el_bandido

cheers! I'm not far from MK actually, how much did they set you back?

looking good dude, I installed mine not so long ago, might whip them out again though as they don't quite match up to the circle of the light casing.

Hello, I've been looking for a set of centre caps for my IS200 and come across a picture of these: Apparently they are OEM, anyone know which car they are from and whether they will fit into an original IS200 17" alloy?

Turbo 1g-fe could do that, I'd put the 1g-gte internals in though. Quite a lot of people just replace it for the 1G-GTE (old twin turbo supra engine) and be done with it. I reckon the cheapest option would be a turbo 1g-fe. As far as I can work out, it seems to be a mixed bag as to when people uprate the internals though. Some people run over 300 fine and others turn to mush at 280 or so. I've been looking in to this quite heavily lately. Got the 1G-GTE crank, rods and pistons sat in my garage waiting to go in. I reckon if you shopped around and did most of the work yourself you could probably just about manage on £5-6k. You are best off asking someone who has done it as I'm basing this on a few solid months of digging about on the net. You have to start thinking about other things once you up the power though; brakes, handling, clutch etc. so it will get very expensive very quickly. I'm basically trying to save £10k, though that brings it squarely in to 1JZ territory.

Another option is to go and buy a 1JZ-gte vvti engine and R154 gearbox. Utterly ridiculous amount of torque available from sub 1000 rpm and it won't be that much heavier than a turbo 1g-fe. Also got extremely good after market support. edit: officially 280bhp with a stock engine, with some extremely good tuning potential.

off topic, but which front lip/skirts are you running? Looks tasty.

Fair enough, I take it you aren't planning on changing the dampers then? How much of a difference has being on lowered springs made to the insurance just out of interest?

Why not just save a bit more and get some adjustable coilovers?

right, after much faffing about with the front brakes, I finally (stupidly) realised that the rear brake pad clips are missing on the drivers side caliper. Anyone got a spare set?

awesome, saves me a few quid then. Am I right in thinking it's the same gearbox as the S15 runs?

stav, is that the stock 6 speed manual? How much torque can it handle? I've been hearing it turns into a box of triangles past 300ft/lb

I'll be grabbing a pair too. Might even get that set on ebay, would suit my granite sky paintwork I think!

not to my taste, but good workmanship none the less!

I want a set of those mazda wheels. I take it the centre cap pops out? Edit: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-ORIGINAL-MAZDA-RX-8-ALLOY-WHEEL-BLACK-ANNIVERSARY-/300584583613?pt=UK_CarParts_Acc_Wheels_tyres_Trims_Car_Rims_ET&hash=item45fc3cc1bd#ht_1048wt_905

scratch that, was ***** easy. Mission accomplished!

has anyone got an alternate link to the guide? Currently got my headlights in the oven and I want to make sure I've not missed anything.

Did the engine/gearbox mounts mate up to the standard ones with the 1G-GTE and W58 in?

Touché, I should have thought about that! Daft question, but what kind of mpg do you get with the 1g-gte in? If I'm going to start swapping out entire engines, I'll just go and buy a 1uzfe and be done with it.

I thought the 1G-GTE internals were 8.5:1 where as 1GFE was 10.1:1? Perhaps I have been misinformed. edit: thanks for the information though, all things I need to consider. Someone on driftworks wants 375 for a complete 1g-gte.

1) Lower compression ratio with the 1G-GTE internals should mean I can run a bit more boost later on. I eventually want it to hit closer to 400, just don't think that's particularly sensible to jump to straight away as my driving experience is limited. 2) Why wouldn't I want to keep VVTi? I'm not trying to come across as a complete ******, just can't see any disadvantages to having it.

Stav - can you PM me a rough shopping list please. Aiming to have all the bits by March. I'm planning on using the 1gfe with 1g-gte crank, pistons and rods so I can keep the VVTi. Hoping to end up with anywhere between 250 and 300 horse. Don't want to go too mental though as it still has to get me to work and back without being too daft on fuel.

have you tried asking them not to fill your car with crap?

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but is there a "how to turbo your IS200 from scratch" thing around? I've got 1g-gte internals ready to install, am I correct in thinking I just need a manifold, T28 ish size turbo, zorst, intercooler and an ECU + mapping?

I'd need the full kit, as I am running standard lights with xenon bulbs in. I assume I'd have to split the standard headlights to install these?

ok, I'm interested. Any chance you could find a picture of them fitted to an IS200?