Hello Speedhunters. James here, a 25 year old ordinary dude who is an engineer from Sydney. I first purchased this car for roughly 2 years now heading into 3 years. As many may know it is Toyota JZX100 Mark II Tourer V. It is my JDM car of choice.
I first bought it in August 2007 and it took me about 7 months of daily searching (my own sources) to find a stock, manual, grade 5 example with books while being under 30,000km (I wanted to be the first and only one in Australia).
When I got it, the car was bone stock, looking like it was rolled off the factory floor from Toyota. No bodykit, no stickers, no exhaust, no anything.
After finding it I enlisted an importer and got it over here. It was a hell of a wait with plenty of delays but it was well worth it. Before I even got to drive the car, I had purchased modifications, parts and a body kit for it ready to go when it landed.
Originally I was in love with Silvias before this car but then I got sick of having a loud car, rough suspension and basically an old car having owned a 180sx face Silvia. Originally I was looking for an Aristo with a 2JZ-GTE VVti & 6MT but found out I would not have been able to pull it off without spending excessive amounts, so the next best thing was the JZX100.
After owning it and driving it, I now believe the JZX100 is the best balance for a street car costwise in Australia. 4 doors, turbo, JDM, rear wheel drive, manual, luxury, quiet and fast. What other car in Australia can balance all these aspects like a JZX can?
If I had to choose a feature I like best, to be honest it would be too hard, I can't pin it down to just 1, theres a few. It's rarer than a Chaser (not so rare as a Cresta), it's reliable, it looks classy, it's quiet, 89dB to be exact, it's got heaps of torque and it's fast and the most important thing to me is that it's very comfortable!
I wanted to pull off the true JDM street style JZX100 (and be the first to do it in Australia) like they do in Japan (which they do flawlessly mind you) and I think I've got gotten pretty close to it. Pretty much most of the mods are simple power upgrades and dress up mods.
Essentially most of my inspiration has come from the typical street JZXs driven around in Japan by your regular salaryman. I've been told by many that my car looks like it belongs in Japan/just came off the boat/most JDM looking JZX100 they've seen which is exactly what the direction I wanted.
It's been engineered (a requirement on Sydney roads) and the current setup is great on the street. I think 210kw at the wheels is more than enough for me and I get good economy too.
As it stands I'm happy with it. I'll admit I've spent most of my time on the exterior. I don't plan to put a full 3037 pro kit on it as it will just throw the car off balance and turn it into potential a money pit. Most the street JZX's in Japan would be running stock turbos, with those running aftermarket kits tracking their cars.
I wanted to be unique and original and one of the first here to build and style this rare car before there was an influx of JZX's coming into the country and I'm happy to say that I believe I've achieved that. JZX100s are quickly growing in popularity in Australia.
As it stands many people here still don't know what a JZX100 is! They always mistakenly ask if it is Mitsubishi Magna or Toyota Camry!
I am a moderator on www.JZXWorld.com of which many of my fellow JZX driving friends are also on, without their support and knowledge, JZX chassis cars would not exist in Australia and also www.jdmstyletuning.com of which is a predominately Sydney based automotive forum which documents the entire progress of my car there.
As you noticed, the car has gone through many wheel changes, as it sits now I have settled on Work VS-KF wheels all round but I'm not sure how long I will last as many friends have told me in the past hahah!
I am extremely pedantic with the car, the car's purpose was always to be driven on the streets, having pretty much everything on the car purchased and imported straight from Japan bar one or 2 items. Even the interior has gone through its fair changes including Karo checkered mats and bubble shift knob right down to the drift team stickers, I had to have it all!
Other than the odd wheel changes I'm done with the car and will sell it once the JZX110 is ready for compliance (legally road street drivable) in Australia. I'll be heading down a similar route with the 110 but it will be better than my current 100 for sure.
Roughly half of these photos were taken by the many great photographers whom of which are my friends here in Sydney. Thanks and props to them all!
When I set out to buy a car, essentially my goal was to build a simple yet unique street car that was both comfortable, balanced, fast and able to turn heads.
And that's.. My Super JZX100 Mark II Tourer V Tuning Life.
-James
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
Love that.
great wheels ! and engine i like it alot !
NICE CAR
HOW MANY SETS OF RIMS DO U HAVE FOR UR CAR?
Yea thats what separates an s-chassis and a jzx - Prestige. Kinda annoying to have such a loud car in which u cant even listen to music (apart from the one that your engine emits) . Very clean setup and nice view , but as for the wheels id choose The white ones in pic 8.
Such a gentle and clean ride. I'm really impressed by the style:) i hope you'll get a reely nice maybe Sparco or Bride seats,that's the only thing missing here:)))
very cool car. loved these pics when i saw them on JDMST. always found it a bit strange you put so much effort into finding a stock one from japan, to only mod it so it looked like its been modded in japan?? modding the car yourself is fun, but you definetley did it the hard way!
either way, you pulled the look you wanted off perfectly.. looks like something id see on goo-net! suprising when you find out it was all done here!
as for..
"I wanted to be the first and only one in Australia"
"and be the first to do it in Australia"
"one of the first here to build and style this rare car before there was an influx of JZX's coming into the country and I'm happy to say that I believe I've achieved that"
way to hammer a point across. congratulations though; your medal will arrive in the mail shortly.
I think the skull shift knob clashes with the Hello Kitty doll hanging from the rearview... :\
Love this car! Full shoot soon son
What a poser
Oh man this is the hottest car in Sydney.
I am so proud for my fellow Korean brother
Hot. That is all. And I understand the importance of a low mileage/stock car. At least you know you're the only one that's thrashed it!
No props to Mi goreng? fuck my life
No props to Mi goreng? fuck my life
how is this unique or original?
The JZX platform is truly a beutiful one...to bad it would be next to impossible for me to get one into the US without spending a fortune!!!!:-(
BRING DRIFTING BACK TO P.I.R.-Portland,OR!!!!!!!!!!
The JZX platform is truly a beutiful one...to bad it would be next to impossible for me to get one into the US without spending a fortune!!!!:-(but I'd be able to get a R32 4Dr from my neighbor up north in CANADA:-)hmmmm?
BRING DRIFTING BACK TO P.I.R.-Portland,OR!!!!!!!!!!
This isn't the first in australia... My Mark II has been killing it way before you.
JZXGARAGE FAIL. You're a dead man walking gino, dean man walking.
Nice car! I spy olympic bld, homebush bay
Nice final? wheel choice haha
I think it looks fairly average, Its got a body kit, average fitting wheels and some stickers. Pretty bland.
Very nice car but some info, the Mark II which you have is actually much more common then a Chaser and is the most common of all JZX100's in Japan, the rarer type is the Chaser, and the Cresta is the lower old peoples model which has a nice round boot line which i find very appealing.
I enjoyed reading this, and can definitely relate to wanting to be the first to do something automotive-related.
LOL loving the car(:
i think ive actually seen this car around homebush or liverpool area.
hahahh and nice domo kuns in picture 11
Everything looks soooo sick...
and then you see a hello kitty doll next to a dildo shifter and you groan painfully...
I dont care how "jdm" it is, somethings just make the entire car look foolish
F**KING MAD!
Got enough Domo Kuns and Hello Kitty?
Would love one of these + a Chaser.
DD: Luke. That is interesting info that the popularity of the different models are different in Japan. Come down to Australia and it is exactly as James has stated in his article. For Jzx100's,Chasers are the most common, then Mark II's and I have not seen any Cresta's here. However for the Jzx90's which is also another import, Mark II's are the most common then equally Chasers and Cresta's.
This is a very nice car.
I have seen it around Sydney - it seems to be always parked in front of the Korean BBQ restaurant in the city, or the Starcraft Cafe in Eastwood.
The thing I don't like is that it would be better if a Hyundai Sonata was used as the base instead of a Toyota Camry.
What kind of steering wheel is that ???? Nardi with a different horn button ???? anyone know ?
It's funny you said that ppl ask if it is a Camry. That happens with me and my jzx 90
:@ RayRay, i was just about to say that the dude said in Australia Mark II's were rarer than Chasers...ppl need to learn to read and comprehend sentences properly b4 lashing out at others.
is this thing a limo!?!!! all in all though nice clean looking car
I think if people bothered to read his diary on JDMST automotive forums they would realize how much work has been put into the car.
To all the haters; how many of you guys can make it onto speed hunters with YOUR cars? Thought so.
James, congratulations bro. Ignore the haters, jealously is a virus.
i really enjoyed the read!
i've seen your car posted on jdmst and thought u imported it like that!!..well done on the work...looks so good!
a fellow jdmster'
Love the car. one of my top choices. I also love the fact that you searched for a factory 5 speed. must have been hard. only 10% came from the factory that way.
I dont think you were the first one in Australia to have a JZX100. there was one in HPI a few years ago in Australia that was a factory 5 speed. and was done in a VIP/JDM style. still dont know which i would chose though. love your car
Papa Yosh, You are correct he isnt the first to have a JZX100, possibly incorrect but I think C-RED was the first to import a JZX100 into Australia.
James is is referring that he is the first owner in Australia after import, so no one has driven that particular car in Aus except for him.
His the first manual series 2 MarkII i know of.
phat whipp
18" is way too small wheel for such a big car. Please go 19"!!!
Dang a Gyopo in Hoju with a proper JZX!!!! That makes me so proud ahaha. ????!! (hope you can read that)
Obviously people have not taken the time to read his diary on JDMST automotive forums and realize how much work has been put into the car. Ignore the haters.
To all the haters; you all talk big and fault this and that but do we see YOUR car on Speedhunters? Yeah, thought so.
Congratulations James bro, hating is a virus.
Nice pics , would have been good to have seen more with the car on the move, also the text was very repetative and would of been good to have a mod list of what was done to the car ?? 4 DR love ! <3
Sick!!
VERY NICE! JZX goodness always get me giddy. You've captured the steez that the Japanese spread on their JZX's so thick. I'm really diggin' this one.
"FIRSTFIRSTFIRSTFIRSTFIRST" lol
man......gotta love the sunglasses shot........
lemme guess, just like every other aussie, u parked it near a gutter/change in elevation to make it look low, put ur sunnies up next to it to show off how low u run,,,,,like ur laying frame.......
but then every other picture shows ur sky high..........typical aussie forum/myspace angles.
just as a heads up, try not to do that, at least u didn't take it on the grass, i'll give u that little bit of credit.
your parking skills are a1, you should join my club.
what a weaboo
mad whip, love the JZX100s
i seen this in real life, looks nice
k1...
typical aussie angles...
shaddap, i dont know anyone that has ever done that. no-one here cares that much about how low you go...lol.
most of the cars i know are more go than show...
hey nice car though man, very nice, and very clean...
a little low to have any fun in, they are awesome to cruise around in anyway!
Nice Bus. Its semantics but I had my first JZX100 Mark II land in '02. It was auto though. It was a lovely car and I still miss it.
Jash
yeah i can see what you going for here! we don't get this car in the UK but it looks the part - your headlights look like a disco light show.. the 'boys in blue' would be all over you for that over here - it does remind me of a Camry though - nice!
if ppl didn't care about how low you go, then why take the effort to take an angled pic with sunglasses next to it?
yeah. whatever, ur argument is asinine.
What a nice example of a JZX 100. Just nice and clean, thats the way I like it.
arnie once said... anything worth doing is worth doing right..
there aint a whole lot of wrong on that car... but there aint a whole lot of right either...
if people there don't care about how low you go.... then those people obviously don't know what they are looking at. JDM style? u aint JDM if u aint scraping.
being on speedhunters means diddly squat... ive seen far more deserving rides, way lower with more individual style that dont get featured here when they would look right at home... they're just like unicorns.... ever elusive...
jzx100 i got luv
baller JZX man, nice one!
"u aint JDM if u aint scraping" .......... That sounded so....... pathetic.
I like it with the white XD9's on there James.
wow this polarised a lot of people.
everyone has their own convictions regarding what should and shouldnt be JDM style.
sshank... he's right in a way... most jdm street cars are balls low... but then look at japan's roads... allows for much lower clearance and police laws arent as strict. they have people driving around at 4 am looking for potholes to fix...
australia on the other hand with their draconian states.... hard to get away with low stances... but if you can.. then kudos to you.
nice car mate. I see it around cabra/weatheral park/green vally area alot. I always turn my head with wow look on my face. As most have said. I always thought you imported it like that. so youv done a good job.
beutiful n power
beutiful n power
First to do JDM street style with a JZX in aus?? LOL ok. Maybe you haven't been to Melb.
Anyway congrats on the fake stickers fully optioned with spelling mistakes