warps

Who cares how much overhang there is at either end? Drive it onto the trailer so the load is properly balanced, and as long as the car wheels are actually on the trailer (and not within the tyre radius of the edge - just a rule of thumb - nothing too scientific about that) then all is good. The only reason you'd care about rear overhang is if you have fold - up ramps. If that were the case, then having a short trailer bed is not really going to work. Besides, if you have lots of rear overhang, your race car can conveniently block out the trailer rego plate from those nasty red light cameras - not that I'd ever contemplate such tomfoolery But to echo the sentiments above - yes, balancing the load on the trailer is imperative. The general guide is to have 10% of the trailer weight on the tow ball, as long as it doesn't exceed the allowable down force on the towing vehicle draw bar. 4WD's tend to have a higher rating for this, which is another reason they're better for towing.

I have a set of 048's. I work up to speed over the first few laps, then drive "flat out" (FWIW with my driving skill). So far they have been heat cycled at 3 events - once at lakeside and twice in the gravel at Willowbank (not allowed to use rally tyres there). This equates to about 16 sessions. I'll keep doing this till they're bald, then I'll probably get another set and go again. Then again, in a FWD shopping trolley, I can't see myself ever chasing trophies / pitbabes / glory etc so my needs are probably very different to yours. Sounds like some good advice from others above - particularly if you're chasing the last few hundredths of a second.

Pffft tarbabies can't handle real motorsport

Bravo for the selective quoting. Looks like you'd make a good journo.

Hehe I had a go the other day. I only have one car that qualifies, which actually has some hp, but it wasn't quite up to the task. While the '62 Buick special may hose other pre-80's sedans, it's no match for proper race cars of the era. Poor thing lost about 10 sec in the first half lap, and only got worse from there. I filed that one away for the "when I have a spare 50 million credits to waste on cars I'm only going to drive once" category.

I haven't actually read the proposed legislation - just the comments on the link from the first post. I hope that those so vehemently against this have read the legislation, so they understand what they're protesting against. I agree with your point about the 4WD's, hence my earlier comment. Not that I'm all for jacked up mud racers on our roads, but on a 4WD it doesn't take any extreme mods to blow that 50mm out of the water. Like always, a blanket rule across all vehicle classes is not the answer. Beseides, there's already legislation in place to limit excessive lowering of cars. Not too many standard road cars would handle more than a 50mm drop and still be able to maintain the required 100mm ground clearance.

Interesting I wonder what they mean by "stronger" though - higher yield strength (eg tool steel or spring steel) or higher youngs modulus (ie deflects less for a given stress). Then there's things like fatigue resistance (generally as the yield strength goes up, the fatigue resistance goes down etc.). Definitely interested to hear more about this.

Why does a road car need to be raised / lowered more than 5cm anyway? Track specials, I can understand, but anything that is road registered doesn't need to. If you're serious enough to have a car capable of winning championshios, then it will have a shedload of other illegal mods anyway, and most likely wouldn't be much fun on the roads. Apart from possibly WRC cars, I haven't ever seen a rally car raised anywhere near 5cm, so that's no excuse (thinking about competition vehicles that *need* to be registered). Maybe hardcore offroaders need the extra lift, and I'm not going to argue against that. Everyone else, OTOH, well I agree that 5cm is more than enough for a road car. Maybe it will get some of these dickhead slammed civics riding on 20" chromies off our roads. Can't always have your cake and eat it too.

But it can pull a loaded trailer uphill without slowing, so it must be good for towing, right?

I used a corvette I already had in the stable. Had to do every mod to it, including rebuild the engine before I had a chance of winning that race. Dam I hate that track!!! In hind sight, I would have been better off buying a new (faster) Vette and using that as a starting point. On the flip side, I already had the MX5 and just fitted racing tyres and a filter and ECU - won the race easily enough.

*claps* Oh why couldn't you have posted that brilliant summary 4 pages ago. I'm never going to get back the 10 minutes I wasted reading this thread (although I did manage a chuckle or 2) I think that the OP needs some trolling lessons. This is too lame. Even I've trolled better than this.

That's what I mean. find where they're getting their feed (obviously not from the normal spot, which is usually piggy backed off the main indicator) and use the same source to feed the main indicators. If you wire the main indicators straight to the source for the repeaters (which already do what you want them to) then this achieves the same result as piggy backing the main indicators off the side repeaters (which as you correctly pointed out could end up dodgy)

Hey, I'm a mech engineer, not elec. Dodgy auto electrics is my game The less dodgy way is to find the source for the side repeaters (normally this is piggy backed from the main indicator, but I imagine this is not the case here) and take the feed from there. Rewire both sets of lights if need be, to keep the wiring tidy.

XOR gate, except then it would flash out of sync with your side repeater. If they've set up your side repeaters to do this, then you can disconnect the normal feed to your main indicator, and take the feed for the indicator from the side repeater. Whatever they've done to the side repeater to make it work like this will also make your main indicator do the same (assuming the circuit can handle the load of the extra bulb, which shouldn't be a problem as the wattage is pretty low anyway)

You guys know this, but at 2500kg GTM (gross trailer mass), you need to have 4 wheel braking on the trailer, and a separate breakaway braking system. I don't know of any hire trailers that have these features, as they are all rated to 2 tonne GTM. Without this, you're towing illegally regardless of what your towing vehicle is rated to tow. Just sayin'

Noise Well, after my criticisms of earlier versions of the GT series, it's good to see that some cars have decent sounds to them (mostly from chase view though - yes I know that you don't hear the burbling exhaust inside the cab). I bought one of the RX7 race cars for a go at one of the seasonal time trials, and couldn't believe the angry bridgeport idle. Sounded just like my RX2 rally car used to. As soon as you get off idle, though, it sounds like crap. Still, at least they had a go. I had a good laugh the other day when I bought an early model lancer rally car (the old RWD carby model). They nailed the start sound - it winds over and you think it's noot going to start (just like a real webered 4 cyl) and then it finally fires, settling in the lumpy Weber idle. Top work on that one - at least they have a sense of humour!!

Unfortunately I've seen a lot of gen Y-ers fit the bill. Yes it's sad that they have been labelled (not completely unfounded though) but the OP definitely fits into the widely accepted traits of a Gen Y. Rightly or wrongly. Don't read too much into my broad comments - I certainly don't label all "youngsters" as selfish, lazy and expecting the world to give them a living (despite having met an extremely large number who fit squarely into that category) I was exaggerating, but making a point that A) I earn enough to look after muyself and family, and b) I pay my fair share of tax, so don't accuse me of sponging off hardworking taxpayers.Unfortunately, I've tried hiring people in the past, but I haven't managed to find anyone who gives a damn. The work I do is very specialised, so I can't use someone without the right training and experience. I'd hire someone for $60k a year if they could add value to my business, but I'm not a charity. I offered a young engineer (Gen Y) better than $200k a year, and he called me a tight arse for not offering a company vehicle on top of the package. How am I supposed to deal with people like that? One step ahead of you. Have already donated time (actually got dragged up there by my spoilt, selfish kids because they wanted to help the people who've lost so much). Arranging a sizeable financial donation as well - it's the very least I can do, although it will only be a small drop in the ocean for what it will take to rebuild some of these lives. No need for apologies - I don'tknow much more about them than you do. My wife is the bookkeeper in the family, so she understands all this stuff better than me. I just do the grunt work, and she does the invoicing. I was blaming the OP for displaying cliche'd GEN Y behaviour. I say this from experience in trying to hire yound Engineering graduates, and dealings with a lot of apprentices and young labourers. I agree, not all are tarred with the same brush, but I've seen a lot who are, and I was likening OP's attitude to this. Yes, I believe in general a lot of "youngsters" these days expect the same rights as the more experienced workforce, who have had to work hard to get where they are. When these people put in the effort and achieve success, I'll back them all the way. If they continue to expect handouts but don't want to put in the effort, then I have zero time for those losers. Period. You strike me as intelligent enough to understand my point of view. I'm sorry if I offended you, and if you're a hard worker with a good ethic, then clearly my definitions / criticisms don't apply to you. The point of my posts is simple: Show you can work hard, have respect for yourself and your emplouyer / work colleagues and be prepared to put in some effort before you expect the great rewards in life, and you will succeed, no matter what your vocation. Don't get too wrapped up in the delivery of that message.

Hey Smity - if the shoe fits I didn't say all Gen Y-ers are typical Gen Y-ers, but the OP certainly fits into that mould. You go off at me for categorising the OP, yet in the next breath you do the same. I've come across plenty of Gen Y-ers who fit into that exact same category, and plenty who don't. If you aren't one of the spoilt, ones the get over yourself and stop being so sensitive. Insecure? Why so? Live week to week? Oh you're funny. I don't blame anyone for what's wrong with the world, but I do know that the lack of work ethic these days is contributing to this country's downfall. Unfortunately I see this in all generations, not just the Gen Y-ers. My kids go to school - sorry I can't sit in the classroom with them. I do have breakfast with them every morning, and dinner with them every night. I help them with their homework, and build cool stuff in the shed with my son on weekends. We play computer games together, read together, play chess, backgammon and go to the beach together. My wife and I just took the best part of 8 weeks off work during the school holidays (unpaid) to look after our kids. Both my kids spent a small amount of time in day care when they were younger, partly to help them develop social skills, and partly to let my wife work a few days a fortnight to maintain her sanity. I guess I should be jailed now for being such a bad parent. I work from home, and my wife does my books, so we both spend a lot of time at home these days. I haven't had to worry about paying a bill for the last 15 years, and make more than enough money to keep us happy, I know that I could earn another $200k a year if I wanted to spend more time working, but I've made the choice to raise my kids. I don't get a red cent from the government, and probably pay more tax than you earn a year. Baby bonus? Nope - missed that one. Child allowance? Nope - didn't qualify., FBT? Well, last time I checked, that was a tax we had to pay, but I've avoided paying it on cars since my veehicles are almost 100% business use, and I haven't been given any other fringe benefits I can think of. I spent 3 months on the dole when I was retrenched in 1991. Sorry to have been sponging off your tax dollars, but I'm sure I've more than paid it back since then. Maybe your parents should have done the same - you might not be so cynical and angry at the world. Sounds like you're blaming all of us lazy, apathetic Gen X'ers for your life of misery. Now, I didn't for a second suggest that all people who fit into the Gen Y era are "typical Gen Y", so you need to chll and get on with your life. Just like not all Gen X people are "typical Gen X", and all baby boomers aren't "typical Baby Boomers"

You made $60k in a year as an excavator operator and you're 17? Judging by your tirade above, you're obviously a spoilt gen Y brat who doesn't like any sort of criticism. R33GTRV was harsh but 100% truthful. All the other posts were constructive, although I'm very sorry none of us went to the effort of stroking your ego and telling you how clever you are - that's what Gen Y-ers seem to need on a regular basis. How about you harden the F up and take a long hard look at yourself? If you have the qualifications you claim, you shouldn't have any dramas getting work in Mackay. Have a long hard think about why that might be. Be honest with yourself now. I regularly work with many Mackay based businesses and they're always screaming for quality labour, and I see the dregs they have to put up with on a regular basis. If you had skills and a good work ethic, you'd get snapped up in a flash and never look back. Some of these drongos are on more than $100k per year, so someone of your high calibre should have no problem (was that better? I'm not that good at stroking fragile egos) FYI I do OK for myself and guess what? I started at the bottom. 25 years later and I'm living the dream.

Seasonal races #5 out today. I had an opportunity to be in the top 5 for the time trial, but didn't have a suitable car (pre 1979 jap car weighing more than 1000kg) By the time I stuffed around with some other races, there were 3 pages of times up so not worth it. I'll stick to my usual top 5000 ranking. Still, made a cool $2M in the euro touring car race (well, cost me $1m to get the car and set it up, but still made lots of money and experience points) What's the go with tyres? Will they actually wear out, or do they just go red if you brake or corner a teeny bit too hard? (again, highly realistic there mr Polyphony). Haven't done any races long enough to have to change tyres yet. Also, does anyone drive with ABS set completely off? I tried it on a few cars and they just locked up and swapped ends every time I even looked at the brake pedal.

Well as a 17 year old you can either be like so many others and tell prospective employers you're fussy and don't want to do shit kicker jobs, or take on anything you can, put your heart and soul into it and show that you're a hard worker willing to do what it takes to get somewhere in the world. The second category will always get ahead in life, regardless of education and qualifications. The first category will spend the next 40 years blaming everyong else for their own failures Which category do you want to belong to? Until you get some runs on the board, you might have to accept the shit kicker stuff just to prove your worth. I'd rather hire an uneducated, unqualified person who has a great work ethic, than a lazy selfsh job snob with 3 uni degrees and 4 trades under their belt.

The way I see it, if you hack a device and profit from it, you're breaking the law and the OEM of the device has every right to claim damages. If you hack the device and this causes a loss in income for the OEM, then again they have the right to claim damages. If you don't like that they make money from developing and selling their devices, then don't buy the product. If you can hack a device and use it differently to how it was intended, but use it purely for your own use, then they are hardly likely to get worked up about it, if they even find out. When you buy and use their device, you basically agree to use it in the way they intend. If you go outside the intended use, then you forfeit OEM support, and if you in any way jeopardise their business / reputation etc through your use of the product, then they have every right to get pissed off and sue you. Whether every court case against "hackers" is justified is probably another argument, and needs to be looked at on a case by case basis. If I developed some new funky device and made millions from it, I'd be pretty peeved if some lazy arse decided to copy /exploit my idea when I'm the one who put all the hard work and risk into it in the first place. If you happen to come up with an add on that complements the device, then I guess this becomes a bit of a grey area. If your add on doesn't impact the business of the OEM in a negative manner, then this is probably OK. Too many people these days chasing a quick buck off the back of someone else's hard work. I'm sorry but I see IP theft as the same thing as property theft. People who are too lazy to work for something, so figure it's ok to steal from someone who's done all the hard work themselves.

Birds you're paranoid. I';ve bought Demo WRX's, as have several friends. None had a problem. When I test drove the WRX, the saleswoman kept telling me to give it heaps. I drove it fast, but not harshly. I imagine it had been given a pizzling by other test drivers, and yet the car didn't suffer any ill effects. Do you really think that test drivers are going to go nuts in a test drive? Small percentage will, but in general, no. Also, by the time you get back from a test drive, and park the car in the dealer's yard, 99% of them will have cooled down anyway. Usually the dealer will drive out of the lot (most of their insurance won't cover a customer driving out of the lot) and drive a short distance before handing over to you. This gives the car time to warm up. Plenty of people have lots of problems with non-demo cars too, remember. $3,200 is a good saving, definitely worth having a demo for. However, I reckon you could get them to knock at least 50% of the difference off a new model. If they have a new one in stock, offer them $500 moe than the demo as your best offer. As I said, be prepared to walk away. If they don't have one in stock tell them you want a different colour etc. and again offer them $500 above the demo price for a new one, and you'll sign the paperwork today. If they know you;re serious, then a decent dealer won't let you get away. My most recent Rex was negotiated after the dealer had given me his best offer. WHen he found out I was buying one off another dealer for $2k less than his absolute best, bottom dollar, lose money deal, he knocked $100 off the other guy's deal just to make the sale. This was a few weeks after the current model had hit the showroom, so they were still hot sellers.

f**k!! Had a long reply typed out and lost the f**ker!! Long story short - demos are perfectly safe., You can't kill an EVO X in 500km no matter how hard you try It still has warranty By all means negotiate a better deal if you can, but if you're saving thousands, then it is a good buy. Remember though that you can negotiate on price for a new model off the floor. Play a few car yards off against each other. YOu should be able to get a new car on the road for $5k less than RRP if you haggle well enough, so that;s worth doing. Find a dealer who is keen to sell, specially something that has been on the floor for a while, and offer them something silly (like I said, something like $5k off the RRP, or maybe even more - do your homework). Let them know you're ready to sign on the dotted line, and be prepared to walk if they can't meet your offer. It's worked for me int he past.

Yup. Poof to the max