F1 Visa Runner

For a writer I agree totally that it would be a very good way of traveling. As a writer and you are on this ship to get some work done. Would make it impossibele to compare with a traveler.

I ll put it this way. If you ran a travel agency and someone came to your office and wanted something of a different holiday and came up with maybe this idea. What would you do?

If being liable to your client that he had a pleasant holiday and if not he would have the right to make a claim to your company about his holiday resulting in a payback. How would your terms on this destination look like??

Most likely something like "This travel is not possible to refund in anyway"

show both passports if necessary.

Take your marriage certificate with you. It will be an easy way to show why there are two names. Once in Thailand, your wife can change her name to the married one if she wants - it will save future hassles.

If the same person has to passports with two different names DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE show this to any immigration officer and do not carry the two on you at the same time. If in need of having it cross borders have it sent to your destination with DHL or similar.

Thai immigration would know that many thais are living under dual citizenship so in this case it would involve one of their own nationals and for the US immigration being the same situation,

it would not be complicated to have it sort out by looking at the marriage certificate and by going through offical channels. In this case the thai officials or the US officials would be able to verify their status quite easy and maybe fast as they are present.

In this case or any other case being outside these/your borders and it will be ""T H E"" biggest red alert for immigration to hold you back and one of your biggest mistake ever. The more primitive country transiting through or visiting and also the bigger your mistake will be.

Any other country would not have the slightest idea about how a stupid marriage certificate from the US or Thailand would look like and wouldnt care less. Without your countries officials being present right there, which would likely to be the case and you got yourself into problems.

What days are we living in?? Use your heads! Traveling around with the most approved identification documents available.. two of them.. and with different names.. but with the same face.

Try to see this from the suspicious immigrations point of view. If people could travel around with different names in their passports just showing a stupid paper hel_l would be loose. Imagine the uncontrolable situation it would be. Dual citizenship are headache for some countries enought as it is but this case is something way other than that.

What country does not ban this. NONE!

Case like this i grade A priority for immigration.

You know you are a good citizen but the immigration does not. Thats the fact and the point they will start working from if any problems.

Imaging losing your flight in a transit or from a holiday destination, spending time being questioned, held and chances of being locked up to case is solved...

Dual citizenship will be fine with many countries and Thailand.. BUT.. holding ID cards, passports or other ID`s with different names but with the same photo of the same person is illegal in every country and considered a serious offence.

In your case, in America and Thailand you will manage to more easy explain you out of this situation.

But note note this! In any other country, if the police or immigration for some reason should stumble over you documents and it would be 100 % sure you will be brought in for questioning

and hold to the case is solved. If required days to solve this also mean sleeping over at the police station or immigration.

Can take some time when the thai embassy, consulate or whatever is there to solve this. Could turn out to be quite an unpleasant holiday!

You should change it asap and get the exact same names on all ID`s.

If this guy has the money and wants to do this, I don't see what the fuss is about, Visa Runner. Just let people do what they want and be happy. Sounds like a great trip to me, if I had the money. I think it's the thrill of ocean travel and that's why some love it. If you don't like that thrill, then you won't like it. Doesn't mean others won't. Wish it was cheaper than flying or I'd do it as much as possible. Maybe when I'm rich.

It not about that.

Of course the dude can go on and do this trip as much as he wants and to him, have a nice trip. But as this thing is going on in a forum other people are also having interest in this.

A trip like this will be an experiance as with everything else in life but considering it as something very fantastic would be wrong. There are facts here that should not be overlooked and just because a few people said it was a good way to travel doesnt mean much.

It think people traveling this way not in any way are representing the common traveler or holiday seeker.

Try to open a travel company and see your customer numbers after a year and you ll get the idea. Remember to do a profile on your clients to

The whole thing is more close to weirdo than normal.

Facts like:

If you cant stand it after 1 week - Where do you go?

If you get sick - What do you do? Your travel insurrance will NOT pay for a long distance chopper to pick you up out there!

Drinking occurs on the ship - If any conflicts with passengers or crew, where to go or what to do?

There is no wether guarantee.

The facilities are not that great. More similar in standard to jails in northern Europe, motels or cheap hotels. Actually the common rooms looks just a bit over in standard compared to a not so bad jails.

People have been dissapointed after coming to holiday destinations wanting to go home or move to another place. Think about that.

From an average income point of view there is also no sense between the cost and what you get.

There are thousands of more interesting things to do and see around the world than the big blue ocean from a container ship for 1 month.

I guess there is a reason for why you dont see this an option down at your local travel agent.

"We are unaware of any contact he may have made with any family member since late July and I now know that he left the UK via Terminal 3 at Heathrow airport on July 29, bound for Bangkok in Thailand.

"We are liaising with our police colleagues in Thailand via Interpol to help us to trace his onward movements.

"Of course that is now four weeks ago and he could be anywhere in the world by now."

Officers discovered the bodies in the house in Cheadle Hulme after being called by neighbours who said they were concerned about the families' welfare.

I don't understand the last sentence. Why on earth do we spend so much time waiting at immigration at the airport while they type in details of our passport, flight number or whatever.

If their registrations system works they should be able to see immediately if he has left the country or not. If they can't do that then whole registration system is a complete waste of time.

If you were wanted for murder would you use the airports to get around,

or one of the many thousand border crossings like dirt roads and tracks where there has never been an immigration officer ever?

Thailand as a gateway for escaping is one of the worlds best points to start from. Bangkok is also a great place for fake passports.

(What the heck happened to the edit! )

We are unaware of any contact he may have made with any family member since late July and I now know that he left the UK via Terminal 3 at Heathrow airport on July 29, bound for Bangkok in Thailand.

"We are liaising with our police colleagues in Thailand via Interpol to help us to trace his onward movements.

"Of course that is now four weeks ago and he could be anywhere in the world by now."

I don't understand the last sentence. Why on earth do we spend so much time waiting at immigration at the airport while they type in details of our passport, flight number or whatever.

If their registrations system works they should be able to see immediately if he has left the country or not. If they can't do that then whole registration system is a complete waste of time.

If you were wanted for murder would you use the airports to get around,

or one of the many thousand border crossings like dirt roads and tracks where there has never been an immigration officer ever?

Thailand as a gateway for escaping is one of the worlds best points to start from. Bangkok is also a great place for fake passports.

John,

Have your friend just get a single 90 day visa. We can do a one year extension of stay based on retirement here. She will need to just go to the USA Embassy here and get a letter. No proof of income is needed at the Embassy to get the required letter of income but at other Embassies... pensions, social security, investment income and rental income all count to get the income letter. At others its just pensions.

If she arrived in Thailand with a 60 day tourist visa, this can be changed to a "O" and then the extension can be done. But she should arrive with at least a 60 day tourist or 90 day "O" visa to get the one year extension done. This way she will not need to leave every 90 days.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

Aloha Backflip,

I appreciate you taking the time to reply, however, there is no need for the condescending attitude. I was responding to a very poorly worded reply by the visa agency dude that was very unprecise it what it was saying.

It still makes no sense to me why you have to go to the American Embassy to get a letter that has to do with proof of income to get a Thai immigration visa. What in the world does the American Embassy have to do with either my income or my Thai visa? From a logistical perspective, it makes no sense. And to even further defy logic, you claim that I can get a letter from the American Embassy to do with proof of income that doesn't require that I show proof of income!

Only an idiot would not at least take the time to question this "mysterious American Embassy letter".

I`ll have to agree with backlip here John. Also you are saying that Sunbelt gave you a poorly worded reply that was unprecise. I don think that was nice words to someone that took their time answering your questions

He gave you a pretty straigth forward answer that was easy to understand. I think rather you messed it up with all your counter questions of little means.

As you are using the words idiot, any idiot should also know that immigrations around the world need official papers and not anything like handwritten notes with " I make about 50.000 US a year".

As being an American citizen in Thailand who do you think is your offical "government office" to support you? That would be the American Embassy.. thats why the paper is issued there.

About the case its likely to belive that your friend also have some issues with the income as you where looking into a combination of income and cash.

I think the best way for her will be as sunbelt posted. Dont have to think much about these things then.

Get a 60 day visa and send the disable old chick down here for some 1 year relaxing. Change it to a "O" visa down here.

Our 60-day tourist visas will expire soon. We will have them extended in Chiang Mai.

Questions :

1. Where do we go ?

2. What do we need to take ?

3. Should we go on the day of expiry ?

Thanks .

1. Chiang Mai Immigration

2. 1900 B each. Photos and copy of passport at location.

3. Or before.

Will the application time for an extension be shorter or different in any way if you have a child together with your thai wife?

The child being 3 months old born outside of Thailand and with a foreign nationality when entering Thailand.

Here some price-ideas, albeit in US-Asia trade.

http://www.freighterworld.com/places/fareast.html

Have a look at the cosy suites in this links and the good bars. The cost is only approx 3000 US pr person for any 30 day travel. That would be somethig like 12000 US for 2 people back and forth to Thailand.

Quite a nice deal as you also might get some containers in front of your panoramic windows to shade off from the strong sun too. Good safety on board also as the pools got the hyper trendy steel fence to keep you from being thrown around in you swimwear when the storm sets in.

Alternative

12.000 US minus 2000 US in air tickets.

leaves you 10.000 US or 380.000 B to spend on hotels and bike rental for 4 months.

Approx 3000 B a day hotelroom. Quite a few 4 / 5 star hotels to choose from on white sandy beaches just sipping on pina coladas watching the days go by...

Second, bringing you own bike to Thailand for a trip like this is not a good idea at all. You will have to put up a deposit of the bikes value at he customs I belive. This you will get back when leaving Thailand. If your bike should get stolen you might not see this money for a very long time.

"Thai Customs Department - Temporary Import of Personal Vehicles

To facilitate tax and duty free entry of the personal vehicles, the tourists/travelers are required to place a cash deposit or bank guarantee covering the full amount of liable taxes and duties with Customs. The deposits will be refunded when the vehicles, all fittings and accessories imported with the personal vehicles are exported within the time limits of temporary entry"

It should have been the bikes total tax value. If it is a new BMW and you could end up depositing quite some money.

If doing this trip please post photos of the container cruise ship and its facilities when you are back home.

I strongly recommend you to look into all sides of this trip. It imight not be as nice as you think.

Its kinda obvious that this is not anything near to a cruise ships facilities.

What if you totally not like it. What are you gonna do?

Is it cool to think that you ve got a 2-3 more weeks on that boat down to Thailand and another 4 weeks back to Germany as an ending to a nice holiday here?

October and back in January with this boat its also not such a good weather for outdoor activities for big parts of the distance.

If just for trying it out going one way i guess most people could live with that. So in your case, forget about your bike, one way to Thailand, then 3 months in Thailand instead of just 2 and then back to Germany on some cheap one way air tickets.

You must be way out of your mind dude. A total of 2 months (back and forth) on a container ship for a short 2 months stay in Thailand! You seriously need help if you are considering to do this trip.

First, if the two of you instead worked in Germany these two months you will be on the ship and saved the money, wouldnt it cover the cost of tickets and shipping the bike.

Second, bringing you own bike to Thailand for a trip like this is not a good idea at all. You will have to put up a deposit of the bikes value at he customs I belive. This you will get back when leaving Thailand. If your bike should get stolen you might not see this money for a very long time.

You could easily rent a good bike in Thailand for 2 months traveling around. Lots of good bikes here to rent.

Have you really thought about how it is to play badminton on a steel deck for 30 days? If raining or windy, spending time in the common rooms with heavily smoking guys. You should know that this is most likely to expect being the conditions though.

How much is this trip gonna cost you.. or is it any slave work into it so its all free of charge?

Information on how to open Savings Bank Account on Tourist Visa- Referance Requirements

To open a savings deposit account on a tourist visa you for sure don’t need a work permit. If these two things should go hand in hand it would make little sense.

The fact though, is that nowadays there is a 99 % chance that the girl behind the desk will speak out “Work Permit!” and as someone said in another thread “ before i had even sat down to start the paper work.”

Wether this is because the words “work permit” is the most easy to speak out instead of explaining the various options you ve got to make it happen,

or if its a way of showing some cooky power over farang I don’t know.

The fact is that the banks have precise guidelines for whats needed when opening a savings deposit account for Tourist Visa holders.

This document it seems you have to DRAG out from the desk yourself when inside of the bank!

The options you ve got is as following;

Account Opening for Tourist Visa Holders- Referance Requirements

Bangkok Bank is pleased to offer a savings account for people who are traveling or staying in Thailand on a tourist visa. The savings account can help to facilitate the receipt of funds transferred from abroad.

If this applies to you and you would like to open an account , please submit a copy of your passport together with a letter of recommendation as follows:

A) A letter of recommendation from an reputable company, an embassy or an international organization located in Thailand.

The letter should clearly confirm your identification document and be signed by authorized officers.

or

B ) A letter of recommendation from your bank abroad. This must be a bank which is acceptable to Bangkok Bank (or the actual bank) and sent to Bangkok Bank`s SWIFT address BKKBTHBK (or the actual bank`s SWIFT ).

The recommendations should read as follows:

Mr./ Mrs. ___________________________ maintains account no. _________ with us and has been conducting banking business with us since ____(date of opening account)____ .

Mr./Mrs. ____________________________ wishes to open a savings account service at______( specify name and branch of Bangkok Bank/ other bank branch where you wish to open your account________________ .

Please extend banking facilities to Mr./ Mrs. _____(name of account holder)_____________

or

C) A letter of recommendation from a person acceptable to Bangkok Bank (or the actual bank) such an existing customer of Bangkok Bank ( or the actual bank).

Please ask for a recommandation form from our branch staff, request the person to fill in the form, attach a copy of proof of identity and sign to certify as true copy and then submit the completed form to any Bangkok Bank (or the actual bank) branch.

Kindly note that Bangkok Bank (or the actual bank) is not obliged to accept the recommendation. This is at our own discretion and we reserve the right not to provide any reason for our decision.

This is the last and correct guidelines to be followed and not some silly words from the woman behind the desk. The new procedures has to do with safety concerns regarding terrorism and all that stuff. In one way its good it has been thightened a bit, but lying about the real guidelines coming from the woman behind the desk is just total crap we should not have to keep up with!

Banks and branches may vary. Some does not follow the above terms strictly as they care less. There also seems to be an issue of how much cash you want to deposit right there when opening it . 500 k and up and they seems to do the dance for you.

Note that even if you are an existing customer of your bank and just want to change the branch they most likely will refuse to open a new account just based on the passport like you did it before.

When opening an account you should also think about where you are opening it. If for example doing some small trade with products and you want to use this account to receive money from customers abroad, a Silom account in the hub itself looks way much better than a Pattaya acount. Thats just the worlds opinion. Might make you able to more easy break barriers with potensial customers regarding payments.

Well, great, but why doesn't Toyota offer the same thing? From this advertising piece it looks like there are no trade-offs, which is very unlikely in real life.

First of all, I would take these HP ratings with a grain of salt.

Second, you get worse gas mileage.

OK, if they add extra power, where does it come from? If the engine burns more fuel, don't they need to modify exhaust system, too? Obviously fuel consumption increases, but probably no that much, and I certainly don't expect "squid effect" - black smoke coming out every time you step on gas.

The safest way to explain the power increase is stressing the engine a bit more than Totoya wanted, they surely leave some space. If you are going to sell your car well before it's natural expiry date, than you have nothing to worry about. But why should I, the inquiring would be customer, keep myself busy explaining how those chips work? Why doesn't that Brian Owen do that?

When I searched the Internet for information about these chips, I couldn't find a resonable explanation, only soft sell, couldn't find a single reliable source or independent review. I didn't look very hard, granted. There are some links mentioned in earlie posts, I'll check them out tomorrow.

I asked you to explain it as you are posting things that are not correct.

Basically what happens when you are chip tuning a car is that you are programming the cars electronics to give you a more perfect mix between fuel and air compared to the cars originally factory settings. This is the basic of chip tuning and is the reason for why you see a drop in fuel consumption when driving normally but a power increase when giving it full throttle.

When chip tuning a car with turbo wether it is with a diesel or a gasoline engine the chip is also programmed to adjust the boost preasure on the turbo making the turbo capable of feeding the engine with more air. As more air is able to run through the engine also more fuel will be able to run through and be burnt giving it more power.

Note that the chip is raising the max boost preasure level. When driving a turbo car your boost preasure is not constant but depends on how much throttle you are giving it. The car will because of this only use more fuel when running on higher boost than what was possible before.

This is one of the big advantages of having a turbo car compared to non turbo if you want an increase of power. The change in boost preasure is the most effective way to give a turbo car more power. This is the simple reason for why chips for turbo cars always states more power.

Chip tune your car give it to your mother and the fuel consumption definately drops from standard settings.

But can you drive like that, probably not. With more power also comes more fun.

The squid effect you will get if you do heavy modifications to your diesel engine. Not only with a chip. I think the post clearly says if trying to go for a 300 hp diesel upgrade this will happen.

TRD Thailand (Arto Co., Ltd.)

902 Srinakarin Rd., Soun Roung, Bangkok

Tel: 02 362 5078

Fax: 02 321 4984

Contact person: Mr. Suttipong S. / Mr. Samran P.

E-mail: [email protected]

Definately best to show up in person

-----------------------------------------------------------

Brembo Grand Turismo braking kit is available for Vigo and Fortuner by some shops in Bk.

This kit includes only the front end and is available for about 95.000 B.

The discs are 335 mm in diameter.

As seen on the +500 hp Triton below there are other and much cheaper options as complete braking sets from Nissan Skyline GTR R-32 and R 33 can be used with some modifications. These will be available as second hand in Bk.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m305/Th...on/CIMG9041.jpg

hmmmmm , i'd want to upgrade the brakes and rear suspension before putting another 40hp under my right foot.

This must be this threads joke right..?

Seriousely do you think the pickups are made for stopping 2 farangs with 2 skinny thai girls or a couple of tons of vegetables?

i have heard that there are workshops that will fit discs on the rear , but if the rear brakes are changed to discs , and they are not correctly configured or specced , couldnt they end up being be more powerful than the fronts and send the car into unpredictable skids etc ???

Maybe TRD can fit disk brakes on the rear wheels? But you are right, it can have some adverse effect on brake distribution, differential control, etc with are probably all electronically controlled so better seek some professional advice before making any modification.

Do you know what TRD is?

TRD stands for Toyota Racing Development and is Toyotas right wing whats concerning Toyota factory racing and tuning parts. It will be similar to

Mercedes Benz - AMG

Bmw - M POWER

Nissan - NISMO

Mitsubishi - RALLIART

Subaru - STI (SUBARU TECNICA INTERNATIONAL)

Honda - MUGEN

Well, great, but why doesn't Toyota offer the same thing? From this advertising piece it looks like there are no trade-offs, which is very unlikely in real life.

First of all, I would take these HP ratings with a grain of salt.

Second, you get worse gas mileage.

"First of all, I would take these HP ratings with a grain of salt."

Why..Please explain..

"Second, you get worse gas mileage."

Really.. please explain..

If not going for any of these mods I hope someone at least enjoyed the short introduction to the thai engine tuning scene.

You made me drawling!

This actually is a very propable option for me; to buy Triton 2,5 and swap the engine. Or modify the original engine if it can give me 200+++ hp.

Yes; transmission and many other parts need to be done also and this is a compless task all in all.

I am not an expert and I would LOVE to find a shop which I can trust. Do you know any good modifier? I am in Pattaya -area but no problem to bring my car e.g. to Bangkok for this.

Thanks for the info BTW!

So here is the way to go.

Find out what your budget is.

Think about how much power you will be happy with.

If you are comfortable with doing an engine swop.

If happy with 180 hp then stick with the diesel. If you really want power then do the engine swop.

Like I have said before, to get 300 hp is really a bargain but you will need an engine swop.

Thinking about turning your diesel into a 300 hp engine and it will cost you a lot of money. With a heavily modified diesel engine and flooring it a lot around your town, and you`ll probably also be known as the "squid" or something in those terms as your car will leave behind some large clouds of dark smoke everytime.

There is at least a handful of very good tuning shops with good knowledge on these engines in Bk. Also managed quite good in terms of thai standards. The known Japanese tuning brand JUN is also in town. They will perform the ultimate work but will be priced thereafter.

In your case to use a tuner like JUN will just be a waste of money.

To have said that, turning a 2 JZ into a 500 hp engine is considered standard work in Bk by tuners.

There are a dozen of other shops in Bk which also can perform this kind of engine swop excelent.

When talking hp it is Rear Wheel Horse Power (RWHP) except from when the engines are standard as 280 hp which would then be SAE horsepower. SAE is hp on the axle strait out the engine and is what every car manufacturer operates with. The same as shown in every car`s manuel.

If 500 RWHP and it will be about 600 SAE hp, 700 RWHP and we are talking + 850 SAE hp. The power loss in total all the way from the crank and down to the wheels will be about 20 %.

I never thought about replacing diesel engine with gasoline one - all other things need to be changed as well, right? Transmission, suspension, exhaust, breaks, pumps ... What about ECU? What about the speedo and tachometer - they don't even have numbers higher than 180km/h or 5,000 rpm.

What do I get to keep? A steering wheel and my seat? What about power steering, will it handle the power?

I actually once went to Bitec motorshow looking for some mods for my Sportrider and all I could find was some shop ready to install intercooler and a new exhaust pipe, but that would have screwed up my warranty.

Perhaps I'll have another look after it expires.

Another thing that worries me is maintanance, I'm afraid it would need frequent tuning/retuning/adjusting/modifying and would often die for no apparent reason.

It freaks me out like Linux - it sucks all your time, energy, and money.

The ones that care about the warranty, please jump this post. Tuning is for people that look beyond this.

Why writing about this in this thread is because many people want more power similar to what faster sedans got.

As most people only buys one car.. the pickup it will be!

When actually owning a CAR most people should at least know some basics I belive. Trying to connect a Mitsubishi gearbox with for example a Nissan gearbox and it would be the same as trying to fit a square in a trianlge.

When buying the engine for doing an engine swop the engine you will buy comes with everything needed. Engine itself, the gearbox, pumps, dynamo,power steering, CDI etc. Water tanks for flushing the windows, for the radiator etc will be used from your standard car and connected to the new engine as long as they are not in the way for the new and maybe bigger sized engine.

The tanks would often need to be replaced or moved if your aim is a very high powered engine. This which requires a bigger space for a bigger turbo, a bigger intake, a bigger intercooler and so on. Bigger everything equals bigger tubes and hoses to keep up with the demand for more air flow.

If let say going for the 280 hp 1-JZ twin turbo or the 2-JZ twin turbo engine swop and leaving them pretty much standard, these engines do NOT need any kind of re-tuning, adjusting or worrying of any kind. This will do for most people.

They are originally from Toyota like this and is around the world by all proffesional tuners praised

as bullitt proof strong as hel_l reliable engines. These inline 6 cylinders are among the best ever built engines and will deal with almost anything you put them up to.

Do a google search and you will find sites upon sites just praising them. You will have a hard time finding negative words about these engines.

Also do a search in google under "videos" on Toyota Supra and you will get the idea of what sounds and power you will get if doing this engine swop. Just sit back and enjoy.

They ar NO bullshit engines and are built as standard with race spec internals.

This is one of the main reasons for why they are so popular. Considered extremly well built and strong. From a tuning point of view this mean Toyota allreday did half the engine work before letting them out from the Toyota factory.

These engines are beasts just waiting to let the power out.

Other engines which need replacement of original pistons, rods, crank and other internals for tuning parts, and it will cost you. Engine internals are expensive shit!

I belive a 2-JZ being modified by a good company putting out 500 hp based on a daily drive will be giving you no worries or problems. Just loads of fun every day.

Standard brakes on the pickups will deal with quite a lot power as they are ment for heavy load.

Lower your car with some harder springs and it will handle a lot more power than standard.

Modifying of your speedo is also possible. If you didnt choose do that it will at least keep your eyes on the road instead of the speedo when way over 180. To reach +250 kmh in a lower, stiffer pickup with the right brakes and engine upgrades will be absolutely no problems if that is your aim.

A 500 hp pickup heading down the highway and you will reach 300 kmh if it doesnt scare the shit out of you.

###NOTE### In thailand they allow any kind of engine swop as long as you buy the engine with a bill showing the engine number preventing it from being stolen.

Take any small car you want and put in your 900 hp monster and they will happily let you through.

Quote wikipedia;

This engine is very popular with tuners for its high horsepower potential and reliability. Modified versions of the 2JZ-GTE have been seen with over 1500hp. Notable is Marko Djuric's '93 Toyota Supra, a street driven vehicle with a stock displacement 2JZ-GTE that dynoed 1520 horsepower at the rear wheels in 2004, still running on gasoline.

Quote wikipedia;

Despite not having widespread popularity outside Japan (the Chasers in other countries are mainly purchased through grey imports), the Chaser was one of the most popular cars for modification purposes in Japan, with examples modified by drifters and VIP tuners. In 2000, Toyota tuning specialists Tom's created a 320 bhp version of the 1996-97 Chaser, called the X540. Most of the modifications seemed to revolve around the 1JZ-GTE engine, although there have been several Chasers (and similar Mark IIs and Crestas) modified to run on the Supra's 2JZ-GTE engine, usually for drag racing. Because of the similar characteristics of the engines, it was a no-brainer swap, and then modified to insane power levels.

I am also going to buy a new fortuner later this year, as the Wife will not travel in my Isuzu Highlander, she has found out the Mia Noi has been sitting in her seat, s h i t happens.

Mia noi`s are quite expensive aren`t they!

I remember my ex girlfriend saying the same as I took one of my cars to Bk and parked it permanent at the appartment I had there.

Quote her;

"If I ever find out that you`ve had a gik or mia noi in my seat I will never put my ass in that seat again, period! "

Guess they got some issues over the seat thing

So to all you guys love having a gik also remember to go for the maximum % on the film when putting that onto your cars windows.

Mundane note.. Yes I guess most people will agree with you. I ll still post some more in that direction and also explain why though.

Have a look at this..

Before you came to Thailand did you ever own a pickup..? probably not..

Did you ever dream about owning a pickup..? probably not..

Did you ever drive a pickup..? also probably not..

So what happens when you move to Thailand and decide to buy a car..?

What happens is that suddenly the only car you need is a pickup. You are actually not considering buying anything else than a pickup except from your Honda Wave or something like that.

Anyone feel familier with this..

So most likely as you end up buying a pickup what do you get?

What you get is a good practical car but not really a car that you can consider as fun when it comes to speed . Back in Europe or other countries many of us had quite fast cars before and enjoyed driving them. Sedans, coupes or 5 doors for that sake and which some of us even made faster with different engine mods.

Many are missing the fun of having all the horsepower like with the cars they owned before and might therfore look for options.

In my opininon putting your pickup in with a tuning shop for about 1 week, handing over about 70 k and getting it back with a 300 breaking hp engine equiped with twin turbos from a standard Toyota engine would not be a very bad idea.

The pickups are not exactly performance cars out from the factories but its possible turning them into that for those who want. To give it a good touch of performance doensnt have to be expensive at all.

I would consider a pickup with 300 hp, some harder and lower springs together with some nice 18”- 20” wheel to be quite a fun ride. This would be more than enough for most people. Wheels and tires are also cheap in Thailand so putting on some nice ones will not ruin you in any way.

Here is a picture of a new Triton on red plates with a 2-JZ VVTI engine. The VVTI engine is a later model and is a 3.0 ltr. single turbo from Toyota. A very good engine but with not so many options for high performance tuning compared to the 2 JZ twin. It would be as bullet proof as the twin but there is not the same availability on tuning parts like cams etc as the cylinder head is different if that’s what you are looking for. Parts are still available though.

This Triton boosts out more than 500 hp. Quite a funny car to drive I belive.

This one has an extremly big intercooler that would not be necessary. A big one like this would be good for 600 hp and up.

Have a look at it here.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m305/Th...on/CIMG9041.jpg

There is more going on under the hood of cars in Bangkok than most people would know.

Engine swops and rebuilt to high power engines on older cars but also on new Toyota Fortuners, Mercedes Benz etc

Here is a nice one. One Thai guy in Bangkok recently went off and bought a brand new Mercedes Benz E-class.

Brand new he pulled out the engine and replaced it with a 2 JZ twin.

Looking into this case and it would not be a bad idea at all. If performance is what you are looking for together with also saving a lot of money I think the idea is quite interesting.

Let say you buy an E-class as a full option model but with a smaller engine for 6-7 mill.

Fit it with a 2 JZ for 120.000

Engine mods for 300.000 (600 hp)

A huge Brembo brake kit for 300.000

A good German adjustable tuning shock and spring kit for 100.000

AMG bodystyling or similar (original or copy) 10.000- 400.000

Total 1.000.000- 1.200.000 THB

What do you got then? You just got yourself a car that probably performs better than the

Original MB E-class E-55 from AMG Germany which cost about 15 mill B in Thailand… and you saved yourself a 7-8 mill. The E-55 is equipped with a V8 kompressor from AMG and got 475 hp. Performance 0-100 4.7 sec. Top speed if limiter removed about 310 kmh.

Your MB now with the lighter 6 cylinder engine and also more power compared to the E-55, a better braking kit etc. and you are now looking at maybe 0-100 in 4.2 sec. with a top speed of +330 kmh. Quite ok.

This one is a bit off this topic and involves some more money but is just to show that you got several options when doing mods. In Thailand you also get away with it fairly cheap.

Back to the pickups, for a total of 100.000-150.000 you can turn yor car into something quite interesting.

My advise would be to use one of these engines if going for a engine swop in a pickup.

Toyota 1-JZ GTE twin, turbo 6 cyl, 2.5 ltr, 280 hp

Toyota 2-JZ, GTE twin, turbo, 6 cyl 3.0 ltr, 280 hp

Toyota 1-JZ, vvti, single turbo 6 cyl, 2.5 ltr, 280 hp

Toyota 2-JZ, vvti, single turbo 6 cyl, 3.0 ltr, 280 hp

All bullet proof engines that will not cause you any problems!

Note! All the above engines actually produce more than 280 hp. Japan at this time had restrictions to hp so every car with higher power output would only show 280 on the papers.

Considering running on the 91-95 ron compared to Japans 100 ron there will be a loss of some power here in Thailand. Probably the figures in the end will be correct giving it around 280 hp.

When buying one of these engines it always comes with the gearbox that must be replaced with your cars standard too.

You can choose them all as manual or as auto. It is also possible to get one 2 JZ version with the gearing attached on the stearing wheel as a tiptronic control. Hard to get hold of though.

If going for the auto gearbox the maximum hp should not exceed 500-550 engine hp. Over this and the auto will need some modifications which can be expensive.

The standard manual gearbox with the2-JZ is a 6-speed from Getrag which would handle 1000 hp. An extremly strong and well built gearbox from well known Getrag gearbox manufacturer.

There are also some other options like the older 6 cyl 7M-GTE. Will hold 450hp on stock internals. Standard output is 230 hp.

If not going for any of these mods I hope someone at least enjoyed the short introduction to the thai engine tuning scene.

Where in Thailand are you Hans?

Dont worry about these engines or any other pickup diesel engine here. Have you ever seen over loaded pickups just flooring it on the highways here with the turbo just whining hour after hour... I guess so. Thats the case.

These engines are used so hard and the built is based on experience which means they just get better and better year by year.

In Bangkok there is a hundred shops that does engine modifications. Most of the shop would not be online.

Try to pickup 20 thai car magazines on tuning and also on pickups and look through them with a thai friend. Let him do the calling.

Sound like you are going to do some mods and spend some money so I ll give another option.

There is hardly a country in the world where they to more engine swops than in Thailand. A good option could be to just forget about the whole diesel project and just go for a inline 6 cylinder with a lot of power.

Here you got several options and a good one which also is cheap would be to go for the Toyota

1-JZ twin turbo. This is a 2.5 straight 6 cylinder which comes from several Toyota models from Japan

There is tons of these engines available in Bangkok and you could buy it and drop it in for anything from 50-70 k including all the work.

Originally it has 280 hp but you can easily squeeze 340 hp out of this one on the standard turbos.

It is the standard turbos which are ceramic turbos that will be the problem getting more power than this.

With the change of turbos and other mods this bullet proof monster 2.5 straight 6 will be hold up for around 700 hp without the change of internals.

Going for the bigger 2-JZ twin turbo which is a 3.0 ltr 280 hp. Pretty much the same engine but with even stronger internals than the 1-JZ twinturbo. This engine will hold a good 800hp or even more on stock internals. A lot of mods need to be done to get these hp but at least you will not have to do the internals like cranck and all that. This one will cost you around 120 k with manuel and 90-110 k as with auto.

So if you dont care about your fuel consumption to rise some the 1-JZ twin would be it I think. Cheap and a lot of power.

It is actually possible to drive the 1-JZ twin without using to much fuel.

Just now also facing the exactly same dilemma: Triton or Vigo?

My conclusion is that it will be Vigo for me.

Triton is on my opinion ###### gorgeous looking car, and it is a shame that other facts speak for the boring Vigo. But Vigo it is because I want, 4 doors, manual gears and the biggest engine available but 2 wheel drive. And Mitsu cannot offer me that choice; they have the 4x2 only with the moped-engine: 2,5 liter.

Hey mate, look at it different because what you are saying is not right.

The 2.5 engine is far from a moped engine. Most likely you have absolutely no need for the extra 700 cc. If you have read my posts about tuning the 2.5 you would see. You just beef it up and it will outrun the 3.2 easily and I really mean easily!

You also want the 2WD which is much lighter which is another reason for why there is no need for the 3.2.

Lets say you are spending the whole difference in price between the 2.5 and the 3.2 on engine mods and you will get even much more hp compared to what I said in my post. If you are using 100-150 k on engine mods and you will see way over 200 hp!

My advice to you, buy the top spec 2.5 2WD and do some mods. I guarantee you will not regret.

Here is an example. When modifying Toyota Supra or a Nissan Skyline its pretty much the same. One is a 2.6 the other a 3.0. Sometimes they go for the 2.8 stroker kit on the Skyline but really dont understand why. It doesnt make it better or faster. Its more about the 2.8 stroker kit just being a mod itself.

Sometimes they just swop the 3.0ltr 6 cylinder in the Supra which is one of THE strongest performance engines today for a 2.0 ltr 4 cylinder Nissan SR20DET engine to beef that one up.

In your case diesel engines also have higher torque compared to gasoline engines so worrying about being in lack of 700 cc is nothing to even think about.

If you just want the 3.2 for that reason, nothing would help though.

Anyway to complicate things further my gfs' dad has negotiated with an Isuzu dealer so I could actually now get a MU7 auto (but 2wd not 4wd) with full options (tv, leather. film etc etc) for about 70000 more than the top spec Triton.......quite tempting considering its a proper SUV, but I notice there not that popular and seem agricultural compared to the Fortuner.....the choice just gets more difficult

Test drive the MU7 and I bet there is a very good reason they are cheap as hel_l. I don't like the looks of it, either - Isu makes nice pick-ups but the MU7 is a pick-up with a hard top welded to the back.

I drove in a Ford-equivalent, the Everest recently and it was a total joke. Very cheap car, looks like an SUV from the outside, but the rear seats are about 20cm above the floor which makes them useless except for small children and the car bounces and shakes like a tractor. It seemed to bounce around even on a perfectly level road...

I don know about the Ford but what nikster say is actually the case with the MU7. I have had 3 rides in 3 different MU7 taxis and they are all the same. The bounce up and down and even more annoying they shake a lot after just driving over a small bump.

On the highway you get it all. The bouncing and the shaking. You should not be too sure if taking this car out for a long drive going fast on the highway wether your thai girlfriend will puke the whole car down or not.

I also remember driving the Isuzu 4 door pickup 600 km in one day (Phuket-Ranong) where this was also the case. It bounced a lot with only 8000 km on the clock. My girlfriend did not feel very well and neither did I.

As this visa run just pick up kilometres on our car we always rent different cars when doing this trip. We have done this trip in many different cars but have never felt like we did with the Isuzu.

I guess Isuzu got a problem here which need to be solved out.

About Mitsubishi and quality I dont think they are missing out. In countries in Europe Mitsubishi is actually the only car brand that gives a 5 year warranty or 100.000 km guarantee, what ever comes first. I dont think quality is a big issue on todays Japanese cars. The way most farang also use their cars in Thailand and its hard to belive that any real problems should occur.

Before buying the Isuzu anyone should take it out for a serious drive to see if they find it comfortable. That would be my advice.

The Fortuner is a good comfortable SUV. Its quite comfy even with 22" wheels which is my experiance. It of course hits harder on the bumps and wholes but considering the big 22" wheels and its still quite a comfy drive.

Link beefed up Tritons

2 Nice looking Tritons.. Link working!

Yes its quite interesting as it gives people a lot of options, 4 door, 2 door, auto not auto, intercooler not intercooler, tuning intercooler and 4x4 or not. The basic models are cheap and you can turn your car into somethig special and still land it all at a good price.

To say something about the 2.5 engine, this is a very good engine and is more than enough for most people. The 2 wheel drive could easily have been sold with a 2 litre turbo diesel engine. The 2.5 turbo will easily manage 99% of the needs, also for all the thais that use them with heavy load daily. Remember that Thailand is almost all a flat country.

Diesel engines also have more torque compared to gasoline engines. The 3.2 Triton has 351 NM and the 2.5 intercooler has 321 NM. Not much in difference and both engines are considered as having a high torque. The full torque is picked up from 2000 rpm on both engines so there is really power here from the bottom.

About the fuel save, I am not sure that everyone will experiance this. What I mean is, if you are doing some engine mods you get quite a fast and funny car to drive. You might floor it more often which mean use of more fuel than as if your car was standard.

Horespower does not com from nowhere and more hp means burning of more fuel. If you floor it with 160 hp you will burn more fuel than if you floor it and it only has 116 hp.

My mods would be buying a 2.5 auto 4 door, rip out the engine and build the car up from there. 20" or 22" and then lowering it. I would go for a 2-JZ twin turbo with mods. Standard engine comes from the Toyota Supra and has 280 hp as Japan version and 330 hp as Europe version.

There is allready a brand new Triton modified like this in Bk and also with engine mods giving it +500 hp. This car is a 2 door mega cab version.

I am car crazy though so for most this would be a bit over kill

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I dont think its about wether the Vigo or the Triton is the best car. Its a very close race as with many other models in the car market today. When the situation is like this with some models it will be more up to your needs and what looks you prefer.

If you got your tall farang friends with you at all the time you would might choose the Triton etc.

To say that the Triton is butt ugly I think most people disagree with. What mitsubishi did was to launch a totally new design, something new to the pickup scene which I think was really needed. The pickup scene has been really boring with manufacturers thinking they can only put some new headlights on a pretty much same body as before and then you ve got a nice looking car.

Example, look at Mazda and Ford which both use the same old body but with different fronts. They both got nice new headlights and some more but from that the looks suck.

The Triton is something new and from my opinion the only thing I could want to see a change on is the headlights. They could have worked out some better looking headlights but thats all. The rest looks really nicel from a design point of view.

Non of the models looks good when as cheap versions and I would give pole position to the Vigo here.

As byuing a wide body (4x4 or after mounting of these fenders) and some nice wheels I think the Triton takes it and not only with one position. I looks great, like a modern pickup beast.

Here is some Tritons I have taken photos of.

The orange from the Bangkok Motorshow and the black one with 22" wheels in the Mitsubishi dealer in Phuket city just waiting to be picked up by the owner.

2 Nice looking Tritons

Mitsubishi also did one very smart thing with the 2.5 model. They gave it automatic gearbox as option for only 40.000 B extra. They will for sure reach sales because of this. A 4 door pickup with auto for 648.000 without a discount. I find that cheap.

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