I'd like to stick it to the following:

[Pauly]

 - Vic Police

 - Vic Roads

 - Aussy Media (ACA 60 min ect)

 

As some of you may know, my 944 Turbo was my first car. Got it when i was 17, went straight on the hoist and cleaned it up (leaks ect) cleaned up the interior, seats, dashboard, stereo ect. 

My parents allowed me to get one trusting me I wouldn't kill myself (or anyone else) and behave on the roads. (They know the rules!)

 

The police:

the day i got my licence is the first time I ever got pulled over.. Who can believe that? 

For the following year almost, I got pulled over at least once a week, then it became once a month. 

'Random' breath tests, drug tests and attempts to search me! How many times could i use that excuse for being late? haha

Even getting pulled over for being accused of doing wrong when i clearly haven't! 

Bad luck i guess?

 

Vic Roads:

For coming up with the most ridiculous Probationary licence laws i've ever heard of. 

 - Cannot drive Turbo or Supercharged (excluding diesel) 

 - Cannot drive v8 or larger.

 - Cannot drive high powered 6 cylinders, NSX, any Porsche pretty much and others.

 

Media:

For calling every P Plater a hoon. That really irritates me!  for calling me a 'hoon' on aca (I showed them ... That segment never went to air for many reasons...Mainly because me and a few friends made them look stupid)

 

 

I got this letter in the mail the other day. Telling me it's time to renew my licence and congratulating me that i'll be fully licensed.

 

Oh and this letter

 

 

Thanks Vic roads! 

 

 

Here's a pictorial of what my 952 went though, throughout the 4 years of ownership.

 

When I took delivery of it (from OZ951) in WA

 

 

Cleaned up the very stock engine bay & interior

 

 

 

Added a Front mount intercooler.

 

 

Replaced the dead k26/6 with a Garrett GTX3076R

 

 

At that time i was running only this muffler!

 

 

This is what the exhaust looked like (loud! Very Fuc*en loud!) Note the 2.5" on the right is from the wastegate

 

 

Engine bay after turbo install

 

 

Rebuild time (blew the head gasket after coolant blew out of the heater hose)

 

[Pauly]

Pulled apart the engine (before cleaning)

 

 

 

 

All cleaned, getting put back together 

 

 

Brand new custom CEP head (larger valved, Ti Retainers the works!!)

 

 

Custom CEP/JME camshaft 

 

 

All put together with new braided lines and custom fittings!

 

 

And what the power curve looks like! (red line is rwhp) estimate but very close to those numbers! 

 

[nath]

Nice build and first car.

P laws are the same in NSW and as much as it'd drive me nuts if I was of that age I can see some sense in them.

[Pauly]

Move build and first car.

P laws are the same in NSW and as much as it'd drive me nuts if I was of that age I can see some sense in them.

 

There is sense in them, But not the way the law brings them in. Each time i've been pulled over "randomly" they say. It's always the older officer that has this itch in his eye that he wants to find a reason to book me and get me off the road because i'm a P plater. The younger ones, they look around the car... "nice car mate, what year is it? how do they go? good car? it goes on" 

 

 

I know most of you here are parents that have a son or daughter that will be driving in a few years time. 

teach them things they won't get taught with a driving instructor! Take them go-karting, get advance driving lessons on an actual skid pad were they teach you how to control a car in the wet and how to get out of a slide.

Because one day, They will want to know what happens when you rev the engine and drop the clutch. What happens when you pull the handbrake when driving. 

Let them drive everywhere! Just avoid yelling and constant correcting. It's hard enough to concentrate on the road while you're new to everything, But even more harder and frustrating getting yelled at, at the same time. 

 

The sooner things are out of their system, the better they'll learn and behave.

[9fan]

Good Man Pauly, and thanks for some detail on engine build.

 

Insurance companies can be just as bad. They wouldn't insure my son when I was going to pass down my standard 944 2.5 (Normally aspirated) because it was a Porsche, but said you can have a WRX ? 

[Harvs11]

I know most of you here are parents that have a son or daughter that will be driving in a few years time. 

teach them things they won't get taught with a driving instructor! Take them go-karting, get advance driving lessons on an actual skid pad were they teach you how to control a car in the wet and how to get out of a slide.

Because one day, They will want to know what happens when you rev the engine and drop the clutch. What happens when you pull the handbrake when driving. 

Let them drive everywhere! Just avoid yelling and constant correcting. It's hard enough to concentrate on the road while you're new to everything, But even more harder and frustrating getting yelled at, at the same time. 

 

The sooner things are out of their system, the better they'll learn and behave.

Great advice Pauly. I'm one of these parents with a teenage son who will be driving soon. Maybe I'll bring him to you to learn from your very mature attitude. He probably won't listen to me. Parents don't know anything.

[Jimmy]

Great advice Pauly. I'm one of these parents with a teenage son who will be driving soon. Maybe I'll bring him to you to learn from your very mature attitude. He probably won't listen to me. Parents don't know anything.

 

 

Very true Harvs.

 

Excellent advice and a very mature attitude and outlook Pauly.

Hope my son will be as mature when he gets to your age.

[Jimmy]

Good Man Pauly, and thanks for some detail on engine build.

 

Insurance companies can be just as bad. They wouldn't insure my son when I was going to pass down my standard 944 2.5 (Normally aspirated) because it was a Porsche, but said you can have a WRX ? 

 

 Doesn't make sense Mark, you often wonder how they come to these decisions. 

[Pauly]

Good Man Pauly, and thanks for some detail on engine build.

 

Insurance companies can be just as bad. They wouldn't insure my son when I was going to pass down my standard 944 2.5 (Normally aspirated) because it was a Porsche, but said you can have a WRX ? 

 

Thanks Mark!

 

I didn't have an issue with insurance. I went under my parents insurance as an owner and driver as the car has been reregistered under my name from day 1. GIO i think. 

 

Great advice Pauly. I'm one of these parents with a teenage son who will be driving soon. Maybe I'll bring him to you to learn from your very mature attitude. He probably won't listen to me. Parents don't know anything.

 

Thanks Harvs!. Yeah the "parents don't know anything" is true when you're young. I guess being less strict is better in a way. More you say no, the more they want to do it. 

 

Very true Harvs.

 

Excellent advice and a very mature attitude and outlook Pauly.

Hope my son will be as mature when he gets to your age.

 

Thanks Jim, We all hope so! I guess if he drives a 'cool car' like his dad does, I'm sure he'd respect his privileges. You got to earn the car though! 

You don't want him to turn out like:

"My dad bought me this 50k bmw.. im better than you, i do what i want"

A lot of them around, and most of them just don't care about anything or the car! 

 

I believe that you car determines what crowd you belong in if you love your cars. 

That's why we're on this forum right?

 

If you've got a Jap car, you'll be hanging with the jap car crowds. 

[Harvs11]

Doesn't make sense Mark, you often wonder how they come to these decisions.

Insurance companies equate 2 doors to sports cars. Regardless of the performance capabilities.

944, 2 doors=bad. WRX, 4 doors=good

[Coastr]

Doesn't make sense Mark, you often wonder how they come to these decisions.

It's pretty simple actually - they crunch data on accident rates, repair costs, postboxes for theft/vandalism/crashes and come up with a price book that directs certain customer profiles.

At a certain age (under 25) the crash stats are much higher, even for small scrapes and fender benders. Especially with young men. Porsches are expensive to fix, especially as they get older and are harder to find parts for. One difficult to find indicator lens or headlights washer adds costs.

Add all of that up and a insurer will price the mix higher to either collect more premium to offset the likely claim costs, or to encourage that shopper elsewhere.

There are always insurers who will target different profiles when they think they can change the risk profile by collecting more information. This is why Shannon's asks if you are a club member. Club members look after their cars more and crash less, and are more active when it comes to organizing repairs. So they include that in their pricing and therefore attract people in that risk profile.

Never take it personally. Either you fit into the bucket of people they want to insure, or you don't. No good talking to the guy on the phone - he's working off a pricing algorithm he doesnt even understand, let alone have the ability to change.

Hving said all that, always ask if they can do better, because like any business they will quote you the price the want you to pay, but there is often wiggle room if they re currently trying to win business. But no point in asking why Porsche is higher than WRX.

[withers]

Good for you Pauly.  Whilst the laws seem harsh, unfortunately 'kids' with their heads screwed on the right way, suffer for all those youngins with their heads on backwards. But you know what?  Some of them ruin their lives, other peoples lives and even lose their lives.

 

You have a bright motoring future ahead of you that will provide fun for a life time!

 

Maybe you should offer to teach some pre 18 years olds to drive - sounds like you'll be good at it!

[Coastr]

Well, I definitely fell into the camp of head screwed on the wrong way...multiple speeding fines, minor traffic bingles, unroadworthy vehcile citations, once got pulled up for breath test in the driveway after a couple of drinks when I was on 0% bac (cops decided against testing me when I saw that I was home). Eventually had to hand inmy licence and walk for 3 months which hurt. You'd think that was the en of the lesson, but no, got pulled up for what would now be called street racing/drifting on public roads the day I got my licence back. But I found a good cop who decided against further fines and settled for a five minute lecture instead. That straightened me out, haven't had a speeding ticket since...in Austrlaia, anyway.

Those laws are reasonably tough and I Remember complaining my head off at the time about the Terrible Injustices. But they probably saved my skin and quite probably someone else's too. Some of the laws are dumb but some are necessary. The big shame now is the concentration on automated enforcement rather than good ol interactions with the boys in blue. You do forget an invoice in the post but you don't forget a big burly copper telling you he doesn't want to scrape you off a tree, so grow the hell up and stop thinking your indestructible.

So Pauly you are to be congratulated...and I'm sorry for being part of the problem that has gradually led to the tighter and tighter restrictions on p-platers.

[Tit]

Yes. Australia the over-governed country. Everything just be solved with legislation, taxation and $$$ penalties...

Reminds me of places like France, where kids drink wine at home with families. The need to drink excessively elsewhere is sort of dissipated.

Taking the kids to the skidpan and defensive driver training might help...

[LeeM]

Always the way. The minority spoil it for the majority and youre tarred with the same brush

 

Being an ex lunatic on a bike in the awesome Adelaide hills for many years, I was guilty of my first line above on NUMEROUS occasions.

The cops knew it was me doing wheelies in top gear at warp speed, or knee down on some very quick bends having to move my head so I didnt hit the oncoming car's bumpers or wing mirrors, yet I continued to think I was invincible, same as my mates I rode with (we were all A grade Superbike racers)

One mate at 10am was doing laps as we sat and watched whilst perched on a big cement bin in the Gorge rd car park.

He lost the front at warp speed, bike on its side heading straight for us. We jumped and ran, the bike hit the circular bin and the bike landed ontop of the bin emptying fuel and oil inside!

He had broken ribs and a punctured lung. He was lucky that a guy was passing in a van that was a paramedic and took him to hospital.

 

Later in the day, whilst watching my mate taking a very close girlfriend of mine for a ride as I was 10 bike lengths behind them, they crashed, she died and he is still half the man he was to this day, and does not know anyone from his past, even his parents.

 

That is the worst day of my life, and it changed me forever.

 

I lost 5 damn good friends that year, and more they year after on the same piece of road. 

To this day 12 years later, I still can't even drive a car on that road. I drive 20k's around it if I'm working up that way

 

After I returned to racing bikes a few months later and having some local success (on the track) I became a bit of a self imposed safety advocate for riders in the hills, and I even offered the Police that I would speak to a LOT of guys with 'All the gear and no idea' (which is MOST hills riders to be frank) that think theyre good riders and tell them to slow down.

It fell on deaf ears by the riders and the Police. They just werent interested in what I had to say.

I just wanted people to stop dying. Many did and still do die or are horribly injured on that road.

 

No matter what laws are changed, fines imposed, license restrictions or insurance premiums increased, you will ALWAYS have the minority to blame for the government department know it all's pretending a quick fix will reduce the road toll. 

[Harvs11]

While some young guys just rebel against authority, I think the old fashioned policing of pulling over and actually talking with an offender gets the best results. Coastr is spot on. Fines in the mail a month after the fact just give you the shits.

There's nothing like that sick feeling while waiting for the cop to get to your door after pulling you over to make you realise how much you've just screwed up.

[Pauly]

Insurance companies equate 2 doors to sports cars. Regardless of the performance capabilities.

944, 2 doors=bad. WRX, 4 doors=good

 

My rego says my 944 is a sedan! because of 4 seats. weird huh as it's a 2+2

 

Good for you Pauly.  Whilst the laws seem harsh, unfortunately 'kids' with their heads screwed on the right way, suffer for all those youngins with their heads on backwards. But you know what?  Some of them ruin their lives, other peoples lives and even lose their lives.

 

You have a bright motoring future ahead of you that will provide fun for a life time!

 

Maybe you should offer to teach some pre 18 years olds to drive - sounds like you'll be good at it!

 

Thanks Amanda! 

I hope so to! 

Funny enough, I don't have patients to educate kids who don't care about rules. If you don't care, you don't listen, you don't learn. 

 

Well, I definitely fell into the camp of head screwed on the wrong way...multiple speeding fines, minor traffic bingles, unroadworthy vehcile citations, once got pulled up for breath test in the driveway after a couple of drinks when I was on 0% bac (cops decided against testing me when I saw that I was home). Eventually had to hand inmy licence and walk for 3 months which hurt. You'd think that was the en of the lesson, but no, got pulled up for what would now be called street racing/drifting on public roads the day I got my licence back. But I found a good cop who decided against further fines and settled for a five minute lecture instead. That straightened me out, haven't had a speeding ticket since...in Austrlaia, anyway.

Those laws are reasonably tough and I Remember complaining my head off at the time about the Terrible Injustices. But they probably saved my skin and quite probably someone else's too. Some of the laws are dumb but some are necessary. The big shame now is the concentration on automated enforcement rather than good ol interactions with the boys in blue. You do forget an invoice in the post but you don't forget a big burly copper telling you he doesn't want to scrape you off a tree, so grow the hell up and stop thinking your indestructible.

So Pauly you are to be congratulated...and I'm sorry for being part of the problem that has gradually led to the tighter and tighter restrictions on p-platers.

 

 

At least you can admit to your wrong doings. 

I'm no A1 driver. I've been over the limit before, I've done stupid things. but not to the extent of most would. 

 

 

Always the way. The minority spoil it for the majority and youre tarred with the same brush

 

Being an ex lunatic on a bike in the awesome Adelaide hills for many years, I was guilty of my first line above on NUMEROUS occasions.

The cops knew it was me doing wheelies in top gear at warp speed, or knee down on some very quick bends having to move my head so I didnt hit the oncoming car's bumpers or wing mirrors, yet I continued to think I was invincible, same as my mates I rode with (we were all A grade Superbike racers)

One mate at 10am was doing laps as we sat and watched whilst perched on a big cement bin in the Gorge rd car park.

He lost the front at warp speed, bike on its side heading straight for us. We jumped and ran, the bike hit the circular bin and the bike landed ontop of the bin emptying fuel and oil inside!

He had broken ribs and a punctured lung. He was lucky that a guy was passing in a van that was a paramedic and took him to hospital.

 

Later in the day, whilst watching my mate taking a very close girlfriend of mine for a ride as I was 10 bike lengths behind them, they crashed, she died and he is still half the man he was to this day, and does not know anyone from his past, even his parents.

 

That is the worst day of my life, and it changed me forever.

 

I lost 5 damn good friends that year, and more they year after on the same piece of road. 

To this day 12 years later, I still can't even drive a car on that road. I drive 20k's around it if I'm working up that way

 

After I returned to racing bikes a few months later and having some local success (on the track) I became a bit of a self imposed safety advocate for riders in the hills, and I even offered the Police that I would speak to a LOT of guys with 'All the gear and no idea' (which is MOST hills riders to be frank) that think theyre good riders and tell them to slow down.

It fell on deaf ears by the riders and the Police. They just werent interested in what I had to say.

I just wanted people to stop dying. Many did and still do die or are horribly injured on that road.

 

No matter what laws are changed, fines imposed, license restrictions or insurance premiums increased, you will ALWAYS have the minority to blame for the government department know it all's pretending a quick fix will reduce the road toll. 

 

Wow, Just shows the police don't care. They get paid from the fines we pay! Fines would be a nuisance.. The way i see it, pretty logical,

If you're speeding before a bend and a camera gets you then you happen to crash into something and die.. That camera didn't save your life did it? you're dead. So now what. Does that fine go to your grave? Or does someone else pay for it.

 

To fix the road tolls, they need to invest in proper driving schools. not these driving instructors who teach you the course. No one taught me how to control a slide in the wet. I had to figure that out after i slid my car a few times almost hitting something. 

 

While some young guys just rebel against authority, I think the old fashioned policing of pulling over and actually talking with an offender gets the best results. Coastr is spot on. Fines in the mail a month after the fact just give you the shits.

There's nothing like that sick feeling while waiting for the cop to get to your door after pulling you over to make you realise how much you've just screwed up.

 

That usually works most of the time! 

Long story short, my mate had a skyline GTS-T R33. ran from the cops after hitting into someones fence. raced home and the cops came knocking on his door. After that he sold the car and got a corolla instead. stays out of trouble. 

[MB911]

Hey Pauly,

 

I've read this thread with interest. You've made some good points and shown some great maturity.

 

Be very careful generalising though. "Just shows Police don't care". Big statement. While there are certainly more than the fair share of jerks in the Police force (some I refuse to work with), the majority are people who care a lot about the community and put their heart and soul into trying to protect them. So much so that I know more than a few who are starting to suffer from PTSD.  You've never knocked on a door to tell parents that the child they raised and loved for the last 17 years is dead because he made a stupid decision in a car, then repeated that two more times as you have to visit the parents of the other two kids who died in the same car. Tough day at the office....

 

The money from the fines goes into the State government funds, it does not come directly back to the Police anymore than taxes or other revenue. Yes Police are public servants, but their pay is not drawn directly from fines.

 

I completely understand your frustrations with being stopped so many times. Sounds like one of the jerks I mentioned above took a disliking to you, it sucks but it happens. There are more than 30,000 Police officers in this country, sadly there are always going to a number of bad eggs in there for sure. I hate them more than you do because they make decent people dislike the Police and bring disrespect on a uniform that is proudly worn by the rest of us.

 

I love cars, I hate speed cameras because they don't work, I treat people the way I would like to treated, speak to them how I would like to be spoken too, and give out three times as many warnings as fines to decent people who have learnt their lesson by just being pulled over.

 

Seeing people die on the roads is the most senseless and heartbreaking loss of life, as it is normally families and good people.  Most of us DO care, or we wouldn't do the job.

 

Keep enjoying your 944 and keep safe.

[Pauly]

Hey Pauly,

 

I've read this thread with interest. You've made some good points and shown some great maturity.

 

Be very careful generalising though. "Just shows Police don't care". Big statement. While there are certainly more than the fair share of jerks in the Police force (some I refuse to work with), the majority are people who care a lot about the community and put their heart and soul into trying to protect them. So much so that I know more than a few who are starting to suffer from PTSD.  You've never knocked on a door to tell parents that the child they raised and loved for the last 17 years is dead because he made a stupid decision in a car, then repeated that two more times as you have to visit the parents of the other two kids who died in the same car. Tough day at the office....

 

The money from the fines goes into the State government funds, it does not come directly back to the Police anymore than taxes or other revenue. Yes Police are public servants, but their pay is not drawn directly from fines.

 

I completely understand your frustrations with being stopped so many times. Sounds like one of the jerks I mentioned above took a disliking to you, it sucks but it happens. There are more than 30,000 Police officers in this country, sadly there are always going to a number of bad eggs in there for sure. I hate them more than you do because they make decent people dislike the Police and bring disrespect on a uniform that is proudly worn by the rest of us.

 

I love cars, I hate speed cameras because they don't work, I treat people the way I would like to treated, speak to them how I would like to be spoken too, and give out three times as many warnings as fines to decent people who have learnt their lesson by just being pulled over.

 

Seeing people die on the roads is the most senseless and heartbreaking loss of life, as it is normally families and good people.  Most of us DO care, or we wouldn't do the job.

 

Keep enjoying your 944 and keep safe.

 

 

Hey Mark,

 

You're right there, I don't hate the police.. But there are some that abuse their power and make majority of people show dislike. 

I've gotten some nice ones that had given me a notice to quieten down my exhaust because it was too loud. He could have given me a fine but he didn't. He had a joke with me saying "how do you think this thing would go up against my car" for fun i said "not a chance" He smirks and said this is a 6.0L. Those guys i could stay and talk to all night. 

 

The way i see the law, is their focus is more on motorists more than anything else. The penalties are more hefty then drugs. (saw this on highway patrol on 7. 

 

I definitely will keep enjoying my 944 will be keeping safe Thanks!

[SteveT]

I agree that speed cameras are basically revenue raisers. As stated above, the wait while the police officer walks to your car as you wind down the window is the longest 20 metre walk you ever endure and not one that you forget in a hurry.

 

I used to drive fairly rapidly in cars and on bikes when I was young and indestructible and was lucky enough to not get splattered. But it was only luck. If I was driving the same way now my car would be impounded for sure.

 

Pauly and all above, thanks for sharing.

[Tit]

If you look across what the general public is saying, more of the angst is directed at revenue chasing bureaucrats amd over governing than the police on the streets.

I certainly know I couldn't be a cop. Dealing with scum, tragedy and internal bs all day long would certainly take its toll!

[Coastr]

Good discussion. There are jerks in the police, but in my experience these are lower than in any other profession. The police are very closely scrutinized as well. Ther is a perception amongst young people about being harassed, but even if true, i have come to realize it is more about the police being proactive than wanting to spoil a young guys night. Same as when you know a friend can't handle their drink, and then they start drinking a lot - you want to get them home before something bad happens. The cops see young guys driving fast cars/bikes aggressively, and know what might happen.

I posted about my experiences, but the truth is, among my friends I was probably the best behaved. One of my good friends did pizza delivery and destroyed three pizza cars in three months, the cops were fed up with him, and hauled him into the magistrates court when they found a wrecked pizza car with no driver, because he had scrapered up the road to deliver the pizzas. I accompanied him into court that day for moral support and the magistrate tore strips from him. I also got to hear all the other boneheaded drink drivers and license abuses in court, a day I won't forget in a hurry. Luckily I didn't have any friends die, but that was just sheer dumb-ass luck, as some put cars over cliffs, across roundabouts, into walls, trees, paddocks- you name it. Broken legs, shoulders and arms from motorcycles, but nothing more. I suppose it was the relative lack of power in the cars we had and the lightly trafficked roads that saved our skins.

As for the police - most police aren't at interested in traffic, especially if they are chasing down bad guys. Chances are your average policeman is more dismayed bout having to round up the s,ae guy for assault for the 4th time after a magistrate keeps letting him go with a slap on the wrist and a fine. You've got to remember the police simply implement the politicians laws and try and get the crims prosecutd so that they don't re-offend. That is a very difficult job for them to achieve these days as everyone is working against them. Every time you read in the paper about someone who raped/assaulted/murdered and then had a tiny sentence, some cops somewhere just banged their head against a wall because they out a ton of work in to get a bad guy off the street, but it all got undone becaue his mommy didn't love him so he just got a lenient sentence at the hands of a lawyer we all paid for.

In the context of that, the actual traffic emforcement is but a tiny slice of their activity, but is the most visible to ordinary people, who are essentially holding one end of the elephant and trying to describe the rest. We should just be thankful that cops here don't have to worry about a loaded handgun in the glove compartment of many cars, and so can treat us regular joes in a more relaxed way. Other countries cops are much more serious because every interaction has the possibility of going bad.

[MB911]

Coastr, I couldn't have put it better myself.

[Tit]

The Kiwi's nail it again:

 

http://www.ausmotive.com/2014/01/07/video-other-people-makes-mistakes.html

[Pauly]

Now that's an ad!