Thunderbird2

I have two of the TRD quick shift ones, since i purchased the TRD gear knob while i was in Japan last year, and have since purcahsed a TRD quick shift - hence, one is for sale :D http://au.lexusownersclub.com?showtopic=2974

Humph! :D TRD Coilovers, sways, clutch and quick shift have done wonders for 'ol Thunderbird2!

Wow - awesome to see someone attempt and accomplish this. Now - what improvements have been made?

We had an IS250 attend a Motorkhana here in Sydney recently. Everything you may have heard about the handling being best of breed is true - despite the lack of a functional handbrake, and a driver who was attending his first motorkhana, the results were exceptional. Excellent balance, excellent braking, good initial throttle.

We are currently running a group buy through Prolex on our forums for their much talked about IS200 turbo kit. If we get enough people in on the group buy, expect the cost plus install to come in around the same as 4ACES efforts, possibly less. All depends upon how many people we get in on the group buy, and where you have it installed.

If your documenting the buildup, please start a thread on our forums: http://forum.altezzaclub.org.au There are a few Perth owners who would love to hear all the details!

Brett/Obsessed's engine has forged internals and much other tricky bits. Not sure about head work. Big injectors. Brett can fill in the rest! Ray Hall Turbocharging are 'famous' in Oz for the 2JZGTE conversion they performed on an IS200, however AVO in Melbourne did one of the first turbo install on an IS200 Auto in Australia (Eric, TRD328 on our forums http://forum.altezzaclub.org.au) and have alot of experience with custom turbo setups on Japanese cars (eg. the Mazda MX5). We have ID'd one more IS200 turbo in VIC which recently appeared at this years Summernats. Then there is Brett's beast, which is having a transplant at the moment i believe (he is usually fairly tight-lipped on these details, at least until it's all sorted, right Brett? :D) In fact. from what we have been able to tell so far, there are more converted 1J and 2J Altezza's in Australia than there are custom turbo's. Hopefully, with the injection of some lovely Prolex kits later in the year, we should see some more custom turbo IS200's running around!

What Mac said.

We are still gathering interest, so we do need a bit more time... one month at most?

So there are some more Australians lurking around here now. Welcome aboard! And let us know if you want to be in on the next Lexus IS cruise (the 4th Brisbane and ?th Sydney cruises will be happening in January).

How did you enjoy the Tokyo Motor Show? I had the pleasure of visiting as well this year - in a word, AWESOME! As far as car parts go, i went to the Super Autobacs WOOW CIRCUIT in Nagoya. Amazing selection, huge place, but really no cheaper then buying locally here in Australia.

She's fairly stock: These coilovers are great for keeping 172 Clio Sport's at bay!

Well - update for those who are interested; I finally got myself some coilovers. TRD SUS kit, no less! And i concur - they are stiff!! But nicely adjustable. Out with the old Sportivo replacement shocks and springs, and in with the new! Height and damper adjustable, the damper is adjustable in 4 steps. On the road, you could consider the steps as follows: 1. Gee, that's nice and tight 2. Wow, stiff suspension 3. Oops, there go my dentures 4. Is their a chiropractor in the house? I am currently driving around on Level 4, to fully experience the hardness of stiff suspension, and so that when i go back to 1, it will feel like i'm driving a stock car again! Haven't had the car fully adjusted yet (full geometry alignment etc), so more to report later. But suffice to say that initial impressions are as follows: the difference between these and my past setups are CHALK AND CHEESE PEOPLE!!!! :woot:

I've been haunting these parts for a little while now, and figured i should contribute to the warmth and fuziness: Name: Matt Car: IS200 Sport Lux 6MT Age: 28 Can usually be found out with my fiance and my other mistress!, devouring winding back roads. Can also be found babying our Altezza Club we have down here (for AU and NZ peoples).

Bernard, some cool pics! You guys get a great turn out like this normally? How often do you meet? Our last meet down here in Sydney was our largest yet, with 15 cars: http://au.lexusownersclub.comindex.php?showtopic=1299

Apologies on diggin up an old thread here, but i'm baffeled as to why i don't see anyone installing the Nakamichi single or double DIN head units? Some say our factory unit is a Nakamichi, some say a Fujitsu Ten. Seems to me the Nakamichi double DIN headunits get top marks for sound quality, look nice and simple and elegant, and provide minidisc and in-dash CD stacker. Ie. just like factory. Would seem a good option for those who want less rice with their ice...??? Cost is a factor though i guess. Does anyone have one of these in their IS? Does anyone even know the headunit i'm talking about??

They are known to be a noisy/clunky gearbox. Many consider the clunkiness to be partly due to the lack of torque going through the gearbox/driveline. My advice: - Make sure your gearbox oil is changed at EVERY service - Fit a short shifter (eg. TRD or B+M) for smoother changes (doesn't 'fix' anything, but makes it feel 10 times better) - a lighter flywheel will make a big improvement - an aftermarket clutch will make a big improvement - from pretty much everyone who run turbo's/superchargers: more power = no more clunkiness (expensive fix, but worth it!)

The way i see it, your options are: 1. Keep 3SGTE, purchase 3SGE BEAMS, perform the 3SGTE conversion to the BEAMS motor (one of the Altezza Clubbers in NZ has done this) 2. Sell 3SGTE to fund a 1JZGTE or more expensive 2JZGTE conversion (we have a few such conversions in our club also!) If you are worried about the work required for a conversion, though, do not consider the 1J or 2J conversion - custom engine mounts, gearbox, diff etc! If you want power over handling though - the results are truly awesome though, much more power then is healthy, and with coilovers and the like, still very respectable handling.

Just to add to this thread, down here in the Colonials we find the same thing with our IS200's - clunnky 1st-2nd change, some have clunky 3rd gear change. Slipping clutch/clutch shudder when cold. The clutches tend to rattle as they wear out; find a quite spot, let your car idle, and move the clutch in and out and you will hear if you have a rattle (the sound will stop with the clutch in). I have found that by babying the 1st to 2nd/2nd to 3rd change, you can makes things smoother. Change 1st to 2nd in two motions rather than one. And make sure you have the clutch ALL the way in before you slip the gear (i have a tendency to slip the gear before the clutch is all the way in when i am hurrying changes, and this usually results in me bumping the gate going into 3rd). Worn clutch is a major symptom. Mine has had it's day, i will be changing to an Exedy sport clutch and either a TRD or JUN flywheel (ditching the lowsy dual mass item). The shortshifter does wonders as well, but by all accounts the silver bullet is definitely MORE POWER, via TTE supercharger for example. Essentially, in standard IS200 guise, the gearbox does not have enough torque running through it - too much play(?). Altezza RS200 and IS200TTE owners seem to have little/no problems with the gearbox in this regard.

Perhaps i should qualify: Where budget is a concern, and you mainly just want a lowered car, then the TRD Sportivo set is fo' real. Where your willing to spend extra because you want good handling, and don't mind compromising one ride quality, go the coilovers. A good Koni setup would be the best 'bang for buck' coilover set for European or Australian buyers (they are quite afforable down here also). I'm looking at TRD coilovers mainly because my experience with TRD stuff is good, and i able to get cheap TRD parts *shhhhhhh*

UPDATE: Have been running the TRD's for a while. These are the TRD Sportivo shock and spring replacement, and matching sway bars. Results are good overall: car sits flat, but rides very much like stock! For those looking at lowering their car on a budget, the TRD Sportivo shock and spring combo is the only choice - stock-like ride quality, better handling, lower car, and not as expensive as the coilovers. Everyones a winner, baby! Best partnered with the stiffer sways, i think! Have to say though, the Koni's without the uprated sways provided better handling. They were height adjustable also, but this required maching a groove to change the perch position. Considering this, i am now looking at the TRD coilovers... are they really that stiff???

That's was my plan, Zee! However, not sure now - had the Koni's fitted yesterday. Have only driven for about an hour on them across town, it was late so i was able to have a bit of fun. Drove down some familiar roads with a good variety of corners and roundabouts and the like. Handling has improved dramatically over my old setup, obviously (this was stock shocks, Eibach springs so was worse than stock really). The handling is definitely alot better than stock now. My grip limits have extended dramatically beyond where they were, and i have new found respect for my Michelin's! In fact, not sure where the limits are now, but certainly my cornering speed has increased dramatically - went throught a nice 'S' which is posted at 35KMH (~20MPH) which i would normally hit at 70KMH (44MPH) on my old setup. With the Koni's, my entry speed was 80KMH (49MPH) into the first bend, than 85KMH (52MPH) on exit! There was more there too, so looking forward to exploring these further on the track. Only thing is: the Koni's are bloody noisy! Not when driving with intent, but when puttering around town the make quite a noise over cobblestone style bumps (where the shocks are makign many small movements). Any way of dealing with this?

I am currently weighing up between a Koni/Eibach combination, and a set of TRD's...any advice would be appreciated, as i want to just install one set and be done with it. Have started new thread: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=22670

Have a dilemma which i need some advice on - would help if anyone has run these products before, of course. I have recently purchased a set of coilovers for my IS. Koni yellow adjustables with Eibach springs. Practically new, have been on an IS200 for <1000kms. They come with custom bump stops and should be the biz (developed on an IS200 by a guy who does the suspension for some of the V8 Supercar teams.) On the other hand, i have been offered a set of TRD coilovers with TRD sways for about half the price i paid for these coilovers. The question now is do i A. Fit the Koni's, sell the TRD gear B. Fit the TRD gear, sell the Koni's C. Fit the Koni's and TRD sways, sell the TRD coilovers Knowing next to nothing about coilovers, all i can see is that the Koni's are adjustable, while the TRD's aren't. However, the TRD shocks and sways have all been purpose built/developed to work with the car. Certainly, from a monetary point of view the TRD setup makes more sense, but i could sell it for a profit to recoup costs anyhow. Really not sure which way to go....?! Your thoughts?

Down here in Oz, i gave the Nitrogen a try before we went away over Xmas. Did 5000kms in two weeks, two of us and a boot full of luggage along some of the best roads the south coast of Australia has to offer (*sigh* The Great Ocean Road...). Ahem - No noticeable fluctuation in tire pressure, where normally i would be topping the tires up a couple of times. As far as wear and economy is concerned, bah, negligble. But i definitley find my tires don't deflate as quickly as they used to. 'Course, my tire shop gave me metal valve caps as well, not sure if they are helping as well!