nickcorr

Maybe they could go the other way with the Aus spec R35... The UK spec R34 GT-R had higher specs that the Japanese cars in a couple of key areas..... Full Connolly leather interiors, done in the UK.. But most importantly, extra oil coolers for the rear diff, and transmission, I think, to cope with long sustained high speed work. Apparently they expected the wheel heeled owners to take the cars over to the 'ring and didn't want them overheating bits on the way, flat out on the autobauns. They may even have had a higher final drive as well. Nissan GB had 4 R34 press cars all Bayside blue and beautiful... Only one of them lived long enough to enter the dealer network 12 months later.....

Whilst Australians, in general not us Skyline owners obviously....., continue to accept the crappy 91 octane muck that "the masses want" then our hands are tied and we will get de-tuned Japanese cars... Once 91 Octane has gone, end of the decade fingers crossed, 95 will be the norm. We will then still have 98 octane premium and hopefully 100 octane super premium!! In order to make room in the engine management system for the low octane "emergency" maps they have to delete the high octane, big power, maps.... Get rid of the low octane maps, and the importers have to handle the warranty claims when the engine grenades..... It continues to amaze me that people with $ 100,000+ BMW's and Merc's won't fill them with either of the premium unleaded grades. Even the Holden V8's stipulate 98 octane for optimum performance....

As a minimum the engine will need to be re-tuned for consistant 98 RON fuel and also be able to cope with the odd tank of 95, or god forbid, 91, without messing itself, so we should expect to see some "official" power loss. But to change brakes etc. couldn't be cost effective.. Maybe US spec suspension, but VW had that problem with the early R32 Golfs.. they were very tippy toey. It would make sense for Australia/NZ/UK and South Africa to get the same cars... An "English" insturmentation RHD model, designed for 97/98 Octane fuel.

This is Nissan's own car, which they are keeping for the time being. Often these cars are flown in and then immediately flown out after, or even during, the show. This one is off on tour to the other states in the next few months. Un offically, Nissan know about most of the other GT-R's. They have no issue with the race imports, its just the retail sales that upset them....

I'll see you there..... Nice and bright and early.....

I would also look at the new Nikon D60... Looks very good value and features...

That has brightened my day!!!! What drugs was the previous owner on......

My car came from Power Road and Shane was fine to deal with. The screen prices are only a starting point for the game so don't be scared to offer what you think that the car is worth, but again, no need to be offensive when you make an offer..... With me being an old git, he was very patient, and was more than happy to let me drive a few cars. Even let me have a poke around the back at the cars that hadn't been complianced.... They also fixed a couple of minor issues under the 3 month statutory warranty, without any arguments.

Tall blond doesn't really narrow it down much at the motor show, but I will try to find you....... Because the show is at a proper exhibition centre, and the GT-R is a single vehicle, there is a good chance that it will be on a small, probably covered, transporter that is driven into the hall. The GT-R will then be unloaded, and either pushed or driven, very carefully, onto the stand where no one will be allowed to look at it..... I know from talking to the Audi guys when they showed the S5 the other year, that the only people who had driven it, were the delivery company people. No one else was insured, and I think the car was being flown in and then out again, after the show... For the rest of the cars, usually for the two days before hand there are transporters full of cars lurking outside the exhibition centre, with harrased people getting them into position on the stand. Lots of practicing of going on, for speeches etc. and also people trying to get a sneak preview of each others cars.... See you all there on the 29th.... 7:30am start for me....

Here is the release..... http://autodeadline.com.au/?page=ViewRelea...US2008020453640

No, I too had a shit first car...... Over the last 20 years, I have owned this motley collection of vehicles.... 1970 something Honda Civic 1.2 two-speed Honda Matic (FWD) What were Honda thinking when they created this transmission... I did not pay for this car.... Mk4 Cortina 1.6 (RWD) or this one.... 1976 Mk2 Capri 1.6 (RWD) GBP 220 1980 Mk3 Capri 2.0 (RWD) GBP 450, sold it 3 years later for GBP 250 1985 SDi Rover V8 Manual!!! (RWD didn't need a turbo....) GBP 450 1987 Citroen BX DTR Turbo Diesel (FWD) First diesel "Hot hatch"... GBP 3,000, first proper car after starting work.. Was driving 800 miles a week. Decided a V8 in the UK was not economical for that.... 1988 BX GTi 16 Valve (FWD nor did this one....) very, very quick car.... GBP 1,700 First car with ABS.. 1990 Alfa 164 Twin Spark (FWD) GBP 4,500. Broke my heart this one, but saved my life in potentially a very serious accident.. 1993 Citroen Xantia 2.0 16V VSX (FWD) same engine as a Peugeot 306 S16 GBP 3,000 1990 BX GTi (FWD) cost me GBP 300 had ABS, and power everything... Sold the drivers mirror for GBP 55 and gave them the rest of the car for free.... 1985 Citroen CX GTi Turbo 2 (FWD turbo) Turbo installations have come a long way in the last 20 years...... Choice was buy for GBP 400 or rent for GBP 200... Rented and used for my last 4 months in the UK... Was one of the service hack's at my pet Citroen mechanics.. I had been a loyal customer... Moved to OZ 1996 Nissan Maxima 30S Touring (FWD) AUD 20,000, most expensive car to date and first with airbag... Ran for 160,000 fault free kays in 7 years... 1995 Nissan Micra 1.3 LX (FWD), for the wife..... AUD 6,000 and sold for AUD 2,000 5 years later. A whole heap more fun and safer than the Korean equivalent of it's time... 1996 Nissan R33 Skyline GTS-25t 4-dr (RWD and turbo!!!!!) AUD 14,000, first with dual airbags, I love this car....... 1999 SAAB 9-5 2.3t SE (FWD turbo), for the wife... AUD 13,000, and this one ain't bad either, but got a lot of money stashed away for servicing.... Next car??? Given the expected addition to the family around May time, will see how the SAAB and R33 cope, should be fine, otherwise off to find a Stagea, and maybe get a car made in this century, before the first decade ends......

Yes, go with a Patrol..... Apparently there is a whole cottage industry that fits Patrol drivelines into Land Cruisers and HiLux/4Runner/Surf. They will even replace Toyota independent front suspension with Nissan live axle....

Given that track is measured between the centres of the tread width, as you said, and not from the outside shoulders of the tyres/wheels, there is no reason why fitting a wider wheel/tyre combo will effect this measurement. For example on a Skyline GTS-T on stock 16 inch wheels both 205 or 225 tyres are allowable as the track is unchanged. Fit 17"or 18" or 19" wheels designed for a Skyline to the rear and the track is still unchanged, even though the tyres might be wider, or not.... As long as the wheels have the same, correct, offset that places the centre of the tread in the same place, ie where the engineer designed it to be, the track is unchanged. A GTR with a pizza cutter space saver spare fitted, is unchanged in track. The illegality maybe in the large difference between wheel diameter front to rear, but not that there is a difference. All the vehicles I listed only have a 1 inch (25 mm) difference in wheel diameter front to rear. But from the other list, some have over 3 inches (75 mm) difference in wheel width front to rear. Fit a wheel with an incorrect offset, and yes the track will be messed up, but these are Commodores we are talking about. Correctly designed aftermarket wheels with the factory specificed offset abound. Even with alloys on the front and steelies on the back, the track is most likely unchanged from factory. I think that this is enough on the perceived legalities of the car, and we should just leave it there.

Get your facts right before you jump in with both feet, zorb_rules..... If what you say is correct, how do BMW and Mercedes, two of the "safest" and most legal car manufacturers in the world, get away with supplying cars with wider wheels and tyres on the rear, than on the front? This is standard on certain, 1-Series, 3-Series, 5-Series, 6-Series, 7-Series and Z4 versions. All V8 HSV's. All Lotus'. All Mazerati's. All CLK's, most V6 C-Class, most E-Class, all SLK and SL-Class, 911's, 350Z's do I need to go on... Lotus Elise and Exige, Chrysler Crossfire, Ferrari 612 and 599 all have different sized rims front and rear. You will also find that our own Holden and Ford are fitting 16" steel wheels in the boot of the XR8 and turbo Falcons (18" wheels) and SS Commodores (19" wheels) without being illegal. Aparently a sticker saying "temporary", ooh just like my Skyline spare, is all you need. Respects to those who died in this tragic incident.. And to agree with Saff_cossie, yes I am also a Brit, and on the 10 cars I owned there, I paid more for the annual insurance than I did for the car with 8 of them.. I think that the most extreme was, as a 30 year old, paying GBP 800 a year (AUD 2000) for a GBP 300 Citroen BX GTi. As far as I am aware there is no restriction on what car can be driven on a GB licence (Bikes are limited though) but insurance costs and running costs are the self limiting factor... My 2.0 Capri with 102 BHP was real flash and fast for a 21 year old in the UK...

It must be legal... Subaru Liberty, Outback and Impreza with privacy glass fitted to rear side and rear windows have been on sale here for several months now. This will also become more popular on SUV's as well.

Definitly sell it. Given the choice of cars you Kiwi's have access to, with your much more realistic import regs, think about what you will be able to purchase with the money you get from selling this car now, plus two years bank deposit interest, and two years of earning GB Pounds when you get home!!!! You know it makes sense... Do it!!!

Bad luck Mate. The UK is rife with this problem at the moment. As GPS devices there can integrate with the traffic sensors on the motor ways and warn you of traffic problems, loads of people have them in their cars, without even using the navigation part of them. This has lead to a new round of car break ins. It used to be for the stereos and car phones, but now they just go for the satnavs. Even locking them in the glovebox does not deter as 90% of people leave the stand fastened to middle of the windscreen so the thief will just break in, look in the glovebox, and will usually find the charger as well.

I am 195cm, way over 100Kg and do not get any back problems in my 4dr, lack of thigh support is a different answer.... I am assuming that my 4dr seat is less agressively sporty than a 2dr and this would most likely explain my increased comfort. Apart from non-folding backrest, would one of these be an option for you? Headroom was also a reason for choosing the 4dr over a 2dr in the first place. Framed windows make for a bigger whole for me to get my shoulders through....

Sorry Guys.... Only Nissan of interest for this forum was the new '07 350Z with bonnet bulge and 230kW No increase in price though.....

Deal all done and exhaust is now fitted to my car. Very happy with the results.. Before After

From what I understand, he will need to have ownership documents, rego papers, fuel and service receipts dated at least 12 months prior to export for the vehicle to be brought in to Oz as a private import. If he hasn't then it can only enter the country as a race import and he will need a CAMS licence for that. Given that the NZ prices are dirt cheap, it might be worth forgeting about the STi Forester and buying something that can be complianced here like a Legnum or Aristo. Still potentially cheaper than buying from Japan, plus he test drive and have the vehicle inspected in NZ.

On the use of second hand parts... It depends what it is, and how old the car is. RACV will, where possible, use parts of similar quality to those origionaly fitted. That is why cars over 2-3 years old can be fitted with used lights and bumper mouldings, but new crush/reinforcement bars. They might also use pattern parts rather than OEM. You will never know, unless you hang around the panel beaters and watch who delivers the parts. The insurer just has to get the vehicle back to the condition it was before the accident, not make good any other damage that pre-existed the accident or get it to better condition than before the accident. Now if you nergotiate with them seperately to do other work at the same time, like a total re-spray, that is between you and the panel beater...

Hi Ant, I stand partially corrected... the fitment of the Pontiac GTO bonnet (GTO has always had bonnet ducts) was partly for simplicity of fitment across the board, but was also a differential point due to negative comments from upset Monaro owners who wanted more recognition for spending the extra cash.

Obviously paying too much for your haircuts if they can afford Boxsters.... The main negative points about the Boxster origionally came from 911 owners who were upset about driving a car that they had paid an extra 30% for but looked identical in the rear view mirror. This is the same reason why the Monaro was fitted with bonnet ducts to differentiate it from SS Commodes and Utes. (and also why Holden main dealers were asked not to sell the bonnets except for Monaros) The Boxster is a fantastic car, one of my mates in the UK has had three and only sold his last one because his new son needs somewhere to sit. They are increadibly reliable, can easily be used as a daily drive and bring a smile to your face everytime you start it. They are also very, very safe should you have the misfortune to crash it. The above friend was involved in an accident where he was hit by some guy who was on the wrong side of the road. The Boxster was destroyed and my mate walked away from the accident covered in talc powder from the multiple airbags. He then went over to the other car and called an ambulance for the idiot driving who was trapped in his car with two broken legs.... Big difference in the UK, is that due to realistic depretiation, I can find 50 Boxters under AUD 50,000 within 100km of my UK head office. Look here

Still looking!! Alternatively anything that does not finish in a 4inch cannon would also be good....