peter.liu

Does all mark II aristos have ARS ? Mine is the V300 (not vertex) my mechanic and also my colleague says i don't have it.

Plus I have a couple of 'problems'

1. When the rear wheels goes over (around 30mph)small potholes the back end skips out of line

2. When i brake heavily from about 60mph the back end loses stabilty ie wants to do a 'fish tail'

3. When on full lock slowly turning right down a slope i get a click click click sound coming from the front left suspension and also squeaks when the front end goes slowly over bumps.

The shocks were new in July and also had a wheel alignment done. Does anyone know what could be wrong ? Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Another memeber leaving UK for HK, is UK that bad? Too be honest you dont really need a car in HK, public transport is very efficient.

Good luck anyway.

HK will welcome you, plus you can still buy Lexus over here.

Any idea?

try here:

http://www.japanbid.com.hk/en/Car_Toyota.htm

City & Motorway driving with ac on... i normally get 9.0 km/l

Yes I am prepared to get new larger rims anyway, so not too worried about the clearance issue....

Peter - Thanks for the kind words. :) Did you get only the front supra brakes or the rears too?

Paul - Let us know how you get on with yours :) Thanks for the info about the new calipers. Do TRD actually make their own pads then or are they just rebranded?

Only on the fronts, my relative installed Tom's brake kit....3 times more expensive but does not equal 3 times more stopping power. Previously i used TRD pads...produced great amount of brake dust, now i am using Toyota pads.

Hi guys,

I have been looking at brake upgrades for the Aristo. I don't need a BBK for road use, but plan to try and eventually get the car up to around 450bhp so want brakes that are up to it! I have been reading on the net about the possibilites and MK4 Supra Calipers seem to be a good value upgrade, especually with a few sets of the UK spec ones on ebay.

I have not read much about the improvements they make to actual stopping power. I know Stav got some for his IS200 and didn't really notice a big difference. Any Aristo owners gone this route and is it worthwhile? They do look nice. Is it worth getting the rears too (which are 2-pot I believe)?

Thanks,

Anees

First of all congratulations on your purchase. I am using the Supra brake kit on my Aristo and compare with the standard brakes the actual stopping power has greatly improved. I have never used BBK so i cannot comment. Judging from your photos you might need to change your rims, I am running on 18" rims and for heating issues i have installed spacers. Hope this helps.

the relay seems to be the better option.

I saw Steve from Charlesworth today and he suggested wiring in a bulb holder between the pos and neg terminals going to the rear indicators.

I would also have to leave the bulb in there.

Apparently this is another option which is probably more reliable than adding the resistors as they could burn out

This is what my mechanic did to my car after i installed the LEDs.....first we used a 25w load resistor but became extremely hot...the 50w is a bit bulky so decided to fit in an extra bulb.

Yep, just followed the procedure supplied by goodoldgrandad found out the error codes...1 minute job. Since its not a big problem will have to wait for a couple of weeks to sort it out.

A new problem has risen after a heavy downpour yesterday found out some of the LEDs of my tail light had blown/not working, supposed to be waterproofed...bugger.

Thanks goodoldgrandad, retrieved the AC codes....there were 3 trouble codes

1) Code 33 - Air outlet door position sensor.

2) Code 41 - Air Mix door Servomotor circuit (passenger side) - explains why ever since i bought the car the passenger vents only blew cold air never warm air.

3) Code 43 - Air Outlet Door Servomotor circuit.

Ah well just have to find how much its gonna cost now.

Thanks for your help and advice goodoldgrandad, so do you know exactly whereabouts is this fuse? under the bonnet? footwell?.

I see you are living in South Yorkshire, well lets say i was born & bred in West Yorkshire (huddersfield) but now based in HK.

Cheers for the info. Skeet, yes it is a MK2/161. Anyway will try and solve the problem when there's time, thank *** the AC is ok, cause summer(HK) is here.

As the title says, air is only coming out from the centre & side vents. When pressing the switch to direct to the footwells or to the screen no air comes out from these vents (climate control is ok). Prior to this problem there was a buzzing noise (about 10 secs) from the area of these buttons. Does anybody know is this an easy fix ?

Thanks.

Yeh 2nd one was better, 3rd one too long. Not everyone knows this but at the end of the rolling credit of this latest film there is about 15 seconds of 'extra' clip.

Congrats Vazoosh. Regarding the mines ecu, I got information from www.mines-wave.com for my already installed ecu. Typed in the S/N and they replied with whats been mapped. Altho octane rating is set to 100 I'm using 98 with no problems.

Yep, I have fitted rear LEDs on my Mk II Aristo and yes the warning bulb lights up. Our electrician tried fitting a 25w load resistor....after about 10 seconds it became too hot to handle, apparently it is designed to mount the resistors to the body of the car to dissipate the heat... have since exchanged the resistors to 50w but have decided to live with the warning lights on now....just occasionally check whether any real bulbs have blown.

Have you tried cleaning the throttle body.

I have recently replaced my lower arm bushes (TRD ones) no need replace the arm, however my clunking noise when going over uneven roads is still there...?? I had also changed the upper control arms, suspension, drop link, ball joints, rod assy tie, end steering rack and boot steering rack.

Thanks for all the pointers. I'll have to investigate these.

Noticed from going back through the service history that the air filter was only changed fairly recently. However, I'm wondering whether they didn't fit it properly and this is a possible cause?

Unless anyone has any better advice, I'm gonna try the following-

1. Set the wheels air pressure to the correct psi

2. Reset the ECU.

(Anyone any advice on this because I have heard different things- is it better to drive harder or slower after resetting it?)

3. Getting a full geometry on the wheels on the 24th- something the car inspector recommended and notable within the car's history about steering issues.

4. Failing all that, book it in with the garage to replace the plugs for Denso's and change of 02 sensor.

5. Failing that, sell it on and buy...something else. Maybe another Alfa?? Er...then again, maybe not.

From my past experience after getting a full geometry my fuel consumption was about the same.

For more information regarding the O2 sensors see the GS300 forum (page 3 i think) title 'Important advice for those who have a higher mileage GS300'. Not sure where the O2 sensors are on the IS, surely some other IS members should know.

Just a thought check the O2 sensors, needs cleaning or maybe replacing.

Hi Nigel, Yes I am using the TRD Sportivo suspension kit (changed from KYB) on my Aristo with the TRD antiroll bars and TRD strut tower bar. The ride is not much different than stocks but the roll has reduced, like everyone says installing TRD antiroll bars is well recommended. Also addition of a strut tower bar reduces the roll even further. Never used Tein so I cannot compare, as for Toms alot more expensive than TRD because they use N2 coilover setup I believe.

HI Pro Lex,

I do a lot of miles in the car, and I didnt want to go for the full coil over option, i did how ever want to keep the ride, and reduce the roll.

I did look at the Tein CS spec, but I believe that these are discontinued, I have another Jap car for going quick in.

What do you think to the TRD Dampers and Springs, do you have the spring rate specs for the TRD Ariso springs?

Please can you PM me a price for the ARB's and the Bushes, and the TRD Dampers and springs.

I have also been looking at the Toms Parts from a US website

Any one else have expriance of the TRD Dampers ?

TRhanks

Nigel

I had the same problem a few weeks ago on my 99 aristo, I guess the starter motor should be the same as yours. Anyway had to check the terminals to see if they were loose, checked the starter motor relay which was ok, checked the battery's condition....needed a new one. So after changing the Battery all was well for about a week then the problem started again....yeh only happens when the engine is cold, when the engine is warm there is no problem. So asked the autoelectician....he says it's the starter motor. After removing and taking it apart he confirmed the starter was the problem. So after replacing 1 part and adding some lubricant to the starter my car starts with no problems (costs for overhauling the starter HK$ 900 approx 65 pounds)

Hi Mark, Happy New Year! So have you decided which you are going to buy? because the owner of the black aristo has lowered his asking price to HK$168,000. (www.28car.com N0. s148329)

I'm 23 (bought when 21) and I'm driving an Aristo so that makes me an old man too (hehe).

It's really a matter of priority.

In terms of handling the cars are:

1) Evo

2) Skyline GT-R

3) Aristo

Ride Quality:

1) Aristo

2) Skyline GT-R

3) Evo

Reliability:

1) Aristo

2) Skyline GT-R/Evo TIE

Stock Performance based on power/weight ratio:

1) Evo

2) Skyline GT-R

3) Aristo

That's all I can think of right now.

I picked up an Aristo mostly due to it being a motorway cruiser and sleeper. ALOT of people actually think it's a stock GS300 with "import badges" on the car until they try and "race" on the motorway or from lights. Ride quality is excellent as well as typical Toyota reliability. Stock engine can handle anywhere between 600bhp for VVTi and 800bhp for NON-VVTi (VVTi has weaker/thinner rods than NON-VVTi). Gearbox can handle 500bhp, but anything more and you'll either have to rebuild the gearbox every several thousand miles or upgrade to a TH400 or similar to handle the power.

If I had to do it again, I'd pick the Aristo again. Car gets a LOT of attention from people especially after the "wheels" and especially when the car leaves people in the dust. I get asked LOTS of questions on it...;). It's rare (over here anyway), not alot of people know what it is, hence keeping all the "haters" at bay (as someone else said before).

Also a Aristo doesn't necessarily bring in an "old man" image...as long as the car has some nice clean modifications done in terms of aesthetics. Wheels, lowered, grille, tints, etc all just change the whole "view" people may have about the car. A 3 piece Spoiler (JP lookalike Erebuni) and retrofit on headlights with a front lip and rear lip and side skirts will completely transform the looks of the car. It'll definitely make it look like a sport executive saloon, with a few modifications performance wise, will also give it the power to back those looks.

Me and Maneesh can definitely attest to "attention" grabbing fact. Me having just wheels and no lowered suspension (as of yet) and 6000k HID's gets me more attention that the typical Skyline or Evo will get (as they are a dime a dozen so to speak). Maneesh having wheels, lowered, TTE front lip, tints, etc.

You are right... a few mods can make the aristo look very good...

However...there are just as many Aristo's, GTR's, Imprezas, Evo's and Altezzas in HK.. so in terms of being a bit different... it will be quite hard.

If my mate is going to sell his Aristo off for a couple thousand quid cheaper, then id defintely consider buying his. Has a nice subtle bodykit on...nice big 20' chromes....awesome sound system... think he spent over 10,000 pounds on the ICE alone...

Hi Mark, this aristo you are talking about is it the black one at North Point? cause me and my relative (also aristo driver) went to see it ....very very nice. Since it belongs to your mate I think you should take some photos and show it to the club members.

Yeh its that one... its usually in the Encrust Customs garage in North Point... I've been waiting for pictures off him for quite some time... but he still hasnt sent them

Hi Paul great looking brakes, regarding the LED lights any problems with the bulb failure error in the dash? I have also fitted LED tail lights although slightly different from yours, and are they waterproof?