Marlin

Quality control issues by the sound of it, steer clear!

Hey Paul. I'll never doubt anything you say or post mate, so there's no harm in disagreeing with me. Your experience is different to mine, maybe it was something to do with the GTR's rubber being so old? I will say we found the V70A a difficult tyre to understand and get the best from, and they have definately been left behind for dry performance. But I still reckon, in the wet, they're pretty awesome. It's the road car like pattern that does it for them, which is their limiting factor in the dry. And yes, I know exactly what you're saying re the "some previous outright competitors have used multiple sets of tyres during the event".... I know exactly what you're talking about. How's this one, I know for a FACT that one front running competitor was audacious enough to bolt on a set of fresh Super Softs prior to Hellyer Gorge in 2009, and swapped them back straight afterwards, setting an outrageously fast time, and leaving other competitors scratching their collective heads and no doubt taking bigger risks in an effort to combat the cheater...... Seriously, if winning something is that important to you, go tournament game fishing or something, and just throw tags over the side and pretend you caught the fish. It just highlights the need for a dedicated tyre manager for the event. Someone who has a few keen eyes placed around the place. Heck, those eyes could even be highly regarded people from service crews...... these guys see a lot!

The V70A isn't a "slow" tyre, but it's not the fastest tyre on a heavier car. Sullens has won twice on them Where they DO excel even on heavier cars like yours is in the wet. We ran them on both a bug-eye STi (1810kg) and a 34GTR (1870kg) and in the really grotty wet conditions, they were awesome. But, they're about 1 second per klm slower than an A050 or DZ03G in the dry.

You know mate, the more I think about it, the more I think reverting back to 4 tyres is the go. If you're worried about getting through, just run Hards, most of us used to if we thought it was be a dry 5 day event. In addition to the 4 you start with, how about this? You get another 2 tyres marked with your number. ONE tyre is a "spare". If you have a puncture you cannot repair, you can use that spare without penalty, but MUST surrender the damaged tyre to the organisers for the event's duration. You can have it back afterwards. The second marked tyre can be used at any time, but you will be time penalised for doing so. (Maybe the traditional 2 minute penalty needs to be discussed?) I think it's high time there is ONE official on the ground at the events who is responsible for keeping track of all tyre related issues. Give that person a couple of minions if needed for running around. And tyres absolutely must be data dotted per vehicle.

Maybe you meant the V70A? They're a gun tyre in the wet.

And that "spirit" is exactly what I hope we don't lose. I've always thought of the event as one that if all a bloke's numbers came up, if all the moons were aligned, and on "his day", he could stand on the podium. Keeping the costs and crew required somewhat limited by tyre limitations kept that dream alive. And FWIW, I'm not a believer that a mega-dollar or mega-car is required to win it, so take that side of the budget discussion away for a bit for the sake of this discussion....

Yeah mate, I have looked at this year's course, and I reckon you will have had an utter GUTFULL of it by the end! lol

I should start by saying I was a strong advocate of introducing the stepped 6 tyre rule. I was of the opinion that given the last 2 days are usually the wet ones, that it would reduce the amount of accidents caused by people running on nearly bald or bald tyres. Prior to 2010 the organisers used to have scrutineers walking around checking tyres (prior to the 6 tyre rule). If the scruineers found a tyre under 1.5mm , you were forced to either use your spare and take the 2 minute penalty, or withdraw. There was no option. I know we, and others, have been paranoid and dodged scrutineers like the plaque to avoid the possibility of that situation. However, it forced you to MANAGE your tyres, and was another of the great Targa "levellers", ie, the team who best balanced the tyre wear/speed ratio was often rewarded, despite how well funded they were or weren't..... We've seen superstars come and go, guys that go out hard, but by day 4, are taking tyres and the resulting penalties, ending up nowhere. No spares without a penalty also meant most of us didn't cut corners as much, for fear of spiking a tyre and damaging it beyong use. Now, with the 8 tyre rule, I fear we're heading in the wrong direction. I'm a firm believer that, if you chose the right tyre, you could get through on even ONE set of rubber, despite the added kilometres. A set of Hards will easily do the job, PROVIDING you look after them, and pace your event, just like we all had to do in the past. Now, the danger is turning it into a sprint, with the balance heavily in favour of the wealthy teams who can run multiple service vehicles and many crew. I give you a scenario; Team XXXX decides to run a set of Yoki Softs and Yoki Mediums. For each and every stage under 10klm, they will have a crew set up either side of the stage to put softs on the car for the shortest duration possible. For touring transports and stages over 10klm, the Mediums will go on, keeping the softs as fresh as possible. This will gain time, and it's a given for any team with the budget man power to do. Additionally, it means there could be literally dozens of cars on the side of the road everywhere within transport stages, all jacked up in the air, with people scrambling around swapping rubber for every stage. Not only is that dangerous, it means there will be so much tyre swapping going on, competitors will stop wondering WHY they see car XXXX constantly jacked up swapping tyres! This in turn introduces a MASSIVE window for team XXXX to cheat, because no one, let alone the organisers and their representatives, can POSSIBLY hope to keep abreast of what tyres are on what car, and when, despite the possibility of DataDotting them. As I say, competitors will become so blase about seeing cars in the air, cheating for those whom winning means everything and have questionable morals, is a forgone conclusion. I know I tend to drag on, but I hope I at least put across my point of view. I will also add that for an average bloke like me, who's dream and aspiration it has always been to compete in this awesome event, 8 tyres is unfortunately taking it further away from affordability. When it was 4 tyres, it was a $20k spend to do it properly from Queensland, now with 8 tyres, it's a $23k spend ($3k is 4 engines in my car!). I know the argument it that there is "more competetive kilometres!", but to be honest, after 5 days, I'm ready to get out, and have well and truly had enough, and just want it to end. Again, sorry to ramble.

I am I keen to hear more from you guys about the 8 tyre rule for TT. Do you think there's any implications that haven't been considered?

Ummm, I knew that sunshine

I've driven and worked on a few GTiR's. They're pretty punchy given their weight, but they pale next to an Evo for handling and balance. I don't think you'd ever dial out the excessively front heavy feel (and fact) of them. And to work on... a nightmare. And yeah, the gearboxes are fragile. So no, not the best Nissan ever made

Since you love them so much.... maybe you should MARRY THEM!!!!!

FWIW, a dedicated central jacking point at the front was one of the very first things I added to my R32 when I bought it. Slide a jack just under the front in the vicinity of the middle and jack away. No need to get on your knees and check.

Absolutely Roy. Simple tubes within the sills allow triangulated stands to slip in quickly and efficuently, and are sturdy and safe even on rough ground. The gravel guys have used them for years, and if I were building a fresh tarmac car, it would certainly be on the list of must-do's. Do WRC cars use airjacks?

Are you sure the weight penalty on that little car is worth it? A decent ex Nascar jack will have it in the air in no time, and be cheaper, and you're not lugging it around all day. How many crew do you have to change tyres for you roadside? I'm not sold on their benefits, and they're not a no-brainer to set up either, nor are they 100% reliable, so you still need to carry a jack, along with the Nitrogen bottle to jack them. Nah, I could find other things to spend money on before air jacks

HAHA

HAHA

You're dead right about YouTube dumbing-down HD footage Roy. I watch RadCam or GoPro HD footage on my 50" TV beautifully, but when I watch the same footage via YouTube (uploaded in HD), on the very same TV, it's rotten.

.............. and how do you find the sound of the GoPro? Good, or do you just put music over the top of your vids?

You're head is enormous though......

Seems to be creeping in doesn't it. Along with incorrect use of "then" and "than"....... which to be honest, drives me FARKING CRAZY!!!!

What Paul is referring to is the requirement to install FIA padding over the other forms of padding we all use. No one has bare roll cage around heads. What I'm hearing is this FIA stuff really isn't suitable for a rally car, which sees lots of kilometres travelled on road, un-helmeted. Barry is no doubt buying another house with the proceeds of the sales though, so someone wins.

Benm, such unfounded hate for radCam and it's ilk. 15 minutes you state is laughable. Radcam and others like it featuring a remote camera are actually easier to mount successfully than a GoPro. You can actually see a screen showing the view the camera sees, making accurate setup of the view MUCH easier. The lipstick camera uses a similar suction mount if you desire it, and the main body of the unit is simply attached to anything using the pouch and velcro straps, or even thrown in the cetre console of gloebox. If the main body and screen are out of reach, they supply a remote for record on/off. With a GoPro you're sometimes guessing the view it's recording because you cannot stick you eye in its bloody lense (cheap-arse thing has no screen). I've thrown my back out trying to access the view lense of one, and trying to turn one on or off when strapped in and it's mounted between the seats of a race car is laughable. I think Martyboy has given a pretty fair review, "I have over 10 years experience in fitting onboard cameras for TV etc and so cameras like the RadCAM are very easy to install and use. I did the onboards for the GT Series at Phillip Island for One HD last year and trust me, if they were that hard to fit, I wouldn't use them. I did 10 cars by myself and even had to change mounting position in between races. The camera can be mounted outside as the new cables are thin enough to be routed inside, allowing the driver to operate the camera. Audio is then sorted as the mic is located on the receiver, rather than the camera mounted out in the breeze. The RadCAM is the official camera of the ARC, V8 Utes, Bondi Rescue, Targa, the Bathurst 12 hour and the WRC Academy etc etc., so it must have something going for it." GoPro's and their type have their place, but in my opinion, they're far from a good solution for race cars where the sound, and ease of use should be a high priority. *** I'm comparing similarly priced units here, if you're loaded, there's even better, more expensive units available. But most DO require a bit more time to set up to get the most from them.

I forced myself to watch V8Extra on saturday to see if any info was forthcoming re the body shape or engine. As expected, they're on a slow-release of info. skaife (who would know), said he knows what the details are, but it will all come out in due course. The body style is "a car that is not available yet".

That is one of the better ones, but on gravel and with anti-lag the car is always going to be much louder. I still think the co-driver is too loud in comparison, I find myself turning it down as you speak. Don't take it personally, you have a nice voice Timmy