whatsisname

Duncan, The Stagea goes without saying, which is why we hadn't said it! Good onya'!

TIMMMAYYY, I agree mate, turbo diesel is the go for serious off roading. Actually forget turbo diesel & go for a V8 (if fuel costs aren't an issue). I see the Forester XT as a good daily commuter (it'd be a real ego killer to the unsuspecting ) & a family holiday machine. It's perfect if surfing is your thing Believe it or not the humble Land Rover 110 (mil spec) was by faaar the best on our 4WD course! We used 2 brand new turbo diesel Ford Couriers, 1 brand new Toyota Land Cruiser & 2 slightly used 110's. The course is a 1wk RAAF 4WD off road & recovery course. We use the El Amain (sp?) Army live fire range right next door to the Baxter Detention Centre in Pt Augusta. The Army use this area for Tanks & APCs so it's perfect for really putting a 4WD through its paces!!! 20's on a Forester would look interesting!

The first Forester series ('97 to '00 ?) in Japan included an STi version! 206kw? TIMMMAYYY, The first series Forester won, not only medium car class awards on it release, but outright 4WD awards too! Not bad for SFA ground clearance (it's not as bad as you'd think). Peak power might be over 5,000 but with 4WD'ing it's all about torque not power. Peak torque @ 3600 isn't too bad. To be totally honest I don't see too many Forester XT's being used for serious off roading. Talking about 4WD's & torque/power, a military spec Land Rover 110 (not the pissy commercial Defender version) makes a lowly 66kw yet it makes 250 odd nm of torque @ a peak of 1950. And having just done a wk 4WD course I can vouch that these things will go just about anywhere!

11 months doesn't really mean that much. He might only do 10k a yr & a large % of it may well be mild commuting? How many hard kays has he done on it taking it to 8k? From what I gather Andrew (Merli) is pretty tame on the road, so it'd only be the track days that would be pushing it. Like I said, only a matter of time!

Anybody had a look at the new Subaru Forester XT range? Being a family man I could see me doing the daily duties & then hitting the coast for surf in one! (I don't mean actually surf IN the Forester - for the smart arses out there ) 2.5L turbo 155kw @ 5600 320nm @ 3600 0-100km/h 6.4sec 5sp 6.8 - auto 1/4 - 14.8 auto A few minor tweaks & you've got a great all-rounder! Wheels like it - http://www.subaru.com.au/news/?newsid=11858

I was thinking it was only a matter of time mate. Reving to 8k on a stock used RB25, something had to give sooner or later Ahh well nothin' wrong with spendin' a few $ for a freshen up hey So what's the plan from here on in?

8k on stock RB25 internals!

EVOIV, I can't remember exactly as it was 4 mnths back but from memory it was ~$120 for the widest option @ longest length. I think? I can't report on its success yet as it's still waiting for the new motor before I fit it. With the Microtech handset (intake temp reading) I'll be able assess "part" of its value fairly quickly though.

Yeah mate. It's stupid to do what I'm doing I know but until it's sold I won't give up hope of hanging on to it And if I do then I'm laughing. I won't be selling it for a little while yet, still plenty of time to play!

There is a delay in getting my CP pistons from the states (thought they were already here!) I've got the option of going ARIAS right now or waiting 2-3wks for the CP's. More than 1 engine builder has said, "wait". CP's - $1,600 ARIAS's - $1,400 ARIAS are top of the range, CP's are the bee's knee's. http://www.cppistons.com/ Go to "about us" & read the company history.

EVOIV, I got mine from Revolution Racegear on Main North Rd. I got a small discount off the price too

Yeah very true mate. Mind you @ 180+km/h I don't think the "eng check" light flashing would've helped me in time anyway.

As everyone else has already mentioned, 11's isn't too big an ask. 10's is quite a bit trickier! If you want to be able to reel off consistant low 11's to high 10's (or better) then you may need to look at upgrading your gearset. I don't care what others may say on this subject but no matter how good the R box is it can blow 3rd gear if pushed hard. I've seen 3rd let go on quite a few R32 & R33 boxes. If you only want to run 1 or 2 quick passes & then rest on your laurels you might get lucky with 3rd gear? A good friend of mine blew 3rd on his first run at Eastern Creek in his R33 (he knew about 3rd & took the shift easy too). His car has R34 N1 turbo's, cams & gears, Apexi PFC AVCR, head gasket & so on... 310kw @ all 4. If I was in your position I'd buy an R that someone has already done all the hard work on. It'll save you a few $$$.

Naa the g/box was fine, it was a CV. A CV that was asked to cope with waaaay too much! If Ivan's Proton ever gets all it's power to the ground it'll give quite a few Skylines a run for their money! 180+kw at the front wheels from memory? A stock Satria GTi makes 60 odd fwkw.

For some reason that rwkw level seems familiar?

Matty, Congrat's dude! Naaa forget the GTS-4 idea, go get yourself a Racelogic Traction Control system. www.racelogic.co.uk Here's the system at work on an M Roadster - http://www.racelogic.co.uk/z3mlaunch.avi I've already asked in "My rebuild" thread but in I'll ask again here.... I take it the internals aren't stock to enable you to rev it to 8k on a regular basis?

Congrat's Matt! Go RB25DET power A 5 to 8k power band would make for an interesting drive! Around town she'll be great for economy. I take it the internals aren't stock if you're taking it to 8k? R33man, G'day mate. Yep I'm a RAAF Avtech @ ARDU (IMS). I've been with ARDU for a couple of years. Before that I was with 33SQN (10yrs).

I think it's luck of the draw.

Jesus!!! What do they teach in english at school these days!?

Yeah I was thinking the exact same thing Steve. On an RB25DET she'd be all top end.

Nice, very nice. I'd like to hear it with twin screamer pipes!

New turbo? Do tell! What internal work has your motor had done? What injectors?

Matt, Last time I saw the rear camber on your beast it didn't look like it would help with traction. How old are the 540's you've got? Once they go off (hard) they're pretty useless. Mind you with the your car's power/weight ratio fresh 540's would struggle. The best I can suggest is to do what I did, align the rear end as neutral as possible, DON'T make the rear sus' hard as hell, & fit the sub-frame bushes for max traction.

G'day Lachlan, it's been a while mate! I've not spoken with Tim in aaaages so it'll be interesting to see what he thinks re the timing thing. One thing I do know is that the timing map was not as per Tim's tune when the engine let go, not hugely different but enough to potentially cause a problem. Steve, Nitto's are the go if straight lines are your thing. 540's are a v/good 2nd option that are awesome on dry road! Hmmm... naaa can't think of anyone with 255/40/17 540's that could swap I still can't believe I'll be selling either.

Ain't that the truth! Yeah the list is nearly never ending. If I was keeping my car then I had about 10 more major rounds of mods planned!