jmac

I'd love a copy of the original full-res photo if you have it too pls! Love the black Z's...

Cool yeah that's what I do - have a second set of wheels and just bolt 'em on the night before. I'm really happy with the Bridgestones in the medium compound (SR2?) - got 3 full track days and 4 hillclimbs out of them so far - they still have some tread left but aren't road-legal any more. Probably if you factor in not ruining your set of road tyres it almost saves you money....

could you point out on the pics where this knob should be? i've had a pretty hard look under there and it's not making itself obvious....

Which diff did you go for? Mine seems to not work that well on the track - spins up the inside wheel pretty easily coming off corners. Wondering if I can modify the centre of the diff I have or if I should be saving up the $$$ for a 2-way Kaaz or something....

Depends on if you mean "real" semi-slicks (i.e. very low wear rating, soft compound, need heat in them to grip properly, really for track-day use only) or the more aggressive street tyres (i.e. for high-performance road driving every day but will last a lot less than "normal" street tyres). For "real" semi-slicks / comp-R tyres, the consensus seems to be Bridgestone RE55's, Yokohama A048's and Dunlop DZ02's are the three best ones. There is some argument about which is better but at the track days I've been to people with Skylines and Evo's seem to favour the Bridgestones. There are various compounds available (soft/medium/hard etc) in these tyres too. Other tyres in this category that I've heard are Michelin Sport Cup, Toyo Proxes R888 and Proxes RA1, Kumho (??? Ecsta V70A and CO3), and probably others that I can't remember right now... For the more aggressive street tyres - which go well on the track but won't give you the ultimate performance of the RE55 or A048 etc. - then you're looking at stuff like the Federal RS595, Falken ST115 or RT615, Bridgestone RE070 (the WRX STi OEM tyre) and so on. If you search back through this thread there are some comments from people about some of these. I've only ever tried the Bridgestone RE55 so I'm far from an expert. I've been told that the Kumho's are very good value for a track-day tyre, and other people will SWEAR by the Yokohamas and Dunlops. So, decide on what you want and your budget then ring around heaps of places and get prices and go for it! I think there's also somewhere in Bris that does second-hand semi-slicks? It's mentioned in the Qld section somewhere. Cheers!

I am reliably informed the QPS recently placed an order for 60 Mitsu 380's for unmarked duties. So there are probably a fair few of them around! Apparently they love em because they go a bit harder than the Falcs and Dunnydores.

stoopid ADRs...

The current issue of Motor magazine has done a tyre test on six different 245/45 ZR18 tyres. The test car is a VE SS but apparently results can usually be applied to other vehicles and tyre sizes. The VE has the Bridgestone 050 as the OEM tyre so as they say its chassis may be tuned to get the most from this tyre. Here's a bit about what they say - I figure a fair few people will be interested because some of the tyres tested get mentioned on here a lot. I don't vouch for Motor's lack of bias or otherwise... Dunlop Sportmax "pretty sharp in the front end... really good directional stability... also change direction well... lack of feedback... good front-rear balance" Dry lap: =3rd Dry braking: 4th Wet braking: 2nd Wet lateral G: 4th Overall driver rating: 4th Driver grip rating /10: 7.5 Driver feel rating /10: 7 Approx RRP: $579 Federal Super Steel 595 "skittish... lacked grip... unpredictable... hard to keep on the limit (even though the limit was low)... least satisfying on change of direction" Dry lap: 6th Dry braking: 5th Wet braking: 6th Wet lateral G: 6th Overall driver rating: 6th Driver grip rating /10: 5 Driver feel rating /10: 6 Approx RRP: $320 Bridgestone Potenza RE050A "balance really good... progressive... inspired confidence... second overall for sharpness... so much grip you can trust them... can lean on them hard... can choose either under or oversteer" Dry lap: 1st Dry braking: 1st Wet braking: 1st Wet lateral G: 2nd Overall driver rating: 1st Driver grip rating /10: 8.5 Driver feel rating /10: 9 Approx RRP: $450 Pirelli P Zero Rosso "limits were high... once you've breached that limit you're on your own... most oversteery of the bunch... front end was ok... took longer to regain grip once you've overcooked it... pretty pacy... progressive up to the limit" Dry lap: 5th Dry braking: 6th Wet braking: =4th Wet lateral G: 5th Overall driver rating: 5th Driver grip rating /10: 7 Driver feel rating /10: 6 Approx RRP: $670 Falken FK452 "got tricker to keep on the limit as they got hotter... didn't lose grip, the limit was just as high it was just harder to find and easy to overstep the mark... good directional stability... neutral... very balanced... probably the worst under brakes... really squirmy" Dry lap: =3rd Dry braking: 3rd Wet braking: =4th Wet lateral G: 1st Overall driver rating: 3rd Driver grip rating /10: 8 Driver feel rating /10: 6 Approx RRP: $320 Yokohama Advan Sport V103 "really good... standout grip and braking feel... stable under brakes... slight oversteer during change of direction but very progressive... on an outright basis these would be near the top" Dry lap: 2nd Dry braking: 2nd Wet braking: 3rd Wet lateral G: 3rd Overall driver rating: 2nd Driver grip rating /10: 8.5 Driver feel rating /10: 8.5 Approx RRP: $440

Memo: Nissan - please import these instead of the Maxima!!!!

The wiper de-icer button only activates the heating elements for the windscreen. The wing mirror heaters are on the rear screen defogger circuit. I'll go take some medication for my obsessive-compulsive disorder now.

Xenon lights on ADR-compliant cars must have auto-levelling to prevent dazzle, and washers, as these types of bulbs have a reduced effectiveness proportionally greater than halogen-type lights when the lights are dirty. So compliancers take them out - usually!

Re the Hokkaido thing - that was one of the first things I was curious about (given use of salt on the roads) so it's all cleaned up under there and covered with rust-kill paint etc. So we've established that the button turns on the de-icing elements for the wipers and in R34 GT-R's at least also heats the wing-mirror glass. Cool. wrxhoon I'd be curious and thankful to see that translation (and it would add to the value of the forums as a resource for everyone) but if you're still PMS'ing at me that's ok too.

Where'd you hear that from Bryn? If true it's good news (for me anyway!).

Uh, dude, I think you need to lighten up. I posted a clear pic of the button and said "I've been wondering abotu this too" and "it's only a theory". Every other "guess" I had was obviously a joke, and pointing out how illogical your point about heating up the mirrors with a button with a picture of a windscreen wiper on it seems to have pissed you off. I know very little and give a lot of people on here heaps of credit for helping me get the results from my car. I'm not a know-it-all but do occasionally enjoy annoying people with no apparent sense of humour. So, sorry, wrxhoon, and thanks for helping and going to the trouble of posting the pages from the manual, and yes I too am curious to see the translation.

Gee I'm glad this site has so many experts to help me. I would be nowhere without experts like you!

Typhoons look hot with light bars.

Also, saw MMR34 in town tonight, was pulled over in Elizabeth Street and you had a look then passed you on Edward St and gave a big wave (think your passenger saw me lol)......

Um, dude, you just shot yourself in the foot I think... I can't read Japanese, but my interpretation of this pic is that the arrows are clearly pointing to the driver's windscreen wiper and thus refer to heating it up somehow. However you could be right and pressing this button ALSO heats up the wing mirrors, but it seems very illogical to me to have an icon which obiously depicts a windscreen wiper on the button and for that button to only heat up the mirrors. Man, it's funny the insignificant things I manage to care about...

Um, that's because he is. Or at least he behaves like one behind the wheel of his allegedly-dog-modified car.

Thanks guys. I haven't tried V-Power Racing (or previously Optimax Extreme) yet but might give it a go. So where does Mobil get its fuel from in Brisbane then??? Is Synergy just V-Power or Ultimate with different additives? Has anyone tried their car on it? I ask because I live literally around the corner from one so it'd be very convenient.

Hey guys, I've recently noticed the Mobil near me is selling Synergy 8000 98 RON fuel. I've always used BP Ultimate, with occasional use of Shell Optimax (now called V-Power). Just wondering who makes the Mobil and Caltex ones? Can anyone briefly explain who distills what, in Queensland specifically? I guess I'm curious about all four 98 RON fuels: BP Ultimate Shell V-Power (and V-Power Racing - 100 RON E5 fuel) Mobil Synergy 8000 Caltex Vortex 98

ahh sweet i think we're on to something now. bass junky, indeed, my car has one white reverse light and one rear fog light, and a person who could decypher japanese tells me my rego sticker (still have the original jap one lol) is from hokkaido (the northern island of japan). hmm mystery solved? will have a look at the windscreen in the morning - don't know if it's the original one....

yep it's gone - just a hole in the dash where it used to be... i'm assuming there must be some manual way of adjusting the beam - surely this isn't legal to be complianced without some form of adjustment??

Seriously someone here must have adjusted their R34 headlights at some stage....

Rear demister is on the air-con controls. Headlight demister??? Superboost FTW!!!1~