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Hi all,

I've joined this forum as I am British but emigrating to Adelaide in August. I' heavily into my Jap cars in the UK and have recently sold my FD RX7 and R33 GTR to fund this.

Now I'd like to get involved with the car scene again when I'm over.

I've been reading about defects etc (which is a new one on me as pretty much anything goes in the UK as long as passed MOT and is insured) and it has got me worried.

I have read all the info I can find but I'm pretty confused about what is legal and what is not. I'm 31 so not a "young lad" as the police look out for here.

I understand the simple things like ride height, tints, BOV etc.

What I really want to know is how much can I tune the car. I'm heavily into tuning, to the point my RX was single turbo'd and running 459 rwhp and the GTR was similar with approx 600bhp at the fly.

Now this took a lot of work (and money) and I needed to single turbo both cars and FMIC, aftermarket ECU etc.

Now is it possible to do this in SA and reach this kind of power with these cars or is it all a big no, no??

Any advice here would be greatly appreciated....

I will be living in Victor Harbor initially.

Thanks and I look forward to the advice!!

Graham

Any modification that alters emissions = illegal... unless you spend bulk coin going through all the channels and getting it emissions legal.

And even then, you can get sent to Regency for it.

That being said, plenty of us go around with that sort of power (and more) without any trouble. As long as you avoid hotspots, and do what you can to minimise the visual impact of your mods, you should be fine.

Ps, congratulations on leaving the home country.

The main things really if you don't want to be defected are the visuals. If you keep your height at a reasonable level, don't have wheels that are too big. Just the simple things really and keep the noise at a minimum. Your best bet is trying not to get pulled over in the first place as most cops don't know what they are looking at and will just defect you for anything as they aren't mechanics. If you keep your engine bay looking stock, not too much chrome, braided oil lines etc that will help. that being said it is kind of hard to hide a big gt30 if you are after a bit more poke.

Edited by HR32GTS 4DOOR

The main things really if you don't want to be defected are the visuals. If you keep your height at a reasonable level, don't have wheels that are too big. Just the simple things really and keep the noise at a minimum. Your best bet is trying not to get pulled over in the first place as most cops don't know what they are looking at and will just defect you for anything as they aren't mechanics. If you keep your engine bay looking stock, not too much chrome, braided oil lines etc that will help. that being said it is kind of hard to hide a big gt30 if you are after a bit more poke.

yes that was my main worry by going single turbo - I think it may just be noted. I'm not big on huge body kits etc, etc. I'm all about the power!!

so is there a way to do all the work and have the car legit - if so how would I go about this. If not what would happen for example, if I put a bit GT30 on her and got a defect?

G

If a big ugly high mount single is the way you want to go, then you best be keeping all the stock bits in the shed.

If you get pulled over and stickered, you'll be off to Regency VIS, basically anything other than a stock car wont pass (there have been some lucky exceptions to that), in which case, you take a weekend, and put all the standard gear back in.

It is possible to get everything engineered, but it's hideously expensive, and on the side of the road with a pissed off traffic cop, it's not worth the paper it's written on.

Welcome Mulv we hope you enjoy your stay

as Dave has mentioned if you don't have a loud paint job with wings bigger than a Boeing 747 and just crazy colourful shit under the bonnet IE looks factory but inst quiet factory you should be ok

EDIT

here in Aus we don't run big singles for good power i 2860 -10 should handle 400kw with a bit more on E85 and look close to stock and have similar lag to a big T04z or 51R

most guys run the GT2860 -5's or if you want big power up to 500kw then the -10's

>>Garret 2860 -5<<

>>Garret 2860 -10<<

hmmmm, ok I'm thinking uprated twins is the way to go then.....

would you have issues with an uprated FMIC as this is also a fairly visible mod, but a very important one for more power!

I've heard stories as well even if you uprate the twins they check the serial number??? Is that right?

I thought they were bad here but I'm beginning to think we get off very lightly - my RX7 sounded like a jet taking off when at full boost and no one bothered at all.

ha, I'm not even moving for a few months and I'm already looking at cars!! Got to get my priorities right!!

G

Victor is beautiful and not far from me , it has a lot of police patrols between adelaide and victor because of major crashes , so best to avoid the gauntlet during blitz weekends and holidays

Victor is mostly older people ( lots retired) but still decent and shoot down the coast to robe or wellington pub on the river hope your commute isnt from victor to adelaide daily ??

Im sure you wont miss england once you ease into it , im a fresh aussie , from usa and yeah its a step backwards and sideways compared to the world when it comes to cars

overall drive like a dick and you wont last long

emissions mods and your in for it , dont go loud in victor it will stand out bad and being small your local police will have it in for you

make sure you come with license so you dont have to do the driving portion of the test , save ya time and hassle , you can drive on valid overseas licence for a while before getting one here ot get international one

get ready for price shock compared to usa or uk

parts are available but compared to overseas they cost more

you could do a personal import but a wild car wont fly thru import ( see iron chef imports for that option) since cars are cheap in uk

im sure you will love it , welcome

Look us up when your settled in lots of us live 25 min from you in aldinga beach

Troy

hmmmm, ok I'm thinking uprated twins is the way to go then.....

would you have issues with an uprated FMIC as this is also a fairly visible mod, but a very important one for more power!

I've heard stories as well even if you uprate the twins they check the serial number??? Is that right?

That'd be the way I go. Plenty of stock mount options out there that provide plenty of without screaming 'look at me' when you pop the bonnet... I for one didn't go that way, but that's another story...

Nope, shit like that is fine. FMIC's, aftermarket airboxes/filters/etc, and exhausts (provided they're under the dB limit and have a compliant cat) are fine.

I've heard that too... When I went through, the turbo received nothing more than a cursory glance.

Victor is beautiful and not far from me , it has a lot of police patrols between adelaide and victor because of major crashes , so best to avoid the gauntlet during blitz weekends and holidays

Victor is mostly older people ( lots retired) but still decent and shoot down the coast to robe or wellington pub on the river hope your commute isnt from victor to adelaide daily ??

Im sure you wont miss england once you ease into it , im a fresh aussie , from usa and yeah its a step backwards and sideways compared to the world when it comes to cars

overall drive like a dick and you wont last long

emissions mods and your in for it , dont go loud in victor it will stand out bad and being small your local police will have it in for you

make sure you come with license so you dont have to do the driving portion of the test , save ya time and hassle , you can drive on valid overseas licence for a while before getting one here ot get international one

get ready for price shock compared to usa or uk

parts are available but compared to overseas they cost more

you could do a personal import but a wild car wont fly thru import ( see iron chef imports for that option) since cars are cheap in uk

im sure you will love it , welcome

Look us up when your settled in lots of us live 25 min from you in aldinga beach

Troy

Hi there,

Thats great - thanks for the advice, I'm not planning on the Jap car to be my main car, just a toy - as I use them here. I looked into importing the cars (I have a BMW M3 as well) and it just seemed too much hassle and money. I will definitely give a shout when I get there!!

Thanks for the advice about the police between Adelaide and Victor. Shouldn't be a problem. I'm a General Practitioner and have got a job in the Surgery at Victor (hence why I have to live in Victor). I'll only go into Adelaide for social reasons and will try to avoid the peak times!! How loud can your car be before you draw too much attention - I want to do this right!!

Thanks to all as well for the advice it's much appreciated - I not as worried now as I was previously

G

whats loud Dave ;)

Mine certainly isn't... :whistling:

How loud can your car be before you draw too much attention - I want to do this right!!

I think the limit 92dB or some such... As for what level draws attention, depends on the cop I guess. I've driven next to cops in my car for several kilometres without a second look, and mine is significantly louder than legal. Same with my old Celsior.

Scandy drives a tractor and all tractors are noisy haha

You can drive loud cars all day in town try that in a small town you will stand out but hey gp your fine lol the police will know you so your good

just a note german cars and parts are super expensive and parts hard to find , i know some people who collect 911,944 etc and one who works for bmw as a mechanic and both fly back to england for parts runs and they save money on parts even with shipping !!!! plus can find the rare stuff

You will miss english racetracks , not so easy to access here , the car culture isnt the same here

Its big but you wont see Norks hanging out everywhere just by asking for a view lol

in case you dont know victor is a busy place on weekends , holidays, hot days people flock cause its normally cooler by 10c on a 40c day but does get freezing like england burrrr lol

surfing is good , fishing, whales, penguins, fresh air, no real traffic except holidays, close enough to adelaide , kangaroo island not far, some nice houses for semi decent prices for adelaide area ( cheap compared to england!)

minimal crime for the most part

and scandy is far enough away so you dont have to look at his 200sx haha :-)

I've got a straight through exhaust on the R32, and have for the last 3 years, only once has a cop ever said anything.

... and you'll often find my car parked on CBD streets, not exactly garage hidden.

Doesnt get freezing damn iphones ,

oh and phone signal sucks and cost a mint compared to overseas plans

Your kidding right? I've spent the last 18 months on an international phone forum and we by far have the best pricing and coverage by far

Yanks always think they have the best :yes:

Hi there, Thats great - thanks for the advice, I'm not planning on the Jap car to be my main car, just a toy - as I use them here. I looked into importing the cars (I have a BMW M3 as well) and it just seemed too much hassle and money. I will definitely give a shout when I get there!! Thanks for the advice about the police between Adelaide and Victor. Shouldn't be a problem. I'm a General Practitioner and have got a job in the Surgery at Victor (hence why I have to live in Victor). I'll only go into Adelaide for social reasons and will try to avoid the peak times!! How loud can your car be before you draw too much attention - I want to do this right!! Thanks to all as well for the advice it's much appreciated - I not as worried now as I was previously G

have you thought of bring a nice car over from UK with you?? something that is exxy here but cheapish here if you have the cash.

speak to iron chef regarding this option

http://ironladyimports.com/

Your kidding right? I've spent the last 18 months on an international phone forum and we by far have the best pricing and coverage by far

Yanks always think they have the best :yes:

Yanks had unlimited call plans 13 years ago , australia hmmm about a year or two

I have optard do i need to say more ?? Go telstra if you want coverage even if it costs more

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