DShox

disagree - there...not unanimous. shouldnt overlook the fact that the nsx auto is a well known disappointment - so shouldnt be compared to a supra auto in the right hands. anyway, i prefer the practicality of an auto, the preservation of my engine and no clutch + most of my driving isnt on a track. some like the auto so therefore people like me think it's a better option.

aye what he said. each to their own. the debate will go on 4ever!

test drove a uk supra and the bilsteins were very smooth - dont remember any handling problems cos the guy was flying around country roads - then again, i dont think i'll ever get to the point where i corner so fast i'd notice the diff

Tein shocks...me too - have you ever had a '4 point wheel alignment' done to check tracking?

yup bet the stig could beat all of em in a vauxhall omega auto! the auto nsx is well known for being a let down so dont let that tarnish the supra auto

definitely auto man - for reasons of preserving my engine and having no clutch to worry about, i like the way the auto quickly finds perfect gear to kick in the turbo and then launches so you dont even notice the up shifts. i'd like to see even a pro shifter in the relatively hard work getrag 6sp beat a computer controlled auto. i reckon the 6sp would close up tho against a 4sp auto in the higher gears tho. for practicality also i cant stand manuals in traffic! only trouble is on corners (dont know if you get this in manuals) - accelerate too hard and the turbo rush can easily make you lose the back end! The getrag is tougher mind and if you're a modder - think you'll be better off. Personally im happy with 300bhp and dont wanna spend any more 1000s to reach the crazyness of 450 - 500bhp!

agreed - but there are loads out there where the importer is relying on unsuspecting customers. a number plate can be made in an afternoon without registration. my point is and always has been, be careful of late imports, there is only one genuine kind and thats the one that has gone through ESVA.

right so thats why you go on to say 'forget the sva etc etc' - dont make any sense. there is only one way to register a car - and thats correctly. anything else is nonsense.

Sorry but i disagree - no SVA means no registration and therefore DVLA can't give you the letters/numbers to go and get a legal plate made. I COULD go and ask anyone to make a number plate for me a bang it on any car i fancied - but would you buy from someone who runs a business like that...cos i wouldn't.

This SVA business - if was imported before April 2004 it would have successfully passed the E (Enhanced) SVA test assuming it came through proper channels. If this garage didnt do their homework (and not many who aren't import focussed did get caught out!) then it will not have passed ESVA (as post April 2004 all cars 97 onwards need to be tested against a Model Report). The Model Report (which is done in a lab with a sample Supra Twin Turbo) does not exist for this car because the emissions do not comply with EU levels. If a car don't have an ESVA certificate, you can't get it registered at the DVLA and therefore you can't get a legal number plate. Lots of late model car adverts hide the number plate for this reason - there is a 97 on ebay that nobody is touching for this reason I expect. If you wanna catch em out ask: "will i be the first owner?" - a trader will love to say "yes sir, absolutely!" - well that tells you its a fresh import and so be weary. Police do like to hang behind you and do the checks - very easy to press the pedal just a bit and add 20 mph to your speed right away too! Hope this helps.

im from great barr...well im there visitin family quite alot on weekends - where do you need?

changed pics and text a bit again sorry! expecting better pics on w/e so will end up doing this once more... http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WWW/cars_search.asp?page=8&modelexact=1&lid=search_used_cars_full&make=TOYOTA&model=SUPRA&min_pr=8000&max_pr=&mileage=&agerange=&postcode=ub8+1xp&miles=1500&max_records=200&source=0&photo=1&sort=3&ukcarsearch_full=SEARCH

i paid by direct bank transfer (online banking) yesterday I think...or the day b4 ???

oh alex thanks - i thought it was Top Secret cos I found a leaflet in the glovebox in Japanese but there was Top Secret written on it in English...Abflug is nice tho. Unfortunately it was getting dark by the time it stopped raining but I hope to take some pics this w/e of the front so the gold grill really stands out... SupraGal - i wish i knew the loophole but if they are found they are promptly closed by DVLA. The truth is, someone did me a massive favour after hearing my plight on strict orders that I didnt ask how or why...my agent didnt tell me these cars couldnt get thru so i got quite a surprise when it kept failing SVA. I havent given up on a developing a Model Report but getting buy in is proving tough... I paid my membership yesterday so hopefully i can put it onto the 'sale forum'...Love it to bits but I cannot really afford to keep paying insurance at the mo when I only drive it weekends...so hope someone gives it a good home. sob sob

aye - fun these cars are. i dont find stick shift manuals as much fun mind - the tiptronic has thumb shifters if the driver prefers but i wanna focus fully on pointing the car with a vice like grip so dump straight into auto. Don't think I'll convince a manual guy to switch but then i aint trying to... I'm appealing to those who prefer technological advancement, refinement, performance, practicality for our roads, with the option to experience F1 style shifts if they want or simply auto away...I'm sure I aint alone in the world in appreciating this. anywho, the motor is there for the taking - and if someone is well into modding and has a bottomless cash pit, the gearbox can be converted to whatever the person likes - but thats another thread eh

ok revised add - being cautious on bhp cos everyone says 950bhp and all they did was stick a chip on there! dropped price a bit cos I wanna get into right area...but cant afford anymore! need some food starvin and gotta wake up early and get my bro from Gatwick damn...

yup yup thats the one - i tried listing all the stuff i could see on it plus the auction report...think the air cleaner is an induction kit + exhaust are the only power boosters (granted what it says on the box doesn't always add the bhp but can but dream!). The bigger contact patch from the wheels and the lowered car should also help acceleration above the norm. I bet on a dyno tho' where sheer power matters its more like in the mid 290s. I took the philosophy when importing it along the lines of "I won't buy a highly modded one holding a few surprises nor a previously accidented one and then pretend I never saw the Grading in the hope of selling it to an uneducated buyer - in other words, I treat the prospective buyer like they would approach it with the same prudence as me"...I'm proud to have brought this one in and bang on about it's uniqueness to anyone who dares to ask "what is it and how long did you wait?"...eheh! I even had a special Supra The Last 98 tax disc holder made up. You will find no mechanical surprises, funny noises or big dents on this car. I had the front bodykit filled and resprayed cos they get damaged on the vessel ramps (!) plus sprayed the grill mesh gold (hard to see cos it got dark when it stopped raining grr!). Yup I know there is a big following out there for manuals but I'm not really a manual fan to be honest. The Tiptronic is an advancement in technology that works with the engine to prevent too much over rev - which is so impossible when shifting manually through 6 gears in a car that has 0-60 in about 5 secs. There is a manual override that allows thumbs to be used on the steering wheel to shift up and down but I soon switched back to auto cos I liked the feel of pressing hard and feeling the rush. Unless you're a pro shifter the auto box'll get you there faster. Also, in this country, the number of jams you encounter...it is a crying relief to just be able to forget about the clutch! I don't want people to get too hung up on PRICE - at the end of the day, this motor will sell at whatever the market (ie. you guys) say its worth. I have my own minimum in my head (a reserve like on ebay say) - so if someone PMs me something in the right ball park then we can at least talk further. Thanks for your posts. D

Hi all. You may have come across the lengthy thread I kicked off about importing late model twin turbos into UK. You may also recall that I was prepping a 1998 that took me about 9 months to get out of port by loophole and that I was working on to eventually put up for sale...well 11 months from actually buying the car I am proud to have put this clean Grade 4 (good condition) beauty up on autotrader at £16,750 ovno. As it says on the ad, I move between Birmingham (weekends generally) and London (work during the week) so can position the car conveniently for all to see. Would welcome Private Messages to discuss detail further...my mobile is always on (07885001454) and I will take calls up to 1130pm. Will advertise on this forum I guess once I sort out a payment - believe it's about £10 but will do in due course. Thanks - D

preheated cats would certainly have a better chance - but remember you need to send your sample Supra 97 (or newer) twin turbo to an authorised test lab who will then assess emissions, noise, safety (i.e. additional gauges may protrude and possibly cause injury)...if it passes a Model Report 1st draft goes to VOSA for comment...they then ask the test lab to amend or re-test certain elements before a final Model Report can be issued. That Model Report applies to YOUR Supra and everyone else that wants to import must have a Supra exactly like your one for it to pass (so if you have Recaro seats in yours when it passes, then so must people who import in the future)... It will take much more than just cats to pass - Euro 2 allows sometime for the cats to heat up (40 secs). You will not be allowed to take you Supra to a Lab and ask them to start monitoring after say 3 minutes. There are ways to clean up emissions other than tailpipe cats, like placing a sort of pre-cat between the throttle body and engine so that the fuel breaks down even b4 it gets burned...this apparently increases fuel efficiency, bhp, torque, emissions - costs about GBP80 and is a simple mod to make. Possibly also remap an ECU to downgrade output...but that cools the engine increasing output of other noxious gases..its difficult...and it'll set you back over GBP3500 with no guarantee of success. Vanessa - I thought I read that 1997 is a fixed date? ok I'm prolly confused.

yup there was a belief that the rolling 10 year rule would still apply - just for the uninitiated, if your Supra is 10 yrs old or more, it doesn't need an SVA e.g. so as it's 2005 now, then 1995s and older models don't go through SVA. However that doesn't mean when its 2012 then the 2002 model referred to in the above post can be sold. the rules in April 04 meant that 1997 will be the firm date forever. I'm afraid the Bonsai Supra is stuck unless someone develops a Report...or it could just be used for a demo car...they have a Skyline and Viper on autotrader too that is demo only too. dont fret yall. I understand that the EU (or UK) is talking with Japanese manufacturers to make 'world cars'. It is recognised that Japanese cars match or sometimes exceed safety and performance standards in the UK, so as long as the Japs can agree to a few modifications, then they should be allowed to enter the EU with minimal fuss in the future.

yup cats are definitely important but the Euro 3 starts monitoring the moment the engine starts as opposed to the 40 sec delay on Euro 2...this is important because the cat does not have time to heat up and work to full potential in the former case. if you lifted the Jap-spec Supra and looked at its underbody, the first bulge near the engine is the cat, the second bulge near the tip is the silencer. the UK Supra is different in that both bulges are cats. I know of one guy who recently put 2 UK cats into the Jap Supra and it failed by such a wide margin the project was abandoned...I don't know how feasible it is with just cat technology, but rather suspect many mods and a great deal of technical know-how is needed for this.

you are fine - the issue is limited to whether you import a 1997 or newer model twin turbo. there are 1997s (and newer) in the UK for sale because they could have been imported before April 04 when the rules changed. however quite a few people and agents got caught out and continued importing without realising a Model Report was needed. if you look on car ads - its pretty obvious that someone is desperate to get rid of their twin turbo because: a) its priced so low it probably cost them more to import it so they would make a loss b) the number plate is hidden either by using paintshop software to modify the image, there is no plate attached (i.e. couldn't get EU approval by being tested against a non-existent Model Report and therefore couldn't get a registration number from DVLA) or the car is positioned so you can't see the plates Make sure you can verify the date the car was imported if it is 97 or newer - if it was post April-04, unless it is one of the lucky few to exploit loopholes (which were promptly closed on discovery) to get a legal registration, dont touch em with barge poles...Supras attract police attention and they will be very interested in checking your plates (as I discovered when one tailgated me for about 5 miles on the M6!).

imi yeah just realised i completely yabbered on about sommit else I couldn't SVA my 98, therefore I couldn't do anything like MoT...until I stumbled across a helper - not sure what the motivation was (pity I reckon!). I didn't appreciate the need for a Model Report until I'd already imported! the deal I had with the lady at port was that she would sort it for me as long as I didn't keep asking her to do it...after realising that I had a lump of metal sitting there I followed her instructions and she did the SVA on it somehow - that allowed me to legally plate the car so I owe her big time...she don't work there anymore cos she moved job and so the timing was just jammy...

it cant pass first base, which is the SVA test...only when the certificate is issued will the DVLA allow it to be registered. MoT can happen as soon as SVA test is ok. For basic rules, refer to my first post on this thread. Basically there is no Model Report done for the Supra Twin Turbo. EU regulations need all vehicles coming from outside of the EU, with the age of 1997 onwards, to be tested against the Model Report. A Model Report is a piece of intellectual property that someone owns, which results from a series of lab tests upon a sample Supra Twin Turbo...these cover noise, safety etc and emissions - it's the emissions that ruin the Supra. If someone did successfully develop a report for the Supra, when someone imports the same type of Supra, they call the guy who owns the Report, who allows the importer to use it for a fee... ok?

I was not personally aware of the newer emissions regs in Japan but they wouldn't be as tight as European standards at a guess - just look at the spec of fuel the Japs use (even Shell Optimax doesnt make it with its RON 95 rating). I think the Supra's ECU is setup for RON 100 so fuel from UK pumps needs enriching...maybe someone has an alternative view on this? Anyway, I don't think there were many changes to the Supra to account for the new Jap regs as the power output is the same. As for progress, to be honest I've had trouble gaining support of key stakeholders - I would persist but I have a sneaking suspicion that someone is already working on a report...but if that fails I'll resume my efforts! My focus has been on prepping my 'loopholed' 1998 Supra Twin Turbo that I bought is September and waited 8 months b4 a loophole was found - which promptly closed! It will appear on Autotrader shortly... Take it easy...