Enquiry

[Doctony]

Hi guys,

I just ordered a brand new sportivo for myself today. It's quite expensive for my range of income (must finance it over 5 years), anyway, I think that it's worth it.

Well.. I would like my car to have a more or less a stock appearance; however, I would like to have more kw on the wheels. Now I understand that many of the guys her have done some mod with thier cars.

Could you recommend me anything that will help acceleration a little bit please? I read my threads here but am not quite sure about many terminology here. I've got a very tight budget (max of $4000) so I would like the mods that are cost-effective and won't void my warranty.

Thanks in adavance. :)

[BigBum]

hey there! welcome to the forums! Enjoy you stay :D

i don't really know much about getting the most out of your car in terms of kw/acceleration.. but i can tell you about the warranty factor.

It depends on the dealer and on the toyota techy assessing the claim for the fault.

e.g. they cant just see a CAI on your car and say that voids your warrenty even though you havent even submit a fault for them to look at.

Also that being said Toyota has to prove that the mod you put on your car was the cause of the fault which you identify to them. e.g. if u have a CAI and all else is stock and your shocks go on you the two are not even related and id like to see toyota claim ur CAI was the cause of your shocks going.

The other part is also to what extreme they want to help you. i mean if they dont want to help you at all and say your engine kicks it and at a glance it might have leaned out they could say well because ur CAI was there it was getting to much air and bye bye engine. But if they investigated they could probably find it might be something else. This is the problem u will face if u have a fault which might be related to an area you have modded.

Also just to note when they say void your warrenty it is only on the part u have modded. i.e. if u fit a unichip this will only void the warrenty on ur ecu and nothing else. And if u have a failure they would not replace ur ecu for free and if other stuff failed they would need to prove that the unichip caused the other stuff to become faulty.

This is why u put all your stock stuff back on when u go in for a warranty claim

that was from xoom... very helpful :)

now you can wait for the other guys to post their reccomendations for your modding :D

Cheers,

Brandon.

[xoom]

Hi Doctony,

I cant make any gurantee's with the warranty factor as i have previously posted and BigBum indicated above so i guess this is at your own risk but i have been modding my car no issues thus far.

Ok now to the mods list $4000 isnt quiet there to be honest if u want it all i think u need to drop about $6000++++ but i leave it to you to decide.

TRD Cold Air Induction (CAI) approx $400-$500 (there are copies out there for cheaper so up to you)

TRD Extractors approx $1000 i think they were and a few hundred 200-300 to install

TRD quickshifter $250-$350 i think it was.

Get some springs to drop your ride to get you off the mark that little bit better. I think Kings springs for a 35mm drop fitted are like $400 - $500.

So what that 500+1300+350+500 = 2650.

Clutch & lightened flywheel depending on brand and mechanic you could be looking at about $1600

If you want an exhaust system then i would suggest the CES system which has been proven to give gains. its worth over $1000 + install i dunno about 200

Now if you dont want an exhaust due to noise etc etc etc then i would suggest a unichip about $1100 fitted and tunned. If you r going to do the unichip i recommend you do it last and make sure it is ur last performance mod.

If you do it all thats 2650+1600+1000+200+1100 = 6550... LOT N LOT OF $$$$$

Also getting bigger n lighter rims will help u in the acceleration department as you'll have more traction and pull less weight but these will cost somewhere in the order of 1500-3500 depending on brand and tyres you use.....

My recommendation if all you have to spend is 4000 and that is all your going to spend is as follows

CAI - 400-500

Clutch & Flywheel - 1600

Quickshifter - 250-350

Springs - 400-500

Unichip - 1100 (make sure u aint gona do any more performance mods as you should do this one last)

Now this is my opinion and im sure the other guys would use some other combo.....

cheers

Bill

Edited April 6, 2005 by xoom

[Doctony]

Thanks BigBum and Xoom, :D

Jeese.. all right. let's assume that would do exactly as you recommended, what sorts of kw on the wheels we're looking at?

Could you please clarify how many kws are gained from each part?

I mean if we won't gain much power from the mods mentioned previously, I would probably stay with the stock. I understand that $4000-6000 is nothing when it comes to mod but if this makes heaps of difference, yeah..I would go ahead with it.

Can the dealer fit these parts for me? I don't want to void my brand new car warranty. If I use only the TRD parts, my warranty won't be voided, right?

Sorry to trouble you, guys. This is my first car and I want to get the best bang for the buck, if you know what I mean. :P

[Skitzo]

From what i've understood the mods that have been suggested all have pretty dramatic changes on the feel of the car.

I wouldn't know about kw increase, there would be some but being an NA car its hard to squeeze out any more power of such a finely tuned beast. However im 99% sure the handling and feeling of the car changes for the better. I have an ascent with a few of these mods and boy does it make the car drive different.

Warranty is always an issue with a few of the members. From what i've understood, unless the modification that is added actually causes the stuff up, then its covered. Thats my basic grip on what members on these forums have found out.

Toyota dealers don't fit the parts as far as im aware, if they do then its friggin expensive. I would just go with a trusted mechanic. Springs should be fitted at a suspension shop. Unichip should be fitted and tuned by an official unichip dealer. Cold air intake can be fitted by anyone. Extractors should be fitted by an exhaust shop. Quickshifter, clutch and flywheel should be fitted at a general decent mechanics.

Thats only my opinion. I'm one that hates dodgy installs so il do as much as I possibly can to avoid having to go and get something installed twice for no good reason.

[02rolla]

I personally would prefer to spend a little bit extra on the handling mods first then build your car up around that as a base.

Eibach Pro Kit $700 ?

TRD Front Tower Brace + rear sway $550

Camber Kit , not sure on price $100 installed ?

then go with the usual stuff

TRD CAI

Exhaust

etc..

[Northy]

if i had a list this is what it would be,

1) TRD CAI - ~$450 - the CAI is good for bout 5kw atw

2) Cat Back Exhaust system - ~$1100 (somthing like the CES system, it was good for bout 9kw atw)

3) Low King Springs (35mm drop) + Koni Adjustable Sports Shockies (a must IMO if you are going to lower the car) - ~$1400 for the springs and shocks fitted

4) Camber bolt kit ( this is to adjust the camber on the front wheels only, gives you alot better turnin on corners) - ~$70-100

5) Whiteline Front Strut Tower Brace (im proves handling) - ~$180

all up you are looking at about $3380.

after this i would also look at getting a better clutch, lighter flywheel, but these will blow your budget most due to the labour fitting costs.

[Danthuyer]

here are a few charts that may helkp you out with mods and power gains of them combined on the car ;)

PLEASE NOTE THESE ARE PRE ECU RECALL

Damnit i still cant post pics (STEVE!!!!!!)

go to this site and check out the dyno graphs

Snowflake on Cardomain

[Sport1vo]

<POST REMOVED>

Edited May 8, 2005 by sport1vo

[--Rudes--]

Hi Doctony,

I drive a zze122 Levin, so I'm not sure how relevant my comments are going to be. I've spent around $750 on my car at the moment (extractors, 2 1/4" exhaust, home made CAI). I haven't done any G-tech runs yet, but the car certainly feels a lot 'revier', and for the amount of money spent, I'm very happy. If I had bought a TRD CAI, TRD Extractors and a brand-name exhaust, I could've possibly gained a few more kWatw than I have now, but I'd also be at least $2000 poorer.

For me, every mod/expense has to have a justifiable gain, whether it be in driveability or performance, or both. You sound like someone in the same boat. IMHO, you'd be better off driving the car around for a few months first, getting used to the way the car behaves, before deciding what you really want to enhance in your car. Also, you've mentioned that you're financing this car over 5 years, so obviously there's a financial burden there that can't be overlooked.

Having said all that.... good luck with the car!

[eddy_torrezz]

alot of the mods youd wanna do for more power will void the warranty. unless you can easily remove evrything you add.

[Azza]

Hey guys, I know this is gonna be corny, but I'm gonna do it anyway.....

CAI - 400-500

Clutch & Flywheel - 1600

Quickshifter - 250-350

Springs - 400-500

Unichip - 1100 (make sure u aint gona do any more performance mods as you should do this one last)

←

The feeling of LIFT - Priceless!!!!!!!

Edited April 8, 2005 by Azza

[MR22ZZ]

not that corney, cheers Azza

Master Card has a lot to answer for!!! :P

[Doctony]

yesterday i went to talk to my local dealer. I talked to the manager and he told me that it the car broke down and we put any unauthorized parts, including TRD and Tom's!!!!, this will void the bloody warranty. I wish I was working in New Zealand because there, part from both TRD and Tom's are recognized as the accesoriies. ...sign.....

one of our guys here said that, for instance, if we replace the exhuast system, only this part will be voided BUT what the toyota dealer told me is (the exact words) "anything in your car that we think it might contribute to the stability of the engine will void the warranty on the engine as the whole". so i reckon at this stage, once i recieve my car, i will not do anything. jeese..this is cruel.

[Azza]

yesterday i went to talk to my local dealer. I talked to the manager and he told me that it the car broke down and we put any unauthorized parts, including TRD and Tom's!!!!, this will void the bloody warranty. I wish I was working in New Zealand because there, part from both TRD and Tom's are recognized as the accesoriies. ...sign.....

one of our guys here said that, for instance, if we replace the exhuast system, only this part will be voided BUT what the toyota dealer told me is (the exact words) "anything in your car that we think it might contribute to the stability of the engine will void the warranty on the engine as the whole". so i reckon at this stage, once i recieve my car, i will not do anything. jeese..this is cruel.

←

Dude!!!!

Do a search on warranty issues within the forum and you will discover that this topic has been discussed more times than I've hit lift....

[MR22ZZ]

If warranty is your concearn then simply improve the ride and handling and forget about what is under the bonnet. In my opinion now having been on the track, the handling needs the most work. As was said by Northy the adjustable Konis with Low King Springs would be ~$1400 installed. Replaceing the entire suspension system puts you under the suspension manuracturer warranty and I doubt they (Toyota) could prove that mods to suspension caused the grearbox to jam or the engine to die...

Then you can grab yourself some nice looking lightweight 17 inch rims and sticky rubber (looking at ~$2000 or ~$3000 if you go to semi-slicks, keep your stock wheels though incase you ever want to have seperate street/track rims).

Finally if you really want to, the CAI is easilly replaceable should warranty issues arrise TRD is ~$450 or the Simota one (exactly the same only black pipe I think and no pretty TRD sticker) is ~$200, but having said that, upgrading the panel filter to a better brand ie K&N could be an alternative and provides better throttle response but not the kW gains.

Edited April 15, 2005 by Blue_Stivo

[Doctony]

thanks for the comments, guys. much appreciated.

what bluestivo commented is very logial, so i will certainly and gladly follow this advice. after i run out of warranty, i will start to mod it.