djr81

My point was simply that if someone can understand the concept of torque then they can probably get their head around the fact that it is measured in Newton metres, ie a force times a distance. Inventing a new unit of measurement (ie torques) helps no one and sounds profoundly stupid to boot. If he wants to talk about torque in the general sense he needn't invoke its units of measurement, real or imagined. Language is a tool of understanding, so why not use it as such instead of just making shit up? It leaves those that do understand thinking of him as a twat & those that don't no better off. Anyway as has been said Top Gear isn't really a car show. It is more just a bunch of blokes carrying on like dickheads. Which is to be applauded.

Does that make me a ginger beer or a nerd, Baron? Maybe both. The term you are seeking is the polar moment of inertia. J for short. For a hollow round section Polar moment of inertia = pi/32 multiplied by (outside diameter to the fourth power - inside diameter to the fourth power) Anyway for a small increase in diameter you get a big increase in torque transmission capacity. On the flip side the metal at the centre of the shaft is doing next to fk all. Question to Syslink. Which NATA accredited mob are you getting to do your testing, not Metlabs by chance?

Should they squeak. No. Will WD40 help? Maybe a bit in the short term. Try some proper grease & also do the sway bar bushes as they often carry on too.

Sorry I shouldn't have said series. Not the Biante one anyway. I was thinking the historic outings that you occassionally see the R31's & the like at.

No. There are bundles of misunderstandings about light weight drive train components. Some people reckon they destroy the driveability & low range torque of a motor. Others believe the low rotational inertia produces masses more acceleration. What is true that if the lower drive train inertia isn't factored into the dyno readings it will give a false, high, output number. Also true is that a lightweight driveshaft (much like its flywheel equivalent) will reduce the amount of energy (or horsepower over time if you like) required to accelerate the car. Whether this is important or significant depends on a bundle of factors. I would suspect that a good carbon drive shaft would have a small & perhaps measureable effect.

Rumour has it the car was going to re-appear in the historic touring cars. Anyone?

Well two names who I would like to see in V8's in the not too distant future - both sons of former drivers: Hansford & Miedecke. I was a big fan of Greg & Andrew (Phark, am I showing my age?) so I would very much like to see Rhys & George prosper in the utes & get on into the main game. For those who don't or can't remember the Miedecke Sierra (Engineered by a couple of bloke called Ross & Jimmy Stone) scared the crap out of the import Sierras in 1987 at Bathurst. Besides, how can you not like someone who's major sponsor was Oxocube? As for Greg Hansford his loss was a huge one to the motorsport community. He was a thorough gentleman & achieved great success both racing for Kawasaki & subsequently for Moffat & then Perkins. His wins at Sandown & Bathurst were a testament to his skill. His willingness to put up with those two bosses a tribute to his character. The great sadness was his loss after finally signing a good deal, for Ross Palmer in the super tourers. That Rhys has enough mettle to go motor racing points to him being a solid character.

You must be a HUGE Paul Morris fan.

Why not look for a car that is available locally? You get the huge benefit of being able to see the thing yourself, know that it is log booked (If required), comliant to all of CAMS nonsense (If required) & best of all know what lap times it is capable of at a local circuit. Just about every race car I have ever seen is "for sale" - mostly because the drivers always have an eye on their next prospective purchase...

But wasn't that said last year?

No. Or atleast there shouldn't be. The only reason to record a difference would be if the dyno wasn't being set up or run correctly.

Pull the fuse on the 4WD system & go for a drive. If the problem has gone then it is your tyres. Much of the input for the system is differential wheel speed front to rear. If the system detects it it thinks wheelspin & pushes torque forward. This is almost certainly the cause of the jolting as the locked up system & differential wheel speeds need to somehow get back to normal - hence the car jolts. What is your front torque gauge reading when you drive around normally?

Quick question, does anyone have the bolt size for the outer upper link bolt on the front suspension of an R32 GT-R. I am reverting to a non adjustable arm & will need to replace the two bolts currently in this duty. I expect it to be a metric bolt, Grade 8.8. So M10 or M12 by XXmm long. Thanks to anyone who can help.

No he is saying that it IS the reason. No.

You have to understand that the "proper motorsport is too hard/too expensive" excuse is just that. It in no way validates stupid behaviour. People don't do it because doing the right thing is too hard. They do it because they are utter fkwits.

I want to know who is financing Paul Dumbrell's V8 escapades. Simply because it would be good to know someone so generous. Well done to the Jones brothers & McConkey. Good to see them having some time in the sun. The PWR car for Andrew Thompson did well. Looks like he can drive, not that there was much doubt. Junior Johnson got well shafted by the "Judge of fact". Fact was he got it wrong. Highlight of the whole weekend was the brilliant effort by Paul Morris to drop the C word into the broadcast. As for driving standards - it is always going to end up in a mess of broken cars if you relax them even a little. Surely that much has been learned? Not that it is V8 related, but it is good to see so many sons of former racers having a go. Miedecke, Moffat (x2) & now Hansford. Good stuff.

Yeah sorry old info I guess. I saw some over the weekend advertised as duralium. So I guess they have fixed it. Million dollar quesrion: How do you pick the difference between the two?

Yes the euros have been driving diesel cars for yers. But then again if fuel was double the price, the roads half the size & the taxation rates even more stupid than they presently are everyone here would probably be driving a 1 litre diesel Fiat something. And hating it. Not sure if you noticed but diesel prices are in lock step with petrol prices - and it is more expensive & less common (in metro areas). Plus you have to stand in the awful black oil slick & get the stinking sh!t all over your hands every time you fill up. Then there is the noise, the lack of a torque band more than 2000rpm wide, the dodgy resale.... Audi winning Le Mans. That is mostly about weak opposition & stupid rules. Like Le Mans has always been, really. In any case given that Australia has an abundance of gas it makes sense for Ford to build an engine that runs on LPG. Which they do. So maybe less of the is Euro is good and a little more credence to the local engineers who are building the things.

Well the decision is as much about who you import it through as what you import. A good importer will serve you well, a bad one will unload any old crap they have laying about. You can get a good idea from asking - much better than the impression that may be gained from looking at flashy web sites & spammed left overs. But in any case at the moment, for R32 GT-R's - I reckon you would be much better off finding one local from a private seller. They are abundant, cheap & generally in better condition than when they left Japan.

It looks oddly proportioned in the photos. There appears to be a heap of room between the beonnet & the top of the motor. Maybe this is something to do with the pedestrian crash worthiness regulations?

Try a search. The tooth section of the cam gear wears very quickly because it is soft aluminium. Also whilst you are arsing about with the gears change the belt & think about changing the water pump.

Yeah I wouldn't buy HKS cam gears. I would get a different brand.

Nah, far tougher burning and/or gassing yourself with CO2.

Best option: take it somewhere else.

No. Being aluminium doesn't make a radiator reject heat any better than being copper. It just makes it lighter. The second consideration is the volume of coolant the radiator carries. Obviously the longer it resides in the radiator (as opposed to the motor) the more heat it can reject. Just as obviously the more coolant you carry the heavier the system. Bottom line: Check your current system to condition. Make sure it is up to scratch. Then & only then replace it if it is marginal. Drifting is a bit of a hard application for radiators simply because the motor is putting out reasonable amounts of power but the lack of airflow makes it hard for the radiator to function.