Thunderbird2

Here's some more of Brett's handywork, a 1JZGTE IS200 putting out 300rwkw that is owned by another member of our club: And here is our club's first V8 conversion (disregarding Boothy's V8 Altezza race car in NZ). 200rwkw without VVTi (it's not working yet) and bucket loads of torque. It's running through a 5 speed manual gearbox:

Still more work to be done! Post registration, there is more tuning to be done for the car's first outing on the quarter mile. At this time, Brett will set about chasing some records. So, he's still very busy on this project, but expect to see some updates before the year is out. Meanwhile, here are some pertinent images from the Toymods Toyotafest show:

Well, Brian_J and myself had a 'quick' ride in this thing on Saturday. OH. MY. @#$&%$ ***!!!!!!!!!! I've never laughed so much in a car in my life. Incredible. The enormous power, even at low psi was awesome, but I was stunned at how it revved and how instant the power delivery is, full blown race/drag car stuff. And amazingly, underneath it all you can still feel that there was an IS200 there to begin with. This car won 6(? - i lost count!) awards at Toymods Toyotafest on the weekend, including best interior. And no one was surprised. It's world class (and should be world record breaking as well).

Well, Charlie's not going to say it, so I will - his car has a straight through, and the 1GFE with a straight through exhaust sounds HILARIOUS! Yet to be dyno'd to see if it has really done anything tangible... but for the anti-social sound, it's a bargin.

FWIW, I did the Eibach Sportline springs way back when, and the initial (placebo) effect was great. But really, the stock shocks were never up to the task of dealing with shorter springs. Every IS/Altezza owner I know who has put shorter springs on their car and expects improved handling has ended up with replacement shocks/springs or coilovers (I have been through four different setups before I was satisfied). I also experienced a similar situation to what you describe, however this was due to greatly uneven rear camber between drivers and passengers side. Further down the line, one of my stock rear shocks began to leak (to be expected with shorter springs). But as far as bump handling goes, it's never going to be roses with shorter springs.

Looking good! The red IS was released in Australia as a Limited Edition run of 75 numbered cars, known as the Caliente. Is this the case for the UK? Either way, you don't seem to see too many around in this colour. Suspension next? *nudge nudge*

Heh heh - you would be right! I popped into the workshop a few weeks ago and Brett was fabbing up a new washer fluid bottle for the wipers! The exhaust system is exceptional as well, with the floor pan all modified so the much larger than stock exhaust can run through to the back without handing too low. The queue to ride shotgun starts behind me!

Update Production is finished! Orders have been despatched today. And here's what those people who ordered a tee will be receiving:

And at the end of the day, that makes very little difference to most people. Not EVERYONE wants to change gears themselves, and there's nothing wrong with that. Not to mention, the RS200 5AT has NOTICEABLY more torque than the RS200 6MT. Around town, 5AT > 6MT. And as proven on the circuit in New Zealand, 5AT can be > the 6MT there too. But now we're talking about different drivers... too many variables. I choose manual over auto every time (unless your talking about a Holden), but that's just me. Sean, might i suggest you look at intake and exhaust modifications, and perhaps a CAMCON controller. Many good reports on these types of mods for the Altezza can be found in these and other forums if you look.

I like the car, not the badge! Doesn't bother me what it's called! At the end of the day, it's much the same car to drive, and that's why we like all like it, because you drive one and you say, man, this looks good, it feels good - i want one! I have Lexus paraphenalia, Altezza paraphenalia, it's all good. 3 orders to fill before production begins, which should be the end of this week.

Actually, all IS200's IS300's were made in the Toyota factory in Japan as Toyota Altezza's. Rebadged as Lexus for European, US, UK and Australian/S.E Asian markets. Apart from varying trim levels and badges, your still driving an Altezza. Lexus IS200 = Toyota Altezza AS200 Lexus IS300 = Toyota Altezza AS300 Toyota Altezza RS200 has no Lexus equivalent as it was never sold outside of Japan (except as a grey import). Lexus Sportcross = Altezza Gita The Toyota Altezza was also offered in Japan with the option of 4WD. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_IS It wasn't until the release of the new generation IS that the Lexus brand was launched in Japan, and thusly the Altezza name ceased to exist.

Seeing as the Lexus IS200 IS an Altezza, and the IS300 is an Altezza, and the RS200 is an Altezza and the AS200 is an Altezza, then it makes perfect sense to just have the t-shirt say - 'Altezza'. I've ordered 4... not all for me, mind you. Still - spot the fan boy.

Hey there, Just wondering, i have noticed a few IS's on UK LOC sporting 'TRD' front lips which were sold here in Australia as part of the Elegance body kit (ie. not a TRD item, but a Toyota/Lexus OEM item). TRD do not list any side skirts in Japan, and I have a TRD front lip (not installed yet) and they are lower in profile than the Elegance lip, and the lip does not curl up as high on the side. Just interested to note if what is sold as 'TRD' differs between countries! Matt

We had an RS200 here in Sydney with much the same problem - car was ok unless you gave it a bootful, at which point it would 'flat spot' above 5000rpm as you have described. It turned out to be a faulty MAF sensor, and the owner ended up replacing the whole throttle body to sort the problem out.

Heh heh - and last week we were talking about bringing in some TTE S/C's through TDi, and i expect the 1J will be on the cards before the end of the month... 1UZ with 5spd ftw.... pending a drive of Mos's car (we hae a V8 conversion just about to be completed here in Sydney).

Sounds like a case of new rubber feels grippier to me. I'm on my 3rd set of Michelin Sports and i went up to 225's to feel the difference. ALOT spongier, less responsive on turn in. Definitely not as grippy. But i don't mind the compromise since my TRD coilovers are quite stiff, and i will just change rims/tires for the circuit.

150'00kms and counting. Synchro's are worn, but the gearbox is only marginally 'clunkier' then when i first got hold of it. I've driven smoother gearboxes (MX5) and clunkier gearboxes (anyone driven a landcruiser?) Or Holden (read: Vauxhall Monaro). It should be noted that increased amount of torque through the standard gearbox does improve the 'clunkiness' as does a short shifter, at least in my experience. This was also the case with the turbo RS200 i have driven - much smoother gearbox. I find that if i change at peak torque the shifts are almost always very smooth. Trickier with a lighter flywheel but same applies for a standard setup.

I beleve the IS200 Sport's LSD and the RS200's LSD are the same, both torsen items. They are typically very clunky, but then that goes for the whole driveline in these cars. They stand up to plenty of abuse though, and we have at least 2 1JZ conversions here in our Club of Altezzaness in Australia running through the standard LSD without any major drama's. 1 of our members will be fitting a TRD LSD shortly, and i shall get him to report here for those who are interested. We also had a member replace his standard LSD for a Cusco 1.5 way item as he was tracking his TTE IS200 alot. It was slightly more aggressive on take up but paid dividends on tight circuits. With regards to your question re: RS200 suspension vs IS200 suspension. At least here in Australia and in New Zealand, the IS200's have a much longer suspension stroke and sit much higher than the standard RS200. Spring rates seem to be quite similar though, and for this driver at least, there's little difference in ride quality. Red Panda, i'd say that you need to look at the spring rate and shock rate of your existing setup, as there might be a mismatch. At the least, seek out a good suspension specialist before you go changing parts.

Ahem, my apologies, typo - 1:26 = 2:26 actually. At no point was James May quicker than the now 60 something Jackie Stewart!

Then your playing a game of compromises - which area do you want the car to be best in? Otherwise, you have a jack of all trades and master of none! Still, comes back to rule number 1 - learn to drive your car faster on its own first. No compromises at all this way! The recent of episode of Top Gear with Jackie Stewart teaching James May how to pilot a TVR around a track is a perfect example. Jackie puts a 1:59 down in the TVR. James May puts down a 2:26. Then, in a day, Stewart teaches May how to drive quicker, correct throttle control, apexing, braking. May's time drops by TWENTY SECONDS. It's not like May isn't a good driver already. Just shows how much of an impact skill has on ones driving. Apologies for the soap box, just a bit of a pet topic of mine - too many people, particularly those into modifying, place to much importance on modifying their car to make it go quicker, rather than modifying the driver first!

Everythings negotiable. PM me if your interested, i will find out shipping costs. Transaction would be via Paypal.

I'm by no means experienced in these matters, however my limited experience tells me your approach is all wrong! If your looking for quicker lap times, you need to focus on these three key aeas: 1/ Your driving ability - no matter how good you are, this can ALWAYS be improved, and this is the one thing that will have the largest effect on your lap times 2/ Your tires - spend the money on decent semi slicks, RE055's for example 3/ The weight of your car. Strip it out as much as possible. First thing i would do is go to an Advanced Drivers Course or three at Mondello, get an expert in your car and see what they can do with it around Mondello. This will give you something to aim for! Just looking at the Mondello website, the track does appear to have a few long straightaways. However, cornering skill/ability, braking ability, and acceleration out of corners are all cruicial to good lap times, and none of these things will eb improved by a turbo or supercharger. Assuming you are at the limit of your cars ability in it's current trim, and assuming budget is not an issue, then a full TRD house NA motor would be my weapon of choice, however not knowing what Mondello is like, perhaps a good supercharged setup might be just as quick? *shrugs* If you just want power, turbo is the answer. A well engineered turbo setup can also give the balance of a supercharger setup with less weight penalty. The few turbo setups i have driven were somewhat laggy, hence i favour supercharger, but if your just building a track car, NA all the way IMHO!

Just to confirm, they are the same as i am using a TRD clutch for SXE10 in my GXE10 IS200. Flywheels are of course different between GXE10/SXE10.

An RS200 here in Oz had a similar problem. In this case, WOT throttle would lead to the car loosing power. You could drive it around, but if you gave it full welly, it would lose power considerably until it was restarted. A complete throttle body replacement was the only solution in the end.

3SGE BEAMS swap is the preferred option, actually.