Dropped on coilovers with undersized tyres stretched over huge rims with ridiculous amounts of negative camber does not equal handling.If your car doesn't handle well it certainly won't drift well and if you can't steer you'll spend more time backwards than forwards in trying to drift.
True dat. Neg camber is generally quite beneficial in production-derived race cars though.Let's not confuse getting around a corner fast with showboating in a stanced out vehicle that looks exponentially better than it handles.
Looking great Ziggy, love the colour.
You wouldn't get far in any sort of drift event with a car set up like that. Most of the competitive 'drift' cars can and often have run very competitively in supersprints, hillclimbs and stuff too (comparing apples with apples, e.g. with other non-downforce production based cars). The reality is a drift car needs a surprisingly high amount of grip, good front end geometry, chassis stiffness etc to work well if you're doing anything more intense than playing around at a practice day. Alignment settings, tire choice, spring rates etc can all be adjusted on those cars just the same as on a decent circuit car to suit use and conditions.Dropped on coilovers with undersized tyres stretched over huge rims with ridiculous amounts of negative camber does not equal handling.
Let's not confuse getting around a corner fast with showboating in a stanced out vehicle that looks exponentially better than it handles.
Agreed for sure - just not in the amounts that some people seem to run on the street, where 1/4 of the tyre wouldn't contact the ground even under the hardest cornering.True dat. Neg camber is generally quite beneficial in production-derived race cars though.
I was just referring to how a lot of people choose to set up their cars these days (looks > performance), I'm sure professional drifters don't fall into the same boat.What you're describing wouldn't be capable of holding speed, wouldn't be controllable or stable and would lack the necessary mechanical grip, but lets not let reality get in the way of a good story...
On Simmons (B45's)?Has an injected 355 (built by Bill Lee), supra box, rear end out of a later model commodore (disc brakes). Inside has the yellow needle GTS dash and comfy WRX seats.
Even club level drifters rarely fall into that boat. What you're talking about is just boulevard cruising stuff.Agreed for sure - just not in the amounts that some people seem to run on the street, where 1/4 of the tyre wouldn't contact the ground even under the hardest cornering.
I was just referring to how a lot of people choose to set up their cars these days (looks > performance), I'm sure professional drifters don't fall into the same boat.
Nah, similar though - they are ROH Monaco's, so a three piece wheel similar to the Simmons. Dont think ROH make them any more though, which is a shame as they are a nice wheel. A couple years back I got the centers painted black and the outers polished up. Gave the ute a whole new look.On Simmons (B45's)?
Are you looking at n/a or XT model? My research indicated most head gasket issues were with n/a models. I recently purchased an MY05 XT, no issues with the head gasket but it does chew oil like it's going out of fashion which apparently is the case with all of the turbo models. I wouldn't be discouraged from purchasing one, I love mine!Can anybody give me a rundown on the head gasket problems commonly experienced with the 2.5L subaru engines?
I'm looking at foresters in the 2003-2006 range and have read a lot of conflicting information about whether these years were prone to head gasket failure.
Edit: after staying up all night scouring the various subie forums the consensus seems to be that whilst somewhat improved, the problem is still around. The cause seems to be a less than ideal execution of the open-deck engine design. Think I might cross the forester off the list...
If your car is a 'boulevard cruiser' then by all means, but otherwise, that kind of setup is exactly what I was referring to.What you're talking about is just boulevard cruising stuff.
Hell my own car which isn't really set up for anything specific has 215s on 9 and 10" wide rims and runs 4.5° camber on the REAR...Somehow it all works.
I've got an 06' XT that I've had since new (up to just over 180 000km) and it doesn't really use any oil. I checked it 2 days ago before a trip and it was around 2mm under the full mark (half way point between services).Are you looking at n/a or XT model? My research indicated most head gasket issues were with n/a models. I recently purchased an MY05 XT, no issues with the head gasket but it does chew oil like it's going out of fashion which apparently is the case with all of the turbo models. I wouldn't be discouraged from purchasing one, I love mine!
It's pretty straight forward to get the under tray off to check out under the car and for any coolant or oil leaks anyhow.
I just got myself a Skoda Octavia VRS 2008 wagon, in a 2lt turbo manual. Theyre the same as you see in the TDF (I havnt looked at this years though). They go 7.3s/100k stock, 7.5L/100km, very deep boot and I think more space than a commy, even a vz. Has all the mad electronic stuff you take for granted like heated seats, mirror defrosters, in car tire pressure checker, front n back sensors also connected to the radio for auto mute, auto dimming rear view mirror, half leather bucket seats, etc. They really do seem like more of a luxury car than their reputation acheives. Cost me $16.5k @ 101,000km, which I reckon is really good. It seems a bit niche to me.Ok so the daily 2003 XC Barina is shitting itself and I'm getting sick of minimum $900 repair bills every 6-12 months.
Want to stay with a hatch as this will be wifey's car for the shopping and our daily commuter (I have my own 4wd and v8 in the shed), but this time want something with a bit of pep. Looking to buy second hand around $35k give or take a few k. Don't want anything older than 2011.
Narrowed it down to Mazda 3 MPS, WRX hatch and Ford Focus ST.
Wifey likes WRX and Focus ST. I'm not fussed either way although the WRX does look like its been smacked with a massive ugly stick. I like MPS, Golf GTi and the Megane but worried about potential service costs if something dies. The same probably could be said for the Focus as its made in Germany.
Bottom line - i need something that will be able to comfortably last past 120,000km without things falling off it and incurring big costs, like the Barina. I tend to keep cars until they cost too much to maintain relative to their worth but want to get more than 10 years out of it.
What about a Polo GTI or new Toyota Corolla?Ok so the daily 2003 XC Barina is shitting itself and I'm getting sick of minimum $900 repair bills every 6-12 months.
Want to stay with a hatch as this will be wifey's car for the shopping and our daily commuter (I have my own 4wd and v8 in the shed), but this time want something with a bit of pep. Looking to buy second hand around $35k give or take a few k. Don't want anything older than 2011.
Narrowed it down to Mazda 3 MPS, WRX hatch and Ford Focus ST.
Wifey likes WRX and Focus ST. I'm not fussed either way although the WRX does look like its been smacked with a massive ugly stick. I like MPS, Golf GTi and the Megane but worried about potential service costs if something dies. The same probably could be said for the Focus as its made in Germany.
Bottom line - i need something that will be able to comfortably last past 120,000km without things falling off it and incurring big costs, like the Barina. I tend to keep cars until they cost too much to maintain relative to their worth but want to get more than 10 years out of it.
Subarus can be expensive if things go wrong too. The plus side is that things rarely go wrong with them. The 100,000km timing belt job is more expensive than the same job on other cars because of the flat-four engine, which makes it a bit of a pig of a job. My '98 Outback has done over 330k km & is still going like a trooper.
A friend has had enormous troubles with a Renault (I think it was a Megane too, but the earlier one with the ugly arse, not sure if they're different under the skin now). Purely on his experience I'd be steering away from that one.
Mazdas are good; my parents have owned them for over 40 years (6 in that time), and none have had any major troubles.