Getting rid of my road bike, fancy an IS200

[p38benny]

Hi everyone,
I've made the hard decision and decided I'm not going to ride a bike on the road anymore and instead im getting myself a bit of fun car. My mates are all into the Jap stuff so this was something i quite fancied it too.
I love Subaru's but they're really expensive to insure (I'm 23)
I like Ep3 civics but ideally wanted something RWD or 4WD

I have now seen a few IS200's going cheap on eBay, unmolested for about £2000. I was thinking of using one of these to start with and carrying out a turbo conversion or supercharger. I've done an insurance quote and its quite reasonable even after declaring turbo and lowering kit etc. I've seen a guy on eBay supplying and fitting a kit.
Have any of you done or know anyone who has done this? Does anyone have any useful feedback on useful kits etc...

Thanks in advance!

[Hoofy]

Turbo on an IS200?! Ooer. Tell me more?

[aka_kerrly]

In my opinion based on driving my brothers Is200 I'd say that the engine is a let down,a shame really. 1St an 2nd are strangely short, 3-5th an using the midrange is where the engine seams happiest. However the car is really nice to drive, it feels balanced with good steering an controls. The brakes are a bit lame though.

It's a SE model, year 2000 114k 2 owners an cost £750. it's a bit softer and lacks a lsd compared to the Sport model which is well worth having.

However, a MUCH better option is a Toyota Altezza RS200, essentially a Is200 with a Toyota 2.0 16v beams engine as used in Mr2s with over 200hp plus a better bodykit.

[p38benny]

I have seen the toyota, they look sweet but most of them are autos. I know the is200's are a bit flat performance wise but I've heard from sone people that with a turbo theyre great and the bloke fits them on ebay for £2300. I was thinking if I can get a nice little 240hp rwd saloon all in for £5k id be happy

[cptsideways]

Hoofy said:

Turbo on an IS200?! Ooer. Tell me more?

Google 1G-GTE they came twin turbo from the factory, just never fitted in the IS200 which had a 1G-GE (non turbo)

[GravelBen]

The Altezza RS200 is a nice drive but not much torque down low so you do have to use plenty of revs to find the power, especially with a bit of weight on board. Not everyones cup of tea. The 6-spd manual is a nice gearbox, haven't driven an auto.

[Hoofy]

cptsideways said:

Hoofy said:

Turbo on an IS200?! Ooer. Tell me more?

Google 1G-GTE they came twin turbo from the factory, just never fitted in the IS200 which had a 1G-GE (non turbo)

Ah, I see. Interesting!

[aka_kerrly]

[quote=GravelBen]The Altezza RS200 is a nice drive but not much torque down low so you do have to use plenty of revs to find the power, especially with a bit of weight on board.[/quote ]

I agree that high reving motors aren't everyone's thing. I

Worth noting that a RS200 makes more torque, revs higher allowing higher speeds in each gear and is around 100kg lighter

[GravelBen]

Fair point, I haven't actually driven an IS200 to compare.

[Ross Parker]

I wouldn't bother with an IS200, if your looking for RWD at a good price then look no further than an E36 or E46 BMW 3 series. If you are set on an IS200 the buy an Altezza with a beams lump. Or drop the lexus V8 in either body, they run 300bhp as standard and all you need is ECU, Adaptor plate to match original box and engine mounts. If you turbo the beams engine it only make around 240bhp without changing the internals

[RedWhiteMonkey]

I've had an IS200 and an E46 BMW, the BMW drove so much better. The traction control on the IS200 was pretty simplistic compared to the BMW's.

[Horse Pop]

Hoofy said:

Turbo on an IS200?! Ooer. Tell me more?

A bloke called Simon Souster does a kit which he will install for you on the IS200 and IS300.

I think the power is somewhat better than a TTE kit IS200.

I think it's £2400 all in.

Have a look on Facebook for a group called "Unofficial IS200" and ask on there. Plenty of people have fitted them.

The other option is a supercharger install. There was a dealer installed kit with an Eaton M62 supercharger. Complete kits come up for sale every so often, or you can do a homebrew kit. Bit cheaper, bit less power.

Edited by Horse Pop on Saturday 5th March 14:36

[LasseV]

Yes, that IS200 with supercharger is interesting one. I would go that route.

[liner33]

£2000 on the car and then £2400 on a supercharger upgrade smacks of a case of buying the wrong car to start with

[gareth_r]

cptsideways said:

ogle 1G-GTE they came twin turbo from the factory, just never fitted in the IS200 which had a 1G-GE (non turbo)

1G-FE. They didn't even give the IS the performance version of the NA head.

[Hoofy]

liner33 said:

£2000 on the car and then £2400 on a supercharger upgrade smacks of a case of buying the wrong car to start with

Does seem a bit odd especially as you can pick up IS200s for under £1k. HOWEVER, that's probably the price of a turbo upgrade whether you buy a £1k car or a £40k car.

[Barkychoc]

My 23 year old son has a subaru impreza 2.0 non turbo which performance wise doesn't set the world alight, but it's still got the AWD. We got a secondhand set of WRX suspension uprights and 17" WRX wheels so the handling is just brilliant. He's paying £600 insurance on an 04 reg blobeye.

[Horse Pop]

gareth_r said:

G-FE. They didn't even give the IS the performance version of the NA head.

Funnily enough, the family of engine is so old, the 1G FE was the second 1G FE and made as much power as the 1G GE.

It did get an updated VVT head.