scathing

The Bose system in every Nissan vehicle is one of those annoying PoS' that have custom everything. From what I've read about the 350Z's Bose, the power amps use custom voltages or something so you can't use aftermarket speakers with them (vice versa with stock speakers and new amps). My understanding is that its the same with the V35. You can wire aftermarket amps into the factory head unit, which would then allow you to run aftermarket speakers.

I once aggravated some family-filled 4WD. I don't recall why exactly, but to be honest I won't discount the possibility that I cut them off or something. Anyway, the kid in the back seat decided to shine a massive, f**k-off, floodlight into my car while I was going around a corner next to him. I luckily didn't manage to hit either of them or the concrete divider but the little shit kept the light on when we straightened up....up until I pointed my old replica pistol BB gun at him. If you're going to try and get a tailgater off your butt, it would be best to do something that isn't going to 1. cause them to crash, possibly into you 2. make it plainly obvious to any witness that you had a direct hand in their accident

Isn't Julian Edgar the guy that threw the giant dummy spit about the R32 GT-R's "bad handling" because he couldn't drive it? If I remember correctly, he whinged that it was too oversteery because he was trying to drive an active AWD system like a car with a symmetric AWD system. Given how the Top Gear UK guys punt their demo cars around a test track for their footage, I don't think I want a Top Gear Australia presenter who's allergic to hanging the tail out. Vote No to Julian Edgar.

It also understeers a whole bunch more than either car, so the IS-F is great if you want to go fast in a straight line with an awesome soundtrack (i.e. looking for an AMG competitor) but not so good if you want something that can handle corners (i.e. an M3 competitor).

A VW Polo TDi uses about half a litre more fuel per 100km than a Prius (comparing officially quoted Combined Cycle figures). While it does cost around $5K more used: * The Polo is 6 years newer, and still has a warranty * The Polo doesn't have to use ultra-low grip tyres, so its safer * The Polo is less complex and can be serviced / repaired by VW Australia * Worn-out batteries isn't a bank breaker Total Cost of Ownership, I don't know if a Prius is that much cheaper than buying a small diesel hatch. Environmentally, as a total package (not just emissions), its not head and shoulders better either.

Not compared to modifying a factory FI setup, but the gains are there. A catback will see you around 15-25rwkW. Picking up a used 350Z intake tube from someone whose gone FI will see some gains for not very much money. I wouldn't replace the headers (maybe the cats too, I'm not sure) without management, since it tends to really throw the mixtures out on a stock ECU. Simple bolt-ons are still nicely drivable in traffic. Its only if you start going to crazy light flywheels or big cams that you might see issues. But if you do breathing mods the car doesn't become any less drivable through the midrange than stock. And the twin turbo cars are very streetable. They have better fuel economy than the NA cars if you drive them sensibly, you get to make even fewer gearchanges, and if you don't plan on thrashing the car for long periods you can do a mild clutch upgrade and not worry too much about upgrading the cooling infrastructure.

Hows about this? The unit comes with these different settings:

You're right. I mean, don't let people even on this forum say that a 2JZ-GTE is a better I6 than the RB26DETT try and trick you with their sly "based on reality" arguments. You say the new engine hasn't proved itself yet, but you some how know it will never compare? Since you agree that there's no proof, what are you basing that on exactly? You're right again. Nissan should have built a track-only GT-R and just skipped making it a road car. Nissan dropped the RB block because they couldn't get it emissions legal. Of course, then they couldn't brag about having one of the quickest production cars around the Nurburgring...but who cares about beating Porsche at their own game (street legal rockets) when you can have an RB instead?

Left foot on the brake. Right foot stays on the throttle. You won't decelerate if you keep the power on, but your high mount stop light will still be visible and get them to back the hell off.

It will throw out the speedo, theoretically. This tool is a good to work out what changes will happen as you change profile. At the "stock" 100km/hr (which generally isn't accurate anyway) you'll be doing 96km/hr. Which is sweet FA, honestly. Given that the OEM speedo overreads, you'll find that this new size is closer to "true". I went to a 285/35 R18 wheel. According to the above tool, I should have lost 3.1% of my diameter compared to a 245/45 R18 (which is the OEM 350Z size). However, when I compare the speed to my GPS and those helpful electronic signs on freeways, at 110km/hr my digital speedo is now 1-2km/hr higher than their indicated speeds. Why don't you try to source a 350Z placard instead, and that way you can keep the stock tyre sizes?

How long have you had them installed for? I haven't heard of anyone having that issue. If they're new, maybe take your car to someone with an OBDII scanner to reset the ECU settings? The in-cabin sequence for doing it is involved and a pain-in-the-arse. This is the sequence for a Z33; it should be the same for V35s.

I've got my 2003 Z33 springs sitting in the garage. If someone wants to borrow them to fit, measure up the ride height, and do a lap around the block then I don't mind loaning them temporarily.

So's tailgating. They can consider it an expensive lesson, that costs you a buck to teach. I can't say I've ever done this (I can never be bothered to carry that many 5c pieces, I would have splurged on Maccas soft serves well before then). My standard operating procedure for tailgaters is a left foot "brake check" followed by slowing down. I've once brought the car down to 20km/hr in a 60 zone because this guy just wouldn't get off my arse, and bringing on the brake lights didn't dissuade him. If we're going to have a shunt, I'd rather it be at jogging pace.

Another solution I was recommended was to carry small bags of 5c pieces (or any other shrapnel you can find, like old nails or something). If someone tailgates you, speed up. If they decide to speed up too, grab a handful of these coins, pull to the left, and toss the coins out the back. You'd be unsurprised at what driving into small bits of metal at 70km/hr does to the front of a car, and it costs you very little. It was even better when 1c pieces were in circulation. You could toss a lot of metal out for the cost of a soft serve.

If you get one, for God's sake make sure you do it upwind of the tailgater. This is what happens when you're not:

Happy birfday!

Why? IS has a good reputation, unlike your average Nissan stealership. And its unsurprising that an official Nissan shop wouldn't deal with imports. I'm surprised someone got their Cima worked on, but as a general rule its too much risk for a Nissan shop (who doesn't have their beloved manuals), especially since it tends to offend Nissan HQ.

The OEM 350Z leather/heated/airbagged seats are, installed, $17K from your local Nissan dealer. If I remember correctly, the V35 coupe has airbag seats too. If you can get them in on the cheap, with good quality to ensure the airbag works, they should sell to repairers well.

VicRoads should have a web site. 1. Get people to suggest what they think should be there 2. Look it up on VicRoads 3. Print out the PDF files as-is (so there's no accusations of editing), along with the URL of said file 4. If you want to "add value", highlight the pertinent bits 5. Profit

Priuses are stupid. In terms of total footprint, they're not that much better for the environment than a diesel car...but without all the hassle and compromise.

The regulatory requirements differ from state to state, so you'd have to make them specific to the region. One that should be there is "light vehicle modifications". In NSW, I am specifically referring to VSI 06 and 09 (for light mods and replacement wheels/tyres respectively), which define what light mods do and don't require an engineer's certificate. What people, and the cops, generally don't know is that in NSW there's no law governing changing the diameter of the wheel. There's only laws governing the width and track (i.e. offset), and the diameter of the [/i]tyre[/i]. I checked Qld's rules once, and they don't even have the width rule. Their regulations only limit the change in track. Since people report that cops erroneously defect this a lot, its worth having.

Hint: Rajab is a big VL Commodore tuner in Melbourne. Which means it'll dose.

Camry drivers are the new Volvo drivers. But yeah, I can't think of anything Toyota's built in the last decade (at least) that I'd actually want to own. Plenty of cars I'd recommend to other people, if they didn't care (and didn't want to care) how they got from A to B...but that's it.

I might have to try the CCX's out. I tried the SSM's when I wore out a set of DS2500s (thinking they were CCX's for some reason) and wanted something with a higher temp range. They were rubbish. The pedal was wooden when cold, and they did have a slightly higher temp range but they started to fade heavily at the end of a session.

Have you heard rumours that the next one is going to have pushrods and a leaf-sprung rear axle?