chrispazzi

DOT4 is a higher boiling point than DOT3 (etc, etc), and therefore is better in terms of the brakes not fading under hard use BUT DOT 4 absorbs water more quickly than DOT3 (etc etc) and therefore goes off sooner (boiling points plummet, and corrosion gets worse as water gets into the system) and the fluid needs changing more frequently. On my motorbike I use DOT4 in the rear brake and clutch which is changed every 2 years, and DOT5.1 in the front brake which is changed every year at least. On the subject of broken bleed nipples the most likely time to snap one is when loosening it at the start if it's "bound up", and if it was broken at that point the mechanic would notice. They only need tiny amounts of torque so it would take a real ape to break one when tightening it back up!

I don't know if a 17" spare is legal with 16"ers but the important issue in terms of the car sitting flat on its tyres is that the rolling radius of the front tyres and back tyres respectively are the same, and that is not simply down to the diameter of the wheel rim, it depends on the depth of the tyre that's on the rim too. I assumed (I could be wrong) that the rolling radius of a stock 16" tyre was the same as for a 17", i.e. a 17" wheel simply has a slightly lower profile tyre?

I measured my mpg a couple of weeks ago - here's the info... 22mpg doing a fairly even mix of normal, fast, slow, town, mortorway, a-roads although I would say on average I was making "more progress" than I usually do. ;o) ('93 RZ de-catted exhaust, approx 1.2bar, hks induction kit, and 275&235 tyres).

Brake judder is almost certainly going to be warped discs. Because the j-spec brakes are small they can't get rid of the heat so easily when you cane them, and therefore go through more extreme heat cycles which is what warps (and can even crack) them.

The other issue with WD40 is that it is a penetrating oil and when you spray it at one thing it will manage to creep all over the place into other bits that you didn't want it to. I don't know what benefit it would do penetrating past the piston seals and into your brake fluid!

My Supra originally had low hard springs (there was 3cm of ground clearance at the front). I got it changed for softer springs with more ride height. The car is not as good looking now as it was, which is slightly dissapointing, but it is fair to say that it is more comfortable to drive, the handling is better, the extra ground clearance means you don't keep hitting the deck, the wheels don't hit the arches on full lock, and you don't have to u-turn at the slightest hint of a bump in the road. I think you just have to decide whether you want looks or handling and practicality on real roads.

I've got 18" wheels with 275's on the rear and mine steps out in the dry in a straight line in 2nd gear too. p.s. I think the rear rim is 10" or 10.5"

At 180mph you're going to travel a further 85 metres (roughly) for every second you delay your braking! I wonder if it's better to go for it with your brakes stone cold or warmed up a bit? I would worry about putting a 180mph emergency stop through cold discs, from a cracking/warping point of view as well as performance.

I remember this topic coming up a long time ago on another forum I belonged to. IIRC bearings all have identification numbers, which can be used to build replacements from scratch. There are specialist machinists who can make up new bearings from these numbers or simply from you giving them a bearing to copy. However, wheel bearings are critical and I've got my own view on whether I would want to use anything other than factory standard.

I like my exhaust valves "medium rare", but if you like yours "well done", backfiring is the way to go!

That means I should have got bored a month ago!

The engine will wear out in less miles, as an inordinate percentage of engine wear is in the first few seconds/minutes after each cold/dry start. Proper warming up, avoiding putting loads through the engine on cold oil, and more frequent engine oil changes are all you can do to minimise this. You'll also get through your battery in fewer miles. I would be more concerned about your future private health treatment costs after you get a heart attack from lack of activity.

I'm no expert on Supra brakes, but here's my thoughts (which could be completely wrong!)... Most brakes have piston seals designed with a slight "lip" that holds a bit of tension as the piston pushes the pad onto the disc. When you lift off the brakes, it is this lip that pulls the piston back. The brake pad itself is not pulled back (it's not attached to the piston), it just gets brushed off by the disc. Maybe the pistons are ok and the brake pads are just sticking in their rails until the disc punts them back against the retracted pistons after you've lifted off the brakes? It might therefore be a case of just cleaning up the caliper and not having to replace the piston seals?

I'd like to go But I count me out of the track-action, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to imagine what it'll be like

I had to get quite physical with the Polo door lock tonight to get it open. I'm going to try squirting a load of WD40 into the lock and see how it goes tomorrow. If money is no object, get one of those fancy alarms that will pre-start and warm up your car before you even get out of bed. That should sort it.

my 2p's worth... You've got enough security to prevent opportunity theft, and to deter most pro thieves. Other things that might help... 1. Keep to a minimum the number of people who know your car is there - i.e. park it as much out of sight as possible and don't talk about your car and where it is kept to everyone you meet, check you're not followed home! 2. Tracker. 3. Leave your car looking a bit dirty/unkempt/uncleaned rather than pristine and polished. It will be far less attention seeking and will look far less valuable to potential thieves. 4. Custom defences to disable thieves (I in no way recommend or condone this sort of thing, I'm just saying it's an option to reduce the chances of a thief successfully stealing your car).

I was thinking about this today and wonder if in fact the hardest braking zone is the first corner/chicane, given that the cars have to slow down more for the chicane because they are wider and can't straight-line through it like bikes (unless of course you just drive it straight over the kerbs ), plus cars come on to the main straight from that really fast corner on the oval so the approach speed to the first chicane would be very high (bikes come onto the main straight after a very slow chicane and hairpin).

I've done four motorcycle track days at Rockingham on two different circuit combinations, although never that exact circuit. The home straight is the left most part of that picture, with the pitlane running parallel on the inside. The circuit runs anti-clockwise in that format, so the first corner is the chicane close to the number "1". There is only room for one at a time through there! The next corner (the 90 degree left-handerat the end of the straight along the bottom) is the longest and hardest braking zone on that circuit, and probably the safest place to overtake on the brakes if you're close enough when you get on them. If your not close enough it's the most likely spot for some t-bone action. Some people got kicks out of getting as close to the wall on the main straight and second straight as possible. Apparently the feeling of speed you get is awesome, plus you are on a wider faster line for turning into the following corners. However I think they now cone-off the outer edge of the track to keep people away from the wall. The final turn on that particular circuit (on the oval part of the track) must be mega, especially if they let you use the banked part of the track. It looks like a flat-out-ball-breaker of a corner. A good excuse for investing in a bucket seat, harness, and roll cage. None of the motorcycle circuits use that corner for obvious reasons! The tarmac is smooth and grippy, but when it gets wet it seems to hold water and stay wet.

There's hope for the rest of us then!

Oh! Come to think of it, I can't even remember why I thought it did!

Thanks for the note. I guess the Owners manual will be similar, but I'm wondering more about the Service manuals. For example, I would imagine a US manual would be more use as it will detail the twin turbo whereas the UK manual (presumably) details the single turbo? On the other hand, the US manual may have many components the "wrong way round" as it's left hand drive over there???

I have no idea what is causing it, BUT.... On most cars, the traditional "schreeching/squealing" sound that you get - often when the engine is cold, or when you pull out of junctions, etc, is a loose or dying alternator or fan belt. If you've just had the belt off and back on, or changed for a new one then it could be this.

The gauge goes up to 1.5 or so. I've not noticed what it does at gear-changes or lift-off, I'll have a look next time I'm out. Thanks for the note about not swithcing the engine off too hastily, that would be a costly mistake!

I don't know much about turbos yet and would like to know a thing or two about what it means when my boost gause shows different pressures. Any light anyone can throw on what my turbos are actually doing when the gauge is reading different figures (explained below) would be appreciated. The boost is always in one of four readings when I'm driving. Here's the readings and what I think they mean (I could be totally wrong though!). 1. -0.5bar at idle and low revs/load Are both the trubos idle? Does this mean that the turbos are therefore not spinning and are cooling down even if the engine's not at idle (e.g. trundling down the street at 15mph)? 2. 0 bar at light load and low/medium revs Turbo 1 spooled up but not boosting? 3. +0.4 bar at meduim+ load at 2-4k revs Turbo 1 is boosting? 4. +.8 bar at medium+ load and over 4k ish Turbo 2 (and 1) boosting? The only other thing I know (or think I know) is that if the gauge flies off the scale to stop the engine before the turbine blades fly clean through the bonnet!

I was going to get a copy of the owners manual and service manual for the UK Supra as the next-best-thing to proper Japanese spec manuals that I can't read. But it occurred to me that there may be exported versions of the Supra to other english-speaking countries that may be more similar to the Japanese spec cars that the UK models and therefore whose manuals would be more closely related. Does anyone know if there are "better" manuals to go for than the UK versions? And a second bonus question... My Greddy boost gauge is great apart from the fact that you can't see it in the dark. Is it possible to get it back-lit? Thanks in advance for any answers. Chris