Moving to canada from australia. getting a feel for the scene.

[chefo]

Hi all,
as the title states i am moving to Canada from Australia. i'll be heading over in about 18 months for work and i am on here to get a feel for the local import scene and meet a few people

i LOVE imports and currently drive a pretty modified 180sx. i think the hardest part of moving will be leaving her behind

i know next to nothing about your local scene, what cars are available, how the police interact with the import community etc so i am hoping you guys can teach me a thing or 2.

i apologise if this is in the wrong section.

take care and i hope to get to know a few of you

[DreadedFist]

Looking forward to your arrival All I can say is: If you're in BC, don't go 40kmh over the limit, if you're in Ontario, don't do 50kmh over the limit. Police in BC are legit, they don't bother you. I've had my r32 for 3 years and I've never been pulled over. I've had a straight pipe for like a year and I've still never been pulled over.

Bring money for a warm coat. And if you're in BC, anywhere near Vancouver, buy an umbrella.

We have plenty of Skylines around, as well as the other usual JDM cars. Plus a TON of bro trucks (ten feet off the ground, only ever used to drive to the office job). Most of the JDM cars here have tanked price wise. Skylines used to be worth something... Not anymore, though. Same with pretty much any other JDM car, except for the vans that I see every day (Mistubishi Delicas being driven by guys wearing glasses from 1955).

Where in Canada are you ending up?

[chefo]

you get screwed bad if you speed over here. 30km over the limit you lose your license on the spot for 12 months.

glad to hear the import scene is alive and well

i'll be hopefully heading to vancouver. i am a baker who works for a company called bakers delight. a few years back the started expanding into canada under the name "cobs". they are desperate for qualified bakers from australia, i always thought canada looked beautiful so i figure why not go

[chefo]

oh, any idea about track days? over here i race several times a year and was hoping to continue that. hopefully start a vancouver chapter of the touge royals (our club)

[evilgtr]

I live in Oz for 5 years and our car scene flat out sucks in comparisson to yours. Our imports are the quality of the low end street cars you are used to but the people here are just as friendly and willing to chat about cars and lend a helping hand so in that respect they are similar.
Our pump gas sucks compared to BP ultimate and we dont produce and 6 cylinders that would keep up with a VL turbo or even a stock XR6 turbo haha so whats your plan for work ? where do you live now ?

Oh and our burnout comps consist of a one foot on the break and one on the gas and smoking the tires in one spot, so basically zero driver skill involved when you compare it to a true aussie burnout comp. ( for those of you who arent familiar youtube summernats or springnats burnout comp)

[evilgtr]

can you find me a cheap built RB30 before you come ? and a box or carleton draught ? cheers

[Oakville]

a Cobs just opened near my house, small world. How old are you? that will be a big factor lol

[Snake556]

I think you'll enjoy Canada, boss! Our car scene is pretty healthy. Like evilgtr said, we don't have a lot of the cool stuff that you do down in Oz, but we still give 'er good Track days, we've got lots! BC is probably the best place for you to move. Tracks, nice roads, barely any winter, insurance is far, far nicer than pretty much every other province. But you should have fun here, man!

[frankiman]

move to Quebec, there are tracks days every weekend during the summer
even in the winter there is a couple track days in the snow

theres 9 tracks within 3 hours of driving from Montreal

[Z-Tuned]

Welcome, never been to Aus myself but have a few mates from: Haltech , APS, Fast Fours and some few enthusiasts.

Canada has its highlights mostly the 15 year rule which allows us to buy JDM cars. On the downside, in my province of Ontario it is a police state. Owning a modified import around here is pretty much a target on your back for nuisance tickets and harassment. Between emissions and the over-zealous traffic cops, it can be a pain but will be fun if you take it to the track. In Toronto we have 4 tracks within 3 hours (one is old GP track Mosport) and another great facility Calabogie is a bit further.

But again, you have to be smart, know the law, know your rights and consider a stealth radar detector because our province along issues over $80 million in tickets per year, which helps pay for the $900 million is costs to run the police services in Toronto.

[chefo]

@evilgtr: what is wrong with your fuel?
i'm very keen to head over there and see for myself what the cars are like
i plan on baking for the time being. hope to have my own store within 3 years.
i live in the south east suburbs of melbourne. about 45 minutes from the city.

i dont know anyone who has a built rb30 mate, sorry. i know of a bunch of built SR's though.

@oakville: have you been in there and tried their product? from what i have heard the quality is pretty average, hence their headoffice trying to get qualified bakers over there to lift the standard.
i'm 26, i'll be 28 by the time i get there. the visa i need to apply for is open to people under 31 so i'll be fine.

@snake556 and frankiman: glad to hear there are plenty of track days. in my state there is only really a couple of tracks and they aren't always open to the public. most track days require you to be part of the club that is holding the event. i dont really want to be joining 25 car clubs just to get some track time

@z-tuned: i plan on making myself familiar with the laws, if its anything like it is over here it will come in very handy.
what is the biggest problem police have with imports?

[Oakville]

Have not tried it, but the owner of the location lives a block away from me and I see their van with Cobs logos on the back glass all the time.

As for the tickets, the general consensus is if you drive like more of an ass hole than the average person, you'll get sniped. Cops within the populated areas of Ontario are very keen on checking things like catalytic converters. the fact of these cars being RHD also draws attention, with a bit of issues regarding officers not fully knowing laws surrounding RHD cars in a LHD country. Youll mostly get hassled for loud exhausts and "having no RHD sticker on your car" (covered millions of times here, not required if you have working turn signals).

If you plan on owning a high power modified car, Ontario is not the best place to do it. Western Canadian provinces such as British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan are, from what ive seen, more relaxed with RHD Japanese imports as they are much much more common, and another plus of living out there is, insurance is often less than half of what it costs in Ontario

[MKIV]

I'm born in Sydney, Australia.

Enjoy your time over here mate

[Tony-R32]

Don't move to Winnipeg...it sucks here.

If you drive anything but a stock plain jane corolla, you'll be harassed by the cops.

[doc]

Cobs at Upper Middle and 8th Line is sweet
every time i drive by i cant help but go in there and get some goodies