Craig.

Good luck with it mate. Take it to them!

http://www.speedywheels.com.au/images/showroom/gtp-inferno-black.jpg http://www.speedywheels.com.au/images/zoom/inferno-black.htm I'm a fan of these and they are available in 18. I like the fact that you can get Brembos behind them and they look good on a Ford. Maybe not the most original style but I still like 'em. Probalby not my first choice if going for 19s (found some I like that aren't available in 18 but are in 19) but if you are going to go for 18s they aren't too bad. With any of the bright colors ( toxic, Rapid, Octane,Bionic even white) I really like the black centre too.

I reckon that with the roads that we have to deal with in Central and Nth QLD, 18s are the best compromise between a good look and practicality. They are big enough that you can get a set of decent brakes under them if you upgrade down the track, but they have enough of a sidewall to provide a bit of give when cornering as well as when hitting the odd pothole. Whats more the tyres are a bit cheaper than a 19, as you have elluded to. Problem is, the mag wheel companies seem to have a wider range of 19 and 20 inch rims available to suit the Falcon than 18s. At least that was the impression I got when I was looking around. Have you found a wheel that you like in 18s?

Not all of us live in the city areas where the whole petrol price cycle happens. Where I live, there is no cycle. Its the same price day in, day out until it goes up, at which point it stays up. For me this is a great find. Thanks Barnesy!

PMT maybe? For what its worth FInland is not the easiest place on the planet to get a drivers licence. To obtain a licence in Finland you actually have to know how to drive, not just follow the rules like you do in places like Australia. In fact, part of the test entials you having to powerslide a car through a corner. A skill that 90% of the Australian driving public couldn't perform! FWIW the easiest place to get a licence is any third world country.

Which is the way it should be. Checks and balances! If only QLD parliament had an upper and lower house, we wouldn't be getting screwed like we are at the moment by Anna and her kronies.

None of us are under the illusion that it will happen guys, just that it would be fantasitc if it was to happen, as a shakedown of our road system and a change in culture is needed. Problem is, as you have already mentioned, quite a large proportion of the population have had the speed kills message drummed into them for so long, that they actually believe it. Its a pity that our government doesn't have the foresight and lateral thinking to make it happen, as it would be a much more possitive step toward lowering the road tolls than installing more speed cameras. Not quite as profitable though.

I agree, but the longer you leave it the more it will cost. I actually think that this is what the government should have spent there stimulation package on rather than just giving everyone $900 to spend on the pokies, imported TVs and Blu rays. It would have had a similar effect to the economy while having something to show for all of that money. IE a world class road around Aus, rather than the flood prone goat track that it is in many parts. that's how we ended up with the Sydney Harbour bridge. It was just one big stimulus package that created an icon we still use. Who among you will be using the item that you spent your $900 on in 80 years time!

Either that or just visit Ebay!

I am sure it is fine, given that he spends a good part of the year in Europe. On a similar topic, why not ask him what he thinks of our road system and the way that they are policed, compared to Europe? Or ask him his opinion of the speed kills campaign that our governments have been trotting out for the last decade or so?

I personally can't see why we can't have the same road system and road rules as Germany. Of course we aren't ready for it at the moment, due to not having autobahn style roads all over the country, nor do we have adequate driver training like the Germans, but if these things were to be recified, why not? Its not like Germans are a different species born with higher motorskills, spatial awareness or eyesight is it?

Favorite beer? Folder or scruncher? Expensive Daewoo ioor Ford?

Pinched from another forum but worth a read.Speeding | Speeding deaths | Mecrcedes-Benz Quote: Speed doesnt kill, says Benz RICHARD BLACKBURN March 5, 2010 Safety expert for Mercedes says strict speeding laws are not the answer to lowering road tolls. A leading safety expert says a crackdown on speeding is not the answer to reducing the road toll. The vice president of safety development for Mercedes-Benz, Ulrich Mellinghoff, says crash avoidance systems, better roads and more roundabouts would do more to cut the road toll than tougher speeding laws. The approach is in direct contrast to state governments in NSW and Victoria, who have been preaching the "speed kills" mantra as the number one panacea for the road toll. Mr Mellinghoff says motorists often fell into the trap of thinking they were driving safely because they were doing less than the speed limit. He says the German road toll had reduced significantly in the past 20 years, despite much higher speeds on the roads. " In Germany you can drive as fast as you want. I don't think that speed alone is the problem. It's the wrong speed in a special situation. With speed limits you will not stop those situations. If you have fog and drive at 100km/h, which is allowed, you are really in high danger of having an accident. On the other hand, if you drive 250km/h on the German autobahn in clear weather conditions with no traffic, it's not really a risk and no accidents happen in those situations," he says. His claims are borne out by German road statistics. In 1972, there were 20,000 deaths on West German roads. In 2009, there were 4100, despite 20 million more people on the road (including the old East Germany). "That was with much worse traffic and significantly more vehicles on the road," says Mellinghoff. "What we have seen is there are a lot of very different reasons for accidents. Sometimes it is not the high speed, it is the wrong speed. If you limit the speed, the driver often thinks all they have to do is drive the speed limit and they don't have to think," he says. It was better to put the responsibility for driving at the right speed on the shoulders of the individual driver. Accident avoidance technology, including pedestrian avoidance systems, also had the potential to drastically reduce the road toll. When stability control was introduced on all cars in Germany, there was a 30 per cent reduction in accidents where a single car leaves the road. He says Australia's New Car Assessment Program, which crash tests cars and awards safety ratings, should reward vehicles more for crash avoidance, rather than the protection they offered in a crash. "They should focus more on these assistance systems. It makes more sense to avoid an accident than to reduce the severity of it," he says. Mercedes was working on a variety of advanced systems designed to cut the road toll, including infra-red systems that detect pedestrians at the side of the road in the dark and spotlight them to alert the driver. The company also had brake assistance technology that intervened to provide maximum braking force in an emergency situation. He says the assistance, which occurs in the last 100 milliseconds before a crash, can reduce impact speeds by 5 to 6km/h. He says Germany has seen good results from increasing the number of roundabouts, as they reduce the number of severe accidents at intersections, while better separating vehicles from cyclists and pedestrians also helps to keep the toll down. He believes car to car communication can also play a big role in reducing the toll, with cars able to warn drivers behind them about hazardous road conditions including ice on the road or accidents ahead.

I don't believe that jail is the answer for someone like this. He may get seriously hurt or comes out of there a drug addict with his type of addictive tendancies. Have you tried talking to his parents and getting them on board? It sounds like they are sitting back and spectating without wanting to get involved. You really need to get them on side, get them to be vocal and involved and then approach him as a group, either you and them or if there are other family and close friends that can/ will involve themselves then get them involved too. A change like this needs to start with the family support or you are just banging your head against the wall. Each of you need to talk to him about the danger he is putting his son in. You need to be confrontational, blunt and to the point. Tell him you are sick of it. Tell him he is a weak bastard for not having the balls to stand up and be a dad. Tell him he really isn't much of a man. Make sure he knows that you as a group are fed up with his behaviour and lifestyle. Talk to him about how he would feel if he were to kill his son in an accident! Ask him if he loves his son? Does he value the young fellas life? Does he think that he is setting much of an example for the young fella to follow? Isn't having him around a good reason to change his life for the better. He needs to hear all of this and worse to wake him up and bring him back to reality. With a bit of luck he will have a light bulb moment, tear up and realise what he has become, and want to change. If you can get him to see your side of it and convince him to change his ways, then the support really needs to begin. That may mean somone making sure he attends AA by going with him. Setting up counselling and making sure he goes,etc. It may also mean helping him find somewhere to live ( this may mean selling the car so that he has money for bond but that might not be a bad thing initially) and some form of employment. The continued support will need to be there for some time to come, so his parents really need to be on board and you all need to be on the same page. Good luck!

SOme may find this a bit controversial but its my opinion and I am sticking to it. I had one of these textralia exoskeleton clutches fitted to my old ute. I wouldn't recommend them for a street car unless you are pulling huge power and cant find anything else to hold it in your budget, or it is a race/strip car only. While they are a bullet proof clutch that will hold stupid levels of power, I wouldn't call the Tex clutch a leisurable thing to use, especially in suburban traffic. Shuddering was an issue from time to time if you didn't get the revs right on take off. It would also squeal like a pig as it took up, which was kind of embarrassing in some circumstances. I had people waiting at pedestrian crossings at traffic lights jumping back a few times due to the squealing, and lots of dirty looks. Clutch pedal is as heavy as I have felt in a car, to the point where if I were driving wearing shoes with not much cushioning, I would end up with sore left toes and balls of feet if cruising around changing gears a lot. Its a clutch that takes a lot of commitment to use. If that's the type of clutch you want, then get it. But if you want something that will hold 330RWKW in a road car with something that acts a bit more like the standard clutch, I would probably wait for that option 5 or even opt for a Option 3+. If I had my time over I would have installed a different clutch. In fact I have purchased a different clutch to fit to my new baby when the time to mod comes. I will be chasing the same power as you seem to be after. 300-350RWKW.

I see you have already got a set of wheels, but for future reference for anyone searching through this thread looking for info,Speed Infernos clear the brembos no problems apparently. I don't mind the look of them either. http://www.speedywheels.com.au/images/showroom/gtp-inferno-black.jpg Speedy Wheels Australia alloy wheels, steel wheels & accessories

Personally I think yoiu are being a bit harsh. Fair enough if the car was 2 months old and you were having issues, but this is potentially an 8 year old car, so you are going to have some wear and tear issues. Most of these problems are wear and tear that any brand of car can have including Toyotas. While the klms are relatively low for the age, the car is now getting a bit long in the tooth. This is all part and parcel of owning a car that has reached middle age! Some of the stuff you are talking about may have had a shorter life (klms wise) than expected while other stuff is quite common and will wear and need replacing over the cars life. Nothing is built to last forever mate! Oh, and if you think the prices to fix a BA are bad, just wait and see what toyota wants to fix your Aurion when it has the same kind of issues.

Joke understood and reciprocated! Perhaps I should have used an appropriate smiley after the special bus comment to get that across.

Actually if you want to watch good racing, have you checked out any bike racing? Among my favorites are 125GP, 250GP ( now defuct and being replaced with a 600cc fourstroke class) World Super sport ( 600cc) and world superbikes (1000cc).

Marty, has your copper mate pulled you over to throw the book at you for your blow off valve? I'm assuming that you own an XR6T. If you do, your car has a blow off valve fitted from the factory mate, so you should be right in his sights!

http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/Boost-Solenoid-Maintenance-t31329.html Here, I did the search for you. It was a sticky under the general tech section. You should have a bit of a look around the site. You might find some other handy hints that you haven't even thought of.

Engine oil choice is a pretty personal thing. There are some good threads here if you do a search. My motto regarding motor oil is pick the one you are comfortable paying for and change it and the filter often. I use a Nulon synthetic in the right weight ( 10W-40 from memory) in my T and change it at 5000klm intervals. I personally feel that the intervals between changes it more important than the brand of oil. For the T56, Mal Wood recommends Castrol Transmax Z, which is actually a synthetic Automatic transmission fluid. Its around $70 for 4ltrs from Supercheap or autobarnand and you need 4.8 or 4.9ltrs when you change it. Change it via the reverse sensor on the LHS of the box, not the plug on the right, which is too low to get enough fluid into the box. Fill it until the oil comes out of the hole you are filling it from. Regarding plugs, I haven't changed from the OEM items, but if you have modded your car, gap them at 0.8mm. If not stay with the factory gap which I believe is 1.0mm. Check your owners manual to confirm the gap if standard as I am only going off memory.

Yes litre bikes do! Too much bike for Australian roads but!

Well that's what happens when you catch the special bus every day instead of driving! FWIW I haven't had a speeding fine in a car for 10 years. My 1000cc bike on the other hand is a different story!

Isn't the Pacific HWY part of the national road system, and therefore funded by the Federal government?