How Will I Know

July 16, 2007

bare with me i`m a newbie to this lark i am going to be the proud owner of a shiny red celica 2.0 gti on an m plate how will i know if it is an import or uk model as i am a bit tik

also as this is a choice over a rather ordinary 05 plate focus i want to add new shoes can i put 18" wheels on her without raising the suspention :huh:

any comms would help plz

oh yeah what type of unleaded sould i use as ive heard there is a right and a wrong type to use for performance reasons

July 16, 2007

first give away is number plate imports have square ones but some ppl change em another is the clocks will be in KPH also GTi is not a celica its just GT as for fuel its octain that ur refering too if its a import u need to use super unleaded as the octain rating is better abroad i feel super unleaded or optimax can be harmfull to a high milage car i have seen some cars that have had valves burnt out and pistons detonated due to large build up of carbon on the metals just be warey using it to be honest ur better just finding a uk model there aint much price difference and dont go for a focus cus there slower than the celica and with 18s u most likely have to roll the arches

July 17, 2007

As said above giveaway signs, but not always there are:

Square Number plate on rear

Added Fog Light (often incorporated in the cluster but a switch may look added for it)

Dash dimmer missing on imports - on UK models there is a dimmer to the left of the steering wheel I've never seen that on an import

Lack of Alarm - I've never seen an import model with a factory alarm system

18's should go on easily as many other people have done this but they normally lower the car afterwards rather than raising it. Be careful with 18's though as a lot of people say they make the ride comfort quite bad, handling is usually worse and they cost more when you get a puncture! I think it's been said for practical reasons 16's are the best to go for, but obviously some people go for looks over practicality.

As for fuel - imports really need to run on super unleaded, never heard of any damage caused by superunleaded, normal fuel is 95 RON you will need to run it on something higher or add octane booster to each tank full.

Other thing to watch out for is the Import models come with two types of engine - the 3S-FE and the 3S-GE. The GE is the same as the UK GT just with a little extra bhp, but the FE is a real cut down version with approx 50bhp cut out, a lot of importers sell the FE as a GT. Officially neither are actually GT's, the FE is an SS1 and the GE is an SS2. You will have to look at the label on the engine to tell which you're looking at, also should say SS1 or SS2 on the logbook

hope this helps :thumbsup:

July 17, 2007

first give away is number plate imports have square ones but some ppl change em another is the clocks will be in KPH also GTi is not a celica its just GT as for fuel its octain that ur refering too if its a import u need to use super unleaded as the octain rating is better abroad i feel super unleaded or optimax can be harmfull to a high milage car i have seen some cars that have had valves burnt out and pistons detonated due to large build up of carbon on the metals just be warey using it to be honest ur better just finding a uk model there aint much price difference and dont go for a focus cus there slower than the celica and with 18s u most likely have to roll the arches

cheers mate for the info just called the bloke and he had the car from 11000 miles to now 95000 he has told me it is an import gt coupe he is the second owner and he ha aservice history from when he owned it he also said he has been running it on normal unleaded since optimax rose in price with no affect when i pick it up i will post some piccys

again cheers

July 17, 2007

As said above giveaway signs, but not always there are:
Square Number plate on rear
Added Fog Light (often incorporated in the cluster but a switch may look added for it)
Dash dimmer missing on imports - on UK models there is a dimmer to the left of the steering wheel I've never seen that on an import
Lack of Alarm - I've never seen an import model with a factory alarm system
18's should go on easily as many other people have done this but they normally lower the car afterwards rather than raising it. Be careful with 18's though as a lot of people say they make the ride comfort quite bad, handling is usually worse and they cost more when you get a puncture! I think it's been said for practical reasons 16's are the best to go for, but obviously some people go for looks over practicality.
As for fuel - imports really need to run on super unleaded, never heard of any damage caused by superunleaded, normal fuel is 95 RON you will need to run it on something higher or add octane booster to each tank full.
Other thing to watch out for is the Import models come with two types of engine - the 3S-FE and the 3S-GE. The GE is the same as the UK GT just with a little extra bhp, but the FE is a real cut down version with approx 50bhp cut out, a lot of importers sell the FE as a GT. Officially neither are actually GT's, the FE is an SS1 and the GE is an SS2. You will have to look at the label on the engine to tell which you're looking at, also should say SS1 or SS2 on the logbook
hope this helps

helps a lot cheers spoke to the seller is an import is 3s-ge so happy with that he has had it from 11k mls now it has 95k with service history and recent cam belt change

me thinks im gonna like this car lol :yahoo: