Gollum

just becuase they're not fun doesn't mean they're not fast I'm a stick kinda guy though. Even in traffic a good hydrolic clutch is as easy as any automatic for me. Look on the bright side. Most junkyard motors will never have seen anything close to redline and will have always shifted low around town I think will make the realiability of junkyard motors a lot better.

Yea, i've seen videos of that guy before. That freeway clip looked lucky to me. Even the best drivers on the D1 circut don't get that close to walls when they meen to. And I don't know if I'd call all that drifting. Alot of it looked like controled sliding. I'd like to see him on a track and not just straight aways.

Aux I think ford started the whole retro thing with the T-bird. I could be wrong though. And honestly, I'd take a retro car over half the garbage on the market today. New cars are just wierd and unusual. Very few actually look decent (to my eyes).

My grandfather was an engineer for various oil companies back in the day, and he'd always been looking for power solutions and such on the side. He designed & blue printed a power plant that could be cookie cutter made and used the power of sea waves to drive conductors. It could adjust for tide on the fly, and would be cheep power that could be reproduced for cheep anywhere. Main problem would be getting the power over long distances. During his pitch to PG&E they said they like the idea and would like to look over the plans and meet him again next week. Those were his only copies of the plans and he have them to PG&E. A week later that hadn't called him about a meeting and upon trying to get a hold of the people he was talking to he was told those people didn't work for the comapny and never did. He was furious and went over to PG&E and while there a friend of his that had set up the whole meeting to begine with tells him to go home. He said that this whole thing was much bigger than you could imagine and that if he pursued it his life could be at stake. The plans got buried because they didn't like the idea of a power plant that would be cheep and easy for competition to replicate. At the time PG&E was a small comapany and could afford competitors getting wind of this. And in acuality a plant like this would be much better than wind. Even huge boats gradually move up and down from the energy in the water. I'd like to see wind do that. It's also much more consistant. There are waves all year round, and much less variable than wind.

81' 280ZX California Want to get the engine up a bit in power then start cleaning/restoring the car. Somewhere between those will be saftey/reliability mods.

I feel lucky, my dad just brakes late. Bugs me everytime in traffic.

I hear ya, I'm just saying just because it's based on a car doesn't mean it can't be better. Now, it's been proven stock vs. stock the Z is faster. I just wanted to point out that too many people play the "based on" blame-game. I personally can't stand this beucase most cars nowdays are platform built. And in the end the G35 is much more luxiry oriented. I'd like to see a stripped G35 VS a stripped 350z. Although, my statement just now might be a little off, since the 350Z can come in such a wide array of trim levels.

And the new mustang is a redone lincon. Just because it's true doesn't mean it means anything.

I never said the 350Z performed poorly. I just stated I wished it looked more like an S30. Surely they could make a great performing car that fits that profile. Looks aren't the ultamite factor in a car's performance.

Yea, it's NOT a skyline, it's a GTR. And the newest prototype isn't much different than the concept they came out with that made it's way into GT4. And as far as I know the US spec G35 is pretty identical to the skyline in japan right now. I think if the GTR makes it to the US there won't be any political issues what so ever, because it'll be an all new vehicle (technically) and priced fairly high.

I like the G35, but only the coupe with the areo (sp?) package. I kinda like the 350Z, but can't really see myself in it. It just doesn't fit. But I do agree that both those cars are a bit heavy. Mazda proved you can still make a light car with the new miata. So I'm waiting to see some other super light cars.

I really want to go back because i spent over half the race stuck behind people. I didn't have a whole lot of free laps to myself (except that string of 23 sec laps I had) so I think I could have done alot better. But all in all it was still a major blast.

Thanks for the real-life review john. It's hard to get some bad reviews about FF cobras. Thier chassis is strong no doubt. 'I think' (<-key words) they all have to run the same 4link in the NASA spec series, wich explains alot of it. FF says thier 3 link handles almost as good as the cobra IRS setup for them and they take power alot better. And dosquattro beings a good point. The 86 is known for it's amazing cornering and has a live rear axle, wich also explains why so many people describe it as "single minded" and hard to make spontanious. The way the back end losses grip is very uniform. I wonder what a completely OEM 86 would feel like though. I doubt there are any on the track without suspention work. EDIT: Hey johnc, would the total lack of power explain why the 86 handles so well? I mean, even in the most competative 86 circuts in japan they're not pushing more than 200hp (closer to 150 if my memory serves correct).

^ Ahem, I second that. We gotta both find some Z chicks dude.

It's amazing honestly. SO MANY cars are shop built. This is the byproduct of cars being part of the "in" crowd. They got the money to burn but don't want to actually learn about what they have. Around here that's the stacked majority of "car guys". When I find anyone remotelly like you people here at HZ i try to make good friends with them, becuase they're the minority, the people that actaully know something useful that's been learned, not told. But luckly this crowd seems to be fading just a little latelly. I see more and more nice cars that are well done and fewer and fewer stock hondas with an aftermarket muffler. But alas, a friend of mine ones an older wrx that he's converting to STI all the way around. He has a real passion about driving. He's obsessed with figuring out the best way around a track weather grip or drift he doesn't care, as long as it makes for faster lap times. BUT, he might be able to change his oil, but he needed help for setting up aftermarket guages. He just got married and didn't have the time to learn how to make all the mods to his car himself to make it STI spec, so he had a shop do it. It's painful for me becuase it means he looses some understanding of what he has. But I like him still because he respects knowledge and cares about the craft. Then there are people that have 1100HP supras that don't know how an evap system works, how to change a door window, or how to change thier intake manifold. All because it's more about the adrenaline and/or the status of having a car like that. I don't understand thier minds, so I'll never be able to truly judge them.

Wow, those look darn good on MSA's site. Makes me want one for my ZX. It's got a couple of cracks that don't look so sexy. What if you go witha different color, will the previous color be seen on the edges and such?

Well, and I don't think the epsirit was actaully sold here in the usa was it? Someone please correct me. I always assumed this becuase such low numbers are ever for sale used online. That's why the new elise is such a big deal, it's in the US... I've seen 10+ around town in the last year since thier debut. EDIT: Oh yea, I love the espirit. Gotta be one of the best cars to come out of england.

I love thinking about such a nice car being race. I hate show only cars. That's b-e-a-utiful.

Well, in CA they have lower octanes becuase they're "supposed" to run cleaner. We get 87 89 and 91. 110 octane is legal, but just not sold at the pump, exept at some race tracks.

I'm actually not against the MX-6 idea. Good cars all around. Probly lots of untapped potential since it's so uncommon (seems to me at least) in motorsports.

Dang. I hate theives. Had a bachelor's party at my house last night, only to wake up with the groom's car missing. People suck.

DANG! That's the best thred ever, no question about it.

so what is the car in the 2nd pick to the right? Its the first night shot in the first post. I didn't think it was a new mustang becuase the back end didn't look right, but I wasn't sure what it was.

Oh yea, my friends dad currently owns over 40 cars. He runs an auto shop and uses the shop space to buy/sell vehicles.