Rezz

Japans registration laws are the way they are primarily for pollution - or so it would seem. The spiralling registration costs after a car hits 3 years old are just as much to do with keeping the car factories afloat (and the economy) as they are keeping a young, less polluting car fleet on the roads. This 'throwaway' mentality is pretty much the same for consumer electronics too... just so happens to be the other big industry in Japan. Maybe that transport minister just got his new Holden Caprices ass handed to it by a humble Starlet GT?

^^^ Yes. They are ANCIENT cars, so rebuilding/replacing stuff is fairly cheap. I had a hiflowed T25 (watercooled lol) on my old N12 ET, and it saw 2 bar on more than one occasion... They're great fun for a little while, but the torque steer and zero street cred get on your nerves pretty quickly.

That all hinges on the base cars abilities. If the handling 'bar' is set so low to begin with (eg: Commodore SS V8), theres no reason why you can't add a Whiteline suspension package and then say the SS Commie had "sports car like" handling. The modified car would be light years ahead of the base car. That said, go jump into a stock FD3S Mazda RX-7 then tell me which you'd prefer to drive hard. Yes I'm basically saying the Falcons and Commodores can't handle compared to various other (older) FR cars that have performance underpinnings. One day I got straight out of my modified S13 Silvia and into a basically stock VY SS V8. I couldn't have been more disappointed. After all the *great* things I'd heard about the Gen III and the SS package as a whole, after a hard drive I couldn't wait to get out of it. The driving position, the numb steering, then wallowy ride and direction change and the brakes! Don't get me started on those poor excuses for brakes... even after giving the Gen III a good thrashing I was left wondering what all the hype was... then I figured it out: Compared to previous models, the VT-VZ was a step ahead. And I'll agree with that. What I don't agree with is that Holden/Ford contiually pitch their large FR cars as great allrounders that can mix it with the best on a track. In a straight line maybe? So long as you've got the top Gen IV under the hood? I think the Monaro advertisement in Wheels magazine a few years back summed it up nicely - a Monaro three car lengths ahead of a PORSCHE 911 crossing the line first. Arrogant? If they'd replaced the 911 with a Falcon I would've thought nothing of it. If you read Wheels or Motor magazine you'd be forgiven that the Commodore Clubsport R8 was a poor mans BMW M5... and it can be... if you never, ever get into a BMW M5. This kind of 'veil of secrecy' that hides the VT-VZs true abilities works best with the 'Holden men' (and likewise 'Ford men') who spend their lives buying and trading in Commodore after Commodore, and telling their offspring about 'Jap Crap' having never even driven one... but having been thrashed by many. The chances of these guys being exposed to a proper handling car is almost nil, and thats great for Holden as they can continue to get away with whatever they fancy. It's a mute point, people can choose whatever they want for a car, and they can like it and call it a V8 Supercar for all I care. I truely hope the VE Commodore succeeds at what it is best at being, a true Australian family car.

It's just usual caution/warning sticker... - To avoid accidents be aware of the following; - Always use the trailer safety chain (Captain Obvious c 2006) - Don't overload the trailer or use it in a use other than specified Maximum trailer load E: 2000kg C: 750kg A: 500kg (aggregate?) Maximum 'hitch ball' load @ 90 degrees E: 200kg C: 75kg A: 75kg - Check that the hitch ball and trailer chain bolts and nuts aren't loose before using the trailer (this is fun... ) - Put grease on the trailer coupler and the hitch ball to avoid 'chafing'... hehehe I'm trying to make this amusing... just use grease so there won't be any problems is what it says basically. - Get in contact with the place where you bought the trailer if you have any questions. - We can't guarantee anything if you don't follow the rules properly. Was there any hidden voodoo ninja info in there that the sticker ( being written in Japanese) made out? Please tell me you gained great knowledge from my 20 minutes of work and go on to become the best trailer hitching dude in Australia.

You can send individually boxed larger items by ship but the best way (economically) is to go 1 m3. The minimum area has to be 1 meter cubed. Anything less and you're paying for empty space. The rate if you exceed 1 m3 is then charged by weight or area, whichever costs more. Obviously getting some friends together to buy multiple items is the go. But... unless you've got people here and in Japan that are in the import/export industry on good terms, you *will* get ripped to some extent for rates and customs broker fees... I found out the hard way.

Just have a look at the 'matching' list on the Rays site http://www.rayswheels.co.jp/cgi-bin/cgi2/m...i?modelName=GT4 Rays recommend exactly what you posted: 17x8.5 +30 and 17x9.5 +38 (make sure you get 225/45 and 255/40 tyres). These won't scrub at all if your ride height isn't too low. They're not too much bigger than the standard wheels at the front anyway are they?

We didn't... I thought there may have been a few 'special D-Jetros' floating around for the RB25 but theres none. Just ended up running the Z32 air flow. Anyway, the Skyline ended up running 277.7hp @ 9psi. This is on Hyperdrive's dyno which "reads lower than everyone else, we don't know why" according to them. It's good I think because we won't get any nasty suprises if we do a run somewhere else. The T300 (non BB) is far from it's sweet spot but it makes peak power at rev limit with a very linear power curve (well it isn't a curve, it's more like a 45 degree angle straight upwards). We were pretty disappointed because the Trust wastegate we bought was supposed to have a 1.0 bar spring in it... but we got this 9psi thing instead. So in a few weeks the car will be back on the dyno again getting tuned. Roughly we should get around 320 - 330hp. Here are some pics of the Skyline: Theres alot more stuff to come for this car.

Vaccinations? No. Well... on the other hand you *could* call the Japanese government and let them know you're coming (another foreigner!!!) so they can fumigate the place before your disease-ridden arrival *remembers the mini panic in the days before the World Cup 2002 of all the foreigners coming with god knows what diseases.

Yeah thats what I meant. I didn't mean search Google... Wishbone I'm not being hostile, this exact same subject has been covered each month, every month for going on 3 years now. I'm sure you can find useful info on here with the search feature without having to get Japan members to type out everything again. On the other hand, if you have more specific questions then by all means fire away

Seriously Wishbone, do a search with 'Japan Hotel sightseeing' (or something like that) and just scroll through the threads that come up... there must be at least 50 or so of the first 1000 that come up that have good info.

You'd think that with their speedy lifestyle and huge concrete jungles everywhere that they'd be right into it, but if you really knew what Japanese were like then you'd know that only VERY few of them have that 'geezer' mentality... and most don't get into the faster beats. They'd much rather stand around and listen to minimalist subbass-and-finger-clicking barebones gangsta rap. Enough OT, is any older people going? C'mon, support the old farts crew.

Shuddup! Ok 30+ ya baaaahstard If you can remember the old 'Gravity' days then you're in the same boat That was before Roni Size went stupid jazzy style and Grooverider was the biggest selectah (lol) around. 'Hooooooooooooooooooooold up yah lightah!' If there are other older guys going then I'll go.

www.excite.co.jp/world/english is much better, it's powered by 'BizLingo' which is a Japan only translator but you can use it on excite.co.jp if you can figure out the buttons. Give that one a try instead of Dribblefish.

I post up pics of the Skyline all tuned up and on the street either tomorrow or Tuesday Glenn. The Silvia is still in the paint shop but I've been told I can come pick her up on the 15th. I've just bought some new Racing Hart CP-S10 wheels in 18x9 +21 and 18x10 +19 (yes they will stick out of the bodywork... just what I want with 3.5 - 4.0 degrees neg camber) for the Silvia and should be here just in time to put them on as it rolls out of the paint shop. F*ck the Starcorp Impuls... too heavy, and they stand out too much. I've had more than one shady character take a second look at them in the carpark at the local mall. The R32 will get similar Wed's Sport wheels in 18x10 all round. My little bro keeps freaking *himself* out by thinking that he's gonna crash the Skyline without appropriate tyre width. I must say it's awesome modding two cars at once. Theres always something happening and having the two ready in time for Autosalon Perth at our TKO/K's Garage stall will be the final goal.

I *would* go, but I guess not many original junglists ('94 - '98 crew) still do? I don't wanna feel out of place... I'm not feeling the Pendulum 'massive drop' style anthems anymore either. Good for big parties, but not so good for those (still!) into the older darkside stuff. 25+ year old ppl will know what I'm talking about I haven't been to a gig for at least 6 years in Perth. Went to a few in Japan, but they just don't get the jungle/DnB vibes the way others do. Good to see Perth is still the place to be for DnB though P.S. I hope Skibba is being more selective about mic use these days too... last time I saw him I just about wanted to stick that mic down his throat so we could at least hear the set!

I'm a wanker so I think I'm well placed to aswer this one The blowoff doesn't work when the gears change in an A/T, just when you step off the gas. It doesn't work because you're not required to step off the gas during gearchanges (duh!)... So the only way for it to work is to drive 'attention whore' style and: speed up > step off > f*ckin whoosh! > every girl within earshot turns around and lifts their skirt in your direction. I love it when 'tards in turbo cars time their gearchanges or step off the throttle as they go past alfresco cafes and the like... it makes having a blowoff valve one of the key things that makes you a MAN... well. that and a pair of testicles

http://www.auto-g.jp/etc/aprilfool/2006/08/index.html It's in Japanese, but if you can read it (or just use Altavista Blooperfish) you'll find a few tasty tidbits about the next GT-R... and Carlos Ghosn's new Nara prefecture residence! P.S. The Japanese don't really get into April fools day stuff, so if you think the article (and the whole index page for that matter!) is pretty weak I don't blame you! Good on them for trying though Extra points to the people who noticed: 1) Auto Gallery changed the title logo to 'A-USO' Gallery.net... (uso = lie, not true) 2) They intentionally ripped off 'Response.jp' title font and logo/colors 3) Mercedes Benz refigerator and vacuum cleaners??? etc

^^^ Thanks for replying guys Where's Demon Dave???? Have not seen or heard of him in ages...

I remember the booing was also because the R32 was 4WD (not AWD ) and it had a distinct advantage in the wet. I remember seeing the R32s at Waneroo Raceway back in '91... the Ford Sierras were almost as good though!

Lookin good maaaan... Who did your tint? Btw, you *know* you can get 18x10 under the rear, forget about spacers... just need the correct offset. I just won an auction for some Racing Hart CP-S10 18x9 and 18x10 for my S13.

Spend it on me!!! Not some stupid piece of tin!

You just bought it, but now want to sell it? You can sell it for whatever you like, but going by what you've said... aah $16K?

It means roughly 'Future Happiness'

No worries Yorik this is the best place to offload the book. You're very generous for doing so.

V35's are still new to the average person who's looking for an import. I wouldn't be suprised if say for example an '01 2.5L Auto sedan was landed an complied for around $20K and it's on the lot for $30K. But at the end of the day... do you think it's worth that? If not, go get your own V35 and do all the running around to get it shipped and on the road here. Then no middle men get $$$$ that could be better spent on doily seat covers to enhance the look of your 250GT sedan.