Hiro Protagonist

Yeah I've switched to Chrome as well, Firefox was alright but it had an annoying issue of ghosting back up on the screen about 5 seconds after you switched to another program/window. Installed Chrome and haven't looked back (although there are a few features of Firefox I prefer over Chrome, like the ability to re-open particular tabs after you closed them rather than just the most recent one, and the lack of menu bar in Chrome means I can't run my slimlime Winamp skin at the top of the screen as it covers up the tabs). Been putting up with IE7 at work (which is painfully slow on media-rich sites like SMH and TOCAU) until recently when I realised that I have local admin rights on my PC, so installed Chrome there as well

And AE101 :P

Umm, in the stock GZE setup the throttle is before the supercharger, so it might be a little hard having ITBs without a lot of custom work...

Offset is way too high, the wheels will tuck in a lot and you may have issues hitting the suspension. For that kind of size and width look for at most a +20 offset. As a guide, MA61 wheels are 14x7 +8 and fit perfectly without guard work on standard height suspension and 195 tyres

I believe the TE27s were 4x114.3 But, as a basic guide: KE1x->2x = 4x110 KE3x->AE7x (including AE85 and AE86) = 4x114.3 AE8x (not including AE85/86)->ZZE12x = 4x100 ZRE15x = 5x114.3

I'd be happy with the S1, just without the extension lip...

As much as I like JZX100s (and I hope to own one in a few years as a family car, with the Soarer as a daily for me), I still don't like the look of the front lip - just one too many layers/lines there, especially when all-white so it stands out like dogs balls. Still, looks nice and clean :D

Man I really need to get my foglights wired up.....

How long was the loan for? What were your monthly repayments? For a $15k loan over 5 years, a total cost of $25k only equals about a 20% interest rate.....welcome to the world of compound interest.

Would be so much better if the Mob ran the pizza companies....if the pizza is delivered a minute late the Don personally rides out in the chopper with a fresh pizza and an apology to the customer.

Well, space blankets do keep the pizzas warm whilst it is on it's way to your door....

WMMH - $10k payrise :) Another 3 years of this and I'll be on $100k...

Umm, all models except the CSi and some of the CSXs got the 7AFE, so hardly "lucky" :P If I can sum it up in a few brief words, there are better cars out there with better aftermarket support, better performance, better looks and better image. In saying that, I personally love my AE102 and am extremely unlikely to ever sell it. I've modified it, installed both aftermarket, factory and custom components to improve looks, handling, performance and comfort, and even though it has done close to 360,000km it has been the epitome of reliability and ease of ownership. As has been said, unless you look at engine swaps (either to a 20v 4AGE, 3SGE or 2ZZGE) or turbocharging, you're quite limited in what you can get out of the engine power-wise. Even with CAI, full exhaust, ported head and piggy-back computer you'd be lucky to get 80kw at the wheels. Driveability is where the 7AFE comes in though (especially with the manual) as the low-down torque gives you the ability to punch out of corners a gear higher than you would in a 4AGE, and with some mild suspension work (springs and shocks, maybe a bigger rear swaybar, and grippy tyres) you'll have quite a tidy handling package that can embarass some much more performance-oriented cars in the corners (just don't expect to keep up on the straights).

Or run a Blacktop ECU and MAP sensor - think there are few other little things that are needed too, but not much, and way cheaper than an aftermarket ECU. Been done a few times in the past, shouldn't be too hard to find someone who's done it (I'm guessing the Sprinter crowd would have a lot of info, they love 20Vs with trumpets).

WPMO - woke up this morning on my day off (Newcastle Show holiday), only to find the bloody power was out....first thought it was a fuse, but the box was all clear, only to find out on the radio in the car that some muppet had decided to play havoc with some power-lines....

Not really, 2RZEs are only rated at about 88kw, only about 15kw more than an 18RC and barely more than a 22RE...

Oooh, shiny... Beginning of bonus-money spending, will be doing the dumps in the next few weeks, hopefully in time for dyno day (if not, then drag night in August)

Are the 2RZs imports or from a Hiace? The single-cam 2RZE in the Hiace is hardly inspiring and in my mind a pretty tame conversion, you'd be better off looking at a 3RZFE if it manages to scrape in under the capacity limit

WMMH - $5.6K bonus (before tax). Last year we only got $800 BT, so was a biiiig surprise. Going to go towards fixing/installing a few little things on the Soarer (dumps, maybe cam gears) and the rest is getting dumped into the wedding savings fund.

Correct., the filler plug on a C-series gearbox is on the front (ie radiator-side) of the gearbox about half way up. The level should be just to the bottom of that hole (if the car is sitting level on the ground).

You do? I just roll out of bed, less strain that way.

Because the 1GGE is an atmo engine (and only a 2.0L at that) putting out around 110kw at the flywheel. If you want to get 300hp (220kw) at the wheels then you'd almost certainly have to turbocharge it, in which case you might as well just get a factory-turbocharged 1GGTE to begin with. That and they're a bit more common than the 1GGE (because we're talking imports here, generally the performance variants were imported more than the base models), and not exactly expensive anyway (they're a common swap into old-skool Celicas and Coronas).

For 300bhp I certainly hope you intend on using a 1GGTE, not a 1GGE....

I see your 9 years and 80,000k and raise you 14 years and 355,000k :P

So basically you've seen 1 4AGZE and it was probably modded....yeah, great way to draw a conclusion on a stock motor. If anything, the fact that the GZE shares so much of its components with the GE is testamount to the strength of the N/A motor - the main reason why people recommend using a GZE as a basis for a turbo build has nothing to do with the block, crank, rods, head or cams (as they are all shared), it is purely for the pistons and the fact that the ECU and MAP sensor (where fitted) are capable of supporting low-boost turbo setups without modifications. If you're looking at doing serious work (ie installing your own pistons for a start) then a smallport is just as good a starting block, if not better (because it'll most likely be cheaper).