Snowman

There is no navigator - Duttons is 2 drivers not driver / navigator Hence why you can have double the fun! PS - Dutton NSW is on Nov 21-23 this year

Yeah mate there's a lot of good local steerers in Perth and a lot of fast cars - and they all know their backyards pretty well. Plus a few of the regular front running guys had car issues (us included - blown front diff on day 1), the weather was also a factor (cars 31+ definitely had the better of it) so it made for an interesting yet ultimately predictable finish. But 43 events - or 86 if you include driver + co-driver was PUNISHING on the cars and drivers as we felt we never got a chance to rest and the cars sure got hot. But it sure was some fun! It was the best fun Dutton I've had so far - mostly because it was the 1st one I didn't care about the result in. I was just there to have some fun and do some skids.

Slightly off topic here but I was having a good look at Steve Jones R35 GTR which will be ready for Targa West in a few weeks (looks good too - he has some new Dunlop tyres that might be ok until the R comps are available to that should be good to see and the boy sure can steer). But I was interested to hear from him that any apparent R35 V Spec will be banned from Targa for being too fast. Apparently there is a 0-100 in 3.5s rule which will unquestionably be broken since the current car is already 3.6s. So it doesn't look like we'll ever get to see a lighter R35 targa car. So I wonder if we'll consequently ever see one do that well given it's kgs.

Good work by all the local skylines over the weekend. We might not have won but we sure all looked the best If anyone can help me out with a front diff that'd be super - see here -> http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/R3...18#entry4042718

And finally I blew my front diff up on the 1st competative day over west and some boys put their hands up to help fix the car and when the garage was opened inside there was these 2 little toys. (Who knew there were so many R35's in Perth)

A couple of days later I went to show my car to a local sponsor and he has this as his personal toy. Its one of only 7 RHD versions in the world (De Tomaso Guara)

Spotted a few things on my trip to Perth. Firstly when I got there I went to take the car for a shake-down at AHG and found these there. An EVO X ready for the launch there the next day and Steve Jones testing his R35 for Targa West in a couple of weeks time.

Does that mean the Z-Tune bonnet is allowed?

Well it sure aint me. I said it would come between 8-15th and I also made that comment back when we understood the Ring time to be 7:38 rather than 7:29 AND we also understood the power to be a genuine 480HP rather than the extra power we now know it really makes. So it was 7th rather than 8th - but it still wasn't top 5 though hey. Still - I'm farken impressed with this car thats for sure.

I found this really interesting - http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/11/video-g...gt-r-ring-laps/ It's a side by side comparison lap of the ZR1 and the R35. You can see where the vette wins this race and that is from Ex-Muhle to the big Karusell which is basically a fast 4km long stretch that is SERIOUSLY uphill. So it looks like if the V-Spec wants to knock that time off it really needs to look at the weight side of things. You can see though that the GTR really does handle the bumps better and really on the long downhill straight it doesn't lose any ground the the vette - its just uphill that is the issue.

you're

Well at least everyone with a long cape is

Yeah Blaise and I are taking bets as to how long the 3 stupid power EVO's will last for the weekend before they break. Steves is going to get punished by Jamie. LOL But the chances of any of the Cherry/Ledger, Notaris/Fin or Jones getting to the end are slim in my book (unless its wet all weekend). Speaking of which it'd be great if you could organise 3 days of sunshine for me. Cheers for that. Also - if you hadn't heard apparently the BP in Harvey is closed for renovations so if you guys use 98 fuel you'll need to pick it up from somewhere else before going to Collie.

Awesome - you'll be in our group all weekend too (I actually expect the cut-off to be around 30-35 rather than 50 as posted due to numbers. I'm hoping that it is 35 though so that Steve Jones and Jamie are in group 1). I know Gav and Chris/Matt are coming along but anyone else along for the ride this year? I see a lot of the fast locals from last year are missing (Boxes , Freidricks/Lim and a bunch of others) but there's quite a few fast Easterners coming across this year so it would be good to see some local talent and cars taking up the challenge.

Cheers for that but I have something sorted already.

http://www.duttonrally.com/_assets/WAeventschedule08.pdf I'm car 17 (Its the big angry blue one ) I'll also be at AHG this Sunday morning although I still don't know if my car will arrive in time for this weekend (it's touch and go). If not I'll be using a mates 350Z this weekend.

I originally advised Gav to change over to the -5's and I think he'll agree with me that it was the best thing to do. I still reckon they are the way to go even on a 3.0L. Although hopefully Gav your car isnt TOO fast now since I have to race you next week

I still understand the upcoming "track review" will be more of a car review (to hopefully shut up the whingers) but it will be done on a track in Japan. Apparently Nissan UK have said GTR deliveries will start for them in June 09 now so I'd expect to see the TG track time set after that. Or season 12 at the earliest.

This thread may be of interest to you to help explain further. http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Br...tml&hl=re55

Are you all on drugs or what?? I've seen abortions that are prettier than that thing.....

Nope - I've got the quotes and done the maths already for EVERYTHING including cage, suits, kill switches, intercoms etc etc. Take into account things like turbo swaps are going to cost basically nothing because the ones I have I can sell etc. So I'm talking total out of pocket expenses will be under $10K.

It'd probably end up costing an epic amount of dosh here given Austraila has been allocated just 3 of the 500 8C's being made. (and another 3 of the 8C ragtops as well).

Actually Duncan that was the plan but the new AASA rules for Targa meant my car isn't actually too bad. It's probably not as over the top as many people think it is. Ok so I need smaller turbos's and accessories and a stock cooler and a couple of suspension parts but thats it. The fact that things like my oil cooler and engine etc are all fine under the new rules means the total cost to get my car to spec is less than $10K. And I am comfortable with my car so it seems like the smarter option than starting from scratch. Remember my desire to get into tarmac rallies is partly a desire to get away from the pointy end of the fields for a while and all the pressure and expectaion that comes with it. I just want to have some fun so if it means I'm not in the fastest car then so be it - I don't care. But I also plan on buying an R35 and using it as a daily for 4-5 years then once I'm settled into how tarmac rallies work maybe turning that into a propper fast tarmac rally car. Again though plans and reality might not ever meet. LOL

It actually reminded me of the day I took a 997 Turbo for a spin. The first part of the drive was just highway cruising and to be honest I wasn't impressed at all. Then we got into the twisties and I could not believe how great the car was when being driven 10/10ths. It was only after we had the fanging session that I appreciated on the return home drive how good it was on the highways as it was so nice and relaxing to drive back. It is so rare that something that can be that good in the fun stuff can be so nice and easy in the boring stuff too. The E92 M3 is the same. Like my R34 GT-R is awesome in the fun stuff but the exhaust drone and the stiff suspension can slowly get on your nerves as you cruise along the Hume for 3hrs and it is also not a heap of fun in super heavy traffic. And driving around in an F430 or a Gallardo is much the same. But I think the R35 is going to be like those other 2 cars in that they are great for a fanging session but are subdued and nice for everything else.

I thought the race was great. I laughed heaps and really that is what they are all about.