greeneyes

Lol Ukazn !!! Love that avatar, really shows the bling bling!!

Too slow anyway!! :D i'm just trying out a new avatar. So damm hard to get one to look good.

Isn't 6250rpm the start of the torque curve??

Motor/gearbox fly forward in rear enders like that. Did the end of the gearbox by the rear end seal shatter or jump out? It looks quite

I'm up for a pair soon on my Altezza. I'm looking at Toyo T1's to mix with the current Goodyear Ducaros and check for understeer/oversteer. i'd like to try Pirelli's but they're over $NZ500 each!

Well, we better get together in Ponsonby for coffee and swap cars for a half-hour. At least we can impress the locals :D

kavey- I've looked at the same for mine, and it depends on the budget! With the 11to1 compression you can only run a mild boost without stripping the engine for new pistons etc. Hence the Blitz one is L6,600 for 270bhp, but the TDi is only L1800. I'm working towards the TDi system, turbo/manifold/lines/ECU etc so I don't have to open the engine up. This will fill in the mid-range under 5000pm, and after that it doesn't need a turbo!! If Dave Ellen emigrates to New Zealand he will have an extra crate to pack!! :D The japanese forums at http://relax.on.arena.ne.jp/altezza/ have a lot of reports from people who have fitted turbos to their Altezzas. Use babelfish to convert the Japanese into Engrish. I did a one day trip from Auckland to Rotorua (230km) and back yesterday. Lots of tight winding back-country roads with no white lines and no cars. Absolutely brilliant fun in one of the best cars I've ever owned. When I'm rich I'm taking it tarmac rallying!! :D

The Goose is right! Altezzas (and Lexi) are common here. Under 10000 pounds for a '99 Altezza, and we have a wide range of Jap cars you have never seen. I walked a Pommie Policeman around a car fair last weekend, as he is immigrating here with the Police. Silly boy wanted Fords and funny things we haven't seen in decades! No snakes, no snow (except in South island), no predators, no poisionous creepy crawlies (they're all in Australia!). You can own guns and do lots of rallying on real gravel roads. The good news is that we have almost no tariffs on imports, so nearly everything is cheaper here than in most overseas countries that import. The bad news is that it is a Socialist welfare State run by the Labour Party- out of the frying pan into the fire! email me at asbestos@ihug.co.nz if you have any serious questions. keith :)

Alignment on mine took only 45minutes. I stood and waited, and watched carefully! Front took a bit of toe-in, and rear was fine. No test driving either. Cost about 15pounds!!!! . $45NZ

Well, would I swap my 210bhp in the 3SGE Altezza for the electric seats in an IS200... I don't think so! I love the handling and the turn-in. Sharpest cornering/ most comfortable ride compromise I've come across. Fuel runs in at 8.5-9L/100Km which is fine, and I agree with all of the things Nige loves about the body! There are a lot around Auckland, but they still make peasants stop and look!

thanks Simon, mine has always squeaked also... :)

Tyres are the answer! I've been looking around Auckland for the best possible, as well as the web. Pirellis on the front and Toyo T1 on the rear, and keep the ride comfortable! There is a firm in Great South Rd Penrose who make up spring kits for lowering cars, just South of Church St. You could try Pedders suspension also. Like 250KW Holden Clubsports, we have more Lexi per head of population that anywhere else in the world!

Someone had their child bang their door open into the midline crease on mine, and I had it removed by one of the 'paintless dent removal' firms. The guy stuck a hardened aluminium rod in through the wiring loom hole in the door and worked the dent out beautifully. Cost $90 for half an hour's work, but it was better than $400 for bog and paint!!

Nope, mine look fine after 38000km and its a '99. In Auckland it rains a lot, but no snow so no salt on the roads.

Aha! It is a GITA semi-stationwagon <_< It has the 6cyl boat mooring for an engine. :( and it has an automatic gearbox for Asian drivers! Never mind, I'm sure they've made ONE example of the sedan with the 3SGE and a sixspeed manual!

Toyota Altezza GITA 2001, 3.0 Auto, 4WD, dual airbags, ABS, delivery km, $44995. Macdonald Halligan Motors LMVD 4WD I will go and check it out tomorrow. One thing about Jap imports in NZ, sooner or later every possible car turns up!!

about 9L/100km in a 3SGE Altezza! :D

Mine does it also. Looking at the (translated!) Japanese enthusiast's pages, it is problem that Toyota will replace the flywheel for. I'll have to get used to it. :duh:

Power, 220kw without too much work, but 300kw if you really want to rebuild everything!! A nice small, light engine though. I bought the Altezza instead of a Lexus because the handling was a bit sharper without the big six in the nose. They are both available in NZ as 2ndhand Jap imports for about L16,000 if two years old. In 2001 I paid $NZ43,000 (divide by 3 for pounds) for my 1999 one. We have wreckers bringing in engine/gearbox units from Japan, some really hot stuff that rarely gets here in a car.

Stop the press!! Search for P510 in a search engine and look through them for things like this http://www.ozdat.com/ozdatonline/featureca...erL/peterL.html The skylinesdownunder.com took too many links.

I was thinking of the Nissan 200sx (sylvia) turbo motor, the SR20DET. I think it uses the same 6speed box as my Altezza, is a rear wheel drive 4cyl that is reliable at 185kw and very popular for drifting in Japan. All you need is to find a recent 200sx that has had a big rear ender, or I assume you could get the motor and box from a Jap import wrecking yard. Look up www.skylinesdownunder.com.au or similar for detailed pages on how they have been put into Datsun 1600's. (my other car....) Great horsepower quite cheaply!

In New Zealand Toyota bring in Jap imports and run them through their factory to make sure they are up to warranty standards. The only manufacturer to do it, and an excellent idea. I am also looking for more mid-range in my 3SGE, and was hoping to alter the VVTi. However I can't find anyone who has touched it, it is all too new and too expensive. I assume altering the oil chamber bleed will alter the valve timing. The answer appears to be a small turbo at 5-7lbs boost. I think the TDi kit is this. You don't need an intercooler or change of injectors as far as I can determine, but you do need a supplementary ECU. Look through the Japanese clubs using babelfish to translate. They have fitted turbos and done a whole range of mods. The pages also have the costs and the criticisms in perfect Chinglish http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr and http: //relax.on.arena.ne.jp/altezza/ I found a page that listed dozens of Japanese car clubs and web pages. good luck-¿

Well, maybe not you so much as your compulsory Entitlement Card, with its photo, encripted personal details and barcode. You VILL all get vun. It just won't be compulsory to have it on you at all times to start with...

Looking at the amount of armanents pouring into Britain from Eastern Europe for the drug gangs, I'd say armed Police will be inevitable. However they will quite ineffective compared to an armed populace. The terrible increase in armed crime since guns were confiscated in the UK makes it a place I'd rather not live in, and it is the classic example of the bumper sticker- -If you guns then only outlaws will have them- Try www.cybershooters.org

Try this page- http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/t...zza%2F&lp=ja_en There is a lot of on the gearbox problems in Japan. The translation is into Chinglish I'm afraid.