jez.w

Im not sure they would have any advantage being longer. Normally uprated drop links are much thicker. You can tell the difference with uprated thicker drop links, car feels a little tighter on the road, I had IPD ones on my Volvo T5 and you could tell a small improvement over stock links definitely. If you combine with decent tyres, uprated shocks, lower stiffer springs, and decent bushings all round it all adds up.

i would try and keep the catch mechanism if i was doing it, i dont really like the look of the aero catches and you ruin the bonnet as it will now have holes in it. Can you not make up some different brackets and mount it differently, there is quite a bit of room in the front if you custom mount things. I have custom mounted a different rad for my charge cooler and gearbox oil cooler and it all fitted in fine, but i have binned the aircon. i still have loads of space for another oil cooler if i wanted.

This above, plus you can never get all the oil out as there is a film of oil over loads of the internal engine parts which stays. And the oil pump holds some.

I drove my old celica for a couple of days without the drop links as i cut the old ones off and the new ones that arrived in the post were the wrong ones, and i needed to use the car. It was fine and i just drove normally, you can tell on some corners that it doesnt feel as good as normal. Just dont go mad, it wil be fine!

I would guess £15k plus the car? / Cant really compare Gen7 to older Gens as Gen7's are not old yet. My Gen5 car is nearly 23 years old, i dont think many Gen7's will make 23 years? You dont get death rattle on proper Celicas

My CS cost £3500 10 years ago. In that time I have spent about £11000 on it including a new engine, gearbox repair, 2 clutches, 2 exhausts, new body panels, turbo, power steering pump, new suspension, brake master, new rads, and lots of other things....... It is still in pieces at the moment and been off the road for 3 years now. Got to get it finished one of these days....... I would be lucky to get my £3500 back on it, but in the future it will be like the TA/RA Celicas and should go up in value. I don't care how much I spent on it as I just like the car and don't intend to sell it.

My GT was a UK car on an M reg and it had a middle seat belt in the rear.

I would say it was good for a beginner as it is small and lowish speed mostly, i learnt how to hit the apexs and drive smoother. The only quick bit was the end of the straight we were at end of 3rd gear and maybe a bit into 4th before we had to brake at the end, we were all in completely different cars, but we were more or less evenly matched except for Lotus Elise and Exige which were a fair bit quicker. We did a kind of 1 and 1/2 lap track where on the first lap you would brake and turn hard right halfway down the straight and do the twisty bit again and then second time around you do the full straight down hill and safely brake at the bottom where the next car is waiting to go. I had never done a track day before so it was my first one and i found it good. I put 2 wheels on the grass a few times but no harm done (smooth bit). There were a couple of very keen drivers who were over doing it and were all over the place, one went right off and came back on again slowly and carried on fine no damage, your not really going that fast. I suppose it depends where you come off or if the track is wet, it was perfectly dry when we went. The ground around the track was all grass and was uneven and really bumpy in places. I would say if you were experienced in track days or had really high powered cars you would probably want a bigger faster track.

I have been there, i took my MX5 (not got it anymore). Its a small track so may not suit really high powered cars or people that want high speed, but you can change the route you take as it is a kind "B" shape if i remember right. You are only allowed one car at a time and i dont think you are meant to officially time your laps. When i went it was about £300 for the day and that was split between up to 10 cars i think, but that was 6 or 7 years ago. Got some pictures somewhere... I had ago in a couple of nice cars too, Lotus Elise being the best one. Was a really good day out!

I would definitely agree with the Nixxen being bad, in the wet with Nixxen tyres my Gt4 felt like i was driving on an oil slick every time i went around a corner quickly, even driving slowly i was wasnt very confident in the wet. But they were good in the dry. I changed them before they had completely worn out because i felt unsafe in the wet, and i have never changed tyres before they are worn out before. I like Toyo tyres as they are excellent in the wet and dry and grip well beyond my driving abilities and are a good price for what you get.

I would just do the clutch and slave (its cheap) before you damage the fly wheel, if not too late already.

Might not be the box, could be the slave or clutch? Can you pump up or do you loose the clutch pedal to the floor if you know what i mean?

Dont go a place that is too cheap! Cheap clutches have a crap action and feel, also cowboy mechanics cause more trouble than they fix. To me a clutch is worth spending an extra £100 on, cut back on the bling and spend on the important things...

Between £150 and £200 as a guess. I had my GT4 bonnet sprayed and the vents due to loads of stone chips for £185 last year, was a good job too, not just a cheap blow over.

If it is a gt4 running standardish boost and not been thrashed it should be fine engine-wise, GT4's are very reliable. Turbos last a long time, mine did 150K on original turbo. No problems at all with my gearbox, on 170K+ now. Still on my original diff mount. Clutch is expensive and they dont seem to last as long as an average car, looking through my previous owners service history (with different owners) the clutch only seems to last 50K and cost £600 ish a time. Suspension is expensive to fix on the 205, but you dont have to do the whole thing at once. Once the clutch and suspension is done on a higher mileage car, they are no more than any other old turbo sports car to maintain wear-and-tear wise. Service parts are reasonable from TCB. Biggest cost is the fuel by far, i used my CS as the daily driver for a year or so when i first got it, but just couldnt justify the fuel cost. So i kept it as a second car. My gen 6GT did 35mpg average, my GT4 only managed low 20mpg to and from work in traffic, so almost half the mpg. I dont know how people can say the MPG in a GT4 is about the same as a GT, as that is not what i experienced?? I would say allow £1000 a year average for replacing bits and servicing + fuel at 25MPG overall average. Cheers