Hiro

Yep, colour-coding the outside of the car (white rub-strip and door handles, black window frames) are planned to happen some time this year, will most likely get my folding mirrors painted and installed at the same time too. Just need to organise funds and time to have the car off the road

New DSLR = new photos time... Taken out the front of the new western grandstand at NISC/Marathon/EnergyAustralia/Ausgrid/Hunter Stadium

You didn't look very hard before posting this, did you?... http://au.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/39612-who-has-most-powerful-trd-aurion/

Pop-up headlights disappeared because they are horrible from a pedestrian safety standpoint... As for which Gen I prefer, it'd have to be either an RA23 (ie Gen 1.5) or ST16x (Gen 4)

The Mt Wilson cruise never ended up happening did it? Perfect weather for Blue Mountains if you ask me...

No official meets untill End on Jan next year. Any plans for Jan yet?

There's no such thing as a reliable performance source - magazines/websites will either use manufacturer's data, their own testing, or a third party (and sometimes chop and change between all 3). And amongst that, unless all cars were tested in the exact same method at the same track at the same day, then results aren't exactly comparable (unlike power figures which are constrained by standards and tested on isolated controlled dynos). For instance, one magazine might test cars on the main straight of Eastern Creek (which is not quite flat), with 2 people in the car and a full tank of fuel. Another one might test at Avalon airstrip, which is flatter but has a much different surface (which will affect grip and thus launches), and with only 1 person in the car. For the most part, Wheels/Motor/Top Gear etc will use their own method relatively consistently (only using other figures if they are unable to test the car properly, or if weather was not conducive, and they'll usually say that in the review too), so the closest you'll get to a reliable source for comparisons is to stick with one particular media source.

http://news.drive.co...0824-13mt7.html Stiffer suspension (9% at front, 20% at rear, which would help prevent weight transfer to the rear under acceleration) + better factory tyres (Michelin Vivacy) And Redbook's acceleration figures for the 4th gen are all over the place, going from 9-ish down to 7.8 depending on the year and model (despite no mechanical difference and very little weight change) - could easily have been compiled from different sources which use different testing methods

Cara got a flat on the Soarer last weekend, so got a new pair of front tyres yesterday - Kumho KU39 Le Sports, cheaper than the KU36s that were on there previously and will hopefully last a fair bit longer too (downside of heavy car, tight LSD and road-oriented semi-slicks...)

Friends don't let friends fit blue wheels...

Considering I haven't changed cars for the last 8 years, I'm highly unlike to start now :P

Where has the level dropped? Overflow tank or radiator? How much? If we're only talking a little amount here, then just top it up with plain (or distilled, if you're anal) water for free - no point buying premix or concentrate for just a small top-up. If it is a significant drop, then I'd be more worried about what is causing the drop rather than what to top it up with.

Imagine a Mk1 Golf that just got 1 or 2 mild facelifts over a 25 year period...they were still selling them as of 2011, despite the original Mk1 being REPLACED in 1983

Same goes for the Tazz, essentially an AE92 Corolla made until 2006...

Plenty of cars have larger discs on the rear, remember that rear calipers often aren't as powerful as fronts (ie single- rather than twin-piston etc etc), and rear discs often aren't vented. Nothing strange about having the same pad fit different sizes rotors, VN Commodore rear pads fit perfectly in KE55/KE70 front calipers for instance...

Except for all those Golfs that were made in South Africa :P (yes I know the current model is made in Germany), or the Jetta and Beetle which are Made in Mexico, or the Polo which is Made in South Africa....

Ohhh, you mean the paint tin :P

What's an iron?

Spam in the spam thread....ohh the ironing

Jsta, you DO realise that that article (which is a year old, anyway) is about cars from foreign manufacturers being built in China for the Chinese market, not for overseas (or imported)....

D5100 signed, sealed, delivered and mine :) 18-55 and 55-200 kit lenses, Lowepro twin lens bag, two Hoya UV filters, 16gig class 10 SDHC card, and a 3 year extended warranty, for $1k from Harvey Norman

Pretty much all A-series engines (you should have a 6AFC) are non-interference, so if the timing belt breaks the valves won't hit the pistons which is normally the big cause for concern with snapped timing belts.

I'm not too fussed about focusing speed (anything is faster than a 4-year-old point-and-shoot) since I'll mostly be taking fairly static shots (ie landscape/scenery, cars, portraits etc) not sports/action, plus I've read quite a few good reviews about the D5100. The lenses are basically just to get me started too and get a feel for the camera, I'll eventually work out what focus lengths I tend to use (got to love EXIF data and chipped lenses :D) and then go for a couple of good quality primes (35, 50 etc) and a wide telezoom for general work (18-200/300). Last time I used an SLR (for anything more than just "hey can you take a picture of me in front of this fountain please" it was my dad's (now) 40 year old Asahi-Pentax Spotmatic 35mm, and that was a good 15 years ago now...

Nikon D5100, 2 lenses (18-55 VR and 55-200 VR), with 2 year Nikon Australia genuine warranty, for $700…. Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo……