Car ETC

[Coligny]

Is the 1000 yen weekend highway discount mandate having an ETC in the car ?

My wife say so but...
1- she want an ETC from the start (having watched too much "enemy of the state" i'm kinda allergic to these kind of systems)
2- she have already been outsmarted by the cats, few goldfishes and a door knob. so I tend to be carefull with her analysis...

[Taro Toporific]

Is the 1000 yen weekend highway discount mandate having an ETC in the car ?...

Yep, your Jacqueline, Madame de Coligny, Countess d'Entremon is right.

[INDENT]Low toll sees Aqualine use jumpThe Daily Yomiuri Mar. 22, 2009
.... toll reductions to start Saturday for expressways in regional areas for Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Tolls will be halved, with a 1,000 yen ceiling for passenger cars and motorcycles equipped with the electronic toll collection system....more...[/INDENT]

[Coligny]

Yep, your Jacqueline, Madame de Coligny, Countess d'Entremon is right.

[INDENT]Low toll sees Aqualine use jumpThe Daily Yomiuri Mar. 22, 2009
.... toll reductions to start Saturday for expressways in regional areas for Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Tolls will be halved, with a 1,000 yen ceiling for passenger cars and motorcycles equipped with the electronic toll collection system....more...[/INDENT]

Nope... I'm just married to a j-clown... let's call her Jane Tanaka to make it simple...

[FG Lurker]

As Taro said, yes, ETC is required to get the discounts.

I was somewhat resistant to the idea of ETC probably much for the same reasons you are. With all the N-system cameras out there (they read your number plate) and with cameras at the toll booths already though, I decided that ETC probably wasn't giving them much more information than they have already.

On the plus side it saves a ton of time, especially during busy periods. Being able to cruise through toll gates is really, really nice. It would take a helluva lot to get me to give up ETC now that I have it...

[Taro Toporific]

On the plus side it saves a ton of time, especially during busy periods. Being able to cruise through toll gates is really, really nice...

And it is great fun to see how much faster than the 20km/hr limit that you can pass though the ETC gates without hitting them.

[wuchan]

It depends on many factors: where you live (major metro area), where you go every day(is there a parallel route that you can ignore the speed limit), do you really need the IC, etc.... For me the discounts are useless but for the people in tokyo it helps.

Another thing you may want to think about is if you have a dealer installed navi+ETC system. The dealers register your plate with the J-gov when you choose the ETC option which allows the cameras on the parallel routes to trace you. The smaller aftermarket places usually don't bother. Superautobacs is not one of the smaller units.

[Coligny]

It depends on many factors: where you live (major metro area), where you go every day(is there a parallel route that you can ignore the speed limit), do you really need the IC, etc.... For me the discounts are useless but for the people in tokyo it helps.

Another thing you may want to think about is if you have a dealer installed navi+ETC system. The dealers register your plate with the J-gov when you choose the ETC option which allows the cameras on the parallel routes to trace you. The smaller aftermarket places usually don't bother. Superautobacs is not one of the smaller units.

Polarised film is quite good against overhead cams... Of course when you go to one of those hyper fancy hotels with parking gates operated by cams reading your plate you're kinda fracked... I don't have GPS navi thingamastuff but already made an arrangement with my dealer to have a kill switch installed between the ETC and the power feed lines.

[FG Lurker]

And it is great fun to see how much faster than the 20km/hr limit that you can pass though the ETC gates without hitting them.

42 is the best you can do Taro? I've gone through em at nearly 80 without trouble... It gets a bit close though.

[FG Lurker]

The dealers register your plate with the J-gov when you choose the ETC option which allows the cameras on the parallel routes to trace you. The smaller aftermarket places usually don't bother. Superautobacs is not one of the smaller units.

Since your ETC card is tied into your credit card, what does it matter?

The N-system cameras that are everywhere predate ETC by many, many years and have nothing to do with ETC.

[wuchan]

Polarised film is quite good against overhead cams... Of course when you go to one of those hyper fancy hotels with parking gates operated by cams reading your plate you're kinda fracked... I don't have GPS navi thingamastuff but already made an arrangement with my dealer to have a kill switch installed between the ETC and the power feed lines.

the license plate covers are illegal and you will get a ticket for it when you get stopped. The ETC kill switch is illegal too but they won't ever check for it(they never found the kill switch I installed to shut off my rear license plate light).

FG, 80? That's still weak. I split fastlane tolls back home at 90MPH. The newer systems (the 3d thing on the news lately), can track newer plate/navi systems. I have an inside man at nissan that helps me with all my aftermarket needs. He personally installed my navi in my yard so that he wouldn't have to register my plate.

[Behan]

Someone told me that the ETC gates seem to be coming up a second or so later. Maybe they are trying to get people to pass through at slower speeds?

[FG Lurker]

Someone told me that the ETC gates seem to be coming up a second or so later. Maybe they are trying to get people to pass through at slower speeds?

I think that might be the case actually, I have noticed they seem to be getting closer to the car, lol.

[omae mona]

I don't have GPS navi thingamastuff but already made an arrangement with my dealer to have a kill switch installed between the ETC and the power feed lines.

Just out of curiosity, what does this kill switch help with? Is the idea that you are concerned about privacy on the stretches of road between paying tolls?

[Quote=Behan]Someone told me that the ETC gates seem to be coming up a second or so later. Maybe they are trying to get people to pass through at slower speeds?[/quote]

I sure as hell hope so. The folks driving behind me scare the fuck out of me when I pass through. Everybody please be my guest and feel free to go as fast as you want, if there's nobody in front of you. But if there's anybody else in your vicinity please consider the segment in this video starting at 3:25 before you decide to shoot through at high speed.

[yt]pNm2qxvQQ5o&start=205[/yt]

Other drivers probably hate me, but since watching that video I've taken to slowing down to 20kph WAY before I get in the gate. Everybody sees me driving like a turtle and goes to other lanes, so I don't have anybody tailgating me. I'm scared shitless of the gate not opening for some reason, and then getting rammed from behind. Of course, once I get through the gate, I go back to my customary 140kph.

[FG Lurker]

FG, 80? That's still weak. I split fastlane tolls back home at 90MPH.

Good luck doing that here, at 150kph you'll hit the gates.

The newer systems (the 3d thing on the news lately), can track newer plate/navi systems. I have an inside man at nissan that helps me with all my aftermarket needs. He personally installed my navi in my yard so that he wouldn't have to register my plate.

I don't understand your paranoia about this. I seriously doubt your life is interesting enough for this to be a real issue for you.

[wuchan]

Good luck doing that here, at 150kph and you'll hit the gates.


I don't understand your paranoia about this. I seriously doubt your life is interesting enough for this to be a real issue for you.

I just go by what my mechanic tells me. He is the guy who visits the GTR owners every month to make sure their cars are kept up to spec. He told me that if he installed the navi at Nissan he would have to register my plates with the government. There have been a shit-ton of traffic cams installed on the major truck routes that parallel the IC highways. In the future the NPA will begin to crackdown on people who speed on these side roads, and then the government will prob jack up the tolls. I'm not paranoid, just careful. I speed a lot and I don't want to have to deal with unwanted heat. The 40kph limit in many places is way too low, in France the average limit is 60kph and their roads are the same as here.

**edit
mass fastlane and NY E-Zpass lanes don't have those pesky gates.

[FG Lurker]

I just go by what my mechanic tells me. He is the guy who visits the GTR owners every month to make sure their cars are kept up to spec. He told me that if he installed the navi at Nissan he would have to register my plates with the government. There have been a shit-ton of traffic cams installed on the major truck routes that parallel the IC highways. In the future the NPA will begin to crackdown on people who speed on these side roads, and then the government will prob jack up the tolls.

You drive a GTR but are worried about tolls. I couldn't make it up if I tried.

I'm not paranoid, just delusional.

FTFY.

I speed a lot and I don't want to have to deal with unwanted heat.

When the NPA does decide to really crack down on speeding there will be little that can be done to avoid it. Average speed cameras will become the norm, along with movable cameras, real speed traps, and ghost cars that can't be picked out miles away. I do not look forward to this, I love to drive fast on open roads. It's coming though, just a matter of how many years we have left. Then it'll be time to buy a fast boat.

The 40kph limit in many places is way too low, in France the average limit is 60kph and their roads are the same as here.

Same roads, just double the population crammed into half the land size - much less than half if you calculate based on habitable land. Sounds the same to me!

(I'm not saying that the speed limits aren't way too low, only that your example is fucked.)

mass fastlane and NY E-Zpass lanes don't have those pesky gates.

Which makes your previous 90mph comment meaningless. I think I see a pattern in your posts...

[wuchan]

You drive a GTR but are worried about tolls.

no GTR, just a 510 sr20det conversion. My man helped me build it and he is helping me to keep it as modern as possible.

[FG Lurker]

no GTR, just a 510 sr20det conversion. My man helped me build it and he is helping me to keep it as modern as possible.

Those can be pretty interesting conversions. Shaken must be an adventure though.

[Coligny]

the license plate covers are illegal and you will get a ticket for it when you get stopped. The ETC kill switch is illegal too but they won't ever check for it(they never found the kill switch I installed to shut off my rear license plate light).

Yep license plate covers are certainly illegals. That's why they are for sale everyfrackingwhere. Often with cute Hello Kitty frame... I have yet to see a traffic cop stop a car or motorbike woth OBVIOUS illegal modification (muffler for a start). So against unnoticeable spray on polarising filter I think you are good to go.

NOTE... I don't use it, just bad connection who like speed. Personnally i'm the jerk always 10kph below the speed limit (except highways where 70-80 is my cruise speed) , I have a craptastic Nissan Note who like me, hate speed and is as much confused by the whole gearbox thing as I am (the CVT software seems to be... lacking...). I tried to put Gordini Racing stripes to make it more reactive, but I think I used the wrong kind of electrical tape and see no effect... (in pict)

Meanwhile for the ETC kill switch. I think you are talking out of your ass. Because I don't quite see the diff between a car without ETC and a car with ON/OFF switch. I don't need ETC for my daily trips. I don't need to have it on all the time. I'm not paying for lowjacking the car by myself.

For the bright FG lurker who goes by "I seriously doubt your life is interesting enough for this to be a real issue for you." you know what genius ? I do nothing wrong, therefore I have nothing to show or to declare.

[FG Lurker]

For the bright FG lurker who goes by "I seriously doubt your life is interesting enough for this to be a real issue for you." you know what genius ? I do nothing wrong, therefore I have nothing to show or to declare.

I think you need to work on your reading comprehension.

[Sentakki Fried Chicken]

Just out of curiosity, what does this kill switch help with? Is the idea that you are concerned about privacy on the stretches of road between paying tolls?



I sure as hell hope so. The folks driving behind me scare the fuck out of me when I pass through. Everybody please be my guest and feel free to go as fast as you want, if there's nobody in front of you. But if there's anybody else in your vicinity please consider the segment in this video starting at 3:25 before you decide to shoot through at high speed.

[yt]pNm2qxvQQ5o&start=205[/yt]

Other drivers probably hate me, but since watching that video I've taken to slowing down to 20kph WAY before I get in the gate. Everybody sees me driving like a turtle and goes to other lanes, so I don't have anybody tailgating me. I'm scared shitless of the gate not opening for some reason, and then getting rammed from behind. Of course, once I get through the gate, I go back to my customary 140kph.

For some reason, this video reminded me of the crashes at railway crossings overseas you hear about occasionally when Japanese drivers stop regardless of whether something's coming or not and locals ram into the back of them.

[Mike Oxlong]

For some reason, this video reminded me of the crashes at railway crossings overseas you hear about occasionally when Japanese drivers stop regardless of whether something's coming or not and locals ram into the back of them.

They are required by law to stop whether something's coming or not. The driver who rear-ends the car in front is at fault.

[Ketou]

I have a craptastic Nissan Note who like me, hate speed and is as much confused by the whole gearbox thing as I am (the CVT software seems to be... lacking...). I tried to put Gordini Racing stripes to make it more reactive, but I think I used the wrong kind of electrical tape and see no effect... (in pict)

The Note is a 1500cc that does very well. It cruises very nicely at 120kmp and has quite enough torque also. (4400rpm)
Sounds like you need to get your car looked at...

[omae mona]

Meanwhile for the ETC kill switch. I think you are talking out of your ass. Because I don't quite see the diff between a car without ETC and a car with ON/OFF switch. I don't need ETC for my daily trips. I don't need to have it on all the time. I'm not paying for lowjacking the car by myself.

Pardon me if I'm showing my technical ignorance here. But is there a difference between cutting the power to the ETC transmitter versus just removing your ETC card (with the IC chip) by pressing the eject button?

[Greji]

Pardon me if I'm showing my technical ignorance here. But is there a difference between cutting the power to the ETC transmitter versus just removing your ETC card (with the IC chip) by pressing the eject button?

They just had a shot a couple of days ago on TV news about a dude that was pulling his ETC card out and going through the ETC express lane bumper to bumper with the car in front who would open the gate. They caught him because he has to use his ETC to enter, and even though he slipped out on the heels of another car, the trip registers on the ETC computer at the toll gate end as an Error, which flags it for review. They reviewed the films from the surveillance cameras to verify what he was doing. The computer show something like 75 times he had done this. So not only does he get arrested by he will end up paying the whole amount plus whatever the judge gives him.

[omae mona]

They just had a shot a couple of days ago on TV news about a dude that was pulling his ETC card out and going through the ETC express lane bumper to bumper with the car in front who would open the gate. They caught him because he has to use his ETC to enter, and even though he slipped out on the heels of another car, the trip registers on the ETC computer at the toll gate end as an Error, which flags it for review. They reviewed the films from the surveillance cameras to verify what he was doing. The computer show something like 75 times he had done this. So not only does he get arrested by he will end up paying the whole amount plus whatever the judge gives him.

That might just be the motherfucker who has been tailgaiting me!

Well, I think that might confirm the answer to my question. Obviously after he ejected the card, the toll people had no idea who he was until they looked at the video. I have a suspicion that Coligny paid for an expensive custom installation, when the eject button already has the same effect.

[Greji]

:-) That might just be the motherfucker who has been tailgaiting me!

Well, I think that might confirm the answer to my question. Obviously after he ejected the card, the toll people had no idea who he was until they looked at the video. I have a suspicion that Coligny paid for an expensive custom installation, when the eject button already has the same effect.

Well, I don't know about your set up, but mine shows where I got on and where I got off on the billing. It would not take a rocket scientist to run the programs versus errors and compare them with the account numbers and since all ETC sites have surveillance cameras that will show the car and license, there you are.

[omae mona]

Well, I don't know about your set up, but mine shows where I got on and where I got off on the billing. It would not take a rocket scientist to run the programs versus errors and compare them with the account numbers and since all ETC sites have surveillance cameras that will show the car and license, there you are.

All I was trying to say is that that Coligny's special project to get a custom power switch installed was probably pointless and a waste of money. When you eject your card from the device, I believe it is as good as dead, just as if you cut the power. Every device has a card eject button built in, so there's no need to get ripped off by your local mechanic.

[Coligny]

All I was trying to say is that that Coligny's special project to get a custom power switch installed was probably pointless and a waste of money. When you eject your card from the device, I believe it is as good as dead, just as if you cut the power. Every device has a card eject button built in, so there's no need to get ripped off by your local mechanic.

Yeah, enjoy... An ETC is basically a transponder. I don't know if he broadcast an ID all the time or only when called by a gate. I don't know how they designed the system. But if they made it so that a gate can't distinguish between a car without ETC or a car without the card in the ETC (or other soft error) then Tanaka Highway IT should be fired. For me, in doubt I assume that it's an on-power-always-active transponder. For cars you call this more a lowjack. The cost ? I bought me a double polarity lit toggle switch at my electronic shop for 600Y, a cute drawing to my car salesman who is a former mechanic explaining the desired layout and that was it. Switch off, no ETC, toggle the switch, ETC asking for the card. You need a double polarity switch because ETC have 2 + leads (key in position for accessory and ON) or you can cut just the ground wire... but it's not exactly a good design

[Coligny]

The Note is a 1500cc that does very well. It cruises very nicely at 120kmp and has quite enough torque also. (4400rpm)
Sounds like you need to get your car looked at...

Did you ever drive one ? at 4400 RPM the engine scream more than a schoolgirl on her first dark alley trip. The gearbox in normal mode have a lag beyond acceptable. There is no throttle off response unless you switch to sport mode. Who put the engine at 3000 RPM where it start to be loud enough to cover the radio. Then you have better throttle off, mean you can safely go downhill at 40-50kph without using the brakes and with drum brakes in the back it's better to avoid stressing them. The trouble... in this so called sport mode past 50 the engine is so loud than you want to take the bus or rather go by foot. The sitting position is awful (weird small angle between the -bad- driver seat and the steering, the pedal travel is ridiculous, brakes move front back but throttle goes more up/down)

Also, your definition of cruising nicely is not mine. At 100 on the highway this thing is so vulnerable to lateral wind that you don't drive, you sail. My previous Audi A4 (B5) who was a lemon was effectively cruising smooth starting at 80 and more, it was the nicest car around, not an Autobahn Stormer but really in her place on the highway. Trouble... in town she was worse than an elephant in a chinaware shop. And it was 99% of her use...

The Note is an excellent grocery getter, never fail, small outside, big inside, barely eat. But as a car, it's an insult. The Audi was a nice driver car and the tiptronic gearbox whyle being an early model was an interesting feature. But you had to fight to carry 3 girls and their hanbags. The Note is the opposite, you can carry half of a -japanese- soccer team, but it's an every second fight to drive it.

Now if you want great torque. On the street, not on the paper. The Honda fit always surprised me even with an 1,3l engine.