TRD Aurion Questions

[Chäppy]

I would like to learn more about the TRD Aurion, but there seems to be a surprising lack of information on the net about them.

Even the car dealers are clueless.

Sorry if i have posted this in the wrong forum, it looks like the most fitting one that i could find!

Anyway.

I have a few questions that i have not been able to find answers for.

How much boost does the TRD Aurion's charger produce?

Are there many dfferences (besides the charger) between the N/A Aurion and the TRD Aurion's engines? I noticed they run the same compression ratio's. Do they use different ECU's? Injectors? etc

Do the newer Toyota ECU's have any computer connectivity for consult software?

For people who own/drive a TRD Aurion:

How invasive is the TRD Aurion's traction control? Is it actually a benefit for acceleration, or is it still no match for a disciplined right foot?

Can the traction control be switched off?

Under normal daily commuting, how often do the front tyres need replacing?

In the short period that the TRD Aurion has existed, has it shown any trends with certain things breaking frequently?

How often do you service your TRD Aurion?

How many k's has your TRD Aurion done? What was the most expensive service so far?

Under normal daily use, what sort of mileage do you get?

What on the TRD Aurion would/have you upgraded?

Does the interior only come in those 2 colors, red and redder?

I have read reviews that the Aurion is not a nice car to drive, it's a little boring.

For the Aurion owners: Do you agree/disagree? Why?

For the TRD Aurion owners: Do you think this has carried over to your car?

Sorry for the wall of questions. I have been searching the net for days, and i just keep finding the same old reviews/articles, with the same layman terms and comments. The dealers i have spoken to have been less than helpful, and i don't want to harass some guy trying to sell his car, when i am not quite ready to buy just yet.

I welcome any links you may have to useful info.

I would also be most appreciative for anybody in Sydney who owns a TRD Aurion, who might be willing to let me sit in the passenger seat while they take their car for a blast. I want to see how the front wheels handle such excessive power.

Cheers,

Chappy

Edited August 26, 2009 by Chäppy

[WildfireATX]

Lots of good questions i can asnwer a couple of them for you.

The Traction Control is very quick to cut in but you can disable it with a combination of brake pedal and "footbrak" pushes as follows;

Start car in park with footbrake off and door closed.

Engage Footbrake

Hit brake Pedal Twice and release

Release footbrake and then hold brake pedal down.

Engage and disengage footbrake twice whilst remaining on normal brake.

Release normal brake and enggage footbrake

pump brake pedal twice.

The little "skidding car" light on your dash that usually indicated traction control in effect will come on and stay on. Traction control is now off and remains so until you turn car off and restart.

Unless you "steer" with your right foot tyre wear should be the saem as any normal vehicle it really depends on your driving style.

I understand the TRD suffers from herrondous torque steer without traction control and even with it but if you keep a slow in fast out sort of line it can be a wonderful car.

The engines are exactly the same apart from minor differences (mainly the 4 lobe charger on top) Even the exhaust is nearly exactly the same apart from mufflers from what i understand. The ECU is mapped differently but thats again because of the supercharger. Servicing is same as a standard aurion under warranty it should be capped at $120 a service.

No you cant plug your laptop in and mess with the ECU settings. there are VERY few aftermarket parts for the aurion browse the forums you will see most people are adapting kits from the camry in US. There are a few suspension mods you can get like braces etc once again browse the forums. As for how much boost i dont know but i would estimate somwhere in the 5-8psi region.

Overall i WOULD reccommend the aurion to anyone the TRD is really for die-hards only if you want a sporty ride get the ZR6 its plenty fast and handles great for a car its size.

[Chäppy]

I hear the TRD is pretty crazy for torque steer, but i am no stranger to over powered cars. My 180sx puts more power to the tyres than the Aurion has at the fly

I have settled on the Aurion because it seems like a perfect car to replace my magna as a daily and my 180sx as a weekend thrash car, all in one!

I also like the fact that it is supercharged rather than turbo charged, no need to service every 5000km!

I read up on the fixed price servicing, and it says that it only covers the 1st 4 services for the Aurion, so that is only up to 60,000km. I was curious to see if anybody has gone past this, and how much it cost them.

I wasn't looking to play with the ECU settings, i was lookig more at the idea of connecting a netbook to it, and using it to substitute extra gauges, in the event that i ever wanted to modify the engine.

Thanks for the info tho, it helps a lot!

[DJKOR]

How much boost does the TRD Aurion's charger produce?

This one seems to be questionable. It is said to be around 7 psi by a few people here and there but I would say between 5 and 7 psi would be about right.

Are there many dfferences (besides the charger) between the N/A Aurion and the TRD Aurion's engines? I noticed they run the same compression ratio's. Do they use different ECU's? Injectors? etc

There are a few subtle differences such as oil line placement, an extra idler pulley, a nice transmission cooler etc, but apart from that they are basically the same engine wise if you took away the S/C. The ECU's are tuned differently but most likely the same inside. The injectors have been said to be upgraded over the standard Aurion ones.

Do the newer Toyota ECU's have any computer connectivity for consult software?

They just allow your basic OBDII monitoring. No parameters can be adjusted yourself.

Under normal daily commuting, how often do the front tyres need replacing?

I'm waiting for a response from David (SupaTouring). He recently got a new set of tires after the original set had travelled in excess of 45,000km I believe. He has taken his on a few good mountain runs as well with that set.

In the short period that the TRD Aurion has existed, has it shown any trends with certain things breaking frequently?

From keeping an ear on the boards, it seems that the only main issues tend to be your normal Aurion related issues, so nothing out of the ordinary.

Does the interior only come in those 2 colors, red and redder?

The 3500S comes with a red interior and the 3500SL offers a plum interior.

I have read reviews that the TRD Aurion is not a nice car to drive, it's a little boring.

I think the better phrase would be "leaves more to be desired". Enjoyment of your car all comes down to how well you can appreciate it for what it is.

Sorry for the wall of questions. I have been searching the net for days, and i just keep finding the same old reviews/articles, with the same layman terms and comments. The dealers i have spoken to have been less than helpful, and i don't want to harass some guy trying to sell his car, when i am not quite ready to buy just yet.

The only true review you can get is if you test drive one for yourself. Everyone has different opinions and may not reflect what you may think.

I want to see how the front wheels handle such excessive power.

You would be surprised I reckon. Goes even better around a mountain road.

[DJKOR]

Adding another post because that one above has quite a few quotes:

I understand the TRD suffers from herrondous torque steer without traction control and even with it but if you keep a slow in fast out sort of line it can be a wonderful car.

I hear the TRD is pretty crazy for torque steer...

After driving a TRD Aurion, I have to say the torque steer is more than that of the N/A Aurion, but it isn't really something that you can't adjust to. Maybe as well this was due to the fact that I was used to the torque steer of my Aurion before hand which made it less noticeable. The more your drive your car, the more you get used to how it handles and you then naturally apply just the slightest amount of anti-clockwise force to the steering wheel when you floor it. Over time, you don't even notice it. I tend to give my Aurion a boot many times during a drive and it just became second nature to compensate for the torque steer.

I wasn't looking to play with the ECU settings, i was lookig more at the idea of connecting a netbook to it, and using it to substitute extra gauges, in the event that i ever wanted to modify the engine.

My answer to that is in my post above. As a matter of fact, Elgin (Supercharged TRD) has a USB OBDII interface for his TRD when he had it and experimented with the gauges etc. Looked pretty cool.

[Chäppy]

How much boost does the TRD Aurion's charger produce?

This one seems to be questionable. It is said to be around 7 psi.

I was waiting for you to reply

I noticed that you have a lot to say on the technical side of things in my last 2 days of lurking :P

Considering it has no intercooler, i was actually expecting to hear the figure being around 4 or 5 psi, but i guess we will not know for sure without setting up a boost gauge.

They just allow your basic OBDII monitoring. No parameters can be adjusted yourself.

I would be very interested to see how this is done. Do you know what software is used?

From keeping an ear on the boards, it seems that the only main issues tend to be your normal Aurion related issues, so nothing out of the ordinary.

What sort of issues are they?

I think the better phrase would be "leaves more to be desired". Enjoyment of your car all comes down to how well you can appreciate it for what it is.

This is true. I would be very surprised if it is not worlds ahead of my magna as far as handling goes.

The only true review you can get is if you test drive one for yourself. Everyone has different opinions and may not reflect what you may think.

I would very much like to test drive one, but any dealer i have spoken to has been very weary of people wanting a test drive. Liverpool Toyota would not even agree to letting me see the car till i agreed to a trade in (i won't be speaking with them again methinks).

Edited August 26, 2009 by Chäppy

[Wulfkind]

How much boost does the TRD Aurion's charger produce?

This one seems to be questionable. It is said to be around 7 psi.

I was waiting for you to reply

I noticed that you have a lot to say on the technical side of things in my last 2 days of lurking :P

Considering it has no intercooler, i was actually expecting to hear the figure being around 4 or 5 psi, but i guess we will not know for sure without setting up a boost gauge.

They just allow your basic OBDII monitoring. No parameters can be adjusted yourself.

I would be very interested to see how this is done. Do you know what software is used?

From keeping an ear on the boards, it seems that the only main issues tend to be your normal Aurion related issues, so nothing out of the ordinary.

What sort of issues are they?

I think the better phrase would be "leaves more to be desired". Enjoyment of your car all comes down to how well you can appreciate it for what it is.

This is true. I would be very surprised if it is not worlds ahead of my magna as far as handling goes.

The only true review you can get is if you test drive one for yourself. Everyone has different opinions and may not reflect what you may think.

I would very much like to test drive one, but any dealer i have spoken to has been very weary of people wanting a test drive. Liverpool Toyota would not even agree to letting me see the car till i agreed to a trade in (i won't be speaking with them again methinks).

Don't let them push you around mate, trick is to wave money in their face for the deposit.

Standard Aurion issues are pretty few and far between. Main one is probably the Dash rattle they all seem to experience at some time or another, this can be fixed under warranty no problems. I'm not sure about the TRDs, but the Aurions also seem to suffer from a transmission flare in colder weather, after pursuing this with Toyota it was pretty much a case of leave it be, they all get it.

Other than that, my main pet peeve is the factory rotors warp fairly easy but I think the TRD has an upgraded brake package anyway? Someone will likely confirm this. My recommendation is that you give both the TRD and a sportivo a run, you'll be surprised how nice the Sportivo's are to drive. I think people who describe them as 'boring' just don't know how to enjoy them, they're a fantastic ride and I wouldn't trade mine for anything in the same price range.

I'll leave you with one last word: Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but the price of spare parts for the TRDs is fairly high, so be careful of breaking one! :)

[David the Viking]

How much boost does the TRD Aurion's charger produce?

I have been told by a TRD tech that it is 7-8psi. They use the latest TVS Eaton 4 lobe supercharger which greatly reduces the air intake temp as they are more efficient, this also negated the need for an intercooler.

Are there many dfferences (besides the charger) between the N/A Aurion and the TRD Aurion's engines? I noticed they run the same compression ratio's. Do they use different ECU's? Injectors? etc

As Daryl has said ECU with a different tune, larger injectors, different VVTi oil line and extra pulleys. Auto transmission gets an extra oil cooler.

Do the newer Toyota ECU's have any computer connectivity for consult software?

Best to talk to Elgin (Supercharged TRD)

Under normal daily commuting, how often do the front tyres need replacing?

I did get 45,000km out of my original set of Dunlop tyres and I do drive the TRD as it is intended to be.

In the short period that the TRD Aurion has existed, has it shown any trends with certain things breaking frequently?

The 3500S starts life as a Sportivo SX6 and the 3500SL as a Sportivo ZR6. The Aurion does suffer from dash board rattles. The pulling left issue doesnt appear to affect the TRD as they get a more comprehensive wheel alignment and setup.

Does the interior only come in those 2 colors, red and redder?

There may be some of the very last 3500S made with a grey interior, but it would be very rare if they were made. White, Tungsten and Inferno were given the grey interior just before TRD was canned but at this stage it was the TRD was build to order only.

I have read reviews that the TRD Aurion is not a nice car to drive, it's a little boring.

Definitely needs a larger rear sway bar which I have installed as well as a front strut brace. Changes the car quite a lot improves turn in dramatically and removes the rear body roll. It is a large automatic car that weighs 1600kg so is more a GT style of vehicle rather than a track day machine.

I want to see how the front wheels handle such excessive power.

The N/A Aurion is almost or as fast in a drag race so it does have issue with putting power down. I gear/rolling acceleration is just unreal though :D

[Kia Kaha]

I would very much like to test drive one, but any dealer i have spoken to has been very weary of people wanting a test drive. Liverpool Toyota would not even agree to letting me see the car till i agreed to a trade in (i won't be speaking with them again methinks).

Try Narellan Toyota, I got mine from there and they let me test drive before I'd even really considered the TRD.

If you go speak to Allan, tell him Dwayne (who bought the red TRD, Glen Street's cousin) sent you. They should look after you.

[David the Viking]

Continued on from previous post

I understand the TRD suffers from herrondous torque steer without traction control and even with it but if you keep a slow in fast out sort of line it can be a wonderful car.

I hear the TRD is pretty crazy for torque steer...

I again agree with what Daryl said. I had a supercharged V6 Camry before the TRD so was used to having torque steer.

I wasn't looking to play with the ECU settings, i was lookig more at the idea of connecting a netbook to it, and using it to substitute extra gauges, in the event that i ever wanted to modify the engine.

Best to talk to Elgin (Supercharged TRD)

How invasive is the TRD Aurion's traction control? Is it actually a benefit for acceleration, or is it still no match for a disciplined right foot?

It does cut in under hard acceleration but is not overly annoying and is handy in the wet. I do find that I can drive the TRD hard without its intervention if driven with a "disciplined right foot".

Edited August 26, 2009 by SupaTouring

[Chäppy]

I would very much like to test drive one, but any dealer i have spoken to has been very weary of people wanting a test drive. Liverpool Toyota would not even agree to letting me see the car till i agreed to a trade in (i won't be speaking with them again methinks).

Try Narellan Toyota, I got mine from there and they let me test drive before I'd even really considered the TRD.

If you go speak to Allan, tell him Dwayne (who bought the red TRD, Glen Street's cousin) sent you. They should look after you.

Thanks, i'll give that a shot.

Thanks heaps for the replies guys, very helpful :)

[DJKOR]

What sort of issues are they?

A tapping noise when cold that people claim is piston slap. The VVT-i oil line potential leak (the TRD has different shaped line, but still with the rubber hose). As well, there is the axle tramp issue, but being a powerful FWD it is nothing out of the ordinary. Then there are the interior rattles and creaks.

Other than that, my main pet peeve is the factory rotors warp fairly easy but I think the TRD has an upgraded brake package anyway? Someone will likely confirm this.

My g** yes! They have some pretty beefy brakes. Not like AP Racing beefy, but much better than a normal Aurion. They are actually Corvette C5 brakes. I've had the change to hold a new front rotor and they have quite a bit of mass to them. They also seem really solid with decent cooling vents. The major disadvantage with the stock TRD brakes though is that to get their massive stopping power, the brake pads that come stock are pretty aggressive and as a result they eat up your rotors a bit more easily.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but the price of spare parts for the TRDs is fairly high, so be careful of breaking one! :)

Yes they are... in general. A fair few of the items in the TRD are normal Aurion/Sportivo parts. With them, price will vary. Some are shockingly expensive, some are shockingly reasonable. Anything TRD Aurion specific will most likely cost a fair bit, but the same as above applies. Some parts are reasonable.

I think people who describe them as 'boring' just don't know how to enjoy them, they're a fantastic ride and I wouldn't trade mine for anything in the same price range.

+1 mate. I love my Aurion and love surprising others with how well it can perform :P

[Speed]

can the toyota Aurion TRD beat Lancer Evo 9 ?

[httttt]

can the toyota Aurion TRD beat Lancer Evo 9 ?

Beat it how?

In looks and reliability?? Yeah.

0-100?? highly doubt it.

Around a track??? doubt it.

[Chäppy]

Probably not from a standing start, but it might have a chance from a rolling start.

[Supercharged TRD]

can the toyota Aurion TRD beat Lancer Evo 9 ?

Not in terms of outright performance, but comfort wise a definite yes. Maybe in terms of reliability too.

With a rolling start, the TRD can keep up with a V8 Commodore SS (yes, I've tried..... ;)

Edited August 30, 2009 by Supercharged TRD

[Kia Kaha]

I would very much like to test drive one, but any dealer i have spoken to has been very weary of people wanting a test drive. Liverpool Toyota would not even agree to letting me see the car till i agreed to a trade in (i won't be speaking with them again methinks).

Try Narellan Toyota, I got mine from there and they let me test drive before I'd even really considered the TRD.

If you go speak to Allan, tell him Dwayne (who bought the red TRD, Glen Street's cousin) sent you. They should look after you.

Thanks, i'll give that a shot.

Thanks heaps for the replies guys, very helpful :)

Sorry mate, I should have said Campbelltown Toyota on Narellan Rd.

[Chäppy]

No worries, i knew which one you meant. I drive past it every now and then.

[Chäppy]

With a rolling start, the TRD can keep up with a V8 Commodore SS (yes, I've tried..... ;)

The latest one?

[Supercharged TRD]

With a rolling start, the TRD can keep up with a V8 Commodore SS (yes, I've tried..... ;)

The latest one?

Yes, the VE.