The Ev-olution continues - more lol's within

Yes, yes, I'm back as was inevitable. I have been hanging around for a few weeks now, and thought it was time enough to start posting again. I did have a bit of a sook, but to be honest have actually been keeping myself busy after I got back from my USA trip. Got stuck into my new job, which has been pretty busy up till now. Started doing the gym again, slowly but better than nothing. But mostly been buying and selling cars for the last four or five months!
It started off with my brain snap by actually doing what I was talking about, bought a brand new VE SS-V Sportswagon manual, without even a test drive! Worst decision I have made yet! Looked awesome, interior was great, but drove like shit! I hated the drive line. The clutch was heavy, gearbox and diff was clunky, and the handling was too choppy. So ended up flogging that off, and only managing to loose on roads in the deal.
Unfortunately I flogged the grandpa EL before I realised all this, so was left without a car. So bought the first pos I came across to get by, 1990 Nissan Pulsar Vector! Zippy little thing, but not exactly a rocket. So found another car, AU number three! A series 3 XR6 auto, mint condition. Great car, but I promptly got bored of it and flogged that too. Made $2k on on, so scored on that! So, I still had the Pulsar, but being me, had to find something better.

Which brings me to my latest pickup, and hopefully last for a while. It's a 2000 AUII XR8 200kW manual! Had been looking at these for a while, and missed out on a few (one thanks to Shaun!!), but this popped up last week, and I jumped on it. Seem pretty good so far too. Done 125,000kms, and still feels pretty tight. Plus, it has all the options I was after!
-Premium Sound
-Premium Brakes
-Momo steering wheel
-Full body kit
It even has some extra Tickford alarm system on it! So yeah, I am pretty chuffed with it. Red isn't exactly my favorite colour, but with these options and jetting it for just under $10k, i couldn't pass it up! Plus, it should come good after a cut and polish i hope. Anyways, some photos:

So far I have ordered off ebay a BMC panel filter and a black Momo gear knob. I am going to see my exhaust bloke on the weekend to organise a cats back, most likely twin into 3" single. He says that's best for low down torque. Other than that, the only other things i would like to get at 220kW speck throttle body and roller rockers, and maybe a tune. For now, I am just enjoying having the V8 again, and it not costing me 11ty-billion in repayments!

by **NUT347** » January 19th, 2011, 10:19 pm

Welcome back!

When you said "I got one too!" I thought it was going to be a boosted falcon :lol:

I know what you mean by they are rattly cars, we took a GXP for a drive. My boss settled on an XR50T. Fucken sick car.

by **LOW_XR** » January 19th, 2011, 10:20 pm

right . so pissed off a brand new 6lt wagon to buy this?

tought you wer'nt coming back on here anyway?

by **Sunboost** » January 19th, 2011, 10:29 pm

LOW_XR wrote:right . so pissed off a brand new 6lt wagon to buy this?

WTF!!

LOW_XR wrote:tought you wer'nt coming back on here anyway?

I didn't realise he'd left? Back story????

by **LOW_XR** » January 19th, 2011, 10:39 pm

didnt he have a sook a few moths back after one of this fail threads got to full on?

by **Parfrey** » January 19th, 2011, 10:57 pm

Looks like a nice example. don't go too crazy with the mods and it should be fine

I can't believe you didn't like a new ss?? my mate has one and the clutch was pretty easy?? gearbox would have loosened up after a few k's too.. But up to you i guess!

by **needfordspeed** » January 20th, 2011, 1:16 am

Welcome back

by **Commando** » January 20th, 2011, 5:44 am

Pics of black Mom off ebay?

by **bentls** » January 20th, 2011, 6:51 am

wait ev...

how can you say a ve ssv wagon was shit when you also say your au2 xr8 is better than the pulsar? this makes no sense!

this is how the cars should rank

ve ssv > pulsar > aids > au xr8

by **LUXO_8** » January 20th, 2011, 6:57 am

Lmao ^^^^

by **NUT347** » January 20th, 2011, 6:59 am

bentls wrote:
ve ssv > pulsar > aids > au xr8 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> VN

by **EFFalcon** » January 20th, 2011, 7:13 am

hahahahah

nice car Ev.

Good to hear you hitting up the Gym, getting any results so far?

by **ClassicAU** » January 20th, 2011, 7:53 am

Hahaha, I knew I would get a laugh out of the responses, you blokes are funny!

Especially Dave, trust you to pick out a mistake like that!! :lol:

Ok, firstly, about the SS. When I say the clutch was heavy, I mean heavier than I expected. I mean, it’s hydraulic, so I figured it would be nice and easy. It was a great car, but not for me. Anyway, the biggest factor for getting rid was the repayments. Unfortunately the gravity of what I had undertaken only hit me after the purchase. So yeah, it was short lived.

Really Bentleigh? Lol, just no!

Thanks Nut, I think you know what I mean about the SS. Haha, I actually did test drive like 4 or 5 boosted cars before I got this. I was looking at R33 Skylines, but couldn’t find one that would suit as a daily, too hard and loud. I meant as in there seems to be like 3 new AU XR8’s to here now! I actually drove the one Shaun bought, and would have bought it too! Lucky though, this one has better options, sorry Shaun!

Thanks heaps John, appreciate it mate! Yeah, doing good so far, lost just over 4kg in the last month or so. I have been challenged by a couple of the fitness fanatics at work to get myself fit enough to do whatever 10km run is coming up in Melb mid year. I think it’s the Mothers Day run or something? I’ll see how I go.

by **SnyperEB** » January 20th, 2011, 7:55 am

Welcome back Ev. Nice car too.

What options has your got more than mine?

by **nothin suss** » January 20th, 2011, 9:10 am

NUT347 wrote:Welcome back!
When you said "I got one too!" I thought it was going to be a boosted falcon

I thought he got a girlfriend/root/both...

Good choice on dishing the new car and the massive repayments for minimal loss, i'll never buy a new car again.
I thought you hated your last AU220??

by **ClassicAU** » January 20th, 2011, 10:04 am

Hahah, I actually do have a gf now too, so yes to the above!!

I just didn't think it was worth mentioning anymore.

Excatly right Danny, you know where I am coming from! Nah, I loved that 220, I don’t remember dissing it despite being auto. That thing ran a 14.7 bog stock! I only sold it cos I lost my job, or else I’d probably still have it. Much better colour too, Narooma is my favorite. I wouldn’t mind bringing this thing up to 220 spec, maybe just a bit more. I have been eyeing off a series 3 throttle body on ebay, not sure if it will make a difference though. Exhaust will come first though, its not V8 enough for me at the moment!

by **EBOOST** » January 20th, 2011, 7:01 pm

good buy mate.
shaun premium brakes and sound which urs doesnt have?
cheers josh.

by **nstg8a** » January 20th, 2011, 7:07 pm

what sort of raping were you coping for the repayments on the commodore hatchback?

and did you seriously buy it without even a test drive?

by **67rce** » January 20th, 2011, 7:45 pm

ClassicAU wrote:Hahah, I actually do have a gf now too, so yes to the above!! I just didn't think it was worth mentioning anymore.

Excatly right Danny, you know where I am coming from! Nah, I loved that 220, I don’t remember dissing it despite being auto. That thing ran a 14.7 bog stock! I only sold it cos I lost my job, or else I’d probably still have it. Much better colour too, Narooma is my favorite. I wouldn’t mind bringing this thing up to 220 spec, maybe just a bit more. I have been eyeing off a series 3 throttle body on ebay, not sure if it will make a difference though. Exhaust will come first though, its not V8 enough for me at the moment!

Ev, This should be faster than the auto down the 1/4. My S1 has gone 14.3 if that is any indication! :cool:

Manual XR8 isn't too bad, enjoy it!

by **ClassicAU** » January 21st, 2011, 7:55 am

Thanks Josh, she's not exactly perfect, but you get what you pay for I guess! I hope to slowly turn this one into a keeper, as I am partial to the AU. After all, this is now AU number four!!

67rce wrote:Ev, This should be faster than the auto down the 1/4. My S1 has gone 14.3 if that is any indication! Manual XR8 isn't too bad, enjoy it!

I dunno man, that thing felt stronger than this one does, especially up top. I took this thing out for a decent drive last night, and it doesn't feel all that quick to be brutally honest. I thought it would have more in the mid range, but I guess it is an early series 2. The drive last night revealed a couple of things that need attention before the exhaust now, mainly what feels like the diff. So if that is the case, I'll rebuild it and maybe even go 3.7s to liven it up a bit.

As for the Commodore, lets just say it was more than a third of my wages just in repayments! Plus, I only managed to get a best of 350kms out of a tank while I owned it, and it apparently had a bigger 70-odd litres! The test drive didn't bother me at the time, as I just figured being a new car it would be fine. Big mistake! :banghead:

by **ClassicAU** » January 24th, 2011, 10:43 am

Took this thing on a trip up the highway this weekend, and it performed fairly well. Managed to total just over 500kms out of my first tank, which I am happy with. The clutch feels fine, doesn’t slip or anything, hooks up ok with a few revs. The diff is pegging though, so it looks like that is now my first point of attack.
So, now the decision comes as to how I go with it. My first thought has always been KAAZ, I have had a hard on for those things for a while. Just not sure if it will be too harsh for a daily though. I will not be wasting any more money on another LSD rebuild, that’s for damn sure. So the only other alternative I can think of is a Detroit Truetrac centre. From what I have read so far, they are quite good.

by **67rce** » January 24th, 2011, 10:56 am

KAAZ!!!!!! I currently have a super tight stock LSD in mine.

by **ClassicAU** » January 24th, 2011, 2:18 pm

It sure is looking that way dude! Stock LSD FTL, I have already killed two of them (one brand new) and don't care to go for a third. It doesn't look like Detroit make one to suit my diff, so might not have much of a choice!

by **67rce** » January 24th, 2011, 2:26 pm

IIRC Harrop sell trutracs for E-Series but not IRS vehicles... The only reason I have a Stock LSD is I got it cheap, and the Lokka was driving me up the wall. It got rebuilt before the car it was in got smashed, infact, I'm pretty sure that it was the first drive the dude smashed it. It's so tight, it skips the inside wheel at the moment.

by **someLS1** » January 24th, 2011, 2:31 pm

Doesnt harrop and even cheaper eaton make a trutrac aswell?? they are cheaper then kaaz and meant to be alot quiter and smoother for daily driving.

by **mad_keen** » January 24th, 2011, 2:35 pm

NUT347 wrote:
When you said "I got one too!" I thought it was going to be a boosted falcon

I thought he ment a root..

by **mad_keen** » January 24th, 2011, 2:35 pm

NUT347 wrote:
When you said "I got one too!" I thought it was going to be a boosted falcon

I thought he ment a root..

by **ClassicAU** » January 24th, 2011, 2:53 pm

The last thing I want is to be skipping around my work carpark trying to park the thing, looking like a tool!! This is why I was wanting to avoid a LOKKA type or any sort of spool.

someLS1 wrote:Doesnt harrop and even cheaper eaton make a trutrac aswell?? they are cheaper then kaaz and meant to be alot quiter and smoother for daily driving.

They do, but I am trying to find out if they make one suitable for my diff, doesn't look like it though.

Edit: Looks like Harrop are the only ones who make one suitable for the BW, no info on Eaton yet. The Truetrac is $1650 direct from Harrop.

by **67rce** » January 24th, 2011, 3:44 pm

Lokka's don't work in IRS, They snap axles......

by **Dansedgli** » January 24th, 2011, 3:46 pm

Harrop is the only trutrac option for bw.

Welcome back.

by **nstg8a** » January 24th, 2011, 4:47 pm

so whats the difference between a locker and a tru-trac?

by **67rce** » January 24th, 2011, 5:22 pm

the way they engage, how harsh they are.

by **ClassicAU** » January 25th, 2011, 9:37 am

Yeah, there was no way I was getting a lokka anyway, I would rather do it properly this time. I have had opinions from both sides of the fence, but from what I can ascertain the pros and cons go like this:

TrueTrac – Pro: much quieter/smoother operation, no servicing required once installed, no run in required. Con: Prone to wearing out eventually, a little more expensive initially
KAAZ – Pro: Stronger unit, more predictive locking operation, less expensive to buy. Con: Noisier operation, periodic (expensive) oil changes required, requires run in after installation.

The only other place I haven’t though about talking to though is Mal Wood. Not sure what they can offer, if someone would like to help me out with info there? Specifically the northerners?

by **67rce** » January 25th, 2011, 9:49 am

Ask OED666 or call Mal Wood. Paul works there!

by **someLS1** » January 25th, 2011, 10:31 am

Do you do skids / drag days / track events??

I mean really its alot of farking money if you dont.

by **ClassicAU** » January 25th, 2011, 10:55 am

The last diff builder asked me that same question, and I said no. I then paid $2k for a brand new BW LSD, gears and bearing, and proceeded to destroy it within 12 months. Plus, that was with the almighty 148rwkW of NA I6 goodness in my first AU! So I have already decided to spend the money this time to not have to worry about it. My driving style is pretty rough, so I want to build a drive line that can take it. I would like to keep this car for a while if I can help it.

PM sent to OED666.

by **someLS1** » January 25th, 2011, 11:17 am

Yea fair enough i guess... especially if you wanna keep the car and that... stuff paying 2k for an lsd rebuild!!!! no chance if your paying that sort of money get the kaaz/trutrac for sure...

by **EF ECTIV** » January 25th, 2011, 2:23 pm

kaaz doesnt require expensive oil changes... Thats only if you use the KAAZ oil they sell.... Ive been using LSX90 in mine
for years, as its much cheaper... Plenty of other guys doing the same.... Never had a drama

by **ClassicAU** » January 25th, 2011, 3:21 pm

Oh cool as, thanks for the info mate! So how long roughly have you had yours then? How hard do you drive your car, and how has it held up? Also, how do you find it for low speed parking and the like?

by **private9** » January 25th, 2011, 6:23 pm

Come for a drive in mine with a Kaaz Ev - not one bit of noise, no chattering etc. It's literally as quiet as stock.

You only run the exxyy Kaaz oil for the run in period, then use Castrol after that which is less than half the price. PM me if you still want that Harrop Truetrac price.

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