2001 Toyota Altezza RS200 (Lexus IS200 with 210bhp BEAMS)
Discussion
I thought I'd start a thread for a car which not many people may be aware of.
I've had a manual Lexus IS200 as the family car for the last year. When our first born came along, the criteria was "Something cheap, RWD with an interesting engine and ISOFIX". Didn't really fancy a BMW and my wife wouldn't drive anything bigger than a small saloon so I set about my search.
The IS200 was in the running for a while but it was difficult to find one that was a Sport, manual and in budget. Eventually one would come up just round the corner from the parent's house. I instructed my Dad to buy it provided it was clean and ran well.
The car has been great to us, other than being a bit of a b
d finding a rear-facing baby seat which would fit. All its needed in a year and 10k miles is the wheels refurbed and a fuel injector changed (an entire rail was so cheap I changed them all at once).
As luck would have it, it also had ISOFIX which I only later found out is late 2001+ cars!
Buuut, there was always a nagging feeling that it didn't have enough power to really make it a "do everything car". This is probably a compliment to the chassis, running gear (particularly the LSD) and suspension set up more than anything else.
When I owned the MR2, I always wanted to try or own a BEAMS engined one. When randomly reading wikipedia one night I found that it was also fitted in the IS200 as the Toyota Altezza RS200. This coincided with an upcoming holiday to Japan where we would be visiting the Japanese auction houses (call it fate!).
I set my eyes on 3 which were going through and put in my bids. Each one was under the final sell amount by a huge amount. And so that dream died...
Except it didn't. Our guide stated that this particular auction is often the most popular, most expensive one and to keep an eye out for the other ones. When we returned I checked the listings again and found some more going through.
A cheeky bid request when in the pub led to a sore head in the morning and news that I had won an Altezza! Naturally my wife was thrilled with the news that her 150bhp Lexus would now become a 210bhp Toyota which I had never driven, looked exactly the same aesthetically as our current car and cost a small fortune to ship from Japan.
Some further reading about the BEAMS engine:
http://www.beams-redtop.com/history.htm
EDIT:
A pic of the car at Le Mans:
I've had a manual Lexus IS200 as the family car for the last year. When our first born came along, the criteria was "Something cheap, RWD with an interesting engine and ISOFIX". Didn't really fancy a BMW and my wife wouldn't drive anything bigger than a small saloon so I set about my search.
The IS200 was in the running for a while but it was difficult to find one that was a Sport, manual and in budget. Eventually one would come up just round the corner from the parent's house. I instructed my Dad to buy it provided it was clean and ran well.
The car has been great to us, other than being a bit of a b
d finding a rear-facing baby seat which would fit. All its needed in a year and 10k miles is the wheels refurbed and a fuel injector changed (an entire rail was so cheap I changed them all at once).As luck would have it, it also had ISOFIX which I only later found out is late 2001+ cars!
Buuut, there was always a nagging feeling that it didn't have enough power to really make it a "do everything car". This is probably a compliment to the chassis, running gear (particularly the LSD) and suspension set up more than anything else.
When I owned the MR2, I always wanted to try or own a BEAMS engined one. When randomly reading wikipedia one night I found that it was also fitted in the IS200 as the Toyota Altezza RS200. This coincided with an upcoming holiday to Japan where we would be visiting the Japanese auction houses (call it fate!).
I set my eyes on 3 which were going through and put in my bids. Each one was under the final sell amount by a huge amount. And so that dream died...
Except it didn't. Our guide stated that this particular auction is often the most popular, most expensive one and to keep an eye out for the other ones. When we returned I checked the listings again and found some more going through.
A cheeky bid request when in the pub led to a sore head in the morning and news that I had won an Altezza! Naturally my wife was thrilled with the news that her 150bhp Lexus would now become a 210bhp Toyota which I had never driven, looked exactly the same aesthetically as our current car and cost a small fortune to ship from Japan.
Some further reading about the BEAMS engine:
http://www.beams-redtop.com/history.htm
EDIT:
A pic of the car at Le Mans:
Edited by bicycleshorts on Friday 25th August 13:14
Thanks for the replies! Hopefully pics now fixed.
The IS200 we have has the optional OEM body kit, I'm in two minds as to leave the Altezza with the sleeper look or transfer over the bodykit which would leave it looking something like this (minus the BGW):
There was also a TRD front bumper which I think suits the car, no idea how I could ever get one in the UK though!
Regarding power delivery... no idea! I've never driven one. Apparently it delivers peak power at 7600rpm so I would guess it's pretty linear.
The IS200 we have has the optional OEM body kit, I'm in two minds as to leave the Altezza with the sleeper look or transfer over the bodykit which would leave it looking something like this (minus the BGW):
There was also a TRD front bumper which I think suits the car, no idea how I could ever get one in the UK though!
Regarding power delivery... no idea! I've never driven one. Apparently it delivers peak power at 7600rpm so I would guess it's pretty linear.
Body kit is stock guys, they came from the factory with it as an optional extra:
Appreciate this is pistonheads, but assume we don't all think s-lines and m-specs are Bradford too?
Also not sure if the chap suggesting taking the engine from a rust free, fresh import and putting it into high mileage, UK car was serious?
Appreciate this is pistonheads, but assume we don't all think s-lines and m-specs are Bradford too?
Also not sure if the chap suggesting taking the engine from a rust free, fresh import and putting it into high mileage, UK car was serious?
aka_kerrly said:
I believe there are more differences than just the engine. The Altezza RS200 is built as more of a Toyota sports car where as the IS200 is a Lexus more focused on luxury/refinement.
A RS200 has better seats /interior/carpets, is lighter by over 100kg, different gearbox ratios/final drive, lsd, different suspension, often come with TRD bodykits so look far better than a standard model.
Some of this is news to me! The is200 sport has full leather, lsd and nav (in some). From the one interior pic, it seems the Altezza has cloth seats and no nav (don't use it anyways). When it shows up I'll do a full comparison including suspension!A RS200 has better seats /interior/carpets, is lighter by over 100kg, different gearbox ratios/final drive, lsd, different suspension, often come with TRD bodykits so look far better than a standard model.
xjay1337 - the Altezza definitely looks cleaner than our current IS. I'm intrigued to see the wheel condition as paint flaking is a known problem in the UK. If anything the IS may become the donor car!
tonker - of course. This will be as close to OEM as possible. Except for the rear lights, first thing I did on the IS was spray them red... Lexus lights, not even once.
Thanks for the tasteful modification Jake.
For anyone interested, the importer send through some new pictures from the ferry terminal!
Really happy that it looks clean and to have confirmation it actually has a BEAMS engine (kept imagining some Japanese man laughing his way to the bank...).
For anyone interested, the importer send through some new pictures from the ferry terminal!
Really happy that it looks clean and to have confirmation it actually has a BEAMS engine (kept imagining some Japanese man laughing his way to the bank...).
Just a small update... The Altezza is expected to arrive into the UK next week!
Here's a video of one racing around Central Circuit in Japan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sm1l6Pf_os
Looks a cracking track!
Here's a video of one racing around Central Circuit in Japan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sm1l6Pf_os
Looks a cracking track!
bicycleshorts said:
There was also a TRD front bumper which I think suits the car, no idea how I could ever get one in the UK though!
I've also since found out that the bumper above is actually called a "Legana". Some interesting reading here: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/56369...So... An update!
For the past few months I had been focussing on selling the GTR for our remortgage later in the year. Now that it is gone my attention has moved back to the Altezza.
The car went through its MOT fine with a couple of advisories on low tyre tread and nothing else which is a relief! The documentation is now all with the DVLA. Fingers crossed they don't balls it up!
The main reason being that we are now going to Le Mans. And in support of Toyota after last year's heartbreak we'll be taking the Altezza as well as the following!
We are staying with Pistonheads and can't wait. If you see us (or hear us, the Lexus manifold is blowing to fk) come and say hello!
For the past few months I had been focussing on selling the GTR for our remortgage later in the year. Now that it is gone my attention has moved back to the Altezza.
The car went through its MOT fine with a couple of advisories on low tyre tread and nothing else which is a relief! The documentation is now all with the DVLA. Fingers crossed they don't balls it up!
The main reason being that we are now going to Le Mans. And in support of Toyota after last year's heartbreak we'll be taking the Altezza as well as the following!
We are staying with Pistonheads and can't wait. If you see us (or hear us, the Lexus manifold is blowing to f
k) come and say hello!Edited by bicycleshorts on Wednesday 17th May 23:09
Time for an overdue update!
All 3 cars made it to and from Le Mans perfectly. Except for the LS400 which had a sticky thermostat, having full heating through the vents in the car was unpleasant to say the least in 34°C on the Dartford Crossing.
Sadly not the result we wanted for Toyota, but we had a blast and the Pistonheads/1st Tickets camp site was great.
We also amassed enough flies on each car to make them an endangered species in France:
The eagle eyed amongst you will note the car is now on different wheels. I'd fancied a change having had standard IS/Altezza wheels on the wife's Lexus for the last 2 years. These are Evo 6 OZ wheels with rainsports all round.
Having now put 6,000km on the car in 3 months, I'll put up a more detailed write up soon. The main takeaway so far is what a peach the engine is, it doesn't really come on until about 5,000rpm but then sings all the way to 8 and a bit.
All 3 cars made it to and from Le Mans perfectly. Except for the LS400 which had a sticky thermostat, having full heating through the vents in the car was unpleasant to say the least in 34°C on the Dartford Crossing.
Sadly not the result we wanted for Toyota, but we had a blast and the Pistonheads/1st Tickets camp site was great.
We also amassed enough flies on each car to make them an endangered species in France:
The eagle eyed amongst you will note the car is now on different wheels. I'd fancied a change having had standard IS/Altezza wheels on the wife's Lexus for the last 2 years. These are Evo 6 OZ wheels with rainsports all round.
Having now put 6,000km on the car in 3 months, I'll put up a more detailed write up soon. The main takeaway so far is what a peach the engine is, it doesn't really come on until about 5,000rpm but then sings all the way to 8 and a bit.
Firstly a bit more about the Altezza vs the IS200. I'm in a bit of an odd position as I still own the IS so can back to back them quite extensively!
Engine
In both cases, the engine is one of the strongest points IMO.
The straight 6 2 litre in the IS200 is wonderfully smooth right from low revs. It may only have ~150bhp but the short gearing means it's usable. The noise is great - amplified by a partially blowing backbox in my case! I've personally never found it slow - but I drove a 60bhp Ford KA for 3 years and still found that had enough power to overtake on Northumbrian B roads.
We've had the car for 2 years, other than regular servicing the only problem I've had is a single fuel injector failing on me. Car was happy to crawl back on 5 cyls and a replacement fuel rail inc. 6 newer injectors was only £50.
Overall, it makes the IS200 a great cruiser but also a decent town car. I'd certainly recommend them for anyone wanting something a bit different as their daily driver.
The BEAMS 4 pot is a very special engine indeed. When I owned my MK2 MR2 I longed for one of the final Revision 5 models which came with the BEAMS 3SGE. I know the engine is strong and workable, if not that tuneable, from my MR2 experience. This one however takes it to another level.
The pick up is rapid, with a noticeable jump around 5,000rpm when the cam timing changes. amongst other top trumps, standard compression is 11.5:1 with titanium valves. It'll rev all the way up to and just passed 8,000rpm. Peak power is at 7,600rpm so this is very much an engine you need to rev. Overtaking on a single carriageway will need 3rd (sometimes 2nd!), putting your foot down in 6th just won't work at all. A quote from a passenger recently was: "Does it ever stop revving?!"
Even having put 6,000km on the car, I still find myself in the wrong gear on occassion. The engine means the car is always involving, if not a little tiring at times!
A lot of people will talk about the thirstiness of the straight 6, the 4 pot isn't much better, but I don't do enough miles for it to matter to me for either car.
Transmission and Diff
I haven't done too much research but I believe the transmission, gear ratios and diff casings are the same. In the manual IS200 Sport and Altezzas, the differential is a Torsen LSD, found in other applications but notably the 1.8 import MX5s. It locks up well when needed, though in the IS200 it's very difficult to overpower the tyres unless its wet. The Altezza is a little better, but the 215 rears really don't offer much in the way of slip (especially after I fitted Rainsports).
HOWEVER, the final drive in the diffs is definitely different. Cruising at 70mph on the motorway in the Altezza is 4,000rpm! This results in rapid through gear acceleration offset with a terrible cruising gear. If I'm being picky, this is the worst part of the car. In particular maintaining speed with an engine that is constantly engine breaking/pulling through the revs is a bit annoying. However, I drove it to and from Le Mans from Scotland, arriving awake enough to enjoy a beer on behalf of PH so it can't be that bad!
Handling
My IS200 is a Sport, so it is lowered slightly from factory. Looking at both cars, the gap appears to be the same so I'm inclined to say they are sharing suspension and springs.
Both are higher mileage cars (~120,000). The suspension has held up well over those miles, however, there is a noticeable "settling" on initial turn in. Not sure if this is as they were from the factory, or a result of some slightly tired springs/bushes. Did anyone have one new to chip in?!
In any case, my plan is to put some Meister Rs on the car ahead of a European road trip in November.
Interior
The interior on the IS200 offers a lot of bang for your buck. Electric heated half or full leather seats, 6 disc multichanger (normally broken), historic sat nav and so on. In the Altezza, the opposite is true, they've really cut out as much unnecessary stuff as possible to save weight. The seats are all manual and cloth, there is no Sat Nav, I believe it is supposed to have the same radio/CD player but mine came with an incomprehensible Japanese lady who thinks I'm in Yokohama and shouts a lot instead (see pic below).
One of my biggest annoyances about both the IS and the Altezza is that the rear seats don't fold flat. I don't need this regularly but it's nice to have. The ski hatch does mean you can get a decent amount of timber in the car I recently found out.
That's about it in terms of a comparison! If anyone has any questions, let me know.
Engine
In both cases, the engine is one of the strongest points IMO.
The straight 6 2 litre in the IS200 is wonderfully smooth right from low revs. It may only have ~150bhp but the short gearing means it's usable. The noise is great - amplified by a partially blowing backbox in my case! I've personally never found it slow - but I drove a 60bhp Ford KA for 3 years and still found that had enough power to overtake on Northumbrian B roads.
We've had the car for 2 years, other than regular servicing the only problem I've had is a single fuel injector failing on me. Car was happy to crawl back on 5 cyls and a replacement fuel rail inc. 6 newer injectors was only £50.
Overall, it makes the IS200 a great cruiser but also a decent town car. I'd certainly recommend them for anyone wanting something a bit different as their daily driver.
The BEAMS 4 pot is a very special engine indeed. When I owned my MK2 MR2 I longed for one of the final Revision 5 models which came with the BEAMS 3SGE. I know the engine is strong and workable, if not that tuneable, from my MR2 experience. This one however takes it to another level.
The pick up is rapid, with a noticeable jump around 5,000rpm when the cam timing changes. amongst other top trumps, standard compression is 11.5:1 with titanium valves. It'll rev all the way up to and just passed 8,000rpm. Peak power is at 7,600rpm so this is very much an engine you need to rev. Overtaking on a single carriageway will need 3rd (sometimes 2nd!), putting your foot down in 6th just won't work at all. A quote from a passenger recently was: "Does it ever stop revving?!"
Even having put 6,000km on the car, I still find myself in the wrong gear on occassion. The engine means the car is always involving, if not a little tiring at times!
A lot of people will talk about the thirstiness of the straight 6, the 4 pot isn't much better, but I don't do enough miles for it to matter to me for either car.
Transmission and Diff
I haven't done too much research but I believe the transmission, gear ratios and diff casings are the same. In the manual IS200 Sport and Altezzas, the differential is a Torsen LSD, found in other applications but notably the 1.8 import MX5s. It locks up well when needed, though in the IS200 it's very difficult to overpower the tyres unless its wet. The Altezza is a little better, but the 215 rears really don't offer much in the way of slip (especially after I fitted Rainsports).
HOWEVER, the final drive in the diffs is definitely different. Cruising at 70mph on the motorway in the Altezza is 4,000rpm! This results in rapid through gear acceleration offset with a terrible cruising gear. If I'm being picky, this is the worst part of the car. In particular maintaining speed with an engine that is constantly engine breaking/pulling through the revs is a bit annoying. However, I drove it to and from Le Mans from Scotland, arriving awake enough to enjoy a beer on behalf of PH so it can't be that bad!
Handling
My IS200 is a Sport, so it is lowered slightly from factory. Looking at both cars, the gap appears to be the same so I'm inclined to say they are sharing suspension and springs.
Both are higher mileage cars (~120,000). The suspension has held up well over those miles, however, there is a noticeable "settling" on initial turn in. Not sure if this is as they were from the factory, or a result of some slightly tired springs/bushes. Did anyone have one new to chip in?!
In any case, my plan is to put some Meister Rs on the car ahead of a European road trip in November.
Interior
The interior on the IS200 offers a lot of bang for your buck. Electric heated half or full leather seats, 6 disc multichanger (normally broken), historic sat nav and so on. In the Altezza, the opposite is true, they've really cut out as much unnecessary stuff as possible to save weight. The seats are all manual and cloth, there is no Sat Nav, I believe it is supposed to have the same radio/CD player but mine came with an incomprehensible Japanese lady who thinks I'm in Yokohama and shouts a lot instead (see pic below).
One of my biggest annoyances about both the IS and the Altezza is that the rear seats don't fold flat. I don't need this regularly but it's nice to have. The ski hatch does mean you can get a decent amount of timber in the car I recently found out.
That's about it in terms of a comparison! If anyone has any questions, let me know.
Edited by bicycleshorts on Friday 25th August 13:16
So, now a quick update on the car...
I'm personally not a fan of the standard "Lexus" lights - possibly due to the propensity of Vauxhall Corsa owners to fit them when I was growing up. I'm also not a fan of the aftermarket options or "smoked" lights. As such, I had a go with some red vinyl and a red tint spray can. The vinyl was a complete disaster but the spray can worked pretty well!
The lights are a little dull, which I'm hoping I can add another coat of paint then polish them. Imo they look much better. If I get bored/come to sell, the paint will come back off with acetone:
The car also had another long trip at the weekend. 4 of us headed up to Ellon to check out the Brewdog Brewery. We stopped in Aviemore for a tasting and tour at Cairngorm Brewery as well. Both recommended.
However, it was the roads which really made it the trip worth it.
Having scared us all stless over the Cairngorm roads, our designated driver stopped at one of the higher points to let us enjoy a nice cold beer and take in the view. It looks scenic, but there was about a 50 mph wind!
We also saw some humourous road signs which appealed to our inner 12 year olds.
I'm personally not a fan of the standard "Lexus" lights - possibly due to the propensity of Vauxhall Corsa owners to fit them when I was growing up. I'm also not a fan of the aftermarket options or "smoked" lights. As such, I had a go with some red vinyl and a red tint spray can. The vinyl was a complete disaster but the spray can worked pretty well!
The lights are a little dull, which I'm hoping I can add another coat of paint then polish them. Imo they look much better. If I get bored/come to sell, the paint will come back off with acetone:
The car also had another long trip at the weekend. 4 of us headed up to Ellon to check out the Brewdog Brewery. We stopped in Aviemore for a tasting and tour at Cairngorm Brewery as well. Both recommended.
However, it was the roads which really made it the trip worth it.
Having scared us all s
tless over the Cairngorm roads, our designated driver stopped at one of the higher points to let us enjoy a nice cold beer and take in the view. It looks scenic, but there was about a 50 mph wind!We also saw some humourous road signs which appealed to our inner 12 year olds.
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