NB4C

Thanks, 0.8 is actually respectable for an XT, considering the .I know mechanical grip isn't everything but it does give a rough idea. On curvy public roads, I tend to roll through with no pedal action so mechanical grip is a good indication on how fast I can take it.

That makes a lot of sense, Tim. Speaking of downforce, I did read that the Gumpert has enough down force at 300 km/h to travel upside down in a tunnel (theoretically speaking).

Has anyone ever run a stock XR6T around a skidpan and measured the lateral acceleration ? This is just for curiosity, I want to see how one of our local cars compares to the competition in terms of grip. Edmunds Inside Line runs a comprehensive set of tests for most vehicles on the American market (incl. the slalom and skip pan). Australian journos usually only log 0-100 and 1/4 mile times for our local cars, the skid pan is unheard of.

According to that Nurburgring diagram - the car pulled a max of 1.7 lateral Gs. That's insanity, considering that 1G is considered top of line.

While we're on the topic of pricing, do sites like http://www.privatefleet.com.au/ actually get you a significant discount ? Supposedly, they're large volume buyers who take your request, get a whole bunch of dealers to reverse auction it, and charge you a few hundred as an admin fee.

Matty, that is beaurocracy gone mad - totally defeats the purpose of GPS applications on phones. My GPS can't make phone calls on it's own, but it can relay calls from my phone to its speaker via bluetooth ... wonder how cops would react to that.

Fogs lights don't sh1t me quite as much as those aftermarket blue Xenon headlights seen on many rice cars. Eyes are really sensitive to blue light at night. But I haven't seen any this year, are they illegal now ?

I have a BF N/A and I managed to average 17L/100km on E10 with slight thrashings when it was only used for 15 minute stop-start trips to work. On mixed (50% highway), it's settle down to 11.6L/100km. You get bad fuel economy during the first 15 minutes because the engine is still cold. Your figure comes as no surprise. Try doing a 100km freeway trip, your average will most likely read 9-10L/100km.

Hey Christiaan, They need to prove you guilty beyond reasonable doubt in order to charge you (theoretically speaking). So if the police don't have a video/photo of you with a phone in your hand, then they can't actually prove you used the phone. Picking up the phone just to see who was calling is a gray area. You could argue that it's no different to picking up a map, but on the other hand you did technically USE your phone by looking at it. My dad disputed a parking in clearway fine in court and won. The zone wasn't clearly marked and he took some film photos of the area to prove it. He took a huge risk because he was representing himself too. Understandably, you are very pissed, in principle, you're probably not in the wrong. But be realistic and consider how much you'd have to pay if you lost in court.

Respect.

Link, if you want to do more reading: http://www.coatesengine.com/technology-document.html The idea is basically replacing the poppet valve seen in most engine with a rotary valve. Seems like a very clever and interesting idea which I think is worth sharing. But I do wonder why this tech isn't mainstream yet, it's been around for a few decades. How it works: Rotary Valve Engine vs Standard Poppet Valve Engine Advantages summary: > Peformance: more torque and power > Efficiency: 35-40% thermal efficiency vs. 25% in most modern engines > High compression ratios: by easing the hot spots on exhaust valves and increasing the threshold for detonation/ping > More durable and reliable valves > Simpler/less parts: no poppet valves, no springs, no cams > Valve float eliminated: higher RPMs possible > Less emissions > Less noise/vibration due to the non reciprocating valves > Potentially cheaper (Brief overview video. Ignore the Greeny references.) Comments ?

The 90K Falcon Coupe - money not well spent. If you want small, fast and agile coupe - a 370Z does the job for only 70K. If you want a very fast and spacious Falcon, you'd mod an XR6T or F6. But if Ford had a factory built Falcon Coupe for 50-70K and it was substantially lighter than the sedan (say <1.6T). I'd say, "bring it on".

well if you rubbed bits with lady gaga and found she was packing how many people would you tell? I'm pretty sure the right money can make guys talk.

Have a read of this link: http://www.thehcf.org/antiidlingprimer.html Not sure if this is true for all modern cars - but I am curious. In urban driving, you normally stop for 1-3 minutes at each light. Fuel consumption aside, will your engine be better off with idling or stopping/starting ?

My Danish friend told me that he only had to do 25 hours of a driving course to get from no license to full license in his country. Basically, he paid 3 grand, took classes and took professional driver training (some of which was on a track course). That's it, their strategy is quality over quantity. NSW's 120 hrs of learner driving and 2 provisional stages seem pathetic and pointless in comparison. I honestly don't think proper training courses are that hard to implement. And woop de do, 95 less hours of pointless learner driving will definitely save a sh1tload of CO2 too.

This is a purpose for Expensive Daewoo and HSV to exist, if it weren't for them, Ford Australia's cars would be nowhere near as good as they are today. With the new 327kw GTS, FPV is going to respond by ramping up the specs on its cars.

Thanks for sharing the story. I once found myself driving down a long, wide, quiet residential street and had the urge to slam the throttle. Luckily, I didn't, because halfway down that road was some guy in dark clothing walking around his broken down car that didn't have its lights on. Even at 50 km/h, I had to brake a fair bit when I saw him. It's like someone was watching over me. Lesson learnt, I'm saving the insanity for the tracks.

Say "You spend 1000's on fashion and beauty treatments to look 10% prettier. I think it's reasonable for me to spend a few thousand to make my car 50% faster."

A few weeks ago I was driving home from the city, and averaged 5 km/h down South Dowling Rd. (Sydney). After almost an hour, I finally drove past the blockage. Lo and behold, it was a smashed Clubsport surrounded by cop cars and rescue vehicles. Guess Ford drivers just manage to keep a lower profile.

Cylinder deactivation on V8's doesn't save much fuel at this point. It's because 4 cylinder mode only ever comes on at constant cruising speeds. What the V8s need is an option that allows the driver to manually lock in the 4 cylinder mode so the car can save fuel when the driver wants it. In light footed city driving - 4 cylinder power is enough.

F6, mate. If you want a V8, either wait for the new Coyote engine to come out or get a HSV V8. The current Ford V8 is at the end of it's life cycle.

There'll be a period where Ford will sell both the new turbo 2L engine and the I6. But soon after, it may be time to say bye bye to the good old I6. :(

It says here they were both drunk, she consented to sex but fell asleep during foreplay. It's not even rape - if it were up to me, I'd dismiss it. It's not even as bad as the case that my friend got called up to jury duty for. A British tourist fingered a sleeping girl at a party, then she woke up during the act and accused him of rape. That'd be something along the lines of indecent assault.

You do realise that you're talking nonsense. Even something like the Hyundai Getz cost millions to ENGINEER, but once that's done, production can be done in under a few thousand per unit. Bottom line is, it cost Caterham probably just 20K to produce a unit once a design and manufacturing process is finalised; allow 10K more per unit to recover development costs. I think most of the excess money goes to the company that imports the Caterhams to Australia. I don't hate the Caterham at all, but somewhere along the line, some middleman is performing a major rip off job. But hey, if you want to spend 130K on a Caterham, it's perfectly fine with me. It's 30K less than a Nissan GTR.

Yo mamma's so fat that when she went sunbathing on the beach, people thought she was a beached whale and tried to push her out to sea.