RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
|
I think the NSX's main problem was that super-cars are rarely bought for their performance, their engineering excellence or their build quality, they're bought as fashion accessories. A low end sports-car like an Elise is bought by enthusiasts to actually drive, and a hyper-car is bought based on figures purely for bragging rights, but the super-cars sit in a space in the middle, and are often bought purely based on image. They're for cruising the riviera not actually driving fast Think about it, are there any truly successful super-cars that are made by mainstream manufacturers? They're all made by prestigious makes. The odd one manages to brake through from the high end mainstream makes, like Jaguar Audi or Mercedes, but even they have a different target market to the traditional Ferraris and Lamborghinis, aiming it more at businessmen/highly paid executives than celebrities/posers. While the NSX is an amazing piece of engineering, it's not beautiful or prestigious enough to compete with Ferraris and Lamborghinis, and it's not fast enough in a straight line to produce numbers that compete with the Jaguars/Audis/Mercedes. That's my take on it anyway. As for the 300ZX (Z32 I assume?) vs. NSX, like people have said, they're not really directly comparable. The base spec NSX has a higher power to weight ratio than even the top spec 300ZX, and the NSX is a pure mid-engined 2 seater sports car, while the 300ZX is a 1.5 tonne GT car that even has the option of rear seats.
|
|
|
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
|
Could it be an additional tank for a side-car?
|
|
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
May 29, 2012 21:02:06 GMT
|
Anybody know where I could get some 5x120 steels for a BMW? Looking for something cool How about some 17inches from a vw bus t5 (5x120)? They look a bit like ats cups from the 80s. pic "borrowed" from a thread by DarrenWVT T5 van wheels, 5x120 and pretty damn cool Also I'm pretty sure you can get these in 5x120 off Vauxhall Insignias: these need to get more popular as they are cheap and awesome, vauxhall astra H (2006ish to present) spoked 16" steelies: 6.5 x 16" 5x110 and about 40 quid each!
|
|
Last Edit: May 29, 2012 21:06:05 GMT by RobinJI
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
May 28, 2012 16:55:59 GMT
|
It was a good day up there for me. Shame I couldn't spend Sunday there too, but I need to make some attempt to get an income sorted before I run out of money unfortunately. I achieved little more than chatting about the Mini's plans (sorry guys, I'll do some work on it and stop talking about it someday soon!), trailer plans, and helping out with anything people wanted a hand with, but it was still great fun, and good to see everyone. Looking forward to next month in a big way. (and every successive month after that...) Edit, just seen the dates for next month, I may not be able to make that I'm pretty sure it's that weekend I'm meant to be in Angelsey with my Dad and his side of the family. Ah well, make sure many pictures are taken guys.
|
|
Last Edit: May 28, 2012 16:58:12 GMT by RobinJI
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
May 27, 2012 18:40:28 GMT
|
No problem. Yeah, it sounds like you should be OK unless the trailer's plated silly high. You may find that it's not actually plated if it's old, in which case I'm not sure how they'd decide the weight, they might just go off it's current weight, but that sounds way too sensible to be true Oh, I forgot to mention that you'll also want to check with your insurance company that you're covered if you haven't already.
|
|
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
May 27, 2012 11:19:35 GMT
|
You will be legal if:
- The trailer's plated gross weight is less than the unladen weight of the vehicle you're using to tow it - The total of the trailers plated gross weight, and the tow vehicles plated gross weight is less than 3500kg - The trailer's plated gross weight is lower than the allowed towing weight for the tow vehicle.
At a guess, behind a combo that'd make you legal, as long as you don't use a massive trailer with a high gross weight, and a combo's rated to tow a half decent amount. The weight of the boat isn't relevant from a legal point of view as long as it's not over the trailers rated load. It's the trailers plated gross weight that matters to the law. So if you use a trailer plated to 2000kg, even if it and the boat combined only weigh 750kg, you're still not legal unfortunately, as it's plated weight would be more than the tow car weighs, and the gross train weight would be over 3500kg.
Edit, if it's the combo based on a Corsa C, then it looks like you'll be ok as long as the trailer's plated as gross weight of less than 1000kg.
|
|
Last Edit: May 27, 2012 11:22:06 GMT by RobinJI
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
|
Maeksparks999, where abouts are you? You should head along to the monthly meet in Ilminster some time. mrshag, unfortunately not Other than the one of the paddock where you're in the bottom left. I'll keep an eye out at any events up there I attend in the future.
|
|
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
May 26, 2012 21:06:00 GMT
|
That does indeed look like a bargain! and I'm tempted as something just for the time being, but unfortunately it's a little narrow (5cm narrower than my mini will be, and a lot narrower than other stuff I'll want to tow further down the line), and a little heavy duty. Plus I'm not in a position to spend any money this second.
Unfortunately what I want is a bit specific compared to what's available, as I want a decent sized bed, but also a low weight, and good entry for very low cars. I've got a design in mind, and since checking out a few trailer parts sites, an idea of what it'd cost. I'd definitely be perfectly happy to buy a ready made trailer, but I can't find quite what I'm after off the shelf. The Brian-James clubman 100-0140 comes pretty close, and is what I'll likely get if I don't make one, but it's a single axle (not a big deal, but ideally I'd go twin), and would need down-plating (a small amount) to tow behind my Passat legally, plus the bed's a little short, so car's I plan to carry in the future would often overhang, so couldn't be loaded centrally.
|
|
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
|
Yeah, the weight rating's is one of the reasons I want to go twin axle, 4 car tyres more than capable of carrying the 1300kg I want them to, already on a set of 4x100 steels will cost sod all from pretty much any scrap yard in the country, or tyres alone from any part-warn place, while two tyres that could carry 650kg each will set me back a lot more, and be less easily available. Plus with twin axle and 4x100 I can use my Passat's spare on it, so there's no need to carry a separate spare tyre for the trailer.
Even if it's not tested, I'll be making up a plate to stick on it, as I'll be the 'manufacturer' then surely that'd be fine and legal as long as it's before October? and if it's after then I'm guessing the trailer IVA thing would include the need to plate it anyway?
|
|
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
May 24, 2012 15:22:55 GMT
|
Car based van axle is a good idea, but wont fit in with my plans unfortunately. The sus I've got planned is pretty straight forward, but fairly unusual. I'm gunna keep quiet about the actual design until it's done, but the only thing I'll need to buy is the hub assembly and hitch, although if they'll meet the regs I could be tempted to use VW rear stub axles for the hubs, plentiful and cheep with drums and they're attached with 4 simple old bean bolts on a flat surface, plus being 4x100, sets of 4 13" steels with tyres that'll easily take 1300kg are available off pretty much every 90's hatch-back without a ford badge, so are silly cheep.
Ok, sounds like I'll have to scrap using VW brakes then.
|
|
Last Edit: May 24, 2012 15:27:21 GMT by RobinJI
|
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
May 24, 2012 11:31:46 GMT
|
Get the tape measure out? Should be able to see a 1.6mm difference by eye easily enough even with the shonkiest of tapes
|
|
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
May 24, 2012 10:25:35 GMT
|
Thanks guys, all sounds like good advice. Just to complicate things a little, I should have said, but I'll be making the suspension/axle my self, as I've got a specific design in mind for it. Which is a whole bunch more work for me, but will save a big chunk of money.
That's a bit of a curse word about the trailer IVA, thanks for the heads up, but at least it's cheap, and I've got no problem with meeting the regulations, just more red tape, although to be honest I was surprised there wasn't already a test for them. I'll hopefully have it done by October anyway though, the idea will be to do this strait away as fast as possible, so I can use it to shift my mini around during the build. The mini will be 650kg maximum, so 99% of car trailers big enough, with low enough entry are waaayyy overweight for it, and as my tow car's only ~1300kg, so the lighter the set-up the better. Basically I want something a decent size, but with only a ~1000kg load, as I'll only really be needing it for race prepped cars, which can be deceptively wide/long, but don't tend to weigh much at all.
It's probably worth mentioning that it will be a twin axle too, it'll mostly see motorway miles, and I want the extra stability considering the tow car's relatively light.
|
|
Last Edit: May 24, 2012 10:55:52 GMT by RobinJI
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
May 23, 2012 20:40:00 GMT
|
So it wouldn't need inspecting by VOSA to be road legal then? I'd literally just build it, stamp in a chassis number and make up a weight plate my self and thats it done? That's great, but seems too little red tape to be correct in 2012 in England!
I realise it may start adding up cost wise, but at least it wont be in one hit, plus I'd be looking at ~£1300 minimum for the sort of thing I'm wanting, which I can't imagine a few hubs/brakes and a pile of steel adding up to.
Besides the cost, I'm after quite a specific gross weight, and I figure building the trailer my self would allow me to manage that without messing around down-plating a bought trailer, and I can add a few personal touches along the way, it'll basically be built around my Mini, but with enough space to squeeze a small/medium sizes hatch on it.
|
|
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
May 23, 2012 15:55:41 GMT
|
Looks awesome, can't wait to see this sometime, I do like anything undersized and fiberglass. I'm sure you're more than capable, but if you do need any help/supplies/advice with the fiberglassing side of things let me know. I'd probably seal the wood in with flow coat* rather than epoxy personally, but epoxy would be good too, just a little overkill in terms of price and being harder to work with if it's not structural.
* A mix of polyester resin and gelcoat, often with a little wax added
|
|
Last Edit: May 23, 2012 15:58:04 GMT by RobinJI
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
May 23, 2012 15:51:29 GMT
|
Ah, yeah, he is in sales. I know him through bike trials, but I used to live in Millbrook and know him through friends down there. He's pretty into his cars, currently got a Clio 172 as well as a 100e ford pop, (but that lives at his parents in Hampshire), he's owned all sorts of Retro tat over the years though. He's a bit eccentric, but generally a nice guy.
|
|
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
May 23, 2012 11:47:41 GMT
|
I'm wondering if anyone on here's clued up as to the legalities of home built trailers?
I'm wanting to build a light weight car trailer (~1250kg gross weight), but I've got no idea if it's legal, and if it is, what I'd have to do to get a weight plate and stuff put on it to make it fully legal.
Any advice on it would be brilliant, as it'd make a nice summer project.
|
|
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
May 23, 2012 11:42:49 GMT
|
Surely if it's classed as a 4 wheel trailer then all four wheels would need braking, not just the dolly's? (not having a go, I'm genuinely curious.)
|
|
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
May 22, 2012 22:14:47 GMT
|
Uncle silvia, no way, I guess you know Jardo then? Knowing him's basically the only reason I took that picture, can't say I'm overly bothered about 500's personally, but it did seem to go fairly well. I've sent him the full resolution picture which he said something about framing and sticking in the show room, no idea if he'll actually do it. (The kid's not exactly known for being bull-curse word free ) Adam, Nice one, I'll be trying to get along to watch all the others this year, I'll keep an eye out for you. hcanimal, unfortunately I didn't really get any of the single seaters, I'm not sure why though! Like I said, I was feeling very rough so spent more time sat down just taking in the sights than I did taking pictures. I'm sure you're right that the times will be dropping once the surface is warn in a bit. It's one of the places I can't wait to take my Mini once it's done.
|
|
Last Edit: May 22, 2012 22:15:35 GMT by RobinJI
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
May 22, 2012 22:06:49 GMT
|
I found about -0.6 degrees worked pretty perfectly on a daily that got the odd spritted thrash. (lowered ~60mm) I'm not sure of the actual factory settings though.
|
|
|
|
RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
|
|
May 22, 2012 12:41:54 GMT
|
Just had a thought, would there be any objection if I did a touch of fiberglassing on something non car related at some point over the weekend? I need to finish off some edging on a kayak I made years ago but have never done the finishing touches on. It should only be a quick job.
|
|
|
|