Hi everyone, So a little introduction, I have wanted to learn to drift ever since I bought my first s14a a number of years ago, been through a number of cars since Supras, Imprezas, a few hondas and then last year I bought another s14a which rekindled the desire to learn to drift. However after owning it for a while and spending far to much money on it making it go faster and look nicer and realising that it is extremely clean (zero rust, never been welded etc. etc.) I can't bring myself to use it to try and learn and inevitably crash it, I just think worrying about the car will ruin the fun, so I decided to go on the hunt for something I can chuck about and not worry about. Originally I had planned on getting an E36 like everybody else but honestly they just are not really my thing (not jap). Anyway this weekend I was sat browsing away whilst staying at my GF parents house and 20 minutes down the road an IS200 pops up for sale the very same day I sell my EK9 which I had been using for a daily. With a fist full of cash I couldn't resist going for a look. Long story short I bought it and here it is. (Sorry shitty Instagram pic) So I am sure it will not be everyones cup of tea but honestly I fucking love it. Its a bit rough round the edges but that is exactly what I wanted as I usually always buy the cleanest car I can find and then constantly worry about it so in this case rough=good. It is an is200 SE only 2 owners from new, previous owner bought it completely standard from the original keeper with full lexus service history etc and did all the work to it which was a big selling point for me compared to all the other stuff I had looked at which had been passed around all over the place. It also has what I considered (as a total beginner) to be a pretty much perfect spec to get me started which is as follows. Exterior: Respray obviously but looking pretty tired now Random bonnet vent thing CWest front bumper TRD Skirts TRD rear lip E36 Ducktail Rota Kyusha 17x9 ET12 Rota GTR 17x9.5 ET35 Interior: Corbeau fixed back drivers bucket Recaro speed passenger seat Takata Harnesses Fully stripped ( carpets, seats roof lining the lot) Nardi wheel Custom BMX grip shifter Short shift kit Painted purple sparkles Chassis / Suspension: HSD Monopro coilovers Driftworks rear camber arms Driftworks rear toe arms Japspeed rear tension rods New rear subframe (painted purple of course) Every ball joint on the car is new Extra lock kit Grooved front discs and fresh rear discs Engine / Drivetrain: Custom straight piped cat back New radiator Lightweight flywheel New clutch Welded 4.1 auto diff Also got a stack of skid wheels with it so we are good to go. Plans for the car are to try and resist spending any money on it until I have done my first drift day in it and worked out where I am at. Medium term there are lots of little tidy up jobs I would like to do but right now I am happy with it as is. Long term I would love to either engine swap it or supercharge it because they really are not the quickest things in the world. However right now I think having something a bit underpowered but with good handling mods is probably perfect for learning. Before I bought the car I had booked one of the drift experience days at Driftland as I thought that was a good place to get my first taste so that is this Saturday and I can't wait. Once thats done it will be time to book a proper drift day and see how we get on. And to wrap up a couple pics of my s14a which I am about to hide away for the winter. Thanks for reading!
Just welded the diff in my IS200. Doing the skidrisk day 6th November. First drift day for me! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Awesome, good luck man. I can't wait to get out on track! Hopefully going to try get out around November time as well.
Nice score, perfect learner car Does it have any gauges keeping an eye on water temp, oil temp and oil pressure? Having a better idea how the engine's taking the beating helps tell you when a break is needed, rather than just waiting for a geyser out of the bonnet or a leg out of bed Remember, speed and 60psi+ in the rear tyre's is your friend
Thanks, hopefully it will be ideal. No gauges yet but I might have to get that sorted out. Haha yep, can't wait to give it a go! Anyway, spent yesterday cleaning the car out a bit as it was properly grubby inside, looks a bit more presentable now although could do with another hoover out to get rid of the last of the dirt. Also ordered some new wheel nuts because they are miss matched and it is driving me nuts already and some new LED's for the dash as I hate the orange standard lights. Not particularly keen on the angle the harnesses sit at, I know a lot of people run them like this but I think I am going to look into some kind of harness bar. And a picture of it sat on the drive. Thanks!
Not really a car update but yesterday I had my first proper go at drifting. I did the Bronze Experience day at driftland and it was awesome. Great little introduction and has given me the confidence I needed to just get out there and give it a go. So I have ordered a helmet and if it arrives on time I am going to try get out to the open practice day next Sunday and just have a go. Few small jobs to do first and need to make a list of all the things I need to take along with me but we are nearly all set. Very excited to finally be doing it just hoping I don't break anything to serious. Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
Hi I have a is200 it's gutless but still just as fun ! I have auto diff 4.1, rack spacers, cut an shut knuckles, hydro and I use 195/45/16 with 60psi in my skid wheels My instagram is @bobby2v more then welcome to browsethough it ? Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
Yeah not very quick but I'm hoping it will be sufficient for me to learn in. I doubt power is going to be a limiting factor to start with. Similar spec to mine, don't have a hydro but think that might be the first major mod I do. Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
Another small update. First off my new wheel nuts arrived so will be throwing them on, full matching set wah hey! Next I switched the LED's in the cluster and ignition ring for some blue ones because I didn't like the orange. The LED's are a bit shit to be honest but they will do. Want to do the heater controls and stuff but apparently that requires soldering and I have no idea what I am doing so that can wait. Looks like this...all of the colours! Next and much more importantly my new helmet arrived which means I now have no excuse not to get out on track. So hopefully that will happen in the very near future, possibly this Sunday if I can get myself sorted out, if not then shooting for the first winter practice at Driftland on the 5th November. And as requested a couple more pictures because why not. All thats left to do now is go try do a skid and see what breaks.
Loving the colour Bro also the lights in the heater controls don't need soldering atall, there the same fitment as the dash cluster. I can't remember exactly what ones you need but there is somewhere online that lists which bulbs you need, it either tezzaworld or the lexus forum, I think there something like T45 wedge bulbs
Thank you, although I can't take credit as it was previous owner. Ah really, well in that case I shall go ahead and change them as well I think. Thanks!
So just back from my first drift day. Had an absolutely epic day! It was really wet and I spun a lot but it was amazing! Car was faultless all day. Did better then I expected, was managing to link a few of the smaller corners just needed a bit more speed on the bigger corner. Didn't manage to get any decent pictures unfortunately but I'm sure some might turn up. I will probably be backwards in most of them anyway. Can't wait to get back out there now I have a bit of a better idea of what I'm doing! Officially hooked. Couple of pictures thanks to C7Ewan In the queue on skid wheels Doing some small skids, always feels more spectacular when you are in the car.
