[R32]

I'm also looking at getting an R32 GTS-T coupe.

My problem is all the cars I have seen locally are for sale are a bit scrappy and/or too heavily modified. I havn't really seen any R32 gtst's at import yards either, the only yard I did see one at has since sold and after speaking with him again he said it was unlikely he'd be bringing over any more R32s.

I currently have 12k to play with, possibly could stretch that to 13k if I need to and ideally i want one that is stock and in all round good condition. Would it be feasible to import one at this price? or do I keep looking at the local R32's and hope that i strike it lucky one day. It seems most sellers here want 8-9k for something in scrappy condition with 170,000kms on the clock

[This Is Why It's Great To Live In Australia]

If you think America is bad try South Africa.

I went there last year and in 3 weeks I saw more death, road trauma and gun violence than i have seen in 20 years being in Australia. We stayed a few days with some distant relatives of ours, they don't even cross the street without a gun, and my uncle was saying he has shot dead 3 people so far for attempting to rob his house (he then went on to casually explain how you first whistle to the burglers just before you shoot them, because if they aren't facing you when you shoot them dead you can't claim self defence and you will get charged).

[Galileo Movement]

A quick google search reveals:

Americans consume 378 million barrels per day, which is equivalent to nine million barrels of gasoline(American Energy Independence).

A barrel is 158.987 litres

So 158.987 x 9000000 = 1,430,883,000 litres of gasoline per year (so not including diesel etc)

1 litre releases 2.4 kilograms of CO2.

So in the US alone from gasoline alone in 1 year 596,201.250 tonnes of CO2 are released.

So the US contributes from passenger cars alone as much CO2 as 1/200th of all the volcanoes in the world. So if this was all the CO2 that needed to be accounted for we'd be pretty sweet except it is just the US and just passenger cars. The numbers are all readily accessible for working out cars world wide but lets face it, cars are just one fraction of the sources of anthropogenic CO2.

Australia alone released 1.35% of global CO2 emissions or 480,749,500 tonnes of CO2. Yup Australia alone contributes almost 4x the annual load from all the volcanoes in the world and we don't even have any volcanos. So just like how citizens were asked to take shorter showers and not wash their cars at home, even though coal power accounts 37 percent of our total emissions, you can bet your bottom dollar we'll be asked to take shorter trips while coal will continue to enjoy heavy subsidy . Do I think that is fair? No. But remember next time the debate comes up about pricing carbon from coal power stations, that it is a decision between more expensive power bills and more expensive cars .

Sadly the world actually consumes around 82.78 million billion barrels a day, deforestation, etc etc, which accounts for approx 32,253,432,200 tonnes to be released this year or 248.1 x all the volcanoes in the world.

1. You say America uses 1,430,883,000L of gasoline per year and that 1L gasoline=2.4 kgs. How then does this equal 596,201.250 tonnes of CO2?

2. I found it hard enough to believe that every man, women and child in America consumes over 1 barrel of oil per day, even enough only 72 million barrels of oil are produced each day in the world. Then you go on to say that on average each citizen of the world consumes 13.79 million barrels of oil EACH DAY. So every aids riddled child in africa living on $0.30 each day also happens to consume $137,000,000 US of oil PER DAY.

If you have a uni degree relating to this subject yet cant even get simple facts/figures or year 7 maths right how can you expect anyone to take anything you say seriously? On second thoughts, perhaps it would be better to ask the question, why the **** are people taking you seriously?

PS: Im not saying I believe or don't believe climate change, just that I don't believe you

[How Do I Prevent People Stealing My Car Parts?]

Well they didn't jack it up so what in thinkin is puttin hex screws in, getting two perfect lengths of chain and padlocking then around the whole car just near the wheels and then putting a cover over it?

Yeh it's gunna be hell tedious getting in to my car every morning and lockin up with protecting the paintwork from the chain but hopefully they won't be able to get the skirts.. At least until I find a new place with a proper garage

Hex keys aren't exactly unknown though. Besides, hand me a flat head screwdriver that is the right size, and perhaps some sort of knockometer if its a tight fit, and I'll undo any torx or hex head screw. The bolts won't look pretty when I'm done, but they will be removed fairly easy and without damage to the panel so I doubt that will put off any thief with half a brain.

You could use one way screws, AKA bastard screws. They only go in one way and the driver will just cam out without applying any loosening force if you try to undo them. Its a huge f*** around to get them out though (as I have discovered at work a few times), so they really are a permanant solution

[The Cool Tools Thread]

I recently bought a pair of 12" knipex pliers wrench from the internet and I have to say I am extremely pleased with them. I was unsure whether it was a gimmicky idea when I ordered them, but they are absolutely awesome, so much so I'm about to order 6 more because my dad and everyone at work now wants one. here is the site I bought them off/ some info about them: http://chadstoolbox....ier-Wrench.aspx

They are basically like a set of multi-grips, but the jaws are smooth and flat, and they stay parallel to each other all the time no matter what position they are in. It has replaced my shifter, and my spanners and my multigrips (for most tasks) all in one tool. Its far better for gripping and doing up nuts/bolts and all the smaller glands and lucknuts at work. It also works like a ratchet. It is literally 3 times faster and twice as secure than using a shifter for the same job. If you are a plumber/fitter/mechanic I would definately look into getting a pair.

PS: If anyone wants any other pliers, this is the site to go to. NWS Germany and knipex both make top notch pliers and you can buy them alot of them for around $20-25 a pair from this site. Thats the same or cheaper than the china/taiwan special at your local tool shop, and about a quarter of what you will pay for Knipex gear in Australia if you can find it

[The Cool Tools Thread]

good choice. the stahwille tools are good. hazet is good too. I'm still pretty fond of snap-on and have had tools that I got second hand and they have lasted me 15 years plus how ever long they lasted the first owner. and I've always had warranty honoured. all the mechanics I've worked with have all used snap-on and they use their tools a lot more often and harder than I do. any problems they have had have been replaced under warranty regardless of how old the tool is.

I do agree though that snap-on quality has dropped a little bit in the last 5-10years though they are still one of the top tool makers in the world, and certainly not rubbish. they are definitely over-priced though. 20 years ago there is no doubt their tools where streets above the others, especially if you work with hand tools every day. now they are good but not so clearly 'the best'. if you can afford them though snap on still make great gear and have good warranty support in aus.

for side cutters and pliers Knipex are the go. they are the best i've used and their designs are often copied.

So far I am quite happy with my stahlwille 1/2" drive socket and spanner set. By buying it overseas it only cost me marginally more (but then + shipping costs) than what it would have cost me to go out and buy an equivalent kinchrome set here.. The spanners are brilliant, only problem is keeping watch over them because everyone else has those ratcheting spanners that break very easily. Most people at work have sidchrome ratchets, compared to them the stahlwille ratchet mechanism is abit smoother, seems to have a few more adjustment points and it will start ratcheting on a bolt that is only providing little resistance compared to the sidchrome ones (so you don't sit there doing up, then undoing a bolt). My only concern is that the ratcheting mechanism inside the head fits abit loosely, and I can wobble it around by a good 2mm. it has done this since new and i'm not sure if this is a problem or an indicator of a problem in the future

Now the next bit of gear I need is a cordless drill (preferably 18v and one with hammer function). It funny, everyone at work is a diehard fan of a different brand and is absolutely convinced that their drill is the best drill by far. Theres the dewalt guy, the milwaukee guy, the bosch guy and the makita guy all in my ear about which brand I need to get. For this reason, I have been looking at the hitachi range hahaha.

i have ordered all my knipex gear from America, some components of my order arn't ready yet so i hope it ships soon. I also bought a 10" IREGA brand shifter for around $26 from that same site, strangely it is made in the same country as Snap-on shifters (spain) and it bears a striking resemblance to the snap-on one. i think i found which company snap-on source their shifters from. Also looking at some grip on locking pliers, another OEM supplier for snapon at a fraction of the price. How many more of their products are just rebranded stuff from other companies?

[The Cool Tools Thread]

Don't know if this will be useful for anyone else, but as I am an apprentice electrician I have been looking at gettting a bunch of 1000V rated pliers, crimpers, multigrips/vicegrips and whatnot. I stumbled upon this website which I thought had pretty good prices and reasonable shipping costs: www.chadstoolbox.com.

Out of curiosity, I handed the list of tools I wish to purchase, which came to about $436 incuding shipping from this site, to one of our sales guys at work and asked him to see what the cheapest price I could get locally was with our trade discount from 3 different shops. The cheapest he could find for the same knipex tools was $884, ranging up to $1200. My boss and another bloke at work also ended up ordering some gear off the site as well, so postage cost me even less .

[The Cool Tools Thread]

Well I tried to reason with myself and buy a nice sensible ~$300 set of sockets and spanners, I really did.. Yes, warranty will be easier to deal with, I won't have to watch out for them being stolen as much, they are good enough for what I need and they cost alot less.

I just couldn't help myself in the end though, and now there is 565 euros of stahlwille tools leaving germany and heading to Australia.

[The Cool Tools Thread]

www.transquip.com.au is probably the best online toolshop i've seen (discovered by Neil on here).

I can't see why a Kincrome set wouldn't do the job for you, very reasonably priced too! I can't think of a Kincrome tool that i've actually broken (but have broken many other brands before buying the equivalent Kincrome tool).

Well I actually just bought a kinchrome 3 drawer "add on" toolbox from bunnings today, it had a big scratch so I returned it for another, and the new kinchrome drawer sets lock is f**ked so its not a very good first impression for me. Everyone else at work has sidchrome tools, and they all get their tools mixed and and then argue about it so I would prefer to not get that brand either.

I'll have a squiz at transquip now

[R33 Electrical Malfunction]

My friend had trouble with his indicator making ticking noises for a few months, then once when we were driving smoke started coming out of the steering column thing from the gap where the indicator goes in (hard to notice the smoke at first). It turned out to do be the indicators fault, whilst it was blinking left and only left. We took it apart and I cleaned all the contacts with contact cleaner and that seemed to fix the problem and the indicator ticking noise.

He had no aftermarket alarm or turbotimer or anything installed on his car either, it was all stock electrics and happened pretty suddenly. Possible could have been the same problem as your car?

[End Of Road For Radar Detectors In W.a]

Are there detectors or anything that work for the new laser speed camera? And would these also be banned if this law were passed? Light is different to radar and banning a certain frequency of light to the public would be outrageous

[The Cool Tools Thread]

I have started an industrial electrical apprenticeship about a month ago and its getting to the point where I really need my own spanner and socket set.

I need a 1/2" drive ratchet with ~10-25mm size sockets, and 5-25mm spanners.

Hex key and screwdriver type socket attachments would also be very nice aswell, as would a 1/4" drive ratchet and some smaller sockets (but not necessary).

Although I want to get the best value I can, I am also armed with enough money for a house deposit and want to get real top notch tools that will last me a while. Can anyone point out where I should go, any good sets that are available, brands I should look for or any online toolshop that is good?

[I Saw A Suicide Today]

I heard/thought that when a train driver sees someone jump infront of the train, they can press a button that quickly pulls down some shutters, put on the emergency brakes and then they just wait and do nothing. It minimizes the trauma they suffer, bdecause if you are a train driver there is a very very good possibility that at some point someone will try to kill themselves by jumping infront of you

[Pharking Commodore Drivers!]

Hey guys. 'tis with a very angry tone that I type this tonight...

Story goes:

I was driving on my way to work at about 6:00 tonight, I live in Sorrento, work in Warwick - 5km drive.

Turning onto Warwick road from Marmion ave, I notice this asswipe in a VX SS commodore sniffing so far up my ass, that I couldn't even see his headlights. I was in a fairly calm and collected mood at this time, so I just chilled and travelled at the same speed as the car next to me (so he couldn't get past), about 70km/h, in a 70 zone...

After a few hundred meters and a heap of cursing behind me later, the car next to me turned off and the dickhead screemed past me with all his stock LS1 power, no indicators, and off towards about 120km/h (conservatively), as he drove past I shook my head at him and he saw me and replied back with a finger.

Later on we pulled up behind a few cars at the lights next to eachother, and he proceeded to eye me off and hurl abuse ("you maggot", "phucking tool", "pull up ahead mate!" as if to fight me) at me. I ignored him with the window up. A little further he started getting more agitated as I ignored him, finally I put down my window and said: "stop driving like a dickhead, I'm just trying to get to work mate". To this reply he threw (wait for it) 2 beer bottles out of his car, towards my car hitting in causing this damage:

/rant.

He had enough time to stop the car infront of mine, get out and attempt to bash me before i reversed back and drove off. He had been drinking, and was quite easily twice the size of me, I didn't wanna even try to fight him. I'm not a fighting type, I don't resolve things with fights, that's what animals do. I doubt he was simply in a hurry. I didn't refuse to get out of his way either, i was minding my own business doing almost 5km/h over the limit, for the most part, there was a free lane beside me...

So it's my fault is it?

I refuse to take things sitting down. If I let things go like this, he would've certainly done a similar things to other people. That's how cvnts like this get away with this sh!t...

If nothing happens by the books, I may or may not have to take other action, mark my words.

Hate to say it, but yeah its kinda your fault.

Did you deserve it? No. Is it fair? Not really. Your actions decided your fate though, whether or not its fair, you can sortof expect that will happen, or there is a very real possibility of it happening if you act like that on the roads.

Sorta like if I took all 58kgs of myself and walked up to a man 3 times me in size who had just beaten his wife in public, and gave him a stern lecturing on feminism I would probably be bashed myself, even though its not deserved.

By blocking his way your purposely causing him inconvenience at no benefit to yourself, other than malice. Ask yourself, how is the large intoxicated bogan man going to feel about this? He is gonna be pretty pissed off at you. Problem could have been averted by showing the tiniest bit of curtesy.

Then you prod even harder by shaking your head at him. You have inconvenienced him, and just indicated you disagree with his method of driving an automobile. If you ignored him, he probably woulda just floored it off into the distance.

And then finally you insult him. He was obviously looking for a fight and any insult would have set him off. At this point you should have ignored him instead and make a sharp sudden turnoff onto a sidestreet, but you respond to him, basically giving the OK sign for a fight. Thats 3 times you had the chance to avoid this happening

[What's The Modern Equivalent Of R32-34 Skylines?]

Maybe a BMW 1/3 series?

RWD, manual, 2 or 4 door, not too much heavier, small to medium capacity turbo or non turbo inline 6 engine (with relatively low power output so I'd assume its fairly easy to make more power from it), sports oriented suspension.

Not sure if they fit the bill of being cheap/easy to modify but other than that when you think about it they are like the euro equivalent of skylines

[The Cool Tools Thread]

Rofl,,,you stick to the scissors mate,,,I'm over cutting radiator hoses and the like with them. I'm into nice and neat hoses. My old adage is "If you can't go quick look good".

Moving on,,,heres 2 of my 1/4 drive sockets sets.

This one is one I bought,,,it's a Kokon set ,,,Japanese brand,,,not rubbish which I'm liking. If I had the money I would buy all their products.

This one is Kinchrome which was nicely donated to me by Duncan,,,still not quite sure why,,,maybe all my losed blood over the years. It's a great set as well being AF and Metric which suits me.

Cheers

Neil.

Where did you get that koken socket set out of interest? I have heard good things about them here and there, but can't find where to buy them

[Whats My Car Worth?]

I find my car is shocking with fuel on long trips, final drive ratio means it's sitting at 3200rpm just cruising. If I do short trips I get about 500kms to a tank with a little bit of spirited acceleration every now and then. If I drive to uni (108km round trip mostly on the freeway) then I only get about 300kms to a tank with no spirited acceleration just consistent cruising speeds. O2 sensor has been changed 3 times to no effect, currently unplugged due to an unrelated issue.

Yeah mine is the same, albeit alot less drastic. I can get 500kms to a tank driving around town (when I fill up its usually ~52L of fuel), so close to 10L/100kms which is very reasonable for what the car is. On the open road I can't ever get better than this though, usually around 450km from a tank. Last time I drove to margaret river and back I was struggling to make 350kms between fuel stops, that was with 400kgs+ of people and luggage onboard though.

[Whats My Car Worth?]

I have just quit uni and landed an awesome industrial electrician apprenticeship, starting in January. The bad news is I will have to travel 600kms per week just to get to and from work, which I don't really want to do in my skyline so I'm thinking I'll have to sell it and buy something cheaper to run. How much do you think I'll get?

Its a series 1 1993 r33 gtst, 2 tone grey, 100,400kms. I'm doing the 100,000km service tomorrow (or today, in about 4 hours)), and replaced the 2 front shock absorbers with bilsteins 3,000kms ago, the engine and gearbox are both in good nick and it has no mechanical gremlins. very little/no rust. Paint is very average, has a dent in the rear passenger quarter quoted $850 to fix, interior is good except for a cigarette burn on the drivers seat and the finish is peeling off in small spots on the drivers side plastic door handle/armrest. Its all stock except for a hks exhaust.

Or does it sound like its not worth selling? I know its reliable and problem free, but it will look like a very average and bland car to any potential buyers so it probably won't fetch much. I will be earning $700 a week, which is about $620 better than what I'm currently doing so I can afford to shell out for extra maintanence costs etc

[Gt5 Is Ready]

You do realise you can buy a new civic Type R for under 20k...

Guys you MUST get a used 65' 350gt mustang or whatever they're called, and put a full exhaust on it(expensive one) it sounds AMAZING.

Love the game so far but the stupid challenges piss me off.

I've completed all gold B license, all gold A except the mini slalom (impossible..) and the last one where i sorta went meh, i want to race now.

Also, the topgear one with the elise is a joke, they block you and you touch them = DQ....

Finally, the nascar ones are impossible to get gold.. on a controller anyway... (same rule as above, silver at very worst..)

By new, do you mean a new 1995 civic type R from the dealership? I payed 16k for my 1991 mx5, an s13 from nissan was 18k I think etc etc...

My MX5 exhaust sounds very generic and droney, tending to play with the sound on quiet. Oh yeah, guess what happened to the exhaust note when I went through a tunnel? Absolutely nothing at all... what a let down. Can anyone confirm if the premium cars that sound decent change exhayst notes in tunnels atleast?

[Gt5 Is Ready]

Meh.. It feels the same as GT4.. Definately not 7 years ahead of it anyway.

The beginning cars are stupidly slow (and expensive), like my old $20,000 MX5 with weight reduction to 850kgs that screeches and understeers like a bitch around the bends at barely more than 30mph, and the modifations are still done in stupid "stages" and are no more detailed/varied than in GT4. Thats all I've got so far

[Anyone Know How Sensitive Breathtests Are?]

Drinking in street/public place is only an offence if the area is designated as a "dry" area by counsel by laws. They need to have signs in area stating same too.

Oops that happened in WA where I think it is a $200 fine if you get caught drinking in any public place, I assumed victoria would have the same laws but I guess not

[Anyone Know How Sensitive Breathtests Are?]

As long as you are not over the limit there is no law stating you can't have an alcoholic beverage whilst driving.

Really? A while back my mate who was at the time freshly off his P's decided to be a smartarse and raise his stubby to the cop sitting next to us. It was his first beer of the night and had only gone through 1/4 of it so he definately wasn't over the limit btw, but to cut a long story short he got defected (lol) but he also copped a fine for street drinking. It might be technically legal to drink and drive if your under 0.05, but just not anywhere thats public, and incidently most roads are public places

[One Speed Camera I Would Actually Support]

I would still prefer to see actual police enforce all our laws instead of fancy cameras. Why? Police are able to take into account the fact that shit happens in life and there will always be variables and circumstances that can't be taken into account by a computer that takes not much more than a picture and then decides upon 2 outcomes. Black or white, ticket or no ticket.

Ie: What happens when at the last second a perth motorist swerves into my lane, because trying to be a safe driver I have left a small gap between myself and the car infront? Sure, a picture will show that my bumper is right on the other persons tail but whos fault is that?

[All You Young P Plater Skyline Owners..]

Fair enough if your car is worth little.. I personally think some people are stupid to own a skyline on their P's.. i waited until i was off.. Mind you though I wasted a stupidly amount of money doing up my VT.. But the high costs to insure a skyline on P's.. used to be 3K plus when I was P plater (so it has come down)

But maybe you should have stated that it depends on price of car as to whether full comp is worth it.. With mods done to car and being able to fully cover the replacement on all those items.. PLus being able to buy back the wreck and off sell those parts..

And QLD also has compulsory Third party (not property) to cover medical insurance.. But rego on the skyline is almost $800 which kinda sucks as I only drove it twice during that yr

Most p plate skylines would be worth so little that to me its not viable to get full comp on p plates though. Pretty much anyone with non-gtr 32/33s as they can easily be picked up for 10k or less (which accounts for 60-70% of p platers with skylines?), even 34's which can be picked up with a little bit of change from 15k I wouldn't bother insuring. Also the $2k per year figure I was using was optimistic (since maybe non turbo ones have a bit lower insurance, and you are slightly older when you get your p's over east), best quote I got as a 17r old male with a r33 gtst valued at $8000 was $3650, with a $2000 excess.

[All You Young P Plater Skyline Owners..]

I think you guys have misunderstood me, I don't drive round with no insurance, but just basic 3rd party insurance in the off chance I run into something expensive as mad said.

It it worth paying $500 per year for full comp on your $30,000 car when your 40 and a safe driver for that ease of mind when your driving? Most people would say yes and I can definately see why.

How about paying $2000 a year for full comp on a car that only worth $10,000 though, or $300 on 3rd party (my exact circumstances)? Take into account your excess is probably going to be around $1500 so thats only $8.5k you might get. Then if I crash I'm probably gonna be able to part out my RB25DET engine+ gearbox + other bits if the damage isn't extreme, whereas the insurance company will own your wreck. Whats the difference at now? closer to $5,000, about what I have saved in insurance costs. Still worth it?

i enjoying owning a car more knowing that if someone runs into me i don't have to worry about chasing them for money because the insurance company will do that and i won't be out of pocket.

And I enjoy owning a car more knowing that even if some bogan writes my car off while drink driving on his way to buy nappies for his 15yr old gfs kid and then does a runner and I'm left out of pocket, I'm still ahead of the p plater that insured his car for protection from that very thing happening.