Recently, an automotive forum for the Chevrolet Camaro known as Camaro6 (As well it’s sister sites, Camaro5 and Corvette forums) was down for the last 5 days. As a novice DIY mechanic, not having the wealth of knowledge available to access was detrimental to those of us that seek answers that only people with our cars may have.
The forum owners seem to be completely disengaged with the sites as a whole, and after this recent week long downtime I figure it’s only a matter of time before the knowledge contained in these forums are lost forever.
The site seems to be up for now, so I’d like to ask for advice on how to best save the forum on Wayback machine, or another archive site.

Saving up for this 84 corvette, the engine has a carb on it, getting advice from a guy on a forum that looked at the engine pictures (center bolt for valve covers) so we’re guessing that it’s a l98 motor most likely. I want to eventually put on an efi kit from Holley or fitech eventually and wondering what’s going to be controlling the fuel pump.

I wanted to do the triple flush service bulletin but got quoted $600 for it from my local dealer. I’m planning to just replace the fluid myself, which isn’t as good but should be better than nothing I feel.
I searched Corvette Forum but only found guides for the manual. I then looked on YouTube but every single person showing it seems to show different locations for the drain and fill and tools needed.
Is there a step by step guide anywhere on the proper tools, steps, and fluids to use?

One of my friends recently took delivery of his Z06 convertible and took me for a ride and also let me take it for a spin. I drove my 458 to his place so we would be able to drive them back to back to compare. Please keep in mind that this was only a spirited drive around some back roads and not a test of the cars on track or anywhere near their (or our) limits. With that being said, here are some of my thoughts, for those that are interested in what an internet stranger has to say about the subject:
My biggest takeaway was that I was surprised by how much more exciting the Ferrari was to drive. On paper, the C8 is objectively the better car; it's faster but it certainly doesn't feel like it. Driving back to back, the Ferrari feels like the faster car from behind the wheel. The Ferrari is a more visceral drive--it's louder in the cabin, the ride is more firm, and the steering is of course, very quick and sharp. The ride on the Corvette is very comfortable, but the result is that it feels soft in even the track setting relative to the 458. There is very little feedback through either the steering wheel or the chassis, and the result is that the car feels very isolated from the road. If you put a blindfold on me (and ear plugs), I would've guessed I was riding in a Lexus. I suppose, to a certain extent, that's what much of their buying demographic wants.
If you look at the dimensions, the Z06 is about 6 inches longer, and it certainly looks like a big car in person. I think the wide body looks great, and the Z06 rear is a big improvement over the Stingray to me, but there's no getting around the fact that the car is BIG. It feels bigger and heavier than the 458 from behind the wheel as well. That changes when you're inside, though, because the Corvette feels cramped inside relative to the Ferrari. The seats are higher off the ground in the Corvette, the side belt lines are higher, and the central tunnel between the driver and passenger really cuts into the interior space. The Ferrari is obviously much more open without that. The wall of buttons further makes the interior cramped, though you only really notice that from the passenger seat. While it feels cramped by comparison, I liked the interior from the driver's seat, and being much newer, the Corvette has a lot of nice tech available.
Regarding the sound, they both sound great, though we both agreed that the Ferrari sounds just a little better. Part of that is probably that there's less sound insulation in the 458, and the tone is a little better. The 458 can drone a bit around 3,000 RPMs with the valves open, and the Z06 does as well, but it does so for longer in the rev range--at least with the windows up. The Corvette has more pops and burbles though, which I liked.
Granted, the car was pretty new, but the overall build quality looked really good and the car felt very solid, but there were a couple of GM type things: the gap between the door trim and the dashboard was much bigger on the passenger side versus the driver's side, and there was a piece of passenger window weather stripping that was pinched up big enough for me to fit my pinky in to. That should be easy enough to fix. Weirdly, there's a pretty gross smell that seems to be coming from the exhaust area, and apparently people are already talking about it on the Corvette forums. Hopefully it goes away with time. You couldn't smell it inside the car, thankfully (even with the top down).
Overall, I think it's a great package for the price--it's comfortable, fast, and looks and sounds great--but it feels much more GT car than sports car to me. I'm sure that will be fine for many buyers, but the 458 is definitely the the more exciting car to drive. Others will surely disagree, and that's great--everyone has different opinions!
tl;dr: Despite the similarities on paper, they are very different driving experiences. The Corvette is a great car that's objectively faster, but feels slower behind the wheel and is too isolated from the road. It feels like a GT car versus a sports car by comparison.

I’m considering rebuilding a Subaru Brat, but I wanted to check out what mods have been done. Is there a Subaru Brat forum anywhere? Google didn’t turn up anything as thorough as my other automotive forums (I’m a member of Corvette, Mustang, Pontiac Fiero, and EV forums). I’m hoping one of you may be part of a community that has a corner devoted to the Brat.

This is a post to discuss / theory craft some of the early-game strategy implications of the government authorities in the upcoming Galactic Paragon.
If you were not aware, during a recent stream the Stellaris devs covered the Government authority bonuses. Authorities now tend to 2 distinct bonuses- one for the empire, and one that scales with the leader level specifically.
​Ultimately, authority bonuses have been changed, with each government specializing in something distinct. As a result, different authorities favor different early-game strategies. I figured it'd be interesting to go over the changes and some implications and natural synergies from civics we know so far... and finish with what will probably be a meta-shaping opportunity revealed in the recent stream.
/
Agenda:
Oligarchy
Democracy
Dictatorship
Imperial
Statecraft 3rd Civic Rush
/
​Oligarchy: It's a good starter!
Empire Effect: Effective Councilor Skill +2
Ruler Effect: +5% Councilor XP gain, +5 Edict Capacity
Oligarchy is no longer about passive faction unity, but a strong core of early leader levels, both functionally and in terms of level-up.
For Councilors with specific functions- such as Archaeology, or civic-enabled Councilor roles- having two extra levels can be a substantial boost at the very start of the game, and those levels will get higher faster. That Ruler 5% Councilor XP gain, for example, isn't likely to be 5% at the start, but 15%- because a level 1 leader will have a level 3 functional level. With leaders who have significant bonuses, being able to rapidly accelerate your leader growth to key boosts in perks will allow a a higher level of early leader impacts.
Oligarchic will be especially effective with civic builds that give more scientist leader roles, as the ability of scientists to be both on the Council- getting level buffs- and in their science ships doing science tasks will be a general boon to early Discovery-based games. +2 level capacity to surveying, to anomaly solving, and to dig sites offers greater chance to benefit from the Exploration phase of the game, with compounding effects from that earlier Rubricator-relic world, or digsite relic, or just uncovered space deposit blocked by an anomaly.
However, this early strength will fade with time. While Leaders will have a functional leader cap higher than anyone else- effective level 12 when everyone else is 10- the relative impact of these bonuses will diminish as techs and tradition modifiers cover the gaps. As you get more leaders who don't benefit from the XP (unless cycled in), or run out of meaningful uses for Council-leaders (like finishing anomalies/digsites), or get more tech/tradition empire bonuses that make your councilor impacts less relevant... well, the Council bonuses start to fade, especially in light of what other authorities have to offer at higher levels, but can't afford early on.
This is not a bad thing- this means that Oligarchy will be a very strong starting government to reform out of as part of your strategy.
An Oligarchic start is a means to an end, and that end is setting up for the government reformation with a strong footing. Stronger early game econ from better councilors, more aggressive early exploitation of anomalies and dig sites, and higher level leaders who are fit to bring those level bonuses to the other authorities.
The option for government election control is significant as well. On its own right, you can choose to spend unity to ensure your best leaders with empire-wide bonuses are kept in office at the top- and ensure that they are still at the top before a transition to another authority, especially the lifetime leaders like Dictators or Emperors.
Overall, this will be a strong, balanced starter that will easily be part of many meta strategies... maybe.
​
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Democracy: It's More Than Viable!
Empire Effects:
Faction Approval +10%
Hold Elections Every 10 years. If a new leader is elected, reset all policy/government reform cooldowns.
Leader Effect: Faction Unity Bonus +2%, +5 Edict Fund per level
​
Democracies are no longer weak, they just take a little while to get off the ground- but have real econ benefits available, especially if you start the factions early with Parliamentary Democracy, and very strong late-game power potential.
Faction Approval +10% is a straight up econ buff to all pops. The way that Faction unity works is that the base unity from factions is then modified by faction approval. At 100% faction approval, you get 100% of the potential faction unity per pop. At 50% approval, you get 50%. A universal 10% approval is thus 10% faction approval unity coming from every pop, without any CG needed.
Faction approval is also relevant for the pop happiness effects. At 60-79 faction approval, you get +5% happiness, and at 80+, you get 10%. In positive amenity economies, this is marginal but appreciated- a 10 happiness buff when above 50 planetary approval is about 6 stability, or 3.6% job output. But in a negative amenity economy, the functional output is even greater. By continuing to employ more pops instead of an entertaineamenity worker, and letting happiness buffs counter the effects of negative amenities, you can get more pops working per planet, which will give you far more output gain during these pop windows than a marginal stability buff. For worlds with a relatively static population- such as a breeder world- negative amenity economies can be real long-term benefits in functional output.
The gains are even more significant in terms of avoiding penalties from bad factions. At 20-39 approval, you have a -10% pop happiness, and at 0-19, a -40% pop happiness penalties. Unhappy pops are crime-giving pops, and less likely to convert to the state ethics. A faction approval buff to all factions- even the ones that hate you- is faster assimilation of pops, and less penalties during the conversion period.
Faction Unity is also a very potent resource in and of itself, as the faction unity of pops is functionally a way to combat the effects of unity-cost inflation that comes from empire size from pops, meaning a fastemore consistent unity progression through the tradition tree and ascension perks for earlier ascensions and earlier ascenion perk power spikes. It's also a huge advantage in terms of not having to dedicate as many pops/limited resources to unity to reach certain benchmarks. Parliamentary System as a starting civic can be worth 2-3k unity in the opening decade in a faction-unity build, as the +40% faction unity of the civic, +50% of Fanatic Egalitarian, and now +2%/level of Democracy, means pops that produce double the unity per political power of other builds, but with no CG/pop investment... except a bit more than double, since faction happiness is being boosted as well as faction unity.
What all of these mean is that Democracies are really good at scale into the late game: more pops to benefit, more faction unity to fight inflation, easiemore profitable assimilation of the conquered pops to grow, and so on. And if you pair it with Parliamentary System, Democracies have a very strong early game as well, where not just faction unity but easier pop happiness buffs can mean more productive (or more pops being employed productively) pops across your empire.
The downside of Democracies comes from opportunity costs, and leader selection viability. In Paragons, the leaders in the Ruler slot can't be used in map-level effects. This means you want an empire leader with a lot of empire-wide buffs... but with elections, you risk that the next leader will be your scientist who was tailored to be a great archeologist/explorer, but lacks the ruler-level trait investment.
This is... not great, but just means that you want to focus on overall leader levels (Statecraft tradition), and not leader tailoring (Aptitude tradition). Agendas, not specific rulers, matter more to benefit most.
What this, in turn, implies is that if you're not committed to starting as a Parliamentary-Democracy, then Democracy is a great government for an Oligarchy to reform into at the third civic point. The Oligarchic early game leader efficiency and levels up support getting a stable of strong leaders to carry your democratic tradition, and then when you start your warmongering breakout, you convert to your end-game best able to utilize conquered pops.
In summary, Democracies are a fine government to reform into, especially if you intend to go wide, as their power scales with power of pops and the faction system.
​
All that said... Democracies are well suited for what may become a meta-defining opening, the 3rd civic rush. More on that later.
​
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Dictatorship: Control, not Capability
Empire Effect: None
Ruler Effect: -2% Pop Amenities per level, +10 Edict Funds (Double the normal +5)
Dictatorships are probably the weakest start government, and one you probably won't want to take unless it's required for your starting build.
The lack of Empire effects is what hinders this government, as all the other authorities have something to help carry the early game one way or another. The authority works on the power of a high-level ruler.
For that, however, the edict fund is pretty bad, because edict fund is an early-game focus, but the ruler effect only benefits that at scale over time. An Oligarch with +2 effective level at level 3 is getting +25 edict fund, compared to Dictator's +30, which is a really bad trade for the loss of early leader quality.
However, the Amenity boost is quite good- later on.
On its own, Amenity reductions aren't worth much, but in practice they get very significant when you start adding up the various sources of modifiers. If you do things like stack Slavery/Residency (-25% amenities needed), One Vision (-10%), the Vultaum relic (-10%), and a level 5 dictator (-10%), you are at -55% amenities required, or the point where gene clinics can cover the same number of pops as entertainers in a 'normal' build... except the habitability implications means it's even covering more.
Amenity-reduction strategies also tend to favor slave/resident builds, which tend towards authoritarian/xenophobes. While slaves/residents tend to fall behind full citizens due to the lack of faction unity to offset sprawl impacts, if you're not caring about that, you can absolutely maximize your working population- and thus alloys/tech output- by prioritizing amenity reduction.
(This will be very more apparent with the Oppressive Autocracy civic, which makes only rulers and enforcers require amenities and reduces CG costs for other pops, but takes away entertainers. Amenity reductions on the enforcers/rulers will be key to keeping Ruler-amenities enough to cover the planet needs.)
What this weak early/stronger later synergy means is that Dictatorships won't be something you want to start as bar specific build reasons, but could be quite justifiable to reform into once you have a leader who is high enough level to make the amenity impacts felt, and who has the right sort of trait spread to be worth keeping for the rest of their life/the game.
In this respect, Dictatorship is a fine-enough transition from an Oligarchy, who can cultivate / select the future dictator before election, and then reform to keep them in place. However, they will always be in competition with Imperials, who- unless you're limited by civics- will tend to be much, much better options in the early and the late game.
​
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Imperial: It's been buffed!
Empire Effect:
+10% resources from job in capital system
Receive an additional, upkeep-free leader (the Heir) who can be tailored and put to work as you please
Ruler Effect:
+.25 Power Projection influence per level
(Note: This is max 2.5, compared to current 1. Significant!)
​
Empires have received a major buff, easily on par with the Democracies, but like Democracies it has a subtle early-game weakness.
Empires have a +10% Resources from Jobs in the capital system modifier. This is a huge early-game economic advantage when the homeworld is dominant in the empier economy, and will make Empires THE corvette-rush strategy for early-game military rushes for just producing raw immediate military strength. This does support moving the capital to a multi-planet system later on, such as the Solar Punk empire system or a Ringworld, or just habitat-spam in the capital system so that all your habitats can soak in the 10% boost to things like science production.
However, this comes with a drawback that's not necessarily obvious- the value of rushing your early colonies to size 10 by depopulating your capital. Ruler pops are very strong early-game unity producers, despite their CG cost, and getting your guaranteed worlds to size 10 upgrade ASAP is both a major unity boost and shares the immigration pressure around, helping your empire grow more healthily in the early game. Egalitarians in particular can leverage unemployment living standards to offset the costs of auto-migration to fill up the early colonies as dedicated focused worlds, which are good for growing your empire in a balanced manner.
All of these come at the expense of keeping pops in the capital system to benefit from the bonus, meaning you're basically trading a unity economy boost for a pop-extraction economy... and the unity economy is very significant if you want to rush a 3rd civic.
The next empire benefit, the ruler heir, is a significant advantage. Rather than a worthless replacement waiting in the wings who provides no value until succession, heirs can be employed in the Council, which means in turn they can be customized and tailored to excel in the council. This makes Imperials the 'best' government for consistent control of the governing traits, with two tailored empire-bonus specialist rulers to work with at any time.
Finally, the Emperor's level increases the potential power projection influence by .25 influence is a huge amount of potential influence in the game... if you can afford the fleet cap to support fleet construction, which you very likely can with various synergy civics like Feudal Society, which gives 2-20 naval cap per vassal (based on Conselor level). Having an extra 2.5 influence potential means far more expansion influence, far more habitat/megastructure construction, and far more galactic community shenanigans.
Overall, these are a nice stable of buffs for Imperial, with greater early-game economy when the homeworld economy is most important, far more influence potential, and strong customizable leaders in the Ruler and Heir. Some of the civics that synergize with Imperal- such as Feudal Society and Aristocratic Elite- are powerful in their own right.
Imperial will probably be the absolute GOAT for Knights of the Toxic God in particular. Knight outputs in the capital system, habitat spam synergies, and the power projection and ruler tailoring will offer some powerful buildup before the Knights break out into their power game.
​
But these may all pale before a 3rd civic rush implication. Again, later.
​
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​
MegaCorp
Empire Effect:
Commercial Pact Efficiency +20%
Empires Size From Planets +50% (This is bad)
Ruler Effect: Branch Office Value +2%, Edict Fund +5
There's never been a better time to reform into a Megacorp.
We don't know the Megacorp Civic effects, so we don't know their early game synergy changes (and there are some good ones already), but as a government authority alone, MegaCorps are much stronger later than earlier.
On the empire side, this is because the the main benefit- commercial pact efficiency- requires you to have found, befriended, and be spending influence on pacts/a trade federation to get any value. This is no benefit at the start, and marginal benefit early on before pops and vassals grow.
Ruler Effect is similar. Branch Offices value +2% means nothing until you have branch offices, and branch office value in the early game is driven more by the holdings for basic resources- especially minerals/food- than the energy value. 2% of a 5-energy branch office that's producing 10 minerals is a rounding error.
Later, however, MegaCorps become behemoths... especially due to the non-megacorp Clerk Synergy they have with Merchant Guilds civic, which adds +.4 trade value to clerks per leader level (functionally +.5 TV if thrifty). This means that (non-Megacorp) clerks can go from base 4 TV all the way to base 9 (Mercantile / level 10 councilor / no thrifty), 11.25 (If Thrifty), or 13.5 (Thrifty + cyborg doubledown). Start factoring in 60% TV bonuses, 40% of which can come from Urban World and Mercantile alone, trade boosts which are more common with governor bonuses, and clerks can be reaching upwards 18/20 TV a pop, which is great for anyone in a trade federation or branch office with them.
This matters, because when MegaCorps press ideology wars- or release a subject- they can make empires have Merchant Guilds. But to do this, you need to be big and strong enough to bully others / release parts of yourself, and that takes early strength to do.
MegaCorps, as an authority, are thus late bloomers, and if you're not committed to something that requires the civics from the start- like Permanent Employment bio-assembly- you can justify a 3rd civic reform into megacorp as much as anything else.
​
And you can do that very, very early now.
​
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Statecraft and the 3rd Civic Rush
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In the previous dev stream, did you notice that the completion bonus of Statecraft had something not included in the Dev diary? Something that a Dev confirmed here? Completing Statecraft tradition doesn't just give you +1 Leader Capacity and effective Councilor skill, it gives you the Galactic Administraiton technology. If you don't recognize the significance of that, let me say it again:
Statecraft's completion bonus gives you the ability to reform into a 3-civic government.
This is a massive implication for the early-game meta, as one of the key balances in the meta of civics and ethics is balancing early econ and early military capacity. A reason so many civics, and the militarist ethic in general, are low on the tier list is that they are military-benefit civics that don't matter in the early game if you can't afford to go to war, which you need the economy to afford the fleets for. Econ civics afford fleets that matter more than the better fleets militarized-empires can afford to build.
There's always been a narrow balance for rushing- if you can do it early, it pays more than an econ-focus- but difficulty makes it hard to do. Early civic reform makes this much, much easier (in theory).
What the Statecraft tradition finisher bonus does by giving you the tech is enable a very early game reform from a 2-econ-startup-build into a 3-civic breakout build. Those 3 civics can be potent econ-based combos (Anglers + Catalytic Processing + Agrarian Idyll), or a major military focus (Distinguished Admiralty + Scavengers + Nationalist Zeal), or anything where the value of a 3rd civic is worth the tradition rushing.
This doesn't need to be a rush-rush either, but can be timed and controlled to leverage Statecraft's Councilor XP buffs and Agenda benefits. With Statecraft, Agendas give +300 XP to all rulers. In the current XP system 675 Agendas is required to reach level 3. Assuming the XP levels are the same, within 2 agendas and a bit of time patrolling, a military buildup can be staged to capitalize on level 3 admirals... and staged such that Supremacy's +10% ship construction cost, and the military buildup agenda's +20%, mean a 30% ship cost reduction right before you go on your alloy spending spree.
This will make early-game unity builds that can power through their first 2-3 traditions very fast very, very strong, as they can rush through an econ tradition, Statecraft, and Supremacy in the time other empires might take to get through 2, while having the flexibility to not hard-commit to war too early.
For spiritualist-war builds in particular, this would be well before things like robots can start paying off either- a huge war potential boon right when materialist robot-rushers are still trying to recoup the cost of investing in robot factories.
A third-civic rush meta is likely to be a Democracy meta, thanks to Parliamentary System.
​
As discussed, Parliamentary System giving immediate access to factions is immediate access to worker-output increases from stability or number of pops employed at negative amenities. Parliamentary System is also giving immediate access to potentially thousands of extra unity in the opening decade to rush Statecraft to start leader XP cycling from Agendas, and also get an early econ tradition under your belt before hitting Supremacy.
Unity-centric builds can easily get through their first three traditions in the time that unity-dismissive builds do 2, meaning an econ base and agenda-leader advantage and breaking into supremacy as some builds may choose supremacy as a second-civic. In this time, the breakout build can be focusing its earlist tech cycles not on econ techs- which they are addressing with the econ tradition- but on military techs for higher quality to match their higher scale of planned military allocation.
In a real pinch, you can even just barely tap the econ tradition, and leverage a few toe-dips before supremacy. Half of Prosperity, for example, may be better than full prosperity for a Fanatic Purifier. It depends on your benchmark. But not all delays are bad delays, and if you're going to need to colonize planets for your run, having those colonies pay themselves back faster can be a very, very good investment.
Parliamentary system isn't the only civic that can boost unity in the early game, but it is the best one to do so without taking pops away from other war-buildup functions liking mining the minerals to turn into alloys. Anything that requires building a Bureaucrat or Priest building is an urban district+building not being used as an industrial distirct and minerals not being alloys. This includes things like Meritocracy.
Parliamentary System thus serves as the compliment to other civics would empower early builds in a pop-free manner that focus on the econ civic side of setting up for an early, but not rush, war.
-Parliamentary + Environmentalist can get huge amounts of unity by settling planets to serve as mining/pop worlds, but not committing pops to unity jobs. Very strong for Xenophobes who expand fast, but need some time for the system claims to pay themselves back and fund specialists.
-Parliamentary + Functional Architecture can save pop-decades of miner-months when setting up the mines and industrial districts to get early specialists started early. Very good for Egalitarians, who struggle with the mineral accumulation, but also trade builds, who use the the mineral savings to set up theirmining and trade worlds faster and then leverage Militarized Economy once they have the trade-CG stabilized.
-Parliamentary + Relentless Industrialist can start with the alloy/CG benefits of relentless industrialist, and just plan to reform before the negative situation effects ever occur.
​
All of these econ setups can then- at the appropriate timing of completing the military buildup agenda and starting Supremacy for -30% ship construction- then reform from econ to military-centric builds just in time for the war. Any build in the game can adopt some variation of-
-Necromancer (Fleet Capacity, Science, Unity, Defense Armies)
-Scaventer (Ship salvage profits)
-A stability civic for assimilating conquests
...to increase their odds of success by sheer numbers, decrease the cost / increase the profits of victory, and to make use of the faster assimilation of the conquered.
Militarists in particular will benefit from being able to swap-in their high-value-for-war, but economically-dead traits like Nationalist Zeal (more systems claimed) or Distinguished Admiralty (need to afford the fleets) or Warrior Culture (Naval Capacity scaling). All of these presupose an economy to support the civics, which statecraft allows.
​
Parliamentary Democracy can also be used to support committed war builds, who want to go to war early, but really would benefit from establishing a strong econ base and getting into a tradition or two to afford the fleets.
-A Democratic PurifieEgalitarian-Despoiler, who uses the unity and reform to sneak in early Prosperity before Supremacy.
-A Fanatic Militarist zero-influence claim build, who none the less wants econ-building startups before starting the wars for pops.
-A Teachers of the Shroud build, who wants to finish Psionic Ascension (their starting econ-tradition) and start diving into the shroud before starting wars.
-A Trade build, who needs Mercantile tradition to really start the CG-trade policy to free up militarized economy policy for +25% alloy production.
-A Necrophage build, who wants to dip into Harmony for unity-per-necrophage.
​
​
Parliamentary Democracy is also a fine opening for a purely economic shift 3rd civic reform to the strongest 3rd civic bloomer: MegaCorps.
MegaCorps, as a build, tend to rely on a tradition-heavy early game to set up their mid-game takeoff. They want/need Mercantile and Diplomacy to get a good trade federation trade build going, and then start other branches from there, even as they fight against the sprawl penalty of planets for going wide- or habitat tall. They also have their own share of 3-civic combos, such as a Franching build for vassals, a death-cult/permanent employment/gospel of the masses spiritualist zombie-assembly build, and so on. They want to set up their trade build worlds- which is mineral expensive- but lack the miner and unity-rush civics to afford it more easily.
They also need time- time to accumulate the relations to open trade pacts, and the energy potential to afford branch offices, and the military buildup to dominate, and the time for branch office investments to pay off more than the same resources spent investing- that they have limited ability to rush early power unless they sacrifice many of their strengths.
A Democracy build that can take Imperial Perogative for -50% planetary sprawl, and then reform into MegaCorp after the early teething pains of getting planets set up, can really leverage early tradition rushing to enable future habitat spam, get the early tradition-base up and running, and then transition into a 'mature' MegaCorp that hits it's natural limit of expansion and begins to leverage branch offices.
Other Megacorps spawning in and taking the best branch offices this early isn't a problem either- it's an opportunity. When playing a Megacorp, other megacorps aren't competition, they are loot pinatas, and specing to beat one up in a branch office war before the branch offices pay themselves off is a huge benefit in influence and energy you didn't have to stockpile and save before taking the fight to them.
​
Things like this exist, and can go further. If you're neither an Egalitarian or an Authoritarian, you can even go straight from Democratic to Imperial, which offers its own civic swap opportunities. Start as a Democracy, use immediate faction unity to support the early econ, and then reform striaght into Imperial so that you can leverage the power projection once you have a few leader levels and the influence to handle it. The faction unity will be less than an Egalitarian, but still far more than almost any other civic available.
​
​
Whatever your 3rd civic reform build plan- for early econ stacking, for a military breakout, or for an entire change in government gameplan- Statecraft is a key enabler, and Parliamentary Democracy a strong opening catalyst.
​
The 3rd Civic Breakout will still be beaten by pure rushdowns builds, such as by a dedicated Imperial Government, but the ability to reliably get a third civic potentially decades before other builds easily matches or surpasses the Oligarchic or Dictator setups discussed.
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(Now waiting for call-outs of embarassing oversights in 3, 2, 1...)

Hey hey!I've got a 1985 Chevrolet Corvette with a 700R4 Automatic Transmission and 165k miles on the odometer.The car is new to me, I bought it a couple months ago non-running and finally got it running two days ago.The L98 engine runs like a dream despite the car sitting for 3 years, and so I really don't think the engine is my problem.
See, the car will start to 'gallop' when put at Wide-Open Throttle (WOT) or any relatively heavy throttle load, the engine RPM will shoot up to 4k (5k is redline on this engine) and it'll try to grab the next gear and fail, try to grab the next gear and fail again, over and over until I let off the throttle.Mind you, if I feather the throttle it shifts normally, but because of the way the 700R4 is, it won't go into the 4th gear (overdrive) unless the throttle is planted, so I'm essentially locked out of 4th gear.For normal road use, It's completely drivable as long as I don't need to accelerate quickly or go above 70mph (70mph is where the transmission should go into 4th, these cars should be able to reach ~130mph)
It's really boggling my brain as everywhere I look there seems to be different answers and no solid conclusion, I don't want to drop hundreds in the trans to find out that it was some simple fix, and I thought I'd come here to see what y'all think.
Some have said on various Corvette forums that it might be the TV cable, but showing as it's only WOT that it fails makes me skeptical about that being the cause.Some have said it could be the Tach Filter (which, sounds like some sort of 'Blinker Fluid' situation but I assure you, it's a real thing) but that doesn't seem likely either as I'm not even sure the trans has electronic control for knowing the engine RPM, I guess I could be wrong but even still this wouldn't cause this weird galloping.
I guess I should explain what I mean by 'galloping' better:
In the car, when you plant the throttle, it feels like you're hitting the throttle hard, then hitting the brakes and then hitting the throttle hard, hitting the brakes, etc over and over.
It accelerates and then immediately slows down and accelerates again, it's very jarring.
During this, the RPM goes from ~3k to ~4k although that can't be an accurate estimate as the dash is digital and since this was the 80's, a bit on the slow side. You can watch the dash refresh and update if you look hard enough lol
Just to reassure, it stops galloping and shifts normally when you let off the throttle (1/2 throttle or less)
I should also mention, this happens in every gear (other than maybe 4th as I have no way of getting it in 4th with the galloping situation, so I don't know about that one)
I really can't tell what's going on and it really just feels like the car doesn't quite know what to do with itself when throttled hard.Maybe some of y'all will be able to point me in the right direction of solving this mystery.
Worst comes to worst, I take out the 700R4 and throw in a ZF6 from the later cars and not only get the extra speed, but a manual as well.I plan on doing that sometime with it anyways as I really don't like Automatics (for this exact reason, mind you.) and those extra two gears are not only great for fuel economy, but great for top speed improvement.
From what I've heard, It's not a difficult swap but there's so many odds and ends to swapping a manual into an automatic car.
I'm looking forward to what you think. Thanks for reading my wall of text!I appreciate it more than you could know.

Greetings, Reddit Ensemble!
The Ford Shelby GT500 which is a lock in for the 7th Anniversary event will be pullable thru silver crates, the last couple of OTA's changed that!
Keep in mind that the update is still in Beta, so it's not available to everyone!
KEEP IN MIND THAT NATURALMOTION, ZYNGA AND/OR TAKE-TWO CAN CHANGE THIS AT ANY GIVEN TIME!!
Legend:

• Evo - Evolution Cup Prize
  
• PC - Prestige Cup
  
• S/M - Crew Championship Season/Milestone
  
• Top 3/10 - Crew Championship Season Prize Cars
  

Season 180 (May 11, 2023 - May 25, 2023):
It's NOT new, I've added it so everything can be in one place!

• S/M Car - Chevrolet COPO Camaro (5 Purple and Gold Star Cars, Tier 5) (rerun)
  
• PC Car - Noble M600 Speedster (5 Purple and Gold Star Cars, Tier 5)
  

Season 181 (May 25, 2023 - June 8, 2023):

• S/M Car - Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible (5 Purple and Gold Star Cars, Tier 5) (new)
  
• PC Car - Audi NEWING Alpil R8 RSR (5 Purple and Gold Star Cars, Tier 5)
  

Season 182 (June 8, 2023 - June 22, 2023):

• S/M Car - Hyundai Elantra N (3 Purple and Gold Star Cars, Tier 3) (new)
  
• PC Car - BMW ACS4 (4 Gold Star Car, Tier 3)
  

Season 183 (June 22, 2023 - July 6, 2023):

• S/M Car - Ferrari 812 Competizione (5 Purple and Gold Star Cars, Tier 5) (new)
  
• PC Car - Hennessey Venom GT Spyder (5 Purple and Gold Star Cars, Tier 5) (The Evo GT Spyder shouldn't be eligible)
  
• CSR2 7th Anniversary Event - Ford Mustang GT (2024) (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 3) (Free Car) and Ford Mustang Dark Horse (2024) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 4) (Prize Car)
  

Season 184 (July 6, 2023 - July 20, 2023):

• S/M Car - Nissan KRC Japan GT-R (R35) (5 Purple and Gold Star Cars, Tier 5) (new)
  
• PC Car - Nissan Rocket Bunny Boss Aero 240SX (S14) (5 Purple and Gold Star Cars, Tier 5)
  

Events:
European Invitational Series: Motorsport Madness second Qualifier:
Slot 1:

• Aston Martin Vantage (4 Gold Star Car, Tier 4)
  
• Audi RS 5 Coupé (2 Gold Star Car, Tier 3)
  
• BMW M235i Coupé (2 Gold Star Car, Tier 2)
  
• Chevrolet 2020 Corvette Stingray Convertible (Prize) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 4)
  
• Ferrari 488 Pista Spider (4 Gold Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Honda NSX (4 Gold Star Car, Tier 4)
  
• Lamborghini Huracán Coupé (3 Gold Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG Coupé Edition 507 (2 Gold Star Car, Tier 3)
  
• Porsche 911 R (4 Gold Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Porsche 911 R (Top 3) (4 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  

Slot 2:

• Donkervoort D8 GTO (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5) (Should be available for 3950 gold via the Dealership)
  
• Donkervoort D8 GTO Bare Naked Carbon Edition (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5) (Should be purchasable with real cash)
  

Slot 3:

• Ginetta Akula (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5) (Should be in gold crates, 70 gold keys in total for loyalty)
  
• Ginetta Akula (BoB) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5) (Should be purchasable with real cash)
  

Slot 4:

• Pagani Zonda R Barchetta (EI: The Gem Of San Cesario Flash) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5) (Might be purchasable with real cash)
  
• Porsche 911 GT3 RS Carrera RS 2.7 Tribute (992) (EI: Road To The Ring Duality Evo Prize) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5) (Might be purchasable with real cash)
  

Slot 5

• KTM X-BOW GTX (SDPL) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5) (It should be a SD Prize Car and also available for real cash)

Prize Car: McLaren Solus GT (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5) (new)
European Invitational: Heritage Trinity Cup
Slot 1, 2 and 3:

• Lamborghini Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5) (Should be in gold crates, 70 gold keys in total for loyalty)
  
• Lamborghini Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Lamborghini Huracán Performante (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5) (Should be in gold crates, 70 gold keys in total for loyalty)
  
• Lamborghini Huracán Performante (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Lamborghini Murciélago LP670-4 SuperVeloce (4 Gold Star Car, Tier 5) (Should be in gold crates, 70 gold keys in total for loyalty)
  
• Lamborghini Murciélago LP670-4 SuperVeloce (Top 10) (4 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  

No Prize Car
European Invitational Series: The Grand Finale
Slot 1:

• Aston Martin Vantage (4 Gold Star Car, Tier 4)
  
• Audi RS 5 Coupé (2 Gold Star Car, Tier 3)
  
• BMW M2 (G87) Coupé "M Performance" (4 Purple Star Car, Tier 3)
  
• BMW M235i Coupé (2 Gold Star Car, Tier 2)
  
• Chevrolet 2020 Corvette Stingray Convertible (Prize) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 4)
  
• Ferrari 488 Pista Spider (4 Gold Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Honda NSX (4 Gold Star Car, Tier 4)
  
• Lamborghini Huracán Coupé (3 Gold Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG Coupé Edition 507 (2 Gold Star Car, Tier 3)
  
• Porsche 911 R (4 Gold Star Car, Tier 5)
  

Slot 2:

• Lamborghini Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Lamborghini Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Lamborghini Huracán Performante (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Lamborghini Huracán Performante (Top 3) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Lamborghini Murciélago LP670-4 SuperVeloce (Top 10) (4 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
  • One or more of the gold starred cars should be in gold crates, 70 gold keys in total for loyalty. While one or more of the purple starred cars should be on sale for real cash. Also for some reason the gold starred Lamborghini Murciélago LP670-4 SuperVeloce is not eligible.

Slot 3:

• Pininfarina Battista (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5) (EI: Qualifier 1) (Might be purchasable with real cash)

Slot 4:

• McLaren Solus GT (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5) (EI: Qualifier 2) (Might be purchasable with real cash)

Slot 5:

• Noble M500 (It should be a SD Prize Car and also available for real cash)

Prize Car: Volkswagen ID.R (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
Supersport Syndicate 2:
Slot 1:

• McLaren 675LT Spider (4 Gold Star Car, Tier 5) (Should be available for 3950 gold via the Dealership)
  
• McLaren 675LT Spider (Top 3) (4 Purple Star Car, Tier 5) (Should be purchasable with real cash)
  

Slot 2:

• McLaren 600LT Spider (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5) (Should be in silver crates, 350 silver keys in total for loyalty)
  
• McLaren 600LT Spider (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5) (Should be purchasable with real cash)
  

Slot 3 and 4:

• McLaren 765LT Spider (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5) (Should be in gold crates, 70 gold keys in total for loyalty)
  
• McLaren 765LT Spider (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5) (Should be purchasable with real cash)
  
• McLaren P1 GTR (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5) (Should be in gold crates, 70 gold keys in total for loyalty)
  
• McLaren P1 GTR "James Hunt" Edition (Top 3) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5) (Should be purchasable with real cash)
  
• McLaren P1 GTR "Pebble Beach" (Evo) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5) (It shouldn't be on sale)
  

Prize Cars: McLaren Speedtail (Red V1) (3 Purple Star Car, Tier 5) (new) and McLaren Speedtail (Red V2) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5) (new)
A new system will be introduced, which will let us choose the difficulty of the event and therefore the rewards will be reduced or increased. That's probably why we get 2 different Speedtail's as well. There should be 3 or 4 difficulties. Of course we still need more time to determine what's the system, how it works, etc.
CSR2 7th Anniversary event:
Slots 1, 2, 3 and 4:

• Ford Mustang GT 2024 (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 3) (new) (Should be free via the Dealership)
  
• Ford Shelby GT350R (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 4) (Should be available for purchasing using gold via the Dealership)
  
• Ford ROUSH Stage 3 Mustang (4 Gold Star Car, Tier 5) (Should be available for purchasing using gold via the Dealership)
  
• Ford Shelby GT500 (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5) (Will be pullable from *silver** crates via Rare Imports*)
  
• Ford Shelby GT500 (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5) (Might be on sale for real cash)
  

Prize Car: Ford Mustang Dark Horse 2024 (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 4) (new)
Progressive event:

• Shelby Super Snake (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5) (Might be on sale for gold via the Dealership)

No Prize Car
A single slot event, probably related to the Progressive ads that we used to get back in the days.
Offers:
SEASON 180:
Modified 911 Pack:

• Porsche 911 GT-RSR Duke Dynamics (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Porsche 911 RWB (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Porsche RWB 993 "Rotana" (Porsche 70th Anniversary) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  

Next Gen NASCAR Collection Pack:

• Chevrolet NASCAR Next Gen Camaro ZL1 (ART 2.0) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Ford NASCAR Next Gen Mustang (ART 2.0) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Toyota NASCAR Next Gen Camry (ART 2.0) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  

SEASON 181:
RS Collection Pack:

• Audi RS 5 Coupé (Top 10) (4 Purple Star Car, Tier 3)
  
• Audi RS 7 Sportback (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 4)
  
• Audi RS e-tron GT (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  

Porsche Collection Pack:

• Porsche 911 Targa 4S Heritage Design Edition (992) (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 4)
  
• Porsche 935 MARTINI RACING (Hypercar Forum) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Porsche 911 GT3 Touring (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  

SEASON 182:
Lamborghini Collection:

• Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Lamborghini Sian FKP37 (Flash) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Lamborghini Veneno (Formula Italia) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  

PandeM Pack:

• Mazda Rocket Bunny RX-7 (Top 3) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 4)
  
• Nissan PandeM Skyline GT-R (BCNR33) (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Toyota PandeM V1.5 GR Supra (SDPL) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  

SEASON 183:
GT3 Collection:

• Audi R8 LMS (ASS: FEWL) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO (ASS: SOTW) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• BMW M4 GT3 (SCS) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  

Bugatti Pack:

• Bugatti Centodieci (blue) (110 ans Bugatti: SD LB) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Bugatti La Voiture Noire) (110 ans Bugatti: Flash) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Bugatti W16 Mistral (SCS: Bugatti) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  

SEASON 184:
Performance SUV Pack:

• Bentley Bentayga (Top 10) (4 Purple Star Car, Tier 4)
  
• Mercedes-AMG G 63 (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 4)
  
• Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 4)
  

LB Lamborghini Pack:

• Lamborghini LB Aventador Coupé (Top 3) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Lamborghini LB Murciélago LP670-4 SuperVeloce (Top 10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Lamborghini LB Huracán Coupé (Top 3/10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  

New Cars In This Update:

• Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Ferrari 812 Competizione (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Ferrari 812 Competizione (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Ford Mustang Dark Horse 2024 (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 4)
  
• Ford Mustang GT 2024 (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 3)
  
• Hyundai Elantra N (3 Gold Star Car, Tier 3)
  
• Hyundai Elantra N (3 Purple Star Car, Tier 3)
  
• McLaren Elva GOSH Edition (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• McLaren Solus GT (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• McLaren Speedtail (3 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• McLaren Speedtail (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Nissan KRC Japan GT-R (R35) (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Nissan KRC Japan GT-R (R35) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Noble M500 (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  

Stage 6 Sharing:

• The Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible's SHARES stage 6s with the Bentley Continental GT3 Pikes Peak Race Car, Bentley Continental GT Convertible's and Bentley Continental GT Speed's (2022).
  
• The Ferrari 812 Competizione's SHARES stage 6s with the rest Ferrari 812's.
  
• The Ford Mustang GT 2024 SHARES stage 6s with the Ford Mustang Dark Horse 2024.
  
• The Hyundai Elantra N's do NOT share stage 6s with any other Hyundai.
  
• The McLaren Elva GOSH Edition SHARES stage 6s with the rest McLaren Elva's.
  
• The McLaren Solus GT does NOT share stage 6s with any other McLaren.
  
• The McLaren Speedtail's SHARES stage 6s with the rest McLaren Speedtail's.
  
• The Nissan KRC Japan GT-R (R35)'s do NOT share stage 6s with any other Nissan.
  
• The Noble M500 does NOT share stage 6s with any other Noble.
  

Dyno Times:
The cars are sorted by their Maxed Dyno Times.
1/2 Mile Dynos:

Car	Rarity	Tier	Full Fused S5s Dyno Time	-	Maxed Dyno Time
McLaren Solus GT	P5	5	8.265	-	6.706
McLaren Speedtail	P5	5	8.807	-	7.048
McLaren Elva GOSH Edition	P5	5	8.610	-	7.094
Ferrari 812 Competizione	P5	5	9.113	-	7.109
Ferrari 812 Competizione	5	5	9.197	-	7.160
Nissan KRC Japan GT-R (R35)	P5	5	8.398	-	7.207
Nissan KRC Japan GT-R (R35)	5	5	8.336	-	7.255
Noble M500	P5	5	10.102	-	7.630
Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible	P5	5	9.201	-	8.013
Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible	5	5	9.278	-	8.054
McLaren Speedtail	P3	5	9.814	-	8.330
Ford Mustang Dark Horse 2024	P5	4	10.239	-	9.562

1/4 Mile Dynos:

Car	Rarity	Tier	Full Fused S5s Dyno Time	-	Maxed Dyno Time
Ford Mustang GT 2024	5	3	8.346	-	7.617
Hyundai Elantra N	P3	3	9.006	-	7.909
Hyundai Elantra N	3	3	9.081	-	7.960

Stage 6 Effects:
Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5):

• Full S5s - dynos at 9.278 with the following tune:
  
  • NOS - 138/2.4
  • FD - 2.00
  • Tires - 0/100

Part	Dyno (sec)	Improvement (sec)
Transmission	8.921	-0.357
Nitrous	9.038	-0.240
Body	9.078	-0.200
Engine	9.102	-0.176
Tires	9.161	-0.117
Intake	9.181	-0.097
Turbo	9.226	-0.052

Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5):

• Full S5s - dynos at 9.201 with the following tune:
  
  • NOS - 139/2.3
  • FD - 2.00
  • Tires - 0/100

Part	Dyno (sec)	Improvement (sec)
Transmission	8.868	-0.333
Nitrous	8.966	-0.235
Body	9.002	-0.199
Engine	9.026	-0.175
Tires	9.082	-0.119
Intake	9.106	-0.095
Turbo	9.151	-0.050

Ferrari 812 Competizione (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5):

• Full S5s - dynos at 9.197 with the following tune:
  
  • NOS - 150/2.0
  • FD - 2.00
  • Tires - 52/48

Part	Dyno (sec)	Improvement (sec)
Body	8.745	-0.452
Nitrous	8.841	-0.356
Engine	8.881	-0.316
Tires	8.896	-0.301
Transmission	8.955	-0.242
Turbo	9.048	-0.149
Intake	9.098	-0.099

Ferrari 812 Competizione (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5):

• Full S5s - dynos at 9.113 with the following tune:
  
  • NOS - 150/2.0
  • FD - 2.00
  • Tires - 52/48

Part	Dyno (sec)	Improvement (sec)
Body	8.657	-0.456
Nitrous	8.758	-0.355
Engine	8.788	-0.325
Tires	8.806	-0.307
Transmission	8.922	-0.191
Turbo	8.965	-0.148
Intake	9.015	-0.098

Ford Mustang Dark Horse 2024 (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 4):

• Full S5s - dynos at 10.239 with the following tune:
  
  • NOS - 150/2.0
  • FD - 2.01
  • Tires - 0/100

Part	Dyno (sec)	Improvement (sec)
Nitrous	10.013	-0.226
Tires	10.029	-0.210
Intake	10.135	-0.104
Engine	10.168	-0.071
Transmission	10.182	-0.057
Turbo	10.225	-0.014
Body	10.296	0.057

Ford Mustang GT 2024 (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 3):

• Full S5s - dynos at 8.346 with the following tune:
  
  • NOS - 150/2.0
  • FD - 4.96
  • Tires - 53/47

Part	Dyno (sec)	Improvement (sec)
Transmission	8.049	-0.297
Body	8.198	-0.148
Tires	8.228	-0.118
Engine	8.287	-0.059
Turbo	8.309	-0.037
Nitrous	8.322	-0.024
Intake	8.328	-0.018

Hyundai Elantra N (3 Gold Star Car, Tier 3):

• Full S5s - dynos at 9.081 with the following tune:
  
  • NOS - 150/2.0
  • FD - 2.00
  • Tires - 52/48

Part	Dyno (sec)	Improvement (sec)
Nitrous	8.785	-0.296
Body	8.878	-0.203
Turbo	8.980	-0.101
Intake	8.986	-0.095
Tires	8.996	-0.085
Transmission	9.000	-0.081
Engine	9.002	-0.079

Hyundai Elantra N (3 Purple Star Car, Tier 3):

• Full S5s - dynos at 9.006 with the following tune:
  
  • NOS - 150/2.0
  • FD - 2.00
  • Tires - 52/48

Part	Dyno (sec)	Improvement (sec)
Nitrous	8.708	-0.298
Body	8.802	-0.204
Turbo	8.904	-0.102
Intake	8.910	-0.096
Tires	8.921	-0.085
Engine	8.927	-0.079
Transmission	8.954	-0.052

McLaren Elva GOSH Edition (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5):

• Full S5s - dynos at 8.610 with the following tune:
  
  • NOS - 264/2.5
  • FD - 3.36
  • Tires - 0/100

Part	Dyno (sec)	Improvement (sec)
Transmission	8.204	-0.406
Tires	8.322	-0.288
Nitrous	8.357	-0.253
Engine	8.422	-0.188
Body	8.422	-0.188
Turbo	8.523	-0.087
Intake	8.559	-0.051

McLaren Solus GT (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5):

• Full S5s - dynos at 8.250 with the following tune:
  
  • NOS - 150/2.0
  • FD - 2.39
  • Tires - 0/100

Part	Dyno (sec)	Improvement (sec)
Transmission	7.856	-0.394
Body	7.903	-0.347
Tires	8.057	-0.193
Engine	8.081	-0.169
Nitrous	8.097	-0.153
Turbo	8.138	-0.112
Intake	8.209	-0.041

McLaren Speedtail (3 Purple Star Car, Tier 5):

• Full S5s - dynos at 9.814 with the following tune:
  
  • NOS - 150/2.0
  • FD - 3.06
  • Tires - 0/100

Part	Dyno (sec)	Improvement (sec)
Transmission	9.374	-0.440
Body	9.502	-0.312
Tires	9.599	-0.215
Nitrous	9.634	-0.180
Engine	9.683	-0.131
Turbo	9.725	-0.089
Intake	9.749	-0.065

McLaren Speedtail (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5):

• Full S5s - dynos at 8.807 with the following tune:
  
  • NOS - 142/2.3
  • FD - 2.70
  • Tires - 0/100

Part	Dyno (sec)	Improvement (sec)
Transmission	8.286	-0.521
Body	8.457	-0.350
Tires	8.576	-0.231
Nitrous	8.611	-0.196
Engine	8.634	-0.173
Turbo	8.728	-0.079
Intake	8.741	-0.066

Nissan KRC Japan GT-R (R35) (5 Gold Star Car, Tier 5):

• Full S5s - dynos at 8.336 with the following tune:
  
  • NOS - 122/2.8
  • FD - 2.00
  • Tires - 0/100

Part	Dyno (sec)	Improvement (sec)
Body	8.001	-0.335
Tires	8.141	-0.195
Nitrous	8.146	-0.190
Engine	8.153	-0.183
Transmission	8.208	-0.128
Intake	8.262	-0.074
Turbo	8.267	-0.069

Nissan KRC Japan GT-R (R35) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5):

• Full S5s - dynos at 8.398 with the following tune:
  
  • NOS - 119/2.8
  • FD - 2.00
  • Tires - 0/100

Part	Dyno (sec)	Improvement (sec)
Body	8.069	-0.329
Transmission	8.156	-0.242
Tires	8.193	-0.205
Engine	8.220	-0.178
Nitrous	8.224	-0.174
Intake	8.331	-0.067
Turbo	8.336	-0.062

Noble M500 (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5):

• Full S5s - dynos at 10.102 with the following tune:
  
  • NOS - 150/2.0
  • FD - 2.73
  • Tires - 0/100

Part	Dyno (sec)	Improvement (sec)
Body	9.610	-0.492
Transmission	9.762	-0.340
Nitrous	9.773	-0.329
Tires	9.784	-0.318
Engine	9.816	-0.286
Turbo	9.956	-0.146
Intake	9.974	-0.128

Race Pass Seasons:
Season 10 (June 8, 2023 - July 6, 2023):
Paid Pass:

• Chevrolet Corvette C8.R (yellow) (ART1: SD LB) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Dodge Challenger SRT Demon HPE1200 (Evo) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• SSC Tuatara (white) (Flash) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
  • This Race Pass will give us an RP Boost and supposedly extra rewards. Also the bonus tasks should give more than double points. We still don't know if these stuff will be only for P2P users or for both, F2P and P2P users.

Season 11 (July 6, 2023 - August 3, 2023):
Paid Pass:

• Brabham BT62 "Goodyear Edition" (ASS: Evo) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Hennessey 2022 Venom F5 (ART 2: Evo) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Pagani Huayra Roadster BC "Launch Edition" (Pagani World Premiere) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  

Season 12 (August 3, 2023 - August 31, 2023):
Paid Cars:

• Aston Martin DBS GT Zagato (Evo) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Bugatti Divo (Flash) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  
• Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach Package (Top 3/10) (5 Purple Star Car, Tier 5)
  

Seeing how they are named, now I'm not sure if there will be free ones or not, we will see once the Race Pass drops or if we find more information about it!
Future Cars:

• Ford_Supervan4_2022

Notes:

• The McLaren Elva GOSH Edition will be obtained in the form of an offer for real cash. It's a charity offer for the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH)!!
  
• The graphics are changed too, for the worst I'd say, but the game's supposedly loading faster now. I still need to look around so I can give you more info about that.
  
• The Maserati MC20 is removed by a bug/coding mistake, so instead of the car, you get a T1 Placeholder, but the MC20 is still in the files, so they should fix it soon. Also the Ferrari SF90 Stradale (Gold Star) is lacking its name.
  
• The McLaren Solus GT is the new T5 king with time of 6.5xx, while the Ford Mustang Dark Horse is the new T4 king with time of 9.3xx! Special thanks to Thành#7949 from Discord for that information!!
  
• The tutorial Mustang is changed to the 2024 Mustang now.
  
• The crate for the McLaren 600LT Spider that's part of the Supersport Syndicate event is currently available in Rare Imports, due to a bug, but you can pull cars and loyalty you will receive a 600LT Spider.
  
• In-game screenshots of the cars - click/press
  
• In-game screenshots of the Ford Mustang GT (2024) specs - click/press
  
• Season 180 is from update 4.4.x, I've decided to add it so everything can be in one place.
  
• There might be some mistakes, especially on the car and event names, that's because the same ones are different in the game files.
  

Special thanks to ๓๏๔๔є๔ кยรt๏๓z and u/Nitro4CSR - (YouTube channel - click/press) (Invite Link to his Discord server - click/press) for providing me with the files!
If I find anything else, I will update the post. Make sure to check it frequently.
KEEP IN MIND THAT NATURALMOTION, ZYNGA AND/OR TAKE-TWO CAN CHANGE THIS AT ANY GIVEN TIME!!
I've created a Ko-fi, because I don't want to limit the information that I provide with a pay wall. I'm thankful for all your support thru the years. I'll be more than happy if you can support me even further. Here's the link - click/press (Now you can use also Apple Pay and Google Pay).
Thank you for your time and support!
Happy racing and stay safe!

First Prev Next
>>Sella System, Selia, City of Artray, Early 2669
>Kallim, Chief War Councilman
Kallim sat in his main chamber chair as his fellow council argued the latest issues from their territories.
"We have seen their warships and their destructive power!" Reka argued, "What are the scientists doing to curb further destruction of our fleet, Breka!"
"I do not know. Whatever it is, it's not something we can create out of nowhere. We have nowhere to begin," Breka replied.
"Do we have anything that can be synthesized to replicate the properties of their munitions?" Reka asked pleadingly.
He referred to the video that played before them on the central floor. It was broken and chopped but an image of a Terran vessel fired a volley into the broadside of one of Dalogon's ships. The result of heavily armored ships was reduced to molten debris with bits and pieces still aflame as they were thrown from their original location aboard a vessel. The video played in a loop during their exchange.
"As I said, Reka, if we don't know the basis on which it is founded, we cant research the specific effects you want!"
Reka fumed but resigned to his seat.
"How are we with our ship production? Do we have a total?"
"I do," Breka started, "Current production over the last two years has yielded a bountiful supply of ships."
The screen changed from the older footage to a chart.
"We are sitting at fifty Corvettes, fifty destroyers, one hundred frigates, and four carriers. We've also been able to increase production in the Torkin System for fighters. Due to their help, we have over ten thousand in fighter craft. Six thousand are dedicated to the fighter class, three thousand are bombers and a little over one thousand are interceptor class."
Breka took a deep breath and took his seat to recapture his breathing.
"Monetarily, we are at a severe loss but with this production, we can recuperate some several years by selling or leasing planets we take from the Terrans."
The council members were pleased with that assessment. They reviewed the documents before them and agreed that while now they were in the red, they could maintain for a few years longer. They would just need to retake whatever fell to their enemy and beyond.
"What of the status of the Verbus residents?" Councilman Polas inquired, "As far as I'm aware, the footage we saw was in orbit of Tola by a scout ship. I fear they will soon be upon Selia and we must curb their advance! At all costs!"
"I couldn't agree with you more, Polas," replied Galem, "But we received verification that the masses are unharmed."
"From who or where did you hear that?" called out Polas, "We have not been able to make direct contact with the Verbus System!"
"C-calm down, Polas," Galem said in a soothing manner, "It was out of control but a video leaked on the Net."
He changed the monitor and it was a forum with all manner of topics popular with the citizens. The Forums were screened periodically for anything relating to the Union of the Terrans but lately, there's been a wealth of sightings and stipulations online that had to be forcibly taken down. No matter how hard they tried, they kept popping up.
Kallim looked upon the display. It was a live feed of Galem browsing the site. He opened several topics that were earlier topics that spoke in dissent of the war. There were many topics like that and many topics would get particular systems investigated because of mysterious happenings such as the Lassus worker droid malfunctions.
Upon investigation indicated that the maintenance droid was a line cook that went on a stabbing spree before being neutralized by station security. The comments had dubbed the droid Mr. Stabby. He noticed how many had taken to the name and it was a hot topic for a time.
That was until the page updated that revealed a new topic that was rapidly gaining attention in the thirty minutes it had been up.
When they clicked on the topic, it opened with a video. The author of the topic was someone who called themselves "The Owl of Justice And Law". Galem, curiously clicked on the video revealing a new snippet of humanity.
It started on a handheld device from who they assumed to be a fellow Selian as they made their way through a town square. In the center of the square was a singular ship that was painted in a drab green with evidence of scratches on the hull to reveal the steel grey beneath. The ship was surrounded by men in green and blotch-colored greys with brightly colored tinted visors over their eyes. Their face was revealed and showed all manner of color from light pink to dark brown and sometimes beyond that. Their teeth were white when they smiled.
Kallim thought they were going to watch a slaughter but instead, they were mingling with the locals. The children ran up to them and were gifted sweets. Some had even held them in their arms along with the family and pictures were taken.
Then the video turned to the individual being met by one of the soldiers. This time they wore black colored armor with a blotched grey and black pattern beneath with a full visor tinted purple and the reflection of the individual was apparent.
It was a young female that was gifted with a souvenir. She held it in her hands to observe it. It was a wooden figure of a selian draped in a flowing gown made out of wood.
"..."
They were at a loss when Polas brought them to the forefront.
"Quickly! Block it! Scrub it!"
A tech scribe that sat on the side of the chamber manned a series of computers and quickly went to work. He tried his hardest to remove it and with the help of the server technicians, they were able to finally remove the video. However, even though they had removed it, the view counter revealed that just about 40% of the Selian citizenry saw it. 25 Billion.
Kallim, along with the rest of the council, slumped in their seats. They had removed it but how many saved it? Kallim knew of the latest programs that were coming out for entertainment. It's possible many had saved it sharing it through who knows what.
"Can we recover from this, Polas?" Kallim said, "It won't be good if the enemy we tell them about are good people. It'll defeat the purpose of your speeches."
Polas nodded, "I-It's fine! W-we can spin it as Terran propaganda trying to win the masses! Besides, if it is from the Verbus System, how do we know it's not already fake?"
The rest agreed with a nod.
"We've had no communication in or out from the system, and the fleets in Trill have not reported anything in the system." Reka added, "Polas might be right. It could be a trick."
The council surmised that it indeed was doctored video and they had somehow managed to crack their net security.
"Breka, how is our net department?" Kallim asked.
"We've had decent developments in expanding the net and security has been tight. Probably better than those Yun'ni. Granted, it's been a while since we last...corroborated."
Kallim's eyes narrowed in thought.
If they were able to remove the account so quickly and its topic, then perhaps they had a hole in their security and ordered it to be looked into.
Kallim was about to dismiss the council when a call from a guard came from the doors that led to the diplomatic landing pad.
"C-Councilmen!!" he came ragged and out of breath. He took a moment to catch what air he could, "M-M-Mistress!! T-the Union Mistress!!!!!"
Kallim was put on guard immediately. His fellow council members were ignorant of the title and were left in confusion.
The Union Mistress was inbound and from the direction the guard came, she was already here.
"You will all follow my lead, am I understood?" Kallim demanded.
It was a tone of voice they had not been subject to and they silently nodded.
"Good. Guards! Secure the chambers and ensure no one enters!"
A set of guards nodded and went about their duties with urgency. Kallim stood from his seat and fixed whatever issue there was in his clothing which was subsequently followed by his subordinates. Their throats ached and felt dry from anxiousness. Kallim felt his heartbeat to the point where he thought it was going to explode. A thought Kallim hoped would actually come true only for his dreams to betray him.
Silence filled the room and overhead skylights were dimmed revealing a dimly lit scene with only the fluorescent to light the main walkway and the area just below their seats. He found it dramatic but he couldn't risk word getting out so the only power that ran through the chambers targeted only the doors and floor lights.
A single guard then came from the landing pad door.
"Council!" he said with loudly hushed tones, "The Union Mistress requests an audience!"
Kallim gulped, as did his colleagues, and motioned for the guard to direct them in. He wondered if the Mistress and her guards could have been seen but remembered that the diplomatic landing pad was an enclosed space. He couldn't risk Union forces being found out by the masses who had also visited the Council. It was a headache he would leave for later.
The door that the guard was posted opened. A large group of creatures entered and their frame was too large for the doors that they were forced to hunch below the top of the frame. There were approximately six individuals in a circle as they walked down the aisle to the chamber center floor. The light illuminated their body, sending shivers down their spines.
The two in front and back walked on their hind legs while their two kin on the sides prowled on all fours. They were scaled on the dorsal side of their body giving a texture of thin chitin that looked like a segmented oval pattern. The spine had a low-profile series of rounded spikes trailed to the rear. Their underbelly was soft of the same oval pattern but was a lighter color from the scales on top. Their overall color was brown and grey. When they snarled, rows of razor-sharp teeth were present and exposed. Their snout was relatively short but it was long and big enough for Kallim and his colleagues' heads to fit perfectly. It was nothing short of fear and with each step, their tails waved; thick enough to deliver a defining blow with a tip thin enough to act like a whip.
They made their way onto the area below the councilmen. Kallim and the rest bowed fervently.
"It is our pleasure to finally be met with your presence, Union Mistress," stated Kallim.
A slam from the leading beast's tail rocked the chamber and they raised their heads. The beasts had moved and revealed a much smaller individual in their center. She was dressed in layers of lavish garments, brilliantly colored with expertly crafted floral designs complimentary to the colors presented. The garments themselves were obviously too much for any one person the extra fabric trailed around and behind. The outfit was colored in orange, red, white, and black. The designs themselves were threaded with what looked like metal and gleamed gold and silver in the available light.
The individual, however, was mammalian in nature with triangle ears and a similarly tapered snout with white and orange-colored fur. Her garments were worn just below the shoulder revealing the top parts of her fur-laden chest.
She was just a few inches taller than the average selian and her race was notorious for being the largest portion of warriors in the Union.
"To w-what do we owe the pleasure?" Kallim said meekly.
She began to pace the center area with the anxious council. The threat of the beasts beside her drove into their being.
"I hear that you are having a little problem in your section of space," the Mistress said in a sweetly pitched tone that would discard worry from the unsuspecting but they remained vigilant.
Kallim nodded in affirmation, "You may be correct in your assumption. But what is the Mistress of the Union doing in Selian space?"
"That Is the question, is it not? I know why you seceded oh so long ago, but I believe it's time we bring things back to the way they were. We could really use your help right about now."
He was confused. What could the Union possibly be going through that they would induct the Selians back into their territory?
"You see," she started, "I've seen the supply of those beings from beyond the other side of your space. Poor things. We find it much more profitable if you join us in your campaign against, oh what do they call themselves? Ah! Terran." she snarled revealing her teeth and her yellow eyes narrowed to slit like a predator prepared to pounce.
"W-what do you plan to do with them?" Breka interjected, in opposition to Kallim.
She recovered her posture to the previously elegant pose, "They are quite well-rounded as a species and their genome is surprisingly malleable to some of the mammalian races, such as mine. We've already had some successful breeds from those slaves you had captured. So we're hoping you can help us with that!"
She said with a high pitch, indicating some form of joy. Kallim looked at his councilmen and answered.
"As you know, it hasn't been long since we left the union and we intend to keep it as such. Our relationships with The Toska can fill that gap with the Terrans we supply."
"Well, If you say so. Perhaps in a few generations, we can have Terrans of our own," She said before turning, "By the way, this was just a courtesy visit. The Union Masters know nothing of this. Are we to be understood?"
They nodded.
"Good. I will be in touch and as a gift, I will have a small detachment of my Runians to act as your guards. I have a feeling you made need them."
She left with the Runians in tow before being called out by Kallim.
"Mistress!" She turned to meet his gaze, "Are you really not going to press us into joining?"
"Really Kallim?" she said nonchalantly, "I'm sure you`ll come our way, especially with the storm brewing near you. Those of Run'ia will fight to the death on your behalf. Use them well. And Kallim, you may call me Neela." She winked and turned with a wave.
When they left for that landing pad and the doors closed, they were now stuck with the deafening silence that permeated the chambers. The natural lights began filtering through the previously dimmed windows and the whir of auxiliary technology came to life with blinking lights and constant intervals.
Kallim sighed heavily, "To think we would be visited by Neela herself..."
The rest of the council was still confused about her exact status and Reka was the first to address their ignorance.
"Head Chief Kallim," he started, "Who exactly is this Neela? and should we be worried?" His brethren agreed with a nod.
Kallim then took a large breath before he spoke, "Yes..."
"Have you ever wondered who the Union Mistress is?" to which they shook their heads no, "You are all aware of the Union and their forces, correct? Their space-faring vessels all belong to the Flag Union and are largely made up of the races led by the Union Masters. They're weak, but by conquering the lesser more savage races early on with their ships, they created a separate force to enlist them in."
"The Legion..." Galem said softly.
"That's right," Kallim affirmed, "The Legion is made up entirely of their conquered races and make up their infantry and armored division. But that's not what we should be worried about. It's Neela."
"Then can you get to the point, Head Chief?" Polas said sharply, patience visibly waning from his tone of voice.
"Fine," Kallim replied curtly, "Neela is not her name. It is a title, and we were visited by the Union Mistress of Neela; she commands both Flag and Legion. We met with the sole commander of the Union Military."
Breka raised his hand in an effort to quietly interject, "Why doesn't she just conquer us if she has that much power?"
"Simple," interjected Polas, "They have a treaty that the ones above her must recognize, and even with all that power, she must obey the Union Masters," he said confidently, "Believe it or not, those from the Legion are born and raised to fight solely for the Galactic Union."
"This is why it's imperative we move forward with the production of ships before the Terrans reach us. Expedite the process, Breka."
He nodded and departed for his duties. Galem and Reka did the same. However, Galem had a look of worry on his face as he left and Reka mentioned changes to the training regime to quickly fill spots for finished ships. Polas was last to leave and stated that he was to prepare a speech to further increase the urgency of their immediate threat while also alluding to an upcoming conflict with the Union. It was a mess and it made Kallim's head spin.
"I do wonder if it truly is too late for diplomacy..." He said softly before retiring to his quarters.
--------------------E N D--------------------
>To: Vice Adm. Wolf, TRSC Sword of Reckoning<
>SS//LZR-BND: Encrypted<
>Report<
>We are in the range of the target and did some preliminary scans. They've barricaded the planet with heavy frigates and cruisers, particularly over what seems to be their capital. We're a short jump away in the system but we can't risk getting any closer. We're gonna need to hit 'em hard. They also have in place several large orbital stations that house thousands of fighters. I've attached the documents below. *See Attachment 1.*<
>I can ensure the completion of the first objective but I may need additional resources for ground transport for the second objective. We'll let you know via Beacon for an LZ. I'm requisitioning certain vehicles necessary for our advance. *See Attachment 2.*<
>Attachment [1]<
>[3] Large Orbital Stations; [80] Frigate-Class; [2] Carrier-Class; [30] Corvette-Class; [35] Destroyer-Class<
>Attachment [2]<
>[2] M66A1 'Rhino' APC; [2] M9A5 'Grizzly' MBT; [4] M17 'Puma' LRV50<
>1st Lt. O'Brian, TRSC Reaper's Approach<
>End of Report<
First Prev Next

Hi there! I've just joined because I'm having a hard time with tracking down the cause of a misfire I've been getting. I'm hoping to get some advice and next steps after I try a few more things.
Initially I got a P0300 (random misfire) code, and I was able to get it cleared and running smooth enough to get me home (I was 5 hours away from home at the time) by replacing spark plugs and cleaning the injectors. The issue came back when I made it home. Same symptoms as beforw: rough idle, and sputtering with a the same P0300 code. Hooked up a code reader and saw my left bank O2 sensor was not reading. I replaced both O2 sensors because the other one had white chunks coming out if it when I checked it, I have verified that I'm getting spark from my coils, spark plugs are brand new and gapped properly, I can't find any intake leaks which I determined by spraying carb cleaner all over the engine and hoses, which nothing happened.
I had an OBD scanner hooked up and was observing my fuel trim while putsing around my neighborhood. Bank 1 would have a normal response at idle, but when applying throttle, it drops to zero signal. This continued at idle after a while until it just read flat, until I tapped the gas, which it sputtered, then the values jumped to match and slowly stepped down to the low valuem So I pulled the injectors and swapped sides, and the same issue persists with the Bank 1 fuel trim having the same issue.
I checked the fuel pressure at the rails, read at 58psi, checked the injector and all related fuses to fuel and air, I also swapped the O2 sensors from left to right and nothing changed, so I swapped them back. The weird part is, since my car has long tube headers and cat deletes, the upstream O2 sensors are relocated further back, thus using a square port to flat port extension to the O2 pigtail. I was just curious and I swapped the extensions, not the O2s and the cars idle was smooth and had normal throttle response. The scanner showed an even but unchanged graph of the fuel trim.
I will post a link to a video of the original fuel trim graph. The quality isn't great...but the green is Fuel Trim Bank 2, and the red is Fuel Trim Bank 1 Fuel Trim Graph Video: https://imgur.com/a/4lFrX7c
My next steps are going be: get a new O2 sensor and swap it around with the current sensors to see if I got a dud. Both are Densos, but I ordered them off Amazon so who knows. Next I'm going to pull the injectors to get them flow tested just in case the spray is bad. Lastly, if nothing works I'm gonna do a compression test. I know some people said I should do that first, but I don't know why I would be getting a random misfire code if I'm having compression issues. Another suspect could be a faulty fuel pressure regulator but it's just an idea.
The car is a modified 2001 Corvette base model with longtube headers, cat delete, X pipe, axle back exhaust and recently had an RPM level VI T56 put it with C6Z06 clutch, slave and flywheel, and TICK master cylinder installed by RPM. Has 110k on the odo and less than 500mi on the new driveline.
Sorry for the huge wall of text, but I have reached out to a few other mechanic buddies and searched the forums and it is a wide array of possibilities. Everyone I've asked is stumped so far. Anyone have any experience with this issue or sugguestions?

Hi there!
I've been trying to track down the cause of a misfire I've been getting. Initially I got a P0300 (random misfire) code, and I was able to get it cleared and fixed by replacing spark plugs and cleaning the injectors. The issue came back with a rough idle, and sputtering with a left O2 sensor code. I replaced the O2 sensors, I have verified that I'm getting spark from my coils, spark plugs are good, I can't find any intake leaks.
I had an OBD scanner hooked up and was observing my fuel trim while putsing around my neighborhood. Bank 1 would have a normal response, but when applying throttle, it drops to zero signal. So I pulled the injectors and swapped sides, and the same issue persists with the Bank 1 fuel trim having the same issue.
I'm going to check the fuel pressure at the rails, do a compression test next, and check all fuses and relays related to fuel and air (these are in no particular order).
The car is a modified 2001 Corvette base model with longtube headers, cat delete, X pipe, axle back exhaust and recently had an RPM level VI T56 put it with C6Z06 clutch, slave and flywheel, and TICK master cylinder installed by RPM. Has 110k on the odo and less than 500mi on the new driveline.
I have reached out to a few other mechanic buddies and search the forums and it is a wide array of possibilities. Anyone have any experience with this issue?

This is such a deep rabbit hole and I'm not sure how well received it will be in this sub. I have found an account on an obscure forum website that isn't 4chan and even predates it where a user by the name of JohnQAnonTitor began posting in 2012. This user posts in the same kind of cryptic style associated with what transpired on 4chan or at least it appears that way to me. I can provide all the links for people to analyze for themselves. I can also provide background context so that those that are interested can piece this together.
If this sub isn't the best place for this please point me in the right direction. I believe understanding the evolution of this phenomena is important.
At the very least. This poster likely was some sort of inspiration for what is now called QAnon as I find it unlikely to be pure coincidence considering the content and context. The site is called the Time Travel Institute. They are dedicated to discussing time travel including claims of being from the future.
John Titor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Titor
​
This site alleges it goes back to 1998. It’s never been archived so I archived it using the wayback machine. https://bbs.timetravelinstitute.com/t/welcome-to-the-time-travel-institute-bbs/7
​
This post goes back to 2000 https://archive.timetravelinstitute.com/topic/752-time-travel-paradoxes/
​
Their own 2021 explanation of John Titor. It's actually very informative. https://archive.timetravelinstitute.com/topic/8784-john-tito
​
This is def early Qanon. Give it read for yourself and tell me if you see any resemblance. https://archive.timetravelinstitute.com/topic/4295-i-am-a-time-traveler-from-2015/#comment-53682
​
I literally stumbled onto this while researching obscure UAP/UFO stuff. I'm not your typical tinfoil hat wearing ufo believing stereotype by the way. I could probably dig into this a lot more if people here think it's interesting and that I may be onto something. I didn't expect to find myself here and have other aspects of fringe topics I'd like to pursue. I enjoy researching odd things like this and am generally conspiracy friendly although I understand there are fine lines and plenty of disturbing associations with conspiratorial thinking such as the Qanon phenomena.
The site in question has a heading link called "Church of John Titor" which raises my cult alarm bells. https://archive.timetravelinstitute.com/forum/69-church-of-tito
Although this site is obscure the old posts have a tremendous amount of views and replies especially of the user I have highlighted. ~140k views and 500 replies to a single post is impressive. If you consider how prolific the user is with over 500 posts over 20 years it appears perhaps there was a migration from this forum because the later posts have far less views and replies.
Below is an outline of the story from their own website which appears to check out fairly well as far as I can tell as far as documenting how this all unfolded.
​

John Titor is a pseudonym used on Time Travel Institute and other early internet boards between 2000 and 2001 by someone claiming to be an American military time traveler from 2036. Titor made numerous vague and specific predictions regarding catastrophic events in 2004 and beyond, including a nuclear war.
The TimeTravel_0 forum posts
The first messages appeared on these boards on November 2, 2000, under the name TimeTravel 0. The entries explored time travel in general, with the first being a “six components” explanation of what a time machine would require to work and responses to queries about how such a machine would work. Early messages were often brief. Due to flaws in the forum software, TimeTravel 0 started a second thread titled “Topics Limited to 11 Pages?”.
At the time, the person writing under the pseudonym had not yet introduced the name John Titor, introduced in January 2001 when TimeTravel 0 began posting at the Art Bell BBS Forums. Titor’s posts ended in late March 2001.
Around 2003, various websites reprinted Titor’s posts, rearranging them into narratives and timelines. Not all refer to the original dates provided, and not all are comprehensive or verbatim. TTI has taken care to display the posts just as they were written:
John Titor’s first post in “Time Travel Paradoxes!”
“Topics Limited to 11 Pages?”
John Titor’s forum profile
October 2000 IRC chat
John Titor made numerous vague and specific predictions regarding catastrophic events in 2004 and beyond, including a nuclear war. The late-night IRC chat logs are not so much about predicting the future but more about giving advice for people who want to survive it or avoid it through simple everyday actions such as staying with family or learning how to grow food.
These logs, which were submitted to the Anomalies Network by an unknown source, appear to reveal a late-night IRC conversation between Time Traveler John and numerous other people. During this talk, many questions are answered, and considerable proof is shown to indicate that John Titor did, in fact, travel across time. To this day, John’s actual identity is unclear, but these logs are universally acknowledged as legitimate by the urban legend community.
1998 Faxes to Art Bell
Titor may have appeared on the scene on July 29, 1998, when two faxes were sent to Art Bell, the host of the overnight talk show Coast to Coast AM. The faxes describe the discovery of time travel in 2034, as well as the devastation caused by the Y2K calamity.
Titor is absent until 2000, when someone with a similar background started posting here under the username TimeTravel 0 with a story similar to the faxes Bell got in 1998. The name John Titor is not used until January 27, 2001, when a man publishes on an Art Bell BBS Forums about his existence as a time traveler and invites questions:
What was John Titor’s story?
Titor claimed to be an American soldier from the year 2036, based in Tampa, Florida, in his internet comments. He was assigned to a federal time-travel experiment and sent back to 1975 to recover an IBM 5100 computer, which he claimed was needed to troubleshoot different legacy computer programs in 2036 — a probable reference to the UNIX year 2038 problem. The IBM 5100 supports the APL and BASIC programming languages.
Titor stated that he was chosen for this mission mainly because his paternal grandfather was closely involved with the manufacturing and programming of the 5100. In support of this, he disclosed previously unknown aspects of the 5100, leading to the presumption that the postings were the work of a computer scientist. Titor claimed to be on a layover in 2000 for “personal reasons,” such as collecting images lost in the (future) civil war and seeing his family, with whom he spoke frequently.
📷
Titor also stated that he had been trying for a few months to warn anyone who would listen about the threat of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease spread through beef products, as well as the risk of civil war within the United States. When questioned about them by an internet subscriber, Titor also exhibited an interest in mysteries such as UFOs, which he claimed remained unsolved during his time. Titor proposed that UFOs and extraterrestrials could be time travelers from much further into the future than his own, with superior time machines.
On March 21, 2001, John Titor informed us that he would leave our time and return to 2036. John was never seen or heard from again after that. Speculation and study into who John Titor was and why he was on the internet continues today.
Pamela Moore
Pamela Moore communicated with John Titor more regularly and closely than any other poster. In addition to being a frequent poster in both the Time Travel Institute and Post to Post threads, she interacted with John via instant messenger (but never over the phone) and formed a profound friendship with him.
In addition, Pamela stated that John Titor gave her a “secret song” that could authenticate anyone who claimed to be John Titor. Most importantly, she claims that John Titor shipped her a piece of the IBM 5100 sticker label, with no return address but an Orlando postmark.
The C204
One of the first things he did was share images of his time machine and accompanying operating instructions. As the weeks passed, more individuals began to interrogate him about why he was here, the science of time travel, and his thoughts on our time. He also made posts on other forums, including the now-defunct Art Bell website. Those that spoke with John Titor were entertained, enraged, terrified, and even mocked.
In discussing his time machine multiple times, TItor defined it as a “stationary mass, temporal displacement unit powered by two top-spin, dual positive singularities,” producing a “typical off-set Tipler sinusoid”.
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The first post was more explicit, stating that it included the following:
Twin micro singularities housed in two magnetic housing units.
An electron injection manifold to change the mass and gravity of micro singularities.
Gravity sensors or a changeable gravity lock
A cooling and X-ray venting system
Four main cesium clocks.
Three major computer units.
According to the posts, Titor had put the device in the back of a 1966 Chevrolet Corvette convertible. Later, posts also mention a 1987 vehicle with four-wheel drive.
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John Titor's Predictions
Although Titor invoked the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, in which events from his timeline may change from those in ours, he also expressed confidence that the discrepancies would be modest. As a result, since 2001, his descriptions have been regarded as forecasts and contrasted to historical events.
The most recent of Titor’s prophecies were of an impending civil war in the United States over “order and rights.” He defined it as starting with social turmoil surrounding the presidential election in 2004. This civil war, which he described as “having a Waco-type event every month that slowly worsens,” will ignite by 2008 and be “very much at everyone’s doorstep.”
As a result of the conflict, the United States was divided into five zones, each with its own set of variables and military aims. According to Titor, this civil conflict will end in 2015 with a brief but fierce World War III.
Titor refers to the conversation as “N Day.” The cities of Washington, D.C., and Jacksonville, Florida are expressly listed as being affected. Following the war, Omaha, Nebraska, would become the new United States Capitol. Titor was evasive when it came to World War III’s precise motivations and causes. At one time, he described the conflict as being driven by “boundary disputes and overpopulation.” He also stated that the current confrontation between Arabs and Israel is not a cause but rather a prelude to a possible World War III.
Titor said that when he was 13 years old in 2011, he joined the Fighting Diamondbacks, a shotgun infantry unit in Florida, and served for at least four years. In previous posts, he characterized himself as fleeing the war.
Titor asserted that the “Everett–Wheeler quantum physics model,” often known as the many-worlds interpretation, was valid. Titor claims that his time travel resulted in creating a new timestream. As a result, his forecasts are unfalsifiable because believers can claim Titor’s postings prevented the events from occurring.
John Titor’s posts on the internet have created an urban legend that is still talked about today. His predictions of a coming civil war and World War III have captured the imagination of many people, who are still wondering if any of his prophecies will come true. Although some aspects of his story may be hard to believe, it is interesting to think about what could happen in the future.

Hopefully I am in the right forum....just bought a midnight race blue Corvette. Grey interior, chrome rims. Question, want to paint or wrap the hood and mirrors. Should I paint in red or silver?

The boron have shaken up the old hierarchy of ship favorites (imo) with their beautiful ships. Some of them are even legitimately ridiculously powerful (that well shielded XL carrier - chefs kiss)
What is your now favorite ship for various roles? You can pick how you want to answer: By class? (S, m, l etc) By role - which is how I think - exploration, small fighter, Corvette, builder etc
Beyond your personal favorite what do you think is the"best"?
To start off, here are my favorites now
Explorer / scout: irukandji. * Holy wow this thing is fast!
S fighter: * I like the mako just because it's new. But really my favorite is still the moreya. It's a good spot (imo) between offense and defense. And that zippiness!
M fighter: * I used to like the katana and kuraokami. Even though the katana is faster the kuraokami feels more nimble. And the 25% increase in firepower is awesome (5 vs 4 guns). Sure you lose the Terran weapons, but with the split shotguns - does it matter ? * I really like the Hydra with 4x ion railguns now. It's even more nimble for turning than the kuraokami (although slower ). I love it when the railguns hit but when they miss: oof that wait before you can fire again. * Never been a fan of the gunboat type ships so wasn't a huge fan of the thresher
M trader: * Demeter hands down. It's the best! There's a post on the forums about "best freighters" and I don't think its changed with KE https://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=418447
L miner: Chthonios - mathematically it's the best (according to the above post I mentioned ) I personally use the E version because it looks cooler. I realize the sentinel variant is the better option
L trader: Shuyaku sentinel per link above
L military: This one's tough for me. I like the rattlesnake but it's squishy. I like the syn because it feels like what a big ship should feel like I haven't tried the guppy or the ray. I honestly don't know how to set up a carrier - would love advice so I can really try it out because that guppy looks awesome and it is FAST I wonder how powerful the Ray's weapons are vs a K or an I. Wonder if it's good enough to slow it down and take them down?
XL: *The erlking of course. That's usually my personal ship. The Asgard(s) usually follow me around to delete stations and Is as needed. I don't really use any of the other XLs. Maybe if I get good advice for building carriers I'll try out the massive shark!
XL builder: I used to buy the cheapest one. But now they all have sexy new looks! What's your new favorite?
I'll add more as I get time at work 🤣

It is possible to attack other empires before making contact, however, there seems to be a great scarcity of recourses for how exactly to do just that successfully.
I've personally tried to pull it off 5 or 6 times now, but the other empire always manages to establish communications before I can succeed in invading their home world.

Useful Resources

Two sources seem to provide information on this topic, both on YouTube. The more informative video came from Montu Plays ( Stellaris Early Corvette Design & Pre-Contact Wars - Bing video), with the other coming from KizzyNoodle ( Stellaris Pre Contact War - Bing video).
There was a third source I found was a thread on Paradox's forums, but it was more of a rant than a collection of actionable tips. The consensus of that thread seemed to be that the whole idea needed a rework.
A different thread suggested that the "Shoot to Kill" achievement did not require invading a planet before first contact, but instead needed the player to destroy 10 things in space belonging to the victim empire. These can evidently be outposts, research stations, mining stations, or their ships such as science vessels and construction ships.

The General Strategy

• You are a warmonger. Prioritize alloy production! I usually find the starting economy is capable of buying ~5 alloys monthly
• Set first contact protocols to aggressive, so that you can attack neutral entities and get this First Contact War started. You know, a "proper" introduction to your empire.
• Use Science ships to explore systems, instead of survey them. Your goal here is to identify where your neighbor's home system is as quickly and early as possible. Then you'll be able to mobilize your fleets as they are ready. Maybe don't have your scientist sit in the system as there is a chance your victim will abduct your science vessel.
• Once you find their home system, you should be able to zoom in and see their ships. This will give you some idea of what components they are using. Montu's video has a whole section dedicated to how best to optimize your ships in order to counteract whatever setup your victim has. It seems that the ideal design is to use missile ships due to the bonus damage against starbases and hull damage.
• KizzyNoodle had a bit near the end where she suggested using strategic recourses like rare crystals, exotic gasses, or the volatile motes to boost your attack prowess if you are lucky enough to have some at start (or chose an origin that grants them).

So the purpose of this post is to see how many players in the community have been successful in "winning" their First Contact Wars. If you have found success on this endeavor, what helped you be successful? What actions did you take, ship designs, or something else which aided in the early war effort?

TL;DR: Bought a 1969 Corvette 350/350/4sp one year ago. Spent $10K on the car, and $6,203.70 on every other ancillary cost. Was driveable by July, now at 799.3 miles. It drives like a tractor, but I enjoy every mile, despite averaging 8.3 MPG. Here's a link to a gallery with every embedded photo.

Background

One year ago, I received a text from a friend that said "Planning on selling the 'vette. 1969. Asking strangers 12,5 but I'd give you the friend price of 10k if you're interested".
My brewery pal had mentioned his dad's old Corvette a few times over the past four or five years - including tales of taking it to the Turkey Rod Run in Daytona, and having it pinstriped by the infamous Greg "Coop" Cooper (who would then go on to paint Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's casket).
With the passing of his mother, he decided it was time to liquidate his parents' property, and the Corvette was a part of that process.
After posting on corvette and projectcar (and using the responses to convince my wife that this was likely the least irresponsible project car purchase we'll ever encounter), we made the trek to Brooksville, Florida to gather intel.
The car had been started about once a month since his father passed away in the early '00s, but was otherwise held captive in the barn for close to 20 years. Other than this, we had very little prior knowledge about the overall condition of the 50 year old 'plastic fantastic'. Our current situation necessitated that, regardless of the overall quality of the car, we needed it to start and run for at least 20 seconds to get it in our garage at home (Tip #1). Fortunately, a fresh battery, some starter fluid, and a bit of strategic percussive maintenance got the car turned over (albeit with a sticky float sending fuel everywhere).
My dad and I came back the following week with a trailer, addressed the sticking carb, and brought it home.
From here I built a spreadsheet to track expenses, project priorities (Tip #2), and eventual trips. My goal was to get the car driveable by Independence day, and to prioritize getting the car on the road vs. achieving perfection (Tip #3).
A full inspection of the car revealed:

• Brakes were toast (common on these cars)
• Carb was toast (modern gas is hell on older cars)
• Suspension was gone (though a modern monoleaf was installed in the rear, and it was fine)
• Interior needed to be stripped and cleaned
• Seatbelts were non-functional.
• All fluids/plugs/wires/belts were of unknown age and needed to be replaced.

Over the next 2 months, I divided my time into "sprints" (sorry, PMO nerds), never allowing myself to work for more than 90 minutes at a time to avoid burnout (Tip #4). I promised myself that if there was a specific tool for a job, I would buy/rent it to save the hassle. By June, I had replaced the entire suspension, rebuilt the brakes with modern O-rings, replaced every fluid, installed new plugs, wires, the carb, seatbelts, and wheel bearings.
On June 11th, it was ready for its first drive on public roads in nearly 20 years.
And it ended on a tow truck (Tip #5).
The old starter had failed, and couldn't hot-start the motor. A modern mini-starter was installed the following weekend, and the car has been 100% reliable ever since.

Driving experience

Since getting towed home in June, I have driven the car nearly 800 miles. It doesn't sound like a lot, but working from home means my DD (2019 Genesis G70), has only stacked 8,000 miles in the same length of time. I use it for nearly all of my in-town errands, and I take it to every local Cars + Coffee show I can attend.
The factory sidepipes (only offered on the C3 Corvette in 1969) are loud (surely aided by the aftermarket Cherry Bomb "mufflers"), and the crude sound is a reminder as to why X/H-pipes exist. Yes - they get hot, but a good exhaust wrap makes a big difference.
The short gearing from the optional Muncie M21 and the 3.70 rear gears make for a torquey town tripper, but does not make for a comfortable GT experience above 60mph. Overdrive must have been a lovely innovation.
The numbers-matching L46 350 smallblock has no shortage of power. I cannot be certain of the internals, but the exhaust chop suggests a mild cam is poking the push rods, and a crumpled machine shop receipt indicates a 0.030" overbore was performed in the late-90's.
The interior is spartan. The third generation Corvette - to me - takes a step back from the C2 in this regard. Seats are not bolstered, your 'glovebox' is more akin to a manilla envelope, and your storage is as small as it is inaccessible. A bevy of gauges is nice for diagnostics, but you begin to understand why the luxury automakers of the day were held in such high-regard. A/C would be nice in Florida, but the fresh-air "Astro Vents" are helpful.
The handling is adequate for daily driving, but I don't foresee any autocross days in this Corvette's future. The fiberglass body does little to subsidize the overall rigidity of the car. The large steering wheel seems to play a multi-step game of telephone to request changes in direction. I do commend Chevrolet for a few performance-minded innovations - the independent rear suspension inspires more confidence than a live-rear axle when hitting mid-corner bumps, and the 4-wheel disc brakes are anachronistically athletic.
Finally, I find the car to be truly beautiful. The C3 Corvette toes a lovely line between the retro-futurism of the chrome era thanks to its bumpers, and the swinging 70's with its incomparable curves and conspicuous color (Riverside Gold). There may be no better option when it comes to 'Attention per Dollar' than this car, which often overshadows quarter-million dollar restomod builds and modern exotics at local car shows.

Final notes, cost breakdown, and project car tips from an admitted novice

Here is a link to every single marginal cost associated with my project. This includes the car, the trailer, every part/tool, gas fill, and even lunch for my dad who helped me bring the car home.
Here's a categorized summary if you don't want to click through:
 

Total Cost of Ownership	$16,203.70
Category	Price
One-Time Cost	$10,979.00
Consumable	$408.00
Insurance/Reg	$908.00
Parts	$2,625.74
Gas	$470.00
Tools	$379.99
Shipping	$67.97
Services	$365.00

 
Finally, some tips I'll be following on future projects:

1. Have a minimum viable product in mind at purchase based on your individual situation. Our garage is at the top of a hill, and it would have been nearly impossible for us to get the car in the garage without having it run briefly. If your project candidate doesn't meet your very basic needs (condition, cost, proximity), it might be worth walking away.
2. Make a priority list, Roadkill style, and stick to it. Do not let your scope creep, unless you discover something that truly impacts the driveability timeline of your project.
3. An imperfect project car that you can DRIVE is infinitely more enjoyable than a slow trudge to perfection that does not escape the garage for years. Get it driving, take it to events, then work towards incrementally improving the experience.
4. Take it easy - work in small sprints, and don't let yourself get burnt out. If you're doing the brakes, work on a single corner at a time. Make it so you are even more excited to work on the car the next day, as opposed to dreading it.
5. Find a good tow driver before you need them, and don't necessarily rely on AAA/Hagerty for a free tow. We waited ~4 hours for our "free" Hagerty tow, who never arrived. We did a splash of research and found a local business who came out in under 15 minutes, and had us home for $80. Worth it.
6. If you want a good deal on a car, you may be better served networking with local car folks than trying to score from an anonymous seller on Facebook/Craigslist.
7. Find a forum. I am constantly referencing posts from Corvette forums, sometimes leveraging information posted from when I was in middle school. I called a gentleman who left his number in a post from 2006 - he answered and kindly walked me through parts of my brake rebuild.

 
I enjoy my Corvette. I think I'll hang on to it for a little while longer before considering a new weekend car. I'd love something wildly different. I'm currently considering some 90's JDM options (Skyline/NSX), or something European (360, 456, Gallardo, R8).
 
Cheers!

Hello Fellow Space Assistants!
I see a lot of posts, especially since the new DLC dropped, from new players starting out and wanting some tips. I have been playing this game since the first DLC dropped, I was brand-new to the X series, and currently have about 800 hours played, with about 6 starts. I don't consider myself an expert, I still read up a lot about this game and find new ways of doing things, but I thought new players might benefit from some of the things that I've learned about starting out the game. I got into X4 because I wanted to play a trade-wars-like game like I used to play in the old BBS and I was completely blown away by what I could do in X4 and been hooked ever since. My playstyle relies heavily on trading, not so much piracy. I like to become friends with all the factions and build an empire to take out the Xenon, so if this is the playstyle you're looking for read on!
So you've decided to start a new game. When you select a new game you get to choose a starting out scenario. The scenarios available depend on whether you own the DLC (you will get special starts for each DLC), and whether you have played before (certain scenarios, such as the boron, only open when you've played before, same for custom game start). Now, I may be biased here, but I found all the DLC's have far superior starts than the base game. They spend a lot of time making the DLC scenarios new-player friendly. The BEST start for new players that have the Terran DLC is the Terran start. But which start you pick really doesn't matter, as you will have access to all the quests from the base game and every DLC you own.
So, if you start with a DLC start, make sure you do all the starting missions first!

• Terran starting missions will get you a Katana (M Corvette) or Moreya and a Syn (L Destroyer) or Kuraokami depending on your choices.
• Segaris starting missions will get you a free Moreya (S fighter).
• Split plotline will get you a Cobra (M Corvette) and Chimera (S fighter)
• Boron plotline will get you a Corvette.
• Starting plotline will get you a Small Courier, chance at a small fighter.

Note, these are not your starting ship. You will get a starting ship depending on which start you pick. However, it is important to note that you will have access to ALL these free ships regardless of your start if you do their story missions.
So you do your starting mission (or not, if you picked a base game start), you have maybe 1 or 2 ships, now what? Well, the first 2 things you want to do is 1) get the HQ mission, 2) start raising a fleet.
First one will help you get used to scanning space stations. See this video for how to scan: https://youtu.be/fpbXYwe6GEI. So load up your ship with satellites go around and scan a few stations. Every time you get to a station, drop a satellite next to them. The satellite keeps track of the station prices, and allows your pilots to sell to that station. No satellite, then your pilots will NOT use that station. Your goal is to have a satellite in EVERY station.
Once you start scanning, the data leaks might offer you a trade deal, or a mission. Missions can be anything from satellite repairs, taxi, etc. Do some of these, they will get you some money and rep. Don't do anything that's medium difficulty or above, stay at very easy or easy for now. One of the quests that you will get (unless you're a boron start) is from a scientists asking to be rescued. ACCEPT this quest and complete it. You will get access to the HQ and research. Select the Teleportation research first. It will ask you to expand your HQ and get materials. Most likely though, you won't have enough money.
So next, we have to get money. You can get some starting money from some missions, but your goal is to start building your empire so you can start getting big money. To do this, you need to start building your own fleet, since the game relies on ships to do everything. Ships are expensive, usually starting at about 500K for a decent S scout ship and closer to 800K for a M Miner. If we want to start getting the big ships, we need to get some starting capital and ships. So we start by exploring and getting free ships and free stuff we can sell by exploring and getting everything ready to start our empire. So board your favorite ship and start doing the following.

• You will be exploring a lot of space, so bring about 30+ satellites and 20+ resource probes.
• Every time you're close to an asteroid field, drop a resource probe, if you're close to a station, drop a satellite.
• In brand new space, it will be sometimes hard to find stations/gates. Use Long Range scanning (see https://youtu.be/hniBvefJqco for help) and it will populate "?" in your map whenever there are stations of gates. It will also ping different colors for different resources.
• While scanning, you might get a yellow/blue ping. Follow these to find lockboxes and open them (https://youtu.be/jTwJLNzRyiY) to get some equipment to sell. A lot of the time, you might get slices or descriptors. Either sell them or use them in missions for 500K+ rewards.
• While visiting a station, you might see a drone (really small ship, icon like a half-circle) turn red. Destroy these (when you select them, the info will say criminals) to get easy reputation for that faction.
• Look at https://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=405524 and get the first 4 ships ASAP. These are abandoned free ships. Wait for the 5th&6th, since they're in dangerous space.
• Do the Hatikva story mission. This will get you a S Courrier.
• Whenever you get +5 standing with TER go do the TER missions for a Katana/Moreya and a Syn.
• The HQ missions morphs into a PIO mission (after the ship leaves). Follow this mission for a really long mission (like 2+ hours) to get a Moreya.

Doing all these things will take a long time. However, it will teach you a lot of the basics and will get you started with quite a few ships and some money. But what do you do with the ships you acquired?

• Small fighters, scouts: Load them with satellites and resource probes and give them orders to first explore a sector, and then make them drop a satellite next to every station and a resource probe in asteroid fields. This reveal the map, open stations for trading, and train your pilots.
• Small/Medium Miners: Assign any pilot and set them to Sector Automine. Put them in a sector where you have an asteroid field and some stations with satellites and have them mine Ore first, then Silicon and finally ice. If Gas then your priority is Methane, Helium, then Hydrogen. As they level up, increase the Miner to Expert and give them more stuff to mine.
• Small/Medium traders: If you have ANY 3-star pilots, set them to auto trade in a system. Select only a few commodities first, like Hull parts and claytronics (or the TER equivalent) and set them in a system. If you have 2-star pilots, set them to fill shortages. If you don't have any good pilots, then use them to buy stuff and sell it manually, or assign them to the HQ to get resources.
• Medium Fighters: Use these for storylines that require fighting.

This set up will get you exploring and getting information on stations so you can sell your equipment, as well as giving you a good starting passive income to get some better ships. From here, you can branch out and build star bases, or pirate, or anything else. Once you get the teleportation research (use one of the couriers to fill the requirements for the HQ), concentrate on the stations modules, which will allow you to steal blueprints.
Some tips that I use while working on getting to the mid game:

• Make blacklists! You NEED one blacklist for trading that will refuse trade to all factions EXCEPT you. Use this on stations and ships so that they don't trade stuff to others.
• I like to make a blacklist for every faction. For example, I have a "TER Only" blacklist that refuses trade to all factions except TER. I then make 3 ships, a M Ore Miner, a M Gas Miner, and a M Trader. Give them the blacklist and set them to automine/autotrade in that faction's space. You will get passive money and TONS of passive reputation.
• Set a blacklist to deny all travel in enemy space and assign it to all (global) civilian ships, to minimize casualties.
• You can go to the Employees tab in the User section and look at your stat for each. Select pilot, sort on stars and pick the highest ratings to command your ships.
• Managers level up fast! Make sure you assign manager to station and their piloting will grow fast. Use these to man your ships.

Doing these steps will probably take quite a bit of time. Don't rush! Enjoy the amazing graphics and music! I hope this tutorial helps people who, like me, had a rough time starting out. I've come to love starting out now, since my mid game is usually spent in map mode and it's a different experience.

Hello,
I recently got a nice manual 2006 Corvette base coupe with a stock LS2. I’m going to get a CAI and long tube headers + exhaust. I plan on keeping it naturally aspirated for now.
I’ve scanned through some forums and people seem to prefer an after market intake manifold for better airflow, anyone know about this and/or where I could read up on it?
Also, any other suggested upgrades/mods would be appreciated!