Hertz Donut

Valid point. I've become so accustomed to AWD I've forgotten what traction issues are. Even so, if your goal was more a 40-140km/h warrior it'd be an option.

Your cheapest alternative would probably be a stupidly short diff ratio, somewhere in the mid-5s if you can get it. Sure you'll be doing over 4000rpm at highway speeds but you'll get there bloody quick and have the bonus of knowing every petrol station attendant in the area by their first name. Top speed somewhere around 180km/h at rev cut in top gear is academic anyway. Also, lose weight. Gut the thing. It all depends on what you're willing to sacrifice for "cheap" speed. I've seen an old late-'80s Honda Integra XSi with a near-stock B16A (intake, exhaust, ECU) run a 13.1 at the drags, but the owner drove it like a rental and there was practically nothing left of the car that wasn't required to move it down the quarter and stop it at the far end.

Great, thanks.

Quick question: Are Calsonic the OEM suppliers of ECUs for PNM35s? While I'd like to think my car has sneaky mods I suspect that despite sponsoring a rather famous R32 they are just an ordinary average electronics supplier.

Funnily enough that's exactly the tactic to which I've resorted. Oil change every 3 months means there should be something left in it, and I got the same amount out as I put in last time I changed it (start of this month) so it seems healthy enough.

Heh, I just changed to a 5W30 (Castrol Edge Titanium, was on special at Supercheap) and haven't noticed any difference, although I should really check the oil level to see if it's using any up. PS: The VQ35 dipstick still sh!ts me to tears, so damn hard to get out without scraping all the oil off in the first place, and then nigh-on impossible to get back in again. I swear the dispstick is the best (and only good) thing about my POS Commodore.

I agree with Alex re. fuel consumption, I tend to get around 10km/l on the open road (with the odd "enthusiastic" overtaking manoeuvre) and maybe 7-8km/l around town on short trips where the car barely warms up. Seems to be about the norm, but then I'm lugging around the 4WD system too. Bear in mind Nissan themselves rated the PM35 at 8.62km/l on the 10/15 fuel cycle (PNM35 is 7.81, gag), so they're not exactly fuel misers.

Nope, completely sober. And I agree with others, you've killed it.

If you're only getting another 49kW from adding a pair of turbos to a 3.5 litre motor you're doing it wrong.

Follow the Colin Chapman theory and add lightness. Remake every single body panel in CF, then repaint it a stock colour, with the colour coats thin enough that if you get close you can still see the weave through it. Add decent suspension and lightweight forged wheels. Zero engine modifications so no more power, but improved performance through your car now being much lighter, and improved handling through better suspension and lower unsprung weight.. Note: May cost bajillions of dollars.

Epic floor mats.

How do you get them to work? Is there already a plug on the loom somewhere for it or do you have to run wires yourself?

I'm right-handed but can write perfectly fine and at "normal" speed with my left hand, the only difference being it's a mirror image of what I write with my right hand, including the sloping of the letters. Am I clinically insane or just weird? I've tried left-foot braking a couple of times but after nearly smashing my nose against the windscreen I decided I'd hold off on practicing further until I'm in a controlled environment.

Ah, that would explain your user name then. It's not just a euphemism for female body parts. I would post a pic of my other car, but I'm sure you can all picture a crappy old VS Commodore Equipe lowered on 18in ROH RTs with a big exhaust for extra Mang Factor, peeling bonnet paint and a steady leak from everywhere.

I have a beige interior in my PNM35. It is not family-friendly.

Did my second oil change on my PNM35 over the weekend, happy to say it hasn't used a single drop of oil in a bit over 3 months. That was Penrite HPR10 which I discovered had been rerated (wtf?) to a 10W50, so I found some 5W30 on sale over the weekend, I thought I'd try it and see if there's any noticeable difference in fuel economy or performance. Meanwhile the Commodore only had 2.5 litres left in it over the same period and had spent most of that time sitting still...sigh.

Holy triple-post Batman. Sorry about that, my wifi sucks at the moment.

Now, I'm no engineer but I don't think it's the bolt thread you need to worry about, it's the fact you retapped an M10 hole from 1.25 to 1.5. With the original tapping of the 1.25 pitch a certain amount of metal has cleared out, and overlapping the same diameter with a 1.5 pitch doesn't put back all the metal previously removed by the 1.25, it just shaves extra away, meaning the mating face between the bolt and hole is patchy, and alternates between a full face and almost nothing at all. Surely to make a safe fit an M12 (maybe?) bolt should be used and a larger hole tapped accordingly. ...Or am I completely wrong here? I've never had to retap a hole, only remove broken bolts that thankfully didn't damage the thread.

Now, I'm no engineer but I don't think it's the bolt thread you need to worry about, it's the fact you retapped an M10 hole from 1.25 to 1.5. With the original tapping of the 1.25 pitch a certain amount of metal has cleared out, and overlapping the same diameter with a 1.5 pitch doesn't put back all the metal previously removed by the 1.25, it just shaves extra away, meaning the mating face between the bolt and hole is patchy, and alternates between a full face and almost nothing at all. Surely to make a safe fit an M12 (maybe?) bolt should be used and a larger hole tapped accordingly. ...Or am I completely wrong here? I've never had to retap a hole, only remove broken bolts that thankfully didn't damage the thread.

Now, I'm no engineer but I don't think it's the bolt thread you need to worry about, it's the fact you retapped an M10 hole from 1.25 to 1.5. With the original tapping of the 1.25 pitch a certain amount of metal has cleared out, and overlapping the same diameter with a 1.5 pitch doesn't put back all the metal previously removed by the 1.25, it just shaves extra away, meaning the mating face between the bolt and hole is patchy, and alternates between a full face and almost nothing at all. ...Or am I completely wrong here? I've never had to retap a hole, only remove broken bolts that thankfully didn't damage the thread.

Is this the point at which insurance companies become (even more) hypocritical? Surely they couldn't ask much for it at all otherwise they would have spent almost up to the insured value repairing it. I had an offset head-on way back in 1992 (man I sound old now) in a car insured for $8K and the insurers repaired it and gave it back, yet the damage must have been very close to $8K.

Ignore Scotty, he's all about the guesswork, and Dale is just scared of getting his hands a little dirty. You go ahead and do what you're doing son, and just high-mount a T88 on it down the line when you want more.

Half a dozen sheets completely in the car, or hanging out the back? I got a nearly-full sheet of gyprock (2400x980) completely inside the car and managed to drive home, albeit with a gangsta lean on.

I suspect he's asking about where he can position the axle stands. I use the subframe near where the LCAs attach for my M35 Stagea, but even that makes me a little nervous, I'm used to Commodores where everything's made of iron or stone.

I have a strict policy of changing the oil in our beater Commodore every 80,000km or 8 years, whichever comes last. I'm doing the Stagea every 5,000km/3 months, I don't think it'll handle the same regimen. Other than that I've done nothing with it but it was a mint example when I got it (i.e. before the kids started smearing food and mud into everything and my mother-in-law started parking by Braille). I'm running Enasaves too, 30-32psi all round and they seem to wear evenly. They're a 55 profile so shouldn't need higher pressures like a 35-40 profile.