New Jap Car

[Hank Scorpio]

What about an Toyota Aristo? Similar in size being a four door saloon and comes with either the 3L turbo 2JZ-GTE or the 4L V8 1UZ-FE (with AWD). Both would have great low end torque and smooth power delivery. All auto of course though.

But from what you said I think its worth a consideration.

[mad082]

Cheers for the explanation mad. I have to say the magnas were enjoyable to drive in that respect, they got to the speed limit easily in 2nd,3rd,4th and stayed there.

This was a manual xr8, and I tried to take off in second and had to give it a disappointing number of revs to do it.

All the while though it sounded great

turning circle of the magnas sucks arse though (trust me i owned 2). you don't notice it till you get to a carpark and where in any other car you could just swing in, you often have to do a 3 point turn.

if you are just wanting to do a u-turn on the road though, if it's a bit wet just use the handbrake. probably the best car i have ever done a handbrake turn with, LOL.

as for taking off in second in the xr8, with the tall diff ratios that they run, just to put it into perspective, that is pretty much like trying to take off in 3rd gear in a skyline, so naturally they will need a few revs to do it. generally speaking, each gear in a commodore or falcon is very close to the next gear in a turbo skyline, 180sx, etc. first gear in a commodore or falcon will be nearly as tall as second gear in a skyline. in the case of the auto's they can be taller.

[Nee-san]

turning circle of the magnas sucks arse though (trust me i owned 2). you don't notice it till you get to a carpark and where in any other car you could just swing in, you often have to do a 3 point turn.

if you are just wanting to do a u-turn on the road though, if it's a bit wet just use the handbrake. probably the best car i have ever done a handbrake turn with, LOL.

as for taking off in second in the xr8, with the tall diff ratios that they run, just to put it into perspective, that is pretty much like trying to take off in 3rd gear in a skyline, so naturally they will need a few revs to do it. generally speaking, each gear in a commodore or falcon is very close to the next gear in a turbo skyline, 180sx, etc. first gear in a commodore or falcon will be nearly as tall as second gear in a skyline. in the case of the auto's they can be taller.

My uncle has a SS ute, cant remember what year maybe 03 or later something like that.

Nice to drive around town, is at the power level where it actually begins to make daily driving interesting.

Pretty "fast" compared to my daily which is an SR5 Corolla wagon and a corolla hatch before that.

very nice just to be able to cruise around with the auto and have super lazy torque at your command, makes driving effortless.

Still boring compared to driving the GT-R though, something to be said for having 400 less kilos and 2.5 times the horsepower

[iseekool]

What about an Toyota Aristo? Similar in size being a four door saloon and comes with either the 3L turbo 2JZ-GTE or the 4L V8 1UZ-FE (with AWD). Both would have great low end torque and smooth power delivery. All auto of course though.

But from what you said I think its worth a consideration.

An aristo is a nice car. The 2JZ-GTE has lots of low down torque. Luxury everything. Soft sprung so its comfortable. Cheap one could be had for 9k/10k, I've even seen some go for just under 8k - but you may want to stay away from these. Looks like a half bred Toyota Avalon and a VR/VS commodore

I'm not too sure about parts and servicing though, they are getting old very fast - possibly parts are available from the lexus GS300???

[zebra]

Nothing from the GS300 fits, the local GS300 was the 161 model, not the 147.

sucks because we cant import the 161 Aristo.

I like aristos, but apart from the 2JZ-GTE they are fkn boring, weigh nearly 2-ton and really starting to show their age.

Suspension/brakes are the same as a Z30 Soarer or JZA80 Supra.

And Dont buy a cheap one if you do, spend 14-15k and get a later model one, all the early ones i've seen are falling apart.

hence me getting a soarer instead.

[GTR-N1]

have you thought about a wrx?

you can pick up a nice classic for 12grand

preety fun cars, not saying just becasue i own one

but the feel and handling of the car makes it fun to drive

and the boxer rumble

...and the seller is...

a) the 1st owner and

b) as old as I am

[bozodos]

he wants less headf**k maintenence, that rules out the WRX...

get an RB20 R32 imo, cheaper to maintain and own, can still make good power, just don't act like a commode driver and shift at 4000rpm or you will be disappoint

[GUN_METAL_GTR32]

s14 series 2 , nice interior , very fast , looks nice , but for 10 grand u will get a crap one , u need like 12,000 to 14,000

i sold mine for 10k with alot of mods and low k's so if u look around u will get one for sure.

definately get an s14 over an r33. get the luxury one with the japspec kit and u will be laughing. the interior is so much better than an r33. power wise they can be very fun with simple mods. mine had 180rwk and it was heaps of fun to drive, easy to kick out, and kept up with a few cars.

[Galois]

Cheers for the replies guys. Thoughts on a TT 300zx? An old family friend is always telling me to get one, he imported his almost a decade ago...

[bozodos]

what apart from having to take the engine out as soon as you even think about it?!?!

[mad082]

what apart from having to take the engine out as soon as you even think about it?!?!

being beaten to post an engine out joke = engine out

[Galois]

lol, i knew that'd happen. Are you guys just having fun or is it really that bad a problem?

[mad082]

i pretty much started the engine out joke. basically the engine bay is such a tight fit that unless you have girly hands you will have a hard time doing some things. and if you drop a spanner, you pretty much won't see it again, LOL. you may hear the clang as it comes out while you are driving down the road though, LOL

here's a pic of what i mean

[bozodos]

looking at that pic just makes me want to take the engine out

[Galois]

holy sh!t u'd need to to change the oil filter