scathing

Nah, I read in the paper that they're bringing a plane out to monitor the Hume near Marulan / Goulburn over Christmas.

FYI I think there's a difference between the diffs in the Z33 vs the V35 slushos. The Z33 one is a VLSD, if I remember correctly the V35 autos are all open.

"Sex Spec: All the overcompensation, none of the Ferrari"

I think you should do it if you want to, and you've got something either new to say (or a new way to say it). Every little bit counts, and I think the world needs a more balanced view on the car enthusiast culture. Right now all they're getting is bias, and the few voices of reason on our side are getting ignored or misunderstood. I tried to write one or two when I was writing for The Motor Report. Being a dedicated automotive site means I got a lot more understanding from my editors, but I've seen similar things on Carsguide and Drive (which are lift-outs of major publications).

For me, the definition of "genuine" is its how it (and, generally, I'd class "it" as the chassis) left the factory. Any model designation is just a brand name, and so its an arbitrary title. I realise that this definition has its problems. Lets say you owned two XYs. One is a genuine GT, and the other is some entry model one. If both cars were to be stripped down to the chassis and all the parts swapped over (engine and all) aside from the build plate and whatever other identifiers the law/OEMs use to identify a vehicle, I'd still consider the former to be the "real" GT (even though it looks, feels, sounds and goes like the slow one) and the latter to not deserve to wear the GT moniker (even though it has everything that makes a GT a GT). I'd feel wrong calling the stripped car a GT since the result would be horrible shitbox, but then I feel that it's a bit wrong calling WRXs that have had their interiors and exteriors defecated on for car shows "WRX's" as well, for the same reasons.

What's their exact size and offset?

I like to understand why people think the way they do. Sometimes that means presenting a corollary opinion to theirs, especially if I'm sensing logic gaps. In the "replica" example, part of a car's desirability (which is part of br3ndan's motivation) is its rarity. Churning out replicas diminishes that. They're not as "good", and it adds to their "commonness". In an example, over here if you own a Mustang people will to line up to fellate you. In the US, they're so common they're as boring to Yanks as Falcodores are here. If not for the rarity, people wouldn't give too hoots about them. By the same token, on the 350Z forum a guy was considering straight-swapping a low mileage 350Z for an R33 GTS-t. Road legal Skylines are rarer than hen's teeth in the US due to certain dodgyiness, and so for them they'd be making a transaction we'd never consider in Australia. And I don't understand how someone who apparently "loves" something wants to take away from it. If every XY you saw was a "GT replica" and they were all driven every day so you saw them all the time, no-one would know if a real GT went past them. Or, if they're they great unwashed, they wouldn't even care. "Oh its just another one of those old Fords that are destroying the environment". It's probably because I've been reading up on trademark violations, but I got the impression that he was referring to "mark" as shorthand for "trademark" (which is an abbrevation trademark lawyers use). His references to "devaluing" and other business jargon reinforced it. "Marque", by definition, is the make of a car and not the model. Since he's specifically referring to the GT-R model and not Nissans in general, he's technically using the term correctly since the "GT-R" and "V-Spec" logos he states values so highly (and doesn't like the plebs in GTSts copying) are registered trademarks of the Nissan Corporation. He might have used them correctly by accident, but he sounds too much like a business/commerce type to mix them up. Lets say I built an R34 GT-R up to ful Z-Tune spec. Would it be OK if I were to custom make a Nismo build plate with 21/21? After all, the original car had a "x of 20" plate on it and, to be as "close to the original as possible", I'd need to have one too. Or does it sound to you like the complete toss it clearly is? So would I. If br3ndan were to make up some matching badges that said "Replica" (with a font that suited the rest of the badging on the car) then I'd honestly have no problems with it, and think it was a fantastic idea. To me it keeps the "honesty" in it while still respecting the original. I'm not taking away from br3ndan's work. Of all the classic Aussie cars the XY is my favourite, and I would love to see/hear it when its done. If I had the mechanical knowhow/finances/time to build up an XY with a big, f**k-off, V8 I would. It wouldn't be original, but it'd still look reasonably like it came from the period.

Sweet. It looks easier to install/remove that way.

Without widths, offsets and PCD it's going to be impossible to say. Are you paying too much? It's hard to say. It's cheap for good 19" rims, but they're Speedy Wheels so that's not what we're talking about.

It does say in the CAMS manual that it has to be easily reachable from the driver's seat. I'm a short-arse and I'd struggle to comfortably reach an extinguisher there (even with my belt off), so it'll probably depend on how anal the scrutineer is.

So shouldn't it then be an XY GT RB (where the RB means "Representative by Br3ndan")? There's no reason why you can't. My question is "why make a car that looks exactly like the car you aspire to have in the future, but isn't?" "Their", in the context you're talking about, denotes possession. As long as its not on a secured loan, what they've said is less of a lie than you putting XY GT badges on your project. If you want to use "their car" in the context of construction, technically only Ford can call the XY in your possession "theirs". All you're doing is fixing it up, which makes you an amateur smash repairer. The smashie I go to doesn't call the car in my possession "theirs", and it'd raise eyebrows with I told people they started to. If you get your hands on a mint XY GT that you therefore don't need to fix, since you didn't do any work on it does that means its not "yours"? At what point is it OK then? At what point of modification of a GTS-t (or GTS4) is it OK to call it a "GT-R replica", and add the badges to suit? Is Advan Performance's R33 GTS-4, with transplanted GT-R running gear, a "GT-R replica" worthy of wearing the badge?

Yes, but they're stupidly Japanese. Would you therefore not describe bozo or Itasha cars as "JDM" because they're not the classic "race inspired cosmetic enhanced" kind of vehicles? I see JDM, when talking about a specific make/model of vehicle, as a model only available in the Japanese market. As for a style of modification, it refers to any type of modification that was pioneered by the Japanese car scene (whether it be "race", VIP, bosozoku, Itasha, etc) and nominally independent of the donor vehicle. It'd be like saying that "Aussie style" modifications are only Falcodores with chopped springs running around on later model Falcodore rims, Simmons or chasers.

Question: Why badge with an authentic GT badging / patterning when it's not? Especially since you'll freely admit so? What's wrong with owning a car that just looks, sounds, and goes like a tough XY? Why does it need to say XY GT? A dead stock genuine XY GT was built by that "random factory guy" who's only there because they're paying him to be, and whose work you've inferred you're appreciating less from the quote above. Your non-standard XY was lovingly built by you and your family. Making it look like a GT takes away from the work you guys put into it.

I reckon people who try to polish their turds with badges from higher spec cars are wankers who need a good slap upside the head, but forcing them to remove their pointless trinkets from the car is way too "nanny state" for me. I don't like it, but I occasionally like to pretend we live in a free country where the populace has enough brain power to at least do some basic checks to make sure they're not being conned. As long as the seller is making it clear what they're actually selling, popping random badges on a car is a matter of (lack of) taste. If someone's trying to sell off a car that's only ever referred to as a "R34 GT-R", but sports GTS-t brakes and no screen in the centre console (and no explanation given at all for these discrepencies), then questions should rightly be asked. However if someone's clearly advertising a GT-T that happens to have a Z-Tune style bodykit then its distasteful but not reasonably actionable. Otherwise, where do you draw the line? Should 2WD Skyline all get crushed, since the car looks so similar to the uninitiated at a glance that their "commonness" and "cheapness" of them damages the GT-R's reputation? After all, volume also reduces cachet. As do the lesser models not being as quick, and getting beaten by cars that the GT-R would have no problems dispatching. It's not like non-R35 GT-Rs look that much different from their lesser siblings that the uninitiated (who you are evidently trying to impress since enthusiasts will pick the aforementioned wankers a mile off) will instantly be able to pick the difference. As for "devaluing the mark", which seems to be your other major concern, there's lots of things that devalue brands. Skyline drivers who illegally modify their car so they're always pulled over on the side of the road getting defected give the vehicle a bad reputation. So do people who street race in them and make it on the news. Should the forum take action against anyone who gives the Skyline brand a bad name in that manner? This place would be dead quiet if its a condition for using the forum that every person keeps their street-registered car (and therefore "badged" as completely street legal with its license plate and rego sticker) 100% ADR compliant, and always driven within the letter of every law, to help try and keep its reputation among the great unwashed pristine. Selling a street car that isn't street legal could also be construed as misrepresentation, as an extension of the above, and its far less "appropriate" for a forum to condone the illegal activity of trafficking in illegally registered vehicles. Surely banning modified cars that don't have engineering certificates / modification plates (whatever your local transport authority requires) and successful emissions tests would be better action for the majority of buyers and the reputation of the Skyline mark.

Which is why you find them on NA Skylines.

Is your fire extinguisher attached to something flammable?

Would you consider someone who modified a big sedans with smoke-stack exhausts, giant shiny wheels that have got massive camber to get them to fit, and wannabe "ground effects" kits that are almost as long as the car, to be "conservative and tasteful"? How about vans with Nipponese pop singers or cartoon characters airbrushed onto them, and similar bodykits? It's getting funny since there are quite a few Japanese guys that are building cars that look like the SoCal "JDM" cars. Their cars don't look like the ones we're traditionally used to from watching BMI or Option, but more like the ones you see on Youtube cruising on highways with random RnB/hip hop soundtracks in the background.

The other thing I was considering, in a pinch, was temporarily mounting a 2kg extinguisher for track days rather than (or in addition to) the 1kg tank behind the passenger seat. I'd use the front seat rail bolts, but then add a rectangular piece of metal (with an x in the middle for rigidity) to bring the mounting point forward so a 2kg will fit. But, since I haven't tracked the car in a year while its had faults, I've had other things to do with my time. Chuck up some pics for everyone else.

FYI on the Z, I removed the rear bolts for the seat rails. I slid a small piece of aluminium in there that had been drilled appropriately, and then affixed the fire extinguisher's bracket to that. No photos, I'm afraid. With the Z I don't have any rear passengers to inconvenience, but then adding/removing that aluminium mounting point would be a quick job. A 1kg extinguisher is small enough so I can push the seat practically all the way back. I just move the seat forward on the track so I can easily reach the extinguisher.

Cheers. I prefer RWD, but there are other RWD cars out there. I'd probably still get an S14a if I was looking for a similarly aged RWD turbo sports car. It's lighter and more nimble, and the aftermarket support is just as good. The engine won't make as much power, but there's less mass to move around.

The laws of thermodynamics come to the conclusion that a better flowing exhaust will inevitably be louder. That's not to say that shithouse loud exhausts can't flow badly to a point where a well made, quiet, exhaust does a better job, but if you have 2 decibel limits and both exhausts are made "perfectly" while achieving those noise targets then the louder one will flow better. I think power for the sake of power (if they don't make proper use of it) is a wank, but I'd still give it more credit than someone who wants the byproduct of power for the sake of the byproduct of power, without any performance to go with it. BOV/flutter is the sound of trying to cram more air into your engine than it'll take. Exhaust gases are the waste generated by combustion. In other words, its the engine equivalent of taking vomiting and taking a shit respectively. If you like to eat a lot then sometimes you'll eat until you puke, and take dumps more often. At least you're hopefully enjoying a lot of tasty meals, and it's the body's natural reaction. People who voluntarily choose to vomit and poo so they can look cool are called bulemics, and it's a mental illness. I can't speak for anyone else on matters of opinion, but if you have a look at the other threads on here where people say they just want a loud exhaust and don't care about performance, I'll be there to pay them out for it. That these people also tend to own NA Skylines I'll write off as a coincidence, rather than another example of their mental deficiencies.

It's because they don't sell Kool-Aid down here, and we all know caps lock is cruise control for awesome.

True, but that's offset by the fact that importers have to pay to ship them from Japan whereas the local retailers would not. I paid around $4K for mine about 2 years ago. It was before the bubble burst.

Nice "graceful exit" for your lack of comeback. The links I provided were to illustrate what I was saying with concrete examples, or proof from the relevant bodies. I didn't realise backing up what you say with evidence was "no contribution" these days. Especially when I'm providing you with general-case information that's applicable no matter what car you're talking about, in case comprehension of the principles behind it actually mattered to you. But I will take your advice and give up trying to explain how the rules work. Some people can't be helped to help themselves, and just want to be spoon-fed.

I wish I knew, because I'd never go there again. I didn't even notice, but when I took the car in for servicing they noticed one of my rear wheels was "out of round". It looks like its on the inside. Its holding pressure etc so its not a major issue, but I am pretty sure it was round when I had tyres fitted to them a half a year before the service.