Out Of The Stagea For A While........

[Tangles]

Hi all,

About to head off and have my 7th knee surgery this arvo, so will be out of the Stagea for a month or so (and will be off the bike; damn that pisses me!).

So, opportunity knocks to start buying more go-hard bits for the Stagea... what should I be buying next?

Got a Z32 AFM meter, good clean 2nd hand condition,

Got a brand new Apexi Super ITC,

Waiting on a Nismo fuel pressure adjustable regulator,

Plus going to have the workshop supply new high pressure fuel lines and fuel clamps - but what sort of fuel pump should I be buying? Bosch 040 or 044 (want around 180-200kw at the 4wheels).

Once I grab that, where else should my small change be going? (got a full exhaust from turbo back with hiflow cat, got a larger intercooler, got a pod filter and custom surround, got a ebc tuned to 10psi, and got an Apexi SAFC-II, with 141.3kw at the 4 wheels).

Any cheap arse purchasing suggestions?

Brendan

[Sydneykid]

The standsrd fuel pump should be fine, if not an R33 GTR pump will cover it easily. Have you got a heat shield and cold air feed for that POD? If not, do some shopping on the forum. Then of course there is my favourite topic, suspension. There is a great Group Buy on at the moment I hear, already sold 4 Stagea kits.

cheers

[Tangles]

The standsrd fuel pump should be fine, if not an R33 GTR pump will cover it easily.  Have you got a heat shield and cold air feed for that POD?  If not, do some shopping on the forum.  Then of course there is my favourite topic, suspension.  There is a great Group Buy on at the moment I hear, already sold 4 Stagea kits.

cheers

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks SK,

Cant afford the whole suspension package at the moment, but have been thinking about some of those items! ie, swaybars, etc.

With the GTR fuel pump, are they still available brand new? The workshop said to stay away from second hand fuel pumps....... I was looking at grabbing a Bosch pump as they aint that expensive.

And yes, I bought a complete custom airpod filter surround with sides and a lid off of these forums, to suit a series 2 R33. I modified it a bit to fit, and it works a treat. Have backed it with high temp foam insulation, to help with any heat leakage but mainly for noise issues.

Brendan

[Jay95R33]

Good luck with your knee op Brendan. I'm due for my 3rd op on my left knee so I know what you have to go through

Is BassJunky still making up the metal pipework from the AFM to the turbo ? That might gain a bit of an increase. Don't forget adj cam gears either

J

[Tangles]

Good luck with your knee op Brendan.  I'm due for my 3rd op on my left knee so I know what you have to go through

Is BassJunky still making up the metal pipework from the AFM to the turbo ?  That might gain a bit of an increase.  Don't forget adj cam gears either

J

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Cheers Jay, I hope you havent had to go thru the shit'e Ive been thru with my damn knees (1 to the left, 6 now to the right) - fact is Im only 27, am 6ft 8inches tall and a solid 130kg (oops, didnt go to the gym & must have gained 5 over winter... )

I'll have to look into bassjunky's threads to find that little part from the afm to turbo - wasnt aware of it. I can see how it might help in conjunction with the larger AFM, tuned SITC and SAFC...... thanks for the tip.

My tip to you; grab a prosthetic and save yourself the trouble!! Joke! Im just a tad 'down' on the fact that my knee is kaput.... had bones moved around, muscles cut out, tendons cut off and bolted down elsewhere, MACI procedure with all cartilage taken out, regrown and reinstalled (like a hiflow!), and now had all that cartilage mowed back down - was like a lawn under my kneecap, and has been just too damn painful.

Thank god for Stagea's (and CBR900RR Fireblades!) - at least that keeps me sane!

Good health to all of your knees, fellow Stagea lovers.

Brendan

[Tangles]

Thank god for Stagea's (and CBR900RR Fireblades!) - at least that keeps me sane!

Good health to all of your knees, fellow Stagea lovers.

Brendan

Well, I havent been thanked back - since I last wrote this last year I cant ride my bike anymore (just too much pain - it cripples me)

Nor have I been blessed with good health to these knees - back in for double surgery to both knees on the 18th May; that'll make it surgery# 8 & 9.

[GoldZilla]

Ouch!

Best of luck with the knee surgeries, Brendan!

[Ska]

Three words, Childrens Chewable Morphine.

I sincerly hope that the operations go well and you have another swift recovery, I know what they are like, they suck arse!

[Tangles]

Three words, Childrens Chewable Morphine.

I sincerly hope that the operations go well and you have another swift recovery, I know what they are like, they suck arse!

Yeah - its all fuched up right here; yet another terrible night - I really feel as if I get ZeRo sleep with these damn knees fuching me up the arse 24/7. Plus add in our miserable 4month old (sick atm), and Im rooted.

Two cleanouts on the one day (to both knees, obviously), so my *new* surgeon, the grand-daddy of knee surgery in Australia, can have a look see and measure up some angles for further procedures. Either a TTT or a Patellectomy... but need more info first.

Looking at my latest scans yesterday, turns out the cartilage in my knees are full of 'arthritic cysts'. He goes to me, "so your left knee is the bad one, right?" I laughed and said originally 18yrs ago, yes, but probably looks worse than my right because my right knee has been completely renovated (worth 30k it is! - thats right, I got a Falcodore for a knee).

In other words...... its all fuched up for me. Meh. What a great word.

MEH

Edited April 27, 2006 by Tangles

[timmmay]

I'll drink to that meh!

Good luck with it mate, I know wat it's like being tall, 6'4" here...but so far my legs have been in good orders, it's mainly my back that gives me hell 24/7 but u get that!

cheers

[Tangles]

Cheers ppl's.

6ft4 hey.. nice work soldier. Yeah I hear ya with the back - I cant work 'too low' otherwise mine gets a bit tight too, but thats also a fair bit to do with the knees (bad knees effect ankles, hips, back, and groin/hamstring/calf muscles).

Ska - Ive been perscribed Enzo (adult swallowable morphine tablets, stuff kiddie strength) but I havent got them as yet - Id rather not go down the dark druggie path, I can see myself getting addicted. Been there done that with Tramadol (one step less than Enzo) and dont want to go there again - that was a very painful time in my life (only 2yrs ago prior to the MACI surgery - all new cartilage to the right knee)

Just call me MEH

Edited April 27, 2006 by Tangles

[stasis]

why dont you try REIKI treament before you go for your knee surgery. it might fix it before they cut you open

[Tangles]

why dont you try REIKI treament before you go for your knee surgery. it might fix it before they cut you open

Ummm, I hope you're not trying to kid me there, matey. Thanks foe the thoughts and the tip anyways, BUT:- how in hell could reiki heal arthritis, cysts within the patella cartilage, degenerative cartilage, small kneecaps compared to my 2m tall frame, and mis-aligned kneecaps?

It cant. Simple. Ive had 7knee surgeries already, so Ive already gone too far down that path - plus Ive spent 10's of thousands on 'alternative' treatments since I was 10yrs old. Its all wank. When you have 'arthritic bone problems' things like spiritual healing 'aint an option, just a pipe dream.

[Tangles]

Sorry, not trying to be rude; Im in too much pain these days and it sort of clouds my normal "happy go lucky" nature - probably worth a go in terms of "pain management" - something I'll look into. Acupuncture didnt help nor did Hypnotherapy..... so we'll see.

What I should be doing is filling in the swimming pool at home and putting in a big f*k-off heated spa........ to helkp relax these sore legs

Edited April 27, 2006 by Tangles

[stasis]

Ummm, I hope you're not trying to kid me there, matey. Thanks foe the thoughts and the tip anyways, BUT:- how in hell could reiki heal arthritis, cysts within the patella cartilage, degenerative cartilage, small kneecaps compared to my 2m tall frame, and mis-aligned kneecaps?

It cant. Simple. Ive had 7knee surgeries already, so Ive already gone too far down that path - plus Ive spent 10's of thousands on 'alternative' treatments since I was 10yrs old. Its all wank. When you have 'arthritic bone problems' things like spiritual healing 'aint an option, just a pipe dream.

Im not kidding REIKI works. You have to find a reiki master not those who learnt to level 2 that does distant healing.

My master will be able to fix it but shes in jkt no problem i think. but at least she wont need to cut you open though . I myself have a screwed up lower back for years and she fixed it within 2 treaments.

[Tangles]

Im not kidding REIKI works. You have to find a reiki master not those who learnt to level 2 that does distant healing.

My master will be able to fix it but shes in jkt no problem i think. but at least she wont need to cut you open though . I myself have a screwed up lower back for years and she fixed it within 2 treaments.

I cant see how it can magically make my body realign the tendons, bones etc around my kneecap. It aint possible. If reiki is a treatment for arthritis and such, then surely it should be mass-promoted, seeing we are living in an ageing society, and 60% of people suffer from arthritis in some form, at some time in their life.

Again, not being rude - very sceptical of those sorts of treatments. Ive spent thousands of dollars as mentioned on alternative therapies, since I was 10 (18yrs worth), and nothing has given me relief. Let alone fixed the problem.

I mean, how can a reiki master alter the alignment and the depth of my patella grooves? It just cant be done without TOOLS...... the power of the mind isnt that strong. You cant realign a kneecap just by thinking abouit it, nor can you make new cartilage grow by thinking about it. etc etc.

Not flaming you, not at all, if it helped your back then imo it couldnt have been that bad, nothing a chiropractor couoldnt have fixed. In fact my chiropractor is into this sort of thing (he's a master of Everything LOL - spent years in the deepest jungles in China learning from masters, not kidding, such as chinese medicine, acupuncture, iridology, chiropractor, naturapath, etc etc) but the fact is my knees are a lost cause. I simply need total knee replacements, but Im 'too young' for that surgery.

Edited April 28, 2006 by Tangles

[wolverine]

stasis, reiki can do some neat things but restoring grossly degenerated cartilage be it meniscal or disc ain't one of them.

flipside is a large portion of knee surgery is done with no clear long term benefit and often leads to a spiral of repeated surgeries.

no doubt tangles has been hitting the glucosamine/chondroitin products, using NSAID's (which seem to block articular cartilage healing unfortunately), looked at orthotics to improve lower limb mechanics. mobilising the knee and reiki etc etc will make the knees more comfortable until knee replacements are done (as late as possible especially for a young guy).

what was this thread about again?!?! he he

[Tangles]

no doubt tangles has been hitting the glucosamine/chondroitin products, using NSAID's (which seem to block articular cartilage healing unfortunately), looked at orthotics to improve lower limb mechanics. mobilising the knee and reiki etc etc will make the knees more comfortable until knee replacements are done (as late as possible especially for a young guy).

what was this thread about again?!?! he he

yah Wolve, all of the above..... actually I go without the nasiads as much as possible due to your reasoning; Ive had MACI surgery (all new replacement cartilage in my right knee, grown from my old cartilage by Verigen in WA - expensive). As it is surgery wise my right knee owes me 30k, supplements and treatments over the years would be 30k - man my house could almost be paid off right now if I had good knees.

I try to take as much pain as I possibly can (make a MAN of me!!) then and only then do I resort to a Tramadol. And a bourbon, and a cone. Or 2.

Did my google search for vitamins that are good for arthritis years ago - very expensive hobby to upkeep I might add too. Shark / chicken cartilage doesnt seem to help, grape seed extract is on my list of recomendations, fish oil is a must, jury is out in regards to glucosamine/chondroitin/msm - I now take a LOT of it and cant see benefits, devils claw, zinc, multivitamins, magnesium, etc. Cant take sulphates as Im allergic to it.

Swimming, walking, weights, stretches, daily physio....... list goes on. One very down chappy on this side of the keyboard atm.

Anyways, thought Id repost up just saying "going to be out of the stagea for a while" - as it is Ive just done my mags and suspension so I cant buy anything atm. Next on the list is auto trans shift kit, larger injectors and a hiflow turbo, but not until I can afford it!! Need 3k methinks. Plus tuning money.

Brendan - best of health to you all

[wolverine]

glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM all provide some benefit however the greater the degree of degenerative change the less beneficial...

ie. if there is no cartilage there there isn't much to act on.

the evidence is reasonably good for their use but remember that the degree of research is proportional to risk of taking the compound and the potential protectability of intellectual property. the above compounds are fundamentally safe (not perfectly) and available so no one does large scale trials hence the research can be a bit patchy....nevertheless most good studies show a benefit.

fish oils are generally good for arthitic change across your lifetime not as effective as a short term treatment. it is best for maintaining brain function i reckon.

[Tangles]

ie. if there is no cartilage there there isn't much to act on.

lol

yah you obviously know your stuff. I couldnt (personally) say that the glucosamine has worked, nor can I say it hasnt, thats why I simply said "jurys out"!

I 'feel' that it helped when I had all new cartilage installed, but who can say - proof is in the pudding that the new cartilage 'took' and grew a bit (who can say why without proper scientific methods?) But the everyday ripping and tearing internally of my knee joint(s) at the end of the day simply further erodes what cartilage is left. Nothing can help that, just prolong the ultimate effect I guess. And walking around on knees with no cartilage is NOT FUN.

All I can say now is I hate the word "rehab" - done too much of that, with loads more in store for me! Mind you I love doing it, because it means Im being active! And that coming from someone who used to train 5 nights a week and play a few footy games a weekend. Was the fittest player out there, at one stage, but not anymore. Cant even kick the footy now as Im in pain for ages afterwards.

Comes back in full circle, to the word MEH. Might get a tatoo on the side of my leg saying just that!