[Lakes]

Hi All well i thought Thumpers original post was getting to be a documentary    i also managed to blow off two VW TDI's off the lights but they both had girl's at the wheel so what could you expect  but before the pipe change one of those girl's in a VW TDI blew me off on the lights ( those DSG gearbox's help a bit ( girls that is ) to beat them i had to use knowledge i've gained racing and driving on how to shift smoothly and lightning quick. but if it's open road i'm sure overtakeing would be better now too.
last time with stock pipe i beat a 20 TDI in some really twisty down hill driving. Eyma would know the type of driving i mean as very much like near Braidwood going toward Batemans Bay.
All in all very happy.
Cheers

[Dazzler]

Hi Lakes,

Going in with Thumpers photos and info from Him and you today to organize quotes for my Exhaust upgrade (I'm excited!)

Tgds,

Dazz

[jamiec]

haha I30 beats dunnydoor pricless :o

[TheBunyip]

Gentlemen PLEASE,  

C'mon let us in on this large triumph for all 130 lovers.    

[Thumper]

Gentlemen PLEASE,  

[jamiec]

Some sad pics there well for the peaple in those crashed cars but all true.

I worked for a new car dealer for about 12 months as a parts interpretor (please dont hold that against me) they sold holdens and Hyundai we would sell about 99 parts dunnydore to 1 part Hyundai that shocked me when i was told that

So anyway i would never buy a commodore after the things i saw there

[eye30]

SPEED is the main factor in most crashes and seeing those makes you wonder what speed they were travelling OR was the Commodore prone to instability?

Don't you have strict speed limits in OZ?

[Thumper]

SPEED is the main factor in most crashes and seeing those makes you wonder what speed they were traveling OR was the Commodore prone to instability?

Both, actually. Usually the younglings who buy these vehicles think they are invincible, and think their vehicles are faster then they actually are.

Problem is, they are not sports vehicles, nor are they anything special. (And yes, Commodores are not the best handling vehicle on the road. They are rather ordinary) add to this rear wheel drive, IRS (Which produces some very acute wheel angles that reduce the tyre contact patch on the road) and inexperienced young hot headed drivers, it's a recipe for disaster.

Put an overpowered engine in chassis that is ill equipped to handle that power, floppy suspension, basic brakes, inexperience, with other drivers that are the same, something is going to give.

Sadly more often than not it's the innocent who suffer.

Anyways, bit off topic. Sorry.

[TheBunyip]

Thanks Thumper,

A good bit of Rhyming Slang and a wonderfully expressive put down. (Dunny Door - Commodore) Glad to see that a tradition that arrived with the Convicts is still alive and well.

Those photographs are enough to put anyone off thinking about owning one or even riding in one come to that.

Is there any sign of the Australian Corporate buyers who I gather tend to be the initial purchasers of these cars waking up to todays reality and switching to C class cars like our beloved i30? If not yet perhaps Mr Rudd's forthcoming Carbon Trading Tax scheme will do the trick.

My contact in California has joined what he sees as a major trend and switched his ride to a C class car. He opted for a  BMW 1 series. My efforts to get him to consider the  i30 were pointless as it is not on offer there. I wonder if Lakes American contacts would tell a different story.

I have to confess that I would not be sorry to see the demise of overpowered lumps of  steel hurting around the streets. True I am biased as my wife and I spent too long under  medical care as a result of an out of control Hoon's V8  in Australia some years ago. We survived to enjoy driving another day even if we carry the mementos still.

[Lakes]

Bunyip, my American contacts are good ol boy's, mostly from the south.
one friend has a collection of corvettes, and a few late model American trucks, and some Harleys, he used to spend lot's of time in search of more power and Torque from Harleys, but used to send me parts to try at the track as all he used was a dyno, wanted some real world testing. then on a trip with one of his trucks and a big dresser harley with a high torque 2 liter ( 124 cubic inch ) motor from S&S, on a trailer as he felt his back could not take the trip from tennessee to Austin TX

but i think California is different i liked ther South east coast as could just blend in, over the west coast is like a different plannet, if you know what i mean.
cheers mate

[i30CRDI]

Gentlemen PLEASE,  

C'mon let us in on this large triumph for all 130 lovers.    

Yeah ......Holden Commodores are the equivent of a UK teenagers Ford Escort first car in the UK (Ok going back a few years) the difference being the Commodore is V6 3.8 litre (170-200HP) or V8 230+HP. I was amazed when I first moved to Oz & observed that this was a common learners (P platers in Oz) car. In the UK you are generally limited on Engine size by the insurance you pay, my first car was an Escort 1100cc & a 1600cc then was a big motor with a big insurance premium for a 17-18 year old. Most P-platers in Oz drive Subaru WRX or Nissan Skylines these days, more power with smaller capacity turbo motors, often ending in same result as the Thumpers photo's.

[Dazzler]

Disappointing....

Did about 220 kms of highway driving today at highway limit of 110kph most of the way.. (admittedly it was between 4 and 8 degrees most of the time) but new "Sports" exhaust doesn't appear to have made any significant difference to economy or performance...

Consumption went up to around 6ltrs per 100km initially, by driving carefully (e.g. feathering the accelerator as much as possible) managed to get her back to 5.4 "just" by the time we got home.

Wife had a drive for about 30 odd KMs and couldn't pick any difference in performance (and she's pretty perceptive)

Anyone want a sports exhaust (hardly used?)

Cheers,

Dazz

[blawler]

I will begin by saying, I am not sure of the configurations of these turbo engines and my experience will come from higher performance Turbo's (Subarus specificatlly)

In the subaru world there are two types of turbo upgrades. Cat back and Turbo Back.

Cat Back - Exhaust fitted from the Cat. This has a minimal upgrade, as the main restriction in this system is the "downpipe" coming from the turbo.

Turbo Back - This is a full system change over from the turbo unit. Included in this is a "downpipe" obviously.

With a cat back exhaust I have seen at most 1 - 2 HP upgrades. With a good high performance Turbo Back exhaust I have seen up to 20 HP. This was also coupled with an ECU upgrade in order to take full advantage of the new exhaust. But Just exhaust upgrades have sometimes netted 15hp in the subaru world I used to be part of.

On my '83 fairlane, I installed a straight through exhaust and extracter kit. I noticed more performance. But I dont think it was quicker, it was just more responsive. I did also increase the fuel economy of the car. I was able to drive at a minimum 50km further on a tank of fuel. Not alot, but it all counted (This was at a time when petrol was very cheap.)

So in short. A exhaust can increase performance. But I think to be honest for me, the exhaust is about getting the "right" not for your car. ANd with each exhaust system I have had built for my cars, great lengths have been taken to get the best performance with out compromising the "Sound and Feel" of the car.

I am not sure yet if my petrol I30 will benifit from an exhaust. I think the best benifits in this car will come from Suspention upgrades, chasis stiffening and Brake upgrades.

For me the power if nice. I would just like it tighter when hitting those corners. ANd a bit of oversteer wouldnt go astray

Brad

[Lakes]

Well first off i love everyone
i don't care it's just another one of life's experiences.
also i drove my friends Maz3 MPS 6 speed was gutless unless you gave it a rev, but give it some revs and was ok. just she has only done 8,000k and drives slow and front tyres look like almost gone south. also could not find how to see Trip PC, and she did not know, she said it's a sports car
cheers

[Dazzler]

Here's pix of my Modified Exhaust.. considering swapping back to standard..







Cheers,

Dazz

[Dazzler]

Maybe I'll stick with it... Got a mate to give her a blast while I stood on the side of the road... Sounds great (better than even Thumper's Video)    

It's not as loud as I expected but very sporty ...

[teamgeorge]

ah im sure everyone at one point owned a commonwhore...

anyway im still pretty confused about the exhaust upgrade thing, still deff keen but i want to know for sure what i want before doing it... what size is this topic upgrade? i didnt see it anywhere.

a small cannon would just make it drone out loud [censored] yeah? so just a 2.5" straight thrwe would be ideal without a massive [censored] factor?