scathing

And from what I experienced in the WRX, and pretty much every motor journo internationally has written about the STi, you notice it. The Liberty GT has a decent torque curve, but the turbo'ed Imprezas have an "every day is race day" engine. You either drive it like you stole it and its quick, or get taken by Excels and Civics when you're driving it low in the rev range and try a rolling start in a middle gear. Give me an SR20DET or RB20DET any day.

If tits are what floats your boat, I suppose she's doable. In my opinion, she's a double bag doggy style job. Triple redudancy, space shuttle style. Even if both bags fall off, I still can't see her face. But its people who think boobs are the be-all and end-all of attrativeness who turn those slags Pamela Anderson, Anna Nicole Smith and Katie Price into "sex symbols". I wouldn't shag any of them with a 20ft pole.

She's skanktastic!

Technically you don't need to enclose a pod filter (I've spoken to a couple of mechanics who did the Blue Slip course, and they all agree) but try explaining that to the cops. Don't forget, the cops can still issue you with defect notice, even if you have an engineers certificate for the mods. Its only a "notice" (they only suspect it of being defective, they're not saying it is), so they can hand that to any car in any state of modification. As an interesting tangental anecdote: Some time ago Ford shipped one of their sedans (can't remember if it was an up-spec Falcon or Fairlane) with driving lights that came on automatically when the headlights were turned on (because it looks "cool" and all). This is, of course, illegal. The driving lights have to have a manual switch. So cops were pulling over dead stock cars and hitting the drivers up with fines for using their driving lights inappropriately. When some drivers told the cops they couldn't be turned off (don't know how "politely" they did it), some cops then issued them with defect notices for having a car with illegal lighting. If they can do that to a dead stock, brand new, car then even with your engineer's cert they can still hand you a notice Of course, in the above situation the cops are technically in the right. The car is defective (even though it left Broadmeadows like that) because it fails to comply with ADR rules. The owners can appeal for leniency, but the car breaks the letter of the law. They can, and I believe did, take it out on Ford (who also recalled the cars and installed a switch). But even if your car is ADR compliant, don't forget the cop doesn't know that. They're only given enough basic training to spot potentially defective cars. When you get canaried, that's not saying your car is illegal. Its saying its potentially illegal, and needs someone qualified to check for sure. So why bother having an engineer's certification at all? Aside from being a legal requirement (and I know we're all law abiding citizens here), its still peace of mind and the officer is more likely to believe you when you tell him its legal and not issue you with a notice. Of course, if you're going to give him attitude and he's having a bad day, he can always "reasonably" argue that your car's mods don't resemble what's described in the engineer's cert and suspect you've modified further since the signatory inspected the vehicle or he'll find something else to issue a notice for.

www.my350z.com has some good content on it, but due to issues with the server hitting capacity all the time, a lot of its Australian contingent went to 350Z-Tech. 350Z Motoring also has nice content, but they don't have an Australian section.

The Prelude was the bigger, softer coupe while not being fitted out as a GT. While the Integra was something that competed with the FTO and Silvia as a "boy racer" machine, the Prelude was more a Celica competitor. Something for someone who wanted all the looks (and inconvenient access / people carrying) of a sports coupe, without the hassle of the sports underpinnings and their subsequently high strung and bad-riding nature. Too bad that the two door Camry practically owns the lucrative "sports cars for people who don't give a shit" market. That car has sunk a lot of affordable coupes. Remember the MX6 and Ford Probe / Cougar? They all tried and died. I'm surprised the Hyundai Coupe / Tiburon has lasted this long.

My understanding is that the SR couldn't be made emissions compliant, so they canned it. Hence why there's also no Pulsar SSS replacement. That said, I'd like to know what the Japanese X-Trail is doing with an SR20VET. Maybe 4WDs are also excempt from Japanese emissions laws. I also believe this is the same fate of the RB. They are 15+ year old engines, after all. Unlike the Silvia, though, Nissan had a replacement 6 cylinder that was designed well and made a good base for tuning so sporting Skylines still exist. Why they can't borrow the lovely engine that powers the RenaultSport Clio and put that in a Pulsar is beyond me. Considering a Clio costs $34K, if you were to get a Pulsar and not install the fruit that the Renault's got (Xenons, rain sensitive wipers, leather / alcantara interior) you could get it in to the $30K bracket and build something that would shit all over the Ford Focus ST170, Mazda3 SP23 and Subaru Impreza RS. It would even give the Corolla Sportivo a run for its money. Or if you want to step up into the premium hot hatch market, use the SR20VET from the X-Trail. Nissan could try pricing it in the $40K mark and put it against the Megane 225, Astra SRi Turbo, and Integra Type-S. 200kW would rate it well above its competitors in power output. If it won't pass emissions, borrow the Megane's motor and spend more time getting the car to handle. Too bad I can't think of a longtitudinal engine that could be used in a new Silvia though.

I like the lights a lot (they're very angular and aggressive) but that grille is just wrong. Unlike the last car, where they got it the other way around. Maybe the stylists from Subaru just don't compare notes? If they could have the current grille with the new lights, they might be on to a winner.

I'm seeing an Impreza with a really long nose. I'm trying to work out if its uglier or better looking with a bigger schnoz.

Because you want to decrease a Supra's already ponderous handling, while worsening its already mediocre power / weight.

Ignorance isn't a point of view. There's the various other stuff like traction and gearing that other people have gotten into. Subarus tend to run very short gearboxes, because of their traction advantage, so while they'll lose top-end they'll make it all in the lower end. The R33 is more of a GT car, so they'll run wider spaced gears. As for not being able to spin up the back of an R33 GTS-t, I hope he's talking about an auto one. I've only ever driven a manual, and if he's talking about them I must be some kind of driving ace to do what I did in it I'm assuming the shift quality in both is about the same. You can lose quite a bit of time trying to muscle a recalcitant gearbox, and once your engine load drops and you lose boost...... I'm not saying the GTS-t isn't faster, since there are factors advantageous to the GTS-t he's ignored too, but not knowing a whole bunch of stuff on either side doesn't perfectly cancel each other out and make the little he does know accurate.

On lazy days I might. And when I'm test driving a vehicle and checking out its low / mid range. Skylines and Silvias don't like being slowed down to 20-30km/hr in 3rd and then made to accelerate, but they'll do it. A WRX won't.

Businesses don't stop doing stuff that's profitable. If having both the Prelude and Integra was "OK" financially, we'd still have a Prelude. Honda realised the two cars, although different in spirit, were too close in the only way that matters to the buyer (sports car in a certain price bracket) and were canibalising sales from each other. In the end it was the Teggy that won when the two vehicles were "consolidated".

There's torque down low in a WRX? When did that happen. I test drove a MY03 WRX when I was car hunting, and the thing was gutless below 3500RPM. It was one of the most frustrating "sports cars" to drive. I'll admit it was great when I sunk the boot in and rev'ed it out in the first few gears, but when I traversed the variety of speed humps that infest the dealership's neighbourhood, I found that I had to keep the engine boiling to go anywhere. It didn't help that I'd been driving Skylines and Silvias beforehand. You can cross speed humps in 3rd gear at a "reasonable" speed with these cars and, while it'll lug, it will also accelerate. The WRX felt like it was about to stall.

What? And show some initiative by doing the research yourself, instead of just asking uselessly broad questions and expecting people to give you an answer on a silver platter? Nah!

I'd be sticking the hardest, nastiest, cheapest craphouse tyres on my fleet vehicles too. But then if I was managing company vehicles being driven by people who don't own the cars or pay for upkeep, its TCO rather than performance that matters.

What Predator said. If your car is running perfectly, then you've got no need for boost, EGT, etc gauges. You only need to watch them if you're having issues with the car, or you're a ricer. You might get an inlet temp gauge since that's variable and outside a tuner's control, so you could manually set boost depending on the temperature. You'd have to be pretty hardcore to do so, though. Everything else should be a non-issue. But if you're serious about driving and monitoring your car's readings, get something like the Defi gauges. You shouldn't be watching gauges when you drive, and with Defi you can set a "warning" level to let you know when something exceeds your limits, and use the "replay" function to see what everything was doing at the time of the alarm.

If you had any clue about the concept of context, you'd see my comment just mirrored the stupidity coming from the guy who wrote off a WRX as a turbo shopping trolley. My comment is about as "dumb" as the guy I quoted. The difference is I was being satirical. Or are you one of those dipshit Skyline "enthusiasts" who, since they're only used to what's gets grey imported into Australia, forgets that the base model Skyline is a 4 door sedan that basically does the same job in Japan as what Commodores / Falcons do in Australia?

Great answer. You must be the intellectual of the forum

The car is supposed to slot beneath the Z33 in Nissan's product lineup. In other words, a Silvia or Pulsar SSS / GTiR replacement. Nissan Japan won't price it up against the Z. Marketing two very different sports cars in the same price bracket would be a potential suicide. Given its design (small sports coupe) I'd guess that they'd line the car up against the Integra Type-whatever, Astra SRi Turbo, Megane 225, etc. If its any more than around AUD$45K I don't think people will buy it.

If you're going to be that way: A Skyline GTSt is nothing more than a turbocharged Jap family box with the rear doors welded shut. etc etc.

One thing to bear in mind is that an engineering signatory if clearly going to be mechanically minded, and I don't think there's enough money in just doing certs to live on. As such, its quite likely that there are mechanics that are qualified to do engineering certs. So its possible you only have one person working and certifying your car, but technically he wears 2 hats. The professional who fixes or modifies your car is not the same professional that certifies it. I don't know what the rules are about these people certifying their own work. I can't see why not, but the government might say that an engineering signatory may not certify his own work to ensure the independence of the certificate system. It might be an idea to ask one when you get your car done.

Sometimes I wonder why people even bother asking questions. They get people responding, spoon-feeding them the answer by direct linking to stuff they can easily find themselves, yet they just continue to tread down the well-worn path of ignorance and disregard the responses they get.

That's right. Someone does the work, whether it be yourself or a mechanic. The engineering signatory inspects the completed job, validates ADR compliance, and provides you with a certificate stating that fact. A crappy analogy would be your license skills test. It doesn't matter who teaches you to drive (your family or a friend, or a professional driving instructor). But, when you think you're "legal" in terms of your ability to drive, someone the RTA has qualified as being able to inspect that your driving ability meets RTA standards watches you drive, validates RTA road rule compliance, and provides you with a license stating that fact. Note that the guy from the RTA, who provides you with your "driving certificate", never actually teaches you how to drive. They just make sure you can before letting you loose on public roads. If your driving ability doesn't meet the minimum requirements, they won't "fix" it. They'll just send you back to your "driving mechanic" and have them keep going until you can drive well enough.

Negative. This is the best hatchback ever.