scott52

Can any one offer advice on my plan? I live in Perth WA and I'm keen on purchasing a new/demo vehicle from a dealer in NSW. There is a greater selection of vehicles over there and we get ripped off with the highest Stamp Duty in Australia in the West. My plan is to purchase in NSW using my sisters address as my residence (she lives in Sydney) and pay NSW stamp duty. I can then have a bit of a driving holiday by taking the coastal route around to Adelaide and then freight the car to Perth. The saving in stamp duty (over $2000 on an $80K vehicle) will cover the airfares for me and the wife and the freight cost from Adelaide to Perth with some left over for fuel. On my return to Perth I transfer the licence after a few months to WA plates. I checked with DPI and the transfer cost on a near new vehicle is about $60 as it does not have to be inspected. I'll get a refund on the NSW rego and WA DPI will accept the NSW plates and return them for about $20. Have any of you WA members ever done this? Scott

This happens to me every time I get an alignment. Here's what I do: 1.Put the front up on the ramps 2. Mark the tie rod ends with a marker pen so I can return them to the original position if required. 3. Loosen the locking nut and turn the rods say 90deg to start with. 4. Tighten lock nut and take for a test drive. 5. Adjust again if required. If you want to move the steering wheel clockwise you need to screw the LH tie rod in and the RH tie rod out. Scott

I have just completed a blue LED project on a new set of illuminated swithces from FORD. The interesting thing is that the internals of the drivers Master switch is a new design and is quite different to the old version. The single switches are the same. The new design is the one on the left. The LED's are all orientated with the negative to the left side of the PCB (which is different to the old). This is worth knowing 'cos it had me stumped for a while until I got the DMM out and worked it out.

Don't spend a fortune on the leather cleaners ... it's not necessary. Buy a bar of pure soap, get an icecream container with luke warm water and lather up the soap in the container to make a warm soapy solution. Dip a clean cloth in this solution and then after wringing the cloth out a bit so its not dripping, wipe the seats. Let the seats dry. That's it. You can buff it with a clean cloth later if you like. Scott

Yep ... it was the same here. I got the plate of weeties and cup of tea and plonked myself in front of the TV at 6.50am this morning. I thought Toseland had a fantastic debut in the premier class. Kept his head and probably learnt a lot by sticking with Rossi and co. The night time racing is a great idea and must be better for the bikes and riders. Nice cool air being sucked into those amazing 800cc engines. Scott

Had the 600 at the Barbagallo Raceway Trakdayz event a few weeks back. She was hitting 225km/hr on the straight ... these new 600's are quick let me tell you. Was even lifting the front wheel a touch coming over the hill when I got the drive right out of the basin at the back of the circuit. Scott

Any vehicle decal shop can usually do them. I would recommend you get the professional's to do it. They are quick (about an hour) and know the little tricks and problems that can catch you out. Cheers, Scott

I've done that course (Performance Driving) twice now in my Turbo. All I ended up doing to the car was larger Whiteline sway bars. I'm going to get the camber kicked out to -1.5 degrees before my next visit to make it easier on the front tyres and less understeer. Let me know when you're going again and I will book as well ... try to get a few Fords in amongst the rice burners! Cheers, Scott

Dropped into a Honda dealer the other and picked up a brand new CBR600RR. I've already done one track day (it had 150km on the clock) and had the most fun since I stopped racing these things 10 years ago. So I've now ordered the Ohlins rear shock, Racetech gold vales and springs for the front forks, a new set of bodywork from Hong Kong painted up in the LCR Honda racing colours of Casey Stoner's bike from a couple of years ago, a set of front and rear race stands, a set of race rearsets and frame sliders in case she goes down the road. I've already done the fender eliminator kit to tidy up the rear end. Plus I got new boots, new gloves, new helmet and a new set of race leathers ... phew. Lucky I've got an understanding wife. Cheers, Scott

Adrian, Insulating the temp sensor (either oil or coolant) seems to be the way to go ... it makes a big difference. I'd reckon with your oil temp sensor sticking out in the breeze like that it would definitely be reading lower than it would otherwise. By the way next Sunday 18th November from 9.00am to 12.30pm I'll be out at the AHG Driving Centre having another go at the Performance Driving course in the Turbo. Cheers, Scott

Adam, Because these gauges use a common power cable you can always have the sensors in place for other gauges with the cable just coiled up under the Tripod. When you get sick of say coolant temp you just take that one out and throw in the oil temp, plug the sensor and the power cables in and you're away! Cheers, Scott

I was very pleased with the test result. The DMM specification says it measures temperature to +/- 1 degree centigrade. From my high school science days I remember the best you can do with a graduated measuring device is half the degree of measurement which makes the SM gauge the same at +/- 1 degree centigrade. I reckon +/- 1 degree is more than enough accuracy for what we need. Cheers, Scott

To satisfy myself the 52mm Stepper gauge is reading correctly I conducted the following test on my water temperature gauge. The gauge sensor is screwed into a tapped hole in the thermostat housing so I taped the flexible temperature sensor from my DMM onto the housing right next to the gauge sensor. The car had been running so I let everything sit for a while to ensure the gauge sensor and the DMM sensor were equalised. I turned the ignition on and after the self testing sequence the gauge happened to read spot on 80 degrees C. I turned the DMM onto Temp and took the following photograph of the two readings. What do you think? Cheers, Scott

Crikey James! You're lucky you were'nt arrested!. That sign always means the "Open Road" speed limit ... that is 100 in VIC and 110 in WA. Be careful. Cheers, Scott

I originally found the link on this site somewhere ... but I can't find it now. Here is a link so you can check it out. http://www.5starshine.com/ I did buy some of there sunglasses and found them really good. They reckon they dismantled an eagle's eye and worked out what filters they have to give them such excellent vision. Now when I'm driving I can spot a mouse on the verge from 2km away and have this uncontrollable urge to swopp on it and pick it up with my toes. Cheers, Scott

There is a link on this site to "5 Star Shine" in the US. Their main product is the protective polish called 5 Star Shine. They make the usual claims that it is used on the space shuttle for rentry and on US Navy aircraft carriers. It is expensive, but they say it will last five years. Has anyone bought this stuff? Has anyone used it for re entry? I'm a bit sceptical of their claims. Cheers, Scott

I had a look at the JJ website and I'm pretty sure the Just Jap gauges are the old style electrical gauges ... but I apologise if I'm incorrect. The gauges that Adrian, Adam and others have are the new stepper motor electric gauges. I have had these gauges for 7 months now (boost, oil press and water temp) with absolutely no problems at all. For what you pay they are excellent value. No mass produced mechanical or electrical component is perfect and you will get a small percentage of faulty units. Top marks to Just Jap for not shirking their responsibilty and giving your mate a full refund in the end. Sounds like he was unlucky and copped a bad batch. Cheers, Scott

You could aways get the following VDO tee and just drill and tap a second hole in it. VDO PN# 230.032 solid brass T piece ($16). Have a look at this thread... Installing Electronic Oil Pressure Sender Cheers, Scott

This is a photo of the $8.00 worth of fittings used to fit a 1/8" NPT thread oil pressure sender to my own vehicle. Two fittings could be used together to fit two senders and the standard switch. Cheers, Scott

52mm stepper motor gauges in the Tripod. You can get them with Blue backlighting now. Cheers, Scott

Well I reckon it is a grey/silver ... its the silver centre piece. The scratch is next to the LCD screen. Thanks for the link to the photo. Cheers, Scott

Had a look at that ... it's a different colour however as you said there are paint colours and codes on the underside. They refer to a "Warm Charcoal" and a "Titanium Stone". I would guess the TS is the one. The gear shift surrond is the same colour as the centre bit ... so I could take that to a painter. Cheers, Scott

I accidently made a small scratch on the silver centre console near the LCD screen. Does any one know the paint colour that matches so I can touch it up? Cheers, Scott

One thing that is worth noting is that Ford have changed the OEM brake pads on the Turbo. Having only just got the new BFII a few months ago ... there is no dust! I can go weeks without touching the wheels. What dust there is a almost white ... so you don't notice it. Cheers, Scott