Monthly Archives: January 2010

On Sunday afternoon a few Golf R32 owners got together to compare exhaust notes. Pretty funny seeing a bunch of older mature people in classy cars acting like a bunch of kids in hotted up cars.

Character!

Pirelli edition of the Golf GTi. Nice stitching, not too sure about the tyre print though?!

Frenchie’s car. Blacked out front grill with no plate holes in it (sweet!). BBS rims + Capristo exhaust.

Capristo exhaust.

The design of this exhaust is superior as it’s a true twin exhaust all the way from the cats back. The tips don’t line up too well though as you can see.

Christina’s exhaust lines up a little nicer.

Black wheels = tough.

The loud ones in the group.

What a sleeper. The ABT badge gives nothing much away if you don’t know what the brand makes…

ABT Supercharger. This thing made all sorts of loud whistling and whining noises and damn does it go. It feels just as linear all through the rev range like the stock car but it’s about 20% more powerful down low and picks up at the top where the stock engine fades.

Lastly: the sound comparo.

The Wedding planning has begun!!! Christina and I checked out 2 churches last weekend. Both were very nice in their own way, both were totally different to each other. So much to consider: Photo locations at the church, car parking for guests, seating, access etc.

Random but funny: Here’s a photo of Mr. Lock hair drying Jess’ scab (from her back operation).

Christina and I have been after some George Nelson Bubble Lamps ever since finishing the house renovations. No one makes replicas so buying the real deal was the only way to get some and at almost $900 each we never entertained the idea of buying some. We’ve tried to get some in from the states (as they’re half the price over there) but they’re not allowed to ship these internationally. It seems like the local dealer (Spence and Lyda) have some very good control over the product.

Last year Spence and Lyda had a 10% off everything in the store sale. We just happened to be in the store on the last day of the sale and they had 2 of these lamps left at 10% off. Christina was all in but I hestitated so we didn’t end up buying them. In the past year we’ve been walked into so many lighting shops and nothing we’ve seen comes close.

Last week Mum got a flyer from Spence and Lyda to let her know that their annual sale was on once again, this time with 20% off everything in store. I called them up on the morning of the sale date and they had a handful of lights in stock. I asked them if they could hold them for me but they outright refused as they were sure the lights were going to go quick. I didn’t hesitate this time though and I bought 3 of them on the phone with my credit card (ouch). 20% makes for a substatial discount but the total still hurt (a lot).

The goods.

The real deal.

We picked up 2 saucers and 1 criss cross.

I’ll call the electrician soon and get them up ASAP.

I’ve really got to make more of an effort to take photos of people, and not just food!

Friday night dinner at Ratu Sari on Anzac Parade Kingsford. Indonesian food that’ll even please Indonesian guests visiting from Indonesia. Clean restaurant too, they just get better and better.

Saturday morning brekkie at Cafe Mint on Crown St (near Cleveland St).

Just such a cool little buzzy cafe with a difference. The staff are hot, and bouncing off the walls. The food is fresh and exciting.

Saturday night Wagaya with Di and Felix. Wagaya now has a membership plan!

HELLO Mr. FELIX ALIM!

Di and Felix are newly engaged, we heard all the juicy bits (lovely). These 2 are so sweet together. Suga and I love them both.

Lazy Sunday brekkie at home. I must say I make a pretty good poached egg!

My V35 350GT is a grey import from Japan. I hear this little warning message every single time I start up the car. I don’t mind it, she sounds sexy! I’m curious though, what’s she saying (most likely something totally un-sexy, right?).

Love my beater.

Bum shot.

Yup that’s my seat in thye top left corner, the car is so low that you literally just roll out onto the floor. HAHA.

ED got another bike rack today. With this one you have to take off the front wheel. I’ve got the best of both worlds now, a good thing as my bikes vary in shape and some will suit this rack more than the other.

PedoBear made an appearance too.

Amazing what a little autosol can do.

I’ve lowered the rear a little more too. Front is as low as I can go unfortnately.

V35 350GT on 20inch Work Varianza T1S wheels.

I’ve got a lot of Best Motoring DVD’s and last night I went through them to see if I could dig up some footage of the V35 350GT in action. I dug up one DVD from 2006/08 and they had a section on it called the Kakeyoro Ranking.

Kakeyoro (aka The Gunsai Touge) is their test touge track (Touge is a Japanese word literally meaning “pass.” It refers to a mountain pass or any of the narrow, winding roads that can be found in and around the mountains of Japan) and the Kakeyoro Ranking is a big board with a massive triangle on it, the cars at the pointy end are the ones which the test drivers favour on the touge (in this case, The Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya).

They ranked the V35 Skyline (05/06 model) at the very top, just under the S2000. In this particular test (they rank different cars each DVD) Keiichi thought the V35 skyline was better than the Porsche Cayman and BMW Z4.

Here’s a snap I took of the ranking board. You can see the S2000 is at the very top of the ranking board and the V35 Skyline is 2nd. There are some absolutely awesome cars further down the ranking too.

Needless to say the footage and ranking impressed me and it’s made me think twice about killing funtion for form (ie: putting on 20’s just for looks is going to kill performance and handling).

I’ve already put $100 down as a deposit to hold some 20inch wheels and tyres but I’d rather loose the $100 than pay up $4k for wheels I’m not 100% on. My head is buzzing but it’s OK, my naturopath calls this good stress not bad stress!

Stock, but not for long…

I’ve ordered some power mods (plenum spacer, intake pipe + filter) which will gain me about 15kw, some noise and more response. I’ve also ordered some suspension.

I thought about Tein S-Tech lowering springs. Everyone in the states seems to be using them and the drop is about an inch all round but springs just aren’t my thing. I’m way too fussy to live with just lowering springs (can never get the height perfectly right, or the ride quality).

I then looked into cheap coilovers. They sell Tein “BASIC” coilovers in the US, height adjustable but no damper adjustment. Cheap but many complain it’s too soft. That doesn’t sound like me either.

I then considered BC Coilovers as some people on here have tried them and given them great reviews. Man in the end of the day it’s just not me. No offense to anyone who rates them but I can’t go there (call me a brand whore, whatever).

Joe at Buddy club could look after me on a set of Buddy club (I’m pretty sure “BC” took some inspiration from their name from “Buddy club”) RSD’s but I’m after more of a street coilover.

Enter JDM Tein Super Streets. Yeah perfect. They’re mine. They’ll go on the car next week.

What’s next? Wheels. I’ve ordered them too. If I’m lucky they will be mine before next week, if I’m not lucky I’ll have to wait until mid Feb to get them.

Booyah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’s a whole lot of cash, the wheels cost more than my ED (which I love). That upsets me… I need more wine.