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Cars / Re: Chris Harris moving to subscription model for videos.

« on: Fri, 01 Aug, 2014 - 17:30 »

Got to pay for all those hot cars he buys somehow i guess.

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BMW Videos / Re: BMW M3 F80 exhaust sound

« on: Thu, 29 May, 2014 - 12:09 »

that actually sounds pretty good for a stock exhaust set up.

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Driving / Re: Speed cameras speeding fines etc

« on: Tue, 27 May, 2014 - 21:10 »

40km/h zones seldom bother me, particularly where they are justified by pedestrian volumes. In fact, the European "old town" limit of 30km/h could well be justified in places. In Adelaide though, Unley and Prospect councils (and possibly others) have overused the 40km/h limit as an avowed measure to discourage "rat runs" through their precious streets. It isn't (in some cases) anything to do with protecting vulnerable pedestrians but more about protecting expensive inner city 'burbs from the great unwashed looking for a shortcut.

yep. I would argue there are some roads around adelaide that currently are 50 that should be 40 (eg. gouger, hindley, rundle). On streets like that most people tend to drive a little slower just because there's a lot of potential for danger. However a lot of these 40kmh streets there is no solid reason that they should have that limit. No parks, schools, low to non existant pedestrian usage, low traffic, good condition tarmac, wide, etc. The one i got caught on was one of these rat runs. Same size as the street next to it which is 50, actually has less housing on it, but it gets used as a shortcut around people who clog up the T junction trying to turn right against traffic. I dont see the problem with that personally, spreading the traffic around 'decongests' the bad spots - and you know, roads are for everyone - who cares why you are there. But then i dont live on one so maybe it's more annoying than it seems.

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Driving / Re: Speed cameras speeding fines etc

« on: Tue, 27 May, 2014 - 20:21 »

You have to keep reminding yourself about 40 and 50 zones, slowing to that speed isn't a natural action and they aren't policed all the time but when they are and you're not paying attention ZAP.....5 points is a disgrace for an offence like that.

Should be warning to start with, 40kph is an unnatural speed to keep to.

yeah you're spot on, it requires constant attention and thought to stick to those speeds - it just feels awkward and wrong. Sometimes you're just on autopilot and boom.

I spoke to a lawyer to get some advice, i figured if i'm going to lose my license it's worth asking a couple questions first. you never know. If i'd have been going 50ish i might have had a case, but because i was at 60 it wasn't really worth fighting. Would cost hundreds and they might knock a point off and i'd still be out my license. live and learn

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Driving / Re: Speed cameras speeding fines etc

« on: Tue, 27 May, 2014 - 16:51 »

got a ripper the other day. in some side street behind the tip top bakery, turns out it was a 40 zone. didn't realize (scouted it later, there's only the one sign on the second half of the street). Guy with a laser gun. I was doing 62. Urgh. So stupid.

guess what that costs?

$750 and 5 demerit points.

thanks SA govt.

that's game over on my license for 3 months too lol. Good behaviour should be on the table i hope. Ah well, do the crime etc....

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Driving / Re: A losing battle...

« on: Tue, 13 May, 2014 - 16:27 »

i set myself a little project to plot every single listed camera in SA on google maps.

here is the result for anyone interested. Take a look at where they are, the only ones that you could really argue are for safety are the pedestrian crossings in front of schools. The rest are straight up revenue traps.

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/u/0/edit?mid=zThaJC5A3BPE.kxi86gIyz0bc

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Driving / Re: A losing battle...

« on: Mon, 12 May, 2014 - 14:17 »

That is the solution, but it won't happen.

I really thought that motor racing would increase in SA with the fines being applied.

Take the Sporting Car Club which run the state titles at Mallala, its $300 entry for 2 days, 5or 6 races plus qual and practice. Fuel for the weekend is $200-$300, a set of tyres should last a season of 4 meets if looked after, add lunch etc say $1000 for the weekend. And you get to remove all the testosterone out of your system in relative safety.

To me its a no brainer. And race cars aren't that expensive to maintain, plus they have presence sitting at home

Having and storing a separate car, plus trailer, etc. etc. is a bit much for most people - but even just taking your car out to practice days is a great way to get it out of your system. $135 with the day license and it's a great day. There are a lot of turn offs when you over think it (ie. if i stuff my car up i'm screwed, etc) - but if you're not driving 100% it's pretty safe.

fines tend to happen (to me anyway) just when i'm somewhere else mentally. Most people dont 'try' to speed, but you know - empty road, easy conditions, driving on autopilot, creep over the limit a bit - boom. gotcha. This particular fine was an hour from home, on an empty 4 lane road in broad daylight on a saturday. Just wasn't thinking about it, my mind somewhere in the "->" from "A->B"

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Driving / Re: A losing battle...

« on: Sat, 10 May, 2014 - 09:45 »

just found out the hard way about our new penalties in South Australia

71 in a 60 zone now = $400 and 3 demerit points.

wat

less than happy, how do they expect people to pay these? and man, those points! 4 fines in 3 years is very easy if you spend any quantity of time on the road, and then... goodbye license. Who comes up with this stuff? The bracket for that sort of fine used to be 15+ over which is a lot fairer. We are the only state in the country i believe with penalties this harsh. Crazy.

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Off Topic / Re: Best car forums

« on: Wed, 09 Apr, 2014 - 12:32 »

the mightycarmods forum is starting to take off a bit, and that's a very diverse mix of people - although all younger guys i would think

http://forums.mightycarmods.com/forum.php

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Events / Re: Sunday run in Adelaide 23 March

« on: Wed, 26 Mar, 2014 - 12:56 »

Looks like a good day, spewing i missed this thread - was keen to go for a drive on the weekend.