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The Legana Bumper (l-tuned, Carson Tuned, Trd Neo I)


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For the last few months I’ve been desperately looking for one and through silly amounts of research I believe I’ve found out pretty much all there is to know about this sought after and almost mythical piece of plastic.

Please let me share with you what I’ve learned during my long travels throughout the cyber space.

It all started when I first saw a picture of an L-tuned IS300. I immediately fell in love with the rims, but I didn’t quite fancy the front. After a couple of weeks I had found my set of rims and brought them home to Sweden. However, although they were a bargain I wasn’t really satisfied. Something inside me told me I had to find out a bit more about the front bumper worn by the L-tuned IS in the picture.

ltunedqo3.jpg

I joined several US IS forums (my.is, LOC US, Isfanatics) and began my research. Apparently the L-tuned was a hotted up version of the IS300. I read a review where they compared it to BMWs M division, but that is an overstatement. The L-tuned bodykit was also sold separately and apparently sold out when the kit was discontinued a few years ago. L-tuned quickly replaced it with the Carson tuned bodykit which looks the same but is made from some typical aftermarket material. This kit is still being sold and the front bumper is $700.

I was just about to order the Carson tuned front bumper when another name came up… someone told me I should track down a JDM TRD NEO I bumper, as it’s supposed to fit the non-US spec IS better. At that time I had never heard of the NEO I, but I followed the advice given to me. If you google “TRD NEO I” nothing useful at all comes up, unless you’re like me and go through all the links until page xx. There you find an argument on whether or not L-tuned came up with the design. Suddenly a fourth name was mentioned… Legana.

I finally had a name that took me somewhere, to Australasia. To be able to read everything I wanted I joined two more forums, The Altezza club of NZ and LOC Australia. Once again I had to start all over, searching for a new name, but it paid off. I stumbled upon a great lead, the actual Toyota item number (08164-53010-B0). I later found out that TRD have nothing to do with the bumper, that NEO I is just a name the yanks came up with as they don’t seem to have heard of the bumper’s real name.

The Legana bumper was developed for the IS200 that took part in the Targa Tasmania rally in 1999 and it got name from a small township the first leg passes through. That year, the IS finished first in its class and also won in 2000 and 2001. This obviously shows that the Legana bumper is the original, since the IS300 didn’t even exist back in 1999.

53878_00mg.jpg

My quest continued and I must say I’m fairly close to buying this bumper now. I’m currently awaiting quotations from Toyota in Japan, Australia and NZ.

I’ve found two retailers that currently sell the genuine model.

Japanparts.com (Japan - ¥113,000 + fog lights + shipping + VAT)

Fizz Autosports (USA - $1,436.00+ fog lights + shipping + VAT)

However, they both buy their bumpers from Toyota Japan and then raise the price. Just for fun, I gave the item number to my local Toyota dealer who gave me a quotation for 29,613 kr (£2432)…

There are quite a few fiberglass and FRP copies out there and some of them may fit as good as the genuine one, but it just wouldn’t feel right to buy one of those. Here’s a bumper that’s been developed by Toyota on the other side of the earth and as with most car parts, they probably spent huge amounts of money and time designing it. The Legana bumper is named after an annual rally in which it took part and won three years in a row (Not the bumper itself, but the IS200 that was wearing it). That means it’s got a history. You can drive around knowing that your bumper was made for a purpose, not just to help the fiberglass bloke in Hong Kong afford his hot dog.

Cheers!

Patrik Lindblom

legana1dq0.jpg

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Yeah the Legana bumper is one of the best looking bumpers for the IS / Altezza in my opinion :)

Just thinking though Patrik - have you been quoted with the headlights fitted as they can add a bit of cost if not?

I'll never forget the tear in Zee's eye when he realised the Carbon Fibre bit had been cut out to fit his FMIC - but then that was all forgotten about as soon as he realised how quick it now was with that turbo fitted :D

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Nice info Patrik.

Must admit i do love that bumper but i'm more than happy with my modified tte on at the moment, good luck in the quest.

hows ur's modified stav (apart from the camera, lol)

I've cut away the middle bit to reveal more of the intercooler.

I'll find a pic when i get home.

Stav

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Classy work as usual Patrik :D
I just called my local Toyota/Lexus Parts dept, part number not recognised :crybaby:

(wanted to see if UK and cheaper for you)

Thanks mate :) That's strange, though. If the Swedish Toyota dealers can get hold of it UK ones should also be able to.

Nice info Patrik.

Must admit i do love that bumper but i'm more than happy with my modified tte on at the moment, good luck in the quest.

Thank you :) I haven't seen your TTE bumper, but I really like your camera solution.

nice info matey

Thanks. I hope it's all correct :P

Yeah the Legana bumper is one of the best looking bumpers for the IS / Altezza in my opinion :)

Just thinking though Patrik - have you been quoted with the headlights fitted as they can add a bit of cost if not?

I'll never forget the tear in Zee's eye when he realised the Carbon Fibre bit had been cut out to fit his FMIC - but then that was all forgotten about as soon as he realised how quick it now was with that turbo fitted :D

I haven't got a quote for the fog lights, but I know they are around £250 from japanparts.com

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Ah nice one mate, you won't be let down by it - definitely a good result!

In fact that just made me think - are you really going to pay full Toyota price for the bumper then? As daft as it sounds for a similar price you may be able to get an entire Altezza that goes with it?! Might be worth seeing if Mr Clawley has an idea as then you'd have the power you're looking for as well as the bumper without having to go down the supercharger route!

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Ah nice one mate, you won't be let down by it - definitely a good result!

In fact that just made me think - are you really going to pay full Toyota price for the bumper then? As daft as it sounds for a similar price you may be able to get an entire Altezza that goes with it?! Might be worth seeing if Mr Clawley has an idea as then you'd have the power you're looking for as well as the bumper without having to go down the supercharger route!

Well, I will certainly not pay the full Swedish Toyota price, but I might go for the japanparts price. My main goal, though, is to find a second hand one. It's quite annoying, there are a lot of Altezzas with Legana fronts fitted for sale in NZ, but I don't think they want to remove their bumpers to sell them seperately.

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I don't know if it's any help but I found a website yesterday called Import Monster - you may have heard of it?

It's an Australian site but the best bit is that they have a gateway between them and Yahoo Japan auctions so you can bid on the auctions there. That may be another way of trying to get one at a decent price?

http://www.importmonster.com.au/

mate that bumper is £1000 in the uk from a toyota dealer. pre painted, may be worth flying over buying it then taking it back.

That is a mega price actually - might even be worth just couriering it as budget airlines would probably charge a bomb to take the bumper back!

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I don't know if it's any help but I found a website yesterday called Import Monster - you may have heard of it?

It's an Australian site but the best bit is that they have a gateway between them and Yahoo Japan auctions so you can bid on the auctions there. That may be another way of trying to get one at a decent price?

http://www.importmonster.com.au/

mate that bumper is £1000 in the uk from a toyota dealer. pre painted, may be worth flying over buying it then taking it back.

That is a mega price actually - might even be worth just couriering it as budget airlines would probably charge a bomb to take the bumper back!

I don't know if I'm just cheap but 1k for just a front bumper is insane still lol..

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mate that bumper is £1000 in the uk from a toyota dealer. pre painted, may be worth flying over buying it then taking it back.

That's a really good price :ohmy: I've flown to London and back the same day, quite a few times to document the Gumball 3000 rally starts. In 2005 the flight ticket was £35. This is definitely worth considering.

I don't know if it's any help but I found a website yesterday called Import Monster - you may have heard of it?

It's an Australian site but the best bit is that they have a gateway between them and Yahoo Japan auctions so you can bid on the auctions there. That may be another way of trying to get one at a decent price?

http://www.importmonster.com.au/

I haven't heard of it before, but it might be worth keeping an eye on. However, our fellow Australians and New Zealanders seem to agree that TradeMe is the place to look.

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I'll keep an eye on TradeMe cheers dude :)

If you do come over it would be an excuse for some LOC beers!!

Thanks :) Absolutely, mate! I'lll let you know how it all goes.

Great Info i had no idea they ever rallyed an is200 how cool.

Thank you. Neither did I until I found out about this bumper.

______________________________________________________________

2008-01-13 - My quest continues...

I got in touch with a really helpful chap in Australia. He managed to track down two bumpers, but unfortunately the first one was the wrong model and the other one was a replica. He told me that he's going to keep looking for another one in Australia and NZ.

Meanwhile I've started trying a different approach. There are a lot of Altezzas for sale, with the Legana bumper fitted. I figured it might be possible to convince one of the owners to replace the bumper with an original one and sell me the Legana. I therefore started going through British and Irish used car websites and found two Altezzas with my favorite bumper. I e-mailed both and one of them answered.

You cannot imagine my pulse raise when I read that he’s actually thinking about replacing the bumper before selling the car. However, after a bit of correspondence I found both pros and cons of buying this one. The downside is that it turned out to be a replica and that it has no fog lights. On the other hand, it obviously fits nicely and better yet, it’s platinum ice. I’m currently awaiting a bit more info and some closeup pics of it.

This morning I spent two hours searching for used cars in Japan. I found four platinum ice Legana Altezzas and e-mailed all the dealers. Two of them (Suzuka trading co., ltd. and Global harmony trading) replied quickly. The first one kindly informed my that they can’t accept my request. The other answer was pretty much the same, but they also told me that they sell replicas for ¥30,000 (£230) that look like this

hakog16img600x450118977ww6.jpg

The best source for used Altezzas with the bumper I want seems to be NZ, but as I don’t live there I can’t register a TradeMe account which means I can’t contact the sellers.

I won’t give up, though :)

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I'll keep an eye on TradeMe cheers dude :)

If you do come over it would be an excuse for some LOC beers!!

Thanks :) Absolutely, mate! I'lll let you know how it all goes.

Great Info i had no idea they ever rallyed an is200 how cool.

Thank you. Neither did I until I found out about this bumper.

______________________________________________________________

2008-01-13 - My quest continues...

I got in touch with a really helpful chap in Australia. He managed to track down two bumpers, but unfortunately the first one was the wrong model and the other one was a replica. He told me that he's going to keep looking for another one in Australia and NZ.

Meanwhile I've started trying a different approach. There are a lot of Altezzas for sale, with the Legana bumper fitted. I figured it might be possible to convince one of the owners to replace the bumper with an original one and sell me the Legana. I therefore started going through British and Irish used car websites and found two Altezzas with my favorite bumper. I e-mailed both and one of them answered.

You cannot imagine my pulse raise when I read that he’s actually thinking about replacing the bumper before selling the car. However, after a bit of correspondence I found both pros and cons of buying this one. The downside is that it turned out to be a replica and that it has no fog lights. On the other hand, it obviously fits nicely and better yet, it’s platinum ice. I’m currently awaiting a bit more info and some closeup pics of it.

This morning I spent two hours searching for used cars in Japan. I found four platinum ice Legana Altezzas and e-mailed all the dealers. Two of them (Suzuka trading co., ltd. and Global harmony trading) replied quickly. The first one kindly informed my that they can’t accept my request. The other answer was pretty much the same, but they also told me that they sell replicas for ¥30,000 (£230) that look like this

hakog16img600x450118977ww6.jpg

The best source for used Altezzas with the bumper I want seems to be NZ, but as I don’t live there I can’t register a TradeMe account which means I can’t contact the sellers.

I won’t give up, though :)

Never give up mate.

Well, as I mentioned to you in our corespondence , I will be able to get replicas for quite a good price from NZ with fog lights and mesh. It would be really price effective if someone could organise a group buy in UK, and I can send them from here. Otherwise, I will keep an eye on TradeMe as you I suppose, and if something comes up, just let me know and I will contact the seller straight away with no problems. As I mentioned to you, TradeMe is eBay in NZ... everyone sells everything on TradeMe. I am registred on TradeME and I can ask questions with no prob. I've actually bought just few days ago a grounding kit for my Lex.

Just let me know if you see something that might be of interst.

Cheers

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When I called Milton Keynes Lexus for the ARBs from TTE, the parts guy said "whats TTE then, but dosen't the IS200 comes with ARB's anyway?????" You will need to spell it out to the parts people as they seam to not know that they are on about, thank the lord for this forum, when I gave the part number they were happy to order!!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi P.Lindlom, and to everyone !

I first present, I'm Roberto from Italy. I've a Lexus IS 200 from 9 years and in all this time i've folloed LOC Forum, but this my first thred here.

Abou your purchase, for the front bumper, which a few months ago I would like buy the same, and I realized the differences between "Carson" and "Techno R" already named "TDR style."

Leaving aside the discussion of the price of crowds Carson, I noticed that the version Techno R is maked and selled by many producers, in various materials, and sometimes with some little variant style - under the fog lights.

Here are some 'links or harvest and prices are much lower Japanpart and L-Tuned:

http://www.aitracing.com/shop/index.php?ma...=20a&page=2

http://www.ilovebodykits.com/product/17978...ont_Bumper.html

http://www.bodykits.com/store/product.php?...=302&page=1

http://www.krazykustomzonline.com/0005-lex...er-p-37368.html

http://www.carbodykitstore.com/product_inf...roducts_id=2299

http://www.visracing.com/newcatalog/Lexus/...-Front-Bumper-1

http://www.grounddynamics.com/Templates/fr...&SearchYN=N

They are seriously interested, but I do not understand what could cause a difference on the price so high.

I hope that your purchase of the bumper to be a success, are curious, and I hope that the link you provided, I can help you further.

Bye !

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