spark_38

There are some Army holiday houses near Acacia Bay? Cheap as chips. Should I make some enquiries? Since Mega Meet is around ANZAC Day - we'll probably be in Dunners... (if I'm still on Otago)

Did this happen earlier today?

Bugger, had I checked the forums earlier; I would have popped up for a nosey. However I'm headed back up to Aucks tomorrow morning.

I'm in Welly for the Easter break, so might pop along for a catch-up.

23-26 Cars at the Westgate meet in AKL last night - try and beat those numbers...

It's my final meat in Welly for a while, so I should attend... Only $19.99!

Petone Pak n Save is good for parking. Small bit on the left as you enter car park, directly opposite the fuel pumps. I've used it for both SAH & S&F.

Yeah I wasn't expecting it to be that packed out! We were looking at a 35-40 min wait. Cuba St has benefited from its makeover, compared to 10-12 years ago (Vic Uni days, cheap eats). The street parking was mostly full too.

They're always busy though. Most places in Welly are, even on a Tuesday night - we often go out for a feed after 10-10.30pm. Laundry is open till at least midnight. Southern Cross, Ekim and a few others close their kitchen by 10pm. I refuse to eat cardboard! It's O-Week too. We were at The Tasting Room on Monday night, and it was rather busy down CP! I'm considering the train, who's keen for some beers afterwards? Realized on Monday night how s**t the public transport is on a weekday. Trains to Hutt Valley finish by 11pm!! (That gives the AKL public transport +1, over WLG).

Here's a sneak preview, for those that haven't yet visited GMB. I was in town earlier, and had the mini GMB beef. They don't take bookings. The friendly staff suggested arriving around 1800, however for us that isn't going to be practical. They do have a nice waiting area with bar stools, and some nice beverages on tap (incl a cider). The kitchen is usually open to around 2200-ish.

If it's got a Jap Pioneer (Carrozzeria) unit fitted, then I'm assuming it's already got the fitting kit with separate A/C controls? If so, ditch the unit & replace with a NZ one, either a double din touchscreen (make use of the reversing camera), or a single din & a pocket. Most cheap $200-ish units have triple pre-outs, dual USB (front+rear), SD card, BT, front aux anyway... what more do you need? Those Jap units seem to have a lot of wiring, for some strange reason too, maybe due to built in digital tv tuners, toll card readers, etc... I've ripped quite a few out in the past, not so much recently.

I'm parking at Olphert, as it's only a 5-10 min stroll along Webb & down Cuba. From experience it can take longer to find a park - depending on the night. There maybe room for another car or two (provided it's not Army TF night).

How much was the diff? Although I'm running 3.9, R180, 6spd DCCD.

Yep. I think they take bookings for groups of 8 or more... But most of the good eating places are in town! There's SFA in the Hutt Valley. Petone is ok-ish. It's a good opportunity for those of us that don't drive our cars often, to give it a decent run (Upper Hutt - Wlg, or Porirua to Wlg). I drive into town at least once a week anyway.

Has anyone ever dynoed a stock 3.0 Outback auto? It'd be interesting to compare against a turbo - but I'm not prepared to pay $100 to find out. Performance-wise when taking off at the lights, it gets up to 100kph reasonably quickly.

Excellent, so there should be at least 8-10 at this meet then! I wonder if we need to book a table? Perhaps all future meets should be in the city, as that's where all the decent eating places are - I've tried to look outside the city, but have failed to find anything suitable - aside from rubbish mass-produced fast-food. Ideas are most welcomed!

Tuesday is Navy night, so Weds would definitely be better. Can't go wrong with beers & burgers! For those unaware, GMB is run by the same guys as Logan Brown. There's a carpark run by Wilson's parking, however it's $4 per hour (5pm - 7am). http://www.wilsonparking.co.nz/go/wilson-carparks/wellington/cuba-street

Yep, but I've yet to see that Sony XAV65 that cheaply. Although Supercheap have "We'll beat any price" signposted as you walk in (or outside the building), one of the thrifty guys at work eventually got them to price match an online price. It went to head office in Akl. He was challenging the "any" price part (as it didn't state retail, online, trade discounted...) So that's definitely worth considering if you intend on shopping there, and know you can buy cheaper elsewhere (as they aren't the cheapest).

Keep an eye out on JB Hi-Fi discounts, often below cost price. That Sony one, for example was $291 (from $499). I was tempted to grab it too, whilst I was in Palmy (as Welli doesn't do car audio).

I got my pre-facelift one for about $230, but that was ages of looking (~1 year) ... surprisingly the facelift ones (2006-) are cheaper! What a relief it was to finally ditch the factory 6CD changer Kenwood stereo! Even a basic Pioneer unit brings the stock speakers to life! I've just added a small under-seat sub to improve mid-bass response. No need to go nuts on aftermarket component speakers, amps, subs on a completely factory car.

I was finally going to give Julian at Obsessive a ring - I've been following his blog for a several years now. He is one of the country's top installers, and gets customers from North & South Island.

Yep by "5 star" alarm, they're referring to rubbish like a AVS S5 or Dynatron D7800. The factory Subaru Immobiliser is probably Thatcham Cat 2 equivalent (or higher), which leaves those aforementioned for dust. I'm looking at ripping out my cheap alarm and getting either a Autowatch 446RLi or Cobra AK4138, with GPS tracking. That would be the minimum requirements before I even consider taking the car to Aucks.

They're a South African based company, been in Aussie since about 2008, been in NZL since about July 2014... Got a quote from them last night. Nice friendly salesmen, no waiting on the lines or anything. They quoted me over $1,600 for the 1998 STI Coupe with the mods. NAC quoted me $1,200 for the same car, same mods, insured at the same Market Value (with similar excesses). They matched State's price on the Outback ($550 full cover). The windscreen excess with Youi is $800, it's $150 with NAC, free with State. You can get a new windscreen supplied and fitted for $280 at most places! I think I'll stick with IAG, as I've never had any issues in the past with them (2000-2014). They don't do house/contents insurance for me in Upper Hutt yet, but he said ring back in about 6 months - when I said I'm with Lumley at $50/fortnight (total cover), he said that was cheap! So I doubt he was going to match the NZDF plan.

Old post... Now I'm after some 215/40/17 for the STI Coupe - which aren't a common size Mag and Tyre direct can do Falken's for $169ea Tony's can do RE002 for $225ea BS Select can do the same RE002 for $189ea, with free Nitrogen fill & 25cpl AA smartfuel disc. I'm considering this option. That's $825 a set with alignment. Are these prices any good?

Good meet spot. There is ample parking across at Pak n Save, for those unfamiliar with the area. Also the Sprig and Fern tavern is just across the road.