NXTIME

what diameter piping do the air pods fit? pics to charlies (at) mpx.com.au TIA.

sav1, please keep me updated on your insurance claim. I am in a worse situation that you, but the importer who is handling this hasn't followed it up. I think I will have to do things myself. But it might be too late as the car has been in the country for almost a year.

My R32 suspension was set up like that from Japan. I haven't gotten round to looking at it any closer yet.

So my interpretation was correct I better get going to buy that 1300HP 8 second R32 GTR...

Yes, I think this could be it: Anything built after February 1990 that has already been bought can still be approved and imported as long as you have proof of purchase before 7 february, 2005. This will contiue under the transition period up until 31 December 2005. So if you haven't bought a later 1990 model already, don't bother. And, you can still import a 15 year old vehicle after 7 Feb 2005 up until they amend the appropriate law (late February/early March 2005), but it must be 15 years old at the time of application (ie, built before Feb/March 1990). But, once the law has been amended, you can no longer import any vehicle built after 1 January 1989 under the old 15 year rule.

That is true, Andrew. However, how long did it last for? As mentioned earlier, the police cannot enforce the street racing laws at a continuing level due to the lack of manpower. Whenever there is an incident or two like this and the media get their propaganda and paper-selling machines into overdrive, that is when the police will be out in a show of force. But this cannot be sustained for any long period of time. They have other, more important crimes to attend to. Just listen to one of the online police scanners and you will see the crap that the police have to deal with. I wouldn't want to be in their shoes no matter how much you paid me.

This is a paragraph from the FAQ pdf: The new rule won't be implemented until the law is amended (late February 2005). However, it later states that: Seems like a contradiciton to me. :confused: Then it goes on to say: Another contradiciton. :confused:

Without actual numbers of confiscation, we can't really say what the ratio is and it isn't that easy to gauge. Re-read my last post. But I actually do agree that the law is not working - no matter how many cars were being confiscated - and a large portion of the reason for this is the lack of resources available to enforce it. That is not to say that it is not enforced at all. As for immediate results, well, dedicate a number of police to cracking down on these racers adn known spots. This well inevitable be the case due to the recent incidents. But it won't last due to the lack of police manpower to constantly enforce this law. there are other areas that are given higher priority. But I can guarantee you one thing - the police will be out on a defect blitz for anything modified and twice as hard if it has P-Plates on it. Things are about to get worse for all modified car owners.

Excellent and helpful information, as usual, SK.

Merli, there have been plenty of cars confiscated. But I am not sure of the numbers - will try and look it up. As for people attending street drags, I have already stated that the numbers have not decreased since this law was introduced. The street races are usually held at the same spots that people have been using for years and years. The police know of these spots and do respond at times. However, I am not in a position to comment on how many times police don't turn up to illegal races. It is a given that they still occur, police or no police. But another important factor is the lack of resources. The police do not have enough manpower to constantly chase street racers. They will more than likely crackdown after this incident, but it will continue. As for keeping the money from confiscated cars, they cannot do this legally. But the way to do this is to impose a fine. I guess they could combine the two methods and sell the confiscated cars. That should raise enough money (in most cases) for the offenders to pay any hefty fines. I still contend that the car confiscation laws have not reduced street racing. Therefore, further action is required by the government.

Merli, I just re-read your first post and I actually agree with it, as well as your last post. I concur with the notion that there isn't a clear-cut solution to this problem, and I do acknowledge the fact that it won't stop overnight. It will take quite awhile to instill the notion that street racing is not accepted and that years of education will help to change people's attitudes. However, in light of the failure of the government's attempts to stop this activity, something must be done sooner rather than later, be it increased enforcement, harsher penalties, licence suspension etc. The point I made earlier is that despite the confiscation of cars, people are still partaking in such illegal activities, so therefore, something further needs to be done to curb it. I also agree that a long-term solution needs to be formulated and implemented. But this doesn't appear to be a high priority to the government. The current laws don't allow the government to keep the money, they have to return it to the owner, I believe. One suggestion would be to suspend the licence of those caught street racing and also make it compulsory to attend a drivier training/education course before they can get it back. I also think that this should be mandatory anyway for drivers as part of the licencing scheme. As you said earlier, it is so easy to get a licence to drive any car after a certain period without even driving a car. I don't agree with your last paragraph though. The government already has laws that allow the police to confiscate cars caught street racing (and doing burnouts). But look at the scene - it hasn't stopped people undertaking this activity despite the fact that they can lose their car - for good if caught twice. That is my point, this scare tactic is already in place, but it has done very little to curb the activities of people who do it. Furthermore, street racing has been around for decades, and will more than likely be around for years, if not decades to come. It will never be ridden of "for good". But we can at least attempt to curb it as much as possible. As far as I am aware, the government cannot retain the money from a vehicle sold after the second confiscation. BUT, they can issue fines. My suggestion to increasing the fine to (say) $10,000 is aimed at making people weigh up the (financial) risk of taking part in street racing. The hefty fine will hopefully scare people off the activity due to the huge financial risk (since alot of them don't appear to care about safety). But you are right, that will never happen, therefore we need further solutions to this. It's all in the attitude.

Prestige Motorsport claims that no one in Australian has publicly available compliance plates for R32's under SEVS.

I saw a black R32 GTR on the back of a tow truck going south over the bridge on Stacey St, Bankstown last Thursday afternoon, I think.

someone left out the "potential" bit

Merli, you are making it appear like it's only poor P-platers with clapped out old cars are the ones who are involved in illegal street drags. I can tell you for a fact that there are $100,000+ cars that are involved in this acitivity. As for not paying even a $2,000 fine, well then I guess that is a good thing as they won't have a license again until they do pay this fine off. So, they lose their car and eveentually, their license. Maybe they can then take a good hard look at what they have done wrong while they are catching a bus or getting a lift of friends and relatives to get around. What effective solutions can you (or anyone else) suggest to curb this activity?

Tony, then maybe we, as a collective law-abiding group, should do something to alter this widespread misconception that the community at large has of us. The cruise that was held after the EVLR34 crash last year is a good example of this. perhaps we can have a cruise organised with responsible Skyline drivers to highlight the fact that we aren't all like the media is making us out to be.

I think that the same exemptions apply in this instance as those back in September 2003 when the government changed it's 15 year rule implementation to by the month of manufacture. Ie: as long as you can prove that you bought the vehicle before today's rule change announcement, then you can get it approved and shipped.

But the $2,000-odd dollars in fines, plus storage and tow fees to go with the 3 month confiscation will work? It definitely hasnt worked in the past, and won't work in the future. Also, alot of the P-platers drive vehicles that are worth alot more than clapped out 1200's. My point is that the govt's current methods have not worked. They need to implement better, more effective methods if they actually want to curb street racing and not just raise more revenue.

That's not as bad as some thought it would be. There goes any chance of importing a highly modded R32/300Zx.

I was being realistic. Why wouldn't it? I mean they passed a totalitarian law 9 years ago at a late night sitting of parliaiment in setting the exisitng street racing laws - the govt's method to curb street racing and burnouts, but it simply hasn't worked. They are aiming at removing cars from the owners' possession, but the drivers are free to continue driving. Hit them harder in the hip pocket, suspend their licenses for substantial lengths of time, and see if they continue to street race. No doubt that some fools more than likely will continue to do it, but I am confident that alot of people who street race won't take that risk. They should also impose penalties for those who spectate, as without the ego-inflating crowds, alot of the 'street cred' and boasting that goes with street racing will hopefully make it less desirable to do it. This is much better than continuing to push what the media and members of the opposition are saying - that the police have simply gone soft on street racing. I don't think that that is true, as it appears to be pointing towards the ineffectiveness of the laws aimed at reducing this activity. They simply haven't worked, and this is evidenced by the number of people who attended street races every weekend.

Under the law, the cars are sold and the money is reinstated to the owner. I disagree with this as it won't stop the offending driver from going out and buying another car to use, or driving a friend's car. The objective would be to stop the people from street racing, not the cars themselves. If they made it a $10,000 fine, do you think that would curb street racing?

You want political (re)action? Well, they have already tried to stop illegal street racing by passing legislation (in NSW back in 99?) that allowed the police to confiscate cars on the spot. The second offence will see the person's vehicle confiscated and sold. Has this stopped or at least reduced people from participating in such activity? No chance. We need logical and effective solutions, not knee-jerk reactions. However, I highly doubt that this will occur as all I see coming is harsher treatment by the police, a further media propagana frenzy, and an outcry to 'stop our young kids from being killed'. I can think of another much more death-resultant activity than this, but the government doesn't make as much money from it.

I was only saying that due to to the rarity of the BMW. Too late now Who undertook the work on the cage?

Although to topic is an applicable one considering recent events, I seriously despise the poor reporting methods employed by the media. But then again, they don't refrain from neglecting any standard or ethics (and truth) - their job is to sell newspapers, not report the (unbiased) truth. As for these clowns, well, it was bound to happen. It's ironic that the ethnic background one of the reporters would have been from a large portion of those that were involved in the illegal street racing and subsequent 'brawl'

Welded? Have you fitted one into yours? I don't like the idea of welding a cage into a car like yours, Kenny.