Birds

Had an argument with a mate at dinner quite a while back, where I got quickly shouted down by everyone for suggesting bench press was more a shoulder and tricep exercise than it was a chest exercise. The consensus was that chest was the major muscle group exerting effort during the exercise. And well, you can't really win an argument in that situation, as the masses will just shout you down. I really could have used this video / explanation that night!

It's true the sound isn't a cause for worry. And yes it's annoying at traffic lights or when you are parking your car in a garage / echoing area. Spraying some lithium grease on your input shaft retainer can help with the sound. Mine actually went away permanently by doing this, though I think I got lucky with that, as for most people it's a temporary solution. Pull off the rubber clutch fork dust cover and shine a light inside. You'll see your clutch and release bearing. Avoid spraying towards the clutch...aim for the release bearing itself and the input shaft retainer. This will give it a nice travel of lube to slide along and should quieten the noise a bit.

One flaw with that, is when the clutch pedal is up and noisy but the sound disappears when it is down - you assume it to be a gearbox issue, however, a thrust bearing can also make noise when the pedal is up, that will disappear when you put the slightest pressure on the clutch pedal (basically until it starts getting hard to push in). It's actually a common problem in these boxes, having the thrust bearing rattle around on the input shaft retainer in neutral, with the clutch out. It sometimes sits up against the pressure plate, but not flush with it. Having the clutch slightly depressed will create enough movement to press the bearing firmly against the pressure plate and stop the rattle. The test for this is to apply a slight amount of pressure to the clutch pedal (basically until it starts getting "hard" to push the pedal in) and if the sound disappears then this is your issue. It's a non-issue; simplyan annoying sound. If you have to push the clutch all the way in for the sound to disappear, then yes, it is likely a gearbox bearing or shaft.

It must take a lot of self control not to ask Helmut how many podiums he took in F1...

Now who ya gonna call? Not the gee bees... Now who you gon call? Gee double ee gee...

White with fluro wheels ftw

Never seen reason to try it myself, but I've never had an injury or reached a plateau that's made me want to. Usually it's one of these that makes someone give it a go. I know my mate got pretty scared when he pulled a muscle doing deads, he's too scared to do conventional now. I don't agree with that kind of technique bandaiding, but whatever makes you happy I guess.

I have a soft spot even for elitist dream boats. No reply as yet.

Type of gearbox and brand of clutch play a huge part. Clutches don't all come from the same factory; even clutches from the same factory won't all sound or work the same. Hence so much variance in what people say; some will complain, some will think it's the best clutch in the world. RB25DET boxes are notorious for having noisy release bearings; GQ Patrol Diesel boxes have common rollover noises, particularly with aftermarket clutches.

I could put 20s on, but they are short and thick plates, so gives me a bit of a deficit on the deads and my long legs hate that! The 25s are short enough as is. Trained at a different gym lastnight and the 20s had handles; were taller on the ground than my regular gym's 25s. Prolly gave me a slight advantage off the floor. Bar knurling was great though, really tore up my skin and didn't need chalk.

'work brah.

I have to pull 220kg before it's 4 plates a side

Forced plateau my ass. Do a f**kload of 150s after the 180 and you'll soon be doing two of them No excuses, Troy boy.

Mate swears by sumo and tells me to try It, but I lift more than him with conventional. And yet there are people who pull more than me using sumo...so...definitely personal preference.

Well done Troy, that's great to be pulling that after your injuries in the past

This would have been a decent pick up for 8k http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/435802-r33-gtst-custom-paint-sydney/#entry7152912

117.5kg single for an equal personal best, after 6 reps of 100kg on the previous set. Was a much easier feeling lift than I used to do it, too. 120 next session. Waiting for the bench plateau monster to kick in! Might need to start a bench progress thread ala the deadlift/squat/pull-up threads.

Last minute gifts...

I know Al, third party usually covers up to ~20 million in property damage...it was just a hypothetical (pretending the 20 mil was actually 8k) to demonstrate that, regardless of insurance being involved, your dispute as a whole is still legally between you and the other parties who hit you / you hit.

I don't want to pay for the tune and injectors

I want to push my luck on the bottom end, without buying the car. Is this going to be a problem?

Good squattin babe

I wouldn't even bother with an engine flush for that. If the oil changes are that far in between, the engine usually starts depending on the sludge to keep itself together. Flush it out and it'll make all kinds of fked up noises in the valvetrain! Just change your oils people. Second job of oil is to clean your engine by removing the nasties. It cleans as it lubricates. Forget about gimmicks like running re-branded prepsol through your engine. Of course it's gonna get a heap of crap out, it's designed to break oil/grease down - oil that protects the engine. The only time you shouldn't change your oil is if the vehicle has gone for 80,000km without an oil change...in which case...leave it in there for the rest of the engine's limited life!

Decent diet

Website may be a bit biased, given the domain and title, but I do believe this information myself and real world results (that I've seen) appear to support it: http://www.change2e85.com/servlet/Page?template=Myths