No Crust Racing

Sounds like semis for me then. Car gets driving on the street maybe 10 times a year? And for that I have some cheapo 17s with cheapo rubber. Someone give me the hook up on some used semis, I know a few tyre shops have them but I'm having no luck.

Hmm, realistically I can probably squeeze another day or two from the semis I have, the fronts will take it but the rears are well into the depth indicators and have a few nice scratches from burnouts at DECA, woops. After that I think I'll stick with the semis. So, the question remains... who has some 235 R17 semis for me!

Something to add Kez, I see on FB that you're considering an XR6. Of all the NA Falcons I've test driven, the XR6s are by far the most thrashed. You're better off with a Futura or a Fairmont, granted neither look as good and you wont get the pretty LCD screen but the chances of the car being flogged are reduced. As always a test drive and good inspection will tell the story but in my testing I've found that the majority of XR6s already had gearboxes that felt and sounded like Taxi's with much higher Ks. I'm biased because I boughta Fairmont but after test driving a number of others, Fairmonts tended to have been better looked after and come with a lot of features. If the budget stretches that far you can also look at BFs with ZF 6spds. Even the XTs are pretty well appointed and there's a few good XT based special models like the ES which is what I have and was a run out model that was based on an XT but gets the nicer Euro front end, 17" polished alloys, the 6spd, Fairmont interior, reversing sensors (oddly no rear power windows lol), and XR suspension. It's equivalent to an SV-Z in the Commo's where they basically see what they have lying around the factory to spruce up some cars before a model change (ES was only available as a BF MK II). You can get those around the 10K mark now, and that's a lot of car for the money.

This was my understanding of it too, old R comps are still quicker but I also saw ssxRicoh (think thats the username) saying he set his best PB on KUs as opposed to shagged semis (was a cold day and the KUs prefer that). So I'm a bit lost, I realise that for 500 I'll be getting used semis instead of new street tyres but given how much grip even the shagged ones I bought had (old old RE55s I got for $200) I'm not sure if a street tyre will satisfy me grip wise. The other option is I go the new streets and if they are no good after one track day I sell them on or swap them for some used semis. What's your say on the grip situation Richard?

Kez, as you know from seeing me at a few events I do exactly what you're talking about. Drive a nice comfy car daily and have an S13 for DECA/Track. When doing my research I opted to go originally with a BA Fairmont for 8k on road. It was a 2003 model car (equivalent to a VY Berlina in age and spec) and had all the nice luxo features. The BA was about 2-3k cheaper than VYs, has a higher towing capacity and the engine develops more power and more torque whilst using the same if not less fuel. As a daily I was averaging around 9L per hundred k's on my daily commute, to be fair 10k of my 22k trip each way is on the highway and I'm very cautious on the throttle. Only thing I added was a PWR trans cooler to avoid any potential issues with coolant contaminating the trans fluid (a common BA issue on high K examples) and that also allowed me to tow comfortably at 110 in 4th, saving lots of fuel. (Ford handbook for BAs says to tow in 3rd) Fuel economy is not stellar when towing, you might do better with a turbo diesel when towing. The comfort and fuel econ when not towing which is 99% of the time far outweighed this. We're talking 400ks to a full tank when towing and around 500-550 normally. I've since moved on to a BF MKII which has the ZF 6 speed in it and am now seeing fuel econ of around 8.6L but I'm yet to tow with it so can't say much to what it uses when towing. Beyond that the transcooler/radiator issue from the BAs was partially addressed in that the BF runs a separate heat exchanger on the side of the block for the trans rather than having the cooler built into the radiator like the BA. Again this came down to the fact that for 12k on the road I got a very well spec'd 2007 model car. To buy a similar spec Commodore, which would have been a VE, I'd have paid 3-4k more at least and ended up with a car that has less power and torque and worse fuel economy. The BF has a slightly larger tank and I'm averaging around 620-660ks on a tank, and by tank I mean when it beeps at me, usually around 54L goes in after 3 clicks on the nozzle. On dedicated highway runs between here and melbourne it averages in the mid 7s. From a purely financial point of view, the Falcon is easily the better choice. If you compare two of the same spec and year model cars from ford and holden the ford will almost definitely be cheaper (provided k's are similar) and will have more power and more torque with equal to better fuel economy. There's a reason that the bulk of Taxis are Fords. I'm no Ford fan either, first car was a Commodore and I've always been a "Holden" man, but the Ford is a much better fit for this purpose (For me) and is far more economical all round. To be fair, I think the Commodores are much better handling cars when driving spiritedly but the Ford is a nicer highway cruise. If you are doing a lot of stop start driving you might find the Ford actually has worse econ than a Commo because the Falcon is heavier for almost every model back to 98. I can also chew your ear off about what to do Silvia wise. We can talk at DECA Cheers

Option Garage is doing them for that price but if I'm spending $700 (which I really shouldn't be anyway due to having just bought a house) then I'm only another $300 away from the R888s (GG compound) which would be much faster. One think I couldn't clearly ascertain was how the KU36's would let me down, is it just in outright grip or also in ability to handle sustained hot laps (or both?) It's also no as straight forward as comparing new KUs to used REs because the KUs are still a street tyre.

Ideally I was after some proper R comps, I considered the KU36s as I can get a new set for about 700 but for another 300 I can get R888s instead. In the end I wasn't looking to spend that much anyway, hence shopping for second handers. This new house is eating up all the moneyz. You should PM me with details anyway out of curiosity...

Awesome thanks for the info, unfortunately they are sold but I still needed to know for when I'm looking at others. If anyone has some 235 semis for sale let me know

Coz I'm ADD like that y0 It's just like that time when... OMFG IS THAT A NEW STAPLER?!

Pegs and peg boards?

Thanks Benny, appreciate the input Edit: Also, what's this about retail?

The first used pair I bought were already pretty tired so I wasn't worried as they were dirt cheap to learn on. I'm looking at some more used semis but with a bit more meat now and wanting some assistance identifying damage that's of concern. In this link a guy has some 235 RE55s which he says have plenty of tread left, the pics show some melted rubber on the tread surface. Is this indicative of overheating or is it simply rubber that's been picked up on the tread surface while it was hot and has cooled there. Would I expect this to come off once the tyres are at temp? Cheers

Hi guys, I'm looking for a used set of 235 R17 semi slicks. RE55, AO48/50, DZ03's etc. Something like an RT615 is fine but I'm not looking for KU36s or 595s unless they are RS-Rs. The more tread the better of course, not looking for something with only 1 track day left or sitting firmly on the tread wear indicators. Please be honest about flat spots/damage etc. Let me know what you've got and how much you're wanting for them. I'm willing to pay postage as I'm in Albury/Wodonga (can pickup from close locations) so long as you're willing to either drop them off at a close freight depot (if there is one) or be available so I can have them collected from you at home or work (whichever is easiest for you). PM me or get me on [email protected] Cheers

So no love for the nistune?

I've got an S13 with a CA in it making a bit over 160kw at the moment using an SAFC V2. I realise I'll only gain minimal power from the ability to control timing but I'm interested in getting hold of a proper engine management setup that will allow me to do my own tuning. I'm looking at the Nistune and the E-Manage at present but am open to other ideas and am curious as to what other self-tuners are doing. Cheers

PM'd

And that's it? Hardly seems worth the cost for only 16-20 laps all day or am I getting this wrong?

Was considering coming along for a drive at the next round (May 1st) but I wanted a bit more info on the format from people who have done it. I see there are around 4-5 sessions and in each session cars appear to get a total time based on their best standing lap and subsequent flying laps. If a standard start and some hot laps is considered one "stint" do you get multiple stints per session or do you only get 4-5 laps total in each session? Cheers

Pm me some pics

Sorry mate I'm a bit confused, what are you offering? Car with no engine? I'm on the iPhone app so might have missed a link or something?

Would also consider WRXs, s15s and 34s (man or auto turbo) and possible Mazda3 and 6s or BA onwards XR6 or 8s

Yeah Saw that Matty, thanks for the tip though. I'm in no massive rush or anything, was just curious as I'd come across a few cars that I'd trade my Sil for and wanted to know what sort of headaches would be involved. Cheers

It's setup for grip at the moment, hence the semi slicks and suspension settings but with a few quick adjustments it would slide very well. Lower it, stiffen it up, take out some camber from the rear, use different tyres, and change the wing angle and it will slide very well. The best part is all you need to do to make those changes is just adjust the gear that's already on there and choose which set of rims you want to use, the 215s on the 17x7s would be perfect for drift. With the radiator, brakes, brake ducts and oil cooling it stays very happy. Catch can only even has oil in it if the sump has been overfilled. The Velo holds you in awesomely too, plus the S15 rack and new rack bushes give nice direct feel.

How it looks when I drive it to work more or less. Differences is it has the GT-R grill on it now, and I leave the mounts for the C-West spoiler attached (not the legs just the mounts). Very streetable.

Yeah sorry bud, after turbo only.