Leewah

I swapped cars with my brother for the weekend. My 3 month 135i for his 335i so we could move people for my brother in law's wedding. Managed to get through the worst weather I've ever driven through inc monsoon weather in Malaysia. Took 1.5hrs to get from Richmond to Ripponlea which not surprisingly got us there late 335 has 5 new noticeable dents. 3 in the bonnet and 2 in the roof. I felt a little better when I spoke to my brother and he was driving my car in the SE suburbs and copped 4 new dents in my car. Hopefully I can find enough dents and damage to make it a worthwhile insurance claim. Got some water damage to my balcony too so will see what the go is with a new balcony.

Was good to catch up with people again after being absent for so long. Nice photos there Jamie. Dammit! I miss my old car so much. The dish on those rims are just so epic! I wish it wasn't just sitting there looking sorry for itself on Sat. It looked like it was calling my name to take it for a quick spin through the windies Ah the memories.

What currencies are you looking at exchanging? I maybe able to help if you have what I'm looking for. PM me with details.

This will prob be one of my few but fantical SAU-Vic appearances for 2010. Hopefully someone will remind me closer to the date. Would be interesting to see what the 135i makes on the dyno. If it makes 50% of what the GTR made, I'll be mildly impressed.

I had a ball when I did a tandem jump out of Nagambie bout this time last year. The Mrs gave it to me as a birthday present. Also kind of a celebration of winning my first big poker tournament. First few secs were some of the greatest time of my life! Would love to do it again sometime. SCUBA is awesome too. 250+ dives under the belt but haven't headed out for bout 18 months. Hope to do some in Thailand in May.

Yeah, I still look at my 13 trophies from over the years and reminisce the fun days. 407rwkw, 512 rwkw, 604awkw! 3 new records in successive years. Those were fun times. Naaaaaauuuuuuuuusssss!!!!!!

LOL@MCCR Old Skoolz! I began my MCCR phase back when I had a stock WRX and went cruising with Mark, James et al. Later got invited onto the HiPo cruises and then then Point to Point "cruises". Runs up the Dandenongs and Kinglake were epically fun if not a tad dangerous. And then I got the GTR and even dead stock was considered superfast against plenty of those cars. Ah, the glory days. They were some fun times. FA4LYF!

Pete, you summed it up perfectly with Jeff's quote. It was a necessary sacrifice which a few of us have made recently. I'm loving the idea of a new VW R20. Pity it doesn't arrive until late 2010 or 2011. Going to stay away from buying a new car for awhile however the idea of a new car is tempting.

I think I'm just distraught that is really IS gone now. I've talked about selling it for so long now but I've always been able just to get in it when feeling down and fire it up and go for a drive to get away from it all but now I can't. It was also the 1st car I've ever really been attached to which makes it so tough. My previous cars were all stock and I never modifed them. I got decent money for it but unfortunately due to the GFC, I didn't actually get a sheep station or the 11ty billion I wanted. Just hope the new owner doesn't wrap it around a tree at some point. That would just be totally devastating for me.

After 9 years, 1 month and 10 days, it can now be made official that I have sold my car. The ownership papers have been signed, the bank cheques exchanged and car cleaned out. I will always have great memories of the car and everything I've done with it. From countless all nighters preparing it for Autosalons and drag days to enjoying the spoils of running a 10.47@133MPH on drag radials back when GTRs were still struggling to get into mid 11s. At the time, my car was #4 in the HPI outright 4WD rankings behind GTR700, Kier Wilson and John Munro, all of which at the time were already race cars. There were also many spirited drives late at night and Vmax runs on "private" roads. Those were the days before reckless people came out in their rolling coffins and managed to obtain the title of "hoon". After that, all the fun was ruined and things will never be the same. Bad luck to those who missed out on those days. Rest assured, they were GREAT times! For 3 years running, my car took out the highest AWD HP, Outright HP and Tough As Nails trophies at AutoSalon which is a credit to all those who have ever been involved in the development and maintenance of the car. The car has been worked on over the years by a number of people who need to be thanked. No matter what your opinion is of these people, they are responsible for making my car what it is and what it has been in previous configurations. Without them, it would have just been another GTR. * Ben (previous owner) from RacePace Motorsport * Gerald from Ice Performance * Nigel from Ice Performance and Racingline Motorsport * Karl from Racingline Motorsport * Benny Kashima for saving me one late night before the Autosalon Power Challenge and repairing a cooler pipe * Mick at MiColour * Ray and his absolutely ace team from RE Customs I've learnt that if you have the right people around you and access to the right knowledge and tools, you can pretty much make anything happen. It just takes time, effort, money (no hiding from it) and a lot of dedication. Where do I go from here? Nowhere right now. I'm kicking back and just enjoying the idea of not having to worry about a modified Japanese import and peddling around in my auto daily driver. I will always miss the car and reminisce the great days I had with the car and the wonderful times it brought me and I don't regret many things I've done with the car. I made it what I wanted it to be, did the things I wanted to do with it and now it was time to let it go. I wish the new owner the best of luck and joy with the car and I hope that Ray and the boys at RE keep looking after it like they did for me. Their service and workmanship have been impeccable and they have always been willing to help out at the drop of a hat. Hopefully I'll still be involved in SAU and it's activities. I haven't been round much of this year to participate in events but I hope that will change as the warmer seasons kick in and day hangs round a bit more. *Photos care of fullboost.com.au*

Wow! It's been so long between visits I just stumbled across this thread. Many belated thanks peeps. Had a fun combined birthday party in Macau with another mate. Copious amount of partying but had to be kerbed to a point coz we were playing a big poker tourney the next day.

Try a drag strip, dyno or racetrack. Anywhere else is most likely illegal. I'm just glad I got into this thread before it gets locked

I used to have RBDETT on my GTR. Took them off coz they attracted attention I didn't need. Someone else on the Vic forum also has RBDET but it slips my mind who it is right now.

I have a Mio C520. It's not the best GPS in the World but it does the job. Sometimes the routes it recommends aren't the greatest as it doesn't take traffic conditions into account however you can subscribe to the traffic condtions report option for a fee and the GPS will make the appropriate calculations. The maps however are spot on and never had a problem with them like asking me to turn the wrong way down a one way street etc. The actual GPS location on the map is also excellent however it usually takes a little over a minute for the GPS to lock onto enough satellites to be accurate. I've also found the battery life on the GPS is crap. Even after only owning it for about a year, the battery life was less than 1 hour so now I plug it into the cigarette lighter all the time. It does have some pretty cool functions though such as one touch "home" and "work" options which will automatically point you in the right direction to get to either of those places from wherever you are. Also, the handsfree bluetooth speaker is great with the phone. It also has it's own phone book so as long as your phone is paired, you can just touch someone's name and it'll start dialing for you. Having said all this though, I did get my GPS about 2 years ago so I assume technology has made them better.

Crown Towers can't really be beat for amenities and quality of service. The Crown Spa is one of the best in Melbourne and I've enjoyed my experience there every time. The Park Hyatt has awesome rooms too but I haven't tried using their spa services so can't comment on them. I've most recently stayed in the Club Rooms at The Langham for the night before my wedding and the rooms were awesome. You also get access to their VIP Club Room which has things like Internet, magazines, newpapers, tea/coffee facilities and private breakfast facilities so it's all a bit more personal. The Chaun Spa at the Langham is also one of the best in Melbourne and offers great pampering services should you wish in indulge. These are not the cheapest rooms or services going around but they are certainly some of the best I've experienced in Melbourne.

My car still exists and still runs quite happily however it has had somewhat of a transformation since Autosalon duties. After making my 604awkw run back in the day, we took the car to Heathcote and ran a 10.7@141MPH which still couldn't better our previous best of 10.47@133MPH due to traction issues. Videos from Autosalon can be found at and Since then my car has gone through another turbo conversion from the big single and NOS to twin lowmount 2860-5s, got rid of the 3 fuel pumps and gone back to a single system and making a comfortable and responsive 347awkw. Went to Heathcote a couple weeks ago just to see how quick it was now and surprisingly managed to run a 11.2@126.9MPH and 11.3@124MPH. Highlights can be seen at

Here's a few pretty little automobiles I saw during my travels in the Côte d'Azur during my honeymoon. There was so much money around, you could smell it! I was soooo in my element 1. Porsche Carrera GT with Rolls Royce Phantom parked behind. 2. Maserati MC12. 3. Mercedes McLaren SLR. Oooooo I sooooo want one. 4. Carpark outside Monte Carlo Casino 5. Ford GT 6. 2009 Ferrari 599 GTB Mansory Stallone. 1 of not many. Supercharged 6.0L V12 with LOTS of carbon fiber and go fast bits. 7. Aston Martin DBS. Sounds so secksy.

So I was in Cannes a couple days back enjoying the south of France on my honeymoon when she caught my eye going down the other side of the road. Glammed up coz it's Cannes and the film festival was on. I ran across the road to catch a better look and whipped out the camera quick smart to grab a shot of one of the biggest celebrities I'd seen on my trip. Alas, by the time I got there, she had left her space not to be seen again. What was it that I ran across the road for with camera ready? McLaren Mercedes SLR in CHROME paint job!!! Uber hotness! I think I pee-ed a little in my pants when I saw it but certainly needed a change of undies when it roared off down the road. All was not lost though as I saw 2 more that day along with a 430 Scud, Aston Martin DBS, Bentley Brooklands, Lambo Reventon, countless Bentley ragtops, a new Z4 (one of the cheaper cars there), other Fezzas and numerous other exotics. Photos to come. I've been truely humbled. Was in Monaco yesterday for the GP too and saw some nice examples of motoring but it had nothing on Cannes. Going to Monte Carlo Casino today to play James Bond. Will certainly have camera in tow to take some shots of the cars parked out front.

Congrats fellas! Job well done.

I'm soooooooo dark I can't make it to Trance Energy. Nearly all my mates in that social circle are going and I can't coz I'm still recovering from back surgery

I just spotted the Redback Spyder tonight on Swanston Street. Here's the result of what some others thought about it... One of the funniest things I've seen in many years!

After this Snowy, I think you've set a new record for motorsport enthusiasts who want to be you! Can't wait to see it rock up to one of our meets I wonder if it's faster than my car on Dandenong Rd or Nepean Hwy or Black Spur... ROFL!

Quick update for everyone. I just came out of the Epworth today after having a L5/S1 microdiscectomy. I tried the epidural back in Feb but it didn't fix the problem so I bit the bullet yesterday and was discharged today. All done within 24 hours and I feel 100% better. I'm currently on Endone to control the pain and have been told it will be a 4-6 week recovery time if I do the correct exercises and look after myself so I hope this is the last time I have to worry about my back. Biggest problem for me now is that I'm not allowed to sit down for more than 20 mins at any time. I'm allowed to be lying flat or standing/walking but sitting really isn't an option for long periods of time because of the spinal compression which occurs when you sit. My suggestion to everyone though would be to exhaust all your resources before taking surgery though as even though surgery has a 80% success rate, I still really think it is a last resort.

Ice Performance was made up of myself, Gerald and Nigel. Gerald and Nigel ran the day to day business while I was a silent partner who provided a base car for them to work on and display some workmanship. Nigel then purchased the Supra and rebuilt it ground up to what people knew as the "Damn" Supra. Damn was the first RWD Supra in the country to break the 10 sec barrier when it ran a 10.91@129MPH on Nitto 275s at Heathcote. That was pretty much straight after making 595rwkw at AutoSalon back in 05. The car was then detuned and made a few visits to Sandown where I believe it made a best time of 1:21. My car ran a best of 10.47@133MPH when it was making 495rwkw but never cracked into the 9s when it ran a max power of 617rwkw because of traction issues on the Nitto 275s. According to HPI Magazine, I was the 4th fastest GTR in the country and the fastest street registered GTR in AU. We did eventually manage a best of 10.7@142MPH though which we were quite impressed in. Mind you, I was running stock R33 GTR suspension in the car so we couldn't really expect to have a record breaking car. Ice Performance dissolved in 06 when Nigel then started Racingline Motorsport with Karl which later closed up in 07. Carry on.

Hey rAsh, Put me down for a CB, charger and can you find out how much the hands free kit is coz I reckon I'll take one of those too.