Ekona

Do it nice or do it twice. I did my audio setup three times before I finally got it right, and I wasted a shedload of cash in the process. I tried to do it cheap, then I tried to do it cheap but with better components, and then I finally gave up and did it properly and now I'm set for the foreseeable future. I do have upgrade options left, though. What I did (and what I would recommend to do) is this: Buy some decent speakers first and foremost. If you buy good here, then you'll arguably never need to replace them. Speaker technology doesn't move forward as quickly as everything else, hence the huge costs for some vintage stuff that has depth and clarity that modern things simply cannot match, so get the best you can afford. A solid 2.1 or even 2.0 setup here will be a great base for the future. If you don't have the room to go floorstanding and have to go bookshelf, again just spend as much as you possibly can. This is the one part of the setup you really cannot scrimp on IMHO. Buy an AVR to go with it. You don't really need to spend a fortune here, as there's plenty of solid units out there that will give you the basic setup of HDMI inputs in (PS3, V-Box) and HDMI out (TV) with 5.1 audio and DTS. Sure, you can spend more and get 7.1 or 9.2 or THX and twenty gazillion inputs, but this is where technology does move forward pretty quickly. Mine was out of date about a year after I got it, but it still covers the essentials and I can upgrade this when/if I decide I need more. Don't forget the cables and accessories. Cheap speaker cable is a false economy, but you don't need everything to be gold-plated either! I think I spent £3p/m and that was good enough to give me a good balance between cost and quality. I bi-wired my fronts too, so I needed twice as much for that. You can also massively improve your sound by isolating the vibrations: I got some huge inch-thick slabs of black granite off eBay custom made to the sizes of my speakers & sub to isolate everything as my floor is cheapy laminate, and it was a huge boost across the entire spectrum to my ears. Again not a massive amount of cash, but well worth doing. As a guide, my setup cost me £900 for the fronts, £300 for the rears, £300 for the centre, £500 for the AVR, then about £200 on cables/granite/connectors etc. Scale that down to suit your budget and I'd be looking at something like this: AVR (I like Pioneer stuff) Floorstanders Bookshelfs Centre (should match the fronts ideally) Sub Yeah, that's masses over your budget I know, but pick and choose! You can get the AVR and the floorstanders for £600 and that'll give you a great base to work from, and then you can add everything else when budget allows. Anyways, that's just my thoughts based on my own experience, I'm certainly no expert and I'm sure others will disagree, but I thought it might be worth sharing anyway.

Not really meaning this to start an argument as your post was incredibly well written (seriously), but do you think the drivers of those cars thought about the families of those they were putting at risk? Or even their own families? If they couldn't be bothered, then should we? Perhaps my original comment was a little harsh, in retrospect. Perhaps I don't really mean they deserved to die, but really I cannot have any sympathy for them whatsoever for their actions behind the wheel. To say it was dangerous is perhaps stating the obvious, but how many more times does this have to happen?

10.3:1, I believe.

Better than silver or bronze

As in Millers Nanodrive oil? Very good stuff, I believe Hartech now use it in their flat-six engine rebuilds

No, a mate does! No relation to pubic wigs either!

American. Not my term, but it like it so I nicked it

And people with weird accents. Plus you're much closer to those weird Merkins than us

You said you'll be running a thicker oil until the summer, implying that in the summer you'll be running a thinner oil. I've read it twice now, and that's definitely the implication of the words you used

So a bit more on these then. Had a good run out on Sunday in the MR2, and I have to say I'm impressed. Perhaps more so than when I used them in previous years: I'd be amazed if something in the construction hadn't changed. Temps were around 5c, roads were damp but it wasn't raining, and there was some sun peeking through the clouds. Roads were some good condition DCs and associated roundabouts, and some smaller B-roads still in good nick. Grip from both front and rear was plentiful throughout, far surpassing the 050As I run on the 911, and feel was certainly more than acceptable if not stellar. There were a few moments where I had the front end wash out, but this was more to me testing the limit by being deliberately ham-fisted than any failure on the R888's part. Road noise was pretty horrendous, but the car is stripped out so perhaps more noticeable than otherwise. All in, I reckon they're still a good option for those who run their cars for fun but still want use this time of year. More updates as I drive the car over this Xmas period.

Rained a bit here too, but then it is winter so hardly surprising.

Why? A 10w40 is the same when warm as a 5w40. Really, you want a thinner oil in the winter than in the summer, to get lubricating more quickly when cold.

No-one would feel the same if it was their son or daughter, but then parents are odd folks who will often defend a murderer or rapist just because they pushed them out from their lady garden.

This thread is outrageous! How dare you come on here, with your common-sense attitude to an FI build, getting all the important stuff beforehand, and having a well sorted plan of action rather than just throwing money and hoping for the best! Scandalous! Top work fella, I wish you the best. I'd consider doing the brakes too as a supporting mod. I may not bother with an engine build unless you are looking for silly power, too. The only thing I will say is that by the time you've completed this you'll have spent what, £3k on support mods, £5k on an engine build, another £5k on the s/c kit: That's nearly £15K, plus the value of your car at say £5k, so that's £20k which would go a long way towards your dream of a GT-R. As exciting as your project would be, is it as exciting as living a dream? I'm not sure. Just a thought though.

Why do you post short acronyms in a serious thread? What's the point. Your pretty good with words. I do it rarely, for effect rather than often, because I'm lazy Personally I think that piloting a 1.5 ton lump of metal in poor conditions at silly speeds on public roads and putting innocent lives at danger isn't too much different to running around a playground throwing knives in random directions at 3pm. In this case they only took their own lives, which is a small price to pay for the risk they were taking. If they'd been racing on a deserted piece of well-sighted road in the dry then perhaps my view may differ, but that wasn't the case. If the passengers didn't know what was about to happen when they got in the car then they're as stupid as the driver.

Looks like she's been making a right mess, she's turned your kitchen upside-down!

IMHO, YMMV etc.

They'd have heard the BOV going off and put 2 & 2 together to come up with 36. I just hope the lorry driver is okay. Feel sorry for the kids' friends and families, but ultimately they got what they deserved. Racing on the north circular FFS.

*fap fap fap*

I kinda see both sides. Buying a 3.5L fat arsed car and expecting anything other than the 23MPG that Nissan state on their literature is a bit naive, but on the other hand if you've been getting good mileage from the car and that suddenly changes it's reasonable to ask why.

But we don't actually know yet if the fuel economy has dropped. The OP has said that he may have used the wrong converter, and until he does the test like I suggested then it may just be a case of the fuel sender reading incorrectly rather than the actual MPG dropping.

Wait, a Ford GT was butchered to make that?! Shame.

Different. Looks okay, nothing super special. What is it?

I would definitely wait until you can do it all in one to. In theory you could get away with changing the ARBs and not having an alignment done, but you might clout something and leave it needing doing anyway.

If you're fitting new ARBs, I'd fit new drop links. Sod's law says if you don't budget for then then they'll be seized to hell and need replacing anyway.