franco

Hey Guys My clutch is in need of replacement. <_< I *just* missed out on a deal from Trademe for one that went for $350. Gaa! Anyone point me in the right direction - most appreciated. PS I'm in Auckland; can someone recommend an excellent garage for servicing Altezza's? Franco

Out of interest, I've recently done a huge trip from Wellington -> Auckland -> Wellington -> Westport (South Island) -> Wellington. All up, 1900+ KM's in 2-3 days. I got 660km's out of the Wellington -> Auckland leg before pulling into a gas station in Auckland. Hell, the yellow light had been on since 591kms, so I was getting a bit worried at the 660km mark With the lesser 60L tank on the Altezza, yup I was happy :D PS got myself a crap radar detector for the trip but it still paid itself off several times over, esp detecting those cop cars (including the under cover ones) in time for me to safely scrub off speed to under 110kph. Especially recommended for the nite time when you can't tell what's coming towards ya.

Yo Hoon sweet. I may be coming up towards the end of this month, early next so I will get in touch with you closer to that date. Cher cher, Franco

SCHWEET ! So what do you think of the ride firmness (ie bumps and stuff) ? And as you know I had to swap mine out with standards - long story - and have noticed my car handles like a sponge. Well, that might be overstating it, even a std Altezza feels rock solid compared to most other cards. So now I've gotta get my Apexi coilovers reconditioned. You mentioned Autoline as the people to go with ?

Boy, the most I've ever thrown into my tank is 55L - the 'ol petrol light on and everything. I think I've seen somewhere before there is a difference in tank capacity between the Altezza's, the IS200's and IS300's. Can someone remind me what they are? Also, on a RS200Z, does anyone know how many litres are left in the tank when the petrol light does come on?

Hi Altezza girl Another tip I've picked up is the water temperature. I belong to a biker forum, and they swear by only using cold or room temperature water to clean the paintwork on their bikes, eg do not use warm or hot water, as it can potentially soften the paint over the long term (leading to easier scratching etc). I don't know how true this is, but figure hey what the hell...so I only use cold water now. B)

Photos...must..have........photos.. and a review of course. Can't wait to hear about what you think of them.

1/ The beep - yes, it's saved my bacon a few times, esp when I first got the car and was still getting used to the idiosyncrosies of the manual shift - it felt way too easy to slip it into Reverse as opposed to 1st. Am used to it now, but I don't think I would get rid of the beep anytime soon, just in case. 2/ I'd be interested in a response to Manic's question. My hubs are all ugly and brown. It's typical for jap imports. I noticed in the photo above that the brake calipers were being spray painted? It looks pretty easy and thinking of doing this - anyone got any comments or tips ?

Yeah I know. Well, it's not my $$, it's being covered under extended warranty (Autosure). It will be good to get my ride back...in the meantime they gave me a loaner - a '91 Honda Legend - and I feel like I'm in the sequel of Whale Rider...Whale Rider II

Hey Hoon They are Apexi N1 coilovers. Basically they were installed by the previous (Japanese) owner. I don't think they are very common here in NZ. I believe they can be rebuilt, tho I just need to understand who would be the best option to do the work. In the meantime, I have instructed the dealer/garage to go ahead with the susp replacement, which they claim is going to cost $2500, though they still couldn't tell me what they are replacing it with yet. Good news is that I've made sure they will give me back my original stuff, so if it is stuffed and is rebuildable at least I have the option. Sweet, thanks for the PM, I will give you a holler once I know more. cher cher, franco

AAARRRRGGGGHHH ! :o I took my car into the dealer yesterday to have the rubber bushes replaced with firmer polyurethene ones. Got a call last nite saying that their garage replaced all the bushes (as agreed) but found that my front right shock is "shot". So they are going to replace "all" of my suspension with some "good stuff". Hmmmm. Am going down to sort it out. If what they say is true, I want to know what they consider is good stuff, AND get my orginal coilovers back. If the front right was shot, I think they can be repaired/ reconditioned? Being a newbie with this type of thing, anyone got any advice?

I would go interior too. Total tint, Leather trim, 2 blondes...hugh hef style...

1) ELF 2) $61 Mobil Synergy 8000 3) 450km metro, 530km open road

Yup, I get this noise :( But since others on the board say it's ok, well I haven't bothered getting it checked out, accepting it as normal characteristic of the car :P

I have Apexi N1 Coilovers. I'm not much of a critic, not having driven anyone else's Altezza, but I can tell you that the ride is firm, real firm. In terms of comfort, there is some but not alot. I tend to avoid severe road bumps and potholes wherever possibe. Being a motorcyclist this comes natural anyway. In terms of handling, there aren't many other 4 wheeled vehicles around here which can touch it! Let's say that high speed cornering and driving through twisty roads is a real pleasure... I'm in the process of having the rear rubber bushes replaced with uerothene (sp?) ones, as the old ones are shot.

Yep, admittedly I get more unwanted attention (cops and boy racers) in this car than my previous one. I think it's the look and sound of the exhaust I have, coupled with the black paint job and tinted windows. I even had one cop follow me home the other day Didn't pull me up or anything but he was definately waiting for me to do something...

Heya Matt Recieved that HKS air filter today, cher cher! Installed and it's all sweet. Let me know if you have recieved the old grille. Thanks bro

Agreed - it took me a few days to "learn" how to drive it (harder, harder). Around town in does seem meek, though I'm guessing this is probably a torque thing. I ride motorcycles and the torque and power differences between two simarly displacement motors (ie a 600cc inline 4 vs a 650cc V-twin) is huge. The inline 4's have to rev quite high before the performance sings (and man, they DO sing). Whereas the V-twins have heaps of low-down and mid-range grunt. A whole other bunch of factors contribute to these characteristics (weight and balance, gearing etc etc). On the open road, I discovered my 'tezz liked to sing in the high RPM's, with it's low and midrange performance being fairly ordinary. Above 4-5K RPM it like picks up it's skirt and goes like stonk, and I generally enjoy it more than my previous ride (Legacy GT). And being n/a I also find it's not as thirsty as my previous gas guzzling twin turbo. Horses for courses as the 'ol cliche goes...

hey yeah Chip - congratulations on your wedding today. Of course, I hope you are not reading this message until sometime AFTER you get back from your honeymoon. cher cher

Hey thanks Henry. The car looks *so much better* for it. It's a subtle change, but very effective. I've put my "stamp" on the car now haha. If you get the opportunity to get one...I suggest you go for it.

Heya Matt - sure thing. My original was ugly and old. If I could get 100 bucks for its, well hell yeah. I'd use the blings toward getting an uprated air filter. I would post a pic, but the gallery is giving me an error message. Let me know if you want a pic first. cher cher

Yehar. Got the TRD grille through from Matt today. Installed it and looking sweeeet. So much better than the OEM one. Thanks again Matt ! Hopefully, attached is the photo of the new grille installed... My new TRD Aero Sports Grille...

£1200 ? That's roughly $3500 NZD ! oooo weee ! now dat's what I'm talkin' bout! cher bro.

ok - sweet, thanks for the reply HK. Not sure what the grounding kit is useful for, I remember reading about them in a previous post somewhere. Anyways, the APEXi suspension - it's illegal? I wonder how did got through a VIN/ WOF? Tho there is an additional certification plate attached in the engine bay referencing the suspension. I'm not up with the play mod laws etc, it's bound to be covered off somewhere. In terms of comfort - it's definately very firm, but I wouldn't call it uncomfortable. I guess it's all relative really. It definately handles corners way better than my last car :) The snow button thing - yep, spoke to some mates and they tell me it's basically the same thing as the one in my Subie. Geez, there seems to be a lot of mods my car...I guess I shouldn't be complaining...

I've had my "new" wheels for the last 3 weeks or so. It drives fantastic - I love it. Drove up the line last weekend (Wellington to Mangakino) for some wakeboarding, and was very happy with performance on the open road run ;) heh Ok, now I have this snow button thing. I press it, it starts snowing ( haha just kidding). Seriously tho, what does it actually do? I had a similar button on my previous car Subie Legacy, which I believe was used to prevent wheel spin when starting off on a slippery surface (aka snow). Is that the case with this thing? Do all Altezza's have this feature? If so, how often do you guys use it ? I also have some nice green wiring under the bonnet which connects up to a smallish "connector" box thing with the brand name "Splitfire" on it. Does anyone know what that is all about? Lastly, when I bought the car, the dealer told me I had aftermarket HKS springs, which I took their word for. I had a flat tire on Monday (a nail) and while changing it discovered that they were not HKS, but APEXi N1 (coilover?). Does anyone know much or have an opinion on them? All I can really tell you now is the ride is "firm" and is great going through tight and fast corners :P cher cher