griderjn

just installed type flex coil overs today. i also ordered the pillow ball upper mounts, but i guess i ended up with the wrong ones. when i tried to swap them, it seemed the springs were too wide. so now i have some upper mounts for just a spring set i guess? anyway, i am having the car aligned next week. i will take it for a long drive afterward and let you know.

first off, good luck in your search for an altezza. i pretty much was in a similar circumstance, i sold my R33 skyline and bought the altezza because my wife and i just had a kid. i believe you will be more than satisfied, and my wife is starting to enjoy driving mine as well. second, an altezza can be AS200, AS300, or RS200. i am sure you want the RS200, the one that comes with the 3S-gE. the AS200 is very SIMILAR to the Lexus IS200, both have a 1G-FE. and the AS300 is very SIMILAR to the Lexus IS300, both have the 2JZ-gE. the Altezza is a Toyota, and i know that Lexus and Toyota are basically the same thing. but there are several subtle differences, most of the Lexus models come standard with "luxury" items that were only options on the altezza. very few altezza models came with leather seats, seat warmers, alarm systems, that sort of thing, posh stuff as you might call it? That being said, your best bet for dependable transportation is probably a well kept Lexus IS200/IS300, with a good "history" as i have seen it called. If you purchase an Altezza, you are not going to know what all has been done/undone/redone or not done to the vehicle as far as upkeep. Not to say that an Altezza will not supply dependable transportation for many years/miles/kilometers to come. a good friend of mine just bought a GT-R 32 and as he upgrades things, he is finding that much of the car has been restored to near stock; from what, we are not sure... decent job of it too, just a little disheartening to go behind someone if you are like us. third, have you tried japan-partner dot com? they sometimes have good deals. finally, when you are searching for your car, search for the Z or L edition if at all possible. Z is sport edition, comes with standard LSD, factory lower ride height, and supposedly sport clocks, but mine has standard clocks, so must be after 1999. L is luxury edition, comes with leather, seat warmers, and some other, not sure off the top of my head. there are also 2 very rare special editions, the Tom's E910, and the Netz edition 280T Tom's Turbo. i want to say there were like 100 or 1000 of the 280T, and the E910 was something you optioned for, like you would buy your altezza, and send it to Tom's in Tokyo, and they would convert it. kind of like how Carol Shelby does the Mustang, you order a Cobra, they buy a GT and convert it... not 100% sure on that one. read this carefully: if you find either of these, make sure you do a very good look over, and request documentation. there have been people who buy lot's of the aftermarket stuff, bolt it onto the altezza and call it one or the other.

just my opinion, i would go with an affordable TEIN setup they have several different options specific to the RS200 much better option than the stuff made for IS200 and IS300 i repeat, this is just my opinion

not angry, just tired of seeing bad advice being given to people who need good advice. Honestly, i could care less when you have your timing belt changed, or how you change it. I will never drive or own your car. The guy asked for some advice, and everyone gave confusing/contradicting advice. Personally, i changed the timing belt (and performed the local NETZ Toyota suggested 100,000 kilometer maintenance) just before my Altezza RS200z hit 100,000 kilometers. I am glad that i did. And i used an impact wrench to remove my pulley crank bolt. And yes, i removed my radiator so that i would have easy access to the crank pulley bolt with the gun style impact wrench. If i still own the car at 200,000 kilometers, i will most likely change the timing belt again, unless i inspect it before then and it requires changing. if i came off as insulting and/or condescending i apologize. I was just speaking from personal experience.

The timing belt replacement interval was changed from 100,000 down to 60,000 miles, get it done VERY soon unless you have a lot of money to spend on a head rebuild. Remember to take into consideration that your car & belt is around 8 years old now. The chance of using an air tool on the bottom pulley is very slim unless you wand to remove the rads of course. £120 is IMO very reasonable for a timing belt kit whether it's Gates, Blueprint, or Toyota, (belt, idler & tensioner) & an uprated kevlar belt would cost near that on it's own. There is a 'how to' guide on the forum, if you are doing it yourself. why not flush the radiator, and put some new antifreeze in it, it will be winter-time soon anyway? removing the radiator is probably the easiest part of the whole process, especially since flushing the radiator is part of the 100,000 kilometer service, which was never "changed" as far back as i can remember, on every car i have ever owned, i have never been lucky enough to own a vehicle that used a timing chain instead, 60,000 miles (which, coincidentally, is very close to 100,000 kilometers) has always been the "timing belt replacement interval" 120,000 miles or 200,000 kilometers would be the next one, then 180,000 miles or 300,000 kilometers. 1 statute mile is equal to 1.609344 kilometers 60,000 multiplied by 1.609344 is equal to 96560.64 yeah, i realize it is not exactly 100,000 but the manufacturer suggests 100,000 kilometers first, and converts it to miles for England and U.S. spec vehicles. so 100,000 kilometers is equal to 62137.119223733396961743418436332 statute miles, give or take. but i would not wait the extra 2137.119223733396961743418436332 miles myself, i would just change it sooner than later. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_ratchet http://www.campingsurvival.com/new1airimwra.html http://www.aircompressorsdirect.com/Campbe...L1010/p179.html for those too lazy to remove the radiator, but still want to use air, my latest invention, no one has ever heard of it, a ratchet style impact wrench. i call it the air ratchet... Kevlar belts can be found that are competitively priced, whether OEM or aftermarket. The timing belt itself makes up for the majority of the price of the set. the idler and tensioner are not that expensive... but you know what, you are 100% correct, do not use compressed air, or hardened sockets to remove the pulley bolt. while you are at it, i can get you some SAE sockets to use since they fit better than the standard metric, who cares where it was manufactured. i mean, what is an engineer anyway, just a guy who drives a locomotive right? hell, why even change the timing belt at all, the damage done if it goes would be the same if you put a breaker bar with socket on the pulley bolt, crank the engine, but only for a second, breaker bar comes loose, and engine turns over. pistons crunching valves, camshafts getting scratched up... fun stuff. of course, when you are getting your -FE (as in 1G-FE) head rebuilt, you can add some much needed power, or just swap it with a 1G-G(T/Z)E head. please people, refrain from giving advice just to plus one your number of posts. there are people who genuinely trust the advice given in forums, and i for one would feel terrible if i gave my opinion to someone about vehicle maintenance, telling them how easy and simple it was, and then they screwed it up. changing the timing belt is major maintenance. if you have to ask yourself, or someone else, "How do I..." then you should probably have it done by a professional mechanic, or someone you trust.

60,000 miles = 100,000 kilometers $600-800.00 in the U.S. for timing belt (idler + tensioner) and water pump is average. oil and filter, plugs, and radiator flush are also recommended at this time according to Toyota/Lexus. Purchasing parts at Lexus or Toyota is not terrible, but it is not cheap. I believe the recommended plugs are actually Denso instead of NGK, but that is not the point. I prefer NGK to Denso, and I prefer Toyota Parts to Lexus, because they are usually the same, just different price. I believe HKS even makes a tougher cheaper belt than OEM (Kevlar maybe?) It is possible to find cheaper, and sometimes better parts in other venues. If you have done a timing belt change before, then do it yourself. If you have to ask, then yes, you will need assistance, and you should not do it yourself. And I don't care how big of a loser you think I am, you should use compressed air to remove the crank pulley bolt, not the ol' breaker bar planted, crank the engine trick... that is just stupid, it is a pointless risk that can end badly. Yes, I realize that licensed mechanics do this in respectable garages, but if they screw something up, they pay for it, not you. Not to mention they do it routinely, not once in a blue moon when it is time on their own autos. And just remember, if you need to take it to a mechanic to finish the job, they hate that more than doing the work normally. Just a little FYI...

no, these are 1G-F(tz?)E motors; not sure about forced induction. if you look at the first photo, you can see six pipes on the exhaust manifold, which means six cylinders. not 3S-GE motors (RS200) for sure, as the exhaust manifold is on the other side for one, also only four cylinders.... very nice pictures though. nice to see professionally upgraded complete cars like that.

it may simply be an exhaust leak somewhere; if you can get under your car, just have someone rev it and feel around the joints of your exhaust system for air leaks. you can also take a look at your cat, if it is busted looking, then something my have broken off in there, and be rattling around.

been busy doing some mods of my own, but just wanted to say i recently installed this, been driving with it for about a month, and i love it. the throw before was so long, that i would get lost in the gears and sometimes shift right into the wrong gear. this seems to alleviate that quite a bit. a friend of mine said that these short throw shift kits destroy transmissions synchros. has anyone else heard this, or have an idea why he said that? i do not notice any difference in the feel of my gearbox, but like i said, only been a month.

E910, where the Kakimoto joins the center pipe there is currently a small leak. i have ordered new bolts and new springs, and i will use exhaust bearing grease if that does not work :winky: Robin H, the reason i focused on the TRD part of the center pipe is because that is a TRD Sport Catalyzer. There is a built in catalytic converter under that cover plate. pretty much the same as factory, just high flow... just so you guys know, i know there is no such thing as exhaust bearing grease... but they do have some kind of stuff over here that everyone uses that we call exhaust goo, not glue, but that is basically what it is. once i get it right, i will try to make a video to post, so you can all hear how wonderful and silky smooth it will be... thanks for the compliments guys, i really appreciate it

newly installed exhaust pics up in my personal gallery, and also a topic in: Lexus IS200 / Lexus IS300 / SPORTCROSS sub forum: Modifications & Tuning thought i would mention it here for your viewing pleasure...

my newest additions to the local NETZ scrap heap; nice guys let me dump all this crap at their dealership out back. man am i going to miss NETZ when I get to England...

a peek under the hood:

after installation:

to be removed: