scathing

Its still got airbags, aircon, and a stereo.

There's no point owning a GT-R in Hong Kong anyway. There's nowhere you can use the car, most of the residents can't drive, and it still doesn't have the brand cachet of the BMW if you want to show off.

You're not getting my point. homedog56 was wondering if it was worth taking his NA car to drifting or there'd be too many "haters". I was pointing out that there are plenty of famous NA drifters out there.

Who cares what you're driving, whether its NA or FI? As long as you're out there enjoying the sport like everyone else, that's all that should matter. People who reckon that drifting is an FI-only sport can go get f**ked, and have a chat with Katsuhiro Ueo. Tsuchiya's hachi is NA as well.

I'd like to replace the "motorsport car" with a new GT-R. Everything else can stay the same...although I'd probably wait for the new RS6 (with the twin turbo V10).

Yes, it is. The CA block is cast iron.

You forgot: New intake manifold and plumbing New cams and final drive (about as necessary as bumping compression up) Its just not economically viable.

An all alloy V6 weighing the same as an all alloy inline 4? Interesting......

If its being regularly street driven, a V35 is a lot more convenient than the Z33. Sometimes not having rear seats is a pain in the arse, as is a stupid strut brace that doesn't let you carry luggage. I thought you were building an off-street car, which is why I was asking. Being able to piggyback the UTEC so you can retain the OEM ECU niceties (like cold start, timing adjustment depending on fuel quality, open loop and closed loop driving, etc) while also being able to run it in a full ECU replacement for track use is a big reason why I want to drop my Unichip, while not splashing out for a Haltech. If you find cams for an NA application with a near-stock redline, I'd be quite interested to see what you get. Most of the upgraded cams I've seen for the VQ35DE have ended up gaining sweet FA in the top end, but losing a noticable chunk of midrange, unless the engine's been built to rev.

The Z3 was rubbish and uncool, but that doesn't mean the rest of the range are that bad. And most of the Top Gear stuff is stupid. Entertaining, but about as connected with reality as A Current Affair's latest piece on hoons.

The APS TT's turbines are Garrett GT2835R's, if I remember correctly, and those things are making usable boost by around 2800RPM. It might give you an idea if you know what those turbos are like in comparison to the GT-RS'. Also, 300rwkW is right on the limit of the stock bottom end. I'd assume that you'd go for a rebuild, though. One of the most popular ECU's at the moment is the TurboXS UTEC (i'm looking at replacing my Unichip for one eventually). It supports multiple maps that you can change via a switch, can act as an interceptor for the OEM ECU or cut it out completely (not sure how important the former is if you're not planning on street driving the car). The programming software is available so you can run a laptop yourself and do your own tuning (or output the diagnostic displays if you have a car PC). GReddy is releasing an F-Manage in the near future, which has good control of the CVTC for both intake and exhaust (I don't know how many ECUs can adjust the cam timing module) but its not out yet, and I'm not sure how suitable it is. Only the 221kW VQ35DE's have exhaust-side CVTC, and I don't think any V35s came with them. A friend of mine is running a Haltech at the moment, with assistance from Autotech in Granville (the approved APS installer in NSW) on his APS TT 350Z. Not cheap, and its barely hit the market so there's very little experience with them for the VQ35DE. I am curious as to why you're choosing the V35 over the Z33 when it comes to buying a FM platform car to modify. The Z33 is lighter and stiffer, and with a stockish looking bodykit it has better cooling due to the larger front grill.

Really? I was watching BMI's 350Z Shock, and the interview they had with the project manager implied that the car was very Japanese. It was styled in the US, but the impression I've had from various sources is that the FM platform (and the specific Z33 / V35 implementations) was engineered in Japan. Sounds almost identical to Clarkson's quote on Top Gear.....where he also said the VQ35DE was a Renault engine.

Its "engrish" and "ratin". I'll back that up. I've got quite a few American parts on my 350Z (filter, intake manifold parts) and the fitment and quality are excellent. A lot of them are still made in China, but the US retailers have the purchasing power to enforce more adequate QC than we do. And I find it a lot easier to source parts from the US than Japan. For starters they're English speaking so its easier to read their web sites. Also, parts for the Z came out faster from US aftermarket companies than Japan. The R35 is going to have the same issues I had when I bought my Z in 03 - as a "brand new" engine and chassis, there were no legacy parts on the market so you had to wait for companies to engineer something. With America's buying power and current enthusiasm for the "Jay Dee Em" scene, it means that the GT-R will get more parts, faster, than if it was just built for RHD-only markets. Like this Weber Sports one for the 350Z? Don't be. Its pretty negative, and when you think about you'll realise it makes little sense. Yeah, most of us weren't born with silver spoons in our mouths but I'm not going to begrudge someone else for doing something that takes nothing away from me. I'd be envious, and wish I had one, but I'm not going to feel like the world has slighted me over it. It seems to be a Nissan-wide thing. The Z's paint is rubbish as well. It chips so much easier than other cars in its class, and at 1500kg its not like they should be worried about saving a kg or two by using fewer coats.

This is the cheapest I've seen. Its got a lot of funky features (Bluetooth handsfree, can store MP3s so you can play them in-car...I think it transmits FM or something so you can pick it up with your stereo, it can display SMS' on screen and read them to you) which is why I ended up getting this for my old man. The screen's also a really nice, big, size. I like the TomTom when I bought my GPS as the others were slower, had a less intuitive menu, and/or a smaller screen, but I haven't looked since I bought my Go500 a few years ago.

On road designations, the letter designates the type of road. M = Motorway F = Freeway (or possibly Federal Highway, I can't remember) Then you have A, B, C (and possibly D) roads. From A-D the road's quality decreases. An "A" road would be your typical country highway (think of the highway from Geelong to Adelaide), probably with a 100km/hr speed limit. A "B" road is a more winding road. Still well surfaced and probably reasonably wide, but not quite highway level. Great Ocean Road is a B road. A "D" road would be a narrow laneway, probably one lane wide in both directions. You'd struggle to get two cars to pass each other on such a road. It might not even be sealed. There should be official designations on how each road is ranked on VicRoads, but they tell you how wide and how "safe" the road is. The number, I believe, is an arbitrary value used to designate that specific road. Its not tied to anything else.

The new TomTom Go720 has speed alert now (not sure about the lower models). And speed / red light camera POI warnings. I have a Go500. One of the more frustrating things is that sometimes, after entering the suburb and then the street...it sends you to the wrong street in the wrong suburb (even if it has the right suburb in brackets). If you search for a cross street and then add your desired street as a crossing, it finds it. f**king stupid. The Go720 I got my old man for his birthday seems to be a lot better though. Faster to boot and acquire a location, better POI's. Since my Go500 is now a little broken, I might get a 720 or a One XL

Can't believe she ruled out the BMW though. Those things tend to ride really well and are quite comfortable. Visibility is also quite good. I would have tried to score an E36 325i coupe or something. Here's an idea - E36 325i Convertible (assuming you can find one in budget, I don't know what they're going for). Chicks dig convertibles, which may get it past the Minister of Finance. And you still get to keep a proper FR car, with a really nice inline 6. For god's sake, do not get a 4 cylinder 3 Series either.

Do not buy a 300ZX 2+2. They look wrong with the extra length required for the rear seats. And if you get turbo, its even more of a money pit than a Skyline.

The 18" cast wheels for the 350Z (so not even the optional RAYS forged rims) are like $1500 a pop retail. You could get Nismo LM GT4s brand new in the same size for that much.

Its funny, but a couple of people (some who can drive, some who can't) have criticised the Mac One's handling. Apparently its floaty at high speed, and does roll around a bit.

Ironically, the first Japanese car to have a higher than 280ps published engine output was some people carrier. I can't remember which one.

The Top Gear article says the Porsche's engine is a little more flexible, probably because of the VGT since the displacement is about the same.

God knows I've been in enough cabs where the idiot behind the wheel has scared me to a point where I would probably pay extra if I could drive myself. I just can't see myself giving a taxi driver a $167 tip for driving too slow. I'm not Miss Daisy.

No, acceleration times come down to power to weight and gearing. Its been discussed in this subforum before.

Its like you've got a direct connection to the Internet. Its either that or "I could spend half that and make a 1000hp GT-R that would run faster than a 9.8s quarter and use the change to buy XYZ", ignoring the fact that the Veyron can repeat those numbers with a few thousand kilometres between minor services (rather than a pull-down after every run), can do 400km/hr with rock solid stability, doesn't require the use of ear plugs, go around bends, and not be slower than a pedestrian when off-boost, and every other drivability compromise you'd have to make in a big-power GT-R.