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No I have not, but if you look through the list in the link I posted it shows all the rail types available for the C34, and the RO is available. Forget Skyline... I didn't mention it.

  • 4 weeks later...

Seats in and im not too worried about suspension anymore, most of the boat feeling was me sliding on the leather, springs could be a little firmer on the front as it dips slightly on sharp corners but swaybars and a tight seat made a huge difference. I would recommend a seat as a first mod on any car. Actually it would be stupid to do any suspension mods without a good seat. you can feel everything.

looking for an LSD for the rear only, the cheaper the better.

I think the stagea uses an r200 diff? can i use the lsd centre and put it in my diff with my standard gears and axles etc? I've been searching all day but i can't find much. i think i need to keep my diff gears the same so i dont blow the front diff.

  • 3 months later...
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  • 1 month later...

My household added 2 cars to the garage in the last few weeks & retired my work X-Trail. The old girl was uneconomical to register again so I gave her to a mate who now uses it as a mountain bike shuttle bus come paddock basher. Hopefully it will last another 10 years.

My son bought a manual E46 BMW 328Ci - not bad for a 1st car (still on his learner licence). Amazing how much a >$92K car (when new) can drop in 14 years. It has 19's & is so low the top of the tyres are hidden under the guards. Funnily it still has more ground clearance than the M35 & doesn't scrape on anything.

And I bought an Audi Q5 3.0Tdi for my work truck. The fuel economy V's performance equation is outstanding with my 3 tank fills returning from 7.3 - 8.3L/100 (up to 900km from a tank). All this from a 2T SUV with 500Nm & 0-100 time of 6.5s (they say).

My point, which I'm getting to - out of all the cars, the best one to drive by far, is the M35. The Q5 has ridiculously heavy steering once past about 40km/h. It's so heavy & wooden I suspect the engineers did it on purpose to mask the darty & sometimes jittery road dynamics. And the ride is way firmer than it needs to be, although it is softer than the misses' A3 with the 'sports suspension'. It might work in Germany, but there's no need for it in Aus. The M35 is much more compliant, even plush by comparison, & it drives on mind control - the sort where you don't even remember steering around the last few corners. And on straight roads, it tracks true.

The Euro cars are excellent in so many ways, & I would recommend Audi in particular to almost anyone, but fair dinkum, the Stagea has so much going for it.

Anyway, in the spirit of this thread:

Take 2 slices of bread, lightly buttered on the outsides,

Place slice/s of your favourite cheese inside & place in sandwich toaster press.

Remove when golden brown

Totally agree Leon, I have driven so many cars and have yet to find one that rides and turns as well as the Stagea. (although I have spent a bit to get it there...) I just can't suggest a better car, let alone for the money.

If only it came in manual...

  • Like 1

I tried and tried to get my old man to look at an M35 or PNM35 when he bought his Audi A4 Avant 2.0TFSI back in 2011, but he had his mind made up. Now we hear that they're "designed to consume up to half a litre of oil every 1,000kms" - WTF?

He's currently doing a 1,000km oil consumption test before taking it back there to see if it's still "within spec" or actually needs pistons and rings replaced.

Oh, and don't EVER buy a car with a CVT, it sucks balls to drive, and is probably a contributor to the excessive oil consumption - keeping the car in a constant rev range apparently increases the likelihood of glazing the bores of the cylinders.

Good to hear - people are usually temped out of the imports by the Euros. Sometimes its better.

I've been driving the PNM for a couple of days now (the mrs relinquished the keys), such a great car - so happy with the balance of it.

Totally agree Leon, I have driven so many cars and have yet to find one that rides and turns as well as the Stagea. (although I have spent a bit to get it there...) I just can't suggest a better car, let alone for the money.

If only it came in manual...

You hit it on the mark when you compare on value. I can't think of anything I've driven that compares in the ride/steering department. And I'm not talking simply about performance driving - even getting from A to B.

The Audi's do have their DSG boxes sorted though. Yeah they some some quirks, but that's more German engineering logic in the programming than anything else. They change solidly & quickly (faster than I can with a traditional manual) - same tech as Lambo I suppose.

Personally I wouldn't go down the path of a manual for the M35. I'm too old & lazy so the effort/cost required puts it very low on the to do list, but keen to see it happen.

I tried and tried to get my old man to look at an M35 or PNM35 when he bought his Audi A4 Avant 2.0TFSI back in 2011, but he had his mind made up. Now we hear that they're "designed to consume up to half a litre of oil every 1,000kms" - WTF?

He's currently doing a 1,000km oil consumption test before taking it back there to see if it's still "within spec" or actually needs pistons and rings replaced.

Oh, and don't EVER buy a car with a CVT, it sucks balls to drive, and is probably a contributor to the excessive oil consumption - keeping the car in a constant rev range apparently increases the likelihood of glazing the bores of the cylinders.

I've heard there are various models with this high oil consumption designed into the engine. That's crazy.

I was talking to an Audi mechanic this week about my car. It has an electronic dipstick (lol) & I was questioning him about the reading on the in-car display. When I told him what engine variant was in mine, he said that it wasn't one that consumed oil. He had nothing to gain/lose by not telling me the truth, & it matches the reading I get when I check. It says to drain off some oil, ie was overfilled last service. That was probably 10,000km ago (not sure i agree with the long service intervals), so can't be a high oil consumption engine. I'm not that interested in syringing out half a cup of oil, so it can wait till I change it.

Re CVT 'boxes, I wouldn't have one in any car, regardless of the emblem on the grill.

  • 4 weeks later...

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