RHD in an LHD World

GTR

GTR

Active Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2007
Messages
325
Location
Richmond, BC, Canada
Car(s)
2001 Integra GS-R
For those who drive a JDM or an RHD car in Canada or the US, how is it, and what may be things to look out for? I'm asking this because I'm probably gonna get a car of the kind mentioned above in the foreseeable future. Anybody wanna share their opinions?
 
I've driven a retired Jeep Cherokee that was RHD for the US Postal Service. It was interesting, in a fun and different sort of way. I'd love to own a RHD car.
 
The problem you will face is that everything is set up for LHD. You won't be able to see to pass, for one thing and you may have to go through drive-thrus backwards - which might be fun.
 
I had a RHD car for about one month here in Quebec (where it is LHD). I see no problems really about driving "on the wrong side". Shifting is weird for the first 10 minutes. The only real problem is when you want to pass a truck on a country road, you can't really see the oncoming traffic. It wasn't a problem for me though, because I was mostly in town or on the highway (as most drivers will be). Right hand turns are easier, and so are parallel park maneuvers.
 
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Be prepared for a lot of grief if you like to go through fast-food drive-thrus (Timmies, etc.), or if you find yourself in automated carparks on a regular basis. Crossing into the U.S. will be an additional annoyance, too.
 
Pretty much what everyone has mentioned already - car park ticket barriers, drive thru and overtaking are the big problems.

The first two can be solved with a passenger or grabber on the end of a stick but the overtaking is pretty unsafe, be prepared to be stuck behind slow moving traffic.
 
he is in canada so he dosent have to worry about toll booth
 
I'm assuming due to your name you are planning on getting a GTR in Vancouver. One thing to be wary of is your insurance. ICBC (those bastards) have noticced an increasing trend in RHD vehicles crashing. I think they are making the rates go up if your vehilce is RHD.
 
yep that's also a big negative point for RHD in Canada (IMHO), insurance will try to overcharge as soon as you mention "RHD".

No big insurance company will insure you (or it will be super expensive), and most of the brokers neither... When I finally found one, it was at least twice as much compared to the same LHD car (in my case, silvia vs. 240sx)

but if you shop around, you could probably find insurance for the same price as a LHD, but you gotta go with insurance brokers...
 
JipJopJones said:
I'm assuming due to your name you are planning on getting a GTR in Vancouver.
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I'm not getting a GT-R, none that I'm interested in, anyway. I'm running on a lower budget than that, but I'm caught between getting one of two cars worth around $8000 each..

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/cto/1371454499.html
(1992 Toyota Aristo with 2JZ-GTE Twin Turbo Engine)

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/cto/1364954785.html
(1993 Toyota Supra 2JZ-GE N/A)

yesyes they're both automatics and you can wring me out on that one but it's one of the only kinds I can find here that are worth what I'm paying for in this particular category, unless if someone can suggest otherwise?

JipJopJones said:
One thing to be wary of is your insurance. ICBC (those bastards) have noticced an increasing trend in RHD vehicles crashing. I think they are making the rates go up if your vehilce is RHD.
Click to expand...

I am totally aware of the insurance situation for RHDs and how they can charge you absolutely mindblowing amounts to keep one. I'm willing to look around for a bit to find better insurance coverage for less, but whatever it takes me to keep one, so be it.
 
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Have you ever thought about a Nissan GTi-R. They are quick little cars because they are so light and easy to get HP out of. I've seen quite a few on craigslist.
 
I own a R32 GTS-T right now and have no problem driving around with it. Infact, I am pretty sure my next car will be a RHD as well, probably a FD RX-7 or R32 GTR.

I love my Skyline and have owned it since May this year. Drove it down to U.S. during summer and it was quite the experience.
 
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maxtortheone said:
http://img22.imageshack.**/img22/7271/e7fcaebc.jpg
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in my case there was no "equivalent" in north america as skylines were never sold here. and believe it or not, cars that come here from japan are in way better condition than ones you find here. Japanese don't run their cars as much as americans either.
 
Labcoatguy said:
So you're looking at two cars that are both available as LHD, in the US at least, but you want the RHD equivalents that are generally harder to live with. Why?
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The Aristo(GS300) never came with the 2JZ-GTE outside of Japan, probably cheaper than performing the swap especially if he has to hire someone. As for the Mk IV Supra...availability in Canada is pathetic, over the top prices here even for the naturally aspirated 2JZ-GE, a wrecked one costs more than some relatively new used cars.
 
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