other, which happened quite often in days of yore. Samurai ruled the Japanese society during Edo period (1603-1867). And left-side passage suited their peacetime lifestyle. So left-side passage could be considerably prevalent in Japan back then. But this does not necessarily follow that non-Samurai people--farmers, craftsmen, merchants--strictly kept left-hand traffic. These people did not carry swords in the first place. Furthermore, it had been a traditional custom in Japan to put up nameplates on the right posts of the gates when you see houses from the outside. It had also been a traditional custom here to show names of the bridges in Chinese characters (therefore more politely) on the right posts of the bridges when one faced the bridge while those in Japanese syllabics on the left posts. Two Europeans ( Engelbert Kaempfer and Carl Peter Thunberg) wrote that people were keeping to the left. But it is possible that non-Samurai people were keeping to the right only when they came up against top brasses like Samurai or foreigners. People in Japan could be moving every which way with the exception of Samurai warriors. In early 18th century, Engelbert Kaempfer (1651-1716), a German naturalist, wrote in his book called "Edo travel account" that left-side passage was stipulated on Japanese highways (Edo is an old name of Tokyo). He stayed in Japan from 1690 to 1692. He wrote "according to the Japanese custom, people who travel to the capital (including himself) have to keep to the left while people who travel from the capital have to keep to the right. This custom took root and became a rule." In late 18th century, Carl Peter Thunberg (1743-1822), a Swedish botanist, wrote in his book called "Edo travel accompaniment" that left-side passage was observed by all travellers on Japanese highways and added that a clear-cut traffic rule like this had to be set up in Europe as well. He stayed in Japan from 1775 to 1776. The most decisive factor in the Japanese history that brought about our present left-side driving came in 1868, when our isolationist feudalism was replaced by Western-style democracy (though it was nominal democracy back then). We realised our backwardness and started absorbing Western civilization like fury. The railway system was one of the most prominent intake from the West at that time. Three countries approached the then Japanese government in terms of the introduction of the railway system: USA, France and UK. At first France and USA prevailed but in the end UK swayed away Japanese government decision by offering a state-run railway plan which best agreed with Japanese officials' idea. In 1872 the first Japanese railway ran with English technical aid. It was, of course, left-side driving (at stations, I mean, the main line was single-track). This is proven by the photos or paintings drawn those days. A massive network of railways had been built ever since, all of which were left-side running. If American or French railway had been built, instead of English, we might have found right-side traffic in today's Japan. But the left-hand traffic discussed above is still limited to railways. The biggest avenue that effectively promoted left-side traffic on the Japanese road system is considered to be horse railways, and its successor: electric tram cars. As you may have known, horse railways are stage coaches that ran on railways on streets. They first ran in Japan in 1882 with double-track railway. Since they were a railway after a fashion, they were left-side passage in Japan. They developed in a big way as street transportation, especially in major cities. In 1903 horse railways were started to be replaced by electric tram cars. But since they used the same railways as the horse railways, left-side driving continued. And they are considered to encourage other transportation to keep to the left down the road. In the 19th century the Japanese laws and orders on the passage of roads seemed still confused. Stage Coach Order issued by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police in 1881 said mutually approaching horses and vehicles had to avoid each other by shifting to the left. But an order issued by the same Tokyo police in 1885 stated that general horses and vehicles had to avoid to the left but when they met army troops they had to avoid to the right. Japanese armies were keeping right on roads, as their ideas did, until 1924. Osaka government, which is the second largest city in Japan, issued an order in 1872 that horses and vehicles had to keep to the right of roads. It was not until early 20th century that left-side passage effectively took root among ordinary Japanese people. In 1900 Tokyoites arguably saw the first automobile run in Japan. An order issued in 1902 by the Tokyo police said for the first time that pedestrians had to keep to the left side of roads. 1907 saw the first Japanese killed by an automobile accident. A newspaper article dated January 1st of 1906 reads "we have recently seen the development of such transportation as trains, cars and bicycles. But it does not necessary accompany a corresponding street condition and we have seen increased traffic accidents. In light of the swollen danger on roads, Tokyo Metropolitan Police are going to enforce that same old left-side traffic on pedestrians in addition to tighter regulation on trains." In a book called 'Origin of Meiji (a Japanese era referring to 1868 to 1912) things,' it was 1924 when left-side driving was clearly written in a law.

There is another thread in here explaining why the higher the temp (K) number doesn't always better. Between 4-6000K should be used for the street, anything above that would only create a blue ray that gives fatique to eye, gives a too abrupt cut off transition from the illuminated area, and can be dazzling other road users - thus very very illegal.

I got the australian Simex one... nothing fancy, just a normal non directional tyre. Seems pretty ok, can have traction if I want and not too much if wanna go sideways a bit. Problem is tyre size on the car is 225/50 so it's a bit wider than stock (205/55) so it's grippier.. Maybe if you can get some cheap Simex 205/55 that'll do the sideways job well..

They're all dodgy.... car dealers, car salesman, car yards, car factories....

Thank's will try it. I've opened my door trim before, there was one clip where the mounting on the trim is already damaged, so the plastic clip (looks like button) is moving around. maybe can secure it with blutac or something, will try. Haven't tried the back area, but may ask audio specialist to put some padding in the rear parcel shelf when upgrading rear speakers later.

Constant rattling from passenger door area when going over slightest bumps. very annoying. Rattle from somewhere behind the dash... not sure.. happens at certain rpm, can sometimes reproduce, sometimes not heard. Rattle from back area, perhaps rear parcel shelf on some certain rpm too. May resonate to the exhaust frequency.

guess it's all part of the marketing con.... u're buying BP being sure you get diffrent fuel from Shell, in fact BP & Shell has an arrangement to have all BP fuel done by Shell... so what's the difference.... just go buy any fuel, it's like tax, you can't afford not to pay for it and still getting the same juice.

Some brands of Octane booster is known to cause your plugs to foul, causing it not to perform 100% and may lead to engine damage in the long run. I would stay away from them, unless I really have to use it, e.g. in the outback where no premiums available.

Also, I found km per tanks is not a difference between BP & Optimax, just a matter of how heavy my right foot is. Turned off my boost controller (stock boost) and drive below 2500rpm since last month, now I refill every 10 days instead of 7 days as I used to be. Hey, more $$$ for future mods

I filled up Optimax only whenever I got that 4c dicsount coupons from Coles (being dirty old, tight ass Thursday petrolhead ) Shell is on my way home from work When I have no coupons I went a bit further down the road (100m) for BP Ultimate.... Never pay attention to any differences between the two, but I use up a full tank of Optimax in around 7-10 days anyway so may not feel the effect of the fuel going off before the next refill anyway. Car is my daily driver to work and my shopping cart too.

This is the same SR20 you had in your R32 isn't it? so the RB20 from ur Cefiro goes back to the R32? If my eyes are not wrong, did you mount your T51 facing east-west instead of the normal north-south layout like the engine? Or is that just a blurry pic of the manifold?

Good idea, but if car rolls uphill, so can water flows uphill... defying gravity. Isn't that the whole idea? I was told it was optical illusion - the way the tree grows... maybe get a water level from hardware store to prove it :-P

Is this for real or u just pulling my legs...? If it's real I gotta check it out... To those with autos, make sure you're in neutral, not crawling in drive... LOL Cheers, One of the "older" guys......

I used to have apexi tt before, and even the english manual doesn't explain much about o2 sensor setting.....

Going for A you definitely must allow more than $7k. With obvious upgrade of pwr you should remember maintenance and running cost. 400hp engine drinks more fuel than 300hp engine and cost more to maintain, especially if the internals finally let go (metal fatique due to age). Going for B is the wisest choice. Although there are ups and downs in property market, in general property prices has hardly ever depreciated. Beside, there are other things in life beside cars cars cars and cars. Remember: car values always depreciate, a wise investment will appreciate. Going for C would be the most popular, I agree, as I wish for a GTR too. But if you start doing your GTR like what you would do for A, wouldn't you be in the same boat again in the next couple of years? But it will surely be lots of fun in C. The choice is yours..... consider how much time you got, what you wanna achieve in the future, and when do you wanna achieve that. All the best, mate.

60,000km is not a guarantee... probably the car has been: 1. trashed in jpn (raced, dragged, etc) with little care for the engine maintenance 2. overboosted with no regards of engine internals' health 3. odo was wound back so probably be 160,000km sorry to hear it, hope u get it sorted out.