BernardTamHK

octane rating is one thing. But i'd imagine superior fuels (like vpower vs super unleaded) tend to have more additives? Cos I can honestly see that filling with Caltex/Chevron Gold vs Platinum does does in fact yield slightly higher fuel consumption (gold seems to burn quicker than platinum). I'm not saying its because of the RON value, but that I think Platinum has some additives that make it burn more efficient? On a full tank, I get around 40km more on platinum as compared with gold (same driving style), averaged over 5-6 times i've done this test.

the person probably traded the rims for aftermarket ones while he/she was driving it... and then sold off the aftermarket ones & switched for the basic rims to sell the car.

thanks for the feedback guys. I just hope it is in fact somewhere on its way to me .... and that he isnt totally ignoring my order! I'll sit on it for another week and see what happens :)

Hi Folks, Has anyone order these before from (will12182) on fleabay? I paid for them a week ago after winning the auction and have not received any info from him! No email, no nothing. I've sent him like 3 emails now. Any suggestions?

1. Can anyone recommend a good 4 channel amp. Speakers i plan to use: BT: It really depends on the type of music you listen to. I just bought the Clarion APA450 amp (100W max/60W RMS in 4 ohms) and I think its decent and definitely gives bang for the buck! (it only retails for around 90-100$ USD). If you want more power, then go for the 1up version I forgot the model number, I think it doubles the power figures. InPhase XT62 240w(front) - and will they fit Pioneer TSA 6911 330w(rear) 2. What speaker cable should i use? BT: Not too sure. But I'd think any speaker wire is good as long as its thick enough. 3. Best place to secure amp in boot? BT: Some folks put it underneath the liner on top of the spare tire (on a piece of MDF), some put it on the back of the rear bench. I placed my inverted on the rear deck (although some folks have told me I shouldnt do this as it may cause it to overheat), but I'm still waiting for some confirmation about this to be a fact or not, as the instruction manual says nothing about the orientation of the amp, other than "airflow". 4. will i need a bigger battery since ill be running 2 amps off it? BT: I think "battery buddy" would be what you need as long as you dont run your amps while the car is off. If you are worried, then I guess install a 2nd battery in the trunk. 5. where can i get a 12" stealth woofer box? BT: dunno 6. Is there an easier way?! hehe.gif BT: Yes. The way you have chosen is the easiest. I gave up way back when ... in trying to reuse the amp. After thinking a while, its just not worth it .... cos it only pumps out around 20W RMS per channel.

commenting on the suspension components (assuming you dont have them already), for 2K euro you can get TRD yellow coilovers + yellow ARB + chassis brace front (triangle) and back (square). With the above, that should tighten you car up real good and put you on rails. Just beware of speed bumps if you install the back chassis brace, as it decreases the ground clearance by around 1 to 1.5 inches.

Sorry to hear about ur accident Chris! Hope u get ur car back in one piece very shortly. BTW, what rims were you using? The way it broke like that is really worrysome (?!) ... Looks like what happened to my friend who broke 2 spokes off his.

thanks for the advice @sorted_vti ... i dunno if its the design of the amp or what (the heat sink fins kinda flair out to the sides)). Cos it doesnt seem to get very hot at all. I pushed it quite hard for about 45 mins (on volumes that my ear can just about handle at max (with my front windows 1/2 open) ... after getting out of the car, i went to the trunk and touched the amp, and it was "warm" at most ..... i'd say around 40 degrees if i had to guess. Is it really a fact about this upside down thing? or is it kinda like an urban legend or does it only apply to like high powered amps / mono amps that push subs? What do you guys thing? is 45 mins not long enuff? will it get significantly hotter after like 1 hr?

yup ... tam's my surname. Maybe we're long lost brothers or somethin ... I lived in the UK for around 3 years .... 23 years ago.

Hi Russdx, I have 17" Rays Sebring ITC, and have inserted 5mm spacers in the back.

if u havent unlocked ur 180km/hr yet on ur car ... this will be useful. (just like the Apexi RSM).

hi there.... were u expecting a lot of difference when putting in the bonnet sound proofing? the engine bay is actually very quiet and blocked from the cabin (as compared with say an altezza). I would say maybe 70% of the noise comes thru into the cabin via the doors and the floor panels. Putting in deadening material in the doors greatly helps and also a sheet of proofing on the floor underneath the carpet will go a long way to reduce road noise.

Ok folks ... just a brief update. Its now complete (for now :-) ) ..... I have installed a JVC single DIN DVD player, 400W clarion 4 channel amp, and 7" LCD screen in the top dash (an altezza screen modded to play digital video). Sound comes through the stock speakers (I had a sport system), and they are in pretty good shape. All in all, I am very happy with the system. Although I am pushing close to 70W RMS into the stock speakers they do ok, and make a nice clean sound. The bass is pretty bad a$$ too! i'd say comparing with my original system it thumps around 2 times as hard. Anyways, here are a couple of pics albeit a bit bad in quality as it was taken from my phone and during the night!

only 2 choices that are worth the money (i've used both). Passport 8500 x50 ValentineOne If you have the dough, I suggest you get the V1, as its better. x50 is a good second choice, although it can get jammed if you follow a car that has a detector too closely. It also has a tendency to get false laser readings if you get tailgated by a car with HID. I've used both, and are both good. But V1 is the best. X50 is second. Forget about the beltronics one, as it underperforms (my audio specialist resells them ...... but i aint touching one!) Hope this helps.

1.20 GBP per litre 98RON Shell V Power in HK.

Nice! thanks for the advice guys .... i feel way comforted now!

Hey folks ... heres an interesting question ... i know its best to always match speakers that has an RMS rating that is similar to the RMS power of an amp. BUT, what if I put an amp that supplies more RMS power than the rating of the speaker? if i keep the volume reasonable (i.e. dont push the volume past when the speakers start to reach max deflection), will it still be ok? I going to use a clarion amp on my factory speakers (as an interim solution) ..... just wanted to throw this onto the table to see your thoughts on this! From what I hear, the factory speakers can handle around 25W RMS .... but any decent amp can do 50W RMS no problem ....

yup.. thats pretty much correct. The kit is (as you can see in the pics) the gear set (pinion and ring looking gear) and all the nuts and bolts that are needed. Great mod if you ask me. Im assuming you have an MT altezza, if thats the case, a light flywheel+new FD gear set combo, will give u a new feeling for the car.

Hey Robin .... I guess the name is a bit confusing. Basically 4.5 is just the gearing ratio within the differential. As you can see, the differential unit has been taken out, and replaced with a new set of gears (but as you can see in the pics with an more agressive teething profile) On a stock IS200 AT, the final drive gearing is 4.1. Not too sure about MT, but I think its 4.1 also. Some altezzas have 4.1 and 4.3 depending on the year and transmission type. As for the difference, for me it makes a big difference, as specially for the standstill acceleration and mid range acceleration. The power delivered to the wheels is more apparent and in a much "timelier" manner in the power band. The traditional IS is optimized for mileage/consumption. For an even more evident improvement, some ppl use the 4.7 final gear, but for an AT, its too agressive which I'm worried may cause premature wear on the tranny. The cons is that my gas consumption has gone up around 5-8%. I lose a bit of top speed too, before I was able to reach 215km/hr, but now my top speed is around 208-210km/hr. For you guys, as you do high mileage, this may become significant. Personally, I think its a great bang for the buck mod. It is basically a key mod that ppl do on the IS and tezza in our region. One more thing you need to know about is that for MT, because of the way it measures speed, the speedo may be off slightly after install. (The TRD speedo fix kit does not work! so dont bother ...) For AT, as the speed is detected using the ABS sensor, it has no effect.

i knew this title would get ur attention! Anyways .. this has been covered by a couple of member before, but I just wanted to say i've done it and i'm seriously impressed. Basically what I'm talking about, is cleaning the throttle body and changing the spark plugs. Here is what I did today (and I STRONGLY suggest you to do the same), as I felt an instant increase in cars responsiveness. I'm usually not very easily impressed, but this time I am very surprised and happy! - Take off the airbox, and clean the throttle body/butterfly value thoroughly. This means to spray it with carb cleaner and rub it hard with your fingers! (while wearing a cotton glove of course!) You will need to open the value using the throttle cable pulley. Make sure you do it thoroughly and its all clean (silver, and no black stuff!) - Change your spark plugs. My car has 35000 miles. I changed to denso IK20. - Unplug the battery and let the ECU reset. Install everything back, and give ur car a good run! I was so impressed. Basically very low cost, for a significant improvement in the car's responsiveness!!

since i've updated u guys about wat i've done with my IS200. Over the past 9 months, I've made some significant changes to my car .... Since I can't come to ur meets, I guess i'll just have to post some info here ... :D Anyways ... lets start with some pics shall we? my current look night shot with me and my club mates some shots of the installation of my high ratio Final Drive gear Heres the stuff that is currently on my car: - HKS Hiper exhaust - Maculloch HID conversion kit - K&N Air filter - TRD dark/blue headlights - TRD yellow coilovers - TRD antiroll bars - Rays ITC 17" rims - TRD 4.5 Final Drive Gear - 7" Altezza popup tv converted to play DVD - JVC single DVD player - Clarion 4 channel 400W amp

i've heard that the factory 6x9 are specially designed with 2 speakers (1 on top of another). Can someone pls explain to me, how it actually works. Are there 2 channels (2 postive + 2 negative) for 1 speaker? or is it just like a regular 3way speaker, with different sized woofer cones + a tweeter? In this case, it would only need 1 channel, (1 postive + 1 negative) for the speaker. I need to clarify this, as if I replace it with a aftermarket 6x9, (if the 1st case is true) then I will be losing 1 channel from the system, so converting the system from an 8 speaker system to a 6 speaker system. Do I lose anything from a sound quality perspective? This will also govern what kind of amp I choose, should I choose not to replace the factory speakers (4 channel amp or 2x4 channel amp) or 6 channel amp etc.

Fluff ... u serious? That means it has 2 inputs for each rear speaker (i.e. 2 positive leads and 2 negative leads going into 1 speaker?) So that means I need 2 x 4 channel amp ?? why did they do that? are they components (i.e. different ranges) or is it just a woofer cone and a tweeter? but with 2 sets of inputs?

all IS200 in hk are sports. meaning they all have the lexus branded external 4 channel amp that is located behind the glove box. Unfortunately, this amp cannot be reused with an aftermarket Headunit. So the only way to do it, is to buy an aftermarket HU, then add a new amp. But then the problem is speakers. I have no idea how much power the speakers can handle. That is precisely what i am about to do. I will be checking to see how much power my speakers can support once I get back to hk. At this point, I dont want to upgrade my speakers (obviously cos of the $$) but also cos I think the lexus speakers are decent.

i'd say 70% of those cars there are Tezzas. Only around 25% are IS200/IS300. Its the altezza/IS club .. thats why no aristos... hehe in HK .... nows ppl who drive aristos/GS are rich buggers ... so dont like to be seen "conversing" with us .... they tend to consider us "boy racers" ... (altho our members arent so young .. mostly aged 30-40 hehehe) Modding cars in HK is illegal, so I can't blame them. As we always seem attract cops in our club meets if we stay in one location too long.