danja

You'll want to read this: http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registration/dow...ns_nov_2007.pdf IMO you'd be better off just buying a car with the performance you really want. It'll almost always work out cheaper in the long run, not to mention the headaches involved in engine swaps. You also have to remember that when it comes time to sell the typical Corolla buyer isn't after a rocket ship, most want a small, cheap, reliable granny car. You drop a V6 or similar in there and you've pretty much told most of your potential buyers to look elsewhere.

If you're not on it already, you might like BITOG: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ More about oil than you ever wanted to know! Also re filters, Ryco are probably the best aftermarket filter that are readily available in Australia. They aren't the best filters period, but they are very good, and you can get them just about anywhere and for a decent price.

Fixed. Though I'm curious, what a cam sounds like?... Can't say I've heard mine screaming?! (I drive an LS1)

Make sure you're smearing fresh oil on the rubber filter seal before screwing it on, that's the #1 cause of stuck filters. You really shouldn't need to use a screwdriver on them regularly. Also don't over-tighten them, it's usually right to just screw them on till the seal contacts the mating surface, then another half turn to tighten. Do that, and they should come off by hand. If you're new to home-servicing I recommend going down to SuperCheap and looking for a DIY kit - they consist of a drain pan (to catch the dirty oil you're draining out), a filter wrench (used to get tight filters off without destroying them or getting messy), and a funnel which can he handy for filling up the oil when you're done without dripping it over the engine bay. eg. http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-st...=107265#details

The way I see it, if you're unemployed and sitting in the dole queue, you take whatever you can get - not as a career, but just to pay the bills while you continue to search for work in your preferred vocation. If/when you find your "dream job", ditch the crappy one and move on, but I don't approve of people mooching off The 'Link because they feel they are above mopping floors or working the fryer at Maccas. I worked for a few months at a car wash, that was pretty dirty (I don't have cable so I don't know if that counts?), the work was physically demanding, the pay was **** and the boss was a real slave driver, but it paid the bills at the time (just) and as soon as I could I got a slightly better "crappy" job, and a few months later I got back onto my career path. I think that's the right way to do it, not holding out for 8 months waiting for the "good" job to come up, though given all the tax I now pay I can see the attraction if getting some welfare back :P

Don't let anything on Today Tonight or ACA get to you, an episode of Family Guy has more journalistic integrity that current affairs shows. I actively avoid watching either of them because I find them insulting to my intelligence. There do seem to be a disproportionate number of Indians doing the Quickie-Mart shifts, can't say I've noticed any vocations with an abundance of Middle-Eastern or Asian persons, except in restaurants or grocery stores from those areas, which is hardly surprising or controversial. I know a number of white Australians who I'd readily describe as "job-snobs", and wouldn't even consider working at the local Quix because they consider themselves above that kind of work (personally I'm a firm believer that beggars can't be choosers).

Bet ya the $130/$111 was him, he was just to plastered to remember it. Also, best tell your bro not to waste his money on Blue Label - blended whisky is a total scam. <_<

Fog lights are non-directional, they are designed to spread/scatter light evenly in pretty much a 180 degree arc in front of the car (not just downwards) - compared to low-beams which are designed to aim forwards and downward, and cast a pretty tight beam by comparison. What this means in practice is that more peripheral light gets into the eyes of oncoming and upcoming traffic. If you looked directly into a low-beam light it probably would be brighter than the average fog light, but they don't often shine directly at you unless someone is coming over the crest of a hill. Fog lights on the other hand are constantly casting light directly at other drivers, which affects their night vision. During the day it's much less of an issue, as your eyes are already adapted to bright conditions (though you'll still cop a ticket for it). The other dumb thing people do with foggies is use them instead of low-beams, which is a bad idea because when people are looking for other cars (merging, turning out of streets etc) they aren't looking for lights 20cm off the ground, they are looking for objects at about eye level. I understand some of you aren't phased about how people use their lights, and I doubt I'm going to change your mind about that, but do realise that there are people who give a **** about it - and it's enough of a worry that the police and RTA give a **** about it too, so I'd say there is a message in that somewhere. Please, I'm asking you as a favour, just switch them off at night - it won't make any difference to you, it might make a difference to someone else, and at the very least it's one less thing you can get pulled up for.

I'm inclined to think your speedo is probably working fine. GPS units are not 100% accurate as some people think, the system is in fact designed with a margin of deliberate error. They are "close enough", but don't take them as gospel. Again, judging by other traffic is no exact science either, as most cars will be going a little over or a little under the limit. If you think it's really serious, and bothers you that much, see if you local traffic authority or mechanic can recommend a mob who do speedo calibrations.

Sorry mate, not out for a fight, just really sick of the number of inconsiderate drivers around Sydney. I see clowns driving around with them on at the worst times every single day, and when you see someone hop on and say "how can I make my foggies brighter?" - well, I ask you, what am I supposed to think? Honestly, without trying to be a prick about it, why on earth do you need brighter foglights in Sydney?

The Aurion might keep up till 50-60km/h, but it won't be in front (like that picture). Buckets of torque and tall gearing means there isn't much on the street that will keep up with a V8. My bet is the Statesman in that picture was the N/A V6 version, which the Aurion would almost certainly beat - either that or it wasn't actually a race, just two cars near each other :P

Some luxury vehicles (eg Lexus) have braking incorporated into their cruise control, but generally speaking it's true that most CC systems simply control the throttle to keep the car at the minimum set speed. The logic is very simple: - if actual speed < desired speed, open throttle and speed up; - if actual speed > desired speed, close throttle (which might cause you to slow down depending on what gear you're in, current speed, and the gradient of the road); - if actual speed = desired speed, maintain slight throttle opening to keep constant speed. Think about it this way, if you were just driving along without CC enabled, and came to a downward slope - if you took your foot off the accelerator, would the car speed up or slow down? You'll experience the same thing with CC. Regarding your speedo - how are you establishing that 100 indicated km/h = 90 actual km/h? Factory speedos always understate slightly, 10km/h is extreme, but 2-3 km/h is common. Tyre wear will affect this slightly too, to the tune of 1-2% - and if you've fitted aftermarket wheels, it could be much more.

Try and get something in writing from Toyota/the service manager at the dealership clarifying the conditions. If you need to make a warranty claim later it can really pay to cover your ****.

Blinding on-coming traffic just because you want attention pretty much makes you a ****** in my book. There are legitimate uses for fog lights, but at night in clear weather is not one of them. Put them on during the day I have no problems with, it can increase your visibility to other drivers, and if it makes your wang feel bigger - sure, more power to you. Once it gets dark though, do us all a favour and just stick your regular headlights on.

There ain't no fog in Sydney... Please tell me you're not one of those ****ers who drives around at night with headlights and fog lights on?...

I use a laptop to access TOCAU, and it travels between different locations. I notice when I change location (and therefore IP address), I get logged out and have to login again. I have cookies etc enabled, I tick the "Remember me" box, but it doesn't make a difference. When I stay at one location it seems to stay logged in as you'd expect. Is this just a "feature" of this forum software? Is there any possibility of getting around this? Cheers.

Somebody doesn't understand how weight transfer works... The power to weight is so close it's hardly worth mentioning, but I will point out that the Barra engine has a very flat torque curve, and significantly more torque than the Aurion due to it's larger displacement. Matched to the right set of gears this can be a huge advantage. In my opinion, the two factors which will decide this race are the gearing, and of course the skill of the drivers. My money is actually on the Falcon, and this is coming from an soon-to-be-ex-Holden guy.

Those dates do seem a bit arbitary, however I expect that the reason you basically got stooged for 3 months rego, is because you didn't require a blue slip. Probably if your rego had lapse to the point that you need one your new rego would be a true 12 months. I guess the moral of the story is already read the T's & C's :P

Tell him you'll do $26,000, and stick to your guns. Go to other dealers and tell them "the other guy is offering $27k, if you can do 26 it's a deal" etc, and you'll probably get it down to around $26,500, or even $26k flat. Also if you're not in a hurry, and they are playing hard ball, just say "look, that's my offer - if you change your mind call me", and you'll probably get a call the following week or at the end of the month when they want to bump up the sales targets with a better offer. Friend of mine got an automatic 09' Conquest sedan for $26,000 early last year, with a bunch of accessories chucked in, so I don't think it's out of the question. I just bought a manual 2010 Levin ZR with a bunch of extras for $30,000. IMO learn to drive a stick and fork out for the Levin if you can, you get a heap more car for your money ;)

You can clean the MAF readily using CRC Electrical Contact Cleaner (they make a specialist MAF cleaner too, but it's the same stuff, just costs more). Costs you about $20 a can from Jaycar etc. I've yet to see a MAF simply fail, but they can get very dirty and give false readings, especially if you run an oiled air filter - eg K&N.

You can definitely take great pics with them - your equipment is rarely the limiting factor in your ability to take good pictures, composition and understanding of exposure are far more important. I'm not much of an expert on Nikon and Sony, but send through links of the twin lens kits you're talking about and I'll tell you what I can. Generally entry level twin-lens kits have one wide zoom (eg 18-55mm) which is a good all-round range from landscapes to portraits. Then they have one "super-zoom" which will be a 28-200 or 70-300 or something like that, they are quite versatile because they cover a large range of focal lengths, but there is always a compromise in optical quality, so generally pictures won't be quite as sharp and the lens won't perform as well in low light conditions. Lenses are all about compromises, and getting a good lens is all about knowing what your requirements are and finding the best fit for you.

Check out the Canon S90 and the Panasonic Lumix LX3, they are both high-end compact cameras in the $600-700 mark. They take pictures which can rival DSLR qualit, both have great lenses and good image sensors. The big advantage to DSLR photography is you can switch the lenses depending on what you want to do, but if you just want a good all-rounder to take snaps with, a P&S (point'n'shoot) is probably a better option. If you later decide you want to get really serious about cameras, you will still get value out of your compact cam as they are often more practical to take travelling or just slip in your pocket. Edit: Some snaps people have taken with the S90: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=767912 Google will show you LX3 shots too, they are both very popular, and for good reason.

A few comments. 1) Be aware DSLR photography is a fairly expensive hobby. Depending on how hard you want to go you are probably looking at anywhere from $700-1500 for the body alone, before lenses come even into it. Many lenses will cost more than the body did. Eg. http://www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au/category1_1.htm (I'm a Canon guy). Now this cost factor shouldn't necessarily put you off buying one, but you should consider why it is you want a DSLR or if you'd be better off with a high-end compact camera (for $6-700 you can get VERY good compact point-and-shoots). 2) All the big brands are good - Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony - all will take great pictures. Try and play with a few before you buy if you can, because there are differences which are neither "good" nor "bad", but you may find you prefer one style over the other. For instance I use Nikon's at work, and really don't like the "feel" of the camera or how the controls are layed out - but that's just me, I know people who use Nikons and swear by them, the Canon just works for me. 3) As Kenneth mentioned, the lens is what makes the most difference. Take the time to research what glass you buy, different lenses do different jobs so knowing what you want to take pictures of and buying accordingly is a prudent thing to do. When you look at lenses there are two main aspects to consider: Focal length, which is written in millimetres (eg 50mm) and this basically describes the "zoom" of the lens. If you look through a 200mm lens you'll see things closer up than through a 35mm lens (but you'll have a smaller field of view of course). Some lenses will have two numbers - eg 17-55mm, which means they can use any of the focal lengths between those numbers. Zooms are convenient because they cover a range of focal lengths, but the optical quality generally isn't as good as a fixed focal length (prime) lens. Zooms also usually have smaller apertures (see below) Aperture, is written as an "f" number - eg. "f/2.8". This describes how much light the lens can let in, where a smaller f-number means more light. Changing the aperture has a number of effects, but the most immediate is having a wider aperture lets you use faster shutter speeds, because the shutter can open for a shorter time, but still let the same amount of light in. This means you can take sharper photos in lower light, because once you start using long shutter speeds, you get camera shake in your pictures. Some zooms will have a range of apertures expressed - eg. f/3.5-5.6, which means as you zoom, the maximum aperture decreases. Other things to be aware of in lenses is that some will have image stabilisation (IS for Canon, or VC for Nikon, Pentax has this feature built into the body), some use higher quality glass for better pictures, some are better built. You really need to read other people's reviews and experiences, look at sample images etc. Lenses are a great research purchase because there is so much information available out there on the net. Take your time, don't rush into a purchase until you know what you're getting and why - it'll make you happier in the long run. Photography can be a rewarding and satisfying hobby, if you take the time. Some sites that may be of interest: http://www.dpreview.com/ - they review all brands of DSLR and point and shoot http://www.photozone.de/ - they review all brands of lenses, quite technical, but you'll learn the lingo quick enough http://www.the-digital-picture.com/ - quite good for Canon reviews http://www.flickr.com/ - search for the camera/lens you're considering, you'll find pictures taken with it (also most review sites have samples) There are heaps more, Google is your friend. Good luck!

If you look through here Linky that shows you what lights up. My ones do not light up. They are just the stainless finish ones. They are removable as they are stuck on with double side tape and it doesn't sit on the paintwork anyways so no worries with damaging paintwork. Haha, no wonder I was looking at the pic thinking "how the hell does solid metal light up?". Thanks for the link, I'd seen these on eBay but wasn't sure how good the quality was, as with many parts on eBay. Sounds like there are a few happy campers here though, so I may just take the plunge.

I've had wax and other liquid car wash products shipped around Australia no problems, so at the local end you should be fine. Find out which carrier it would be posted with, and ask them. I can't imagine you'll have any major problems getting it in.