scathing

Check out the Peugeot 407 if you want to see what happens if they build it the other way. It looks worse. I quite the look of the new VE Commodore from side-on, but it does look like a BA / BF Falcon. Which is ironic, because I said the then-new BA Falcon looked a lot nicer when it was released since they dropped the ugliness that was the AU Falcon and made something that looked more like a Commodore. On a big family sedan I don't mind having a larger rear overhang to give a bigger boot, and a shorter front overhang works for me for technical reasons.

Dude.........you're on a Jap import forum, and not only that its focused on a car that once dominated tin-top racing in this country over the Commodore. Try this out on a Holden or Ford related site, and watch what happens. The flannelette will catch fire. Even if you were to go Holden vs Skylines on a Ford forum, chances are the blue bloods will defend the their fellow 'Strayans over the "Jap crap".

I dunno, you see the older cars out there at club level if I remember correctly. They are cheap cars for the power, and you can get some handling out of them if you build it primarily for track. Not as good as with a lighter car with more modern suspension design, but it'll still go alright. But, at club level, most people stick with their clubs which means sticking with their manufacturers. Especially with the newer cars where people are less likely to want to bend them at door-to-door racing or more competitive supersprinting. I hardly ever see Ferraris and modern Porsches at supersprints or track days either, but that doesn't mean they suck at the track. They just stick to their Burrows Days and own club supersprints because that's all the owners are interested in doing. I run with an interclub supersprint as a member of the Nissan Sports Car Club, and one of those clubs is the HSV Owner's Club of NSW. Here are the results from the last supersprint at Eastern Creek. The fastest streetable Holden was Number 998 in a Clubsport, at a not-bad 1:51. And that car's relatively new (post VT, anyway). At Wakefield he's pretty quick too. And I don't think 998 looks much different now to when this was taken (I haven't been out for a while due to a myriad of issues with my car). A 3D class means its pretty heavily modified, but no moreso than a quite a few of the Skylines and Silvias I see running around.

That's what they said about the various 260kW+ VY-VZ HSV's, which still weren't as quick around the track as a 206kW 350Z.

You're also not allowed to do any powertrain mods, regardless of the aspiration.

It depends on your definition of "prototype". If you're talking about the "GTR Proto" at the Tokyo Motorshow, that was a shell prototype. Which, like most "prototype" cars designed to look good at an auto show, can barely do the speed limit let alone get hammered along at Nurburgring-testing speeds. Nissan has been using a V35 shell on its test mule, with the development hardware for the next GT-R's drivetrain and powertrain underneath it. This technique is hardly unique to Nissan, and hardly a secret. The running gear underneath it will be the next GT-R. I'd still call that a prototype vehicle. Its not wearing the same sheet metal as the car that's been appearing in Auto Shows and magazine spreads to avoid the inevitable spy shots as they develop it. Nissan has already said that GTR Proto will be the closest of all the shells they've displayed to the production version, but not 100% the same. When they settle on a final shape, chances are you'll see one heavily clad in various tape and plastic wrappings going around the track. And the context of the quote is that this specific prototype (test mule for the underpinnings) has never had the NACA ducts on the bonnet nor the quad exhausts out back. Which is accurate enough.

From: http://www.expressadvocate.com.au/article/.../1503_news.html

People will just assume you're driving an Alfasud with a Skyline bodykit.

See attachment for a copy of the article itself.

Nice out of context quoting there.

Its a good Australian-designed car. Its not Motor, Drive, etc's fault we live in an automotive backwater when it comes to the local industry or that as an Australian publication they have an implicit role in supporting the locals.

Hey guys. The Nissan Sports Car Club is hosting a hill climb at Wakefield Park, and I'm extending an invitation for Skylines Australia members to attend. For those of you who are curious as to what a Hill Climb is, this event will answer your questions with the comfort factor that only Wakefield Park can provide. With no walls to hit and plenty of runoff its one of the safest and easiest ways to get into motorsport. Circuit ... Wakefield Park Date ... Sunday the 13th of August Entry Fee ... $70- A Wakefield License is acceptable at this event. Alternatively, if you have a CAMS L2S (or higher) license and are a current and financial member of a CAMS club, your CAMS license is acceptable. * You will need to wear a helmet. * You will need to wear neck, to wrist, to ankle clothing. * Your car will need a fire extinguisher. * Your car will need to pass scrutineering. Note:If paying by Credit Card, you can simply complete the MS-Word form and return via Email or fax. If you have any questions, phone the event secretary on 0412-342-280. The entry form and competition regulations are attached. wphc_entryform.doc wphc_regulations.doc

Not sure if its been posted before (the video looks old even though it was only posted on YouTube recently). Search turned up nothing. Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear fame test driving a 1000hp JUN R33 GT-R. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdzTXJLxjaY...arch=top%20gear

The guys there give you driving instruction, so you should be fine. The biggest thing to remember about track driving is to be smooth. You always go faster when you relax and do stuff deliberately rather than just jerking and sawing at the wheel, fighting the car. Like Baron says, I've never seen people use that EC layout. I didn't even know you could take Turn 4 like that as a part of the circuit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqcodsuXGHc

I thought so. So Porsche have a twin turbo engine where each single turbo mimics a twin turbo. So does that mean its a virtual quad turbo?

The only reason to get bigger rims is to fit bigger brakes under them. Otherwise all you're doing is increasing unsprung weight (unless you can score a really light set of 17's). On the plus side, Commodore Cup cars run 245/45 R17 (or is it 235/45?) as their control tyre size. So it means that semis don't cost that much, and if you're only an amateur you should be able to find really cheap second hand ones. If you decide to go 17" anyway........

that is probably more true right now than it ever will be especially with the rising fuel costs. A car with shorter gearing, NA mods (like big cams and the rest) and drivetrain weight reduction will make the car less fuel efficient than a low-blow turbo making the same power, especially around town. Aside from having a higher cruising RPM due to the fact that your gearing is shorter and you don't have as much rotational inertia in the drivetrain, the loss of low end means you have to rev the engine harder to go anywhere. When I switched to a lightweight flywheel in the Z my fuel economy decreased. I couldn't hold 6th gear in places where I did with the OEM flywheel without lugging the engine, so I've had to use 5th a lot more. A mate who put a 3.9:1 final drive (from our OEM 3.5:1) had similar fuel issues. The engine was a lot more willing to rev and the car was a lot quicker, but he saw the difference at the pump. He's now rebuilt the bottom and gone to a bigger cam, which has exacerbated the issue. That said, another guy in Melbourne who put a twin turbo kit on his car (with the OEM flywheel and final drive) noticed a marked improvement in fuel economy when commuting. He could leave the car in higher gears around town and just ride the torque curve. Of course, once he opens the taps he may as well punch a hole in his fuel tank. But its his choice. For us NA tuners, we don't have a choice of economy or speed.

I thought the new 997 Turbo was running twin VTG's. Its only a single? While I realise that using a VTG system can mimic a twin-turbo setup with a much broader torque curve and more flexible powerband than a standard single turbo could provide on its own....it begs the question, why not just run twin turbos? Occams Razor, etc...... On any V engine (and a boxer engine especially), you hit plumbing problems with a single turbo. What's the benefit of going back to a single turbine rather than running a pair of turbines? Imagine this engine with a pair of VTG turbos?

Your wish is my command. http://www.porsche.com/all/masterwerk/flas...&height=513 Click Masterwerk once the Flash demo has finished loading. Then under Act One click Variable Turbine Geometry.

They started off as a uni magazine doing satirical news (at USYD, I think), which is where most satirical news started. They still update their site: http://www.chaser.com.au/ which has some gems.

The spring rates in themselves don't mean that much without knowing how much compression damping there is. For example, my car's OEM spring rates in kg/mm are 5.6 / 6.1 F/R. My Tein Flex run 12kg springs, and on single bumps the car's ride is a lot better and softer than OEM. Of course, if I hit a corrugated road the car is a lot more fidgety, but you wouldn't believe that the spring rates are 150% stiffer than stock by riding in it.

Hey, if it was me in that thing you could probably drive another open wheeler between me and the apexes I probably wouldn't be posting it all over the Internet though. But that hillclimb looks a lot more fun than Huntley, which is the only hillclimb I've ever done. I'd love a crack in it in my car.

How about Rally, where the spectators / photographers stand on the course, jumping out of the way only when the car approaches?

Can someone draw the driver a diagram so he can figure out what an apex is? It seems like its an accident when he clips an apex, rather than when he misses one. Can we confirm if its an R8? Audi races them at Le Mans, and a hillclimb seems a bit tight for a car designed to do over 370km/hr down the Mulsanne Straight. And it doesn't sound like a 3.6L twin turo V8. It looks more like a Westfield / Radical car to me...and if it had a worked bike engine then it would swallow gears like that.