David Hingtgen

I was going to say yesterday, spoilers should be considered in effect for a week. Maybe only 5 or 6 days. But definitely still. While many of us saw it the 2nd (or even earlier in some countries), it officially opened only yesterday in the US. Today is the first good chance to see it for a lot of people. I say spoilers are in effect until Monday----everyone who wants to see it will have seen it by the weekend.

http://macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?s=&a...st&p=496196 My pics are only 800 wide, but they're shrunk to tiny proportions. Also, why did it make a row of 3, and then 2 singles underneath it in a column?

Plus, the tranny is already "beyond maxed out" on the higher-power Grand Prixs. The previous version didn't like the 280lb/ft of the GTP. That's the weak link in the GTP, even stock ones burn them out. There were some changes in 05 plus the new fluid in 06 to get it to handle 323lb/ft in the GXP, but still---that's the #1 failure of the GXP as well. (Thank you 5-year powertrain warranty---I don't think I would have risked getting one without it)

I TF'd my Milia once, then took it totally apart and sanded down every moving part in the backpack until everything moved with very little force. Pretty smooth now, but I still worry.

Nothing is exclusive the moment even a tiny bitty change occurs. Look at Hasbro's (or Master Replica's) history of Star Wars---tons of exclusives and rare variants, which are 99% identical to the "standard" release. Why not the same with TF's? "Classics Thundercracker---with red knees instead of silver!" Then it's not the Botcon exclusive silver-knee version. Etc.

GXP, traded in the GTP for it. And thanks for the comment. Might as well, here's my 99 GTP, photos taken hours before trading it in for the GXP. Many dealerships thought it was an 03 and only 4 years old, instead of being a 99 and 8 years old.

I'm still hoping it'll drop to 30 bucks soon, but might not be able to wait much more. My 360 library is very small, I need more games before Mass Effect comes out...

Took me 2 evenings to change the plugs and wires on my GTP (mainly because the wires would NOT COME OFF, not due to access, I spent 45 mins per wire on some---plugs were easy)----I don't know of anyone who's changed theirs on a GXP yet, even the guys with 05's. The real issue is the serpentine belt. It's apparently a "drop engine and subframe" operation. Though of course, the GXP is rare enough that a lot of places have no clue how to really work on them---kind of like how more than 1 dealership thought the only way to change the supercharger oil in a GTP (if they even believed it could/should be changed) was to take the entire s/c assembly off the manifold, hoist it up, turn it upside down, and drain it. I still need to buy the service manual for my new GP, as soon as I have 130 bucks to spare... I've actually thought about taking my car to the Chevy dealer for work, as they should have more experience with the engine. As for modding--nope, my GTP remained stock, despite how large the aftermarket is for it, and how easy many mods were. I did replace a few parts with 2000/2001 parts, but nothing performance/engine-oriented. I only have one car, I need it to be reliable. And with the 07's having a 5-year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty---I intend to keep it bone stock so as to have any future issue covered without arguing about "mod-related failure". Current mods for a GXP are few and far between---basically CAI and exhaust. A lot of people see the GXP as being "like a modded GTP, but with all the parts still under warranty". Going to watch oil consumption, see if it could use a GTO-style catch-can. Here's 2 videos of a GXP's exhaust---while he does have flowmasters, I know his idle and revving sounds IDENTICAL to mine, so I don't think they changed the sound that much. GXP's have the exact opposite sound of a GTO on purpose---GTO's roar, GXPs burble. It's a very "thub-thub-thub-thub" sound. Part of it is that the exhaust has to be tuned for both V8, and V4 mode. And a brand new video--autocrossing! (Interesting that both of the ones on Youtube are stealth grey, as it's an 06/07 color only, and usually not as common as graystone or shadow grey---I'm the only stealth grey 07 I know of at ClubGP)

The thing is, as I've mentioned---swoosh and I are already shrinking them to sizes that eliminate any need for scrolling at 1024x768--yet they're still being resized. Also, the resizing is "biased". Why are mine being shrunk to like 10% of their original size? They're itty-bitty little micro-thumbnails. While some of Swoosh's retain 95% of their original size. I understand why the board will resize, but why does it shrink mine down so severely? If it's based on monitor resolution, shouldn't all pics be reduced to the same size, regardless of original size?

There were only 4 choices in the original version of the poll, so there's only 4 choices now.

I understand/see what Swoosh is talking about. Hurin: Swoosh has uploaded numerous pics of 712x534. Those uploaded on the old board, display full-size as-is, simply embedded in the page. They are plenty small enough to not need to be resized, and aren't. But, the newer ones, also 712x534, are resized for no apparent reason as attachments instead of being imbedded full-size within the main thread page. They won't cause horizontal scrolling or anything, because the older 712x534's don't. Why are they being resized now and stuck as attachments and require clicking on them to see them full-size, when other, older pics with the exact same dimensions aren't being resized? Also, resizing seems to be strangely scaled. All of his 712 wide pics are being resized to 512 wide, but my 800 wide pics are being super-shrunk to like 100 pixels. Why the huge difference in "amount of resizing" for pics which start out with similar sizes?

I'm wondering where the interiors go. On the Alternators it's obvious, but where's the mattress and pillows on Prime? (And how does a metal being make them, anyways---same question as how do they make rubber tires and glass windows?) Another point---I really hope they make "Bumblebee gold" available on the new Camaro, but I doubt they will. I don't like "bright" yellow cars, but Bumblebee was a really nice "golden pearl" with almost a hint of orange. Best yellow paint I've ever seen on a car.

Yup, LS4. It's basically a smaller version of the LS6 with most of the LS6's features, has LS6 heads, LS2-derived accessories, and some LS1 valve parts. Overall it's considered to be very similar to the LS1. Or, a refined, aluminum version of the Vortec 5300. There's some good info at the LS1tech forums about it: http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=556077 BTW, the LS3 is brand-new, it'll be the 08 Vette engine with 430HP, 30MPG highway. Why isn't that technology giving us 300HP 40MPG engines? The Grand Prix GXP's have a completely new front end than the standard Grand Prix, very GTO-ish IMHO, a big reason I bought it. Plus the chrome quad outlet exhaust. As for 300HP----it took some work just to surpass the 250HP mark in a FWD and not have severe torque steer (and tranny) issues, 300 took even more. Also, it is only 5.3L, not 5.7L. (And it BARELY fits, the engine bay was originally designed for a 3.1 V6, with 3.8 V6 optional) This is one of the few (only?) cars with the front wheels being bigger than the rear. 255/45/18 on 8in rims up front, 225/50/18 on 7in rims at the rear. Anyone in Iowa with a RWD V8 only has it as their summer car. If you need a year-round car, better have FWD or AWD. I've seen a V8 F-body in the snow here once, in a dozen years. Basically---I bought the fastest FWD car I could find/afford. Officially it does a 5.7 0-60, and the fastest bone stock 1/4 is 13.68@102.3 from ClubGP. (normally 13.8-13.9 is considered a good run for them) Not bad for a 4-door grocery-getter. I'm still getting used to it, I swear that the day I got it, everyone in town decided to drive as slow as possible to deprive me of checking it out. Still a bit surprised by the power at times. I had a 99 GTP before, so I'm used to a supercharged V6---far better than some ricey I4, but still not a V8. Now I have ~60 more HP and ~40 more lb/ft. It does weigh a little bit more though, but due to being an aluminum engine, the engine itself weighs less than my GTP's supercharged V6. The V8 Grand Prixs also get an aluminum subframe up front (very obvious when the car is new), so they might actually have better weight distribution than the V6's due to all the lightening up front. As for the wheels---thanks much for noticing. Pontiac changed the wheels mid-year of 07 production without telling anyone, so I had to search out every GXP within 300 miles to find that color with those wheels. But I got it! Basically---Pontiac (and most dealerships) won't acknowledge the wheel change. Not only do the new ones not look as nice shape-wise (flat, no curve at all, and thicker spokes), they're not quite as shiny. (We suspect the new ones are merely cast, while the older ones are forged). But they look fairly similar, so most people don't care. But I do! A lot. I have actually gotten cars with my second choice in both paint and interior color, to get the wheels I want---I'm a wheel guy. Having owned 2 (and now 3), I'm a long-time member of the Club Grand Prix forums, so I was PM'ing almost everyone there I knew with an 07 GXP, asking for their build dates, wheel style, and VIN. So based on the replies I got I eventually pieced together the approximate build date and VIN sequence of when the wheel change occured---and of all the cars in the Midwest, there was only one that was the right color, with the right wheels (based on VIN). So I went to my local dealer, and they got it from the dealer that had the one I wanted. I keep my cars in really nice condition, I actually got a few hundred more for my trade-in than I had hoped. PS---being such an airplane nut, I love the HUD that it has. Pontiac has had an unofficial rule the past couple years that only the highest-end version of the Grand Prix gets it, and that's no longer the supercharged ones. My 99 had a HUD, and I just loved it, so finding a new car with a HUD eliminated most other cars out there. I tried really hard to photograph the HUD indicating "stealth mode" but since it's a holographic projection, the camera really has a tough time focusing. My car is "stealth grey", and I can push a button and turn on "stealth mode". Grand Prix GXP---the only car with an active stealth system! (No battroid mode though). Also a heck of a sleeper---most people only know Grand Prixs from the ultra-common base-model rental cars, which a lot of people pick up used. Few suspect any have an LS-series V8 under the hood.

Like myk, I also recently joined the LSx club: (I drove it to the Transformers movie tonight, first time it's been to that mall) And yes, the fender vents are functional. The second pic is the best representation of the color, it's a very bluish grey, almost to the point of being a greyish shade of blue, instead of being a bluish shade of grey. It's stealth grey, the coolest grey ever IMHO. (Blue-green crystal was the coolest color ever made for cars period, but that stopped being available on these in 06)

If "Sly" (I hate the Solstice emotional color names) really is "Shadow Grey" then that's a new color for 07. It's metallic, but BARELY. It's more like just plain gloss grey, almost no flake at all. In real life, it's about the lightest grey I've ever seen on a car. It's very close to primer grey. A lot of people describe it as if you just buffed and clear-coated the primer, and I agree. It's like non-metallic pale grey. Go find an 07 Grand Prix that's "not at all bluish" grey. That'll be shadow grey. It is not on the G5 or G6. Here's a link to a Shadow grey GP for sale: http://www.autouplinkusa.com/FindVehicle1....p;DealerId=6571 Note that in real life, it's much lighter. The pic below is much more like how they look in reality, one of the few GOOD pics I have of Shadow grey:

It's still amazing that they go into space AND COME BACK.

New poll, check out the first page! (It took me 3 tries for it to allow people to re-vote, it was easy to change the questions and set results to zero, but allowing people to re-vote took some effort---as I've said, you don't get a manual for how the boards work when you become a mod, it's all trial and error) Here's the final results of the original poll: It will rock! [ 52 ] [21.85%] It'll suck! [ 76 ] [31.93%] I'm sure It'll be a good popcorn flick. [ 81 ] [34.03%] Mmmmmmm, transformers merchandise! 29 ] [12.18% As for Brawl vs Devastator---apparently the guys who subtitled it screwed up, and Bay's not happy about it. The character is Brawl, the text on-screen is wrong and is expected to be changed for the DVD etc.

It kicked ass, that's all there really is to say. Also--there are 3 clips played during the beginning parts of the credits. Just sit for like 2 mins. Once the credits switch to "white text scrolling on black" that's it.

Pre-emptive questions: I'm more interested in YF-19 v2.0 than the FP actually. Any changes to the landing gear? Gunpod? Do the wings stay in place (not oversweep forward) in fighter mode now? Lock for the torso in battroid mode? Better-fitting shoulders in fighter mode? Shoulder flaps?

Oh, I don't expect it to fly on-time at all. I wouldn't be surprised if they removed and replaced the entire h.stab before it flies. But it'll look fine for photos as-is. I believe it was the Gripen that was missing a wing at roll-out. Looked fine, they just draped a curtain over one side and used smoke machines----people thought it was for effect, not to hide that part of the plane wasn't finished.

Toy-Wave has a good reputation, and the owner posts here.

Looks like the 787 will make its 7/8/07 roll-out date: Photographed presumably heading to the paint barn.

Someone just spoiled a huge chunk (IMHO) of the Movie in the latest "Hero" thread at TFW2005. Beware.

Merged E-2 thread into this one. Anyways, the simple reason the E-2 and E-3 have circular radar dishes is because they rotate. Any other shape would constantly affect the plane's balance as it rotated. Only a narrow part of the dish is actually the radar itself, the rest is just structural/balance to complete the circle. You can easily see the radar part on an E-3--it's the black part in the middle.

The Marines found a nice way around it: