Importing JDM cars, not skyline

[===o===]

Are the laws the same no matter what car you import. I ask because a shop in my town has a JDM Honda Integra Typr R. The car is street legal and I am sure it is real.

 

[pimp racer]

What country?

 

[I6-4-eva]

Someone imported and registered a JDM ITR here in California. It was up for sale on autotrader... I think it still is.

 

[Jay]

I would say they are the same, I dont know for sure but why would the Skyline have tough but not other JDM's.

 

[===o===]

I thought this because the Skyline isnt sold here so they need to do something different to legalize it over a car they do sell.

 

[The359]

Cars not sold in America have to be crash tested or else they are only allowed to be imported for a year, then taken back or destroyed.

Since the Integra is sold in America (RSX), it'd likely be easier to import.

Why anyone would spend the money on importing a car that they can made with an identical RSX and tuner parts for less money is beyond me though...

 

[===o===]

Just to say that they have one. It was a shop that owned it, then they sold it. They had a r32 too not sure which one though not a gt-r.

 

[1X83Z]

How is a JDM Integra Type-R any different from the Integra Type-R the US got in 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2001? If the front end is the only difference you're probably looking at a US model with an altered front end. Probably not too hard.

 

[The359]

My guess is he's talking about the current generation Integra Type-R, which we don't get here (RSX Type-S uses a different motor).

 

[===o===]

it is the old one

 

[pimp racer]

I thought this because the Skyline isnt sold here so they need to do something different to legalize it over a car they do sell.

Sorry if I sound like an smartass or somthing but you still havent told us the country? I am assuming that you live in the US?

 

[===o===]

Sorry it is the us

 

[pimp racer]

Sorry it is the us

Ok so it is in the US. If you live in the LA area I heard there are a lot of people imorting the cars but you have to just get it legalized. I think Motorex does JDM also?

 

[1X83Z]

it is the old one

The old one which was sold in the US for four years and was identical to the Japanese one except for the front end?

My guess is it's not an import.

 

[eddieturner2002]

Don't cars in the US have to be LHD?

Not living there I wouldn't know, but I thought this was the case because don't Motorex charge so much for an R34 because they have to totally redo the whole dash and steering assembly?

 

[altezza drifter]

for those of you asking why people import cars that are already sold here,the JDM integera is lighter and has a couple more horsepower thus making it faster. the frontend can easly be swapped over and it can be rebadged to look like a JDM
but it wont drive like it.and i think the JDM has a differant engine block.And eddieturner2002 i have never seen a LHD skyline and as far as i know motorex don't convert them.

 

[CDailey]

Don't cars in the US have to be LHD?

No.


I don't see why you'd want to Import an Integra anyway. All you'd have to do is buy a JDM front clip, JDM ITR engine, and some Honda and ITR badges and you're good to go. Minus the whole RHD thingy...

 

[The359]

And eddieturner2002 i have never seen a LHD skyline and as far as i know motorex don't convert them.

I believe something to do with the location of the turbos in the Skyline GT-R makes converting the car to left hand drive very difficult.

 

[PublicSecrecy]

Don't cars in the US have to be LHD?

Not living there I wouldn't know, but I thought this was the case because don't Motorex charge so much for an R34 because they have to totally redo the whole dash and steering assembly?

Cars in the US can be RHD as long as it has a sticker on the window that says "Right Hand Drive Vehicle". Other than that they're fine. This is according to a cop anyway, in Canada.

 

[eddieturner2002]

Cars in the US can be RHD as long as it has a sticker on the window that says "Right Hand Drive Vehicle". Other than that they're fine. This is according to a cop anyway, in Canada.

Thanks I never knew that. Why is there so much hassle for US citizens to import JDM cars then? Is it all to do with the exhaust regulations?

 

[I6-4-eva]

Thanks I never knew that. Why is there so much hassle for US citizens to import JDM cars then? Is it all to do with the exhaust regulations?

Yep emission, safety and a whole bunch of other stuff makes it a PIA to import and register a car in the US of A.. especially in Cali. But if you have Jay Leno money you can import whatever the hell you want. Mclaren F1? yes please.

 

[altezza drifter]

I believe something to do with the location of the turbos in the Skyline GT-R makes converting the car to left hand drive very difficult.

even without the turbos its hard to convert a car from LHD to RHD.you got the dashboard the fire wall and the steering box all need to be modified

 

[The359]

even without the turbos its hard to convert a car from LHD to RHD.you got the dashboard the fire wall and the steering box all need to be modified

That's true of converting any car. But the part that makes the Skyline conversion near impossible is the steering column and the motor.

 

[1X83Z]

Don't cars in the US have to be LHD?

Nope. In fact, the government owns the vast majority of vehicles that are right-drive. The US Postal Service has registered thousands of right-drive Jeep Cherokees for use by rural mail carriers, the theory being that a) they're Jeeps so they can get through snow and b) right-drive means the postman doesn't have to get out of the vehicle to put the mail in the box (since in rural America postal boxes are set at the height of trucks, not cars). Supposedly, Toyota made right-drive versions of the late-80s Corolla All-Trac wagon, which had all-wheel drive for the same purpose. I've seen one in rural Colorado that did appear to be an ex-postal vehicle.

More recently, big-city parking meter attendants have seen fleets of right-drive Jeep Wranglers available for their job; same purposes apply. I'm not sure how popular these things are in cities without snow problems but they're common up here in Michigan.

Truthfully, they're all deals used. You can probably come up with a right-drive postal Cherokee for about twenty percent of the price of a normal Cherokee of the same year. Thing is, the postal Cherokees have lots of miles on them and usually went without the creature comforts - though they were all automatics. Still, it's kind of cool.

 

[MazKid]

I again restate the fact that there were RHD Legacys used for postal service in rural areas.

 

[1X83Z]

Yeah, well, check this out:

http://www.righthanddrivejeeps.com/

Cooler, there's a company called Postal Things Incorporated that seems to convert practically any SUV to RHD; there's a RHD 99-04 Chevrolet Tracker and a RHD 95-01 GMC Jimmy for sale on the Web!

 

[pimp racer]

Nope. In fact, the government owns the vast majority of vehicles that are right-drive. The US Postal Service has registered thousands of right-drive Jeep Cherokees for use by rural mail carriers, the theory being that a) they're Jeeps so they can get through snow and b) right-drive means the postman doesn't have to get out of the vehicle to put the mail in the box (since in rural America postal boxes are set at the height of trucks, not cars). Supposedly, Toyota made right-drive versions of the late-80s Corolla All-Trac wagon, which had all-wheel drive for the same purpose. I've seen one in rural Colorado that did appear to be an ex-postal vehicle.

More recently, big-city parking meter attendants have seen fleets of right-drive Jeep Wranglers available for their job; same purposes apply. I'm not sure how popular these things are in cities without snow problems but they're common up here in Michigan.

Truthfully, they're all deals used. You can probably come up with a right-drive postal Cherokee for about twenty percent of the price of a normal Cherokee of the same year. Thing is, the postal Cherokees have lots of miles on them and usually went without the creature comforts - though they were all automatics. Still, it's kind of cool.

WOW I didnt know that you can have a RHD car in the USA! Thanks Doug for the info! Oh and that sites pretty interesting.

 

[S13DRIFTSPEC]

People buy JDM Integras for bragging rights. They say to their buddies I g0tz da r34L JDM y0! JDM DC2 ITRs have 205hp and are lighter.

About Skylines... Motorex are the only ones that know what to do when legalizing Skylines here in North America. They paid for all the crash testings and stuff. I think 500,000 or 3.5 million I forget. If they told the public what they changed in the skyline then people wouldn't go to them when importing them. Thats how they make their money. Seen a R32 the other day except it wasnt a GTR.

 

[The359]

Motorex has not crash tested a Skyline. If they did, then we really wouldn't have a problem with it coming to the US.

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

My friend is actually picking up a former meter car, a RHD Escort, to turn into a Rally beater. I'm looking forward to driving it, never driven an RHD before.