RE: Turning Japanese: PH Blog

[dukebox9reg]

McSatan said:

Totally standard, I'm afraid. Apart from a Batman sticker.

Has does it drive, brake, steer etc. Looking at buying one next year to tinker with. Not actually got round to test driving one yet because if I do I sure id be looking at the classifieds with a bit more effort and swmbo has only just signed off on the idea of one next summer (in fairness expecting a 2nd child in a couple of months so is a decent excuse from the wife)

[Beefmeister]

TREMAiNE said:

Also, just a thought -

I reckon this may eventually become a cult hit in the future, when they're super rare after having so many engine failures.



Maybe I should keep mine and sell it for millions!? MWAHAHAHAHA

I saw your car the other day when we went for a walk around the grounds of Thorndon Hall. There was a Cali on the drive too, which was nice.

The RX-8 looked lovely.

[/stalker]

[eglin]

On the basis of the above comment I live right around the corner and have never seen it. Must keep my eyes open as it looks great.

[TREMAiNE]

Beefmeister said:

TREMAiNE said:

Also, just a thought -

I reckon this may eventually become a cult hit in the future, when they're super rare after having so many engine failures.



Maybe I should keep mine and sell it for millions!? MWAHAHAHAHA

I saw your car the other day when we went for a walk around the grounds of Thorndon Hall. There was a Cali on the drive too, which was nice.

The RX-8 looked lovely.

[/stalker]

Thanks! First time anyone has seen the 8 in the wild and let me know!

Stalk all you want! I don't live there anymore and only come back to borrow the Skoda Fabia

[BricktopST205]

The Japs had it all in the 90's and have flushed all their flair down the toilet in the last decade with a few exceptions which come with the pricetag (The whole point of Japanese performance was super car performance for half the price).

I love my ST205 Celica. The over engineering of the chassis, the homologation special parts, the pedigree of the whole package, engines that had been worked on by Yamaha. It was built for purpose and felt special. Now you have cars like the Focus RS which were built on a compromise. The generation 7 Celica was a complete smack in the face to its forefathers. Yes they might be more refined and more economical but when buying a fast car you want to feel like you are in a racing car and I feel that is somewhat lost of what used to be the case with Japanese manufactureres.

Toyota of the 90's :Toyota Supra TT, Toyota Celica GT-Four, Toyota MR2 Turbo, Toyota Starlet Glanza.

Toyota of the late 00's to present:Toyota GT86.

You can pretty much look at all Japanese marques and they will all tell a similar story. Honda doesn't even have a hot car for sale at this present moment!

Edited by BricktopST205 on Thursday 24th July 20:50

[Moosey47]

Japanese cars FTW (and AMG Mercs). I've had a few. 3 x Civics, 2 x MR2 Turbos, a Hilux Surf and this
my old RX-7. It was an itch I had to scratch. Even if it meant selling my old C43 AMG - possibly the best car
I've ever owned.

Pic taken the day I said goodbye.



My daily driver for 2 and a half years until the (built to spec since I bought it without an engine) went pop.....as they do.
It was a strange failure however. Not the tip seals, it was in fact the teeth on the rotor that rotates it on the crank.
It was rebuilt for free (fair play to Hayward Rotary) and in the process went to the favoured single turbo setup.
After that it was ridiculously fast. Easily in the 10-12secs to 100mph. Trouble was my drive to work was/is so
bloody short, that I never had the chance to enjoy it. It had only barely warmed up going either direction.
Of course there were days when I took the long way home and it was a mighty mighty thing. Easily the best handling
car I've ever owned and a beautiful shape. I still don't think it has aged.
I sold it because in it's 400+bhp, single turbo state, it was very recalcitrant on cold mornings and a bit of a pig as a
daily commuting proposition. That plus the fact that it was almost 20 years old and needed constant attention
(which I grew weary of after another year or so) meant it had to go.
I still trawl the RX-7 ads on here though.
Love the Spirit R...........

[TheJimi]

So really, what is the deal with the RX8?

There seems to be two schools of thought here -

A) It's when, not if, it blows up

Or

B) They're fine as long as they're looked after.

I'm guessing the truth lies somewhere between A & B?

[TREMAiNE]

TheJimi said:

So really, what is the deal with the RX8?

There seems to be two schools of thought here -

A) It's when, not if, it blows up

Or

B) They're fine as long as they're looked after.

I'm guessing the truth lies somewhere between A & B?

Its definitely between A&B - but much closer to B, the big problem is previous owners, regardless of how well you may look after an RX-8, if it was treated badly by the previous owner even over a small ownership period, you'll probably encounter some of the known issues they have.

[oliver9523]

Honda S600


Now a treat for your ears...
Jenson Button in Honda S600: http://youtu.be/oY5Uw9aUKLs

[davidcharles]

TheJimi said:

So really, what is the deal with the RX8?

There seems to be two schools of thought here -

A) It's when, not if, it blows up

Or

B) They're fine as long as they're looked after.

I'm guessing the truth lies somewhere between A & B?

We looked after ours perfectly and the engine went at 44k... Dealer said "it happens with them sometimes"..... They need good oil and regular changes, even then you can be unlucky. Sounds a bit daft BUT other than that it was a great car.

[speedtwelve]

I've had a few over the years. In order:




Handling as standard a bit imprecise, no LSD on my car, exploding engines, exploding turbo. Probably bought a pup







Fast, loud, Gran Turismo-like whooshes from behind your head, looked good, excellent brakes, great driving position. Recommended.






One of the least powerful cars I've ever owned but a complete hoot to drive. Comically easy to slide, LSD, direct, tactile. Mine was an S-Spec with Bilsteins, but even a standard Mk1 MX5 is great.






Test drove this and paid £9k for it 10 min later. 9000rpm, chainsaw-in-an-empty-oil-drum soundtrack. Steering very highly geared, a bit lacking in feel, but an adrenaline rush. Probably the only one I'd actually buy again.






Bought as a 'daily'. More high-geared steering, loads of grip, bizarre "feels like it's oversteering but isn't" 4-wheel-steer, addictive VTEC. Don't need it anymore, going to scrap it unless anyone here wants it for nothing....






About those Elise & VX220 comparisons. I've driven both, and the Mk3 isn't quite there, but it isn't far off. Light, inertia-free, very responsive chassis. Way more dynamic to drive than my TVR but massively slower Impressive point to point pace if you corner it on the doorhandles.


There're loads that I wanted but never bought. 300ZX TT, CRX Mk2 VTEC, DC2, Supra TT, R32 GTR... The one on the list that I may yet go for is the FD3S RX7. I think it's one of the best looking cars ever built at any price point (as long as it hasn't been ruined with a fecking Veilside kit). I've asked around and some reckon it might not be a step up from my current V8 TVR but who knows....

Honourable mentions for the 350Z, 370Z, RX8 231 and GT86. The NSX is fantastic but I ain't paying the going rate for one. Sorry.

[zeppelin101]

speedtwelve said:

Bought as a 'daily'. More high-geared steering, loads of grip, bizarre "feels like it's oversteering but isn't" 4-wheel-steer, addictive VTEC. Don't need it anymore, going to scrap it unless anyone here wants it for nothing....

Do you mean nothing or a small sum? Count me interested...

[*Fletch*]

What a great thread, can identify with all the posts, there's definitely something about 90s Jap cars, you either 'get' them or you don't.

Ticked off the Evo V, will be looking for an RX7 (mazdarotary - your Rex is gorgeous) and R34 GTR in the next few years.

Quick snap from a little hoon last weekend:

Edited by *Fletch* on Friday 25th July 09:01

Edited by *Fletch* on Friday 25th July 09:03

[forzaminardi]

BricktopST205 said:

The Japs had it all in the 90's and have flushed all their flair down the toilet in the last decade with a few exceptions which come with the pricetag (The whole point of Japanese performance was super car performance for half the price).

I love my ST205 Celica. The over engineering of the chassis, the homologation special parts, the pedigree of the whole package, engines that had been worked on by Yamaha. It was built for purpose and felt special. Now you have cars like the Focus RS which were built on a compromise. The generation 7 Celica was a complete smack in the face to its forefathers. Yes they might be more refined and more economical but when buying a fast car you want to feel like you are in a racing car and I feel that is somewhat lost of what used to be the case with Japanese manufactureres.

Toyota of the 90's :Toyota Supra TT, Toyota Celica GT-Four, Toyota MR2 Turbo, Toyota Starlet Glanza.

Toyota of the late 00's to present:Toyota GT86.

You can pretty much look at all Japanese marques and they will all tell a similar story. Honda doesn't even have a hot car for sale at this present moment!

Edited by BricktopST205 on Thursday 24th July 20:50

Bit harsh on the Gen7 Celica IMO. I am a bit of a fanboy for this car, I have to admit, but I believe it is genuinely a lot better than popular perception portrays. OK, it didn't have the same rally pedigree of the previous cars, but it was (contrary to most of its contemporaries) fairly lightweight, had a bespoke chassis, an interesting vvti-l engine (made by Yamaha) and much better handling that most recognise. The contemporary Intergra Type-R gets the plaudits for being the supposed best-handling FWD car ever, but the Celica wasn't a pup by any means - and had a proper interior and degree of refinement and practicality the Integra lacked. Similarly, the V6 GTV and Mk1 TT were around at the same time and probably were regarded as more effective as style-concious boulevarders but having driven all of them, I'd take the Celica as the best day to day proposition. The equivalent Prelude VTi was nice (and with 4WS technically interesting too) but overall a bit stodgy, the Fiat Coupe very pretty but flaky, the Peugeot 407 coupe again good-looking but really just a saloon in drag.

So yeah, the Gen7 Celica took the model in a slightly different direction but for its time it was still a terrific car, if anything compromised the package it was probably less Toyota taking their eye off the ball and more them making a more commercially-viable product. I have to admit, such is my enthusiasm for them that if I'd not decided to satisfy my S2000 itch, I'd have another Celica now.

[s m]

forzaminardi said:

The contemporary Intergra Type-R gets the plaudits for being the supposed best-handling FWD car ever, but the Celica wasn't a pup by any means - and had a proper interior and degree of refinement and practicality the Integra lacked

It would be nice to see a comparison test between the DC2 and TRD Sport M

[cocopop]

speedtwelve said:

I've asked around and some reckon it might not be a step up from my current V8 TVR but who knows....

Standard, I think would be a step sideways.

Modified could easily be a step up.

[cirian75]

zeppelin101 said:

No mention of the Silvia?

I'd love an S15, but it offers nothing above what my 180SX has, which is one of the most beguiling and wonderful cars I've owned I think. Very characterful, I love the driving position and it can be bonkers fast round a track one minute and lock-stops hooligan the next.

I'm on my 3rd. I think this one is a keeper.



My previous:





The RX-7 I had was awesome to drive when it worked. The problem was in the 6 months I had it, it had an engine rebuild followed by any number of other gremlins in every other part of the car. I think I managed about 500 miles in it that weren't running in miles...

Always wanted a 180, almost straight swapped my ZR160 running gear equipped Rover 200Vi for one

I didn't.

then one month later MG-Rover went pop and a week my right side VVC mech went and it started sounding like a diesel

http://s28.photobucket.com/user/cirian75/media/rov...

[Guvernator]

I went through a massive Jap phase and still have a soft spot for them, in no small part due to Gran Turismo too. It seems that game really was a massive influence in highlighting the Japanese car market to us Westerners.

Previously I've owned the following

Subaru STi Type R version 5. Brilliant car, the 2 door shape just added that extra aggressiveness, great handling which didn't suffer from the usual Impreza understeer due to the trick adjustable diff, brilliant seats, close ratio gearbox, fantastic turbo engine which revved to 8250rpm, none of this modern diesel like power delivery nonsense, this was a turbo engine which loved to rev and oh the noise. You either love the Impreza burble or hate it, personally I loved it and it sounded even better with a straight through pipe. A few select mods saw me pushing around 350bhp with 0-60 coming up in a smidge over 4 seconds and this from a car designed in the 90's. The pace of this thing put supercars to shame up to 100mph and all for the princely sum of £12k plus £3-4k on mods.

Then owned a GT-R, this was again a fantastic piece of kit. Not as light or nimble as the Impreza but that 4WD system was fantastic and the mid to end punch of this thing was unbelievable. Yet another japanese turbo engine which revved to 8000rpm and sounded spine tingling while doing it, the revvy turbo engine really appears to be a lost art which is a huge shame.

It's a also a huge shame that the Japanese car manufacturers seem to have lost their way. They produced so many great cars in the 80\90's but somewhere along the lines, seem to have lost their b*lls. The only thing representing at the moment is the new GT-R and while it is a good car, even that has lost some of the magic for me. It's too heavy, too expensive and running costs are a joke.

[nickhare84]

what about the nissan pulsar? a guy down the road from me has and runs 2, both black and both very nice. i cant help but turn into a little boy and wish i had one sat on my drive.

I love the fact that they look like a box but there is something potent under the bonnet

[danjama]

nickhare84 said:

what about the nissan pulsar? a guy down the road from me has and runs 2, both black and both very nice. i cant help but turn into a little boy and wish i had one sat on my drive.

I love the fact that they look like a box but there is something potent under the bonnet

The Pulsar and the Glanza are exactly what hot hatches should be about.