bravo

QUICKLY i.e. before you drive it anywhere. Reminds me of several stories of people driving their car with the oil light on to the mechanics and never actually making it. Oh, and the woman who asked a petrol station attendant what the light meant. he told her, checked the oil, and put about 2 1/2 litres in. She then drove along to the next gas station, and the light was on a gain, so she copied the attendant and put another 2 litres in. At the fourth gas station, the attendent there noticed she hadn't checked the dipstick before adding oil, so talked to her and got the full story, and thought - crikey! major leak here, or no oil pressure, so checked the dipstick. it was WAY over the top mark. Told her to go and see the mechnic on site. She drove accross the forecourt and never made it. Turned out that she had WAY over filled it, and caused major engine damage driving accross the forecourt. What happened? The first attendant correctly diagnosed the oil light. The women then forgot to release her handbrake properly and mistook the handbrake light for the oil light, and just kept topping her car up! Sorry - O/T I know.

Aslo, think about this: The alarm listed on trademe is not a known brand. My rule of thumb is, if you can't find a website, or physical address for a product on trademe, then it is obscure, and is unlikely to be very good. if it was good, then it would be well known. Secondly - factor in installation costs. Unless you have installed alarms before, you will not be able to do the job properly. Also, it may not qualify for your insurance. Finally, if it sounds like a steal (i.e. too good to be true), then it probably is. My mate bought (against my advice) an alarm off trademe that was not a reputed brand. it had all the mod-cons with a pager system, LCD screen on the remote, and engine start, but it was a heap of crap. No-one would install it for him as his car was a manual, and it is illegal to put remote start alarms in a manual transmission vehicle. Second, the alarm looked to be a good deal until he found out how much to install it (without the engine start feature activated). He also then found out that the nearest installer willing to do the job was a 4hr drive away. Finally, even installed, etc it did not qualify him for insurance discounts as it was not an approved alarm. He spent about $500 in the end, and for the same money he could have got a dynatron installed and saved himself two trips to Auckland at about $80 worth of gas each time. Go to your local alarm installer and buy one off them. Save yourself the headache.

I have heard AVS are also good. Anyone heard otherwise?? I have been looking at Dynatron myself. At around $600 installed for the one with the backup battery, or $500 without, it is a 5-star alarm, (4-star without backup battery) and gives me 10% discount off my insurance. Even a $4000 odd car could benefit from this expense as quite often you dont' pay excess for theft if you have an approved alarm (depending on your insurer). Therefore the alarm pays for itself the first time your car is either stolen, or your stereo pinched. The price here is quite good when compared to a comparable uniden - $300 plus installation at DSE. You can expect to pay around $150 - $250 for professional installation, so at best you save $150 by going the Uniden over the Dynatron, and at worst only $50.

Is it the one I saw parked outside Just Law on Kerikeri road today?

I can even throw in a lockable, water-proof (most of the time) lock box and strap for the back to put your gears in - I made it myself. It is the size of a medium-sized fridge and can fit a weekends worth of stuff in it. I made it out of the cabinet of an old fridge/freezer, so it is made of steel and is insulated so is an awesome chilly bin for those beach trips - bolt on a bbq, drop the sides, crank the sounds and back up onto the sand - mobile party wagon!

Another...

I'm letting go of the beloved Datto... Was gonna keep it for beach barbie's , and luggin stuff around, but got no space left in the drive to park it, so its gotta go. Details... 1986 Nissan/Datsun Navara Flatdeck Ute (2WD) 245kms 1600cc Petrol 5Spd Manual Brand new WOF (today) Impeccably maintained. Serviced (properly) every six months. No rust. New carpet and mats (out of an impreza - definately makes it go faster), cassette/FM radio (that I pinched out of the bimmer wen I upgraded that), air con, good rubber. Excellent condition. Would never think that it had done 245km. Repainted by previous owner due to sun damage. No bog or accidents. Asking $3800 to joe public, but would settle considerably less for bimmersport members.

Hmmmm, mine came up with nothing, but "bravo" got me a warning from my boss.

Needs a squarer rear end IMHO. Would look good in a touring version.

Yeah they did.

No, neither do I entirely, but there were a similar set of graphs on Top Gear on Sunday, so obviously the brits are having the same issues as us. Secondly, the upward trend may not be caused by lower speed, but lower speed is obviously not contributing to lower deaths (although by altering the scale for the speed line I can make that look almost flat too!) However, if you look into how the LTSA's figures on speed related accidents are logged, they include every accident where one of the vehicles was speeding whether it was the speed that caused the accident or not. Same goes with drink driving. If a car runs a red light and crashes into another vehicle being operated "safely" and legally, but the "safe" driver had been drinking, the crash is alcohol related even though they were not at fault! Finally, on the subject of statictics - 30% of accidents are caused by drunk drivers, ergo 70% are caused by sober drivers so lets all get pissed and save lives?!

The 4AGE is one of the best engines Toyota made. they have been putting it in various models since 1983. I am no expert, but I know that it was put in Corolla FX-GT's Corolla Levins, MR2's, celica's and others. Very revvy and reliable engine. It was made for front rear and 4wheel vehicles, but I think worked best in fwd configuration. It is a 1.6L I believe. I think the 4agze had variable valve timing. 4agzte - t for turbo???

Don't take my word for it, but I'd think they would be illegal in NZ in a road-registered car. Just like you can't put remote start in a manual vehicle. If you caused an accident it would be a tricky legal point as to whether you were technically driving the vehicle. My 0.02c

Wake up and smell the petrol fumes. I am quite happy to abide by the speed limit as a general rule, however, it is extremely easy for your speed to creed up especially on wide and flat roads in a 50 zone, and even more so on downhill slopes, and transisitions to slower zones. My local testing officer informs me that I should be checking my rear vision mirror on average every 16 seconds - I do. I am however, checking my speedometer every 6 seconds in order to avoid fines from hidden cameras etc. Every time I check my speed, my eyes are off the road. Less safe I would say than travelling 11km over the limit from time to time. Get real

Yeah I know! After some mags, but only had the car two weeks. My mate wants me to clean off the BMW logos, and get them custom painted with silhouette's of well endowed women - I think it might look pretty boss in the meantime, but a little too porn maybe? Anyway, it is 10pm and the first boats are still between tutukaka and the brett, and some only just leaving the gulf, so looks like we're in for a long race. I have to be at the Coastguard Ops room at 7am tomorrow morn for my radio shift, so going to bed soon. Hope that the field is well on the way in by then.

[sKITE] For those wondering, the first pic shows Russell on the land in the background, and the second shows the Waitangi flagpole on the headland. [/sKITE]

Oh, it worked this time :-)

How do you attach a pic - doesn't seem to work for me and I have no hosting space online at present.

Lazy buggers with 4-day wknd!!! In case you don't know, the coastal classic is a auckland to bay of islands yacht race that started this morning. the record is around seven hours. With a good wind most boats would be here by middle of tomorrow, with the first arriving at dinner tonight, but with crap wind and tomorrows crap weather.... well you figure it out. Sun is shining at the mo, but water is flat as a pancake. Took the attached pic 25 mins ago whilst on lunch break. Rain forecast for tomorrow. As for what I'm smoking... ... ... ... ...

Just been checking out the auckland and Brett marine forecasts, and unfortunately they match what I can see out my office window - no wind, none. Beautiful sun though, and then its gonna swing NE and blow like a bastard tomorrow for the piss up and prize giving at Russell - someone up there is taking the piss... :thumbsdown:

Cheers. Probably the problem then aye!

Yeah, you're right. I wasn't trying to speed up the idle, just smooth it out abit. Used the wrong terminology. Average idle speed is good, just not even and smooth.

Tappets are now fixed - can still hear them, but much quieter. Now, however, I have a rough/uneven idle problem when warm and in neutral. Obviously when cold, the auto-choke raises revs, and when in gear, the stepper motor lends a hand. Adjusting the idle screw by the airflow meter has no effect at all as if it is not working. Will be taking the car back after the weekend to get it looked at but would appreciate some input so I know what I am talking about when I go back. I have confidence in my mechanic, and I have rung him and he has said no prob, just bring it in, should be a quick fix, but just want some inside info if possible. Cheers.

I did

Ooops, never imagined a flame war :rambo: Was just pointing out the law change and having a wee rant. Finished now and feel much better thanks.