Eric Kasir

Add to that if a would be hacker has to wait for your IP to be published on a BBS, he really aint much cop and doesn't pose that much of a threat to you. What you want to worry about is having a static IP (as BT now give with their home business package), and leaving your machine connected without a firewall. You will then find yourself being 'swept' along with the whole subnet you are on, and if you aint protected, thats where you will get into trouble. For the truly paranoid, visit: http://www.grc.com

Just to add, I went through the MOT without any problems with retrofit HID's on my 993 (also from autolamps). Many others in the PCGB have also fitted these lamps without any MOT problems. I doubt the Police would give you a hard time over your headlamps unless you looked like a spotty teenage trouble maker in a souped up hot hatch with neons etc etc, if you do fall into that category, then they may well want to pull your car apart with a fine toothcomb and discover that your HIDs aren't self levelling. Very difficult to prove at the roadside in the middle of the night. Also I would imagine if you do fall into that category, you have other priorities as to what modifcations to spend £500 on. Probably higher on the list for Nova boys like that is a 60" base tube and those blue lights you see on the bonnets of £1000 Ford Orions.... (has anyone figured out what those blue lights are all about yet? If so, please let me know...) No way are they going to pull you over if you are driving sensibly in a expensive looking car, and then further try to see if your HIDs are self levelling. So many expensive cars now have them as OEM, they won't pay much attention to them unless they really obviously don't belong to a car like that. Eric

Yep, I had a BPU Supra, and was definitely impressed with extra performance given by Gavins Hybrids, although that could have something to do with the fact that I was crammed into the back of the car 'cos Stu had to sit in the front 'cos he is too big and lardy for the back If it were me, I would go down the Leon route for upgrading to Hybrids, simply because he really does know what he is doing in this department. If I had of kept the Supra, it would have been my next mod. Eric

If its the Apexi AVC-R, I heard from a couple of people (inc. Chris Wilson when I was up there getting my decat pipes) that this unit is perhaps not best suited to the MKIV, can't remember the reasons, but I'm sure if he reads this, he might elaborate. Personally I loved the DSBC for its simplicity, you didn't have to fiddle with 1000+1 variables to get the boost you wanted, if you do stuff up the settings on the AVC-R, I wouldn't like to recover them... Also, if you don't like the black DSBC with green LCD, do what I did and get the chrome one with a blue backlit LCD - looks v.cool IMO. Quite neat as well because you can put it in the bottom half of the double din stereo unit (assuming you have a single din head unit), with the mounting plate it comes with, also you can chuck a couple of gauges in the same mounting plate. The AVC-R is difficult to locate in the Supe, I offered it up to quite a few places in the interior when I was down at TDI, and wasn't happy with any of them, looked very tacked on. Unless of course you do what Justin did and mount it in the roof. HTH Eric

If its just stock, with stock exhaust, air filter etc, you can hear the second turbo coming in, its makes quite a different noise to the first turbo. You would definitely feel the power difference at about 4000rpm (UK cars anyway, Jap spec don't know how much earlier??), and it all goes a bit ballistic at around 5000rpm.

errr.... here you go! http://leo.worldonline.es/jaumepor/angles/tecnica/brak_cer.htm and: http://www.ceramic-brakes.com/

How about ceramic, as Porsche and Mercedes are now using??

Just as an indication, I paid about £170 inc of VAT for 265/35 18's SO2's just recently.

LOL - Yep, I remember that one mate - how does it go - "Eric, I've just booked my alloys to be done at Spit & Polish - you should get yourself down there as well mate, seen as yours are a right state as well....." Promptly book my car in to S&P, and have them done before Doughie - who comes to inspect the handy work afterwards, then has a sneaky look at Deans who was done at Pristine - declares Pristine is MUCH nicer, and buggers off there to get his done - git!!! Just wait till I stitch you up with that Griffith you're thinking about.... hahahahaha Baron von K

Got this from one of the BBS's I'm on. Make quite interesting reading (if a little long..) ******* Hi.Here is some oil info for anyone intersted.Mobil 1 is fully compatible with the elastomeric seals and gasket materials used in most modern engines.In engines that are in good condition,seal compatibility will not be a problem.Some older engines produced before the mid-1970s were manufactured with looser tolerances than today's engines.Low-viscosity grades of oil can leak from these engines.The solution is to use a higher-viscosity grade like Mobil 1 15W-50 to reduce this leakage which is what we use in most Ferrari's anyways.Contrary to what many may believe,synthetic lubricants are not a recent development.As early as the 1930s,Standard Oil of Indiana conductedresearch into synthetic oil.More serious development and production was commenced by the Germans during WWII, as their conventional lubricants congealed and froze on the Eastern front and stalled their advances into the Soviet Union.As jet engines were developed after the war,it soon became evident that conventional lubricating oils couldn't withstand the high temperatures and pressures, and synthetics came to be used in all military commercial jet aircraft engines.Then in the 1960s history repeated itself, and it was again cold weather that spurred further development work as the U.S.Army needed better lubricants for Arctic and Antarctic use.Still later, NASA specified synthetic-based lubes for all space vehicles, including the Space Shuttle.Today's automotive synthetic lubricants have evolved as an almost direct result of these demanding military and extraterrestrial lubrication requirements. The U.S. Department of Energy lists no fewer than *sixteen* performance parameters for any modern automotive motor oil. These are: -Low temperature fluidity (low pour point) -Low volatility...i.e. resistance to evaporation and resultant oil thickening...good oil economy, additional engine protection -High temperature oxidation resistance (of the oil itself) -Lubricity...the oil's slipperiness -Thermal stability...resistance to performance loss due to temperature change -Compatibility with engine metals, elastomers (i.e. "rubber" seals), oil filter elements, paints, and finishes -Wear protection and film strength -Freedom from deposit formation...good dispersant and detergent characteristics -Compatibility with other engine oils and additive packages -Extended drain capability -Water stability...propensity to remain separate of water molecules -Corollary effects on an engine's octane requirements -Ambient-startup protection...ability to protect against oil starvation during initial startup -Anti-rust properties -Compatibility with catalytic emission control systems -Compatibility with alcohol-containing fuels Low-temperature fluidity ("flowability") becomes an important consideration where winters are severe.Because synthetics are constructed "building block by building block",contaminates present in petroleum oil which contribute to low-temp thickening are entirely absent in synthetics, and fluidity is stable to as low as -65F. Petroleum oils have an inherent percentage of paraffin crystals from their crude oil origins.As temperatures drop, these crystals enlarge and cause the oil to congeal.In extremely cold weather, petroleum oils become a solid mass, thus impeding cold starts, and when the engine does fire up, causing a period of engine operation without adequate lubrication until the lubricant is warmed enough to allow proper oil flow. Furthermore, because of synthetics' better ring-sealing characteristics, fewer contaminants generated by fuel combustion are allowed to escape into the oil pan. Thus the low-temp fluidity and film-strength properties of synthetics both contribute significantly to enginelife in colder climeates.In one cold cranking test conducted by Mobil,at -30F, with Mobil 1 in the crankcase, the engine turned at an average speed of 152 RPM, and started; using 10W-30 and 10W-40 premium petroleum oils, the same engine cranked at 45 and 32 RPM respectively... and failed to start. Mobil states that its Mobil 1 (5W-30) all-season synthetic may be used *in any engine* where 5W-30, 10W-30, 10W-40, or single-viscosity oil is normally recommended by the manufacturer; its new "Formula 15W-50" synthetic is designed to replace and outperform those SAE 15W-40 and 20W-50 conventional oils preferred by some drivers for use in high-performance powerplants. Ambient-start oil starvation is,at ANY TEMPERATURE,a major cause of engine wear.Expert estimates vary as to how much abrasive wear is attributable to lubrication-starvation during initial startups, but it is generally conceded that a disproportionate share of an engine's abrasion and wear is caused during those few moments after initial cranking during which the oil has not yet reached full circulation. NEO Oil Company, a well established and highly-respected producer of synthetic lubricants, has recently developed an extended-life lubricity additive for its synthetic motor oils specifically designed to remain on the bearing surfaces after the engine shutdown and thus deliver additional lubrication and wear-protection for initial startups. On the other end of the thermal spectrum, synthetic oils are also renowned for their high-temperature thermal stability. Superior high-temp stability ensures and engine lubricant's capacity to protect vital engine components during very-high-temperature operation, such as hot summer driving, sustained high-speed driving, repetitious stop and go metropolitan driving, driving in mountainous terrain,etc.Underhood temperatures also take a quantum leap with the use of Turbos,Superchargers or power options,such as air conditioning b& because of emissions devices and emissions-related engine redesign. It is important to note that, even though the dash gauge may register only a 200F or so water/coolant temperature, the temperature of the sump and of all the assorted bearing surfaces significantly exceed the water temperature, and OFTEN SURPASS 500F on the piston ring and cylinder wall areas. These high-temperature surfaces serve to rapidly decompose petroleum oil and additives, as well as contribute to their shorter service life, while the synthetic is largely unaffected. Beyond the protection afforded an engine during these particular instances of high-operating temperatures, high-temp thermal stability moreover permits an engine oil to deliver overall extended service life (significantly longer drain intervals) in all driving conditions, because it prevents the phenomenon of sludge and carbon deposit formations on critical engine parts (valves, valve guides, oil channels,cam followers, piston rings,etc. al.) due to oil thickening, a problem commonly attributable to petroleum oil breakdown at high temperature. As these deposits accumulate in the oil circulatory system, oil flow drops, thus accelerating engine wear. To the user of synthetics, the benefits are (1) reduced wear of critical engine components; (2) significantly reduced sludge and varnish... a cleaner engine; (3) reduced engine drag due to uniform viscosity; and (4) increased fuel economy due to reduced component wear. Mobil Oil reported the results of simulated hot weather performance with its Mobil 1 synthetic as evaluated by a standardized, grueling engine test known as the Olds III-D. In this test, an Oldsmobile 350" V8 engine is run for 64 hours at a 100-hp load and 300F crankcase oil temperature. This test is designed to measure an oils ability to resist oxidation and evaporation (and consequent thickening) at high temperature. (If it seems odd that oil would *thicken* at high temperature, consider the analogy of heating a pan of cold syrup on a stove.At first it would become quite thinner, but if left for, say, several hours, the resultant evaporation would cause the syrup to become progressively thicker.) In order to qualify for the American Petroleum Institutes top "SF" rating, a motor oil must pass the III-D test. This means that it can thicken to no more than 375% of original viscosity at the end of 64 hours of continuous running. Mobil states: "To test the extra stability provided by the Mobil synthetic oil, we decided to run the III-D *for 128 hours*...double its normal length...and without oil drain. The Mobil 1 synthetic easily passed the test under these brutal conditions, thickening only an insignificant 20%. For comparison, a high-performance premium conventional oil was tested under identical conditions. That test had to stop at 96 hours; the oil had turned solid. Another premium conventional oil forced the the test to stop at 112 hours, well before the end of the scheduled double length." Amoco Conducted an identical double-sequence III-D test on its Ultimate 5W-30 synthetic; it also passed the test with flying colors, thickening only 18%. "Film strength" refers to the amount of pressure required to force out a film of oil from between two pieces of flat metal.The higher the film strength,the more protection is provided to such parts as piston rings, timing chain, cams, lifters, and rocker arms...wherever the lubricant is not under oil-system pressure.Synthetics routinely exhibit a nominal film strength of well over 3,000 psi, while petroleum oils average somewhat less than 500 psi.The result is more lubricant protection between moving parts with synthetics.The remarkable ability of synthetic oils to reduce internal operating temperatures is far too important to ignore, since high operating temperatures contribute directly to premature failure of mechanical components and gaskets and seals.Coolant (i.e. water/antifreeze) cools only the upper regions of an engine.The task of COOLING the crankshaft, main and connecting rod bearings,the timing gears and,the camshafts and its journals,and numerous other components must borne entirely by the oil.There are three identifiable reasons why synthetics do a better job of cooling an engine: (1) Because of both the oil's lubricity (slipperiness) and it's stable viscosity, less friction-- and thus less heat-- is generated in the first place; (2) The molecular structure of the oil itself is designed to more efficiently transfer heat, even compared against the thermal conductivity properties (ability to absorb and dissipate heat) of an identical-viscosity petroleum oil; and (3) As mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the more rapid oil flow of these lower-viscosity synthetics contributes significantly to the efficient transfer and dissipation of heat. *Because of all these factors, oil-temperature decreases of from 20F to 50F are quite common with the use of synthetic oil*. One might even say that the heat-reduction properties of synthetics are synergistic...by helping to reduce its own temperature, the synthetic oil is simultaneously enhancing the lubricant's overall performance characteristics. In a Popular Science article on synthetic oils, veteran race car driver Smokey Yunick was quoted: "When you disassemble an engine that's been run on petroleum oil, if you examine the rings and cylinder bores with a glass you'll see ridges and scratches--that's the wear going on. With polyol (a variety of synthetic), when you take the engine apart everything has the appearance of being chrome-plated. In the engine we ran at Indianapolis this year we used a polyol synthetic.When we tore the engine down, you could still see the original honing marks on the bearings...no wear at all.We put the same bearings back in because the crankshaft never touched the bearings. OIL performance RESULTS IN TESTS. compliled from various sources.Listed alphabetically --- indicates the data was not available Brand VI Flash Pour %ash %zinc 20W-50 AMSOIL 136 482 -38 Castrol GTX 122 440 -15 .85 .12 Exxon High Performance 119 419 -13 .70 .11 Havoline Formula 3 125 465 -30 1.0 --- Kendall GT-1 129 390 -25 1.0 .16 Pennzoil GT Perf. 120 460 -10 .9 --- Quaker State Dlx. 155 430 -25 .9 --- Red Line 150 503 -49 --- --- Shell Truck Guard 130 450 -15 1.0 .15 Spectro Golden 4 174 440 -35 --- .15 Spectro Golden M.G. 174 440 -35 --- .13 Unocal 121 432 -11 .74 .12 Valvoline All Climate 125 430 -10 1.0 .11 Valvoline Turbo 140 440 -10 .99 .13 Valvoline Race 140 425 -10 1.2 .20 Valvoline Synthetic 146 465 -40 15W-50 Chevron 204 415 -18 .96 .11 Mobil 1 170 470 -55 --- --- Mystic JT8 144 420 -20 1.7 .15 Red Line 152 503 -49 --- --- 15W-40 AMSOIL 135 460 -38 Castrol 134 415 -15 1.3 .14 Chevron Delo 400 136 421 -27 1.0 --- Exxon XD3 --- 417 -11 .9 .14 Exxon XD3 Extra 135 399 -11 .95 .13 Kendall GT-1 135 410 -25 1.0 .16 Mystic JT8 142 440 -20 1.7 .15 Red Line 149 495 -40 --- --- Shell Rotella w/XLA 146 410 -25 1.0 .13 Valvoline All Fleet 140 --- -10 1.0 .15 Valvoline Turbo 140 420 -10 .99 .13 The numbers above are not, by any means, all there is to determining what makes a top quality oil. The exact base stock used, the type, quality, and quantity of additives used are very important.The given data combined with the manufacturer's claims,your personal experience, and the reputation of the oil among others who use it should help you make an informed choice.Hope this helps some of you.Regards.Nick Scianna. www.nicksforzaferrari.com

You only *just* got ADSL JB...... pah, had it since last year...... You really must try and keep up more....

Justin, seems I am going to be keeping you in business with Valvoline sales..... apparently 911's consume 1 litre of oil every 1000km (thats Km not miles!!!) Do you do a discount on bulk orders of Valvoline?? Cheers Eric

Yes, that's exactly what I was going to do!

Cheers Martin. Just rang up Porsche for a price for an oil change to synth - £200 (inc VAT)!!!!! Jesus! They quoted 1 hour labour, £85 for oil (!!!!) and 2x oil filters. Semi synth top up it is

OK, this is probably a really stupid question, but..... My car currently has semi synth in. It is a bit low and needs topping up, I assume I am going to either a) have to top up with semi synth or b) if I want to go to fully synth, do a compete oil change ie. I can't just bung synth in on top of the semi thats already in there. TIA Eric