Steve

thanks enrico, I am seeing clint tomorrow, I shall check it out. Bl4cK32 - shall do PSI-VL, their work is first class, and I have checked them out. You do get what you pay for, but by the same token, most workshops these days charge around $60-$70 per hour - thats more than a doctor:) and really, its just a pipe:p

$800 for a stainless manifold, copy or not, is very bloody cheap - sounds too good to be true.

Vic have ZERO tolerance - how farked would that be!

Hi all, I want to replace my intercooler to plenum pipe, its a bit too thin and I think is causing problems, but either way, it definately wont hurt going to larger pipe, ie 3 inch. So far I have been to a couple of places and been quoted 450 and 515 dollars, which is a bit more than I would like to spend if possible. Can anyone recommend a place that does custom pipework, and is reasonably priced (hippy, you must have sused this out by now:D). I feel the quotes I have had so far a bit expensive - may be that I am just suffering from tight arse disease though:p Cheers Steve

Well this must mean the govt is running out of money. Whenever the budget looks a bit worse than usual, fines go up or more speed cameras go on the road - which wouldnt be tooo bad if only 1 cent in ever $10 went into building decent roads Thanks for the warning about the speed cameras. The redlight cameras dont stop people running red lights, but I am sure these ones will work really well, and we will have no more people killed on the roads cos now everyone will drive better:p

To get a little more technical, you must have at least 2/3rds of the original suspension travel too, and you must have the same height front and rear - ie the car must be level, so you cant just lower the front. Different cars will have different ride heights from the factory - there are a couple of different measurements to assess this. One is from the centre of the wheel to the guard, another is 'eyebrow' height, as there are now ADRs which state the minimum height from the road to the headlights - once again, this may be exceeded if the car was manufactured with a lower eyebrow height than specified. It would be worth checking your local rules, which are available on the RTA website - as for example here in SA, they require engineering certification if the car is lowered at all from stock - but I am pretty sure most states are not that strict.

It would be a nice drive - some great roads between here and sydney. I might have to head over there too, for emissions testing! What say Matt? got room for visitors? Perhaps the mother of all cruises:D

Sorry to hear - SA's loss (as well as yours Miss*33:)) Hey Matt, you can get your car engineered quite cheaply over there;)

Sydney? Course, posting or holiday?

Public holiday long weekend - wouldnt it be better to perhaps wait a week?

:) If they are good for drift, I dont think they will be doing me any favours

Oops, thanks for pointing out my f-up:)

Well, it appears bridgestone have decided to take a very popular tyre off the production line. This is being replaced by RE55, which I have been told is very soft, and wont last long (a few thousand kms). Does anyone know of a comparable tyre to the RE540? Similar grip, wear, price? Cheers Steve

AFAIK tolulene is used by the manufacturers to boost the octane of premium unleaded to 98 ron, except BP as they are the only ones in Aust that crack the fuel at pretty close to 98 ron. From the BP website, TOLUENE IS A COMMON OCTANE BOOSTING COMPONENT Toluene (methyl benzene) gives about 1 octane number boost for each 5% added and the mixture may need to be slightly richer also. The higher octane allows the use of a higher compression ratio for more power. Toluene has a high carbon content that may lead to sooty spark plugs so don’t assume that this indicates an overly-rich mixture. Toluene is also a good solvent, and high concentrations affect rubber and plastic components in the fuel system. So only 2.5 litres to take 50L of premium to 98 ron.

Duty of care is a defence, as currently they have the final say, and are the ones that give final approval - unlike other states where the approved person/engineer who does the mods is the one who states whether or not the car is roadworthy. As there is no commercial outlet in SA that provides inspections, argueably the inspections have no commercial value here in SA. I would really love it if this task was passed to the business sector, in the hands of professionals. The minister has the power to grant exemption, or one of his duly appointed representatives - of which work at regency. The wording is 'may' grant exemption, therefore no entitlement actually exists. Also, if the inspector reasonably beleives (nice loose term) that what ever the engineer has approved may not be roadworthy, he has an obligation to not allow it. Really dark ages beaurocratic red tape bull shit. In the past (over 12-18months ago) there was never a problem, as those in power at regency, it woud appear, were more lenient.

Oh, and buster, mine is making over 300rwkw with Z32 - shall have to check what the afm voltage reaches

I am not saying the Z32 is preventing more power being made, but that it sounds like it is hitting peak voltage, so when the boost is turned down, the ecu doesnt know that less power is being made (less air flow) and adjusts the mixtures appropriately. As the car is tuned off the dyno O2 sensor, the mixtures are right for the higher boost, but once you turn the boost down, if the ECU still sees the same AFM voltage at the same revs, it will use the same amount of fuel - same map point. Get what I mean? Tuning the car with a maxed out (voltage) wont effect peak power at the boost it was tuned at. By comparison, alot of cars have well over 200rwkw with the stock AFM, but I checked my AFM voltage when I had 190rwkw and it hit 5.1V at 4500rpm (peak torque). This wasnt a problem as long as I used the same boost. Top end power is probably more being limited by exhaust - but fixing that in itself wont help the tuning at 1.5bar and when the boost is turned down the ecu still uses the same map points - which could only be airflow or revs, as they are the only two points the map uses for reference.

Greg, AFAIK, the power fc uses airflow and RPM - sounds like you have found the limits of your Z32 AFM? That would be my guess, and I dont think its a bad one:p

Just find your local fire hydrant:p

If it makes you feel better, I know a guy here in Sa who got done purely for having too much camber on his rear wheels in a commodore - and there was a recall from GM about it! something defective with the rear suspension.

I think the problem may exist, as regency can cite a duty of care to ensure vehicles are roadworthy and therefore err on the side of caution. Also, they arent doing trade per say, as they do not make a profit. It would be a can of worms, as I am sure most other states charge a fee for an inspection. Could any of your legal friends take a look at a copy of ADR37? My legal contact fell through on this one. Basically I am trying to add weight to the arguement by pointing out that it doesnt actually apply to vehicles over 5 year/80,000 kms as stated in the ADR, but regency say that the car still must comply with emissions laws, and have set them at ADR 37 limits. It would be a good one to crack;)

And $800 each, (assuming you need 2?) sounds pretty reasonable. If you could get one second hand perhaps it would work out about the same by the time you had them modified for GTS? (wouldnt take much?)

IMHO, it would be well worth getting the right manifold (ie, the one the manufacturer sells to suit) Like I said before, if I hadnt been such a tight ares, I most likely woundnt have the less than spectacular results I have now. I really do wish I had spent that exra 3-400 dollars now, as to get my current setup running properly, it will cost alot more now when you reckon in dump, wastegate pipe, turbo to AFM, turbo to cooler and the cost of a whole new manifold - kicking myself:(

And if it is a stocky, good excuse to upgrade to a decent cooler, as stockies are crap - probably do more harm than good:P

I wouldnt be in a hury to bin it. Weigh up the cost of cutting end tanks off, cleaning, then getting someone to weld them on again Vs new intercooler. Even if you transhed the end tanks, the core would still be worth something. If you do decide you want to bin it, I will take it off your hands, pay postage etc to adeliade no probs - sight unseen (as long as it isnt a stocky;))