E910

Very nice. Yes both mirrors should retract. With the aftermarket GPS make sure you get one that turns on when powered up rather than having to press a a power button each time as you may not be able to access the button when its installed in the housing. This thread maybe of some help to you http://z4.invisionfr...pic=10286&st=25 & this one for wiring http://z4.invisionfr...showtopic=10108 What ECU is your car running? If it's a plane blue Greddy one they can't be mapped outside of Japan

Maybe you have to be a member to view that thread. This is what the bush looks like Wasn't having any issues before I put the MT-90 in. Just felt what was in there was feeling a bit old & I wanted something fully synthetic. The difference after putting it in was very noticeable. Shifts were much smother. 1st-2nd went in with ease. It had been a bit of a pain at times. I also notice a huge reduction in drag, lifting of the gas at 100kph/62mph the car no longer slowed down as quickly.

RL 75w90 in the diff will be spot on especially in a colder climate.

Redline is a little pricey but well worth it IMO plus there's not a lot else that's GL4 in 75w90. The only other one I've found is made by Amsoil. You'll need 1.95L for the gearbox & 1L for the diff in the IS. Diff oil only has to be GL5 80w90 although I'm running 80w140 fully synthetic in my factory LSD for a little extra high temp protection.

What oil did you put in it? Don't think a short shifter will make it any smoother. I've got a TRD in mine & it's good but putting Redline MT-90 in the box made the biggest difference. There's a rubber bush that the bottom of the shifter sits in, that supposedly wears out over time. A Japanese tuning company (Beatrush) make replacement brass ones. Could be worth a look http://z4.invisionfr...showtopic=10206

Those suction guns work well & yes you will need a 24mm ring spanner to get to the filler plug. Out of interest what oil are you using? I hope it's no higher than a GL4 75w90. I'm running Redline MT-90 in mine & can't recommend it highly enough.

The box is the same but they use different bell housings. So as long as you have a 3SGE bell housing you can make a IS200 J160 box fit

+1 Silver. The darker colour makes the rims look smaller.

Speaking of music vids, how's M.I.A's new one Full on, but very cool http://vimeo.com/11219730

1. Ditch the factory stereo, they eat CD's & you wont be able to pick up most UK radio stations on it anyway. I replaced mine with a nice Alpine that has iPod control & USB input. 2. The metal disc drive is the sat nav brain as such. The navigation runs off a CD. You can remove it but you need reconnect a few wires or your RH front speaker wont work anymore. There's info on how to do this on the ACNZA forums. 3.Plenty of people have commented that twin plate clutches are noisy on the Altezza'a but if it's more the gear box making the noise then I'd get it checked out. Best thing you can do is put some Redline MT-90 oil in your box. 4. Japanese sat nav wont work outside of Japan as it works on radio freq rather than satellite. As sparkystav said put a aftermarket unit in there. You'll need one with a 5" screen for the best fit.

I'm pretty sure Eibach made the springs for TTE & with the demise of the F1 team it looks like TTE stuff will become obsolete when out of stock through your Toyota/Lexus dealer from the note on their web site www.tte.de TEIN S Tec is another option I would look at.

Prolex UK have TOMS & TRD air filters (IS300 use the same filter) http://www.prolex-uk...products_id=631 http://www.prolex-uk...products_id=447 Here's some other part numbers to help you track one down K&N 33-2170 Blitz 59505 Apexi 503-T107 Greddy 12512512 (TY-12)

Single piston caliper (note the caliper has a half circle cut out of it) Twin piston caliper (most common)

Duel mass flywheel on its way out?

Disc & pads will be the same as an IS (although some base models had single piston calipers which are shared with the ES300) so pays to double check first. Genuine oil filter is 90915-10003, same as a 2000's Corolla & Celica etc. I now work at Toyota & can supply Altezza parts to anyone interested

Could be front lower ball joints. Pretty common fault on IS/Altezza, well most FR cars really. I did mine about 6 months ago. Was making noises like you've described. Easy fix.

So do you run Linglong tyres on your van or as close to OE spec as possible? Do you drive you van spiritedly on B roads or does it stay in the city/motor way? That's really what I'm getting at here, you should be using tyres as close to OE spec as possible. Using anything less will be detrimental to the handling of your car. I'll keep buying quality tyres & you lot can keep buying crap, no skin off my nose.

There's a good Altezza motorsport build thread on my.IS if you haven't seen it already http://my.is/forums/...buildup-319542/ for a bit of inspiration Looking forward to see how yours turns out

"In order to earn the circled 'E' on their sidewall, tyres have to pass the ECE R30 high-speed test, which ensures they can carry a specified percentage of their rated load at close to their rated maximum speed without failure. But there are no statutory tests of braking, handling or aquaplaning performance, and even the R30 test is considered inadequate by many car makers. In other words, just because a tyre can legally be sold in the UK, that is no guarantee of its performance in safetycritical aspects of normal driving." Like has been said before if you can't afford to maintain your Lexus properly then buy something cheaper you can afford the upkeep on. Budget tyres don't have a place in this end of the market IMO.

So why do you drive a Lexus & not a Daewoo? Is it just for the name or do you actually prefer a car that's well made & will last longer than 10 years?

What? That's a weird way of looking at it. Crap tyres aren't going to stop you as quickly as good ones in the wet or dry. Have a read of this tyre test & tell me you'd still skimp on tyres http://www.conti-onl..._article_en.pdf They're the only thing holding you on the road at the end of the day, how can you put a price on that??

I voted for DMX as it's what all the ICE heads use. I planning to get some for mine when I upgrade the fronts. It's definitely worth doing. Cuts out so much road noise & improves bass response

1UZ-FE will be nice. I think they're lighter than the 2JZ-GE in the IS300. Couple of small turbos should bring the V8 to life. If you chose the N/A route then have a chat to these guys for some ideas http://a1turbos.co.nz

Replaced front lower ball joints. That got rid of the worst of the noise. Got front & rear sway bar drop links next on my shopping list but that'll have to wait until after my holiday to the UK in July.

The Altezza would be the best base for a track car IMO. If it's a Z or L edition it'll have a factory LSD otherwise they were optional (But you'd want to upgrade it anyway I guess.) Either 6cyl will add more weight over the front wheels upsetting the balance. The 2JZGTE is great for outright power though. The 3SGE is easy to turbo. Greddy & Apexi make off the shelf kits & it wouldn't be very hard to fabricate your own manifold either. TODA make low comp forged pistons for them. 2JZGTE pistons can also be machined down to fit as well. Some good reading on the subject HERE