splurge

1) Clarkey Sparkey 2) Chipmunk 3) Malamute 4) CJ 5) Supradibbs 6) Trig 7) Castle 8) Supragal 9) Jasonmoola 10) Attilauk 11) Matt B 12) Manic 13) Branners (depending on price) 14) Dangerous Brain 15) Lightwave 16) SimonB 17) MfS 18) SupraStar 3000 19) bigmoistyturbo 20) AeroMatt 21) Paul -C- 22) red 23) f3nr15 24) Lovatt 25)bammbamm 26)MizTheWiz 27)suprarob 28)Albundy 29) Splurge

Any policeman who knows anything at all about cars would know that it is a fundamental law of nature that in a race between a Mondeo and a Supra, the Supra would be miles in front. Hence, the fact that the Mondeo was in front of you implies that you could not possibly have been racing him. Therefore, you are safe from any such speculation.

Get a Supra! Haven't got a good reason for saying that - I just wanted to keep this board's honour up

I am nervous about cornering fast precisely because the Supra has such good levels of grip... to me, this means that if I mess it up on the limit there will be no time for any correction and the consequences will be very, very bad. On the other hand, if I put my foot down on a nice long straight, it's much easier to deal with any slight problems. On the third hand , cornering well within the Supra's limits still lets you go much faster than most people

Starter buttons are cool, aren't they? Aston Martin use them so they must be cool. I have a spare DIN radio slot sitting doing nothing, and, with my zero knowledge of car electroncis, was wondering how much of a job it would be to get a DIN blanking plate, fit a big red starter button into it (I guess you could just buy an S2000 spare part or something), and then wire it up to the electronics. Any thoughts?

Hello there, If you don't use the TT's turbos at all, then the N/A and the TT will use about the same amount of fuel. In the Supra's particular case it's generally quite hard to avoid using the turbos unless you're driving really gently, because the first one comes in at around 2500rpm. As you have probably noticed, it is also quite addictive I have heard that N/As generally make louder noises than unmodded TTs, presumably because the exhaust gas doesn't get fiddled about with on the way out, so you might even get more burble from an N/A.

Interesting question. "Powerful" is one of those relative words, isn't it? I don't think it has any definite cut-off point, it's more a question of "more powerful" or "less powerful", or in the case of most people bitten by the modding bug, "not quite powerful enough"... For example, any Supra would be very powerful compared to a Vauxhall Corsa The median engine size in the UK is apparently 2.0 litres. An engine of this capacity will typically produce around 130bhp. So you could also say that all Supras are very powerful compared to the average car in the UK. If you are talking about differences between Supras, then you would probably take the unmodified twin turbo as your benchmark, at around 320-330bhp. The common mods give around an extra 100bhp beyond that, which is pretty damn powerful in my book, but might not be in yours. It's all down to the individual interpretation of "powerful", I would say.

Right, this is what I think is happening so far - please correct me if I've got it completely wrong... 1. We are collecting a petition about the amount of tax on fuel. To be more specific, we want to see it reduced! 2. Syed has kindly volunteered to coordinate it. Three cheers for Syed! 3. The idea is that we agree on a form, which everyone can then print out, distribute around their mates, families, and offices to get everyone else to sign, and then post to Syed before the agreed closing date. 4. After the agreed closing date, Syed and the gang will arrange delivery of the petition. 5. Because so many people will have signed it, the government will be compelled to reduce the tax. Well, that's the idea anyway. IF this is the plan, then these are some of the things that will have to happen, not necessarily in order, which all probably need lots of volunteers : A. Agree on the wording and the look of the form. This sounds tedious but it's critical because only certain types of petition are acceptable. This can be checked by a civil servant beforehand. I'm happy to volunteer to help put one together and get it checked. B. Host the form somewhere where anyone can download it. C. Get a (real) mailbox set up (one of those PO Box 12345 things), since I don't imagine Syed will want thousands of envelopes coming to his house! D. Agree on a closing date. We need something far enough away that we can get lots of people involved, but not so far that it loses its urgency. E. Publicity - guerilla. When the time is right, everyone will need to tell their mates, and get their mates to tell their mates. F. Publicity - traditional media. Once we've built up some momentum, we'll want to bring in the big guns - does anyone have experience of dealing with the press etc? G. Alliances - does anyone have good contacts at the ABD or other reduce-fuel-tax organisations?

My view on this one is that an electronic petition is probably a lot easier to organise and get big figures for, but a lot less impressive to governments and media. It's also easier to forge and has the unpleasant side-effect of offering up everyone's e-mail address and/or home address for SPAMming. Nothing looks quite so impressive (or politically scary for a government) as someone standing outside number 10 thumbing through a book of 1,000,000 signatures. Holding up a CD that says "Petrol price petition" just isn't as interesting. But, of course, it's much easier to make one. Tricky one...

Geoff, you are absolutely right that 50% is ridiculously ambitious. My thinking is if we asked for 10% they would give 2% - if we ask for 50% we might get 10%. A sliding scale might be fairer, but it's a bit more complicated to spell out in a single sentence (at least for my poor brain). My theory was that it should be a punchy, simple, and potentially headline-grabbing petition which was so ludicrously over the top in its demands that it would give the government room to make a decent reduction and still claim a victory - after all, people are always more willing to compromise if they don't lose face by doing so. What do you reckon?

OK, if people are genuinely interested in doing a petition, I have found a couple of useful resources: Here is the BBC's guide to running a petition: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ican/A2219951 And here is the Houses of Parliament's guide to writing an acceptable petition: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/p07.pdf In accordance with tbourner's excellent idea, it would work just as well if everyone printed off the petition, signed it themselves, and then posted it to a co-ordinator before the appointed date. Let's leave this thread around for a bit before doing anything, and see what other useful ideas we can come up with as well. I urge everyone to sign the ABD pledge as well - it's not quite the same thing as petitioning parliament but it all helps, right? Based on all this, how does the following sound? Petition to reduce by half the duty payable by motorists on the purchase of fuel To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. We, the undersigned petitioners, do pray your honourable House that in the interests of the liberties and livelihoods of the motorists and their dependents residing in this Kingdom, you do forthwith reduce by half all duties payable on all forms of fuel purchased for the purposes of private transportation. We remain your humble servants, Signature / Name / Address / Date etc

I hope you post a couple of pics up when it's done. Obviously an Alfa's not a Supra as such, but I bet a lot of people would be impressed with it anyway

I assumed this would be a list of people who would be prepared to sign a real petition, i.e. an actual paper one, rather than being the petition itself. I didn't think the UK government acknowledge e-mailed petitions, do they? Additionally, if you have a big fat written petition, you look much more impressive to the media when you go and deliver it to Downing Street. Plus the fact that there are all those signatures on it proves to the skeptical masses that the people concerned do really all exist. I might just be getting confused, of course.

1. Syed Shah 2. Splurge

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to join up to the ABD then - looks like it's £17 for the year. I guess if we all do the same and get our mates to do it as well if we ever hear them complaining about the price of petrol, we will be getting somewhere. Cheers!

Am I being numpty, or does this mean I could get my handbrake button, door handles and gear selector buttons chromified for about £5.00 worth of ChromeFX, plus labour charges? Does anyone have any, and want to do the labour for a suitable rate?

Prompted by some discussion on this BBS, and after working out that out of £50 I spent to fill up my car the other day, £40 was tax , I have had enough of ridiculously expensive petrol and want to do something about it. I think, for the first time in my life, I'm actually going to join the political process. Is anyone aware of any major parties or pressure groups I could join who are campaigning to reduce fuel tax? If not, does anyone fancy starting one? I for one would be more than happy to help out. My theory is this: The bulk of the price of petrol is made up of tax. Tax is set by the Government. Governments are voted for by everybody (at least in this country). So, if enough people threatened to vote for someone else, the government would either change its policy or be voted out of office. I'm sure some of you are there saying "Don't bother, you will never get enough support", but how many motorists are there in this country, for goodness' sake? And do any of them actually think that the price of petrol is reasonable? On a related subject, does anyone know anything about the Association of British Drivers? They have a handy calculator that tells you just how much tax you're paying on your fuel at http://www.abd.org.uk/fuelcost.htm , but I'm worried that they might be too focused on more contentious issues (e.g. speed cameras) to make fuel tax their key campaign. Advice, help, or even comments telling me to get lost are all welcome

In my opinion, if you are replacing a standard airbagged wheel with a non-standard non-airbagged wheel, then you probably ought to tell them. I imagine it will put the premium up very slightly, if at all. Still, you never know with insurance companies - it often seems to be completely random. If the world was a fairer place, you would get a discount, though - after all, you're sure as hell gonna drive more carefully without an airbag to protect you, aren't you? One way to approach it might be to phone up with a fictional name and address and get a quote for a car identical to yours, then mention that you have changed the steering wheel and ask whether this needs to go down on the policy and what difference it makes to the price. Then you will be able to weigh up the pros of being covered against the cons of paying extra without putting your own policy at immediate risk.

Hey, that was my 100th post I'm starting to feel like a proper Supra owner now!

Hi Dave, I've got a standard J-spec TT - with mine you certainly do notice the second turbo coming in just before 4000rpm, but it's not like a divine revelation or something. I guess because you're already accelerating so fast on account of the first turbo, you don't notice the second coming online as much - if you didn't have a first turbo, you would probably notice the second turbo more... if you see what I mean? Anyhow, I live in Essex as well (Laindon, in fact), so if you want to stop by some time and compare, just let me know.

Ashley, I have to admit it's a cool idea, but couldn't you get pretty-much the same bling effect much cheaper by leaving the engine where it is and just fitting a semi-transparent bonnet on the front? Far, a mid-engined car is generally the best layout for handling because you can usually get an excellent weight distribution without having to put too much ballast into the design. However, because the Supra was designed to be front-engined, the body was deliberately made heavier at the back to counteract it, so if you moved the engine rearwards you would just make it that much heavier at the back. I hope I'm not teaching egg-sucking to my granny here!

I think the mesh grille looks pretty cool, personally. I might even consider putting some tiny grilles over the rear brake cooling intakes as well, but that might be taking it too far. That is also possibly the cleanest Supra in the world

Fair point Mr Valenti! I s'pose what I should have said is, "The Supra gives you all the S2000 gives you and then some on the performance front, plus..." Yep, the S2000 boot is more a theoretical concept than an actuality. If you've ever seen an MX-5 boot, it's like that. The Supe boot is not the greatest, but you can put lots of stuff on the back seats, too - let's face it, nobody's ever going to be able to sit there so you might as well use them for something.

Hi GoldLude, I have a J-spec Supra TT. My best mate has an S2000. I have had quite a bit of practice with both IMHO they are both fantastic cars, and you are unlikely to be disappointed with either of them. The S2000 is more in the classic roadster/out-and-out sports car mould. The Supe is more of a GT/performance car. I think the Supra is more flexible, especially with an auto box, considering that it has the rear seats, the longer wheelbase, the bigger boot (yes! The Supe has a bigger boot than something!), etc, so it will be more comfortable and practical for long journeys. It's also faster, which is always good, and has more readily available modding potential - a recent thread revealed that £1000 or so of mods can easily get you up to about 450bhp. The S2000 doesn't give you the same performance but it is still pretty fast, and it's also immensely satisfying to hoon. It's lighter than the Supra and (dare I say it with all these Supra owners looking?) probably has sharper handling as a result. Plus you get the benefit of it being a convertible. Both cars are pretty reliable. You pays your money, you takes your choice. For me, it was the dual nature of the Supra that swung it - it's fantastic at going damn fast, but also very good at being comfortable and relaxing if you're in that sort of mood, which is something the S2000 will never be. Oh, and of course six-cylinder engines are just better

What are those wheels? They look top banana. (Welcome, by the way!)