RE: Toyota Celica GT-Four: PH Used Buying Guide
Discussion
dufunk said:
Yeah the Gen5 had 260bhp no VVT at that point then there was the Altezza 280T with the 3SGE Blacktop Beams with a turbo slapped on it very very rare engine those making 280bhp with so much potential for more.
Wow I didn't even know that car existed. I think the 3SGE Beams is a fantastic engine, as good as any Honda Type R engine in it's day but it never seemed to get quite the same recognition. I'd love an MR2 Beams but they are rare as hens teeth.Had a st205 a few years ago, great cars saying only 240bhp is also a little unfair as like for like they were set to much lower boost pressure on the turbo than evos and wrx sti of same age. If this adjusted to match (cheap boost controller) they make a similar 280bhp. They handle well even today and with few mods would still give most the modern hot hatches a run for their money. (the cleaver front suspension used on hot focus etc,was used on gt4 first).
Guvernator said:
dufunk said:
Yeah the Gen5 had 260bhp no VVT at that point then there was the Altezza 280T with the 3SGE Blacktop Beams with a turbo slapped on it very very rare engine those making 280bhp with so much potential for more.
Wow I didn't even know that car existed. I think the 3SGE Beams is a fantastic engine, as good as any Honda Type R engine in it's day but it never seemed to get quite the same recognition. I'd love an MR2 Beams but they are rare as hens teeth.emicen said:
Guvernator said:
dufunk said:
Yeah the Gen5 had 260bhp no VVT at that point then there was the Altezza 280T with the 3SGE Blacktop Beams with a turbo slapped on it very very rare engine those making 280bhp with so much potential for more.
Wow I didn't even know that car existed. I think the 3SGE Beams is a fantastic engine, as good as any Honda Type R engine in it's day but it never seemed to get quite the same recognition. I'd love an MR2 Beams but they are rare as hens teeth.gotta defend the celica here.
£1000 for superstrut change is a once-in-5-years expense - if that.
a clutch - every car can lose one. It's a once-in-5-or-10-yrs-event.
it's a cheap fast car as far as fast cars go.
some simple mods unleash the power and handling it shoudl have always come with. a boost controller, some decent seats, an uprated ARB and you're away for <£1000. you can (like any car) spend a fortune on more bits.
it is undervalued at £10k, supwerb.
but whatever you do - buy the late spec projector headlights cos the standards are woeful.
£1000 for superstrut change is a once-in-5-years expense - if that.
a clutch - every car can lose one. It's a once-in-5-or-10-yrs-event.
it's a cheap fast car as far as fast cars go.
some simple mods unleash the power and handling it shoudl have always come with. a boost controller, some decent seats, an uprated ARB and you're away for <£1000. you can (like any car) spend a fortune on more bits.
it is undervalued at £10k, supwerb.
but whatever you do - buy the late spec projector headlights cos the standards are woeful.
Tom's had a very close thing with Toyota was similar to Mugen and Honda anyway was 100 produced and a few ended up in Ireland.
http://jdmcars.net/altezza-toms-280t/ that's the spec.
http://jdmcars.net/altezza-toms-280t/ that's the spec.
Guvernator said:
Wow I didn't even know that car existed. I think the 3SGE Beams is a fantastic engine, as good as any Honda Type R engine in it's day but it never seemed to get quite the same recognition. I'd love an MR2 Beams but they are rare as hens teeth.
Yeah considering it was released in 1998 and produced 210bhp Honda only beat it when they brought the K20 out in 2001 but obviously you had the F20C in 1999 but it was tuned to it peak from factory.Interesting also the whole dual vvti system was quite a breakthrough when it came out IVTEC came along later think they realised you needed more of a spread than just peak power above 6k. Altezza was just to heavy to be competitive but that engine in a lighter car has real potential and plenty of NA builds up around 280bhp.
Haha love all the uneducated comments ;-) Looking at paper numbers such as peak BHP figures (which is meaningless as any good car owner will tell you its area under the curve through the rev range that counts). I have had mine for 3 years, completely standard bar a bigger exhaust and decat and puts out a fair bit of power, more than enough for me and usable 90% of the time. Sure you got your mental Evos and Subarus but I see them on a weekly basis and many have been chavved to bits, you never see these around. They were too high a price at the time especially with the Porsche context example, but expect over the time you would have owned both would imagine your bills on the Porsche would have dwarfed the Toyota. You get lots of looks, the car is very quick off the line, it handles well despite the weight due to the smart suspension set up (heavy cars can corner too!) and came with a lot of nice touches that for a 1994 designed car were not common to see (such as ABS, climate, electric windows/mirrors etc).
If you are interested in one, do go give it a go, ignore those that look at numbers and quote whether they are good or not - its driving one that counts.
If you are interested in one, do go give it a go, ignore those that look at numbers and quote whether they are good or not - its driving one that counts.
I had one of these imported in 2003.
It was a choice between the st185 RC, Evo 3 or ny ST205.
At that time the Evo 4 was too expensive and the Evo 3 wasn't very popular. The ST185 was nice, but performance wise, wasn't on par with my ST205.
I paid 6k for mine, they were going for around 8k at the time, so I saved a fair bit!
I loved the looks, mine was a standard storm blue. You didn't see many around, which added to the appeal. Performance was good at the time, I had my cat removed which improved things, I recall the weight listed as 1380kgs, but haven't checked so I could be wrong!
A mate had an e36 M3 Evo at the time, and I remember both of us being suprised when we had a few drag races and he didn't pull away much, considering he had 320 bhp, and I didn't brutally launch the GT4.
Car felt SOLID and very reliable.
Loved it, even the tri spokes looked good eventually
It was a choice between the st185 RC, Evo 3 or ny ST205.
At that time the Evo 4 was too expensive and the Evo 3 wasn't very popular. The ST185 was nice, but performance wise, wasn't on par with my ST205.
I paid 6k for mine, they were going for around 8k at the time, so I saved a fair bit!
I loved the looks, mine was a standard storm blue. You didn't see many around, which added to the appeal. Performance was good at the time, I had my cat removed which improved things, I recall the weight listed as 1380kgs, but haven't checked so I could be wrong!
A mate had an e36 M3 Evo at the time, and I remember both of us being suprised when we had a few drag races and he didn't pull away much, considering he had 320 bhp, and I didn't brutally launch the GT4.
Car felt SOLID and very reliable.
Loved it, even the tri spokes looked good eventually
wanacoop said:
Loved it, even the tri spokes looked good eventually
My mate has a theory that the ST205 is almost unique in that it doesn't look good on many aftermarket alloys. About the only ones that look 'right' are the factory fit three spokes and rally slag stuff like Compomotive MO/TH or OZ Rally Racing.Had mine for over 5 years & have put almost 100k miles on it - there's nothing I now don't know when it comes to maintenance of these! It still drives great but i'm not really sure what to do with it now - as it is with its high miles & 'worn' paintwork it's worth more to me as a runaround than I think it'd sell for but it's a very early one so will be eligible for import to the US in 2019. Could potentially be worth tidying up & moving on then?
gazchap said:
Had mine for nearly 10 years now. Here she is:
Just over 137,000 miles on the clock and it's never missed a beat. Have various mods on it, but nothing major - pushes out 300-320bhp depending on my boost setting.
That's ace. Always wanted one in Castrol colours. Top stuff. Just over 137,000 miles on the clock and it's never missed a beat. Have various mods on it, but nothing major - pushes out 300-320bhp depending on my boost setting.
Midshipracer said:
I always wonder about people complaining 240bhp or 255bhp (JDM) is not enough.
How much did the Escort Cosworth have?
The MK1 Focus RS had 212bhp released 2002
Exactly, quoting peak BHP figures is meaningless in terms of talking about performance. Two cars with peak 250bhp would drive completely differently if one was turbo and one was NA for instance. I just drove across the alps and the 200bhp BRZ absolutely flew around the roads as quick as, if not better than than the 10 year old 911 Carerra in our group. Day to day you do not really need more than 250bhp, sure if you still find fun in booting it from the lights then fine, but many people grow out of that. How much did the Escort Cosworth have?
The MK1 Focus RS had 212bhp released 2002
coldel said:
Day to day you do not really need more than 250bhp, sure if you still find fun in booting it from the lights then fine, but many people grow out of that.
I said this in another thread (I was even more generous and said 300bhp) and got a barrage of upset boy racers telling me that I'm wrong and 500bhp v8's are the bare minimum.A standard gt4 is plenty powerful for the road, looking back both of mine were modded, as were most of my car's, but it's completely unnecessary.
Like you say, you grow out of it.
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