Jump to content


Hiro

Management
  • Posts

    3,701
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    140

Posts posted by Hiro

  1. 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.

  2. 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

  3. 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.

  4. and apparently there was a 255mm FRONT rotor on an earlier model. which doesn't bloody make any sense it being a smaller rotor than the rear when the front does at least 60% of the braking?

    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.

    being all that, yet i currently have TRD black pads in the rear for the corolla and on the box it says for the ZZT231 and the ZZE123?

    so the pad is interchangable between the 258mm and 269mm rear rotors? huh? wtf? am i missing something here?

    Nothing strange about having the same pad fit different sizes rotors, VN Commodore rear pads fit perfectly in KE55/KE70 front calipers for instance...

  5. 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...

  6. I have a dslr (canon 450d) and I'm about to buy a brand new Panasonic fz200. The super zoom just has so many more features and is 10 times easier to use then a dslr. You can't play around with as many settings but for an amateur to mid level photographer there's more than enough to play with. Plus the fz 200 is one smart camera

    Judging from my experiences with the FZ28 (which is half a series and 3-4 models older than the FZ200), there are more than enough settings to get thoroughly lost in, my main issued is that the auto shots off the gun aren't as great as a reasonable DSLR, plus the small sensor size means a lot of noise at zoom/high ISO (and I want to get more into taking night shots)

    Pete (big), are you using the D90? I've come across some pretty good second-hand kits on eBay for well under $1k (even ~$500) which looks like a great bargain to me.

×
×
  • Create New...

Forums


News


Membership