cowie165

89 GTR under 15yr rule. Faxed it through on morning of 01 Nov. Received today. 9 working days to process then postage. Well it's actually very nice that one facet of this process has been quite painless! Now, if the car would only get itself onto a boat... Mark

Hi Pashka. I had a 93 180SX a few years back. Great car, motored along very nicely, it was a 5spd like yours. My best mate drove a '90 GTSt and we often took cars for a spirited drive. Both had standard susp, 3" from turbo, and unmodified boost. After driving my car and his car, and driving against his car on many occasions, I'd have to say you're doing the right thing. The factory GTSt suspension appeared much nicer - his car could squeeze through corners (as in 70-90 degree corners) anywhere up to 10kmh faster than the 180 could. They pulled about the same in a straight line, but the RB20 seemed to rev a lot smoother than the SR20 - don't really know how to describe/justify it, but the extra 2 cyl made it sound like it wasn't working as hard as the SR. Both stopped about the same, no noticeable difference there. End of the day, they are pretty close, with the Skyline ahead by a nose. My comparison is obviously subject to our driving skill (both around the same, but still not race car drivers by any stretch), tyres, etc. Suffice to say, if I had to buy a 2.0L turbo again, I'd put my money on the GTSt every time. Plus they look horn. Mark

PM sent

Good to know! Cheers Bummer about the guess-timates...

I don't understand the relationship between duration of ownership and knowing your speed. This implies that as I've had my car for 2 yrs that I can now remove/disable the speedo because I no longer need it to know what speed I'm doing. That argument is flawed for many reasons. gR33ddy I'd seek legal advice. There may be legal protection from being charged/penalised for two offences when one caused the other. Akin to being fined for changing lanes without indicating AND defected because your indicators are not working? I don't read car mags much these days, but the bike mags always have legal ads in there. HPI or F4's might have something? You could look for one of the 'no-win, no-pay' solicitors. If you see one of them and they agree you should go to court, you know right then that they genuinely believe you're likely to win. If you take the matter to court, you should expect to hear the recording to be played. That's why they tape it. Prevents he said/she said situations. Cowie PS as an aside, I've heard of cases in NSW where the police have fined (and had decision upheld in court) a driver because he 'looked' like he was speeding. Apparently once an officer has served an (unknown) amount of time in the service, they can visually assess the speed of a car (cases I've heard have only been suburban 50/60kmh incidents). I couldn't believe it when I heard it. I hope its an urban myth.

Go here and insert URL. http://www.ocn.ne.jp/translation/ Click the second tab under the text. See how you go. Mark

Friend of a friend is a police inspector and (btw he isn't a fan of highway patrol either) he mentioned that if you admit to not knowing what speed you are driving then the officer who booked you can testify in court that you admitted to being unaware of the speed your vehicle was travelling and thus cannot contest the fine or the radar trap indicated speed. If anything, and this is beyond the realms of honest behaviour, state that you were driving at an indicated 110kmh (or similar) and therefore inferring it must be the car/speedo's fault. gR33dy is there any chance you could argue you were doing traffic speed - just keeping up as was your best estimate - given you were without a speedo? Thus unintentionally speeding? The inspector also mentioned that the NSW radars require a 3-second fix to 'stand up' if disputed in court. Suffice to say, if you see a speed trap, you still have a moment or two to reduce your speed to a legal one. I've a mate who sped past a speed trap in his VY SS ute, hit the brakes, and ended up with a police officer with a scowl and a 'tut-tut' waving finger. :cuss: I like to have fun as much as the next guy, but we also need to behave ourselves (hence the lousy name import drivers have - I also ride a bike and most ppl hate motorcyclist because some of them do really stupid things at really high speed) and cop it sweet when it's time to receive another road tax (read: fine + points) from the police. Nothing at all personal gR33dy, just general rant.

The DEH replied today (they seem like very nice people) with: Further to your question relating to the "Air Conditioning Compliance" charge issued by your broker, DEH does not charge for the verification and clearance process. I would recommend that if you have any questions relating to this charge that you ask your broker for clarification. You are able to deal directly with us, but if you already have a broker, it is something that you should also discuss with them. Makes for interesting reading. I'll take a copy of the email to CGL. Perhaps it is a fee for the service of CGL organising the waiver. If so, I think I'll pass and do it myself. Mark If anyone would like a copy of the entire email and it's message history, pls PM

I still don't see why you have to pay $150 for nothing to happen (ie. waiver granted). I'm hoping the DEH person who replied to my email today will let me know tomorrow. I'd rather apply myself, cause the whole steam clean shonk just makes me cross and I don't see why you pay $150 to the CA when they don't do anything you can't do yourself. Thanks for the .pdf Lucien. I used your other link to D/L it and used it as a guide for my own. Cheers! Mark PS JK did you have to pay anyone for the airconditioning exemption?

For those guys out there (like me!) who are a bit behind Lucien, mmmgtir, nxtime and sewid: I've been chasing up the degassing requirement with the DEH - still looking for evidence that Lucien's $150 air-conditioning fee is appropriate for private one-off imports. So far, the DEH hasn't answered the question - I'm waiting on a response. Anyway, for those interested in how to access the waiver, I have received this (excerpt) from the DEH today: if the vehicle is a one-off import for your personal use and that it is not for trade or commerce, you will not require a licence under the Department of the Environment and Heritage's Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Management Act 1989. Please note, you will only be permitted to import one vehicle in any licensing period. You will need to provide to your Shipping Agent/Freight Forwarder or Customs Broker:- § A copy of your identification/information page of your passport as well as a copy of the visa that entitles you for entry to Australia; edit: I think this is only for private imports (the 12month type), and D/L is only ID required, DEH is going to let me know § A statement saying that the vehicle is a one-off import that is for personal use and is not for trade or commerce and that the you the importer will not be bringing in any other vehicles. I know the exemption is common knowledge, but in my ignorance of the correct procedure, I submitted a letter requesting exemption with my IA this week. For you other guys out there who are waiting to submit IA's don't bother with the letter now. The $150 fee could be part of this clearance: Your shipping agent/freight forwarder/customs broker will need to provide this information to the Australian Customs Service who will contact our office for verification and clearance. We'll see! :nowigetit Mark

I put some new seats (onto existing rails) into my 180 a few years ago, and the fit was very dodgy - needed a LOT of engineer's love to get them in and certified. Big, fat, expensive exercise. Other than that, no experience fitting new rails - best advice I can offer is to purchase used ones: http://www.upimports.com.au/UPI_Parts/interior.php Mark

Try www.justjap.com Parts in Stock, New parts, Bodykits. Justjap are in Kirrawee, Sydney. $145pr for copies. Now if you can tell me how to put them in properly (apparently big PITA to ensure they're level) I'd love to know. Couldn't find anything in the DIY section. Mark

Hi NXTIME This thread might help: http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/sh...ead.php?t=50679 Appears to be available for $130neg. Hope it helps Mark Edit: Should have just sent PM. Live and learn

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but since we're talking about shipping... The duty/tariff reduces to 10% on 01 Jan 05 - is that calculated on the day the vehicle arrives or when it is released and charges paid? Reason I ask is because I was expecting to have the car on the 28 Oct vessel, and if it slides to the end of November, might as well wait a touch longer and save $700 or whatever the 5% difference is. Can anyone shed light here? Mark PS If the answer is readily avbl on the customs site, I apologise, right now I cbf looking through it again.

From reading what other guys have written (and this is speculation of course) that if your app is received prior to when they can begin processing, it is stored in a 'Pending' file and becomes easily left out and the lowest priority. Deren I don't understand why everyone feels the need to tread on eggshells with DOTARS. I would have thought that everyone should be doing exactly what you've done and they (DOTARS) process it at an appropriate time - just like thousands of organisations manage to do every day. Government departments are so bizarre (I work for one)(but that's not why they're bizarre) in the sense that if they were a private company they would have gone into receivership very soon after creation and really only exist through continual propping via federal dollars. Stipulating that apps will only be received in the month of manufacture seems like they like to set themselves up with a surging workload. Flat out for two weeks then nothing for two weeks. Well once again I'd say that 'flat out' would be subject to debate... Why not have an online version? My 2.2c Mark PS Lucien did the steam cleaning get rid of that mould?

I haven't put an alarm in a car for years. Do people still bother with kill switches? I vaguely remember another post briefly mentioning it, but couldn't find it. Mark

If you get desperate enough and want to sell 'the goods' to him, instruct him to send a bank cheque to a post office box instead of home address. Mark

As lwells said, I feel they are separate issues. IMO the two cases are: 1. Paying a broker (and they forward the money to a supplier) 2. Paying the supplier directly through a facilitated purchase. I imagine (1) would incur a duty on brokerage and (2) is a separate service fee. Which name appears on the tax invoice for the purchase of goods? You or the broker? J-Spec and Prestige don't negotiate on your behalf, they just tell you who to pay your money to. Its a bizarre issue, and definitely agree with everyone who has pointed out that no-one is going to be taking anyone to court over $150. Or maybe you could - and chase up the AQIS steam cleaners at the same time... : ) Mark

Bummer. Thanks for the update. I hope the ship is sailing upstream...

Fatz I agree that prices have risen a whole lot, but it is just one of those supply/demand issues. I know you're aware of what a Series 6 RX-7 sells for, or a WRX - compare that to the Trading Post over here. Many people happily part with $30,000+ for an RX-7 you can buy in Japan for Y200,000 [edit: well maybe not that cheap, but close]... If a buyer cannot access a particular market (ie. R32 via SEVS - until recently) then the prices of other cars isn't very relevant? As 'they' say, something is only ever worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. I hope I don't sound rude or simply stating the obvious - that's not my intent - the bargain is in the eye of the beholder and that doesn't necessarily make them stupid. Mark As an aside, I wonder what a VL Calais would be worth on a Japanese market.

Thanks Sewid, I'll keep an eye out for the BW10000-3 Is there any truth to the statement that any security is really just a deterrent for hoons/joy riders - a 'professional' car thief will not be stopped? You'd think that a pro would go and buy all the top gear from retailers and then work out how to get around it?...

Anyone here seen these for sale? http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...2494119966&rd=1 I'm a car security gumby. Can you just pay an auto electrician to fit? Someone mentioned 3-4hrs work, which negates the saving if you can purchase one fitted for $510. Any thoughts to share? Advice appreciated. Mark

I know this is dragging out an old thread - I couldn't find anything more applicable and couldn't find an answer... The RPS13 (I assume all S13's) has a trim pot on the back of the speedo that allows you to recalibrate the speedo yourself. After a number of hair-raising trips down the Barton Hwy in the ACT (note to self: just take your time by doing it when stationary rather than with a mate driving at speed) I had the problem fixed. Does the R32 have a similar trim pot? Assuming that I am not going to match the rolling diameter of standard tyres/rims, I would like to save the cost of paying someone who has less of an idea than I do... Any info appreciated, thanks Mark