BernardTamHK

TRD bumper is PVC for sure (& the grill is CF).... TTE, I'm not so sure. I think its made of fibre glass and also comes as a whole unit (bumper, chin & grill). When you are talking about mixing TRD & TTE ... if u r talking about mixing the front with the TRD sides... i think it looks fine. The TRD side skirts are pretty versatile when matching. I think u should try to find a lower priced used TRD grill first (ie ebay or something), then if you can't find ...buy a TTE bumper.

I wouldnt say Audi TT is the worst :P .. i had one for 2 yrs and I loved it (I only had to go in for a few oil changes during that time ... no probs at all). with the 225hp version and quattro in the snow .... it was great. I'd say there were lots of good stuff ... like 6MT was top notch, driving feel was tight & accurate ... etc etc u knew u were going to draw fire when u posted ur list .. :D

thats great Chiba! Congrats ..... u r probably the 1st and only member on here that actually owns an "AS". I know they are the same everywhere else, but the fact is, no one has ever had one badged "AS".... excellent. .. maybe u will be able to tell us abit about any subtle differences! I doubt u would be able to get an owners manual on pdf ..... i've tried looking for one for my IS. .. but could never find one. Welcome to the club btw! ... show us some pics when u have a chance!

get a new battery dude .... it always fails at a time when u need ur car the most (or extremely late for work).... u can hear the pain in my voice ... ;)

actually. ... i retract my previous statement. I did some further testing on an IS with HA on the more stiffer damper setting .... and its surprisingly good. Sporty yet comfortable. For the price they retail for, its worth it I think .... even better if you use the standard upper mount, you won't get the noise that comes with the more expensive pillowball mount .....

i wish my IS roars .... ... u should keep it ... :P

burning rear wheel rubber .... how did u manage that? :P

just my 2 cents .... i've been in cars with a varyin TEIN setups ... alot of our car club members out here use them. If they are HA, I would not recommend. Too soft. Altho if for dirt cheap prices, it might be worth it to give it a go. But pls bear in mind, in Asian countries like japan & HK, suspension kits rarely last more than 60K km (due to road conditions and driving environment) ... so keep that in mind when buying used import products. Type Flex is probably the best bang for the buck choice. Some members have used them for over a yr and still not a single squeak out of them. Altho I personally think the CS is the best. Cos it uses pillow mounts instead of just the ball on the top which prevents the "noise" as some ppl experience. RA would be another popular model, altho I think its too hard and harsh, but definitely excellent on the track. SS .... My personal opinion, stay away!

plat-ice ... hands down.

mediocre acceleration, high gas consumption, problematic stereo. inspite of the above, I still bought one and am loving it .... so that should tell u somethin!!! (you only asked for the weaknesses .. so i'll spare u from the massive list of strengths =) ). "BUY ONE NOW" seems to be the key phrase eh :P?

None! .. can never have big enuff headlights!

Hi there... i might be wrong .... but I think its a "made in china" product that tries to mislead ppl into thinking its made by "Apexi" ..... I wouldnt consider it if I were u .. especially for something as important as ur suspension.

thanx .... damn .. i was really hoping it had one! .... i guess taping it up a bit would stiffen it up a little? .... but i dont think it would have that much affect .. since a piece of rubber (small one) would have minimal "give" ....

sorry .. gettin a bit lost here, so does the IS200 have the spring or no? I gathered from above, the Tezza doesnt .... Just bein a bit lazy, cos my car is not parked at my home .. so I can't just walk out and look at it :P .... For sure I hope there is one... cos that would explain the unresponsive pedal. I had always just thought that it was an inherent problem with drive-by-wire systems. Any IS200-ers looked yet?

interesting responses guys. Thanks! really narrowed down the scope of things to check (didnt know where to start actually) .....lemme go give it a once over ....

its kinda hard to describe .. but the sound is like ... "lock lock lock ..." on bumps/corners ..... it seems to be coming from the front driver side. I'm not sure if its the shocks, ball joints, the pillowmount cracking ... or somethin related. Any ideas? i know we got tons of gurus out there! thanks in advance!

has anyone noticed any rust under their trunk lid? There are 2 holes on the underside of the trunk lid (on the left and right side), doesnt seem to serve much purpose (unless it was somehow used to install the spoiler ....). I've noticed that around the edges of the holes, rust has started to form ..... Anyone experiencing the same thing? ... its nothin serious ... but just looks a bit ugly when i pop the trunk. I guess i'll just sand out the rust ... and apply some vaseline around the edge (and probably put a sticker over it to cover it up).

yup ... there is a fan motor .. that comes on after the engine is shut off to prevent overheating of the parts. the timing/location sounds very much like somethin related to the cooling fan. u should check it out .. if somethin is loose or similar.

personally ... best bang for the buck i think is 4.7 final ratio upgrade. Altho u lose a bit of top speed and run at a little high rpm (hence noise) ... the increased response is well worth it.

hey ETL ... they are not an ecommerce site... they are actually physical stores .... located in taiwan. Im goin to visit there... so want to checkem out

hehehe ... yeah .... if ur friend wants to do some off roading .. he can use ur springs for higher ground clearance! hahahah :P

sorry man ... feel for u .... clearly not a mature business to use spite against their customers. better luck somewhere else eh ....

thanx guys .. but no cigars for anyone. I was finally able to dig up the name ... its called "AutoBacs". :P

dont worry .... u didnt buy a lemon ..... its a common problem on quite a few IS200s. The symptom is ... u hear something flapping/loose ... somewhere in the roof ... near the dome light. The sunroof looks sturdy and works fine. If u push up against the roof with ur hand near the dome light, the sound disappears (or gets smaller). sounds about right? If ur car is under warrantee .. then just tell them to change the frame and re-silicone everything. This would solve the problem. If u r like me and out of warrantee.... then just do wat I did (cos the sunroof kit is freakin expensive to replace!!!). I told my local shop to take the sunroof apart ... re-silicone ... and put it back together. My rattle went away. Either way, u will need to drop the lining and do something to it ... theres no way around it really ....

FGK man ..... the answer to ur dreams. I'm sure someone from the UK has it... cos i've seen it on the mod's list somewhere on this site..... im sure of it! :P.... hahahah.... anyways, FGK (aka fujitsubo) powergetter will be perfect for u i think. its a bit cheaper than HKS too ...