dandan

Thanks again guys...I've been having a good browse on the Aristo forum and Lexus forums and gradually getting a bit more info up together. I am considering the MKII Aristo now but am still getting up to speed with the differences so I can weigh up if an additional £3k is in any way worth it for the sort of driving I'll be doing. So far it looks like a MKII Aristo would offer the following differences to the GS300: - The obvious vvti TT engine - Sat nav in Japanese (not an advantage?) - Rear wheel steering (part of traction/stability control) - 4 speed (as opposed to the Lexus 5 speed) autobox - Tiptronic steering wheel buttons (but apparently no way to lock it in a gear and prevent kickdown?) - Plastic (as opposed to glass) headlights - Something different about the rear lights but not sure what exactly There's bound to be other stuff but this is what I know so far. Does anyone know what the fuel economy is like from stock and BPU MKII Aristos?

The main aim is to have a "worry free cruiser" as you put it but at least a Toyota/Lexus means that parts are relatively cheap and I'd be happy to work on it if the need arose. It will never had anything like a single kit fitted or mega mods but I would consider some easy stuff like a decat and exhaust especially if there was any chance of the economy improving a touch from the freer breathing. To be honest, my initial move to a GS300 was because of the quality of car available for only two or three thousand pounds. If I start looking more towards top spec Aristos at £6k+ then I'm sure that puts me into the market of other machinery as well that is worthy of consideration. The MK1 Aristo is definitely out I'm afraid as the Mrs hates the look of them and she'll be driving this car (whatever it ends up being) as well as her own car. I did have a brief look at the 430 and maybe I'll revisit that model as long as they exist in pre March 2001 guise and slip into the Private Light Goods taxation class.

Oh yeah - I forgot the tiptronc box in the Aristos too. I think I could get used to that

Thanks for all the replies and links guys - much appreciated So far I know that there are the following things to look out for... - Brake booster related issue (although I'm not sure if buying a car with 80,000miles that hasn't yet shown up the issue means it'll be good to 150,000miles though) - Balljoints seem to have been replaced (or are in need of replacement) on a lot of cars - Suspension bushes can wear out relatively quickly I was originally looking for an Aristo but after spending a week or two looking around I wouldn't say you do necessarily get more for your money. I have only seen one MKII Aristo with a full leather interior and it was up for £6k (same one adnanshah247 posted a link to) and it has had blown turbos replaced, a FMIC and a dump valve and for some reason has black vinyl on the roof It may well be a beauty of a car now but I can't say for sure until I go to look at it. It doesn't jump out as the steady , reliable motor I am looking for but I do like the look of it and will get in touch with the seller to see how much he's willing to move on the price. If you halve that number down to £3000 then you can find GS300 Sports with full leather and all the gadgets with comparable mileage. Obviously the TT motor isn't there but I'm not sure I actually want that sort of performance - I still have the Supra for that For £3000 (or even £2000) you definitely do not get more for your money with an Aristo. Don't get me wrong, if I had £6k to blow on another car then I'd probably go for the Aristo over the Lexus but unfortunately I don't have that much to spend so unless a desperate seller crops up I will probably go with the Lexus. That said, does anyone know of any very well priced Aristos for sale - they don't seem to crop up very often....

I'm thinking of buying one of these but it's not a car I have any real experience of. Does anyone here own one or anyone worked on them before? I think I can get a 1999/00 plated Sport with less than 85,000miles for about £3500-4000 but I'm not sure if this is about the right price for one as I haven't been looking into it for long enough yet. Once the mileage creeps up beyond 120k the value certainly seems to drop like a stone. What else is out there that is comparable/better for similar money? It's a shame there isn't a 3litre turbo diesel as the 3litre petrol engine and weight of all this luxury doesn't strike me as the most economical combination

Phil what is the width and offset of your rear wheels and are the tyres 295/30/18?

Well done Phil and Ryan I think I may in the same boat as you with rear arches so I'm just waiting to get them rolled.

Looking into it now mate. Would first Tuesday morning be any good for you? The reason I am stalling is I go away myself on the Wednesday so I'm working out how best to squeeze a session at SRR in

How late is late Ryan? Any chance you'll be there early saturday morning? It sounds like my firmware change and traction setup will have to wait till you get back now but I'm toying with the idea of a power run at SRR to see where I stand now after the exhaust mods and your tweak of the map....

John, Without wanting to sound like I'm being overly @n@l here....do these have a 60.1mm counterbore on the backface (with no spigot rings required) and a 60.1mm spigot on the front face?

My 67DBB is ceramic coated and has a blanket.

Sorry James - I can't help with a swap but please let me know if you want to sell them on again...you just beat me to it before

Wow thanks for all the replies fellas, I'll get something posted up about specific measurements once I've had a look at mine and jotted a few things down. I wasn't expecting such a positive response so you've all suprised me. Ibrar - they look great, can you point anything specific out about the install? Were they on Supra subframes. Scott, if the OEM Recaros are the lowest "bum height" reclining seat out there then that is a real shame. Everything about mine is bone stock OEM so maybe I have nothing to gain by looking elsewhere. I can fit in no problem and when sitting like any normal person I don't have any headroom problems.....like I said I've been happily sitting on them for 7 years. Thing is, I ripped one of my ribs away from the cartilage at the front lower part of my chest and it is the slowest healing, not to mention most painful, injury I've ever had. If I sit for any length of time then I have to be 100% bolt upright in that really hard to maintain "lumbar pushed back into the seat, shoulders back, stretch the spine, chest out position" Unless I sit like that I get all sorts of stiffness and pain after about 45-60mins so somehow I do need to do something or else the Supra starts slipping down the list when longer journeys crop up I'm scouting around for lower options - an inch lower would make a world of difference, half an inch would be a really big improvement too. I was hoping I could graft the Celica ones in and get them nice and low. That way I get black leather to match everything else, I get my lower seat, I don't need to modify my Recaros or subframes, plus the dodgy Recaro trim can take a temporary leave of absence

Did you sell this Mawby? My better half is after a laptop so I'm snooping around for nice second hand ones.

I am considering buying a set of leather Celica seats to go in my Supe. At the moment I have OEM Recaros in there but I need to get a lower seating position really and I think these Celica ones will give me a chance to do that. I've been sitting on the Recaros for 7 years but am finally giving in to the fact that I need somethng lower so my head doesn't get quite so close to the roof so I can avoid hunching all the time. Has anyone ever fitted Celica seats or does anyone have a Celica that they might take a few measurements off for me? Cheers Dan

Holidays for mappers should be banned

That explains it - thanks. I run an 8.5x18 with a 35 offset and 245/40 tyre and it will rub if I hit a bump while having reasonable steering lock on. I wouldn't recommend anyone went with a lower offset than that with a 245/40 tyre. I may well try a 245/35 next which would almost certainly ge rid of it and create more space. This is with CW springs which are relatively soft and at slightly lower than stock ride height.

What width and profile tyre and what sort of ride height? Also, do you have aftermarket coilovers?

I like rear 3 quarter shots. In my opinion that's about the best angle for Supes. I'm not a big fan of Supra headlights and the way they often stand out on certain colour cars so I always favour the rear shots

I may be selling mine soon, should know within about a week or so. Looking good James

Nice progress, I'm looking forward to seeing how this all comes together.

If you bought a brand new retainer fork I would leave the OEM bushes in, they'll be fine for ages. Or sell the new one, and fit a second hand one with the aluminium bushes.

Looks nice, I'm a fan of the 17" wheel look.

Sorry I may have missed the point as I'm not really up to speed on mirror options to recognise which is which Is it an electric folding type or a manual folding type? I'd like an electric folding one

Does it work ok with the folding etc with no slop/play?