Altezza

[muddyell]

Sorry if this sounds a bit/very dumb but what exactly is the difference between the IS200 and the Altezza

I know the altezza has a different engine but what one?

Once again sorry if tha is a dumb question but its been doin my head in for ages so thought i would just ask

[Steviewevie]

There's some good stuff on this at Wikipedia

[sparkystav]

If you search theres loads of threads on it.

but basically the Altezza overall is a very low spec IS (cloth interior etc)

And comes in two model:

RS200 - 3SGE engine (4 cylinder)

AS200 - 1GFE engine (same as Is200)

[muddyell]

So how are they quicker than the IS200?

[Steviewevie]

So how are they quicker than the IS200?

See my Wiki link. The RS200 engine, despite being "only" 4 cylinders, is a lot more powerful.

[muddyell]

Ok tha doesnt make sense to me lol why make a more powerfull 4 cylinder engine and a less powerfull 6 cylinder

[Steviewevie]

Ok tha doesnt make sense to me lol why make a more powerfull 4 cylinder engine and a less powerfull 6 cylinder

I'm guessing that the 6-cylinder IS200 engine was probably designed more for refinement rather than outright speed.

[muddyell]

Yea i suppose

How much faster is the Altezza? Does it have the LSD ect tha the IS200 sort has?

[Noel]

Off the line it's faster as it's lighter and has a more powerful engine (210bhp), but on the road the is200 isn't far behind...

factory specs

RS200 --- 0-60 = 7.2 sec

IS200 --- 0-60 = 9.5 sec

get an IS200 with a supercharger and it's the same ;)

[Jaundice]

Yea i suppose

How much faster is the Altezza? Does it have the LSD ect tha the IS200 sort has?

Check this here for the different trim specs. As far as I know, the LSD is standard on the Manual transmissions for both the AS200 and the RS200. It's an option for the RS200 auto, and not available for the AS200 auto.

[Paradroid]

Off the line it's faster as it's lighter and has a more powerful engine (210bhp), but on the road the is200 isn't far behind...

I've always wondered that about the IS200 - if it's quicker on the move than you would think for a car that only does 60 in 9.5 seconds. I suppose one thing about the 0-60 time is that two gearchanges are needed on the IS200, where a lot of cars will hit 60 in second gear.

Years ago (1999 I think) I had a newish Rover 200vi, 1.8vvc engine, which did 0-60 in 7.5 seconds. I stuck my foot down joining a motorway and had an IS200 pinned to my rear which I couldn't really get away from. It's possible it was an Altezza RS200, but to be honest I've a feeling it was an IS200.

I'm quite happy with the performance of my IS200, although I got it after driving a MG ZS180, which was an awful lot quicker.

[Dan_Harris]

upto 100 I find they are fairly sharp i've held a integra type-R upto 100 (granted he's probably a poor driver) but the only thing that lets the IS down as far as i'm concerned is the fact it limits bang on 6,500rpm and the vvti kicks in way too late. But midrange grunt I think the IS is fairly decent nothing to write home about but more than enough for general driving.I

I'm getting extremely tempted by a Altezza but I love the sound of a straight 6 too much :D guess the only thing I can do is a 2JZ swap hehe

[Steviewevie]

I'm getting extremely tempted by a Altezza but I love the sound of a straight 6 too much :D guess the only thing I can do is a 2JZ swap hehe

Gone off the S15 now then ? :D