Which Jap performance car to go for....

Atomic Pineapple

posted this in the motors forum too but thought i'd post it here, might get more opinions...

ok so after yonks of threatening to get rid of my car and get me something a bit more powerfull i've finally sorted out my finances and came up with a list of cars i want to look at.

i'll have to save through the summer first so i'm gonna be out and about looking at cars and finding out whats the best i can get, so as per usual i've to ask you lot what you think first...

i'm after a jap performance car mainly, heres what i was thinking

-Toyota Celica ss-III or GT-4

-Toyota Altezza

-Toyota MR2(older model)

-Nissan 200sx

-Honda Integra Type-R

really like the 200sx but finding a nice looking but standard one seems hard, love the celicat gt-4 but again looking on carzone doesnt seem to be many.

I should have about €15000 to spend on the car, so what do you guys think, which one would you go for? and any reason you wouldnt go for the others?

i'll be driving it daily too (30 - 40miles per day)

Tanabe

Engine is standard on this one:

http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=638974

Kimbot

200's will be hard gotten in a good state unless you bring it in yourself as alot of people are getting into the drifting now!!

As I said in the other thread go for an ITR-DC2 >98!!

ricey

Get a car in from japland

fto111

What about something like this?



http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=20140&cat=2

FOGOFUNK

'teg hands down.

ctc_celtic

340bhp and still have money left over:D

stephenmarr

Second an Mr2 but you need to buy a
Turbo rev3 GT T-Bar spec (not a GT-s spec turbo)
i had one and you will not be dissapointed with them very comfortable quick reliable.

Atomic Pineapple

it actually seems easier to get insured in a turbo rev3 mr2 than a imported integra type - r, i dunno what the story is with insurance or how it works anymore

stephenmarr

the mr2 is a quicker car than the Teg i had mine clocked with an Apexi rev speed meter doing a 0-60 sprint of 5.1 seconds :eek:

ctc_celtic

insurance has a lot to do with the "image" of the car rather than the power.
if a certain car type is crashed alot, that will bump up the insurance price.

a good example was the plug 306 tdi, not a quick car particulary, but because of so many of them being crashed by young males, the insurance has gone up for them alot. but you could insure something like a Primera GT cheaper, as they dont have a boyracer image.

Rowley Birkin QC

Gonna plug the Altezza again. RWD, that Beams engine, great comfort, practical and unlike the rest of the suggestions here, no boy racer image.

MR2's have a reputation for being very giddy at the front end don't they??

If it's gonna be a Celica get a GT-4, ridiculously good car.

Teg type-r's are getting a bit too common these days IMO and that white paint turns a nice magnolia over time if not looked after!

stephenmarr

The rev3 model mr2 came with suspension upgrades and 2pot calipers up front so handles and stops very good, but with over 240hp at the rear wheels u have to be careful. also i dont think the mr2 has a boy racer image.

Atomic Pineapple

bigkev49 wrote:

Gonna plug the Altezza again. RWD, that Beams engine, great comfort, practical and unlike the rest of the suggestions here, no boy racer image.

actually think i'm gonna go for the altezza now, was looking at a few today, there lovely cars, lots oo auto's about but have grown fond of them and there the most expensive but think i'm gonna stretch to get one.

so anyone got one?
whats to look out for?
what kind of spec should i be looking for around the 15k price mark?

ctc_celtic

the altezza is a great choice, i love them. (but i own an mr2, but will let you away with not choosing one;) )
one think to watch for is if any mods have been done on them, i've seen a few coming in from japan with different front bumpers, stupid rear wings and noisy backboxs. Defiantly get a standard one, much easier to sell on.
dont think there are too many common faults with them, just look for the usual, burning oils, temp gauge, uneven tyre ware and evidence of accident damage, etc.

and of course get the black top beams engine one. (dont know if they come with any other?)

Atomic Pineapple

ctc_celtic wrote:

(but i own an mr2, but will let you away with not choosing one;) )

i think an mr2 will definately be in my drive way....just another few years down the line

and i'm looking for the rs200 version, powered by a Yamaha tuned 3S-GE inline-4 engine generating 210 PS JIS (154 kW) and mated to a 6–speed transmission

domonick

what about a toyota supra ?nice 95 red one on carzone you could pick up handy for bout 10500 ,if you like a bit of poke have a look at a real sports car

ctc_celtic

and i'm looking for the rs200 version, powered by a Yamaha tuned 3S-GE inline-4 engine generating 210 PS JIS (154 kW) and mated to a 6–speed transmission

never heard it call a rs200 version, but yeah the beams mr2 is defiantly the best NA to go for, but for the price you could pick up a rev3 turbo and really be laughing:D

Rowley Birkin QC

Yeah AFAIK theres an AS200 and an RS200, the one to go for is the RS with the beams engine and 6-speed manual 'box. There is a 2-way TRD diff on my mates one, not sure if thats standard on them or if its aftermarket. As the lads said though best to go for standard look, easier to shift afterwards.

They really are a great car. What to look out for is somewhere selling cheap tyres, if you're into that type of thing!

Best of luck in the hunt.

gobby

What about a honda s2000?

stephenmarr

supra a nice machine but very thirsty and unless you go for the twin turbo there not that quick and unreal thirsty. mate of mine had one and my 2.2vtec prelude was a quick as it. now sayinf that there one of the nicest looking cars on our roads.

stephenmarr

supra

Atomic Pineapple

gobby wrote:

What about a honda s2000?

there a good bit out of my price range unfortunately...

cheapest i could find was 21k

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=521537

supra is nice alright but 3.0l engine is too big for tax reasons not to mention insurance reasons

gobby

If your going to be driving ~30 miles per day you might want to get something like a vtec or something thats turbo charged so that if you don't want to be filling the car up too much you can just ease off and not go into the turbo/vtec range and blast through all your petrol

Spitfire666

what about an rx7?
Looks great,
Powerfull,
Not too comon place,
And insured as a 1.3 turbo.
Taxed as a 1.8 though.

Atomic Pineapple

gobby wrote:

If your going to be driving ~30 miles per day you might want to get something like a vtec or something thats turbo charged so that if you don't want to be filling the car up too much you can just ease off and not go into the turbo/vtec range and blast through all your petrol

Dont have to pay for my petrol anyway gobby, company perk

yeh never really considered an rx-7 i assume they need a good lot of maintanence and stuff?

Spitfire666

not realy, if they have been looked after theres no issues with them. its only if they are badly modified with high boost that problems start. try get one that has had an engine rebuild done to save the cost as it can be about 6000 to get done but saying that. most around the 60/70K mark would have had it done.

Check out www.irishrotary.com for any help and info you could need


There has been cases of engines going 200K without a rebuild if looked after correctly.

They will need a remap done to run on our petrol type but most importers can do this.

domonick

i own the red supra on carzone ,as regards to petrol i do about 200 miles a week and i use 50 euro

Spitfire666

theres a lovely well looked after one here : http://octane.ie/ads/car.php?id=217

For 15000. its not so much the fuel costs but the tax thatd anoy the hell out of me.

domonick

i pay it every three months it does'nt seem as bad that way but its well worth it ,i have mine 4 years now have to sell it no room for the kids but when i have a few bob to spare i'll be getting another one for sure

gobby

draffodx wrote:

Dont have to pay for my petrol anyway gobby, company perk

yeh never really considered an rx-7 i assume they need a good lot of maintanence and stuff?

Then Vtec all the way

Rowley Birkin QC

Hate to say it but having driven cars like the Altezza and listening to and reading reviews about the RX-7 it's my humble opinion that a vtec would be the most boring option.

This is my opinion having driven a 1.6 DOHC Vtec, a Type R Integra, 2.0T Skyline and an Altezza. They aren't boring taken on their own merits but put them up against either of the other two and the appeal of the Vtec simply fades away IMO.

That Supra is the mutts nutts too, on my wishlist for the future!!

Atomic Pineapple

damn it all the opinions are confusing.... guess it'll come down to a integra type r vs toyota altezza in the test drives, cant wait to get college finished and start saving and looking around and taking test drives, gonna be the best summer ever

tuxy

stephenmarr wrote:

supra a nice machine but very thirsty and unless you go for the twin turbo there not that quick and unreal thirsty.

So you are saying the non turbo supra is a lot more thirsty then the twin turbo?
What kind of mpg with you get from the tt and na?

stephenmarr

sorry got a bit mixed up the na supra for the size of the engine are not that quick my 2.2 prelude able to beat it.
i had a na supra for a couple of months and it was costing about €70-100 per week on fuel getting around 350miles the prelude was getting 400-500 miles for the same price.
and my mr2 turbo was doing 350-450 miles and the supra didnt have a hope against it.
all im saying for the size of the engine and price of tax of the supra i would rather something quicker with a smaller engine.

tuxy

Now I get you, thanks for clearing that up and giving some mpg figures.

Atomic Pineapple

what would a prelude be like to drive daily stephenmarr?

just thinking there pretty nice and you dont see too many of them around.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=556815

cheap enough too

stephenmarr

the prelude is a lovely car to have very comfortable and quick the insurance is pretty cheap on them. they have 4ws which is nice in a tight spot.some parts can be hard to find.suspension can be expensive to buy but all in all a great car.

Atomic Pineapple

stephenmarr wrote:

they have 4ws which is nice in a tight spot.

do you mean 4 wheel drive or 4 wheel steering there!!?

stephenmarr

4 wheel steering
it takes a bit of getting used to when reversing the car will turn in tighter.

audia31.8roi@ho

I dont know if your still looking for advice or not but i just bought an altezza and i am more than happy i had a gti golf MK4 and there is no comparison the altezza is very quick and very reliable. Serioulsy cant say enough about this car.

Atomic Pineapple

yeh...did you get the rs200 version yeh?

where did ya buy it? get a good price on it?

DriftR

I am aslo thinking of going for an Altezza but my only problem is putting petrol in to it has i will be doing quite alot of milage over the summer. Not sure if il go for sumthing more economical for the time being or what....... Any advice..

Iv also been doing abit of research on pricing an altezza. There is probably savings to be made if u import from england even though the VRT will be high. U can get a beautiful 99 RS 200 for under 6000 sterling on autotrader.co.uk. ANother option i was thinking about was importing one from japan. IBC have a good range and you could pick up a '02 RS200 for about €8000 (Includes Shipment), There would be VRT of bout €4000 on that and 21%tax but it could sell for around €20000 here according to the other 2002's on carzone and Autotrader:D

5995 sterling for this 1 RS200

Atomic Pineapple

DriftR wrote:

i was thinking about was importing one from japan. IBC have a good range and you could pick up a '02 RS200 for about €8000 (Includes Shipment), There would be VRT of bout €4000 on that and 21%tax but it could sell for around €20000 here according to the other 2002's on carzone and Autotrader:D

that sounds pretty good alright but i doubt i'd get time to organise that, i'd love a black rs200 around 2001, pretty standard, i like the trd grill though, sets it off nicely, dont like the quitellit or whatever its called bodykit in the picture you have there

Atomic Pineapple

ok i've settled on the integra type r now i think and i've come to the conclusion that goin to the uk for a non jap one is the best idea so just wondering if anyone would have any ideas on how best to do this? i've found a few nice ones on autotrader, does anyone know if it costs much money to insure a car to drive it from england and take it across here on a ferry?

colly10

draffodx wrote:

ok i've settled on the integra type r now

Ye that's probably the best option, never been in one but heard it's a great drivers car. Been in an Altezza and while it's a good car I wasn't overly impressed by the performance.

5500

What year ITR are you looking for?

Atomic Pineapple

eireal wrote:

What year ITR are you looking for?

1999 or 2000 - Irish/uk one, the one with the round headlights

blastman

If you have a car here insured already, you should be able to transfer your insurance for a couple of days to let you drive the new car home. You'll just need to give your insurance company the model and reg no. of the car you're driving back.

Atomic Pineapple

blastman wrote:

If you have a car here insured already, you should be able to transfer your insurance for a couple of days to let you drive the new car home. You'll just need to give your insurance company the model and reg no. of the car you're driving back.

will there be much of a cost to this? i will be changing it from a focus 1.4 to a integra type r

Spitfire666

it may not cost you anything if your just changing over for a short time to get it back to ireland