blowhard

Hi All, For those of us in NSW beware of Greenslip CTP insurance renewals sent out by a major insurance company - this CTP offer was for a private vehicle - Forester turbo - proposed cost $634.21 !!!!! Having just registered another vehicle - CTP cost $481, I was immediately on rip off alert. I then went to the Motor Accidents Authority website http://prices.maa.nsw.gov.au/ and after entering all the data into the price calculator I was given a range of approximate costs from 7 insurance companies (including the company that had sent me renewal notice). Prices ranged from $485 - 746, with $515 as the approximate costing from the insurance company offering me the renewal. I rang the insurance company and queried the renewal notice and was told that the pricing difference was due them not having information as to the whether the car was comprehensively insured. They provided an updated quote close to that from the MAA site. I contacted the company offering the cheapest price and requested a renewal policy be posted out. Maybe cheapest as they also hold the comprehensive insurance policy. The MAA site calculator shows that when no comprehensive insurance is held for the vehicle the quotes increase for some companies by over $200, and is the same as sent out with the renewal offer. SO BEWARE DON'T JUST PAY WHATEVER PRICE IS ON YOUR GREENSLIP RENEWAL For NSW drivers check the MAA website for prices and talk to the insurance companies, I'm sure that many many people just pay whatever price they are sent, and the insurance companies will take your money and never tell you they have ripped you off. Like most things buyer beware always question, check, compare and then decide. Never just accept what is offered. Stay safe Blowhard

Spent yesterday chasing the East Coast Targa around the country side south of Bathurst. Unfortunately on the first stage of the road sections one competitor (driver) died and his navigator was seriously injured, they were about the seventh car to start the stage. They were in a Porsche, pretty sure it was a GT3 from Scallywags racing. The aftermath of this accident saw this and the next stage cancelled. They kept the afternoon programme going and I got to see the field on a short fast stage which included a chicane to keep the stage average speed below the FIA limit of 130 something Km/h. It was brilliant to see the competition cars at full noise then really hard on the brakes negotiate a very tight chicane and then gas it up again. The rate thay washed off speed was phenominal and then just as impressive when they gassed it up. The noise the Ferraris' made was brilliant! There were two Fords in the competition section a BA GT-P and a ED XR6. The GT-P looked and sounded great. The XR6 certainly didn't hang around either, it also competed in the last London - Sydney marathon, it's prepared by Steve Glenney racing. Over this short stage the GT-P was three seconds faster than the XR6 and 11 seconds slower than the fastest time (EVO . But the sight of the day was the BA Falcon XT WAGON in the Touring section. Which just goes to show you don't need to be in a squillion dollar machine to get out there and have a go!! I gave him the biggest cheer, loved the red brake calipers (not Brembo) and that auto box being given a work out. Whilst it was fantastic to see the action, it must be tempered with the fact that the accident earlier in the day cost a life and another person was seriously injured, a policewoman was also injured trying to control traffic for the event when she was clipped by a car refusing to obey the road closure instructions. A family member of the deceased driver was also competing in the touring category. To all of the Briese family and their friends my sincerest condolences. Alan

WE can all look forward to big brother watching over our every move. BMW Europe use a data capture device to log every time the Launch control function is used on their SMG equipped cars, use it too many times and bingo no engine or drivetrain warranty. In the US BMW had to detune the launch control because they can't cancel the warranty (dropped the rev limit for initial launch to 2500 rather than about 4500). Accident data loggers are used onsome cars in the US to capture the last 10 seconds or so of data before the big bang, they are also fitted to some trucks and fleet vehicles to send "You've been a naughty boy/girl!!!" message to the boss every time you exceed one of the company defined parameters. Don't Expensive Daewoo have a system on their top line cars which will notify Expensive Daewoo if the cars airbag deploys, via an onboard transmitter or phone connection? The way the anti everything to do with cars mobs are going the ecu in your car will become a target for enforcable data gathering. If the do gooders can't legislate us all back to 40km/h on all roads then you can be sure that they'll find ways to screw us and use our own cars to dob us in. Paranoid you bet.

Buy now and then trade up next year to the LS2 6.0 V8 as being fitted to the 2005 Corvette should turn over 295kw in the Clubsport and some very big numbers for a higher spec model. Ford have got some work to do on both the 6 and V8 fronts. The new 3.6L HFV6 in the VZ commondore will only pump out 170 or 190kw depending on spec but less weight will probably give it an advantage over the Falcon. C'mon Ford a trip to Jenny Craig and down to Macca's killerwatts shop and say "Supersize me"!!!!!!! The power war's on again. Remember, once you go black you never go back. Beware the darkside!

Thanks for the comments Glenn, we've also read the positive posts and get the feeling that there are a lot of owners who are very happy with their cars. The resale does seem to have dropped significantly for private sales, though the dealerships still seem to be asking a premium for used T's. As for the Pickles prices I don't know how many of these cars are ex government fleet vehicles. 12 months ago through an error I was quoted the government prices for a T which was going to be on a novated lease, with all premium options (brakes,sound,sss,leather,side bags etc) the price was about 40 grand. When the error was realised it quickly jumped to the very high 40's, even with a significant dealer/ford discount.

Not just now. Besides the missus keeps reading all the posts about diff clunks, dodgy brakes, weak transmissions, fried clutches and weekends away where god knows what goes on. She's keeping a close eye on proceedings. I'm keen once we get the finances sorted but I think the eb's going to have to do for a while yet.

G'day all, Just been reading about the trials and tribulations of selling a T. On the Pickles auction site in their fixed price cars section the prices on XR6's are low to mid thirties with about two grand difference between the NA and T. That's the fixed price section not open auction. You need to carefully read the ads and then check the pictures on all XR6 adverts because they don't always include Turbo in the description. If that's the take it or leave it price, then what are the real wholesale/trade in values? Al

Just came back from touring Tassie for three weeks. Terrific place, terrific people, terrific chocolate, terrific roads. Definitely do the Cadburys tour, I rang up in the morning and went on a tour that afternoon, might just have been lucky so book ahead. Wear something with big deep pockets and hang around at the back of the group and then fill them up at each sample stop. Descretely of course. If you can find a dirt road into the Cadbury factory then go for it dude because you ain't going the right way, and Ken will get all your chocolate. Snap up a couple of shopping trolleys full of chocolate at the factory shop at the end of the tour, discount prices across the range of products - good value three family size blocks of Peppermint cream or Caramello for 5 bucks. The Tassie locals are a bit of a menace on the roads, they have a penchant for travelling on the wrong side of the centreline, you soon learn to keep well left around any left handers to allow for the peanuts coming the other way on your side of the road. Sorry Tassie T drivers but it happened with such regularity that it became a bit of a joke to see how little respect the locals showed for the centreline. Not surprisingly the couple of reported fatal accidents I saw in the papers were head on colisions. Most of the hire cars are four cylinder and tend to travel slow - everyone we met who was associated with the tourist industry kept telling us how bad the roads are in Tassie and the need to travel slowly and cautiously. The truth is the roads are better than most country roads in NSW, good surfaces and very few potholes or patches. Just watch out because they don't sign post all the serious corners with speed advisory signs they could catch you out if you are travelling at warp 9. There are some downsides - the road maps are bloody disgraceful, very little detail other than the major roads and the sign posting of the smaller roads is often misleading. Look for the road number, not the name of the town on the sign. Log trucks, smoke haze, ice and snow, wildlife, wet/damp conditions and the fore mentioned Tassie drivers were other fun experiences. I would strongly recommend going to the Targa Tassie site (www.targa.org.au) and downloading all the information on the stages used this year and trying to incorporate as many of them as you can into your tour. A lot of them were on the main roads between tourist destinations. I had a blast doing the various stages in the landcruiser with the van doggedly trying to stay attached - until the kids starting throwing up. Targa was on when I was down there, managed to catch some of the action and car expos, now all I need is the car the codriver and the bucks - anyone interested? If you go to Strahan, go for the full day cruise on the World heritage Tours boats- they are the maroon and yellow ones - family run company and my three kids 8-7-4 all had a fantastic time. I travelled down and back from Sydney on Spirit of Tassie in the Hostel accomodation ($250 down and $230 back). Thoroughly recommend it, great atmosphere, good food, a wonderful way to start and finish the holiday. If you're worried about sea sickness get some motion sickness drugs and stop worrying. The only people who were crook on the trips were the ones who said I'll see how I go and if I feel sick I'll get some tablets - get yourself prepared before hand. The wife and kids flew down - cheaper. Get down there and have a blast - as for driving to Melbourne and then catching the ferry why bother, there is more to life than cruise control, speed cameras and the bloody Hume Highway. Regards Blowhard

Go and download one of these videos, and watch the technique of not only heel toeing but watch the clutch work as well, you need to double press the clutch. This video was taken at Sears Point and shows heel-toe braking as well as double-clutching... Big (38MB) Very Clear 720x480 teammsr Small (14MB) Clear 320x240 teammsr Gary Sheehan Motor Racing http://www.teamSMR.com (Thanks to the VW forum for these links and to Gary Sheehan for posting it) The momentary re-engagement of the clutch spins all the gearbox internals back up to about the right speed that they will be turning when the lower gear is selected. If you are heel toeing and only pushing the clutch to the floor blipping the throttle and then re-engaging the clutch you aren't doing it right. You the need to go brakes -clutch down- neutral - clutch up -throttle blip -clutch down -gear selected - clutch up. That's why it's called double shuffling or double clutching. Get it all right and it will be a revelation to all you clutch pedal on the floor bang from 5th to 2nd and hang on types. It's all about mechanical sympathy and balance. It's not just how fast you change the gears it's being smooth, both for upshifting and downshifting. It's also what is happening with the balance of the car, watch the professionals in any in car footage the quickest laps are smooth transitions between braking and acceleration. I know he drives a Expensive Daewoo but Murphy's lap of Bathurst last year for pole was an absolute classic example. It is making that transition from braking to acceleration that makes the difference and being smooth is what it is all about, and heel toeing properly provides you with the means of getting the car setup and balanced into the corner in the right gear ready to be driven out of the corner. Take a performance driving course and learn from a pro. If you can't get your foot on the brake pedal and reach the throttle it's probably because the pedals are placed to try and prevent the idiot excuse of "I tried to stop but when I pushed the brake pedal to the floor I trod on the accelerator as well". That's why in most new cars (Porsche excluded) you need to be a triple jointed escapee from the ape section at the zoo to comfortably heel toe. Go to a motor accesory shop and look at the range of pedal covers available, and look for one which will give you more width for the brake and accelerator pedals. Just remember that you may not have the same Blundstone boot swallowing gap between them anymore and you will need to exercise caution until you're used to the new setup. Get out there and practice, it might actually make you a better driver.

Check the V8 supercars forum for details.

Just saw some news footage of a Canberra pollie - leader, ex-leader, leader, ex-leader, leader in waiting?? - arriving into the carpark in a white XR6 didin't show the back so couldn't tell if it was a T. Anyone know if the big fella drives a T? If so, maybe those all powerful within this group might like to approach him with an offer of membership or patronage. You never know we might need some political heavyweight to champion our cause - powerful cars driven by responsible owners. Ok that last little bit was to be politically correct. T or not to T - Lead or not to lead - these are the questions. Over to you Ken. P.S Also on Channel 10 news some footage of that incident with Skaife and Ingall. They showed the Stone Brothers Pit crew watching Ingall's swerve on the monitor - looked like they fully supported his action!! Their reaction was almost as vocal as Skaifey's from the grass verge - only the words were different. Naughty Russell - bad boy - next time don't tell the media before you take him out.

Checkout INSIDE SPORT magazine for your chance to win a GT. November and December issues, competition is a clip and send coupon. No subscription, no tricky questions or 25 words to try and suck up to the judges. Just $7.95 and it could be yours. Wouldn't it be great if someone from the group took home the prize.

thnx Luv'd the photos the Plonky Dodge.

What about rear fog lights? I find these far more annoying/distracting!! These are the fools that need a good booking. "I'm sorry Officer I thought it was the sun shining out of my....." Everything from BM's to bloody Excels have 'em and none of the twits have any idea about using them. I'm mounting a couple of Lightforce 140's on the back with red filters so they can see red like I do everytime I get stuck behind them. Petty I know, but hey, if you can't beat them join them - and then make them pay.

For the dirt road wimps..... There is NO dirt road driving required to get to Sofala from either Bathurst or from Ilford on the Lithgow-Mudgee road. The road from Bathurst to Sofala is a nice drive with the highlight being the short hill climb up Mt Wyagdon. For those interested this climb was used for some of the photos in the Motor magazine comparo, of the Fords v Holdens (at Bathurst) from a couple of months ago, I told them to go there and rip loose. A short but spirited driving opportunity. Check out the lollie shop, pub (for some lemonades) and the Gaol cafe (Harvey and Dianne Parsonage are the owners and I'm sure they'd be happy for the group to rollup for lunch) Any more questions? Part time Sofala resident