turbomuz

Finally got a break in the rain to take a few pictures. What do you think of the wheel choice? Muz

In a recent Motor magazine test of 235/45/17 the Maxxis Victra upstaged a couple of premium brands and absolutely wallops them on price (about $200 a tyre). I think the Goodyear Eagle F1 won (about $350 a tyre). Wheels magazine did a test of 235/45/17 about 12 months ago. For memory I think the Dunlop FM-901 won. I'll see if I can find the results.

I was in the same dilemma deciding between 18"s or 19"s but I remembered someone's post on this forum to ultimately get what you want or you will regret it down the track so I bit the bullet and bought the 19"s. $2250 all up including lock nuts and a wheel alignment. Admittedly, they came with Nankang NS2 245/35/19 tyres which would not have been my first choice but in reality there aren't too many shabby tyres at that size and profile. In any case this tyre size is now standard on the GT-P and all HSV's so I think the average price will come down in the next 12 months or so and I can replace them with a tyre with a better reputation / street cred. As far as springs go I am not considering lowering the car. I'm happy with the way it handles and the guards are filled nicely as they are.

I use Vortex (95 RON) about 80% of the time with the odd splash of Optimax. I bought my T second hand in Melbourne and drove it back to Canberra (via Ballarat and Bendigo). As a trial I filled once (about 60 litres) with 91 RON and I must say that I couldn't pick the difference, it still bolted when I sunk the boot to overtake. The only reason I fill with 95 RON now is because: a. Ford recommends it b. I get sucked in by marketing that says it keeps the fuel system clean c. At 4-7 cpl more than 91 RON it isn't that much more d. Another 5-10 cpl on top of that for 98 RON is getting a bit rich and I don't notice any benefit in performance / economy. In Canberra I averaged 11.7 l/100 but now I'm up in Sydney it's 12.8 l/100. That said I'm fairly careful with the acceleration / braking and I probably don't boot it half as much as I should considering it's potential.

Hi all, I have an 03 XR6T with SSS. When starting from dead cold and selecting R a whining sound kicks in for about 10 seconds, after that all is cool. I have left it overnight with a dealer twice now. The first time they said it was just the turbo winding up (which sounded like crap to me), the second time they said there was no noise at all (crap again because it happens everyday). At my insistance they checked the oil level and that is supposedly good. I still suspect the tranny because it doesn't happen in D or N only in R. Has anyone else experienced this or have any suggestion what it may be. I think the dealer just couldn't be stuffed having a good look at it.