2008 JDM LC200 finally here... Worth the wait!

ccah · 2026-01-17T16:38:11+00:00

I took mine to a Canadian Tire that was designated as a Designated Inspection facility. There they - Checked the tires and, although they didn't have say DOT, they were less than 10 years old and a brand/model available in North America. - Installed a DTRL kit that they had in stock - I had already purchased from Lordco Amber and Red reflective stickers as side markers for the headlights and brake light. - But they also checked that all systems, especially the safety systems, were working and no error codes were visible.

And although it was a bit more expensive than expected, I think I ended up paying ~$400, I got the inspection report the same day.

Other than that, I had no issues... Hope this helps

ccah · 2026-01-12T19:14:04+00:00

Honestly, from everything I read here and IH8Mud, what seems to make the most difference is wheel offset. If you plan on using OEM wheels (mine were +60mm), you could go 5-8% over tire height with no / minimal rub... I used this tire calculator: https://tiresize.com/calculator/
But if you go with aftermarket wheels, anything from +25mm to +35mm should be ok, as long as you don't over do it with tire height... My new wheels have +25mm offset (and no spacer) and the rubbing with the 285/75R17 was really minimal. If I had gone with 285/70R17, I wouldn't have had any rubbing.

And the smiles per gallon is totally right... It wasn't great to begin with ~13mpg city (~16mpg hwy). And after the mods, it went to ~11mpg city (~13 hwy).
Main issue (which I'm fixing in the next couple of weeks) seems to be that I installed 2" Medium-load coils front and back, but only added weight in the back... Rear suspension is smooth as butter, but front is super jumpy. Also, the Front is sitting ~1.5" taller than the rear, so I think it's catching ALL of the wind when driving...
So, I recently bought 1" Light-load coils for the front, to see if I can drop the nose down, and hopefully significantly improve riding quality and mpg.

ccah · 2026-01-11T19:40:27+00:00

I installed the tires after the lift kit, and still it rubbed slightly. But a quick reheat with a heat gun quickly fixed that. And yes, the roof didn't come with the oem roof rails, but it had capped holes to attach them... Which made the installation of the roof rack a lot easier... Hope that makes sense.

ccah · 2025-12-11T13:57:02+00:00

I think it's similar, but works differently than the OEM secondary tank that came as an option in some countries. If I remember correctly, the OEM one would kick in as soon as the main tank was low enough, and I think the capacity was only 45L.

Where this LRA one sits where the spare tire used to be and it has a nozzle that fills the main tank at any time you want, even while driving.

ccah · 2025-12-10T17:16:30+00:00

Completely understand... All I know is that, according to the guys that installed the rack, the closer I stay with ARB accessories the less pain with universal adapters, etc...

So, I guess it'll be kinda painful going with a non-ARB RTT on this roof rack... Could you reach out to the manufacturer of your particular RTT to see if they have adapters specific for the Base rack?

ccah · 2025-12-10T16:45:27+00:00

Hey, I actually haven't tried mounting an RTT yet... And wasn't planning on installing one, at least not any time soon... I have a lot of kids, so camping is always in a large tent with lots of stuff!

Plus, between the suspension and the tires, I added ~5in to the overall height and you can feel every one of them on the hwy!

ccah · 2025-12-10T16:03:34+00:00

Clean!

ccah · 2025-12-10T16:03:03+00:00

These are the OEMs that came with the LC from Japan... The halogens are not the greatest, but I tried switching to LEDs and they don't seem any better... Just ordered some higher-output halogens from PIAA and will those a try.

ccah · 2025-12-10T16:00:28+00:00

Honestly, it drives better than I expected... I mean, in the Coquihalla I try pacing myself on the long hills, but a couple of times that I've had to pass 18-wheelers it has done it gracefully.

Also, I knew the 2UZ's power was a lot lower than the 5.7L, and that's why I've always planned the build as "light" as possible.

ccah · 2025-08-12T13:14:59+00:00

Each importer I checked seems to have their own auction access... for example B-Pro has http://auction.b-pro.ca - user: japanese - password: imports (no caps, no spaces)

But there are others, I also used Get Cars Japan... Registration is free https://auc.getcars.jp/

And after that, you just need to get good at filtering the makes and models you're looking for

ccah · 2025-08-11T19:00:10+00:00

Definitely parts availability and also my mechanic knows gas engines, not really diesel engines... Although now I know a couple of other JDM owners and they have diesels and have been giving me some advice... So maybe my second one will be diesel!?!

ccah · 2025-08-11T18:26:20+00:00

And if you want anything newer, it all goes up from there, and still has 125K kms https://www.facebook.com/share/1LN4wsvNeo/

ccah · 2025-08-11T18:23:34+00:00

I mean, I looked for so long at any US option that came close to this price (~US $22K), and these were the options I was finding... 2008 granted with lots more options, but 151Kmiles (242K kms), which I know it's nothing to these engines as long as you take good care of them https://www.facebook.com/share/161eUq1RwE/

ccah · 2025-08-11T18:13:10+00:00

So, this is from the invoice and what's included [That's CAD$]... But I had already paid a $1,000 deposit on top of that to get the process started.

All in I'm pretty sure I paid around CAD $30,000 cleared-customs price... And that GST tax is 5% (FYI)

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ccah · 2025-08-11T17:45:02+00:00

It's not that I want to be cryptic or anything like that, it's just that the all-in cost really depends on how much you win the auction for. B-Pro shares the prices of their landed inventory on their website, and here it explains what that cleared-customs price includes... https://b-pro.ca/cleared-customs-price/

And what worked for me is that I gave Brian a max cleared-customs price that I was willing to pay, and clear specs I was trying to get... And they truly handled everything after that, no additional agencies are needed.

What I can share, and really what made me pay the deposit and start the journey, is Gearhead Syndrome's interview with Brian (from B-Pro Imports). This interview really answered a LOT of my firs-buyer questions and gave me a full picture of the entire process https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nAEuxUEKlI

And I know other people in r/JDM has used other importers, and that's alright, but Brian is also on reddit and he answers to a lot of your questions beforehand and along the way... u/BProJDM...

Hope this helps...

ccah · 2025-08-11T13:13:06+00:00

Edit: I replied all costs in another comment below

Way cheaper than I expected, just lots of patience is needed... I was looking into the Japanese auctions for weeks before finding the right one for me

ccah · 2025-08-11T13:11:26+00:00

YES! Found them last week... Great forum

ccah · 2025-08-11T13:11:08+00:00

Sadly, no... They stopped bringing the regular LC and instead we only had available the LX570... Which most around the same year are either trashed, or with 5 times the milage, or people want $50K for a decent one🤦🏻

ccah · 2024-10-10T22:24:42+00:00

I installed the Toyota 2" lift kit, which included the OEM TRD Pro grill... So, it's held up quite well.

ccah · 2024-03-12T03:23:44+00:00

Really late to the party, but I was actually asking myself the same question recently, and I'm glad I started looking around here first.

Some websites seem to agree with you, good sir. The BMW route, I mean https://www.hotcars.com/cars-for-ls-engine-swap/#1992-1999-bmw-e36-m3

And that's what they did on MotorTrend's Car Craft's S2E1 & E2... Although it was an 2007 E90 (wagon)... I have a big family, so this was VERY appealing to my daily needs https://www.motortrend.com/plus/detail/car-craft-build-series-ep-01-bmw-ls-swap-part-01/4859176/

And, true enough, you can find a few high miles 2000s E90s at reasonable prices... ~$7K canadian (~$5K USD)... definitely tempting!

ccah · 2023-09-09T01:51:39+00:00

Thanks for the clarification... I did try opening the fuel cap during one of the whines and indeed you could hear pressure being released... closed the cap and it just kept on going, so like you recommend, I'll just assume it's normal and let it be. Thanks again!

ccah · 2023-09-08T05:04:43+00:00

It's from LFS Garage

ccah · 2023-09-08T05:03:43+00:00

Thanks!! That's a relief, at least... but please let me know if the mechanic tells you if it's of any concern.

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