plonky

My XR6 ute has leaf springs and quite frankly I can run rings around an IRS sedan. Leaf springs may be old fashioned (like pushrods) unmarketable (like solid axle Watts Linkage) and don;t allow the individual wheel to make a completely perfect angle when riding over broken/rippled roads. However, the leaf spring (especially the way that Ford has refined it in the ute) has the benefit of years of refinement. It is firm and sure footed, not overly affected by extra weight or loads and easy and cheap to modify. The vast improvements in tyre technology, shock absorbers, suspension bushings etc have really given the leaf rear end a shot in the arm. It is not a very sexy suspension to sell and this is why it is not popular, particularly with motoring journo's. They have really pushed manufacturers into forms of technology that may be great for a single use (racing) but not on a day to day basis (passenger commuting) The Territory is a classic example of a manufacturer responding to an identifiable criticism in the growth of 4WD's as people movers. Consider this. A major manufacturer such as Ford/GM/Mercedes etc makes a small volume supercar (GT40/McLaren CL etc) The money expended on the project will never be recouped so they are built as a 'branding tool'. Who buys them? Not you or I. Who drives them? Motoring journo's So who has a significant impact in how cars are made and modified? Motoring magazines because ultimately a car is just a product and the manufacturer has to use the various forms of media to sell their product. I like leaf spring/Watts Linkage rear suspensions.

Metal is always noisy when it is cold. I would be worrying if the noise was then when the engine was warmed up, then you would have a legitimate complaint. Whenever two hard objects are close together they will clash. Oil is used to form a fluid barrier between the metals so that friction is reduced, wear is reduced, heat (result of friction) is dissipated and longevity is maintained. The tapping noise is exactly that. When cold, it still takes a time for the viscosity of the oil to change (goes from honey to hot water so to speak) The oil is doing its job but the noise is transmitted because of the density of the oil. As it warms up it thins out and as such b3ecomes quiet. Don't worry every engine is the same. Have you ever heard the racket an F1 engine/Top Fueller makes? The tolerances are that wide so as to reduce friction so more power is produced, and as they only do very short miles, they are rebuilt regularly.

Yes I will be there. My estranged wife and my two children (4 and 5) live in Launceston and Lachie is a V8 nut (as he has met some of the drivers and my best friend races one of the cars) The trip on the boat is good, your car will be safe.

Just read the latest Motor Ford will get their complacent butts whooped by the VZ The VZ S with the 190 V6 and the VZ SS with the 250kw Gen 3 will make the Fords look like pensioners cars considering they still weigh bugger all and have improvemts with their ESP and electronic throttle.

I've been in a passenger aircraft They're pretty fast As far as cars go Passenger in a Carrera Cup Porsche Driven an M3CSL and an M5 to their top speed 270+ on a Hyabusa XR8 and SS to their maximum speed

I like Weird Al He is very clever

I'll bet the lads draw short straws to see who's rides shot gun Scotty Some of them love it They always learn something new and are astonished at how good the XR handles

I'm 6 foot tall I'm very happy being the perfect height I don;t want to be too tall (Herman Munster) or too short (Dicky Knee)

If you like jazz fusion The triumvirate of guitarists for me is Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi and Ace Frehley All Gibson players that's' why I have two, my 57 Black Beauty and a 58 Flying V Korina

I started to get worried when you said you wanted to 'drive one into a Frenchman instead of trying Greek with a Frenchy' I thought the '*beep* alert' icon would start flashing.

As I said before, because I am so used to it over the past 17 years, I actually forget what it is like to be a 'normal' person All of the things I have written down I have definitely done. I'm not making it up. The thing is though, I have been doing this stuff for 17 years so you gradually become used to it. Imagine how it would be if you were a soldier/sailor/pilot. All of a sudden you may be in a combat zone and the only thing that saves you is your training and your workmates. I have the utmost respect for those in the ADF, as well as operational Police, Firies, Ambo's, Nurses etc I have the utmost contempt for those corridor crawlers that have been nowhere and done nothing and put policy and programmes into place for operational Police. This is why I still like being out and doing my job, not being stuck behind a desk like the incompetents that run our job. Having had a second chance at life after my crash, I make sure I do as much as I can in the shortest possible time because it can all end incredibly fast. I am pretty hyperactive though.......(wait until you're a passenger with me on an urgent duty run and you will see what I mean

I.....wish!!!! :lol: I reckon taking down a 250 odd lb wild boar comming straight at you with one thing on his little mind......"tear that MoFo to bits"...........got the adrenaline pumping, especially when he dropped he was only 20ft from me, and I was in the lignum swamp on my own!! Getting inside a cage with a full grown Siberian tiger.....twice!!! You're nuts !! I wouldn't get in a cage with any ferocious feline !

Yes I do realise that The movie however did remind me of the book and the Trojan prince, Paris, was a cowardly pretender.

I made a fertilizer bomb when I was 15 years old and blew the sife out of a river bank Blew up a car once with C4 Shot the sh1t out of a car with numerous automatic weapons for video on the effect of self loading weapons on solid objects. Still cannot beat being in a firefight with armed offenders and arresting them without killing the mofo's...... that is awesome

Having been a Greek scholar for a long time I finally saw the movie 'Troy' Whilst I read the 'Iliad' back in the mid '80's, I had formed a view of the French (stay with me and you will see what I mean) and that has remained until this day. Priams' son, Paris, I have always thought to be a cowardly pretender who had illusions of grandeur but no basis for integrity and strength. The movie " Troy' really does show that Paris is a cowardly pretender who relies on the strength of others (Hector) to reinforce his image. It is incredibly appropriate that a country such as France has a capital named Paris and France is and will always be known as a country that has never won anything, always lost everything, but has always had an assumption that it has a God gven right to rule everyone else. I detest the French and it is good to see that history concurs with me. !

Hey Brendon Hate is a very positive and compelling emotion I like Hate

Marty Robbins Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs

All of the things I have done, I make the big mistake in not realising it is normal behaviour. I think that is we some of us have so much trouble trying to understand how normal people do it. Like Steve XXXX that died yesterday at Police HQ. I knew Steve very well, worked on a number of jobs with him, I still don't believe it was him that shot himself even though I know it did happen. We had been mates for over ten years and I find it hard to accept. I guess that there is a trigger just floating around underneaths everyones skin but there is always something that will press the trigger. Of all the people I would never have expected it from Steve.... Yes I am cranky, upset and p1ssed off with the Dept over this... However, that is a part of ouor job that we have to accept....whether we like it or not.....and that makes it an extreme sport

If she looks like your avatar.... when are you not home? when is a good time to visit your wife? manacled? yes please

The Johnny's Highlights of a Dangerous Life and Grown Up Wrong (My brother in law is the founding member/ bass player so I couldn't listen to anything but.....

Both Brooke Burke and Angeline Jolie would have to think (for a nanosecond) before looking at it longingly (if it meant a movie part)

When we played NZ in Police Rugby, some of us had the temerity to sing the Australian version of the Haka, not realising how NZ players really took offence to it Me and my mates in the Zephyr Are gonna drive down to the pissa To the pissa To the pissa Gonna drive down in the Zephyr etc etc etc We got our arsesd kicked Suffice to say, the Wallabies will redeem themselves in the Test

It looks like someone has put a pair of falsies inside the *beep* off some dirty old pen*s It is very unattractive Victor....your are a very unattractive man.....

If I was married to your avatar I would have permanent sore lips Really though There are a hell of a lot of people that are in specialised areas (ADForces/Police/Fire Brigade/Ambos/Nurses) that do just the things that I do (whether voluntarily like me or necessity like some) Extreme sports are things we don"t have to pay for and even those people that provide extreme sports can't relay the truly petrifying, scary experience that is when you are engaged in a high speed pursuit, having a contact with armed resistors, clearing a hostile area, holding someone elses life in the balance purely on your negotiating skills etc Extreme sports are great and we all want to enjoy them For some of us thought, exreme sports are just that....sports There is nothing that makes you feel more alive than actually losing your life and regaining it or balancing on that knife edge where your life or someone elses is a heartbeat away PS there is no white light or anything like that. Life is like turning off a light switch. It is there it is it can be gone a nanosecond later. make of it what you will bit don't waste it because it can stop when you least expect it ! Oh yes I am also married (seperated but have two awesome children, 4 and 5) Marriage is very scary and it should be classified as an extreme sport.

The crash was on a day off and I still haven't sued State Forest for the unsignposted roadworks (I was ejected 70 metres off the bike) Probably will though