UK spec vs. Japan import differences?
Discussion
When looking at Japanese cars in the past week or so, most people recommended buying a UK spec one (almost irrespective of the car). I guess there are differences in equipment levels and so on but are there other, significant differences as well?
- quality of maintenance?
- corrosion protection?
etc.
In brief what makes buying a Japan sourced car riskier or less desirable than a UK spec one?
- quality of maintenance?
- corrosion protection?
etc.
In brief what makes buying a Japan sourced car riskier or less desirable than a UK spec one?
personally i would pick a JDM one anytime, you get far more goodies and the main selling point, for me anyways, is a higher compression on the engine due to the better fuel they have there. When doing up my Aussie delivered Prelude, i raided the Japanese parts bin for the bits we got jibbed on, like digital climate control, one piece headlights, proper Alpine/Gathers double din headunit, and so on..
It depends on the car.
Supras are more powerful in UK spec- 320 bhp as standard versus 285 bhp for a standard Jap spec car.
I think Evos and STIs are more powerful in Jap spec though.
And as for MR2s, the turbo was only available in Japan and the USA. The Japanese ones produced around 240 bhp whereas the American ones closer to 200. The octane rating of Fuel and ECU mapping is the main issue here.
Remember though, if you're buying a heavily modified car it makes little difference in the end. The quality of the car becomes the most important thing.
Supras are more powerful in UK spec- 320 bhp as standard versus 285 bhp for a standard Jap spec car.
I think Evos and STIs are more powerful in Jap spec though.
And as for MR2s, the turbo was only available in Japan and the USA. The Japanese ones produced around 240 bhp whereas the American ones closer to 200. The octane rating of Fuel and ECU mapping is the main issue here.
Remember though, if you're buying a heavily modified car it makes little difference in the end. The quality of the car becomes the most important thing.
Top Trump said:
The quality of the car becomes the most important thing.
That's what i'd say too. It doesn't really matter were the car has come from. As long as it's been maintained properly and is a good one you'll be ok. If you're bothered about stock power figures then do some research, if you're going to modify the car to a decent level those figures are pretty irrevelant.
Often times JDM cars aren't maintained properly, after 3 years a new car has to go for a very thorough test so most people get rid of them by that stage, and they can usually get away without maintaining the car much in that time which saves them money (if you think running a car in the UK is expensive, Japan will blow it out the water).
There are of course some who do maintain the car properly but as the service history will be non-existant, or in Japanese, it's not going to be much use to you. This means a JDM car is far more of a lottery, you might get a good one, you might get a crap one. With a UK car you usually have a service history available and can see and inspect the car properly right away and size up the previous owners. This is the main reason that UK cars will be worth more than JDM cars, they are generally a 'safer' bet.
If you want a common import try and find one that has already been here a while and that you can verify that it is a good one and not a stinker.
When cars like a Supra is considered to be 280bhp in Japan and 320bhp overseas I think it's fair to say that probably nothing much has actually changed except removal of the 180km/h speed limiter. The power is achieved at identical RPM and only the torque is listed as changing, so the 280bhp has a higher listed torque figure than the 320bhp model. Acceleration times are identical so it matters little if you are keeping it stock (apart from limiter) and if you are tuning, it you wont care anyway.
A JDM will probably have other nonlocalised quirks though, 180km/h speedo (no MPH usually) and suspension tuning might not be optimised for local conditions, tyres might be crappier/non legal, and the radio/ICE stuff will all be in Japanese and tuned to weird Japanese frequencies, so probably useless as well. JDM cars can also spend a lot of time sitting around in docks and at sea and are sometimes treated poorly, especially the older models, they like to move them around with forklifts sometimes and so they can suffer minor damage that can let rust and corrosion in or cause minor damage to the underside of the car.
There are of course some who do maintain the car properly but as the service history will be non-existant, or in Japanese, it's not going to be much use to you. This means a JDM car is far more of a lottery, you might get a good one, you might get a crap one. With a UK car you usually have a service history available and can see and inspect the car properly right away and size up the previous owners. This is the main reason that UK cars will be worth more than JDM cars, they are generally a 'safer' bet.
If you want a common import try and find one that has already been here a while and that you can verify that it is a good one and not a stinker.
When cars like a Supra is considered to be 280bhp in Japan and 320bhp overseas I think it's fair to say that probably nothing much has actually changed except removal of the 180km/h speed limiter. The power is achieved at identical RPM and only the torque is listed as changing, so the 280bhp has a higher listed torque figure than the 320bhp model. Acceleration times are identical so it matters little if you are keeping it stock (apart from limiter) and if you are tuning, it you wont care anyway.
A JDM will probably have other nonlocalised quirks though, 180km/h speedo (no MPH usually) and suspension tuning might not be optimised for local conditions, tyres might be crappier/non legal, and the radio/ICE stuff will all be in Japanese and tuned to weird Japanese frequencies, so probably useless as well. JDM cars can also spend a lot of time sitting around in docks and at sea and are sometimes treated poorly, especially the older models, they like to move them around with forklifts sometimes and so they can suffer minor damage that can let rust and corrosion in or cause minor damage to the underside of the car.
Gazboy said:
Top Trump said:
It depends on the car.
Supras are more powerful in UK spec- 320 bhp as standard versus 285 bhp for a standard Jap spec car.
Supras are more powerful in UK spec- 320 bhp as standard versus 285 bhp for a standard Jap spec car.
There the same. I've got a dyno sheet from SRR to prove it (mine made 250rwhp for a j-spec auto), I think we both know it's going to lose more than 35bhp through a torque converter, autobox, torsen diff and the tyres.
Really? Officially, UK Surpas are rated higher, at least that's what I've read.
I guess you can't argue with a dyno sheet. Manufacturers claimed power figures are often inaccurate. Strangely, I've heard that MR2 turbos are often more powerful than the Toyota official figures - 260ish in standard form is not uncommon.
Japanese cars tend to be less rusty, not entirely sure why but I've heard its because they don't use salt on their roads. Seems to be true though, JDM cars of the same model and age tend to be less rusty than their UK equivalents. This also means they often don't have much in the way of corrosion protection, so can go rusty when they get here. If its undersealed before the rot has a chance to start, it'll be fine.
They're also normally lower mileage and their MOT equivalent is a lot more stringent than ours. You're unlikely to get any sort of history though, so there's always a chance you'll end up with a dog.
There are differences in specs too, in general I'd say that the Japanese market cars are higher spec. Obviously there are exceptions
You get spec levels and sometimes whole models that aren't available outside Japan too.
If you're planning on bringing the car over from Japan yourself, rather than just buying one from an importers / private sale, you'll obviously have to buy it unseen which brings its own whole new set of problems. I'm doing this for the first time at the moment, let me know if you want more detail on the process.
At the end of the day, you're taking a chance buying any used car. Is that risk greater or less with a JDM car than a UK one? I don't know, there's probably not a huge amount in it. Buying one on the other side of the world and bringing it over is a very different experience though!
They're also normally lower mileage and their MOT equivalent is a lot more stringent than ours. You're unlikely to get any sort of history though, so there's always a chance you'll end up with a dog.
There are differences in specs too, in general I'd say that the Japanese market cars are higher spec. Obviously there are exceptions
You get spec levels and sometimes whole models that aren't available outside Japan too. If you're planning on bringing the car over from Japan yourself, rather than just buying one from an importers / private sale, you'll obviously have to buy it unseen which brings its own whole new set of problems. I'm doing this for the first time at the moment, let me know if you want more detail on the process.
At the end of the day, you're taking a chance buying any used car. Is that risk greater or less with a JDM car than a UK one? I don't know, there's probably not a huge amount in it. Buying one on the other side of the world and bringing it over is a very different experience though!
I was not thinking of importing directly but more or less of buying something that has been in the UK already.
In the beginning I would probably go for something in standard tune and then decide on upgrading to another car or tuning that one as time passes and my financial situation improves. As there will be countless other expenses soon after moving it will be hard to justify spending most of the disposable income on a weekend toy
In the beginning I would probably go for something in standard tune and then decide on upgrading to another car or tuning that one as time passes and my financial situation improves. As there will be countless other expenses soon after moving it will be hard to justify spending most of the disposable income on a weekend toy
DamienCBR said:
I seem to remember when a mate was looking at a Jap import Mr2 it was slightly thinner than a UK one, therefore the parts had to be sourced from a Jap import dealer.
I might be wrong, it was just something that stuck in my head.
D
I might be wrong, it was just something that stuck in my head.
D
Some dealerships take a dim view of imports and so will tell people anything to put them off them. At the same time, I expect that some importers will tell tell people anything to get them to buy parts etc from them rather than anywhere else
Certainly Toyota dealers can order parts for any model, UK or otherwise if they're so inclined. Normally significantly cheaper to shop elsewhere though... I know the Mk iii Supra had a narrow body model that was only available in Japan for a few years with a specific engine. Standard bodied ones were sold there at the same time with other engines. I'm not aware of any width differences in MR2s though
Gazboy said:
Top Trump said:
Gazboy said:
Top Trump said:
It depends on the car.
Supras are more powerful in UK spec- 320 bhp as standard versus 285 bhp for a standard Jap spec car.
Supras are more powerful in UK spec- 320 bhp as standard versus 285 bhp for a standard Jap spec car.
There the same. I've got a dyno sheet from SRR to prove it (mine made 250rwhp for a j-spec auto), I think we both know it's going to lose more than 35bhp through a torque converter, autobox, torsen diff and the tyres.
Really? Officially, UK Surpas are rated higher, at least that's what I've read.
I guess you can't argue with a dyno sheet. Manufacturers claimed power figures are often inaccurate. Strangely, I've heard that MR2 turbos are often more powerful than the Toyota official figures - 260ish in standard form is not uncommon.
Well the manufactorers were bound by a 280ps limit for their domestic market. They just ignored it. Have a drag with a 286bhp M3 3.0 in a J-spec supra and watch the Supra walk the M3 (I've done this too).
I don't doubt that for a second. M3s are quite peaky and the Supra will have much more mid-range slam.
I quite fancy a Supra in the future. Preferably with uprated twin turbos and ECU at around say the 450bhp mark.
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