V8-powered answers
Volume 11, No. 47, July 13, 2006
By Bdr Troy Charters

Speed smart: V8Owners.com.au helps to promote NT Policing’s “Beat the Heat” program.

The internet is a great source of automotive information but all too often in your search for a product or advice you will find yourself spending hours wading through pages and pages of irrelevant web sites just to answer one simple question.

Like many members of the ADF I own a V8 and in my own search for technical advice about my car I found a site that is a veritable lexicon of V8 information.

V8Owners.com.au is a wholly Australian owned and funded web site dedicated to owners of all makes and models of V8s. Started in 2004 by Peter de Vries of Sydney and co-owned by Duncan Forrest, V8Owners.com.au provides a forum for owners of all makes and models of V8 powered vehicles to ask questions, organise cruises, and promote the efforts of the Northern Territories “Beat the Heat” program.

Beat the Heat is a program that aims to get people to race their cars off the streets at legal organised drag and track days and features a highly modified NT police vehicle aptly named “The Heat”.

I attended an eastern Creek track day, and although it wasn’t organised by V8Owners.com.au, it was through a post in their forum that I learnt of the track day. And what a day it was, learning how to handle my car at highway speeds with the supervision of an in-car coach was awesome. I can now honestly say that I benefited from the experience of pushing my car around Eastern Creek at speeds approaching 200km/h in a safe and very controlled environment.

Four times a year V8Owners organise a members day at Western Sydney International Dragway. This provides a safe and controlled environment for those who wish to see what their car can really do.

On-site training is provided to newcomers of drag racing by the senior club members. V8Owners even provide different types of tyres, basic performance components and a pit stocked with tools, jacks, and compressors etc for members to use.

V8Owners.com.au is more than just about performance V8 vehicles. The forum has information posted by real people and their experiences on all manner of automotive issues.

For example, restoration projects and good panel beating shops, the best place to get your car serviced, pics of yet-to-be released vehicle such as the VE Commodore, car care products, ways to get better fuel economy and car finance rates.

As Peter and Duncan make a point of stressing that any one who advertises their business on the forum does so for free, this guarantees a cash-for-comments-free forum and unbiased information for the benefit of all V8 drivers out there.

V8Owners has it all. If you have a question just sign up, start a thread in a forum and within a few days you will have a dozen answers from people with experiences on whatever it is you want to know.