Newbie - please be gentle
Discussion
George, Dean and I were planning on doing a bit of a recce on the Manfeild track day in August. As well as having a get together at my place to go over the maps - you're welcome to come over and help out.
I have a fairly good idea of the approx. route, but having found out the WRC will be here over the same period I want to incorporate some spectating at some point, which through a bit of a spanner in my initial route plan. I haven't managed to find out much about this years route other than it will be taking place around the Waikato.
I have a fairly good idea of the approx. route, but having found out the WRC will be here over the same period I want to incorporate some spectating at some point, which through a bit of a spanner in my initial route plan. I haven't managed to find out much about this years route other than it will be taking place around the Waikato.
kylie said:
Must be real pretty through there at the moment on a clear day 
Spent saturday up round Arthur's pass and it was beatiful (until the norwester came through). had some good sideways fun in the snow around the Lake Lyndon and Broken River Skifield roads though 
Lake Lyndon is still frozen over too (since the big snow dump), i've never seen a lake that size completely freeze over before, but people were riding quadbikes around on it and everything!
GravelBen said:
Lake Lyndon is still frozen over too (since the big snow dump), i've never seen a lake that size completely freeze over before, but people were riding quadbikes around on it and everything!
Did you test the load-bearing capacity of the ice with the Scooby ?
Is that where they do the curling (sp?)
nope, I'm not that keen! 
If you're ever in Dunedin with the Lotus it would be good to meet up/get a ride in it etc. 
I'd give you a ride in My Nissan Skyline (link to a page about it below) if it is working by then, but it might be one of the slower cars you'll ride in - being pretty much stock and everything.
http://godzilla.netfirms.com/r32gts-4
I'd give you a ride in My Nissan Skyline (link to a page about it below) if it is working by then, but it might be one of the slower cars you'll ride in - being pretty much stock and everything. http://godzilla.netfirms.com/r32gts-4
Edited by Mustang-man on Monday 10th July 09:12
Mustang man - no problem. We will be coming down there - sooner rather than later as Dunedin and Invercargill seem to be where the nearest car auctions are. We bought our 4WD from Gore - that was interesting!! - but we want something cheap to run and sensible to potter round in, as the Liz isn't really practical for that - missus says it's not comfortable enough either 
Having said that, I really want to drive it down to the car auction as we will go down and back in a day and if we are lucky with a car, I get to drive back on my own with some decent music on. I'll post here if it all comes off and I'll meet you and take you for a drive. Is there anywhere where I can put my foot down in relative safety??
I'm also definitely up for a gathering.
Having said that, I really want to drive it down to the car auction as we will go down and back in a day and if we are lucky with a car, I get to drive back on my own with some decent music on. I'll post here if it all comes off and I'll meet you and take you for a drive. Is there anywhere where I can put my foot down in relative safety?? I'm also definitely up for a gathering.
Richard Gee said:
Is there anywhere where I can put my foot down in relative safety??
That depends.... do you mean "relative safety" as in not killing anyone? Or do you mean "relative safety" as in not getting a ticket. The first of these you can do almost anywhere, the second almost nowhere.
Beware man because as our fellow ex-pat pom PHer "Venom" knows all too well, the NZers are speed nazis in their own right. Generally though, you're in luck... the Elise generally isn't a straight-line basher... on the straight (boring) bits, just keep it to about 105km/h.... the speed limit is 100 and they start ticketing at 110km/h.... ANYTHING over 110km/h and I mean ANYTHING, ANYWHERE, ANYTIME gets a ticket. If you pass a cop/scamera and you're doing more than 110 you've VERY lucky if your wallet remains intact.
Thankfully, the cops don't bother too much on the fun, twisty roads where you'll be doing anywhere between 60 and 120km/h.... even if you DO encounter a cop on these roads, by the time they realise just what's gone past, you'll be MILES away.... and they won't have gotten a clock on what speed you were going, so you should be ok. The cops know how hard it is to ticket people on twisty roads and generally don't go there as a consequence.
so yeah... beware. Mr Venom almost lost his license BEFORE his Viper even GOT to NZ... he's been strangely quiet lately in here so I'm hoping he still has a licence!
Edited by Esprit on Monday 10th July 10:48
Really gonna have to join the masses of Lotus owners one of these days Esprit said:
Mr Venom almost lost his license BEFORE his Viper even GOT to NZ... he's been strangely quiet lately in here so I'm hoping he still has a licence!
It could be because he's gone back to England now. He took me for a ride in the Viper before he left though, man that thing can shift! low-down speed may not have been that different to the likes of an STi or Evo, but the way it just kept piling on speed from 100kph to "deportation speed" (well over 200) was incredible. I guess 560bhp will do that for you though...
George - I tend not to drive like a nutter on the roads as I came close a few years ago to being a 12 pointer (all gained on motorways!!!) and had to explain to them in court why I needed to keep my driving license (work mainly) - so I've been defensive ever since really and have kept the speed for the track days. No, I was mainly referring to the speed cameras - these Hawk things?? - 60mph is a relatively tricky speed to stay at on long straight roads I think, cars just don't want to go that slow!!
As you say, the car isn;t really a straight line monster, I wasn't aware (Doh) that the kit in the cars couldn;t get you on bends and stuff, but I guess it's obvious. I don;t want to go super quick, I just don't want to feel guilty every time I put my foot down a bit - but sensible it will remain!
How do the points things work here then? Someone said to me that you don't get points for fixed cameras, which seemed a 'bonus' but then again on the Desert Road we saw 14 police cars - and four of them had 'customers'....... it seems even worse than the UK where that sort of thing would definitely make the dodgy headlines under a title something like 'What About The Real Crimes Officer?' Having said that, I don't know road accident stats here but have read about some very nasty crashes, and there are obviously lots of youngsters out there simply driving too quickly in very powerful cars - which in anyone;s book is a recipe for disaster for some.
Would a better way to control that just be to insist on insurance and price the performance stuff out of reach so they had to drive tamer cars? Works 'to a degree' in the UK I suppose, but might work better here, there being less people and all... I'm not moaning, just making some observations as a new person on the roads here.
As you say, the car isn;t really a straight line monster, I wasn't aware (Doh) that the kit in the cars couldn;t get you on bends and stuff, but I guess it's obvious. I don;t want to go super quick, I just don't want to feel guilty every time I put my foot down a bit - but sensible it will remain!
How do the points things work here then? Someone said to me that you don't get points for fixed cameras, which seemed a 'bonus' but then again on the Desert Road we saw 14 police cars - and four of them had 'customers'....... it seems even worse than the UK where that sort of thing would definitely make the dodgy headlines under a title something like 'What About The Real Crimes Officer?' Having said that, I don't know road accident stats here but have read about some very nasty crashes, and there are obviously lots of youngsters out there simply driving too quickly in very powerful cars - which in anyone;s book is a recipe for disaster for some.
Would a better way to control that just be to insist on insurance and price the performance stuff out of reach so they had to drive tamer cars? Works 'to a degree' in the UK I suppose, but might work better here, there being less people and all... I'm not moaning, just making some observations as a new person on the roads here.
dejoux said:
Must be a christchurch thing Rob. Im currently in a two tone BMW, black on top and brown underneath after two trips over the lewis pass this weekend
Took the forester to the excpesso car wash cafe yesterday, $20 but I dont get half of Mt Hutt on my drive, second time the things been washed since I bought it, last time I couldnt see through the windows.. Poor Forester isnt much loved, been called frodo cause its so ugly...
One day mebe get a liz myself, tho thats lots unlikely here, theres a 190k seties Atom in chch for sale at reasonable money tho. Would have to realy check out the car as a mitsu galant grounded getting out of my drive the other day :O
As for points/fines, I managed to get a $80 fine whilst on holiday, I'm keeping my UK drivers licence as long as I possibly can cause they cant give me points on that
I always pootle in towns/100k straights, 110-115 or so, but remember SLOW DOWN when you get into towns on main roads, they love catching people just in a 50 from a 100. This week looks like spring has come so get out and enjoy the weather! But as I said, watch for the grit, they go over the top with it and its nasty if your not expecting it.
Richard.... all valid worries.
It astounds most of us here (even the younger ones) that a 16 y/o can tick himself up a 400bhp Evo on finance and proceed to drive it everywhere at pace, cacking up $30,$40,$50k+ of fines… what do they care, they have no concept of penalty or money at that age. But the compulsary 3rd party insurance rant is best left for another time. It's one of those things that EVERYONE who's reasonable sees a need for, but nothing ever gets done.
My advice? Treat the speed limit as a LIMIT. Like I said, they have a 10km/h allowance and unless you're around a school you'll almost never get booked at anywhere less than 10km/h above the limit… above this though beware.
As I said, on twisty roads, cops seldom bother, on straight road they should be easy to spot. Having said that, you'll get snapped when you least expect it. I've had one ticket in my driving career, got done by a mobile Scameraon the Auckland motorway in my folks' 320i on a downhill stretch. Other than that I speed sensibly, only ever when I'm confident of the road conditions and the low enforcement threat. It's served me well and I've never had a ticket through intentionally speeding.
One thing I WILL advise though in the Elise. Invest in a radar detector (Valentine 1 is best here or a high-end BEL). I've had one for 8 months now and I'd not drive without it long distance. You really see that no matter WHAT speed you're doing, if you pass a cop and he sees someone in a flash car like an Elise then they blast you with their radar trying to catch you out, regardless of whether your driving warrants it or not. Beware though, all fixed cameras in NZ are inductive loop so there is no detector, but they're pretty easy to spot if you're alert. It's not a protection against getting done, and to be honest it's not saved me yet because I tend to be driving legally when I see cops, but it's given me a REAL insight into how the devious little fokkers set their little entrapment snares to try and trick you into being a criminal.
Points on your license, it's a maximum of 100 in any 2 year period before suspension. ALL cameras don't acquire points, only actual pull-overs by cops. A breakdown of points can be found here:
www.landtransport.govt.nz/roadcode/driver-responsibility/stepping-over-the-line1.html
Points drop off your license on the anniversary of 2 years.
Warning, you can also get 10 points now for a noisy exhaust (the copper just needs to think that you're too noisy). That shouldn't be a problem in an Elise unless you're lapping with the boyracers late at night or driving like a w@nker. You can also get done for silly things as listed on that site above... if you read them closely some of those things are pretty interpretive and two of them on there are even contradictionary to eachother! Welcome to NZ.... like I said in another thread on here, it's a country that's so damned close to perfection, these silly things tend to really REALLY bug you because they're so easily rectified, but aren't.
It astounds most of us here (even the younger ones) that a 16 y/o can tick himself up a 400bhp Evo on finance and proceed to drive it everywhere at pace, cacking up $30,$40,$50k+ of fines… what do they care, they have no concept of penalty or money at that age. But the compulsary 3rd party insurance rant is best left for another time. It's one of those things that EVERYONE who's reasonable sees a need for, but nothing ever gets done.
My advice? Treat the speed limit as a LIMIT. Like I said, they have a 10km/h allowance and unless you're around a school you'll almost never get booked at anywhere less than 10km/h above the limit… above this though beware.
As I said, on twisty roads, cops seldom bother, on straight road they should be easy to spot. Having said that, you'll get snapped when you least expect it. I've had one ticket in my driving career, got done by a mobile Scameraon the Auckland motorway in my folks' 320i on a downhill stretch. Other than that I speed sensibly, only ever when I'm confident of the road conditions and the low enforcement threat. It's served me well and I've never had a ticket through intentionally speeding.
One thing I WILL advise though in the Elise. Invest in a radar detector (Valentine 1 is best here or a high-end BEL). I've had one for 8 months now and I'd not drive without it long distance. You really see that no matter WHAT speed you're doing, if you pass a cop and he sees someone in a flash car like an Elise then they blast you with their radar trying to catch you out, regardless of whether your driving warrants it or not. Beware though, all fixed cameras in NZ are inductive loop so there is no detector, but they're pretty easy to spot if you're alert. It's not a protection against getting done, and to be honest it's not saved me yet because I tend to be driving legally when I see cops, but it's given me a REAL insight into how the devious little fokkers set their little entrapment snares to try and trick you into being a criminal.
Points on your license, it's a maximum of 100 in any 2 year period before suspension. ALL cameras don't acquire points, only actual pull-overs by cops. A breakdown of points can be found here:
www.landtransport.govt.nz/roadcode/driver-responsibility/stepping-over-the-line1.html
Points drop off your license on the anniversary of 2 years.
Warning, you can also get 10 points now for a noisy exhaust (the copper just needs to think that you're too noisy). That shouldn't be a problem in an Elise unless you're lapping with the boyracers late at night or driving like a w@nker. You can also get done for silly things as listed on that site above... if you read them closely some of those things are pretty interpretive and two of them on there are even contradictionary to eachother! Welcome to NZ.... like I said in another thread on here, it's a country that's so damned close to perfection, these silly things tend to really REALLY bug you because they're so easily rectified, but aren't.
Edited by Esprit on Monday 10th July 23:22
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