CamB

Ooops, just spent ages redoing the post with meaningful(ish) advice. Try hunting through the options to find who has lowest brokerage then. Might as well be cheap if you make your own decisions.

Sorry to answer question with a question... but what do you want the broker for. Recommending stocks? Or just transacting your own choices? Some brokers offer cheap(er) online trading so you might as well get one of those if all you want is to buy/sell a few shares, while some offer the full service, with higher fees (and some both options). If you want advice, bigger brokers with international links (either foreign owned or part owned, or affiliated) get my vote (theoretically they'll have better insight into foreign shares). Eg ABN Amro Craigs, Macquarie, Goldman Sachs, First NZ Capital (has Credit Suisse affiliation of some sort still). If you're looking to invest smaller amounts of money (eg less than about $50k) it's pretty hard to get meaningful diversification without investing in a fund or funds (managed or index - I'm beginning to prefer index funds since they have low fees and never underperform the market, except for the fees), or maybe listed investment companies. Diversification is imperative... A full list of all brokers is there at www.nzx.com - if you needed to find one with online/cheap brokerage you might start there and check a few of their sites etc.

I LOL'd.

This must either breach securities law or gambling law. Or both.

Hehe, I made a spreadsheet for my M10, but since I relied on internet measurements it could be way out. For drift it For an SR20 you could try the spreadsheet linked on this page (thanks google): http://www.rs-enthalpy.com/info.htm While it might not be accurate exactly for your engine (ie if the US spec engine is different to JDM, or whatever), the CHANGE in c/r should be close enough for your purposes. Instead, lets assume the US engine is the same as JDM: - if I change the bore to 86.5mm, the c/r only goes to 8.6:1. If the pistons are 9:1 then the dish is less, so - I guessed at -12cc piston volume - gives about 9:1 - now, skimming the block reduces the deck clearance from -0.05 to +0.95, increasing c/r by 0.75:1 to 9.75:1 ... which suggests you should look at a thicker head gasket, and/or find someone (not me!) who really knows what they're talking about, since it seems you may have pretty high c/r.

Other way around? Count the number of times the driveshaft goes around for one wheel rotation?

This guys used to do them - not sure they still do (even though the website looks current): http://www.maxim-wheels.com/ Only had FWD offset.

Was the stuff he was failed on stuff that didn't meet the LVV rules?

<sigh> I said tyres, balljoints and bushing wear "faster". A year is hardly long enough to know if you're sweet or not - it might be 100% of the time you've owned the car, or 50% of the time you've had your licence, but its not long enough for this conversation. If your tyres have ANY camber wear, you have too much camber for a street car. Theoretically you can't be pink or green stickered for a modification that's certed. If you're stupid enough to get a cert at a higher ride height (the cert gives a +/- 5% range) than you drive around at then you'll get done. If you have modifications not covered by the cert, you'll get done. Look, I've got nothing against the slammed look. I have a big problem with uninsurable, unsafe vehicles being driven around. Dropping a car that much causes some pretty serious changes to the geometry and - unless you change the shocks - will be bouncy which is a problem not a feature. Both these will screw up the handling and that is why there is a cert required. If your car bounces/pitches with poor body control, it's a liability in the wet. End of story. For me personally, the tradeoffs to being that low aren't worth it (judder bars and driveways) - it's fine if you want to deal with those problems, but do it legally not just flaunting the law.

Yeah, but maybe not on his budget Decent power levels need forged pistons etc. Parts ill goes way up.

That is so, so backward. It's only cheaper once (and cert is $450)... and you shouldn't get stickered if the car is certed for the ride height*. With the cert you're insured, without you're not. That's $170 difference between being legal and being not. If you're pink stickered twice you lose. Plus WTF (still) with being so low. Handling is destroyed. Tyres, bushing and ball joints wear faster. You can't actually drive anywhere without bottoming out. You become a police magnet. W...T...F... * Unless that ride height is 40mm. You might as well put a sign on the car saying "F#%$ the Police" and park up outside the cop shop playing the NWA song of the same name.

Can you fabricate (in particular weld)? Its crucial for your budget. The parts aren't too expensive if you can make your own manifold and dump pipe etc - your biggest issue is fueling and ignition control (you really need aftermarket computer for any meaningful boost). Have a look over at www.e30tech.com forums if you haven't already. Heaps of info there on turboing (in particular M20). You can also save money if you keep a low boost target and pick an engine with lower compression ratio to start with. Ultimately medium and higher levels of boost aren't really possible on standard pistons, which really screws the budget...

It should be ~$800-1000 for the adjustable platforms, some labour to install (weld) the platforms, and 4 springs, and that assumes you re-use your existing shocks (which is hardly ideal - they need to be shorter and uprated). D2s are generally pretty good value - the quality of the shocks is a bit questionable in the long term (or for racing) but for height adjustment for a street car I reckon you can't beat them for value - they cost about the same as new springs and shocks. Theoretically you need a cert though - another $400-500.

I fail to see how 40mm ground clearance can be safe. 40mm is stuff all. The LVV handbook says it needs to be stiff enough so you don't bottom out, but not so stiff as to affect handling, and that you can't have too much camber. I can't believe that with 40mm ground clearance it's meeting all that. Are you sure it's 40mm to the frame/structure - the rule is referenced to body structure, not spoilers/side skirts, etc. And beyond that, 40mm would be such a massive pain in the arse. I'm well over 100mm on my Civic with adjusties and I have to be careful sometimes (some driveways)...

40mm is stupid! Shouldn't get a cert IMHO. Do you guys bother correcting the camber (at the rear)? Must rip through the tyres.... Plus if your suspension arms are past parallel at you lowered ride height then you'll get nasty handling.

The carbies will let you run pretty much any cam you want (you'll probably need to get them rejetted though, and maybe new venturis), whereas single TB fuel injection has problems as valve overlap increases on more radical cams. They'll also sound so awesome it will bring a tear to the eye, and make good power if set up right. The drawback is fuel consumption and they may be fiddly to set up (find someone who knows how). 45's might be a bit small for really high power levels too (I'd imagine they'd be ok to maybe 300hp - hopefully someone who knows can chime in). ITBs with fuel injection give you the best of both worlds, but $$$ to buy and tune.

I'm not sure if they've changed the proposed rules, but last I saw it was this: http://www.motorsport.org.nz/Pdf/MotorSportNews%2025-28.pdf It's actually very, very restrictive...

Thanks - that's helpful, especially the bit about 10psi being ok so far on a stock bottom end (I'd been thinking 8-10psi). I plan on trying it that way at first then (similar to you) going 2 litre/low compression if it goes bang. I'm way more likely to have problems since I'll be racing it, but never mind. You don't know till you try. If anyone's got a good (as in not already reground) 2 litre M10 crank/rods they want to sell me for a sensible price, I'll probably do that now - buy some decent forgies and see how long my gearbox lasts. Either way I'm planning on way, way more than $2k - a $80 manifold isn't going to happen for me, I plan on going for bigger injectors, blowoff valve or Bosch diverter, little FMIC, deal to the cooling, it goes on and on. But I agree if the manifold/exhaust can be sorted on the cheap then $2-3k is possible for a low boost setup. I wondered about this VEMS wideband/egt gauge.

I am so watching this with interest - I've got a turbo (Silvia ball bearing one) and a spare 318 engine sitting in the garage. Where did you get the MLS gasket and studs from? Assuming the US - who from and how were they on price/shipping. PM me if you like rather than talk about it here...

Definitely awesome. Because it's orange, and I'm 32, all I can think of is the Dukes of Hazard theme song...

I wouldn't count on either of them having more money than the other - and I'd say they both have "enough". Anyways, I'm more worried that you think its a legitimate case because of the "oversteer issue factory to the Porsche". The laws of physics make it difficult to design a car capable of swerving "safely" at 130mph. It's not an oversteer issue - the car is very fast and people have to be sensible and/or realistic if they're gonna drive it that fast. Personally I find it obvious that at high speed, the margin for error is small.

50% of what she got came from (presumably) another widowed lady (the estate of the driver). The concrete walls scare me a little (as in a few tyres wouldn't have gone amiss, but then again they probably don't do much), but I agree that you pays your money and you takes your chances. He buckled himself in as a passenger in a car that can go that fast - he must have been prepared to deal with the potential consequences which apparently DO include death.

Fair enough (the "had enough"). Just remember that 2nd hand bits and/or performance bits are generally harder to find and/or more expensive for BMWs than Nissans. There's no cheap coilovers or LSDs, and no turbo means no (nearly) free extra power. I'm not sure you can do a cheap, powerful E30 that handles well, unless you get some mean deals on stuff. The S14 is definitely no-go - they're hard to find, very, very expensive, and if they need rebuilding at any stage they seem to be right up there for cost.... and chances are they'll have high km and need rebuilding at some stage. I looked into it for my 2002 (easy fit!), but the approx $8k I saw the last motor and gearbox sell for really put me off.

I don't understand why the 180sx is so expensive to rebuild?? Why not just get a second hand engine?

I've got a 17mm head bolt that's 6" long, bent over to 90 deg (to make a handle). It was bent by heating with a torch.